Greetings from 2nd grade!! Our class really enjoyed the marble party last week and we are already working towards the next one. Keep it up 2nd grade!! Please take note of the following reminders:

Remember sightword flashcards go home on Tuesdays and are returned by Friday. Thank you for returning them promptly. Last week I had all the flashcards by Friday. I really appreciate it!!

If you have not returned your midterm please do so by Monday. Don’t forget to sign it!
The carnival is tonight from 3:30 to 7:30!! Hope to see you there. Thanks to the PTL for all their hard work.

Attached to the newsletter is our first science study guide. The science test will be Monday, October 12th. I know it seems like I am giving this to you really early, but your children will have to look up some answers for the study guide. I really want them to be prepared! We will be reviewing in class Oct. 5th-9th.

Next week, the teachers will be attending the Rocky Mountain District Conference. There will be no school Wednesday, September 30th through Friday, October 2nd. There will be no spelling or memory for those two days. The spelling list and memory attached is for the week of Oct. 5th-9th. You will have plenty of time to study!!

The 2nd grade classes will be singing in church on Sunday, October 11th at 8:00 a.m. Please make plans to be there. If you cannot attend Mrs. Bell will need a note. I look forward to hearing the kids praise the Lord!

I believe the PTL is starting a fundraiser on Monday, September 28th. The kids will have the opportunity to sell Yankee Candles. Be looking for more information to come home soon.

Here’s what we have been up to this week:

Religion: This week we started talking about the story of Moses. God protected baby Moses from the danger of being killed by the Egyptian soldiers because God had important work for Moses to do. God is powerful enough to protect us from dangers too. When we are sick, injured, or when other things go wrong, we can pray to God to help or to send helpers. He will always do what is best and at the time that is best. God had a plan for Moses and He has a plan for you too. Moses was chosen by God to lead the people out of Egypt. Moses wasn’t sure he could handle it, but God was with him every step of the way. Moses had to trust in the Lord. Some things in life are very difficult. God never said it would be easy to make the right choices. But He did say that when we rely on Him and trust in Him, we can be sure that He is with us and will help us.

Math: In math this week we tested over sums of 8 and 9 and began practicing sums of 10. We weighed some items using a scale and blocks (non-standard units). We practiced adding 10 to a multiple of 10, for example 40+10 or 70+10. We started putting things in pairs. Finally, we talked about place value, focusing on the tens and ones places.

Reading: In reading this week we talked about “wh” and “th.” We discussed how “th” can make two different sounds. We read a new story entitled “Animal Tracks.” We discussed the story and worked on summarizing. In addition, we worked on writing a short story and organizing the text. We did some reading in groups as well.

Science/SS: In science this week we talked about the parts of a plant. In addition, we discussed the function of each part of the plant. We did an experiment to prove how the stem functions and what happens when the stem of a plant is bent. The kids had to predict what would happen. Ask your child to explain. The science test over Unit A will be on October 12th. Please look at the study guide! In social studies, we talked about diagrams, especially family trees. We talked about generations and they made their own simple family tree. In addition, we talked about early America. We discussed the settlers, where they came from, and why they wanted to leave. We talked about what life was like in their new colony and what they learned from the Native Americans.

Language Arts: In language arts, we made a cover page for our personal narrative and it was sent home. Then, we started a new unit on nouns. Nouns can be people, places, things, and ideas. In addition we talked about proper nouns, which is something we struggle with when we write in our daily work. Hopefully this will give them a boost in the area.

Spelling/Phonics: In spelling this week we worked on vowel-consonant-e words. The kids should know that the silent “e” on the end makes the other vowel say its name (or makes it a long vowel). We have another unit on them next week. Remember, if you chose to go with the challenge list you only need to study that list for the test. In phonics we are continuing to review short vowels.

God’s blessings on the weekend!! Psalm 56:3 says, “When I am afraid I will trust in You.” Remember to put your trust in the Lord. He will always be there!

In Him,

Miss Rempfer

Spelling Words: bone, nose, use, these, rope, home, cute, close, hope, those, one, goes, make, ride
Challenge Words: globe, mule

Alternate List: begin, again, mittens, teaching, soap, children, size, speed, people, says, planted, headed, louder, sliding
Challenge Words: November, renewed

Memory: The First Commandment: You shall have no other gods.
The Second Commandment: You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.

Greetings from 2nd grade!! Things are going well in 2nd grade. I want you all to know that I take time to pray for each of your families every week. Have a wonderful weekend! Please take note of the following:
The book fair will be taking place September 20th-25th. You may go and purchase books with your child before and after school. The book fair is also open Sunday between services I believe. Our class will be going to the book fair on Wednesday, September 23rd at 10:30. You may send money with your child that day if you would like. I will not be allowing your child to leave class to purchase things at the book fair.

Individual school pictures for our class will be taken Tuesday, September 22nd at about 10:10. Please have your child dressed in the clothes you want them in for pictures. We will not have much time to change. They may change after pictures if you would like.

Remember sightword flashcards go home on Tuesdays and are returned by Friday.

The midterm ended today. Midterm reports will go home Wednesday, September 23rd. At that time I will send home an alternate spelling list for you too look at. If you are interested in your child trying this list please indicate that when you sign and return their midterm.

The school carnival is Friday, September 25th, from 3:30-7:30. I hope to see you all there.

I have received news that the food drive will be going on until September 25th. So if you didn’t get a chance you can bring something in and help support our community food pantry.
Here’s what we have been up to this week:

Religion: This week we talked about Joseph. Joseph was one of 12 brothers. His father, Jacob, showed favoritism toward Joseph. This made Joseph’s brothers jealous. They ended up being so angry that they planned to get rid of him. They sold Joseph as a slave. Later, Joseph was put in jail for something he didn’t do. Joseph definitely went through some rough times, but Joseph knew that God was with him every step of the way. God had a plan to turn the bad things into something good. The Bible tells us “to give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Even when bad things happen to us, we can give thanks because we know that God’s love and forgiveness will continue. We know that God has a plan for good.

Math: We began the week by taking our 5th written test. The kids are now taking these tests independently. They are doing fairly well, but I have to remind them to read all the directions. Please encourage them to do this on their homework as well. This week we also practiced reading a bar graph, using tallies, counting by 5’s, and identifying different types of lines (horizontal, vertical, and oblique). In addition, we worked on dividing a whole into halves, fourths, and eighths.

Reading: In reading this week I tested the kids comprehension on our last story. We discussed the digraphs th and wh and went over the following high frequency words: better, hour, pick, stay, and told. The class worked on alphabetizing words and reading with feeling (for example, your voice may have inflection when reading a question or exclamation). In addition, we are reading in groups.

Science and SS: In science this week we differentiated between reptiles, amphibians, and fish. This can be kind of tricky because there are some similarities. In addition, we talked about animal life cycles. In social studies, we took our first test. Thank you for all the studying you did at home. Most of the kids were very prepared. Today we started Unit 4: People Long Ago. I must say I had to laugh because one of the kids said, “So we are learning about our parents.” J We discussed the term past, present, and future.

Language Arts: In language arts this week we have been working hard on our personal narratives. A personal narrative tells about something that happened to you. It is a true story and your child is to tell/write it using time order words. Time order words are words that show the order in which things happen (example: first, then, next, after that, finally). We did a prewrite, added details, wrote a rough draft, and now we are working on the final copy.

Spelling and Phonics: This week in spelling we focused on short “u” words. Next week, we will be moving on to vowel-consonant-e words. There will be a note about the alternate spelling list with your child’s midterm next Wednesday. In phonics, we continued to review short vowels. In addition, we went over the following high frequency words: does, about, our, then, other, and where.

Remember to give thanks in all circumstances and know the Lord has a plan!

In Christ,

Miss Rempfer

Spelling Words: five, late, nine, made, side, ate, fine, same, hide, line, give, have, gave, bike
Challenge Words: mistake, write

Memory: Jesus said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you to go and bear fruit.”
John 15:16

The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. Hebrews 13:6

Greeting from 2nd grade!! We got back to work in no time. The three day weekend didn’t even throw them off. Good job 2nd graders!!
There will be a canned food drive going on at school until September 17th. Please send in any canned foods to help support our community food pantry. Your donations are greatly appreciated.
The school carnival is Friday, September 25th, from 3:30-7:30. I hope to see you all there. We are still looking for volunteers to sign up and work the 2nd grade booth. There is a sign-up sheet outside the classroom door. We appreciate your help!!
We will be having our first Social Studies test Tuesday, September 15th. The study guide was given out last Friday. It is over unit 3. The study guide is on the blog as well.
Each week sight word flashcards will be handed out. We will begin next Tuesday. Please go through them with your child. The flashcards will be due back on Fridays so that I have time to get things together for the next week. As soon as your child tests out of all three lists, I will stop sending them home for him/her.
Here’s what we have been up to this week!

Religion: This week we talked about Jacob and his family sin. There were a lot of tricky things happening in this story. But the biggest trickster was the devil. He tricked all four people into doing wrong. Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Esau fell for the devil’s tricks and temptations. They fell into sin. Isaac was told by God to give the special family blessing to Jacob, but planned to give it to Esau. Isaac did not want to obey God’s will. Rebekah sinned because she thought up a tricky plan and talked her son Jacob into doing wrong. Jacob lied to his father and cheated his brother. Esau hated his brother and wanted to kill him. Sin and the devil made a mess of things. This happens in our lives too! When we mess up something, we throw it away. But God didn’t throw out Jacob and Esau and their parents. And when we mess up by falling into sin, God doesn’t toss us out either. Instead, God gets rid of the mistakes through Jesus. Jesus died on the cross to take away those sins completely. Because of Jesus our sins are gone. Because God forgives us, we also ought to forgive one another. Esau forgave Jacob and they once again had peace with one another!

Math: This week we practiced reading a thermometer to the nearest 10 degrees. Later in the year we will become more precise and accurate. In addition, we worked on counting pennies and dimes. We also began work with fact families. A fact family consists of 3 numbers. With those three numbers we can make 2 addition problems and 2 subtraction problems. (Example: 5,6, and 11 : 5+6=11, 6+5=11, 11-6=5, 11-5=6) Finally, we tested over our doubles plus one facts and then practiced sums of 8 and 9.

Reading: We began the week by taking a picture walk through the new story and making a prediction. We then read the story and went over the following vocabulary words: teach, sharing, taught, special, learned. We learned to differentiate between real and fantasy. In addition, we did some reading in groups.

Science/SS: In science this week we started a new unit on animals. We did some comparing between birds and mammals. Mammals usually have hair or fur, while birds have feathers. Mammals have live young, but birds lay eggs. Mammals feed their young with milk from its mother, but birds have to go out and find food for their young. In social studies, we worked on being able to follow a route. In addition, we talked about the compass rose and directions. Finally, we reviewed and studied for the test which is next Tuesday, September 15th.

Language Arts: In language arts, we worked with time order words like first, next, then, and finally. In addition, we started brainstorming for our first writing which will be a personal narrative.

Spelling/Phonics: In spelling this week we went over short “o” words. Next week will be the short “u” unit. In phonics, we are continuing to review short vowels as well.

God’s blessings on your weekend!! Remember to share God’s forgiveness with others!

In Him,
Miss Rempfer

Spelling Words: sun, mud, bug, fun, but, hug, bun, nut, bus, rug, some, from, up, run
Challenge Words: thunder, puddle

Memory Work: Pray for those who mistreat you. Luke 6:28
We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.
Romans 8:28

This is a study guide for our first social studies test. We will be doing much of the test together since it is our first one. After this test they will be doing the tests independently. I will be reading each test, but will not offer any help. I am asking that you go over this study guide with your child for a few nights. This will help them prepare for the test and gain good study skills. Unit 3 covers pages 104-151. We have covered all of this in class, but if you would like to glance over the material you are more than welcome. Thank you!

Study Guide
Unit 3 : Using Our Resources

Vocabulary-Matching
1. Conservation – the saving of resources to make them last longer
2. Fuel – a resource that can be burned for heat and energy
3. Environment – all of the things that people find around them
4. Natural Resources – something found in nature that people can use, such as air, water, and land
5. Communication – the sharing of ideas and information
6. Transportation – the moving of goods and people from place to place
7. Technology – the use of new objects and ideas in everyday life

Multiple Choice
What are some ways to save natural resources?
- Don’t let the water run
- Recycle newspapers, pop cans, milk jugs, etc.
- Turn off the lights
- Reuse things when possible

What were some things that farmers worried about long ago?
- Rabbits, mice, and bugs ate the young plants
- Sometimes there was no rain
- Bad storms sometimes killed the plants

How has technology helped today’s farmers?
- It makes the work go faster and farmers can get more done in less time
- It makes the work easier
- They can produce more crops

What kinds of communication do we have now?
- e-mail
- Internet
- cell phones
- letters
Which one of the above was also used long ago?

What is the difference between urban and rural areas?

Urban – many businesses, homes and people
- lots of traffic
- noisy

Rural – usually in the country
- wide open spaces
- fewer people
- many times it is a farming community where natural resources are used to grow food and raise animals


Short Answer
There will be a product map that they will have to observe and study. After looking at the map they will be asked to answer a few questions. (Look at pages 136-137 as an example.)

Greeting from 2nd grade!! The kids are really doing a great job of coming in and getting right to work in the morning. I am so proud of them. They are earning marbles right and left! Keep it up 2nd grade! Just a reminder to make sure your child is getting enough sleep and eating breakfast. In addition, we are trying to make sure everyone is washing hands at school. We want to try and prevent the spreading of germs. Here are a couple of reminders for you:

Next week we will still be having a spelling unit. The pretest will be on Tuesday the 8th and the posttest will be on Friday the 11th.

Don’t forget to sign your child’s behavior chart every evening. If it does not come back signed they will owe a few minutes of recess. In addition, check your child’s homework. The math fact practices that come home need to be timed for 2 minutes. That will help prepare them for the tests.

Remember there will be no school Monday, September 7th due to Labor Day. In addition we will have an early release Thursday, September 10th at 2:00 p.m. We are getting out early because we are hosting the volleyball/soccer games. We are playing Trinity Pueblo and since they have a long trip we like to start the games a little earlier.

As a staff, we were reminded to tell the kids not to wear shorts on Wednesdays for chapel service. Please feel free to send clothes for your child to change into if you so desire.
There will be a canned food drive going on at school until September 17th. Please send in any canned foods to help support our community food pantry. Your donations are greatly appreciated.

The school carnival is Friday, September 25th, from 3:30-7:30. I hope to see you all there. We are still looking for volunteers to sign up and work the 2nd grade booth. There is a sign-up sheet outside the classroom door. We appreciate your help!!

We will be having our first Social Studies test Tuesday, September 15th. The study guide is attached.

Here’s what we have been up to this week:

Religion: This week we talked about Abraham. God chose Abraham to do His work and He had a plan for Abraham’s life. God promised to be with him and show him the way to a new land. Abraham obeyed, knowing God does what is best for us. God chose us too!! God chose us because of Jesus! God didn’t choose us because of something we did; He chose us because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Jesus is the Savior promised to Adam and to Eve and to Abraham and to all people, including you and me. God was with Abraham and blessed him in many ways. God blesses us each and every day too and he keeps all His promises.

Math: In math this week we practiced drawing picture to go with our story problems. This can be a big help to kids who learn visually. In addition, we practiced dividing shapes in half, making sure we had two equal parts. We tested over our 9’s facts and now will move onto our doubles plus one (for example, 8+9, 7+8, 6+7, etc). These can be very difficult for some kids so it may take some extra practice. Finally, we practiced showing and telling time to the half hour. Again, this may be review for most, but I have to know they can master this before moving on.

Reading: In reading this week we read our story in groups. We covered the following high frequency words: care, night, thank, these, and watch. The following digraphs were reviewed: sh, ch, ck, th, and wh. We made actions to go with each sound, so they will be easy to remember. We practiced putting words in ABC order. We will be doing a lot more of this in the future. We did some more work with some vocabulary words as well.

Science/SS: In science, we discussed the 5 things that plants need. They are as follows: sunlight, water, gases, food-nutrients, and room to grow. We also made a compare and contrast chart on the differences between the needs of plants and animals. In social studies we practiced reading a product map and had the opportunity to each make our own. In addition, we talked about connecting communities. The class discussed how transportation and communication is different today than it was years ago. We will be having our first Social Studies test on Tuesday, September 15th. The study guide is attached.

Language Arts: We have been going over subjects and predicates quite religiously. This is just a hard topic for many of the students to understand. We will continue to review it, but we had to keep moving. This week we also started combining to shorter sentences with the same predicate to form a longer sentence (Example: Trevor hit the ball. Connor hit the ball. Trevor and Connor hit the ball.) We also talked about using commas when we list a series of things. The class reviewed incomplete/complete sentences as well. We need to get in the habit of writing in complete sentences!!!!

Spelling and Phonics: In spelling this week, we studied short “i” words. In a few weeks I will be offering an alternative spelling list that will be a bit more challenging. Next week we will still be having a spelling unit. The pretest will be on Tuesday and the posttest will be on Friday. More details will be coming. In phonics, we started a unit on short vowels. This week we covered short “a” and short “i.”


Enjoy the long weekend!! Remember that God has blessed you in many ways. Give thanks for those blessings.

In Christ,

Miss Rempfer

Spelling Words: job, pot, nod, top, not, dot, fox, mop, spot, hop, of, on, box
Challenge Words: block, hospital

Memory Work: I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. Genesis 28:15
Blessed are the peacemakers. Matthew 5:9