May 7th News

Welcome back!! Coming off the vacation week, the Owls settled right back into their 2H routine! With only 36 days left (now 31!), we got right to work!

A little sunshine through all the rain!

Highlights from our week:

*Math: While we continued our work on multi-digit addition (we're almost ready for subtraction!), we had the most fun this week starting: Reflex! Reflex is a math fact program aiding in mastery of addition and subtraction facts (a crucial skill for 3rd grade!). Reflex can be accessed using a computer or tablet. Login information was sent home early last week. Let me know if you have any questions! This was a HUGE hit at school so kids should  be excited to use at home as well. Reflex could replace the use of IXL for the remainder of our year (although using both is just as great!).

*Reading: We've begun our final, major reading unit of the year. This unit, Series Book Clubs, pushes children to follow books through a series getting to know the characters (who are the stars of their books!). I've been beyond impressed with their engagement, stamina, and participation in this unit---and we've only just begun! Ask your child about the series they've been reading in class. Hopefully they can tell you lots about it! :)

*Science: As our in-class plants continue to grow (or not grow depending on their variable!), we spent the week looking more closely at pollination. Our young scientists also began partaking in their latest engineering challenge. Using a unit called The Best of Bugs: Designing Hand Pollinators, the Owls heard about the story Mariana Becomes a Butterfly. In this story, the main character has a plant that is not being pollinated. In attempt to solve this problem, the character then designs a hand pollinator so she can pollinate the plant, thus helping the plant reproduce. Working in partnerships, our second graders experimented with different materials to find out which ones picked up the most "pollen" AND dropped off the most "pollen". Using their results, this upcoming week, they will be challenged to design their own hand pollinators. Good luck, Engineers!

 On Friday, Richard was excited to share some outside learning he did! He did a great job explaining cross-pollination. Thanks, Richard (& family!) for sharing such super learning with our class!

*Writing: Our poets continue exploring the genre of poetry. This week, we experimented with repetition and mood as we continued to write poems. We also got a chance to read the poems we wrote before the April vacation inspired by Dr. Seuss' book My Many Colored Days.

After drafting a few more poems, the Owls will then pick which poem they'd like to publish in our classroom anthology. It's an exciting decision to make!

*Scholastic Book Order: May book orders were sent home last week (along with a coupon for a free book with any $5 purchase!). As always, Scholastic's full catalog is available online. Orders are due Monday, May 8th.

Have a great weekend!

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Coming Up (Lots, and lots and lots of things!):

-Wellness Walk: Wednesday, May 10th, 1:30pm (Feel free to meet us in the bus loop and join us on the walk! We also plan to join our 5L reading buddies!)

-Bike to School Day: Friday, May 12th-Early Release: Wednesday, May 17th
-SMS Maker Fest & Spring Art Show: Thursday, May 18th

-Memorial Day, No School: Monday, May 29th

-Musical Dress Rehearsal: Tuesday, May 30th (school performance)

-Plant Musical: Wednesday, May 31st, 6:30pm

-Volunteer Appreciation Day: Friday, June 2nd

-Grand Luncheon: Monday, June 5th
-Field Day: Friday, June 9th

-Great Bay Field Trip: Monday, June 12th.
-Stratham Hill Park End of Year Grade 2 Picnic: Monday, June 19th
-Last Day of School: Tuesday, June 20th

Mark your Calendars! End of the Year Dates & Reminders

Hello, Owl Families!

Can you believe our fabulous year is approaching its end? As I ALWAYS tell our class---time sure flies when you're having fun! The end of the year is filled with many exciting "happenings". Here is a list of upcoming events and pertinent information to help keep our last weeks organized (I'll post this email to our blog as well):

Wed. May 10th- Wellness Walk: We will have an all-school wellness walk up Gifford Farm Road at 1:30 pm. While we'll be walking with our 5th grade reading buddies, you're welcome to join us as well! Just meet us at the front of the school in the bus loop around 1:25.

Fri. May 12th- Bike to School Day: Students can walk, bike, scooter, skateboard, or roller blade to school! Want to avoid riding on a busy road? Families are welcome to park at Stratham Hill Park and ride the trails from there! Please be sure to return the permission slip if your child is planning on participating (it makes dismissal time much easier!)

Wed. May 17th- Early Release Day: students will be dismissed at 12:50 pm. 

Thurs. May 18th- MakerFest and Art Show: Everyone is welcome to join us for our annual MakerFest and Art Show in the Cafeteria from 3:30-6:30 pm. Projects can be brought in that morning by students or can be dropped off by parents after 1:30 pm. The MakerFest and Art Show will run through Friday morning.

Tues. May 30th and Wed. May 31st- "Can't Stop The Seedling" 2nd Grade Musical: Students will put on the dress rehearsal of our play during the school day on May 30th and will perform our play for families on May 31st starting at 6:30 pm in the cafeteria. Students should be dropped off in our classroom at 6:15 pm. More information will be coming home about the play over the next few days.

Fri. June 2nd- Volunteer Appreciation Day and 1-2-3 Fun Run: All parent volunteers are welcome to join us for a "Thank You" assembly in the Gym at 8:45 am so we can thank you for all that you do for our classroom and school! That afternoon, teachers, parents, and students are welcome to run or walk 1,2, or 3 miles around SMS and Stratham Hill Park at 5:30 pm. Following the run, there will be a BBQ, Dunk Tank, Snow Cones, and a Dance Party! 

Monday, June 5th- Grand Luncheon: Grandparents and friends of SMS students are invited to join us for our annual Grand Luncheon. The lunch schedule is TBD.

Monday, June 12th: Field Trip to Great Bay Discovery Center: We will be going on our annual field trip to Great Bay Discovery Center. We will arrive at Great Bay at 9:00 am to spend the morning there. There are no limit on chaperons for this trip, so if you're interested, you're welcome to join us! We ask chaperons to meet us at the Discovery Center on Depot Rd. This field trip happens rain or shine, so please dress appropriately (including sunscreen and bug spray). Good walking shoes are a must! (NOTE: 2H is traveling with 2R and 2S that day---2D and 2A will be visiting the Discovery Center on Monday, June 5th.) 

Friday, June 9th: Field Day: It's everyone's favorite day of the year! Students need to wear sneakers and may want to bring a change of clothes. The water games can leave them awfully wet!

Monday, June 19th: End of Year Picnic at Stratham Hill Park: All second grade classrooms will be hiking through the trails from SMS to Stratham Hill Park for an end-of-the-year picnic and day of fun! We will arrive at the park around 10:00am and we will be leaving at 1:30pm. Our picnic and end-of-year "celebration" will be held from 12:00-1:00pm.  Families and Friends are welcome to join us for any and all parts of the day!

Tuesday, June 20th: Last Day of School: It is bittersweet to send these wonderful children off to third grade. I'm incredibly sad to see them go, but know they are more than ready. Each child has made remarkable growth, not only academically, but also socially and emotionally. I'm so proud of the little people they are growing up and becoming! We will enjoy this last and final day together as a class.

Please let me know if you have ANY questions. More information will be provided for each event as we get closer. 

Thanks!

WILDLIFE ENCOUNTERS Comes BACK!

Last Thursday, the entire second grade was treated to an encore presentation from Wildlife Encounters. Again, this wonderful organization brought several animals to SMS, this time with a focus on how animals contribute to the plants of our ecosystem.

The first animal we were introduced to was an amphibian. The WHITE TREE FROG is responsible for eating insects that would otherwise harm plants. Found in Australia, the White Tree Frog, actually isn't white at all! It can be found in shades of back, brown, or even purple!

Once the frog was placed back in its container, Kirby introduced us to a familiar animal: the SIX-BANDED ARMADILLO! In the fall, we met a three-banded armadillo, but unlike that interesting animal, Tatu and other six-banded armadillos cannot role up into a ball (they have too much flubber on their bellies!). Tatu also has the important job of pest control. Searching for termites and worms, he gives the soil a good mixing while digging for his food. 

Although covered in scales, the armadillo is actually a mammal! It has hair, delivers live young, and is warm-blooded making it the only shelled mammal! 

Once Tatu was placed safely back into his cage, Kirby and Kat brought out another familiar critter: a MINI-LOP BUNNY named Iris. This cuddly, sweet animal originates from Holland and is a seed disperser. She eats the seeds of fruits and vegetables, hops away, and then poops the seed out in a new location.

Black bunnies often don't survive in the wild as they can't rely on camouflage for protection.

After Iris went back in her cage, we were introduced to a second grade favorite: THE NORTH AMERICAN PORCUPINE. Hollywood was a crowd-pleaser from the start and was happy to show off his ability to snatch peanuts for a delicious snack! Porcupines are great climbers and are often found in trees. Porcupines have extremely poor vision and are very slow moving, which would cause them to be quite defenseless without their quills (although fisher cats have quickly discovered that porcupines have no quills on their bellies!). Porcupines are strictly herbivores and are also seed disperses and are responsible for the spreading of many tree seeds. 

Kirby demonstrated what strong climbers porcupines can be! As they are largely nocturnal, porcupines can often be found sleeping in trees during the day.

Hollywood is shedding his thick, winter coat! He left us a present of fur and quills to study further after he left :)

While we were sad to say goodbye to Hollywood, we enjoyed meeting the next animal: Grumpy Gus, the ARGUS MONITOR LIZARD. This Australian animal is another animal responsible for insect control. Its large throat pouch, loud hissing sound, and ability to stand on its back legs makes it appear big and scary to its predators. While we didn't get to see him standing on his back legs, we were able to hear his hissing noises when we listened carefully.

Grumpy Gus still has a scar from an injury he received before he was rescued by Wildlife Encounters.

The final animal we were introduced to, which holds a special place in my heart, was a CHINCHILLA! Native to the Andes Mountain Range, these animals are their own farmers! They have the ability to grow their own food! Living in a volcanic habitat, their food source is often wiped out by lava flow. To rebuild their home, chinchillas hop down the mountains, eat plants, hop back up the mountain, poop (up to 50 times a day!) and use their large back feed to "plant" the discarded seeds. Pretty impressive for little balls of fluff!

After meeting this chinchilla, I was excited to share with our class that I used to be the owner of a pet chinchilla! While I would not recommend having a chinchilla as a pet (they are very active, social animals who require a LOT of attention!), Willy was a wonderful addition to my home for a very long time!

Again, after the presentation was complete and we had met all of Kirby and Kat's animal friends, we were allowed to use a "two-finger touch" to pet the argus monitor lizard and the chinchilla! So fun!

Thank you again to Wildlife Encounters for sharing your wonderful creatures and enhancing our science unit!!