Week of January 31st

Happy Monday! Thank for the birthday wishes today, getting older is never fun, but I do have much to look forward to. We have a busy week ahead. We are working hard to finish our projects and would love for you to come and view them this Thursday between 2:15 and 2:45. The kids will set their projects up like a museum so you can move around and see their work and ask them questions. The projects will also stay up for Grandparent's Day so they can share with their grandparents. With Valentine's Day around the corner, I wanted to give you a heads up about a few things:

• Book Orders are due February 7th so that, hopefully, the books will be in by Valentine's Day. Books always make wonderful gifts! If you do order books as gifts, please give me a heads up!
• We will not be having a formal Valentine's Party. As a class we will exchange valentines and do a few activities throughout the day. Please remember there are 17 kids in our class.
  
• We love special treats and surprises here in second grade. SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! The second grade team is asking each family to send a simple Valentine to your child through the mail by February 4th. It should be addressed to:
  

Shorecrest Preparatory School 5101 First Street NE St. Petersburg, Fl 33703 attn: child's name/ Mrs. McKenzie's class **Please remember Conference Day is February 10th. The schedule is listed up on one of the page tabs. There is no school for students that day. Here is what is going on this week:

• Language Arts: Spelling vowel diphthong /oi/ oi, oy, suffixes -ful, -less, number words (grammar) - we are continuing to "talk" to our books in Reading Workshop. The students have been using sticky notes to "talk" to their books. Talking consists of asking questions, making predictions and inferences, etc. They are really enjoying this activity and it is something they can do at home.
  
• Writing: We are hoping to publish one of our stories this week from our Revision Unit.
  
• Math: we are taking this week to review many of the concepts we have been learning so far
  
• Social Studies: we are wrapping up our unit on Australia
  
• Science: Last week we did another exciting experiment called Gas in a Bag. The students explored what happens to an Alkaseltzer tablet when mixed with water. We talked about how it turns into a gas. We further explored this by dropping a tablet into water in a bag. After they sealed the bag, it expanded! They loved it and learned a lot!

Upcoming Events:

• Spirit Day is on Friday, February 25
• Reading Week: Reading Week will take place February 28 – March 4. More information to come.
• Oldie Goldie Book Fair will take place on Friday, March 4.
• No school February 24th - President's Day
• No school February 18th - Professional Development Day
  
• Field Day: Field Day will take place on Friday, March 11.

New Current Event Calendars went out today. Please keep on these! It is a part of their homework grade. I trust you will have an awesome week and look forward to chatting with you next week at conferences.