Dear Grade 2 students and parents:

October is upon us and we have had an excellent beginning to the
year in Mr. McGaughey’s Class. Over the next two weeks, every
student in class will be finishing their wonderful Me-Box
Presentations. We are putting them into a book for all the class to
share.

Important days to remember in our class.
Monday:
Poetry books back to school, Gym- (Bring gym shoes- you do not need
special clothes)
Tuesday:
Wednesday: Dragons-Social Skills
Class (1:35-2:35)
Thursday: Gym- (Bring gym shoes- you do not
need special clothes). Library—Bring your library book.
Friday:
Art Class, Poetry books go home.

Keep up the good work with reading your weekly poems and songs with
your family. Remember: Your poetry book goes home on Friday,
and returns to school on Monday, so that we can begin our new
poems.

Thanks to all students for their participation in
the school Terry Fox Run. We had fun in our classroom counting and
rolling the coins the class donated. The Terry Fox run was exciting.

Share
and Show
Starting in mid-October, each student will have
a weekly opportunity to share one story or item that begins or ends
with a certain sound. Ie: a… as in apple or ape.
On short
weeks, we will combine Monday and Tuesday groups if there is no
school on Monday and Thursday and Friday Groups if there is no
school on Friday.

Monday: Alexis, Colter, Jaden,
Tuesday: Rebecca Brendan, Colton
Wednesday:
Jared, Shaelyn, Carter, Danny
Thursday: Jordan Sam, Chevy
Friday:
Gage, Nicholas, Simon

Share and Show Schedule
October 16- 20 f… as in finger or
leaf
October 23-27 s… as in seven or bus
October
30-November 3 m… as in monster or alarm
November 6-10 b… as
in bacon or club
November 13-17 t… as in table or light
November
20-24 d… as in day or dad
November 21-Dec1 c… as in candy
or plastic
December 4-8 a… as in apple or ape
December
11-15 e… as in eat or elf
December 18-22 No Share and show
this week

Class Website:
Mr. McGaughey will be
updating our class website at
http://par.scdsb.on.ca/classes/McGaughey on a regular basis
beginning this month. Please check it to see class news and examples
of student work.

10 Week Social Skills Program
Through
the generosity of several funding sources, the Children’s Aid
Society of Simcoe County’s School Based Early Intervention Program
is being offered to our classroom. This program is offered for one
hour per week, for ten weeks and is dedicated to exploring the
topics of respect for self and other, self-esteem, identifying
feelings, anger management, listening, problem solving, bullying and
building healthy relationships with others. The program includes the
use of videos, crafts, and role playing activities. Programs such as
this one, have been linked to improved academic achievement and
overall success in school.

We invite you to attend a short
information meeting at the school after the initial session on
Wednesday October 4. The facilitator, Carol Cooper, will be
available at that time to answer any questions you may have. The
sessions will begin on Wednesdays at 1:35 pm.

As a
caregiver, your role is paramount. Therefore, you are invited and
encouraged to attend any, or all, of the classroom sessions. We ask
that you complete the attached questionnaire to help identify any
specific needs your child may have. We will send home a similar
follow-up questionnaire at the conclusion of the program to
determine if your child’s behaviour has reflected the concepts and
skills introduced during the program. Thank you for your important
participation in this way.

If you have any questions ,
comments, or would like to discuss the program further, please
contact Debbie Helinski, Program Coordinator at: 1-705-726-6587 Ext.
402

Scholastic Book orders due Wednesday October 11

Math
Nelson Unit 2 and 4-

We are just completing a unit
exploring numbers to 50 and beyond. Students will practise skip
counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s. They will arrange objects in groups of
10 (e.g., 23 is 2 groups of 10 and 3 more) and print and read
2-digit numbers. They will represent greater numbers in many
different ways using concrete materials and visual math tools, such
as a number line and a 10-frame mat. They will also use coins to
practise skip counting and to act out pretend purchases.
Try
these activities with your child:

• Go on a Number Hunt. Have
your child look for and read numbers on houses, signs, and
billboards, or in store windows. Your child might want to draw
pictures or record numbers to share with the class.
• When
preparing a meal, ask your child to estimate how many beans there
are in the measuring cup or how many forks there are in the drawer.
Have your child check his or her estimate by counting. To practise
counting by 2s, 5s, or 10s, ask your child if there is a way to put
the items in groups to make counting easier.
• Give your child a
handful of coins and have him or her sort the coins by coin type or
value. Ask your child to total the value for each group of coins.
You could say, “You have 8 nickels. How many cents is that
altogether?”

Fort the rest of October, our focus in
math will be on addition and subtraction. Students will use
materials, drawings, and numbers to solve problems. Now and for the
rest of the school year, we will be completing activities that
encourage students to use mental math strategies to help them learn
and remember basic facts. For example, students will think about how
knowing the fact 9 + 9 = 18 can help them to figure out the answer
to the question 18 – 9 = ___.
Look for opportunities at
home to pose simple addition and subtraction problems for your child
to consider. For example, when setting the table, you might ask how
many plates altogether would be needed if you had 5 guests joining
your family for dinner. You might also compare a number of items,
such as the number of crayons and pencils on a desk. Write an
addition and subtraction sentence to describe the number of each,
for example, 8 crayons plus 3 pencils = 11; 8 crayons – 3 pencils
means we have 5 more crayons than pencils.

Try these
activities with your child:
• Play board games that involve
rolling 2 or more number cubes or dice and combining the numbers
rolled. Change the game so that players have to subtract the lower
number from the higher number before making their move.
• Work
with the numbers you see in your daily lives. Help children write
addition and subtraction facts using the numbers in license plates,
on street signs, or in your phone number, postal code, and birth
dates (e.g., the three numbers in our postal code are 4, 6, and 4,
and they add up to 14).
• Make game cards by writing the numerals
0 to 9 on scrap paper or index cards. Players take 2 cards and add
the numbers. The player with the highest total gets to keep all the
cards for that round. Play a subtraction game. Each player takes 2
cards, adds the numbers, and then draws a third card and subtracts
its value from the total. (If the value of the third card is greater
than the combined total of the first 2 cards, subtract the total of
the first 2 cards from the third card.) The player with the highest
total keeps all the cards.

Goldilock’s Rule for choosing
books

During our silent reading periods (SURF- Silent
Uninterrupted Reading Fun) I will be teaching the children how to
use Goldilock’s Rule to choose books that are “just right for them”.
Your child will also regularly bring books to read at home as
homework.

In the fairy tale "Goldilocks and the Three Bears"?
Just as Goldilocks found that some porridges were too hot or too
cold and others were just right, beginning readers often have
difficulty finding books that are "just right" and not too hard or
too easy.

When you are reading a book you can try asking
yourself these questions to help you find a book that is "just
right" for you.

Too Easy Books
A book may be
to easy for you if you’ve read it many times before, if you know and
understand almost every word, and if you can read it smoothly and
fluently without much practice or effort?

Just Right Books
As
you read ask yourself these questions. If you answer yes to most of
them then the book you are reading is probably "just right" for you.
These are the books that will help you make the most progress in
your reading. Read, enjoy and learn from the experience!
1. Is
this book new to you?
2. Do you understand most of the book?
3.
Are there a few words per page that you don’t recognize or know the
meaning to instantly? Remember to use the five finger test.
4.
Can someone help you with the book if you hit a tough spot?

Too
Hard Books
Try the 5 finger test to see if a book is too hard
for you.

1. First choose the book you think you would like to
read.
2. Find a page of text somewhere in the middle of the book
with lots of text (words) and few or no pictures.
3. Begin to
read the page. It is best to read the page aloud or in a whisper if
possible while doing the test so you can hear the places where you
have difficulty.
4. Each time you come to a word you don’t know,
hold one finger up.
5. If you have all five fingers up before you
get to the end of the page, wave the book "good-bye." It is probably
too difficult for you right now. Try it again later in the year. If
you need help finding a book, ask your teacher or librarian.
6.
If you have no fingers up when you finish the page, then the book
may be an easy read for you. Enjoy!
7. If you have less than five
fingers but more than one or two fingers up when you finish reading
the page, the book may be “just right” for what you need to grow as
a reader.

(October 10)
September News:
Mr.
McGaughey’s Class
Grade 2
I am Mr. McGaughey and I will be
your child’s grade 2 teacher this year. Some of my interests include
computers and music. I look forward to meeting you all. If you have any
concerns and would like to phone or meet with me, I can be reached at
the school at 526-2091, or you can email me at
smcgaughey@mail1.scdsb.on.ca.

1) Balanced School Day
Our school has initiated using a balanced-day
timetable this year. In our classroom, the day will usually
progress
as follows:

8:45: Entrance Bell
8:45-10:25 Language Arts
10:25-10:45: First
Nutrition Break in Classroom
10:45-11:05: Outside play on yard
11:05-12:45
Mathematics
12:45-1:10: Lunch in Classroom (Students will be able to
go home for lunch during this break).
1:10-1:35: Outside play on yard
1:35-3:15:
Science, Social Studies, Gym Art
3:15: Dismissal Bell

2) Important days to remember in our class.
Monday: Poetry books back
to school, Gym
Thursday: Library—Bring your library book, Gym-
Friday:
Poetry books go home

3) Rules for Grade 2
1. We respect teachers, other students
and their property.
2. We keep our hands, feet and objects to
ourselves.
3. We follow teacher directions the first time.
Consequences
for Grade 2

1st Time = WARNING from teacher
2nd Time = Time Out (teacher may
assign a time-out sheet)
3rd Time = Time out sheet with: Phone Call
Home, or Visit to Office, or Time out in another class
Severe Clause:
Phone call home, or parent interview. Office visit.

Please go over these rules and consequences with your child. Be aware
that if you receive a time-out sheet to sign or a phone call, that your
child has already had a warning and received 1 or 2 consequences.

4) Agendas and Homework
• Your child will be bringing home an agenda
daily, which contains their homework, upcoming assignments, and
important notices. Feel free to use the agendas to communicate with me.
I check the agendas every morning.
• Homework: Your child’s will have
a reading log to record the books read at home. There will be a few math
and spelling assignments for homework from time to time. I will send
mathematics workbooks home weekly, so you can keep track of their
progress.

5) Sending Money to School
If you are sending money to school with
your child, please put it in an envelope and indicate;
a) Your
child’s first and last name,
b) My name.
c) The amount of money
and the purpose for the money.

6) Class Website:
Over the course of the year, Mr. McGaughey and the
students will be posting announcements, examples of student work and
interesting links on our class website at
http://par.scdsb.on.ca/classes/mcgaughey/ Please check back regularly to
see what is happening in our classroom.

7) Poetry and Songs Booklet: Repeated reading of poems and songs is an
excellent way to improve reading fluency. Every other week, I will add
one or two new poems to practise in class. On Friday, your child will
bring the poetry book home to read together with family members.
Remember to return the poetry book home on Monday, so that we can begin
our new poems.

8) Scholastic Book Orders: Ordering books for your child through
Scholastic Book Clubs is a great way to encourage a love of learning,
and it also helps to provide extra resources for the classroom. I will
be sending out Scholastic order forms in the first week of each month,
and they will be due back to school about a week later. Orders are
usually delivered in one to two weeks.

9) September Math: Sorting and Patterning, For the next while, our focus
in mathematics will be learning about patterns in the environment and in
our number system. We will first focus on sorting objects by their
different attributes (shape, colour, size, and so on), then use what we
know to identify what is changing in a pattern. We will look at
repeating patterns, such as the repeating stripes in fabric or in the
arrangement of floor tiles. We will also explore number patterns that
grow, connecting these patterns to counting by 1s, 2s, 5s, and so on.
Students will begin to see connections in these patterns. For example,
if 1 item costs $3, then 2 items cost $6, 3 cost $9, and so on. Students
will use a table to analyze number patterns, because tables help to
clarify how number patterns grow. They will use calculators to extend
their number patterns. (On a calculator, try entering + 5 = = = = = and
see what happens.) This helps them to recognize the idea of a pattern
rule, and stretches their thinking beyond numbers that are familiar to
them. Students will eventually be able to use their ability to identify
and extend patterns to solve math problems. Try these activities with
your child:
• Look for patterns in the environment. Ask your child to
explain what is changing in the pattern (for example, the colour or the
shape) and how it is changing. Ask your child to tell what will come
next in the pattern.
• Use a chart like the one here to solve simple
problems about growing patterns. Your child can use a calculator to
extend the pattern as far as he or she wishes.
• Make a pattern out
of simple household items or other small items such as coins.

Have your child close his or her eyes while you remove one item. Ask
your child to guess what is missing. Following this unit, we will be
studying numbers from 1-50.

You may also want to visit the Nelson Web site at www.mathk8.nelson.com
for more suggestions to help your child with these units.

10) Getting to Know Me Box One evening during the month of September,
your child will bring home the class’ Getting to Know Me Box and
journal. Please help your child choose four objects to bring to school
which would help others learn more about themselves and their interests.
You can also assist them with writing a brief description of their
objects in the Getting to Know Me journal.

I’m looking forward to a great year teaching your child in Grade 2.

Thank you,
Mr. S. McGaughey