Sr. Cristina Marie’s 2nd Grade Class
St. Mary Magdalen School
September 28, 2015
2534 Ventura Blvd., Camarillo, CA 93010
(805) 482-2611
http://www.smms.pvt.k12.ca.us/
srcristinamarie@smmschool.net
What words to I CAPITALIZE?
Monday -
*Music & PE
Tuesday -
*Devan Boyd coming for a quick
visit!
Wednesday –
*NO Mass today – see Friday
*Music & PE
*Morning Offering Prayer Test
*2pm Dismissal
*ALL PARTS OF ANCESTOR PROJECT DUE TODAY
Thursday -
*2:30 Blessing of the Animals
Friday –
*1st Friday Mass – 8:30am
**All test dates are subject
to change
*Spelling
Test at the teacher’s
discretion.
*Math Test – Chapter 2
*Spanish
We are now learning about Proper vs. Common
Nouns. If a word is not a proper noun or does not
begin a sentence then it should not be capitalized.
Students who capitalize words on their spelling
tests that are not proper nouns will be marked
wrong. Proper nouns not capitalized will also be
marked wrong.
Homework Agendas
The 2nd graders are learning to post their
homework to their agenda EVERY SCHOOL NIGHT!
Your child is still a little too young to be totally
responsible for checking that their homework is
completed and put away in their backpacks.
Please check their homework every night!
Learning About Germs!
2nd Grade had a wonderful time learning more
about the differences between different kinds
of Germs (and using Measuring skills) on
Thursday when they broke up into groups of 6
and with the help of 3 of our moms (and
generous donations of flour, salt, oil, large
bowls, measuring cups, and measuring spoons)
the students made their own play dough and
then made models of 4 different kinds of germs.
Sr. Cristina Marie’s 2nd Grade Class…page 2
Coming Up This Week:
Math: Chapter 2 is on Addition Strategies – we are now on Make 10 and Adding Three Numbers.
There will be a Chapter 2 math test on Friday.
Spelling: Pattern Words “ss” and “zz” / Memory Words
English/Grammar: Capitalization /Punctuation (Beginning and End of sentence) / Types of
sentences / Common vs. Proper Nouns.
Reading: Comprehension Strategies (Connect text to self or experience/ recall details/compare and
contrast/summarize)
Vocabulary: Understanding words important to concept or the text / homonyms
Social Studies: Reading a Calendar; People and Places Change; Tracing My Family History; and
Time-lines. (Families, Now and Long Ago)
*Students should memorize Vocabulary words: History, Communication, Artifact,
Community, and Ancestor – Check for Vocabulary Index Cards in homework
Reading Log: Daily reading for 2nd graders is invaluable. Please help your child make the most of
the 20 minutes of nightly reading. Please read the article posted on the Homework page that shares
some strategies that you, as a parent, can use to help your child be a successful reader.
Religion: Memorize Morning Offering Prayer.
Science: Germs.
Morning Offering Test 9/30/2015
O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day, in
union with the Holy Sacrifices of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of Your Sacred
Heart, the salvation of souls, reparation for sin, the reunion of all Christians. I offer them for the intentions of our
bishops and all the Apostles of Prayer, and in particular for those recommended by our Holy Father this month. Amen.
Math Facts Practice
Is your child practicing their addition math facts every day for at least 5-10 minutes??? Knowing their addition math facts is
priceless! Making this a part of their daily routine - with flash cards, IXL, and/or playing appropriate math game on the
internet (ones that challenge your child’s accuracy and speed) will not only improve grades, but also increase confidence and
prepare them for multiplication. Please read the article found on 3rd page of this Newsletter.
Homework Helps:
Spelling: Spelling City: https://www.spellingcity.com/SisterCristinaMarie/
Math: https://www.ixl.com/signin/stmary
Ancestor Project: All pages can be found on the Homework page of this website.
Sr. Cristina Marie’s 2nd Grade Class…page 3
Why Are Math Facts Important?
by Laurie Laurendeau on May 6, 2010
http://www.parent-homework-help.com
Children have been memorizing Math Facts for over a hundred years. Most of us have vivid memories of flashcards, timed drills,
or worksheet after worksheet of Math Facts. But is it really that necessary? Some people believe that with calculators and
computers at our fingertips, committing Math Facts to memory might be old school. Math Facts ARE important for children to
learn without the aid of electronics. Not only will it help them solve more complex math problems more quickly, but it will
expand their number sense as well.
WHAT IS A MATH FACT?
An Addition or Subtraction Math Fact is a math question such as 3+ 4 or 6-2 that a child should know quickly. If a child can say
the answer within a couple of seconds, this is usually considered mastery of the Fact.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT THAT CHILDREN LEARN MATH FACTS?
 Math Facts are important because they form the building blocks for higher/his-level Math concepts. Skills such as
adding and subtracting larger numbers, telling time, counting money, measurement, long multiplication and division are
just a few of the concepts that a child will encounter fairly early in her/his Math career. If she/he has mastered her/his
Math Facts, these concepts will be significantly easier and she/he will be better equipped to solve them more quickly. If
she/he is spending a lot of time doing the basic Facts, she/he is more likely to be confused with the process and get lost in
her/his calculations.
 By learning her/his Math Facts, your child will also develop a keen number sense. This means that she/he will better
understand the relationship between numbers. For example, it is important for your child to see that 6-2=4 because
2+4=6. She/he should also develop an understanding of how far numbers are away from the nearest tens, which will aid
in such skills as estimating and rounding.
 It is important that your child moves from counting strategies to automaticity (rapid recall) of her/his Math Facts. Your
child will soon be using Math Facts as a tool to solve more difficult Math questions. If she/he must count to find the
answer every time she/he needs to add two numbers, it will take her/his a much longer time to get to the final answer.
She/he will focus all her/his attention on the basic calculation instead of the higher/his-level concept that is involved in
solving the problem. Mastering her/his Math Facts will result in much faster computing.
 As your child moves into upper grades, she/he is going to come across longer tests to check her/his understanding of
various concepts. If she/he does not have her/his Math Facts committed to memory, she/he will spend a disproportionate
amount of time figuring out the smaller calculations, and she/he will risk not completing the test. This can affect her/his
performance in not only Math class, but in other/his subjects such as Science and Geography as well.
 If your child is struggling with recalling her/his basic Math Facts each day, she/he may lose confidence in her/his Math
abilities. Sometimes, this can lead to a loss of interest or effort in Math. Children need all the confidence boosters they
can get, especially in a subject like Math wher/hise many of them have already developed a mental block.
 Independent research proves the need and importance for students to master their Math Facts. Not only did they discover
that mastering the Math Facts aids in higher/his-level Math, but they also discovered actual shifts in brain patterns as
Math Facts were learned! Her/hise are a few quotes from the experts:

o Educators and Cognitive Psychologists agree that the “ability to recall basic math facts fluently is necessary for
students to attain higher/his-order math skills” (Whitehurst, 2003).
o “Recent research in cognitive science, using MRI’s, has revealed the actual shift in brain activation patterns as
untrained math facts are learned” (Delazer et al., 2003).
o Instruction and practice cause math fact processing to move from a quantitative area of the brain to one related
to automatic retrieval” (Dehaene, 2003).
 What about the calculator and computer argument? Yes, calculators and computers play an important role in Math
education today, but it is still important for a child to know her/his Math Facts to be able to do mental computation.
She/he will not always have a computer nearby, and once she/he knows her/his Math Facts, she/he will find that doing it
mentally is a lot faster. So, do your child a favor – help her/his master her/his Math Facts!
Sr. Cristina Marie’s 2nd Grade Class…page 4
Upcoming Dates
to Remember:
October 11th—Open House
October 12th– 16th—Parent Teacher
Conferences & Book Fair
October 23rd—Jog-a-thon
Camarillo Library
Homework Center:
Here is a resource that you might find
helpful from the Camarillo Library:
Brittney Kalal is the Homework Center
Coordinator for the Homework Center at
Camarillo Library. This great resource is
available to your child. The homework
center includes computers with free
printing, homework supplies, tutors, and
homework coaches that assist and
encourage the student to learn.
“Rainy Day” Game Donations Needed
for our Classroom!
As we look to the weather starting to change, the
chance that we will have to have Recess or Lunch
indoors increases. I am looking for well-loved games
that are in good condition and have FEW small game
pieces. Legos and games like Checkers/Chess are
exceptions and would be gladly accepted.