Newsletter - February 25th



Hi, everyone!  HAPPY FRIDAY!  We've made it to the end of a short but busy week!  The BEST part, of course, was Grandparents' Day on Thursday!  The children really enjoyed writing letters and making gifts for their grandmas and grandpas, and they were SOOOOO ADORABLE reciting the poem that they wrote during the show!  They had lots of fun interviewing and eating lunch with their sweet grandparents, too!  What a special time it was!

Here are some other things we did this week:
*Reading - We began a new unit all about COURAGE, and the children practiced using the reading strategies we've been learning this year while reading a piece called Molly the Brave and Me.  They did lots of silent reading, too!
*Writing - We reviewed the elements of informational writing, and the children began working on reports about the planets they chose.  We'll work more on these next week.
*Math - We did LOTS OF REVIEW this week!
*Science - We continued to graph the weather each day, and the children shared their weather instruments and experiments.  We also continued our study of outer space.
*Language Arts - We discussed parts of speech!
*Bible - We learned the story of Mary and Martha and talked about how important it is to spend time in God's Word!

Here are a few announcements/reminders:
*Friday, 2/25th – Annual Dinner at Raymond James Stadium
*Monday, 2/28th - Moon Homework Due! (I had a helper stuff Friday folders for me not too long ago, and a few people did not receive a moon homework sheet.  Please let me know if you need one!  The due date was supposed to be Monday the 28th, but just have your child turn it in whenever it's completed---it will take 16 nights to complete.  Just be sure to send it in when it's finished because it will count as a Science grade!)
***ALL NEXT WEEK WE'LL BE CELEBRATING DR. SEUSS!  WE'LL BE DOING SOMETHING SPECIAL EACH DAY!  HERE'S A LIST OF THE PLANNED ACTIVITIES:
*MONDAY - Kid in a Hat Day - Children may wear a favorite hat to school.
*TUESDAY - Fox in Socks Day - Children may wear fun, silly, crazy socks!
*WEDNESDAY - Red and White Day - Children may wear red and white clothes, socks, headbands, etc!
*THURSDAY - I'm not going to get up today day!  Children may wear PJ's to school!
*FRIDAY, 3/4th – Green Eggs and Ham Day and Dr. Seuss Celebration!
Children may come to school that day dressed to look like their favorite Dr. Seuss character.
*They may bring a favorite Dr. Seuss book to share any day this week, too!
*Also next Friday, 3/4th – Half day (On the original note that went home this date said the 11th…that was incorrect. My mistake! So sorry!)
*March 7-11 - Spring Book Fair!
*3/28th – 4/1st – SPRING BREAK!!!
*4/18th – 21st – SAT TESTING
* Friday, 4/22nd – NO SCHOOL!!! (GOOD FRIDAY! HAPPY EASTER WEEKEND!!!)
*Friday, 5/6th – Mother’s Day celebration in our classroom after chapel
*5/19th – Spring Concert – Northside Baptist Church
*5/26th – LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!! Half day for elementary!

WOW!  I can't believe I'm already planning for the last day of school...it's only a few short months away!  I want you all to know that I am having THE BEST TIME teaching your sweet children this year!  Every day each and every one of them blesses my life!  I pray that they know how very much I love them!

Have a fantastic weekend!  Have fun tonight at the Bobby Bowden Event!!!  I am so sorry to say that I won't be there because my son, Gavin, is very sick with a stomach virus.  He's been vomiting regularly since 1:00 AM, which is why I wasn't at school today.  Please pray that he'll feel better soon, and also pray that I won't catch it!

In Christ's Name
Jen Corsino

PS Our Star Author next week will be JACK T.!!!

SECRET WORD: MOON

Newsletter - February 17th

Hi!  I hope that you all had a wonderful Valentine week filled with lots of LOVE!  We had a great time in second grade!  Of course, we began this week by doing all things "Valentiney!!!"  We graphed candy hearts for math, did some Valentine fractions, practiced compound words on hearts, made glittery heart frames, and celebrated by sharing our love for one another by passing out cards and sharing goodies!  Thanks so much for all of the sweet cards and gifts that you sent in for me!!!  I felt showered with love!!!

Here are some other things we did this week:
*Science - We continued talking about weather and also began studying the solar system.  We talked about shadows and went outside to trace our shadows twice---once in the morning and once in the afternoon.  Then, we talked about how our shadows changed and why!  We also talked about why we have day and night and why we have seasons, too!
*Reading - We talked about the traits of informational writing, and we reviewed the concept of main idea and details.  We also spent lots of time silently reading and practicing making predictions.
*Writing - We wrote a poem for our grandparents, and we wrote them letters, too!
*Math - We practiced Roman numerals, counting money, measuring in centimeters and inches, multiplication, addition, and subtraction.
*Language Arts - We learned about conjunctions and interjections.
*Bible - We discussed what it means to be a FRIEND of Jesus!

Here are a few announcements and reminders:
*Friday, 2/18th – NO SCHOOL!
*Monday, 2/21st – NO SCHOOL! (President’s Day)
*Tuesday, 2/22nd – WEATHER INSTRUMENT PROJECTS DUE!!!
*Monday, 2/28th – Moon Homework Due
*Thursday, 2/24th – Grandparent’s Day
*Friday, 2/25th – Annual Dinner at Raymond James Stadium
*Friday, 3/4th – Dr. Seuss Celebration!
Children may come to school that day dressed to look like their favorite Dr. Seuss character. They may bring a favorite Dr. Seuss book to share, too!
*Friday, 3/4th – Half day (On the original note that went home this date said the 11th…that was incorrect. My mistake! So sorry!)
*3/28th – 4/1st – SPRING BREAK!!!
*4/18th – 21st – SAT TESTING
* Friday, 4/22nd – NO SCHOOL!!! (GOOD FRIDAY! HAPPY EASTER WEEKEND!!!)
*Friday, 5/6th – Mother’s Day celebration in our classroom after chapel
*5/19th – Spring Concert – Northside Baptist Church
*5/26th – LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!! Half day for elementary!

This week, I spent a lot of time thinking about this week's Bible verse: "You are my friends if you do what I command."  If we really love Jesus, we want to make him happy with our thoughts, words, and actions.  If we really love Him, we will strive to do what he tells us in His Word.  And he tells us that the most important thing is to love the Lord and love other people.

Have a FANTASTIC LONG WEEKEND!  See ya Tuesday!

In Christ's Name,
Jen Corsino

PS Next week's STAR AUTHOR will be MATTHEW!!!

SECRET WORD: FRIENDS

Newsletter - February 11th



Hi!  Happy Friday!  It's been a great week here in second grade!  We began the week with a lesson from our wonderful guest speaker, Pastor Hoeff.  He talked to us about dinosaurs and the Bible.  There's a new link at the top of this blog called "Answers in Genesis for Kids" to find out answers to questions you may have about dinosaurs and other things, too!  Then, on Wednesday, we had a fantastic time on our field trip to the Science Center!  The children learned a lot about weather and matter in a fun, hands-on way!

Here are some other things we learned this week:
*Math - We discussed liquid measurement and compared cup, pints, quarts, and gallons; we practiced telling time and counting money; we ordered numbers; we compared numbers; and we practiced math with mixed numbers.  We spent some time reviewing our addition and subtraction math facts, too, and we're beginning to learn our multiplication facts!  We also learned about line graphs and made a line graph to keep track of the daily temperature, and we made a Daily Weather Pictograph, too!
*Reading - We focused on reading informational pieces about weather this week, focusing on the strategies "Asking Questions" and "Summarizing."
*Writing - We continued learning about different kinds of poetry, and we added poems to our "Love Poem" booklets.
*Social Studies - We discussed some well-known American Presidents.
Language Arts - We reviewed capitalization rules, focusing on remembering to capitalize proper nouns, the pronoun "I," titles, and initials.
*Bible - We talked about how Jesus wants us to help other people, and we talked about the parable of the Sheep and the Goats found in Matthew 25:31-46.

Here are some announcements and reminders:
*Our Valentine Party will be NEXT  MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14TH from 12:15 to 1:30. There is a list of children in our class at the bottom of this newsletter to help your child fill out Valentine cards for the class! See the sign-up sheet on our classroom door in case you'd like to send in some goodies for this fun day! A wonderful parent sent in Valentine Boxes for each child to put their valentines in, but if your child wants to make his/her own out of a shoebox at home, that's fine, too!
*NO SCHOOL FRIDAY, 2/18TH OR MONDAY, 2/21ST!!!
*Tuesday, 2/22nd - Weather Projects Are Due!!!
*Grandparents' Day will be on THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH.
*MOON HOMEWORK is due on MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH!
*On Friday, Friday, March 4th, we will be celebrating Dr. Seuss! (March 2nd is Dr. Seuss' birthday!) Your child will have the opportunity to come to school dressed to look like a character from a Dr. Seuss book that day. I just wanted to give you a "Heads-up" so that you can be on the look-out for costumes!!!

This week, I've been thinking a lot about things that I've seen on the news that are happening in our country and in different places around the world.  It got me thinking about what Jesus says in Matthew 24:4-8: "...Watch out that no one deceives you.  For many will come in my name claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.  You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.  Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.  There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of birth pangs."

Wow.  We know that one day, Jesus will come for those who belong to Him.  The most important thing in life is knowing Him.  If any of you have any questions concerning salvation, please feel free to call me or come by and talk to me.  :o)

Have a wonderful weekend!

In Christ's Name,
Mrs. Corsino

PS Next week's Star Author will be RILEY!!!
PPS PLEASE KEEP PRACTICING THOSE ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION FACTS AT HOME!  EVERY MONDAY, WE HAVE A COMPETITION WHILE PLAYING AROUND THE WORLD!  So far, ANTHONY has been the winner, with Jack T. and Jordan close behind!!!

SECRET WORD: VALENTINE

Newsletter - February 4th



Hi, everyone!  It's been a FANTASTIC FIRST week of FEBRUARY here in second grade!  The highlight of the week was GROUNDHOG DAY on Wednesday!  On Tuesday, we predicted whether or not Punxatawney Phil would see his shadow, and on Wednesday we found out that he didn't! We also read a fun picture book about a groundhog named Phyllis, and we read a factual piece about Groundhog Day and answered some questions about it. The children also read in caves with flashlights (under their desks) just like groundhogs in their burrows!

We also had a lot of fun on Thursday learning about Chinese New Year (which began on Thursday)!  We read an informational piece teaching us all about this holiday!  Then, in Art, the children had a tea party and put on a play to celebrate!  There are pictures of this at the bottom of this newsletter!

And today we celebrated the upcoming SUPERBOWL!!!  We talked about the Roman Numeral XLV, the children predicted which team they think is going to win, and we played some math games with a football!!!
We made footballs out of construction paper and ate some snacks, too!



Here are some other things we learned this week:
*Bible - We talked about the times that the Bible tells us Jesus prayed, discussed the importance of prayer, and began learning the Lord's Prayer to a song!  We will continue to learn this song next week!
*Reading/Science - We continued to studey dinosaurs through our reading of a selection entitled Why Did the Dinosaurs Disappear?  While reading, we focused on the strategy making predictions, and we also discussed cause and effect.
*Writing - We reviewed the elements of poetry and wrote LOVE POEMS this week!  We also wrote fictional stories about Groundhog Day!  These came out GREAT!!!
*Math - We practiced adding and subtracting with regrouping, greater than/less than, reading temperatures on thermometers, fractions, identifying what fraction of a dollar different coins are, and putting numbers in order from least to greatest & greatest to least.
*Language Arts - We practiced contractions this week!  We also reviewed adjectives, adverbs, singular & plural nouns, and present & past tense linking/helping verbs.
*Social Studies - We continued to discuss the pioneers, and we worked on some map skills, too!

Here are a few reminders/announcements:
*At our faculty meeting this week, we teachers were reminded that we need to be enforcing our school's dress code---sooooo...please be sure that your child is in dress code each and every day!  Mrs. Kirkonnel will be calling parents whose children are not complying to bring the proper attire to school so that their child can change.  Thanks so much!  If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me!  :o)
*Thanks so much for sending in used books to help the 5th graders earn money for their camping trip! The sale will be next week.  The books are VERY REASONABLE, so be sure to send your child to school ON TUESDAY (our library day) with a couple of dollars to buy some GREAT BOOKS!
*Our Valentine Party will be on MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14TH from 12:15 to 1:30. There is a list of children in our class at the bottom of this newsletter to help your child fill out Valentine cards for the class! See the sign-up sheet on our classroom door in case you'd like to send in some goodies for this fun day! A wonderful parent sent in Valentine Boxes for each child to put their valentines in, but if your child wants to make his/her own out of a shoebox at home, that's fine, too!
*On Friday, March 4th, we will be celebrating Dr. Seuss! (March 2nd will be Dr. Seuss' birthday!) Your child will have the opportunity to come to school dressed to look like a character from a Dr. Seuss book that day. I just wanted to give you a "Heads-up" so that you can be on the look-out for costumes!!!
*Our FIELD TRIP to the Science Center will be NEXT WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9TH. The cost for this trip is $5.00 per student---PLEASE SEND THIS IN ASAP IF YOU HAVEN'T YET!  Thanks!  :o) We will leave school that day around 10:30 and return to school between 12:30 and 12:45. PLEASE BE SURE TO PACK YOUR CHILD A LUNCH THAT DAY AS WE'LL BE EATING WHEN WE RETURN TO SCHOOL AND HOT LUNCH WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE! We will have a small snack in the morning before we leave so the children won't feel hungry while we're there. There is no limit on how many chaperones can come with us on this trip, so if you'd like to come, we'd love to have you!!!
*Grandparents' Day will be on FEBRUARY 24TH.

Since the children and I talked a lot about prayer this week, I spent some time thinking about it.  How AWESOME it is that the King and Creator of the Universe chooses to listen to us!  No matter what concern we bring before His throne, we can be sure that He hears us and He cares. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

In Christ's Name,

Mrs. Corsino


PS NEXT WEEK'S STAR AUTHOR WILL BE AVA!!!

SECRET WORD: CHINA!!!