New Friends...

Hi Everyone!

I hope this post finds you enjoying a wonderful weekend with your families and perhaps, the first Pats game sans Tom Brady! Hopefully, it will go well!

We have had such a busy, full week in Room 13! I am pleased that the students are opening up and sharing more of themselves with the class. Morning Meeting is a huge help with that! This week, we focused on using international greetings. We used Jambo (Swahili), Guttan Morgan (German), Bonjour (French), Hola (Spanish), and Kale Mera (Greek). A few students shared knowledge of additional languages and we will use them in the coming weeks. We also participated in a few new activities during our meeting. Please ask your child how to play: "No, No, No"; "I'm Going on a Picnic"; "Pop!"; and "Cooper Says...". We had a great time together!

Ms. Otte also joined in and was "Cooper" for our game. Mark took over for her.

This week, we also had our first All-School Meeting about goals. Room 13 decided on 2 goals for the 2008-2009 year: 1.) We want to read 100 chapter books. 2.) We want to fill the sparkle jar 5 times. A few students were our representatives at the meeting and shared our goals with the Zeh comunity.

Mrs. Whitten invited our class representatives to share our goals.

At the conclusion of the goal meeting, Mrs. Whitten also kicked off our first Zeh Enrichment program featuring Joel Warren. He was upbeat and inspirational and encouraged all students to adopt an "I Can Do It" attitude. Check out his link for more information.

http://www.joelwarrenrocks.com/

This week we also started using our Weekly Reader. We learned all about animal migration. Did you know that some animals walk, fly, or swim to migrate? The students worked on comprehension questions with mystery partners. It was a great way to work with new friends!

Last Friday, the whole second grade gathered in Mrs. Dallaire's room and we watched "Frog & Toad" to launch our new reading/science unit. We will be using the stories to develop phonics and reading comprehension skills. In science, we will be learning all about the lifecycle of the frog. Our new tadpole should be arriving this week! Pleas start thinking of some name suggestions for our new pet!

Another familiar face this week was Judy Moody. We read the first book in the series and laughed our way through Judy's misadventures. Ask your child to tell you about the T.P. Club or Judy's hand trick that she played on her brother, Stink.

Well, I think that is it for now. I am looking forward to another great week with the students of Room 13. I am also looking forward to meeting you on Tuesday from 7:50-8:10 (in the classroom) and then, Mrs. Whitten will meet with you from 8:10-8:30 (in the cafeteria). I believe there is a primary election happening at Zeh that day as well. Parking may be tricky, so you may want to park in the church lot next door. Have a great week!

-JoAnne Gorham