January 20th - 24th

Our class loves to write! They like to share writing on our blogs and they like to write in their fancy journals. Kids have been asking to write with a buddy so I created a new cycle in Daily 5 called Buddy Writing.  Here is a snapshot of what this looks like in our classroom.  We will see what kind of pieces they come up with.  I am happy that they are all engaged in writing!

We are studying word families in our classroom and students are learning how words work.  One thing that I have students do is to "try three before they ask me".   You can use this saying at home when they are working on writing.  Many times they get the word right just by trying!

In health we are learning about healthy snacking and the importance of drinking water.  We measured out sugar amounts in different drinks.  Here is a picture of what we discovered.

Here are a few more snapshots from our classroom this week!

Our school had a Guess the Reader contest.
Students had to pick the staff member that read the book. 

We had a few indoor recesses this week.
Everyone loves writing on the whiteboard. 

Ammar made a cool board game at home. 

Here is a cupcake visual board we have
been using in class to discuss our work.  

We started using the Ipads to listen to reading. 

Upcoming Dates
January 27th-29th: Start bringing books to school for the book swap!
January 28th: Our guide for our outdoor trip will be coming to meet with us.
January 30th: Book Swap
January 31st: NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS (PD day for teachers)
February 6th: Outdoor Adventure to Boggy Creek (10:15 - 3:15)

January 13th - 17th

This week we started blogging!  At the beginning of the week we worked on our sloppy copies in our writing folders. On Thursday we learned how to blog and on Friday we spent time reading and commenting on other student blogs. You can check out our student blogs here.  Please feel free to leave comments.  All blogs and comments will get sent to my email for approval before they are published. 

We have started to research healthy snacking habits.  Students are working together to create a presentation. Students are working in groups and have called themselves Team Food, Holy Guacamole!, Snacktastic, Bird Brains, and Foodtastc.  Stay tuned for these amazing presentations!

On Friday we had a guest named Mike Brady come to the gym.  He brought along a whole bunch of wheelchairs and everyone had the chance to play Freeze Tag and have races.  Students learned the importance of wearing a seatbelt.

Please write the word monkey in your child's agenda so that I know you have read this!

Upcoming Dates:

Monday January 20th: Please return Readathon logs
Tuesday January 28th: Our guide for our outdoor trip will be coming to meet with us!
Thursday January 30th: Bookswap
Thursday February 6th: Outdoor Fieldtrip

January 6th - January 9th, 2014

I would like to start off by thanking you for all the of the emails and welcome back notes.  Our week couldn't have gone any better!  I am missing a few email addresses so please send those to me as soon as you can.  

This week we reviewed classroom expectations and continued on with Daily 5.  Everyone has been working extremely hard and I am so impressed!  We have had a few indoor recesses this week but I have kept them busy exercising in the classroom and on the walking track.  We started to read the book Miss. Daisy is Crazy and everyone seems to be enjoying it.  We are going to be doing a lot of writing this term.  We made some writing folders and I gave everyone a special journal to write in. 

I have introduced PWIM (picture word inductive model) in our classroom.  PWIM is where we use a large picture and “shake” out words.  We practice spelling the words orally and we also sort them.  We find patterns in other words and categorize and classify them.  We make sentences about the picture and sort those into paragraphs. This week we shook out the words and have been using the Icardsort app to sort them.  

In math we have started Unit 3: Addition and Subtraction to 18.  I will be using something called Explore Plus 4 in math which is a structure like Daily 5.  Students will be working on different activities in small math groups. I will work with one group while the other groups will be working on games, MOMO (math on my own), math talk, or math with someone.  This week we learned a few math games with ten frames such as Go Fish and Face Off.   I will teach your child a few addition and subtraction card games so that you can play them at home to help them practice their facts. 

This week we talked about getting started with Genius Hour projects during Fun Friday.  Students pick something to learn, create or do.  They then research, explore, and work on their topic at this time.  I am sure you will hear your child talk about Genius Hour soon.  Some have many ideas and some need help coming up with something.  The idea needs to be one that your child is passionate and excited about!  We will start student blogs about our Genius Hour journeys soon!  We watched a video called Caine's Arcade to get us excited about our projects.

Please email me at shannon.sanchuck@rbe.sk.ca if you have any questions or concerns about what is going on in the classroom. 

Upcoming dates: 
Wednesday January 15th: Book orders due
Thursday January 30th: Book Swap (send your used books January 27th, 28th, 29th and exchange them for new books on January 30th)
Thursday February 6th: Outdoor Field Trip to Boggy Creek (note will be sent home the week of the 20th)

January 2014

 Hello Grade 2 Families,

I am so excited to be returning to Jack MacKenzie School after my education leave.  I learned a lot of new and exciting things at the U of R, but I sure missed working with kids every day!  I have been teaching with Regina Public Schools for 13 years and this is my 8th year as a grade 2 teacher.  Grade 2 has always been one of my favourite grades!

Ms.Cameron and I have been in touch over the holidays and I hope to make this transition as smooth as possible for our class.  I have read your the letters that you wrote about your child in September and I'm so excited to get to know them. (If you didn't get the chance to send a letter, you can still do so.)  I have many interesting things planned so hopefully your child will feel excited about coming to school.  I am thrilled to share the rest of the school year with your child.  I am committed to providing your child with a quality education in a safe and caring learning environment.  My wish is to make the rest of our year one for your child to remember-a time of growth, discovery, and new experiences- a time filled with questions, fun, and learning!

We are kicking the year off with a Nutrition unit in Health, an outdoor adventure on February 6th, Genius Hour on Fridays, PWIM (picture word induction model as part of our wordwork/spelling), blogging and new writing folders!  I will send home more information about each of these things soon.

I will update our classroom blog on Friday.  My blog address is http://mrssanchuck.blogspot.ca/.  Please check it out to see all of the wonderful things we are doing in grade 2!

Please send your email address to shannon.sanchuck@rbe.sk.ca by this Friday.  You can let me know if you don't have email access by writing a note in your child's agenda.  I check my email daily so please email if you have any questions or concerns.  I may not get a chance to respond during our school day but I will respond to you after school.

In case you were wondering, here is the link to Ms. Cameron's blog. 

I'm looking forward to getting to know you and your child!
Mrs. Shannon Sanchuck

June 3rd - June 7th

We had a fabulous time during our school Suessical week!  We read lots of Dr. Suess books and made our own character and setting with the "thinks" that we thought.  We got to see the school production on Thursday and it was amazing!

Upcoming Dates:
Thursday June 13th: LAST FREEZIE FRIDAY
Friday June 14th: No School - PD DAY
Monday June 17th: Whole School Photo at 9:45; Swimming at Massey Pool from 1-2
Tuesday June 18th: Playday in the morning
Thursday June 20th: Splash Park Presentation at 11:00 am; Swimming at Massey Pool from 1-2.
Wednesday June 26th: Splash Park Field Trip; 2:30 Dismissal

May 27th -31st

This week we finished swimming lessons.  Thank you to all of our parent volunteers.

 We are getting ready for Seussical Week at our school.  Mr. Clarke came in and read us a story.

Our SCC put on a fabulous pancake breakfast.   The proceeds went towards our grade 2 splash park project!  We made $250 with the pancake sales!

We had some students come out from the university to teach us some science.  We made all different colours of flubber.

Next week:
Monday: Polka Dot/Stripe Day
Tuesday: Who Hair Day/ Bake Sale $1.00
Wednesday: Crazy Colour Day
Thursday:  Favourite Character Day/ We will be attending the musical in the afternoon
Friday: Freezie Friday

May 14th - May 24th

We have been having lots of fun with swimming lessons.  Thank you to our wonderful parent helpers.  In the classroom we have been busy writing about our swimming experiences. 

In math we have completed our unit on Data Analysis.  We will be working on a Measurement unit and a Geometry unit to complete our year.  In addition to this, we are still working on Addition and Subtraction to 100.   You can keep working on addition and subtraction facts at home with your child.  Knowing their facts from 1-18 is important.

Our Freezie sales are going really well.  Proceeds from the May 16th Fun in the Sun dance canteen will also go towards our splash park project.  We will be presenting our cheque to the community at the future home of the splash park on June 20th at 11:00.   The grade 2 classes from W.F. Ready School and W.S. Hawrylak will also be there.  You are welcome to come if you would like!

We are finalizing a few dates for June and I will send home a note regarding our June activities.  We have a Suessical Musical, outdoor swimming, playday and splash park fun coming up!  Plus we have all of our other learning too!  We will continue to work on our Nutrition unit for theme. June will be a fun filled busy month for us!

Upcoming Dates:
Monday May 27th - Swimming Lessons
Wednesday May 29th - LAST Swimming Lesson
Friday May 31st -
Pancake Breakfast (7:30 am - 8:30 am)
Flubber Making with some university students
Freezie Friday