Ms. Mary's Class
Class 2C at the Elementary School, ASD, Doha.
Week 34, May 12, 2016
We've got just four weeks to go and the excitement is building!
2nd Grade asks for your help to support the Shukran Dinner for ASD Workers
on Monday May 30, 2016 This dinner celebrates all of our community workers at ASD (cleaners, guards, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, and monitors, etc.).
As part of our service learning project, we are asking for help to support the Shukran committee's donation drive. The money raised helps provide a buffet for all of the dinner attendees. A flier will be sent out on Sunday: simply fill out the bottom portion of this flyer and bring it back with your donation to your homeroom teacher by Monday, May 23, 2016. You may also indicate if the donation is to be deducted from the dragon card.
Our homeroom mum, Manisha, will also be in touch with you to request desserts for this dinner.
Check out the Swimming Letter below as swimming starts again next week.
You may recall that your child set a goal to be achieved by the end of this trimester. I stressed that this was indeed their own goal, not yours and not mine and re-iterated that they need to follow up on the steps needed to achieve that goal. A few students have followed up with me for various resources last week but the majority have not. You may want to remind your child about the goal they set for themselves.
As we approach the fourth last week of the trimester, we are looking closely at some standards that a grade 2 student should have achieved this year, in particular speaking to be understood. Please remind your child about speaking clearly so that everyone in the room can hear and understand what they want to convey.
The final class party will be held on Sunday, June 5th @ 2:20pm.
Kind Regards,
Mary Mulqueen
Subject Updates
Math: In repeated addition, we have been looking at and drawing groups of objects and figuring out how we can use strategies, like doubles, to efficiently find the total of objects in the groups. The second grade team asks you not to teach multiplication facts (Times Tables) as something to be memorized. This prevents students from reasoning out and practicing working with groups of the same number.
Reading: This week we took a closer look at how author’s use precise words and extraordinary language to make vivid pictures in our minds. We recapped on how we can use what we already know to predict what will happen next in the story and we explored how the use of punctuation by an author brings a story to life. We continued to find examples of these in our Series books.
- Writing: We are sprinting along with the completion of our non-fiction writing and we are paying close attention to our audience and what they might want to learn from a book like ours. We are also carefully crafting introductions to our topics and conclusions that may be a call to action, a connection back to the start of the book or chapter or we may end with an exploratory question that may have arisen throughout the writing of our books.
- Science: we have been exploring how the force of friction can slow down movement and gravity causes objects that are not balanced to topple over. Heavy objects, we discovered, have a greater gravitational pull than lighter ones.
Broken Wristbands
Dear Parents,
Over the past few months, we have been keeping track of the amount of Dragon Wristbands that are coming back to us, broken. We have also been looking closely at the normal wear and tear of the wristbands and the actual damage that is occurring.
Closer inspection of the broken wristbands and observation in the classroom has revealed that a high amount of wristbands are being intentionally damaged. This happens when a student has been playing with it, chewing/biting it, picking at the back of the wristband where the magnetic disk is and removing it, cutting it with the clasp part of a lanier, cutting it with scissors, picking the top part of the wristband so that the magnetic disk pops out, stretching it until it snaps, continually snapping it or pulling it, playing with it with friends – a ‘tug of war’ type of scenario, etc.
With the sheer amount coming back to us damaged in this way, we have come to the decision to start charging QR 50.00 to the student’s Dragon Wristband account for a replacement. Of course, we will pre-inspect all bands prior to issuance to verify no faulty or material design flaw is present that has contributed to the wristband being torn or broken. And of course, if a wristband has simply stopped working, the wristband will be replaced at no charge.
The Dragon Wristband needs to be regarded and treated as school property – the same as a library book or school-issued computer/camera, etc. Students have been issued a first wristband at no charge and are expected to treat it with the same care a library book or piece of classroom property. We would like to ask you, as parents, to have a conversation with your child about the importance of taking care of their Dragon Wristband.
Thank you for your kind cooperation and understanding with this matter.
Tuesday After School Activity Pick Up
Parents picking up students from After School Activities on Tuesdays should enter through Gate 8. A kind reminder to all parents to bring and display your ASD Dragon Card at all times while on campus.
Playground Reminders
Students are not allowed on the playground equipment at Gate 5 until after 3:15 PM. Children MUST be supervised by an adult at all times. Adults must be present on the playground and be able to see your child(ren). If children are left unsupervised they will be asked to leave the playground immediately for safety reasons.
Nut Allergies
There are students in your child’s class who have nut allergies. A child with nut allergy can develop mild or severe reactions if they come in contact with the said allergen. Please take note of the following measures:
· Please be considerate of your child’s classmates when sending in snacks (avoid sending any nuts or nut products)
· Children should be encouraged to wash their hands before and after lunch, prior to returning to the classroom to avoid any cross-contamination.
· For any special occasions, please be reminded that any food brought in to the class should be nut free.
Password is Dragons.
Great Science videos here
Explain Everything movies
Explain Everything movies made to show the arrow way and place value tile/chip model strategies