2nd Blue- Ms. McGehee

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Week of April 29th

Hello all!! I am sorry that the students had a substitute on Tuesday. Mrs. Koh did a fantastic job of filling in for me and ensuring that all the assignments were completed. My health decided to not cooperate with me, but I think I am on the upswing and have things in place to prevent it from happening again.
Here are some items for this week:
  • Spelling lessons A and C are completed at school
  • We will start poetry for Lighting Literature
  • The students completed their autobiography drafts in class. You will need to help them check for grammar and spelling errors and write a final copy if you want. The students have till Thursday to bring in a final copy hand written for $10.
  • Math is mixed review and test 9
  • May 6th is field day. There is still a need for volunteers. Please consider signing up.
  • May 7th is our field trip to Bricks4kids and Chop House. The students will be bringing home a kid’s menu to practice ordering. Please help them know what they will be ordering. We will be practicing dining etiquette on Tuesday and Thursday. 
I hope you have a beautiful day and I will see you Tuesday!!

Week of April 22nd

Hello all!! Here are some items to keep in mind for this week:
  • Dragon Report Presentations are on Tuesday. Remember that these three paragraphs must be practiced at home before Tuesday.
  • Spelling lessons A and C are at co-op.
  • The rough draft of the autobiography is four paragraphs, and it is being written at school. The rough drafts will be sent home on Thursday. You may correct these and write/type the final draft on Monday, April 29th
  • The students did well with money but may need some review of coins like 4 quarters= $1.00, 10 dimes= $1.00
  • Remember to be reading 20 minutes a day, at least
Have a great week!!

The students will be accomplishing their rough drafts in class for the autobiography. You will complete a timeline for this autobiography. Please do this Wednesday instead of what the syllabus says. Please email me with any questions. 

Week of April 15th

Good day, all!! The week was wonderful with our Asia Experience and finishing My Father's Dragon. The students should have all finished their rough drafts. You will edit and complete the final drafts at home. I tried to explain to the students that research papers do not have personal pronouns (me, my, I, mine). I think some were sent home with this, so please double-check and help them correct the sentences. On April 23rd, the students will present their final copies by reading them to the class. Please practice reading the three paragraphs at home. This is a little more than they are acclimated to present.
Here are some items for next week:
  • We will start 26 Fairmount Avenue on Tuesday. Please have this book ready at home.  Our composition will be writing an autobiography. This will take place over the next 2 weeks. I will have the students create a web of questions to answer and help organize information. This worked well this last week. 
  • Remember to look at the syllabus dates and not complete math that is completed in class. We have a math test on Tuesday, and then we start money!! Luckily, our students have been learning money in the classroom all year due to our economy system, so hopefully, this goes smoothly! 
  • Please review past math concepts to ensure your student fully grasps them. 
  • Science will be working on stars.
You will be receiving information next week concerning our field trip in May. We started taking a field trip to Bricks4Kids and Chop House two years ago. The students will work on and practice restaurant etiquette and manners. The students will earn this field trip by showing they know how to act in a restaurant and how to order. I expect all students to be able to participate in the field trip, but they will work for it. The date for our field trip is May 7th, and we walk to both places. Parents are not invited to eat with us at Chop House, and we will take one parent to Bricks4Kids per class. Your students will do better without you, sorry. I am excited to have this field trip again after being unable to last year. Cost and permission forms will hopefully go out by next Thursday. I need to get through Speed's science fair project first. 
 
I am proud of how well your kiddos have worked on their dragon research papers. Some students have really stepped up to the task. Make sure to tell your student how well they are doing. 
Email me if you have any questions!

Week of April 8th

Good day, all!! 
 
We had a wonderful week at coop. We were able to accomplish everything on the syllabus and more. Here are some things to keep in mind for this week:
  • Students will be creating their dragon research projects. I have sent home index cards to be filled out. These are to be returned to school on Tuesday. On Tuesday, we will start our rough drafts. Wednesday, you will NOT work on the writing piece at home. Students may create a drawing or 3-D model of their dragon to present with their paper. Thursday, we will complete the rough drafts. On Monday, April 15th, you will review the rough draft, edit it with your student, and create the final copy. They will practice reading it at home and present it in class on April 23rd. 
  • Spelling is back to lessons A and C being completed in class
  • Tuesday is the Asia Experience Party from 12:30-2 pm. I will be bringing Kimchi for the students to try. 
  • Science is discussing black holes
  • Africa is our next continent
Have a great week, and email me with any questions!

Week 2 of Last 9 Weeks

Hello all! This week went quickly with all the learning. We accomplished everything on the syllabus, and our science experiment worked! Thank you for the Easter gifts! I have enough Reese eggs to get me through the week, haha! Thank you to the parents for the Easter party. The students enjoyed it. Here is what is happening next week:
  • We will be completing this week's work on Tuesday, April 2nd, at school, so it is a little different. 
  • We will be completing Spelling lessons 29E and 30B at school this week.
  • All students need to bring any work they have completed on their creative writing paper (the writing web sheet and anything else on what they would do together with a character from the Boxcar Children). I will be helping them to complete their rough drafts on Tuesday.
  • We will start My Father's Dragon on Wednesday, April 3 at home, so make sure to have the book. 
  • Our composition is a fictional research report on dragons. This will be started in class on April 4th. 
Please email me with any questions.
 
 

Week 1 of the last 9 weeks!

Hello all!! I loved being back to school and teaching. We accomplished all the items on the syllabus and more. Here are some items to look forward to:
  • We will finish the Boxcar Children this week. Please have My Father's Dragon ordered or purchased for the following week. 
  • Spelling lessons A and C are accomplished in class.
  • Uranus and Neptune are the science topics.
  • Easter Party is Thursday from 12:30-2 pm.
Thank you for the appreciation gifts and lunch. I enjoyed eating lunch with the other teachers. I want you all to know that teaching is something I love doing. I am so happy to be able to continue to do what I love after the last year. Helping teach your children is on my bucket list, and I'm so happy to be here. Thank you for sharing your children with me and feeding me this week!
 
 
I am deeply grateful for your gifts, delicious foods and treats, and warm-hearted gestures and cards during Teacher Appreciation Day. Your support and kindness mean a lot to me!
With heartfelt thanks,
Ji Koh
 

Week 1 of 4th 9 Weeks

Welcome back from Spring Break everyone! I pray your break was restful and enjoyable. 
Things to keep in mind as we start the week:
  • Remember that your Monday will be spent finishing the last nine weeks of the syllabus. Some of you may have worked ahead, but glance and make sure you completed all you need to. 
  • We are continuing in our chapter book- Boxcar Children. We will read chapters 6-9, and chapter 8 will be completed at home on Wednesday. 
  • This week's composition work will involve writing about an older person's childhood. The older person's childhood would be better if it were different from the students'. I will send home some questions that will help students gather information.
  • Math is working with regrouping with subtraction. Remember, if your student goes through math quickly, it is a great time to revisit or add some extra. Khan Academy is a free website that provides video tutorials and lessons on many subjects. You may consider having your student work through the 2nd-grade math or even starting the 3rd-grade math. 
  • In Science, we will be talking about Saturn. 
  • We will continue learning about the continent of Asia. We will be working on researching different countries and talking about their people and cultures. 
  • Remember that lessons A and C of spelling are completed at school. 
I hope this helps you start your week! Please email me if you have any questions!! 

Week of March 4th

Hello, you wonderful humans!!
 
The students had a great week at the party and completed everything on the syllabus! I am sorry for the confusion about the poems. I taught the students how to write diamond poems to have them think about nouns, verbs, and adjectives. We also listed nouns, verbs, and adjectives to write poems at home. These did not need to be diamond poems. The book asked to create rhyming ones, but you are the teacher, and you get to decide what kind of poem. I am sorry for this confusion, and I will do better in the future. 
 
Next week, Jess Callis is the substitute. I have left sub notes for her on all that needs to be accomplished and Mrs. Latham and Mrs. Johnson have offered to help her with items for the science project. The students have been instructed there are no payments or bills next week due to my absence. I will owe them a paycheck after spring break. 
 
Upon returning from spring break, I will have a Google doc go out with parent-teacher conferences. The students will be involved in these as we look at what has been accomplished and what to work on to prepare for third grade. 
 
Thank you for everything you do!!! You are a great group of parents!! Have a wonderful break!!

Week of Feb. 26th

Hello all!! I hope you are having a wonderful Friday and are ready for the weekend. This week, we accomplished everything on the syllabus and then some. The science experiment of balloon rockets was great fun, but our yarn was too thick and did not do well. We decided to release them and watch them fly all around. The writing this week was super simple, and the students did wonderfully. This week, I learned that the newsletter I send through Edlio has not worked. Please email me at my Oak Grove email so I may have your email to send you any news I would like to go out immediately. This will allow me to type in your name quickly and send emails. I will send home progress reports next Thursday because I will be out the first week of March.
Things for next week:
  • Our composition piece is writing a descriptive poem. We will create a list of keywords to help with this at home. 
  • Science is asteroids and meteoroids.
  • The Ch.7 math test is on Tuesday. You can look ahead to familiarize yourself with what you teach in Chapter 8. 
  • I noticed that some students still need help with clocks on the math review. Remember to continue to review taught skills at home throughout the year. It may also be the 'till and after that is challenging and not the actual skill of reading an analog clock. 
Next Thursday, Feb. 29th, will be our pizza and gaming party, which the students have earned for these nine weeks. I will be ordering Dominos since it has worked well. The students can bring their Pokemon and baseball cards to play during our party. I will be hooking up my switch for the students to take turns playing Mario Kart. The party will take place during our lunch and recess time. Please email me or text me any questions you may have concerning this. 
 
Students are not allowed to wear shoes with roller skates in them. The rollers must be removed during the school day. 
 
 
 

Week of Feb. 19th

Good day, all! We had a wonderful week of learning and parties!! Thank you to all the moms who provided incredible fun and food this week! The students loved the Oreo moon phases and weren't too sad that I changed the science experiment from the book. Here are some items to keep in mind for next week:
 
  • We are finishing A Mouse Called Wolf. Please stay with the readings at home so your students can participate in book discussion day. 
  • Composition this week will be writing a thank you note to someone who taught them something. I aim to have the students do most of it in class on Tuesday, and you will proofread it at home on Wednesday. 
  • Science is learning about Mars; the science experiment with balloon rockets on Thursday will be lots of fun. 
  • Spelling lessons A and C are done in the classroom
  • Math will complete Chapter 7 measuring. 
Important Dates to Remember:
  • Pizza and games party Feb. 28th(this is our nine weeks earned party)
    • I will send a sign-up sheet to help with the ice cream sundaes. 
  • Spring Break March 11th-15th 

Week of Feb 12th

Good day, all!! The students had a wonderful week completing all the work in the syllabus. We worked to add some fun items to the week and will continue working on our project of creating our planet. 
Things to remember for the week:
  • We will start reading A Mouse Called Wolf, so please have this book at home to read. We will be reading two chapters at school and two chapters at home. 
  • The Valentine's treat will be tomorrow. 
  • The European Party will be held on Thursday afternoon
  • Science is learning about the Earth's moon.
  • We will start learning about the continent of Asia next week

Week of Feb. 5th

Good day, all! This week we accomplished everything on the syllabus, and more! We learned a lot about Mars and talked about how math was what helped us get to the moon. I spoke a little about Katherine Johnson and showed the clip from Hidden Figures where she does the math on a large chalkboard. The students thought this was neat and really enjoyed learning about her. We did some geography of Europe and learned some map reading skills. The students did wonderfully with reading data from charts. I encourage you to remember that struggling is important. We sometimes forget that some struggle is needed for growth and are too quick to provide the answers. I will sometimes give the wrong answer to see if the students catch it or play dumb to have them explain it to me. 

Things to keep in mind for this week:

  • Read and follow the syllabus to ensure that school work is accomplished at school. 
  • Book reports are due Tuesday for those who have not completed theirs.
  • The Bears on Hemlock Mountain is the book we will be reading. The first five chapters are in class and the last five are at home. The link here is a playlist for all chapters. 
  • The composition this week is to write a short story (8-10 sentences) with family members as characters.
  • Please send in Math Test 6 and start looking at what you will be teaching in ch. 7
  • Science topic is the planet Venus

Dates to remember:

Monday, February 12th- Valentine’s Dance

Tuesday, February 13th- Valentine’s snack and European Party (Some school items may not be completed in class due to both of these on the same day. I will let you know.)