All information (due dates, assignments, etc.) on this site pertains to Mrs. Celestre's class only. Check back for class updates.
9/19
Today will be my last day with our class, and Mrs. Tripathi will be taking over. She was able to join us Tuesday and Wednesday, so she is all set to take over.
Science: We learned more about frogs and their life cycles through a virtual reality trip in the makerspace. Students learned about threats to frog habitats and ways people are helping frogs in the wild.
Social Studies: We compared and contrasted things like technology, school, and transportation, looking at how things have changed over time, but also have remained the same in many ways. You can talk to your child about how things have changed since you were a kid, and compare things they do as a kid to what you used to do as a kid.
Math: We are wrapping up our measurement unit. Students should be able to measure accurately with a cm ruler, meter stick, and cm cubes. They should also be able to estimate and measure to check.
ELA: In Writing Workshop, we have been working on adding details to our writing and using specific word choice. We are taking out "boring" words and replacing them with more specific and exciting words. We have also started using descriptive language to SHOW our readers where we are instead of telling them. We are also learning about how to use MINTS rules to capitalize.
Tomorrow, we are getting together with out buddy class to do a growth mindset activity.
9/8
My last day with our class will be Friday, September 20th. Mrs. Tripathi will be shadowing the class for three days during our last week, so she will have some time to get to know the students and our routine before I head out on maternity leave. Her first official day will be Monday, September 23rd. I will send out her contact information as soon as it's available from the district. Please fill our our parent/guardian contact form ASAP, so you don't miss out on class updates. Sign up for our class Remind to get class reminders.
Science: This past week, we discovered how frogs don’t just say “ribbit”; in fact, each kind of frog has a unique call! In our activity, students learned to identify frog calls and used this skill to investigate which of two locations, a pond or a lake, had more kinds of frogs.
You can encourage your child’s curiosity at home! Together, watch this video about one of the frogs we studied in class this week, Wood Frogs: http://safeyoutube.net/w/W3Lc Scientists are studying Wood Frogs’ amazing ability to freeze solid in winter, then “come back to life” in spring!
Social Studies: Thank you for sending in artifacts and documents for our students to share with each other. We will continue to learn about the differences between long ago and today. Any Home and School Connection papers (like the family artifact or family interview sheets) are optional and can be returned to school at any time.
Math: In this unit, we are learning about measuring with centimeters. Students are practicing estimating and measuring different objects using centimeter cubes, centimeter rulers, meter sticks and meter tapes. If you have some of these tools at home, you can have your child practice measuring different objects around your house.
ELA: In Writing Workshop, we are learning how to write different leads to our stories, in order to hook our readers. So far, we have practiced using sounds, actions, and questions. This week we will delve into using dialogue. During Language Arts, we are learning about nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. by creating sentences using sentence patterning charts and testing our knowledge on Quizziz. We also started rotating for FLEX classes.
This past week we also had our first PAC time with Coach Ortega and celebrated National Read a Book Day with our Big Buddies in the Garden. This next week we will begin library.
8/27
Here is the link to my Back to School Night slides. Please check them out if you weren't able to attend or want a copy of the information. Thanks!
Social Studies: We are learning that people can learn about long ago and today by examining primary and secondary sources. We are sharing primary sources from our families like artifacts and documents. Students have brought in many interesting primary sources to share, including family photographs, war medals, and a metal dish used for prayer.
Math: We are continuing adding and subtracting using different strategies like using drawings and decomposing numbers. We will have our first math test on Thursday.
ELA: We are working on focusing in on one small topic to write about in our Writing Workshop. Students started with "watermelon" story ideas, and narrowed them down into "seed" stories. We practiced telling our stories to partners and have begun our first drafts. We will continue with our drafting this week, in addition to goal setting. We are also learning about homophones, and have been taking a few assessments in preparation for our FLEX reading classes.
We also learned about what it means to "go online" and our online communities during our digital citizenship lesson. On Thursday, we will meet with our big buddy class for the first time in the makerspace!
Just a reminder that there is no school on Friday for students.
8/23
I enjoyed meeting all of you at Back to School Night! Please be sure to fill out our Parent Contact Information Form as soon as possible. I also need the Emergency Contact, Parents' Rights, and School Handbook forms returned, too. If you'd like to stay in the loop about what's going on in our class, be sure to sign up for our class Remind as well! Here's what we have been working on this week:
Science: This week we began our unit on animals with the Mystery “How many kinds of animals are there?" We learned how scientists sort animals into groups by looking at the characteristics they share. In our activity, we practiced sorting mammals, reptiles, birds, and invertebrates.
Here’s something fun you can do together with your child to help support their learning: take a walk in your neighborhood and pay attention to the animals around you. As you encounter different animals (like squirrels, bugs, etc.), ask yourselves: “What kind of animal is it? What other animals is it most similar to?”
ELA: Our Writing Workshop is off to a great start! Students wrote their first personal narrative, which will help me assess their writing needs and serve as a jumping off point for our unit. We set up our notebooks, learned about personal narratives, and practiced generating ideas. Next week we will begin drafting our seed stories! We also began our Daily Language Review and practiced summarizing and responding to writing prompts based on shared stories.
Math: We practiced making ten and adding ten using number bonds and started adding numbers to make the "next ten" in order to add numbers within 20 and 100. Please make sure your child is practicing their addition facts at home if they don't know them already. Knowing addition & subtraction facts will be key to achieving addition and subtraction fluency!
We continued to learn about Growth Mindset and how we can change our mindsets by changing the words we use when we talk to ourselves. And last but not least, we made our first trip to the makerspace. Students learned about the makerspace rules and had hands on exploration time with Makey Makeys, cardboard, and tools. We are definitely looking forward to our next visit!
8/13
Welcome to the 2019-2020 school year! We are going to have a fantastic year, filled with lots of learning and fun. This will be my first year teaching second grade at Oster. I have spent the last three years working as the makerspace teacher, and I previously taught fourth and fifth grades at Carlton.
My goal is to create a classroom environment where students feel included, comfortable to be themselves, and willing to take risks with their learning. We will work hard to be a team, where everyone feels valued and important. Your child's second grade year is an important year in their education, as they will begin to develop as independent learners. I look forward to getting to know each of my students, and I hope to make this a successful and memorable year for each child.
Please be sure to fill out the Parent/Guardian Contact Information form, so I have the best way to reach you this year. Please fill out our Volunteering form if you are able to meet any of our volunteering needs (room mom, art vistas, copies, etc.) this year. We appreciate the time you contribute to our class! There are also several forms due for the school and the district. Make sure to check through the Wednesday envelopes each week, so you don't miss any important forms, letters, or assignments from school.
Join us for Back to School Night at 7:00 on 8/21 for more information about the school year, and check the website regularly for updates.
Today will be my last day with our class, and Mrs. Tripathi will be taking over. She was able to join us Tuesday and Wednesday, so she is all set to take over.
Science: We learned more about frogs and their life cycles through a virtual reality trip in the makerspace. Students learned about threats to frog habitats and ways people are helping frogs in the wild.
Social Studies: We compared and contrasted things like technology, school, and transportation, looking at how things have changed over time, but also have remained the same in many ways. You can talk to your child about how things have changed since you were a kid, and compare things they do as a kid to what you used to do as a kid.
Math: We are wrapping up our measurement unit. Students should be able to measure accurately with a cm ruler, meter stick, and cm cubes. They should also be able to estimate and measure to check.
ELA: In Writing Workshop, we have been working on adding details to our writing and using specific word choice. We are taking out "boring" words and replacing them with more specific and exciting words. We have also started using descriptive language to SHOW our readers where we are instead of telling them. We are also learning about how to use MINTS rules to capitalize.
Tomorrow, we are getting together with out buddy class to do a growth mindset activity.
9/8
My last day with our class will be Friday, September 20th. Mrs. Tripathi will be shadowing the class for three days during our last week, so she will have some time to get to know the students and our routine before I head out on maternity leave. Her first official day will be Monday, September 23rd. I will send out her contact information as soon as it's available from the district. Please fill our our parent/guardian contact form ASAP, so you don't miss out on class updates. Sign up for our class Remind to get class reminders.
Science: This past week, we discovered how frogs don’t just say “ribbit”; in fact, each kind of frog has a unique call! In our activity, students learned to identify frog calls and used this skill to investigate which of two locations, a pond or a lake, had more kinds of frogs.
You can encourage your child’s curiosity at home! Together, watch this video about one of the frogs we studied in class this week, Wood Frogs: http://safeyoutube.net/w/W3Lc Scientists are studying Wood Frogs’ amazing ability to freeze solid in winter, then “come back to life” in spring!
Social Studies: Thank you for sending in artifacts and documents for our students to share with each other. We will continue to learn about the differences between long ago and today. Any Home and School Connection papers (like the family artifact or family interview sheets) are optional and can be returned to school at any time.
Math: In this unit, we are learning about measuring with centimeters. Students are practicing estimating and measuring different objects using centimeter cubes, centimeter rulers, meter sticks and meter tapes. If you have some of these tools at home, you can have your child practice measuring different objects around your house.
ELA: In Writing Workshop, we are learning how to write different leads to our stories, in order to hook our readers. So far, we have practiced using sounds, actions, and questions. This week we will delve into using dialogue. During Language Arts, we are learning about nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. by creating sentences using sentence patterning charts and testing our knowledge on Quizziz. We also started rotating for FLEX classes.
This past week we also had our first PAC time with Coach Ortega and celebrated National Read a Book Day with our Big Buddies in the Garden. This next week we will begin library.
8/27
Here is the link to my Back to School Night slides. Please check them out if you weren't able to attend or want a copy of the information. Thanks!
Social Studies: We are learning that people can learn about long ago and today by examining primary and secondary sources. We are sharing primary sources from our families like artifacts and documents. Students have brought in many interesting primary sources to share, including family photographs, war medals, and a metal dish used for prayer.
Math: We are continuing adding and subtracting using different strategies like using drawings and decomposing numbers. We will have our first math test on Thursday.
ELA: We are working on focusing in on one small topic to write about in our Writing Workshop. Students started with "watermelon" story ideas, and narrowed them down into "seed" stories. We practiced telling our stories to partners and have begun our first drafts. We will continue with our drafting this week, in addition to goal setting. We are also learning about homophones, and have been taking a few assessments in preparation for our FLEX reading classes.
We also learned about what it means to "go online" and our online communities during our digital citizenship lesson. On Thursday, we will meet with our big buddy class for the first time in the makerspace!
Just a reminder that there is no school on Friday for students.
8/23
I enjoyed meeting all of you at Back to School Night! Please be sure to fill out our Parent Contact Information Form as soon as possible. I also need the Emergency Contact, Parents' Rights, and School Handbook forms returned, too. If you'd like to stay in the loop about what's going on in our class, be sure to sign up for our class Remind as well! Here's what we have been working on this week:
Science: This week we began our unit on animals with the Mystery “How many kinds of animals are there?" We learned how scientists sort animals into groups by looking at the characteristics they share. In our activity, we practiced sorting mammals, reptiles, birds, and invertebrates.
Here’s something fun you can do together with your child to help support their learning: take a walk in your neighborhood and pay attention to the animals around you. As you encounter different animals (like squirrels, bugs, etc.), ask yourselves: “What kind of animal is it? What other animals is it most similar to?”
ELA: Our Writing Workshop is off to a great start! Students wrote their first personal narrative, which will help me assess their writing needs and serve as a jumping off point for our unit. We set up our notebooks, learned about personal narratives, and practiced generating ideas. Next week we will begin drafting our seed stories! We also began our Daily Language Review and practiced summarizing and responding to writing prompts based on shared stories.
Math: We practiced making ten and adding ten using number bonds and started adding numbers to make the "next ten" in order to add numbers within 20 and 100. Please make sure your child is practicing their addition facts at home if they don't know them already. Knowing addition & subtraction facts will be key to achieving addition and subtraction fluency!
We continued to learn about Growth Mindset and how we can change our mindsets by changing the words we use when we talk to ourselves. And last but not least, we made our first trip to the makerspace. Students learned about the makerspace rules and had hands on exploration time with Makey Makeys, cardboard, and tools. We are definitely looking forward to our next visit!
8/13
Welcome to the 2019-2020 school year! We are going to have a fantastic year, filled with lots of learning and fun. This will be my first year teaching second grade at Oster. I have spent the last three years working as the makerspace teacher, and I previously taught fourth and fifth grades at Carlton.
My goal is to create a classroom environment where students feel included, comfortable to be themselves, and willing to take risks with their learning. We will work hard to be a team, where everyone feels valued and important. Your child's second grade year is an important year in their education, as they will begin to develop as independent learners. I look forward to getting to know each of my students, and I hope to make this a successful and memorable year for each child.
Please be sure to fill out the Parent/Guardian Contact Information form, so I have the best way to reach you this year. Please fill out our Volunteering form if you are able to meet any of our volunteering needs (room mom, art vistas, copies, etc.) this year. We appreciate the time you contribute to our class! There are also several forms due for the school and the district. Make sure to check through the Wednesday envelopes each week, so you don't miss any important forms, letters, or assignments from school.
Join us for Back to School Night at 7:00 on 8/21 for more information about the school year, and check the website regularly for updates.
