Monday, March 28th, 2016

Welcome back! It is wonderful to see your children refreshed from their week off, and ready for an exciting and jam-packed final two months of grade two. Thank you for encouraging your child to work on their holiday journals and science fair experiments. I look forward to reading them tonight.

Today in the second grade, we:

• were updated on our house points, celebrated the angel of the week (congratulations to Rei's brother, Shane!), and listened to Sister Heart present on Easter during our weekly assembly
• previewed our weekly target vocabulary, reviewed suffixes by identifying them in a story about a dinosaur guide in a natural history museum, and did a free write diary entry on a trip we have have recently taken or would like to take in reading and phonics class
• warmed-up with some time-telling drills and worked on regrouping 1 tens as 10 ones to subtract in math class
• worked with this week's idiom: "Wasn't Born Yesterday" and practiced our powers of prediction by identifying details in a story and by drawing from our own experiences in social studies class
• the students collectively cashed in some of their Dojo dollars to visit the computer lab during ECA, where I introduced the students to the classic American pioneer game "The Oregon Trail" where the students were able to encounter some of the problems and situations that some of the original American pioneers faced as they traversed the country in a covered wagon 

Tonight's Homework:

• Complete the non-fiction book report on "Schools Around the World" and check the rubric (in your child's assignment book.) 
• Read aloud for 15 minutes and have a parent sign your reading log. 

Announcements:

• We will be painting the stairwells of the academic building with our house colors this Wednesday, March 30th. The students are encouraged to pack an old shirt or smock to protect their clothes on this day if they don't already have a shirt at school. In the afternoon, there will be a movie shown in the gym. The tickets are 70 NT, and include a drink and a snack. The money being raised will help the student council pay for the painting supplies that we will use to decorate the halls.
• There will be a math quiz on chapter 12 next Thursday, April 7th.
• The spelling words for next Wednesday's spelling quiz (April 6th) will come from Math chapters 11 and 12.

1. difference
2. estimate 
3. regroup
4. round
5. subtract
6. subtraction
7. calculator
8. mental math
9. operation
10. compare
11. whole
12. tens and ones
13. reasoning
14. equation
15. vertical
16. horizontal 
17. column
18. multistep
19. solve