Winter Break

Classes will resume on January 9, 2020.

We hope everyone has a wonderful Winter Break!

Learning Update

Wow, fall went by quickly!

Grade 2s spent the last two weeks finishing up various projects:

• Our pictorial chart about eye color
• More hamburger math fact practice; Ms. McGill's class focused on the words, "hamburger is for horizontal"
• Quest performance last Thursday! 

Writing/Art

We read a book entitled "Snowmen at Night".  As a class we brainstormed what we think our snowmen do at night.  Students turned their creative thinking switch on and brainstormed ideas, created a rough copy, and lastly, wrote a piece of writing to go with the art pictured below!  Each student used ripped paper to create a side profile of their snowman.  

Learning Update

Hello Grade 2 Families,

Last week we started Quest Theatre (pictures to come).  The students had bundles of fun creating and practicing our Christmas scene for the school concert this Thursday, December 12th.  Room 7 and Room 8 are both full of reindeer and elves.  We are excited for you to see it!

Math

Last week, Ms. McGill and Mrs. Rahal's class completed a survey on eye colour as a class.  Then individually, each student created a picture graph.  In Room 7, 14 students have brown eyes, 4 have blue eyes, 2 have hazel eyes and 2 have greeen eyes.  Mrs. Rahal's class asked and answered some questions where they had to analyze their data.  Ms. McGill's class will be doing that this week.

We have also been working on horizontal math facts (otherwise known as hamburger math facts), where students have to remind themselves of their ones and tens place value relationships while adding and subtracting.

Social Studies

Ms. McGill and Mrs. Rahal's classes both finished up a research project on the prairies.  Students were placed in groups and using the pictures and text, had to gather and record important information on life in the past, landscapes, resources, and animals!

Physical Education

Ms. McGill's class had a special guest!  The area physiotherapist taught us all about various activities that we can do when we are feeling wiggly.  We are so excited to share what we learned with Mrs. Rahal's class.

Learning Update

Writing

In Ms. Rahal's class, students were introduced to some more words they can use to connect two sentences together (conjunction words).  Some of these words include or and yet.

In Ms. McGill's class, students have been working on their spelling through the use of Words Their Way and word rings based on their decodable books.

Students have also been working to add more detail to their writing tasks and have been making sure to use proper capitalization and punctuation.


Math 

The Grade 2 students have been introduced to graphing and data analysis.  They surveyed peers to gather information, make estimations, answer questions, and then used the information gathered to create a bar graph.  Survey questions have included: “What is your favourite flavour of ice cream?".

Science 

Students have been learning about what a compass is, it's relationship to magnetism, and how it is used in our environment. They had to answer two questions last week: What is a compass? (What does it do?) and How does a compass work?

Social Studies 

Mrs. Horder, our Indigenous Education Learning Leader, has been working with the Grade 2 classes on the importance of oral history in relation to the indigenous cultures of the prairies.  Looking through this lens, we have been comparing our life to that of indigenous peoples.

Quest Residency

Quest Theatre is doing a residency at Keeler from Dec. 2-Dec. 12.  Quest Theatre is an organization that comes into schools and assists students in a theatrical production from start to finish.  The instructors will teach Music/Drama during the school day, culminating in Christmas themed performances on December 12th.  The performances will be at 1:30 and 6:30.

Message from Generosity Club

Generosity club will be hosting Pajama Day on Wednesday, November 27, 2019!

Generosity club is made up of a group of students who meet once a week to promote generosity and belonging at our school.  At times, Generosity club will fundraise to support local programs or charities, such as the Mayor’s Food Drive during the holidays. We show how generous our students and families can be by helping those who may need it. 

Generosity club also hosts ‘Spirit Days’ throughout the year to help promote belonging in our school. The first of these days will be Pajama Day on November 27, 2019. Students and teachers are encouraged to wear pajamas to school that day, but please, do not send stuffies with your child. If you do not want to wear pajamas that day, please feel free to wear your Keeler shirt!

There will be two additional spirit days later this school year. 

Generosity club is also starting up collection for the Calgary Food Bank. We will be collecting non-perishable food items such as canned soup, tuna, baby food, and pasta. Collection will start Monday, November 18^th, and run until December 6^th.  Last year we collected 16 boxes of non-perishable food! Again, donations are not mandatory, but appreciated!

We look forward to seeing everyone in their pajamas on November 27, and thank you in advance for your donations!

If you have any questions, please email Mrs. Baniak at mibaniak@cbe.ab.ca

Learning Update

Math/Art

Last week we continued to work on measurement using standard (cm) and non-standard units.
Students worked to create a background for their measurement garden project.  This allowed them to experiment with various colors of paint.  Next week students will organize the flowers in height order.  They will then measure them, concluding this portion of our measurement unit.

Students have also been working hard on their math facts and strategies for double digit addition.  

Social Studies 

The main task for last week was: being a modern child on the prairies.  Within this, students brainstormed ideas about their own lives.  Some of the things they came up with were: being able to go to the zoo, restaurants, movies, school, the park, church, daycare, play and learn, etc.  Students also brainstormed food that they like to eat.

The Social Studies curriculum for Grade 2 investigates an Inuit community, an Acadian community, and a prairie community.  Throughout the year as students learn about these communities, the intention is that they are able to use the understanding they have of their own community, to explore and make connections to others.

Science 

We concluded work on our floating magnetic cars!  A class discussion was held where students connected their background knowledge of magnetism to the car building experience.  Next, students had to complete 3 tasks to prompt evidence of their learning.

1. When I first built my car, did it work? (yes/no)
2. What did I need to do to fix the problem? 
3. Students drew their car on the magnetic track and labeled the items needed to make their car work. 

Literacy

Literacy Centers

• Students worked very hard last week familiarizing themselves with and understanding the expectations of each literacy center.  

Writing

• In Ms. Rahal's class, students were introduced to words they can use to connect two sentences together (conjunction words).  Some of these words include and, because, but, so.  Students enjoyed this activity and will be introduced to some more words in the next couple of weeks. 

• For example: 
• John is happy. He got a new car. --> John is happy because he got a new car. 
• The weather was hot. They went swimming --> The weather was hot so they went swimming.
• Ms. McGill's class will be focusing on this writing skill in the upcoming week.  

Have an absolutely fantastic week!

Learning Update

Hello Grade 2 families,

It's time to share some of the learning that has been happening with Keeler's Tremendous Twos!

Remembrance Day

Grade 2 had many discussions this week about what Remembrance Day is, and why it is important to remember our veterans and soldiers.  As a community, we shared if we know anyone who has been in a military.  We also made a poppy wreath for the assembly and completed a piece of writing on: "I remember because" or "Remembrance Day is important because.  

Math

We have been working on measurement using standard (cm) and non-standard units.  Students went around the classroom and measured various items with a ruler and then with several of the following: unifix cubes, base ten blocks, paperclips, plastic chain links, and a pictorial version of a bumble bee.  Following this activity, students chose images of two items, then compared them pictorially using pictures of bees, hearts, leaves, or meatballs.  We also created math equations to discover the difference between the two!

Social Studies

Students worked hard to learn about characteristics of the prairies.  They should now be able to describe some main characteristics of prairies, as well as identify the prairie provinces of Canada (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba).  We have also learned about Alberta's climate and are learning how to do research on the iPads.

Science

Grade Twos designed magnetic floating cars using lego, magnetic "wheels" (legs) and a magnetic track. Throughout this process, students learned what poles are and how the cars were able to float on the track.  We are currently at the end of this project, reflecting on what students had to do to make their car stable and functional!

Literacy

Literacy Groups are well on their way!  We are no longer doing a split class program, but are focusing on small groups within each individual classroom.  This will allow Mrs. Rahal and Ms. McGill (Ms. Genno & Ms. Gibb too!) to ensure that as soon as a skill is learned, a student can move on to the next!

Students should be able to tell you what centers they complete in their classroom and what each center entails!  In Mrs. Rahal's classroom: read with teacher, read to self or partner, writing, word ring/spelling centers, in Ms. McGill's classroom: Teacher Time, Word Rings, Writing (comprehension questions based on the book they are reading), Words Their Way (we are still learning this one), and Choice Word Games.