Reminders

Please be sure to send your child to school with sneakers so they can participate in Physical Education class. Please remember to label all items including water bottles and lunch boxes. If your child does not already know, please have them practice tying their shoes and zipping their coats. Last, please provide a nutritious snack each day.

Reading Workshop

In Reading HMH, we will be starting Module 6, Home of the Free and the Brave. In this Module we will read about some of greatest leaders and discover our unique symbols. Students learn that we all contribute to making the USA special.

Writing

In Writing HMH, we will start writing informational, “How To” books. We will focus on topics we know a lot about, and we will teach readers how to do something step by step.

Math

In Math we will continue to explore Addition and Subtraction. We will begin to explore, count, compose and decompose numbers to 20. We will be working with 10 frames and manipulatives. 

Science

Our kindergarten Scientists will begin a new unit called Weather and Sunlight. They will study the many effects of weather including how the sun warms the earth. 

Social Studies

In Social Studies students will learn about important leaders of our country and learn about leaders within our state. The second part of the month the students will learn about their neighborhoods and the unique qualities within it. 

Sel/Equity 

This month students will continue to celebrate diversity and understand that we should have respect for all. In addition, we will learn about Famous American Women in History this month.

Important Dates

Civics Week         3/11-3/15

Reminders

* Please check your child’s homework notebook and folder every night. Please be sure that your child completes all homework assignments. Your child should be reading every night and practicing their sight words for the week.

*Please check Konstella for any school-wide updates.

Reading 

This month, we will be beginning Module 6. In this module, children will be thinking about the essential questions, “What do holidays and symbols tell about our country?” We will be using nonfiction texts, realistic fictions, poems and drama to learn all about American holidays and symbols. 

Writing

This month, we will be beginning Module 6. In this module, children will be writing personal narratives. We will be working on organizing a narrative story across several pages to show what happened in the beginning, middle and end. We will also work on adding more detailed illustrations to make our stories sound more interesting. 

Math

In Math, we will begin Topic 9&10. In this topic, we will be working on comparing two-digit numbers and using models and strategies to add tens and ones. 

Science

In Science, we are working on Light and Sound. Students will be using lots of hands on activities to explore more about this topic.

Social Studies

In Social Studies we are still focusing on communities. Students will learn and answer the following questions: How can people help the community? How can responsible citizens help change rules and laws? How can protecting the environment help our communities? 

Upcoming Events

*Spring Picture Day will be on Tuesday, March 26 and Wednesday, March 27, 2024.

*School is closed on March 29 and April 1 for Easter weekend. 

SEL/Equity Corner

In class, we will be reading different books from our “Mindset Monday” collection to discuss different topics such as RESILIENCE, PERSISTENCE, OPTIMISM, and FLEXIBILITY. We will be reading books related to those topics and discussing about how we can be the best ME.

Reminders

* Check your student’s Homework Folder daily. Please check Konstella daily too.

* Encourage your child to try their best on all homework activities. 

* Make sure your child comes to school prepared with a charged device.

Reading 

At the beginning of the month, second grade focused on the essential question: How does weather affect us?  We listened to and read stories about weather.  We focused on making inferences, identifying cause and effect, making connections, identifying points of view and describing text features.  In the middle of the month, we began Module 7, which focuses on important people and how experiences shape our lives. We continue to practice a variety of reading skills in each module in order to help monitor for sense and comprehension.  We will continue to work on building our reading stamina and fluency.  

Writing

We started the month writing poetry about weather.  Students learned different elements of poetry and added a variety of sound patterns to their weather poems including rhyme, alliteration and onomatopoeias. We went through the writing process by planning, drafting, revising, editing and publishing. In the middle of the month, we begin Module 7 where we will write imaginative stories and focus on character development.

Math

During the month, we learned different strategies for adding and subtracting 3 digit numbers. We will continue to build our number sense and work on problem solving. We will then move to clocks and money.

Science

Our 2nd grader will continue their work as glue engineers trying to create the stickiest and strongest glue possible. They will continue to explore the properties of different ingredients and how properties can change through heating, cooling and mixing. They will be using hands-on investigation, books and video as they investigate this challenge. 

Social Studies

Students are learning about geography and maps. We are also exploring how geography influences where people live. In addition, we are learning cardinal and intermediate directions. Later in the month, we will begin to learn about the timeline of New York City.

SEL/Equity Corner

We had Civics for All week this month, where we talked about the importance of using our voice and discussed that our voice matters. In addition, we are engaging in activities about being flexible and resilient, as well as what it means to persevere.  

Upcoming Events

March 29 and April 1- SCHOOL CLOSED for Easter Break

April 10 – SCHOOL CLOSED for Eid-al-Fitr

April 12- Field Trip

April 22 – April 30 – SCHOOL CLOSED for Spring Break

Reminders

Check your child’s homework folder daily

Make sure your child has sharpened pencils

Check Konstella messages regularly

Please send your child to school by 8AM

Reading Workshop

We will be finishing up HMH Module 6: Animal Behaviors and moving on to Module 7: Make a Difference. In Module 7, we will discuss people that help make their communities better and stronger.  We will focus on reading narrative nonfiction and read texts about individuals or groups that make a difference in their local or global communities. We will also continue to learn about spelling through our Fundations units. 

Writing

In writing, we will finish writing our expository essays that discuss the special skills of animals to survive outdoors throughout the year. In Module 7, we will write expository essays that explain how one person can have an impact and make a meaningful difference in a community. 

Math

We will work closely with addition and subtraction, as well as lift the level of our multiplication skills. We will also continue to strengthen our abilities to have discussions around math and solve problems using different strategies.

Science

How do organisms get their traits? This is an unspoken question that underlies things many of us wonder about beginning at an early age, such as Why does my sibling have curly hair whereas mine is straight? How come I am shorter than others in my family? Why is my sister a faster runner than I am? In the Inheritance and Traits: Variation in Wolves unit, students dive deep into exploring patterns in the traits of organisms to answer the question of how those traits come to be. Students assume the role of wildlife biologists helping a class of students near the fictional Graystone National Park to solve the mystery of Wolf 44—a wolf they have observed to be different from the rest of its pack, which serves as the anchor phenomenon for the unit. As wildlife biologists, students work to figure out how Wolf 44 got its traits.

People have many misconceptions about how organisms get their traits and about the role that inherited information and environmental factors play in determining variation in the traits of organisms. This unit addresses these concepts directly by providing numerous opportunities for students to construct an accurate understanding of the influences that inheritance and the environment play in determining organisms’ traits.

Social Studies

We will continue exploring Egypt.  We will learn about the geography of Egypt as well as Egyptian culture, the wonder of the pyramids, and hieroglyphics. 

SEL/Equity Corner

We will focus on the idea of being a superhero in our daily lives.  We will discuss the different people in our lives who are superheroes such as our parents, teachers, neighbors, and friends. We will learn that being dependable, kind, and encouraging are ways to be superheroes.  You don’t have to wear a cape to be a real life superhero! 

Upcoming Events

Week of March 4- Book Fair

March 4- School Spirit Day- Rainbow Day

March 7- Half Day, Parent-Teacher Conferences

March 8- SEL Day

March 18- Third Grade Field Trip to Arts on Stage NY

March 29- 4/1- Easter Weekend, School Closed

Reminders

School starts at 8:00 A.M. Please have your child in the building at 8:00 A.M, ready for 1st period to begin.

Students receive homework each day from Monday through Thursday. Please make sure that your child is completing their daily homework which includes digital math homework and 20-30 minutes of reading each day. No homework on Fridays! 

Please make sure you check your child’s folder each night for notices. Please also clear out folders weekly so students can be more organized.

Reading Workshop

Students are working on Module 7 within the HMH reading curriculum. Students will listen to, read, and view a variety of text and media that present them with information about traditional tales. Students will focus on traditional stories that provide opportunities for identifying central ideas, figurative language, and media techniques in order to better understand unfamiliar texts. 

Writing

Students will continue working on module 5 of the HMH writing curriculum for one more week. The genre focus in  module 6 is informational text.  The focus statement is the following: Earth’s natural wonders can teach us a great deal. Students will study a book called “Coral Reefs” by Jason Chin and think about some of the natural wonders they may be interested in. The writing style will be in the form of a letter. The task will be to write a letter to an expert in the field they are interested in, asking for more information. They will use formal language to show the knowledge they already have on their topic. As always, they will draft, revise, edit, and publish their writing pieces. Students will also explore comparative writing where they will read two texts and write about them. 

Math

 Topic 9 will be about adding and subtracting fractions with like and unlike denominators. This topic will also touch upon mixed numbers. Students will also learn how to read and draw line plots as well as learn to solve problems regarding time. 

Science

Over the course of this unit, students investigate the role that animal senses, primarily vision, play in survival as they try to understand a realistic fictional problem with a real organism. They investigate why there is a decline in the number of Tokay geckos living in one area of a rainforest in the Philippines. Humans change the environments in which we live in many ways— often these changes affect other species’ survival in unanticipated ways. Throughout their investigations, students use an interactive digital simulation that allows them to explore two key ideas: how light travels in a way that allows an animal to see and how an animal’s internal structures work together to process information and form an image the animal can recognize. In addition, students engage in hands-on activities, reading, and discourse as they learn how animal eyes function, discovering that some animals see well in bright light and others see well in low light.

Social Studies

We will continue focusing on Native Americans in New York. We will look at how Native American cultures in New York organized their families and communities, how roles, responsibilities, and power were defined in the Native American government, and how Native American cultures influenced and contributed to the development of New York and the United States.

SEL/Equity Corner

We are continuing to build our classroom community through read alouds, games, morning meetings, and classroom discussions. In honor of Women’s History mMonth, this month’s Mindset Monday books will highlight superheroes that exist in our world today and in the past. We will also focus on the power of resilience. Students continue to share their feelings with their classmates each day by referring to the mood meter.  We are pushing ourselves to be specific with words that describe our feelings. This has been helping our students strengthen their vocabulary so they can better express their emotions and how they feel. We encourage you to talk to your children about their feelings each day.

Upcoming Events

March 6 - PTA Meeting 

March 7 -  ½ Day and Parent Teachers Conference 

March 19 - First day of Spring

March 20 and 21 -  Spring Concert and Show

March 26 and 27 -  Spring Picture Day 

March 26 - Parent Workshop: Testing

March 29 - April 1 -  No School - Good Friday

Reminders: 

● Please check Konstella for important messages from the school and your student’s teacher.

● Students should have sharpened pencils daily.

● Students are encouraged to bring a sweater or sweatshirt if they are cold and a water bottle daily.  

● Students should bring their fully charged electronic devices daily. Please have the software/operating system updated and ready to use. If a device is needed, please request to Odalis Diaz Robles, our Parent Coordinator.

Reading Workshop

Module 6: Students will continue Module 6 where they will listen to, read, and view a variety of texts and media that present them with information about how people create and share different art forms. 

Module 7: Students will begin Module 7 where they will listen to, read, and view a variety of texts and media that present them with information about what role does curiosity play in exploration. Students will learn about land, sea, and space exploration  Students will also apply their knowledge of text features as they encounter biography, autobiography, and informational text in this module. 

Writing Workshop

Module 6: Students will continue to write a personal narrative.

Module 7: Students will begin to write a research report about an invention that they like. Students will learn to form a hypothesis and follow the research as they develop their report. 

Math

· In Topic 12, students will learn measurement units and how they are converted in customary and metric systems. 

· In Topic 13, students will learn how to solve expressions and equations of multiple operations. Students will learn about Order of Operations and how to solve equations with variables accurately. 

Social Studies: 

Students will be working on their Take Action Project. They will use the fund raised from the bake sale to support Bobbi and the Strays, a non-profit organization that rescues and provides care for animals. 

Science: 

In this unit, students take on the role of food scientists working in a lab for a large food-production company. They engage in two investigations, one to identify a potentially hazardous food dye in a mixture, and the other to create a good-tasting and visually appealing salad dressing that does not separate into layers and contains no sediment. Both investigations offer the opportunity for students to delve deeply into understanding the particulate nature of matter and to apply it to explain phenomena at the macroscale (the observable scale). Students engage in hands-on experiences in which they observe phenomena and then use two apps to investigate those phenomena at the nanoscale (the molecular level)—the Modeling Matter Diagramming Tool, which enables students to create models of what they think might be happening at the nanoscale; and the Modeling Matter Simulation, a dynamic model that enables students to explore what happens when different kinds of particles are mixed, to make and test their predictions, and to gather evidence to support their emerging understanding. By the end of the unit, students will understand that there is a connection between the observable properties of materials and the properties of the molecules of which those materials are composed. Students will also be able to explain a variety of things that can happen when two substances are mixed, at both the observable scale and the nanoscale.

SEL/Equity Corner

March is Women’s History Month and Disabilities Awareness Month. 

Important Dates:

● March 4th : Spirit Day: Rainbow/Tie Dye, Basketball Home Game 

● March 6th: Basketball Home Game

● March 7th : Afternoon and Evening Parent Teacher Conferences (11:20 dismissal)

                   Online access to Report Card

● March 10th : Daylight Saving Time

● March 12th : Fifth Grade Cap & Gown 

● March 14th : Art/Science Night 

● March 15th : Senior Take Action Bake Sale 

● March 21st:  Spring Show (4:30-5:30pm)

● March 26-27th : Spring Picture Days  

● March 28th : Staff/Parents Volleyball 

● March 29th : Easter Weekend (school closed)