June

Dear Families,

The year is quickly coming to an end and we have a lot of exciting things happening in the 2nd grade.
Upcoming Events:

IA Family Night is June 7th.  There will be an optional pizza dinner at 5:00pm.  Please order your pizza with Donna in the office.  From 6:00-7:00 the students of IA will be showcasing their work, dance, and art from throughout the year.

IA Field Day is Monday, June 13th at the Allied Garden Rec. Center.  The festivities begin at 10:00am and we will return to school at 2:00pm.  The 2nd grade is putting on the 3-legged race.  We need volunteers to drive students to and from the park, as well as parents to man our game. Sign-ups are posted outside of the class.  
*If possible please send in old pillow cases with your students for the 3-legged race game.

Field trip to the Del Mar Fair is Tuesday June 14th.  Entry is free for all students and chaperones.  The students will be bringing their radishes to be judged.  Then we will spend the day exploring the exhibits and have a nice picnic lunch.

 YEARBOOKS: The yearbooks are awesome!  Donna has a copy in the front office if you would like to check one out. Order one soon as they are running out quickly.

The students have been working on two research projects.  One was a pond ecosystem project.  The students wanted to know more about where Swimmy and Tad would live if they were in the wild.  The students came up with all of the living and non-living things in a pond ecosystem and paired up to research and create a pond with the animals and plants that live in the pond.  Students also researched the water cycle and the frog life cycle.

Our pond ecosystem lives right behind Swimmy and Tad so that they can feel at home in our classroom.  Come in and check it out!  

Our second research project is an animal report.  The students chose animals to write a report about.  The students started by reading books about the different animals to make an educated decision on which animal they wanted to focus on.  The class also used our trip to the zoo as a way to do research on their animals.  They were to visit their animal and observe its physical features and behavior.  Then the students used the resources to fill out a web.  The web was a way to organize their information based on physical features, habitat, diet, predators/protection, and other interesting facts.  The students then used the web to write the report.  Some of the students were worried that their reports would leave the reader wanting more information so the class has decided to find other resources such as books and websites.  They will bring their findings into class and we will post them on this blog within the next few days.

A few months ago the class wrote letters to President Obama to express their concerns about the environment.  Some students asked Obama what he was doing to protect our resources ad others shared their ideas with the President.  Today we got a letter back!  The students were so excited to hear his letter and see the photos that he enclosed.  A copy of the President's letter will be in your student's portfolio for him/her to keep.