Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Picasso Faces

These Picasso Faces were painted by 2nd and 3rd grade students. We focused on using color and shape in abstract art to convey emotion.








Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Classroom News December 2nd

Hi to All!

I was so excited to see the students after our Thanksgiving Holiday.  I hope everyone received their Thanksgiving Acrostic poetry, written by the children.  This week many exciting things are happening in room 13.  We are working hard in math. Students are learning new geometry concepts. We used our bodies to create right angles and we are also learning how to draw 3 dimensional solids. (See the photos below)  In language arts we completed our wetland animal reports. The student research will be hanging on the wall outside of room 13 for the next two weeks.  Please stop by and read some of our work.  Finally, in science today we were very excited to do an experiment with an unknown solid and water.  We watched the chemical reaction. We will continue to explore what 'chemical reaction' means as we do more experiments with solids, liquids, and gasses. Thank you to Alexandra's mom and Jax's mom who were very very helpful in helping us complete our experiments.

On another note, book order forms were sent home on Monday.  If you are interested in ordering please do so on or before Saturday December 5th.  Last book order, our class earned 10 free books to add to our collection!  Thank you to all parents who support our class with book orders. :)

Finally, homework was sent home Monday, and will be sent home next Monday.  There will be NO homework over winter break, but please KEEP READING every night!

Thanks for all you do to support your children,
~Donna












Saturday, November 7, 2015

P.J. Day, Free Time Fun...







Halloween Highlights 2015

Pumpkin Patch Hayride

Bethany gets Mummified!


Principal "Pirate" Tom

Parade Fun






Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Classroom News, October 20

Hi to All!
Wow, it really feels like school is in full gear now!  Here are some updates for everyone:
Pumpkin Patch Field Trip October 22nd.  We will leave school at 9:00 am and return by 11:15.  Please have your child dress for the weather. We will go rain or shine.  Please send an plastic bag with your child on Thursday so they can carry their pumpkin home!  I am in the process of notifying chaperones.
Library is every Tuesday.  Please help your child remember to bring back their books each Monday or Tuesday so we can get the books returned and check out new ones!
PE is on Friday. Please remember you child should be wearing shoes appropriate for gym class every Friday.
Volunteers I am ready to welcome you when you are ready to come to class.  It is important to email if you are not able to attend because I will be planning activities around your attendance.  The best time to arrive for MATH help is 8:15 M, W, Th, F.  The best time to arrive for READING is M, Tu, Th, F  10:15-11:15.  Wednesday is not a good time to come in for reading because our schedule is so choppy.  If you would like to help with WRITING on Wednesday  please arrive at 12:00-1:00. (Writing help TOMORROW would be awesome)  Many of you signed up at back to school night.  I prefer not to list names in this email.  Please just confirm if you are still available by responding to this email.   I am so excited and happy to welcome all of you to our class.  It is already an amazing year!!!
~Donna

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Today's Firefighter Visit ~ October 13th

Today we had an exciting visit from 3 firefighters.  We talked about fire safety, having a plan if you have a fire in your home, and the importance of not hiding or being afraid of a firefighter who might be in your home to save your life.  Please enjoy these photographs of our visit.




Jog-A-Thon Fun!

Please enjoy these photographs of the Jog-a-Thon on Thursday.  It was perfect weather.  I am very impressed with the amount of laps completed by our 2nd grade students.  Don't forget to send in your pledge envelopes!  Thanks for all you do.  ~Donna










Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Wetlands Field Experience

 What an amazing trip! Great weather, wonderful parent volunteers, and stellar students.  A special thank you to Susannah and Larry our wetland guides.  We had many wonderful questions today from the students including, "If this is the wetlands, where is all the water?" Now we can get to the business of decorating our wetlands mural in the classroom. 


Monday, September 28, 2015

Classroom News September 28th


                                                         September 28, 2015
Dear Parents,
   Welcome to the third full week of school.  This week we have a couple of exciting things happening.  Tuesday is our first field experience.  The second grade is going to the West Eugene Wetlands.  It is going to be clear and cold.  PLEASE make sure your child has a warm coat as the temperature is forecasted at around 50 degrees Tuesday morning.  Wednesday evening is curriculum night.  I look forward to seeing all of you in attendance! 
   In class we are testing towers this week.  Our engineering challenge included creating a tower 45 centimeters or taller. Our towers must also pass a wind challenge. I'm hoping to get some tower pictures posted on the blog later today. It is very exciting indeed.  In science we are also beginning our study of the wetland habitat. 
   On Wednesday we will have our first class party.  Our class earned 50 points for a popcorn party!  This is a day your child will not want to miss.  
   Finally, many of you responded you wanted more homework for your child.  I have included extra pages this week. To make my process simple all homework folders are stuffed with the same pages. Please remember, if you have your own homework routines and you prefer not to have your child complete the worksheets, you may recycle the ones I have provided. Spelling homework will be explained at curriculum night. Reading is the only homework required in second grade.
Have a wonderful week,
Donna

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

West Eugene Wetlands Field Trip

I am excited to announce our first field trip of the year!  To enhance our classroom learning we are going to the West Eugene Wetlands to become wetland science explorers. This is an educational and engaging trip designed to provide hands-on, minds-on learning through explorations of the wetlands. The West Eugene Wetlands is home to a myriad of many precious plants and wildlife. During the field trip we will discuss the importance of these wetlands, their role in the ecosystem and share ways we can care for these unique habitats. On September 29th, we leave Camas Ridge at precisely 9:00 am, and return at 11:30 am.  We are in need of 5 or 6 chaperones to join in on our adventure. Please look in your child's Friday Folder for more information. :)

Next Generation Science Standards addressed in this unit of study/field experience are:
* Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.
* There are many different kinds of living things in any area, and they exist in different places on land and in water. 

Kandinsky Circles

Second grade students used warm and cool colors to create a Kandinsky Circles Tree! We used pastels so our colors would be bright. This is a wonderful collaborative art activity to start the school year.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Community Time

Welcome to the Room 6 Community Time Blog!

Welcome to the 2016-2017 school year! I am very excited for Community Time to begin.  It is always an exciting time to welcome our new 1st grade friends to our community class.  Community Time happens four times per week.  Community Time groups are made up of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. Students work together in groups on cooperative activities and social skills.  The cohort remains intact throughout a student's experience at Camas Ridge. First grade students keep the same community teacher for 5 years. We are lucky at Camas Ridge to have opportunities to build friendships across multiple grade levels, lasting 5 years!