I can't believe it is already November! We had a great first field trip to the Cobb County Safety Village. Students learned many great safety tips- be sure to ask them about it! 

We also had a Wellstar nurse come in and present a lesson on germs and how easily they can spread. Students learned some interesting hand washing tips so be sure to ask them about that as well!

In math, students have been practicing adding 2 digit numbers with the expanded form strategy, and they have been doing great with it! Next week we will move on to our measurement unit (starting with measuring in centimeters and meters), as well as learning a new subtraction strategy called adding up in chunks. You can see examples of the adding up in chunks strategy here:

We started to learn about energy and its different forms in science. Students participated in a fun science lab experiment where they saw how light energy was used to make solar cars move, solar beads change color, and even made a balloon!

For language arts and reading we have been working on compound words and sequencing. Next week we will learn about contractions and start a reading unit on story elements (setting, problem, solution, characters, etc.)

Reminder: there is no school on November 8th due to the election!

Please note for your calendar: Our Thanksgiving lunch time is scheduled for Thursday, November 17th at 11:20. On Tuesday and Wednesday Nov. 15-16, other grade levels will have their Thanksgiving lunches. That means on those days we pick up sack lunches and eat in our classrooms, so please don't make plans to eat lunch with your child on these days. 

Please read the note below from the Foundation and check out this link promoting Kids Night Out hosted by the 2nd grade teachers:

                                                    https://youtu.be/C85z5TPV4SU

Guess what?  On November 11th, Addison is hosting a Kids' Night Out!  There are 35 spots open for a Dinner and a Movie drop off event with 5 of Addison's teachers! Check out the auction site and sign up!   www.biddingowl.com/addisonelementary 

Register first with an alias user name and then place your bid on an open spot.

It's only $20 for your child to be watched, fed, and entertained for 2 1/2 hours!!

This is set up like an auction - after all 35 spots are filled at the starting bid of $20, you can be outbid...so watch out!  This is a Foundation fundraiser to continue to support the Science Lab that we love.  If you have any questions, please contact Laura Glancy at lauragpta@gmail.com

And stay tuned - on December 4th there will be a really special after school experience with Mr. Cohen - an Improv Class for 15 lucky participants! 

We made it through conference week! I want to thank everyone so much for coming out to their child's conference. The students really enjoyed sharing their progress with you, and I did as well!

We are on a great start to the 2nd nine weeks. We started a new addition strategy in math called the doubles/near doubles strategy. Basically, it teaches students that if you have a problem with two numbers close together, such as 7 + 8, you can double the smaller number and then just add 1. Most students know their doubles facts, which makes the strategy helpful with facts that are close to doubles problems. See the chart below for an idea of how the strategy works:

For Monday's science lab lesson, students got to spend some time outside and looked for signs of autumn. Every time a new season begins, we will take another walk outside and look for signs of how the seasons change.

On Wednesday one of our classmates, Garrett,  got to be Principal for the Day with his older brother. He came to our class to present the reading awards from the Fall break challenge. Garrett was a great Principal!

Friday was mismatched sock day and we had a few students participate. The class voted for the craziest socks and mostly agreed that Ronan had the craziest mismatched socks!

As far as some upcoming events, we have a lot going on! Here are a few important dates to keep in mind:

October 28th- "Boovie" Night
October 31st- Fire Safety Village Field Trip
November 4th- Fall Festival
November 11th- Movie Night (and Parents night out) hosted by 2nd grade teachers!
***This is an auction hosted by the Foundation. Bidding starts at $20 per child (grades K-5 only) and the event will take place at the school from 5:30-8:00 and students will get to watch the Peanuts Movie and have pizza, popcorn, and snacks! There are 35 slots available and I would love to see some of my students there! If you are interested in a Parent night out, please consider signing up for event here: www.biddingowl.com/addisonelementary  

I hope everyone had a great fall break- I know I did! We had a busy first week back from fall break- I have started giving students their individual reading assessments to see where their reading level is now, and I have been so impressed with the progress I have seen so far! Continue reading every night for 20 minutes (and putting it in the October reading log!) and working on the reading fluency sheet- it really does help!

Thank you so much to everyone who donated to the Foundation during the Foundation funding drive- we were one of the top 2 classes in 2nd grade with most participation of donating, so we will be getting an extra I-Pad for our class soon. This now brings us up to 3 I-pads we get to have in our class everyday-WOOHOO!!!

For math we have been counting up pennies, nickels, and dimes. Now we are starting to solve word problems with these coins, so if you have opportunities to count change at home, please do so!

This week we will be finishing up our unit on Creek and Cherokee Indians by having students compare and contrast their life today to the lives on the Creek and Cherokee in the past. Students will be comparing their clothes, food, transportation, jobs, houses, and much more!

Students had another fun (and yummy) lesson in the science lab this week. Students saw how the states of matter changed when they made their very own ice cream! No better way to start a Monday after a fall break than eating ice cream first thing in the morning!

               
                Cheering on our SLT representative Lily at the SLT Inauguration Friday morning!

We will be getting ready for conference week this week by finishing up the narratives we will be sharing, looking over our data from this quarter, and goal setting with an academic and behavior goal. This will all be shared with you when you come to the conference with your child- we cannot wait! If you have not returned your conference sheet yet, please do so as soon as possible so I can work on rescheduling conferences if needed. Thanks!

Conference week will also be Red Ribbon Week and Book Fair week, so be prepared for a fun and exciting week! Just a reminder, students are dismissed everyday at 12:15 this week.

Here is the red ribbon week schedule:

                Red Ribbon Week Theme: Happy, Healthy, Making Good Choices!

October 17-21, 2016

Red Ribbon Week is a national event that promotes drug awareness and prevention each year. At Addison, we use this week to encourage our students to make healthy choices. We hope you will support us in celebrating happy, healthy choices at home! J

Monday – “Make a pledge Monday!” to live a healthy life – Eat veggies & fruit  At the start of this nationally recognized Red Ribbon Week – Students will receive Red Ribbon Week ribbons/pencils to show that they pledge to live a healthy life! Fruits and vegetables make you feel better and improve memory so eat veggies and fruit every day! They are great snacks!

Tuesday – “Tell a joke Tuesday!” Laugh today!  Research shows that laughter reduces stress. Share a joke with your class and with your family today.

Wednesday – “Wear Red Wednesday!”  Wear red to support a healthy life!

Thursday – “Thirsty Thursday!”  Water quenches your thirst, keeps you cool, cleans out toxins in your body, and keeps your energy up! Skip sugary drinks, Drink Water!

Friday – “Fantastic Fitness Friday!”  Exercise your body today and every day because we know that exercise does a body good! Make recess a special time today. Organize a game with another class. Choose a family activity that gets you moving as you kick off the weekend!