January 24- February 7

Hello Families! I hope everyone is staying warm! It has been a tough winter at school- lots of indoor recesses, not a lot of fresh air and time to run. Despite the cold weather, the kids are holding together very well at school. The picture below shows one of the new indoor recess activities-Adventure to Fitness

Kid Chat-Adventure to Fitness-JUMP, LEAP, CRAWL...Adventure to Fitness is an active exercise video we have been doing at recess time. Mr. Mark leads us on adventures around the world. He transports us to different countries to complete a mission. We're curious to see what our next mission around the world will be!
MAP Testing Complete- So proud of this group of second graders! Everyone did a great job of slowing down and trying their best. Some kids will finish up their testing next week.
Report Cards Home Tues. Feb. 4- Along with the report card, you will find a yellow conference request form and directions for scheduling and your child's Quarter 2 facts test with Proficiency targets.
Math Fact Practice-As mentioned above, you will get your child's Q2 scores and 2nd grade's Proficiency targets. The addition target for Quarter 2 was 85% of problems correct in 1 minute (There are 20 facts)- This requires students to be able to recall facts within 3 sec. We still need a lot of work in fact fluency. We will continue to practice at school with our fact triangles and through a variety of math games/activities. Please take some time at home twice a week for just 5 minutes to build fact power. Your child can practice with fact triangles, flash cards, online games listed on the right sidebar or simply writing addition/subtraction facts on paper and solving them. Thank you for your support at home!
Scholastic Book Orders- I am extending the book order deadline to Tues. Jan. 28- you can still place orders online or send in a check to school. You can click the link on the Right sidebar.
Ask Your Child:
What was the Author's message in The Quiltmaker's Gift?
How was the play similar and different from the book?
How can a new plant get started? (Plant a seed, seeds can travel by air, water or animal)
What did Mrs. Olson teach you that a constructed response should include?
What does content vocabulary mean?
Why is your class hanging clouds on the wall?

January 10-January 24

Hello Families! It is great to be back, especially having missed 4 days before winter break. I got hit really hard with the flu- in bed for 5+ days. Sorry about confusion with homework, spelling, assignment notebook... I'm glad to back!
Kid Chat: Here is the friendly letter we wrote as a class:
Dear Families,
Our class is doing a project about kindness. It was inspired by the book The Quiltmaker's Gift. Just like the King learned that kindness made him happy, we are going to be on the When we see someone being kind, we will  write a kindness cloud. We made an extraordinary goal of writing 100 clouds by the 100th day of school. We feel confident that we can do it! We're excited!
                                                                                                                Sincerely.
                                                                                                                Mrs. Dahms' Spectacular Class

2 Rescheduled Field Trips: Due to the  freezing cold day on Tues. Jan. 7th, we had to reschedule our all school field trip for Mon. Jan. 20th, which is the day our class was scheduled to go to the Nature Center. I will have our room parents send out an email about chaperones for both trips
Nature Center: Tuesday, February 11th
HELP-Materials Needed: Our class in need of dry erase markers and pencils- almost out! If you are willing to donate materials, we would REALLY appreciate it!
MAP Testing: Our Winter testing sessions start next week and continue the following.
1/14 Reading 11:00am
1/22 Math 11:00am
1/23 Language Arts 11:00am
*Please help your child to get enough rest, eat a healthy breakfast and try their best!
Flat Stanley Project: A purple sheet was sent home on Wednesday explaining this project and asking for your family to select a person your child can send a letter, then return to school with an address and a stamp (no envelope needed) 
Ask Your Child:
What is the class goal for MAP Reading Test? (Take at least 45min to complete the test)
What is a line segment? What tools are needed to draw one?
Retell the story Flat Stanley using characters, setting, and events in order (be sure to include the problem)
What is our next science unit?

December 15- January 10

Hello Families! I hope everyone is staying warm- Brrrrr! While we have been indoors for more recesses than outdoors this month, this group of second graders has remained pretty focused (even though their bodies are a little squirrly!) Here are some important classroom notes:

The Quiltmaker's Gift: Our all school field trip to see The Quiltmaker's Gift will be the Tuesday we return from winter break. There is no fee for students, but I do need the permission slip signed a returned. I can take two chaperones with the class. The chaperone fee is $4.50. The first two interested parents to email me can join us!
*If you have not read the book, I HIGHLY recommend it! It is one of my very favorite children's books. It has a great message and beautiful illustrations!
Word Study: You will have noticed that this week's spelling list came home stapled to a word sort page. This is the word study sort your child will be working on in school that week. I told the kids that it is their choice how they use the page. They could cut and sort the words in many ways and play games like we do in school. Or they can just talk about the sort with someone at home- What do you notice? What patterns do you see? Nothing has to be returned to school.
TGIF Journals: Today in your child's BEE folder, you will see a packet of letter writing paper with a special letter from your child. Please write back to your child sometime this weekend (Refer to the inside cover for the Friendly Letter format the kids have learned). The kids will read their letters from you Monday morning privately. The TGIF letter writing project lasts about 4-5 weeks. Thank you for your support in this unit. Enjoy the letters from your kids!
Typing Camp: We have just finished our 2nd week of keyboarding! I am so impressed with the dedication and hard work the kids have shown! It is a very difficult task to use the correct finger to tap a key, especially when pecking with your index finger is so much faster for them right now! The kids are enjoying reading in the classroom tent that was set up to add to the camping atmosphere.
PJ Day: We are keeping our fingers crossed that our school earns a pajama day next Wednesday, December 18. If our school earns a total of 1,350 PAW slips, we earn the reward. In addition, the top two grade levels earn a hot cocoa party. Last Friday, Second grade was in the lead. I will keep you posted!
Ask Your Child:
What is the difference between fiction and nonfiction?
Can you name 3 Nonfiction features?
What do you put on the class Parking Lot?
Why is there a tent in your classroom?
What does persuade mean? "You wrote a letter to the character Mrs. LaRue to persuade her to either bring Ike home or leave him in Obedience school."
Can you name all the digits? (0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9)

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

October 25-November 8

Happy Fall to all! Here is our classroom news:
Word Work: We are rolling out Word Study next week. The first week will be routine focused. The second week will begin with differentiated, just right sorts your child complete based their individual assessment. In addition to weekly word study patterns, your child will get 6 high frequency words to study- these are individualized based on assessments. Any words your child missed will
Conferences: Parent Teacher Conferences are right around the corner as Quarter 1 comes to a close. You can sign up for your conference date and time on the Tonawanda website.
Sunset Playhouse Field Trip: We will go on our first field trip on Thursday October 31 to Sunset Playhouse. We will be walking so please send your child to school with a warm coat and possibly hats and gloves depending on the weather.
Fall Party: Our Fall Party was a huge success! Thank you to ALL parent volunteers who sent in items for the party, planned, prepared and/our chaperoned the party. The kids had a GREAT time. We did not get a chance as a class to say a BIG THANK YOU!

Ask Your Child:
Who are you getting to know in reading? (Which character?) What do you know about him/her? Why do you think that?
Retell your story using SWBS...Somebody, Wanted, But, So
How does an object get set in motion? (a force)
Name the similarities and differences in Twirlers and Zoomers. (Both spin...Zoomers are set in motion by hands spinning the zoomer in circles, twirlers are set in motion by gravity and air resistance)
What is happening in Charlotte's Web?
What is a 3 Star post It? How is it different than a 1 star Post It?
Reminders:
Please return the assessment envelope that your child's MAP scores were delivered in on Monday Oct/ 21st (I apologize for the delay in sending them home!)

October 11-25

Hello Families! We have had a great couple of weeks in second grade. Busy, but great. Here are some happenings and information for you:

NEW FEATURE
Kid Chat: "Catching Complements"- We challenged ourselves to compliment our classmates. At the end of the day, we shared the compliments we received. Mrs. Dahms placed a baseball on the mitt everyday. Finally, when we reached 20, we earned an extra recess. (written, edited and revised by Mrs. Dahms' second graders)

Spelling Bee Date mix up!: On your October calendar, I put the spelling bee on October 18th. It is really scheduled for November 18th. This is an optional event. Your child can decide whether to participate or not. Here is the link to the spelling lists on the school website:
http://www.elmbrookschools.org/tonawanda-elementary/item/index.aspx?linkid=561&moduleid=34
Field Trip Permission slip: In your child's BEE folder, you will find a new field trip form. The School district is sending one main field trip permission form home with all of our field trips for the year. Please fill out and return the form along with the one fee for all the field trips listed. Thank you!
Scholastic Book Orders: I apologize to all the families that placed a September order. I realized after I entered all the orders, I must never have clicked Submit. I realized a week later after the books hadn't arrived. So sorry for the wait.
I will send home the Oct./Nov catalog next week.
Mrs Dahms Store- It finally opened last week. The kids earn pennies throughout the week for complete homework, reading logs and bringing their books back to school. In addition, I will give out pennies when someone does a job for me or helps someone else with their job. The kids then exchange their pennies for nickels, dimes,  or quarters to shop at Mrs. Dahms store. Along with little things like pencils, sticker sheets, fun erasers, I sell coupons for things like "Show and Tell, "Bring a Stuffed Animal to School". If you see a coupon like this come home, then you know that your child bought it from the store and fulfill the coupon any day he/she chooses.
Reminders:
Our Fall Party will be on Oct. 24 11-11:45. This is a half day of school.
Oct. 25- No School
Oct. 31- Sunset Playhouse Field Trip AM
Ask Your Child:
What patterns do you see in your book character's behavior?
How much time has passed in this story?
What does your character want?
As a writer, can you give me an example of a story ending that is not exciting? Can you give
Tell me about one of the small moments you have written in class.
What is happening in Charlotte's Web?
What is a turn around fact?
Explain how you would solve this problem...Team A has 14 kids, Team B has 11. How many more kids are on Team A?