Ms. Pena's Second Grade Class

 Week of January 4, 2010




Dear Parents,

HOLIDAY PARTY…Thank you to the parents that helped to make our holiday party a huge success.  Special thanks to Amy Tabash for her efforts in organizing and running this event. Everything went so smoothly.  It was fun to see parents and children creating the snowman craft, decorating cookies, and enjoying each other’s company. I hope your holidays are fun-filled with family and friends.

NEW YEAR…Happy New Year to you and your family! Hopefully we’ll all be successful in switching over to writing 2010 without many errors along the way. I am always challenged by this, being the creature of habit that I am.

PENCIL US IN…My parent reader schedule is now posted on the webpage. There still are numerous open time slots, so if you're interested email me. As a reminder, the time to come is now 12:30-12:50, right after lunch. Please plan to bring 5-6 favorite books to share. We just love guest readers!

SKILLS…As we begin the second semester of the school year, I will be looking for each student’s comprehension skills to strengthen in an effort to be prepared for third grade. To accomplish this, it is important that your child practice reading with a parent each night, focusing on comprehension.  I encourage you to use my web page called “Home Reading” as a guide for questioning. It should provide you some strategies to focus on with your child.

BACK TO SCHOOL…Thank you in advance for helping your child get back into the routines of school again.  I have a wonderful second semester of learning planned and I’m sure you’ll be amazed at the continued academic growth of your child by the time the end of May rolls around.

READING REMINDER…Friday, January 8, I expect the children to have logged at least three hours in their daily planners since so much time has passed since I last checked reading logs. To encourage plentiful reading over the holidays, I will make this a “Lucky Seven” week, enabling the children to receive up to 7 Book Bucks for their reading effort. Please remember to total and initial reading logs each week. It's heartache for some when they forget to turn it in on time and there are no bucks for them that week. I am trying to instill responsibility. Reading for one hour a week is a non-negotiable minimum. Most kiddos are now logging 2+ hours a week which is really helping them to steadily improve their reading skills. Remember to vary your child's titles to include all genres. Bravo to all who make reading a priority in your home.

Happy New Year!
Sheri Pena


 

***Updated pages: Pena’s Points and This Week’s Homework