Thomas Times
March 2016 Newsletter
February was a fast month for all of us! We did a lot of fun learning
activities. The STEM Lab was OUTSTANDING! A big thank you to everyone who
donated their time to make this STEM lab a wonderful success! The kids and I
loved it! This month we also celebrated Valentine’s Day. Thank you so much for the
thoughtful cards and goodies I received for Valentine’s Day. That was very
thoughtful! We ended the month with the 100th day of school. The students did a
wonderful job reading for 100 minutes, I was so proud of each and every one of
them!
Upcoming Events!!!
March 4 – Minute To Win It assembly
March 7-18 – Algonkian’s Read-A-Thon
March 10 – March Muffin Madness
March 11 – International Night @ 6:30pm
March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day
March 18 – Students vs. Staff Basketball Game
March 21 – 25 – Spring Break
Academic News!!!
In Reading, we continue to use phonetic strategies when reading and
spelling. The students are using context clues and expanding their vocabulary while
reading. Students are reading fiction texts and identifying the main idea, and
summarizing with beginning, middle, and end. Students are also reading non-fiction
texts. They are practicing identifying the main idea and making/confirming
predictions.
In Content, we have finished up our China Unit. China switch day was fun!
Now we are learning about Ancient Egypt. The students will be learning about
contributions and how they influenced the present world. We will also be
developing map skills by learning about the relationship between the
environment and the culture. Then we will be learning about the weather. The
students will be learning the basic types, changes and patterns of weather. Finally
to end the month, the students will be learning about Economics. The students will
be comparing changes in community life over time, describe nature/human/capital
resources, and be able to explain scarcity.
In Math the students just finished our time/calendar/temperature unit.
Next, we will be working on geometry. The students will identify, describe,
compare, and contrast plane and solid geometric figures, along with
finding/creating figures with symmetry. After that we will be studying fractions.
The students will identify parts of a set/region, write fractions, and compare
fraction units. Please continue to use Reflex and I Ready for individualized
math and reading instruction.
Please ask your child if they need any new school supplies.
Many children need new crayons, markers, glue and some need a
new pair of scissors. Several children have lost their scissors. Our
class is in need of glue sticks and dry erase markers. If you are
able to add to our class supply, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for all you do!
Kathy Thomas 
News Update!!!
Please continue using I-Ready Reading
and Math at home for
INDIVIDUALIZED instruction. (user name is lunch number & password is
student’s
Study birthday)
Guides are now available on the 2nd grade web page.
March reading logs need to be filled
signed by a parent or guardian and
Mathout
Websites
nd
Baseball
areGeometry
due on April 1 .
http://www.factmonster.com/math/knowledgebox/player.html?movie=sfw50631
Identifying Geomentric Shapes
http://www.softschools.com/math/geometry/shapes/match_geometric_shapes/
Identifying Geometric Solids
http://www.softschools.com/math/geometry/shapes/solids/games/
The websites listed above are for extra practice of the math content knowledge and not reflective of our
unit tests or Virginia SOL’s.