Happy Leap Day, everyone!

Read Across America
     In honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday, we have many events planned this week.
     Tuesday is Career Clothes Day. Wear clothing representing the career you would like to have.
     Wednesday is the official Read Across America day. It is Mismatched Clothes Day. Wear clothing that is mismatched (paisley with stripes? polka dots with paisley? whatever!) This is a day to celebrate reading. We will have some guest readers coming to class today. In the afternoon, we will have a Relax and Read time. Students can bring their favorite books from home to share with a friend.
     Thursday is our field trip. See below for details.
     Friday is Stuffed Animal Day. Students may bring ONE stuffed animal to school.

Field Trip
     Our field trip to Descanso Gardens is on Thursday--it is one of the highlights of the year. It is part of our science unit on ecosystems. 
     If you did not sign up for a cafeteria sack lunch, remember to bring your own lunch!!
     If you have Fair Oaks Ranch School spirit wear, please wear it for the field trip. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes, as we will be walking all over the Gardens.

PARENT VOLUNTEERS
     Thank you for volunteering to chaperone our exciting field trip to Descanso Gardens!
     Please be at school BEFORE the bell. Come to the classroom so I can give you your group information. We will be walking out to the bus as soon as I have taken roll. You should wear comfortable shoes, pack a lunch, and bring a water bottle.
     We will be dividing the students into four groups. Each group will be accompanied by at least one parent chaperone and a docent from the Gardens. The docent's job is to show the students around and teach them about the natural environment and plants that we will be seeing. Your job is to be sure the students in your group stay together and behave in a safe and polite manner. (No running around, no shouting, etc.) You MUST stay with your group the entire time.

Talent Show
     The talent show was SO much fun! The students loved doing their folklórico dance in front of the crowd. Mrs. Fernandez, I can't thank you enough for teaching the dance, making all those cute tutus, and providing the hair clips and bandanas. Your countless hours mean a lot to Mrs. Quitt's Cool Kids!

Accelerated Reader
     Friday, March 4 is the LAST day to take AR quizzes for this current trimester. Congratulations to all those who have worked so hard and made both their accuracy and point goals already: Sidney, Benson, Sonia, Bridget, Darin, Carissa, Grace, Zachary, Holly, and Douglas. Super close to making their goals: Kyle, Jayden, and Zoe.

Valentine's Day
     On February 11, we will be having a Valentine's Exchange. This is an optional activity for the students. If you choose to participate, please be sure to have enough valentines to include all students in the class. We have 25 students. You may send them in with or without names on them. Earlier in the week, I sent home a list of student names to help with this.

Scholastic Book Orders
     Please place your orders by February 11. Our class code is GLNHN. 
Click here to get straight to the Scholastic Reading Club site.

Presidents' Day Holidays
     Please remember that there is no school on Friday, February 12 and on Monday, February 15 in honor of Presidents' Day.

Talent Show
     The class is practicing like crazy to learn our dance for the talent show. Girls: you will be wearing a cute skirt made from tulle by our very talented room mom. Boys: you should wear jeans and a button down shirt. Instead of cowboy hats, the boys will be wearing a bandana. Everyone: if you have shoes with a hard sole, it would be best for dancing. Cowboy style boots would be great, or any shoe with a hard sole.

Classroom Assessments
     In class, we practice correct ways to answer questions about a passage. We practice every day. The methods we teach will help your student perform better on any assessment AND help with their reading comprehension.  Here are my expectations for every single time students complete an assessment:
     We teach an acronym, RACE. When answering a question, you must:
  

• Restate the question in your answer.
• Answer in a complete sentence.
• Cite evidence from the passage.
• Explain all parts of the question.

     For example:
Q: Who are the main characters in the passage?
A: The main characters in the story are Tom and Bill.

Q: What is the focus of the first paragraph?
A: The most important part of the first paragraph is to tell readers about which sports are in the Winter Games.

     Students must show me evidence (proof) of where they found the answer. That means that they need to circle or color-code the sentence or phrase in the passage that contains the answer. If you have read this far, please send in a slip of paper with your student's name and their favorite restaurant.

     Students must follow simple grade-level appropriate language conventions. That is, they must start each sentence with a capital letter and end each sentence with a period, question mark, or exclamation point. Proper nouns must be capitalized. 

Oral Language
     This month, we are asking the students to memorize a poem to recite. I sent the poems home yesterday. If you have not done so yet, please review with your student and send back the signed acknowledgment page. Help your child choose an appropriate poem. Students must bring some sort of prop (poster or other homemade item) to hold while they recite the poem.

Accelerated Reader
     Congratulations to Sidney, Luke, Benson, Sonia, Bridget, Brian, Carissa, Grace, and Darin for making their AR accuracy goal (85% or better) and personalized point goal!
     Come on, everyone, I know you can do it!! The last day this trimester to take AR quizzes is March 4, so you still have time!

Talent Show
     The class is working and practicing for our talent show folklórico dance! For the talent show, boys should wear jeans, and, if possible, a cowboy-style hat. For the girls, we will be making the cutest tutu-style skirts. If you can help with this, please send me a message.
     The talent show will have two dress rehearsals during the school day on February 26. There is also an evening performance that I hope everyone can come to. It is at 6:00 p.m.

Valentine Grams
     Valentine Grams are for sale during recess this week. Students can buy a Valentine Gram for their friends (or for themselves), which will be delivered to the classrooms next week.

100th Day
     On Friday, February 5, we are celebrating the 100th day of school. Can you believe we have been in second grade that long already? We are NOT requiring a 100th day project in our class, but you are welcome to do one and share it with us on Friday. If you have read this far, send in a slip with your student's name and the answer to 135-76.

Valentine's Day
     On February 11, we will be having a Valentine's Exchange. This is an optional activity for the students. If you choose to participate, please be sure to have enough valentines to include all students in the class. We have 25 students. You may send them in with or without names on them. I will be sending home a list of student names to help with this.

Scholastic Book Orders
     February's book order catalogs will be going home Tuesday. Please place your orders by February 11.



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