Happy Friday!

We have had a wonderful week & I am SO happy the past 2 days have been sunny and this weekend looks to be nice also!!

RBE Motto: Everyone Learns at RBE!!!

Coming home in your child's Friday Folder are lots of important papers!  Highlighted below are what you will find.  Please make sure that you look carefully through & return the appropriate papers.

• RBE Planning for Next Year: You will find a blue page that needs to be filled out to help us start to plan for the 2017-2018 school year classes.  You only need to return one sheet per family, but please list all children & their current grade.  Then let us know if you are planning to be RBE next year or if you have other plans.  We are asking for this sheet to be returned by April 14.  
• As a reminder, if you would like to fill out a questionnaire to provide input on your child's teacher placement next year, you can request this sheet from the office.  This paperwork is also due back by April 14.
• Variety Show Application: If your child is interested in auditioning for the Variety Show this year there is an application in your child's Friday Folder.  The application must be returned to Mrs. Sharp by April 28.  Audition dates are May 5 & 9 from 2:45-5:00.  If you have any additional questions they can be directed to Mrs. Sharp.
• Spring Egg Hunt: 4-H is sponsoring a Spring Egg Hunt on April 15 at 11 am in the pavilion behind RBE.  Bring your baskets & have some fun collecting eggs!! :)

We had LOTS of learning happening in 2nd grade this week!!

• Math: This week we started talking about measurement.  We learned about the different tools that you can use to measure (ruler, yard stick, metric stick, etc.) and also the different units that you can measure in (inches, feet, yards, miles).  We talked about the importance of starting at the 0 when we measure any item (sometime the 0 is not at the end of the ruler).  We practiced measuring a variety of items around the classroom with a ruler.  We also talked about the importance of estimation.  When estimating we think about an inch being about the length of our thumb from the top to the first joint and a food being about the length of  our arm to our elbow.  When estimating the length of an item we must think "About how long is it?" and is it a similar to something that we know (example: a table is about 2 yard sticks long so we estimate that the table is 72 inches (36+36=72).  Next week, we will continue estimation and measuring items.  We have 2 REALLY fun measurement projects planned!!
• Reading: This week we continued working on reading nonfiction texts for the purpose of learning and taking notes.  We finished up researching about the digestive system.  Next week, we will continue to work on reading nonfiction text.  We will be focusing on generating questions from a table of contents and writing a retell of each chapter.  
• Word Study:  This week we worked on r controlled vowels (words that had ar, ir, or & ur in them).  Next week, our focus will be  different vowel patterns with the letter a (-ar, -are, -air).  Next week's words are: -ar (start, scar, sharp), -are (bare, square, fare) -air (stair, pair, fair), and oddballs (pear, bear, heart).
• Writing:  The kiddos are SUPER excited for our last BIG writing project of the year.  We are using our knowledge of writing informational and opinion pieces and making a "Which is Better" or "Would You Rather" book.  Students LOVE to read the Who Would Win series books and we are putting a 2nd grade twist on this book!  The kiddos were able to choose two people, animals, jobs, holidays,  seasons, or countries for their book.  Each book will have an informational section and then at the end the student will tell their opinion of which of the two they like best.  At the beginning of the week, the students researched, and then we have started writing our rough draft.  We also established writing partners for the kiddos to have someone to ask questions and help them make their writing the BEST it can be.  We have been focusing on ways to add voice into our writing.  We will be working on our rough draft throughout next week.

Random Day

Today we had Random Day!!!  We have been in school 140 days - can you believe it?!?!  So our day was full of random learning.  

• During math, the students built a tower out of a random amount of Legos.  They estimated how tall their tower was in inches and then measured.  Then they used the same Legos and laid them side by side, estimated and measured.  At the end they compared the two lengths and found the difference in their lengths.
• The kiddos enjoyed making their own random hats.  They turned out super cute!!!
• We also wrote a Random Act of Kindness letter to someone special.  Some letters were delivered to people around the building or a letter might be coming home with child that needs to be delivered.
• During reading, students selected a random poem to read and then draw what they visualized as they read.
• For writing today the kiddos chose a random story starter and they had to write a story.  These stories turned out SO great!! :)

Field Day Items Needed

Ms. Moore is changing up some of the games for Field Day this year.  Below is a list of the items that she is in need of.  If you are able to help supply any item please send it in to school or you can contact her for further information.  Thanks!

• Green spray paint
• Small blow up pools or small plastic pools
• Crepe paper
• Old 2XL or larger t-shirts  (You might not want these back!)
• Tomato stakes or thin poles (32)
• Paper towel rolls (not the paper towels, but the brown middle part)

A Note from the Cafeteria

There are a few special days coming up in the cafeteria this month.

• April 13: Cookie Day (a cookie will be given to students who buy a school lunch)
• April 27: Rainbow Salad Day (a variety of fresh fruits to make a rainbow on your plate)

"We Always Swing"

Just as reminder, we will be on a field trip Wednesday morning to go to Hickman High School for the "We Always Swing" presentation.  We will be leaving around 8:45 and returning to school by 11:00.

Runge Field Trip

2nd grade's end of the year field trip is to Runge Nature Center in Jefferson City on May 2nd.  A permission slip came home earlier this week.  If you have not already signed & returned the permission slip please do so so by April 24.  Thanks!

James & the Giant Peach: On Wednesday, we enjoyed going to see the play James and the Giant Peach!  The students really enjoyed this experience.  When we got back to school we compared and contrasted the book to the play.  There were things that the students liked in the book more and also the play. 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and that you have a chance to get out and enjoy their beautiful weather!!

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Ross and Ms. Hackmann