The Toucan Squawk, Sept. 24 - 29

Hello families!  I hope everyone has enjoyed their week so far.  The students survived their first full day with a substitute!  I'm so happy they did super Monday.  Except for a mishap with math, everything was accomplished AND the substitute left a really positive note about their behavior.  I'm very proud of their positive choices!

The t-shirts are done, and they came out SO cute!  I'm looking forward to taking pictures of the kids wearing them once everyone has finished.  There are a couple which need to be painted still, but once they are done I'll be sure to take pictures.  The kids painted them last Friday, and each table had a different color- turquoise, purple, orange, and green.  A HUGE thank you goes to Mrs. John for helping with the painting!  It was awesome to have an extra set of hands to pass out paint, encourage the kids to stay in the lines, and direct traffic as they finished.

And speaking of a HUGE thank you, another one goes to Mrs. Padilla for donating the fantastic new treasure chest to the class. 

It went from this...

 

to this...

!!

It has much more space, and the kids are able to find what they want much easier.  More HUGE thank yous go to all the parents who have donated items to fill said treasure chest and for Freetime.  The kids love them and have made their shopping experience much more fun.

Thank you to everyone again for making our class feel so loved and supported!

Our field trip for the school year is coming up speedy fast- October 16th, which is the Tuesday after Fall Break. Permission slips will be going home tomorrow. Please fill out and return as soon as possible. Please also indicate if you will be able to chaperone. I'll attach a note regarding this to the slip. Depending on the space on the buses, we may need chaperones to drive their own vehicles, but hopefully we won't have to do that this time around.  For the field trip, your student will need to wear long jeans and sneakers. We'll be doing a lot of walking, especially through the corn maze and when choosing the pumpkins from the field. A jacket or sweater is also suggested. This can be tied around their waist when it's not needed. Students will also need to bring their own lunch, as they will be having lunch there at the farm.  Students are invited to wear their toucan shirts, but it's by no means a must- just a fun suggestion.  It's SUCH an exciting trip, and they'll sure to be wiped out when we return!

This week, we are reviewing double digit addition with and without regrouping, as well introducing double digit subtractiong with and without regrouping. It went surprisingly well today, so knock on wood it will continue to be as smooth. We tried using the manipulatives, Base Ten blocks, but I honestly think that may have been even more confusing for some of the students. We'll continue using them, but some may realize they won't need them anymore as they are working through the concept. We are also starting a new science experiment, surface tension with putting water on coins. It's a pretty neat experiment, and the kiddos will surely like it.


News
Sept. 26                 Teacher in-service, 1/2 day early release at 11:30.
Oct. 5                     1/2 day early release at 11:30.
Oct. 8                     Columbus Day, no school.
Oct. 8 - 12             Fall Break, no school.
Oct. 19                   Report Cards go home.
Oct. 31                   Teacher in-service, 1/2 day early release at 11:30

Birthdays
Sept. 28 Hawkins
Oct. 24 Isaiah
 
Thank you for all you do!

Elizabeth Townsend
PDS
Second Grade
elizabeth.townsend@svps.k12.az.us