Melissa Beck - Newsletter

2019 - 2020

Ideas for Summer

See the attached newsletter for some summer activities to keep your mind sharp and your skills practiced for next year.

April 3, 2020

**Check here for information about food pickup during spring break.

**Spring Break is next week: April 6 - 13

**Remote Learning will resume on April 14.

**If your child received a device yesterday, he/she is probably excited to begin using it. He/she may want to visit some of the newsletters from the last three weeks on our class website over spring break. There will be no new newsletters sent out next week. If your child has his/her iPad from school they can check their email because I sent the bottom message and newsletter to them, too. (The mail app looks like a white envelope with a blue background.)

Good morning Second Graders!

I am planning to do some some projects over Spring Break. I am sure Madelyn and Carter will not enjoy staining our fence and cleaning out the garage but Mrs. Beck loves cleaning projects!

********

🌳Can you answer some land habitat riddles?

This habitat has many trees and four seasons. It has animals like deer, raccoons and squirrels. (answer A)

This habitat is often hot during the day. It has lizards, coyotes and snakes living there. It is very dry because it rarely rains. (answer B)

This habitat has snow much of the year. A polar bear might live there. It is hard for many plants to grow here. (answer C)

This habitat is home to jaguars, monkeys and snakes. This habitat has 4 layers. It rains here almost every day. (answer D)

A —woodland forest, B — desert. C —arctic, D — rainforest

Work hard and make it a great day!

April 2, 2020

Good Morning Second Graders!

**Technology will be distributed at Lindsay School today from 1-3.

Today in the daily newsletter it refers to the Scholastic News. See Dojo or the mail for our class code.

I was excited to see more additions to our Padlet for Habitats! Thank you to Ben, Kylie and Adam. Be sure to add your name so I know what you add to the Padlet Wall. :)

April 1, 2020

Happy Wednesday Second Graders!

Thanks to everyone that has been sharing writing work and photos with me. It’s awesome to see what you are doing at home.

Today is “We are Strong Wednesday” Super Hero Day – Be Strong, dress in a career outfit (in honor of the Hospital Workers, First Responders, Grocery Employees, all other essential personnel) We appreciate our “heroes’” dedication!

I have been trying to get out each day and take a walk around my block. My block is not an exact square, but let’s pretend that it is. If one side is 90 meters, how many meters is it around the whole block?

Remember: Tomorrow is tech distribution day at Lindsay School from 1:00-3:00 pm. I am so glad everyone will soon have an iPad so we can all learn together again. :)

Be sure to add to our Padlet Wall about animal habitats.

March 31, 2020

Good Morning Second Graders!

Today is “Twinning is Winning Tuesday” Color Day. Our color is orange. Remember that you can send a photo to Mrs. Hanson jhanson@sps186.org and to me at mdbeck@sps186.org.

How is learning at home going for you? Yesterday, I had to begin learning about a program that will help me teach you at home. So I have assignments to read and projects to do - just like you. I have to stay focused to get that work done and still have some news to send to you each day. :)

Remember to send me a photo of your writing today. I am looking forward to reading your opinion about eating out or eating at home.

Try to add to the padlet wall with your animal habitat knowledge. I fixed it so you can add to it now. (There is a pink + sign at the bottom right corner.)

March 30, 2020

Good Morning Second Graders!

Happy Birthday to Kamren! I wish we were at school to sing him Happy Birthday. Mr. Beck celebrated his birthday last Thursday. We were able to bake him an apple pie, have a special birthday dinner and try a Zoom meeting with his family.

Are you ready to show some Home Spirit this week? Today is Mixed up Monday. Wear mixed up clothing (mismatched clothing, shirts backwards, inside out, etc.) Things are a little different right now and we are going to go with the flow! Take a photo and send it to Mrs. Russell jhanson@sps186.org. You can send pictures to me, too. She is collecting photos to share on the Lindsay School webpage. Click here to see the fun planned for the rest of the week.

Since I have been home, I have been thinking about some of our favorite read alouds and one of my favorites is Those Darn Squirrels by Adam Rubin. Did you know that you can watch videos of all Mr. Rubin’s squirrel books on Epic ? I have turned on the videos so you can watch stories on Epic, too.

I am so excited for our Zoom meeting today at 1:00. I hope to see everyone’s smiling faces. :)

https://zoom.us/j/933416660?pwd=YlR4NTJjbHVCdHZFY3RFU2t1MlV5UT09

Let’s have a great week of learning!

March 27, 2020

Hello Second Graders! What day do potatoes dislike the most?
(Fry-day!) 🍟 It’s Friday, but many of the days seem the same when we stay at home all the time. Let’s practice with a calendar.

Do you have a calendar at your house? I told you that today is Friday, but what is the date? Today is Friday, ____________ ___, _________. (Remember to include the month, the date and the year.) Point to today on this calendar. What day is tomorrow? What day was yesterday? Today is our 10th day of remote learning.

We were practicing with solid shape patterns at school. What shape is the soccer ball? What shape is the box? What shape is the can? Can you continue this solid shape pattern? What shape would be on today?

What else do you notice about this calendar?

Have a great weekend!

March 26, 2020

Parents: Please complete the district technology survey today if you haven’t already. https://forms.gle/rC3yuqFtvMJDRQPp7

Parents: Scholastic has created a Learn at Home site with books, videos and activities. We have included some of them in the daily newsletters. If you would like to access more of these activities, please view the directions that are attached to the Daily e-mail.

Happy Thursday Second Graders!

Did you draw a daffodil yesterday? Miss Pyle sent me her picture. If you like drawing, coloring or painting you might want to enter Lincoln Memorial Garden’s Youth Art Contest. See my website for more information.

Did you read about Illinois and Hawaii on Epic!? They are both states but Illinois is mostly surrounded by land while Hawaii is surrounded by water. What landform is surrounded by water? What feature is water surrounded by land? Make sure you try out the Kahoot! challenge today to test your map skills.

Are you an expert measurer now? I hope everyone is able to measure using inches and centimeters.

Please find the newsletter attached to this update.

March 25, 2020

Good Morning Second Grade Families,

Yesterday you received an email from Superintendent Gill regarding a survey about technology. Each family needs to take a short 2 minute survey to better understand access to technology devices and internet connectivity that you have in your home. Families only need to complete one survey per household. Please be sure to complete the survey as soon as possible. Thank you if you have already completed it! :)

Survey Link - https://forms.gle/gLykJwntVfA57CVz6

Do you remember the book What Should Danny Do At School? We were able to make choices throughout the book and change the story. The authors Ganit and Adir Levy are reading their book What Should Danny Do? on Facebook and Instagram Live at 6 pm and 9 pm CST. It is also saved on Facebook so you can go there later to see it. (That's what I did!) https://www.facebook.com/pg/WhatShouldDannyDo/posts/

Let me know if you have questions. I am available through email and Class Dojo.

Mrs. Beck

March 24, 2020

I hope you enjoyed working with the "guest teacher” during yesterday’s writing lesson. You will get to work with her all week on opinion writing.

Remember that I am available through email or Class Dojo if you have questions or just want to share a picture of your second grader working hard on his/her "Home Based Learning."

Thank you for all that you are doing at home to keep learning going.

Mrs. Beck

Thankful For Our Healthcare Workers

You can print or draw your own heart and post it in your window at home.

March 23, 2020

Good Morning Second Grade Families,

I’m ready for another week of Home-Based Learning and ready for spring weather to return. I want to start with a big thank you to all of the health care workers. My thoughts and prayers are with them each and every day. Mrs. Gill, our superintendent, sent us a heart to print and put in our windows at home.

On Sunday, I sent a direction sheet for Epic! If you need me to resend the email please let me know. I also included the Weekly Fluency Story in my email. You will see it mentioned in the reading section of the newsletter. Please remember that I am available by email and Class Dojo if you have questions.

March 20, 2020

Happy Friday Second Graders and Families!

Today is Lindsay ⚡️ Spirit Day! I sent a movie in a separate email to help you sing the Lindsay School song with me and Carter. Mrs. Hanson-Russell has been collecting pictures of Lindsay people wearing Lindsay gear, so put on your blue and white and sing along.

Yesterday, I heard from many of you for our virtual “Community Circle Time.” Here is what some of your friends are up to. If you forgot to send me a message by email or Dojo, you can send me one today. :) Keep sending me pictures of you and/or your work. It really does brighten my day to see you all working so hard.

Ben—My day is amazing. 3 because we are making glitter slime. I miss you.

Delilah: She is a 3 today because she loves her Yoga and is getting a lot done. She also had waffles.

Adam: I am a 3. I have had fun building with my Jenga Blocks.

Olivia is a 3: She is having great day. She had her favorite babysitter over on Monday for a couple of hours.

Kieran: Says today is a 3. One fun thing he has done this week, he says, is play hockey (in the garage each day—just like he does after school every day!).

Amari: She is a 3. She learned about tornadoes today.

Roman: My day was a 3. I got to spend the day with my mom and we read my new book from book fair. My book is called Haunted World and it is scary.

March 19, 2020

Every day at school we check in with community circle after lunch. We think about the day so far and try to rate it. 3 is a great day. 😃 2 is an okay day. 😐 1 is a bad, sad, worried day. 😥 How are you today? You can also tell me one fun thing you have done this week. Respond to my email with 3, 2 or 1 and tell me one fun thing you have done. I'll put all of your responses together and share them tomorrow.

I am a 2. One fun thing I have done is having a Zoom conference with my family in Ohio.

I can't wait to hear from you!

March 18, 2020

You can sign into Scholastic Learn at Home for free during our time off from school https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome/grades-1-2.html. This gives you access to Book Flix and Scholastic’s Watch and Learn library. These are great resources for online books and videos.

March 17, 2019

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

March 16, 2020

Look for a Daily Update newsletter both by email and posted here on my website.

This newsletter contains the class list for Valentine's Day.

Important Facts to Know About Second Grade

2018 - 2019

Important Facts to Know About Second Grade

This information page was handed out at the Ice Cream Social. You can download another copy here.

2017 - 2018

This newsletter contains the class list for Valentine's Day.

Important Facts to Know About 2nd Grade

2016 - 2017

This is our first day newsletter.

Important Facts to Know About 2nd Grade

Page 2

Important Facts to Know About 2nd Grade

Page 1

2015 - 2016

Important Facts to Know About Second Grade

This 2-sided informational sheet explains many important facts about second grade: homework, specials, classroom management, birthdays and more. A paper copy was sent home at Ice Cream Social or the first day of school.