November 22- December 13

Hello Families! It was wonderful to see you all at conferences. I truly enjoy spending time with families and sharing all the great things your kids are doing in school. It is remarkable how much they have grown just since September. I look forward to continuing this journey with them through June! Is it too early to be sentimental about letting them go in Spring? I will enjoy every day I have the privilege of being a part of their educational journey!
Feature Section: Kid Chat: We were helping kids in Burundi, Africa by collecting money at school. Whichever grade level brought in the most money, won a secret prize. Second grade raised enough money to earn third place. We were disappointed at first, but then we realized that we raised a lot of money for Burundi, Africa.We felt joyful that the people in Burundi would be happy to get money to go to school and make their life better.
Spelling Bee: We hosted our first second grade spelling Bee on Monday. I was so impressed with the class participation and the good sportsmanship from both the competitors as well as the audience. Congratulations to Lucy, our class champion and Alex our class Runner Up!
Dahms Dollar: Your child has been earning money for being responsible in second grade ie. completed homework, returning their book everyday, filling in their reading log and sometimes for doing extra jobs around the classroom.The kids can spend their money at the Mrs. Dahms store, which opens at the end of every month. However, I do offer an incentive for kids who choose to save their money. Whenever a student saves 100 cents, he/she earns a Dahms Dollar. For the first Dahms Dollar earned, the student can pick a friend and eat their lunch with Mrs. Dahms in the classroom. This dollar can also be spent at the Mrs. Dahms store. So essentially, the kids are receiving a bonus reward for saving up their money. The first Dahms Dollar earners were Sal, Ryan, Carson, Nick B, Lucy, Noah and Maya.
No New Spelling Words Thanksgiving Week- Enjoy time with family!
Ask Your Child:
What  is a Feelings Timeline?
Can you give me a summary of the story Thank You, Mr. Falker
What is an axel?
How do you get a paper cup to roll straight down a ramp?
Which book do you choose for your published book review?
Can you assign a character trait to each of the main characters in Gooseberry Park, the class read aloud? Characters: Stumpy, Kona, Murray and Gwendolyn

Feature Section: Kid Chat: (written by the class) Quarter 1 just ended...we were all wondering whose class would win the Tonawanda Tiger. The winning class is selected by pulling a class PAW slip out of a whole school bucket. The morning announcements came on; we were hoping that we would win. Suddenly...Dr. Kasmarick announced "The winning class is...Mrs. Dahms!" Yayyyyyyyy! We were jumping up and down and screaming so loud that the whole Pod could hear us. When Jack and Patrick walked in with the humongous champion tiger, we were proud and delighted. Everyone in the class was overjoyed!                

Awesome Sub Notes- It was such a wonderful feeling to walk in the classroom the day after being out for meetings to read a substitute note the began with "The kids were wonderful today!" The note later mentioned that the kids "were really awesome, hard workers and very helpful and polite to me." I was so proud of them! Yay for Mrs. Dahms' All Stars!
Mrs. Dahms Store Coupons: You may have seen your child bring home a coupon that looks like one in the picture below. These are purchased from Mrs. Dahms' Store. If you see a coupon, you can know that I have given the okay. Your child can choose to use the coupon anyday.

 

 

 

Growing Classroom Library: This is the big pile of books I was able to order for our classroom library for FREE with my bonus points thanks to your orders!

Personal Narratives: Your child brought home a bag of all the personal narratives he/she write during our unit. Included is the published piece and a graded checklist from me. I would have the published stories returned to school to put in our classroom library. I will make sure that the story gets returned home. Enjoy reading your child's writing!
Ask your Child:
What is a pictograph?
How did Charlotte's Web end?
What character trait could you use to describe one the character's you are reading about and why?
How did an axel help you roll discs down a ramp?
How should you sneeze to prevent spreading germs?

Reminders:
Sign up via the Tonawanda website for a conference slot.
Book Fair is open the week of conferences
Spelling Bee (Optional) Monday Nov. 18