January 2024

 Welcome to your January 2024, third quarter! I just want to touch base in this blog to share some pictures from all the exciting events we had at the end of last semester, as well as to give a quick update on what is happening upon our return. The most exciting thing will be we will have a student teacher joining us this semester, Ms. Brown.

Hello! My name is Lydia Brown (Ms. Brown), I am a senior at Northern Arizona University, and I’ll be Ms. Shaw’s student teacher this upcoming spring! I have an Associates of Arts in Elementary Education from Central Arizona College, and am currently completing my Bachelor of Science in the same field. I am from Casa Grande, Arizona and come from a family of educators; with both of my parents working in special services at various schools. I love to scrapbook, play video games, design things with Canva, and learn new things. Thank you for allowing me to work with and learn from your student as I prepare for my own classroom! I am excited to be a part of the Marshall Mustang family!

Weather and Illness:  Seems like it finally feels like winter! We still go outside unless it hits a certain threshold (the office monitors the  temperature and makes the call each morning). Please make sure to send your child with the proper outdoor gear (labeled) to keep them warm for outdoor recess. This includes boots, gloves, and hats for snowy days. We do go outside when it snows. If your child is at school they will go outside, please do not send them to school and have them say they are too sick to go outside. If you feel they are too sick to go outside they probably are too sick to be at school and should be at home for the day. Please do not send your child to school if they are sick. They need to be fever free for 24 hours without medication. We had a lot of illness right before break, a lot of temperatures. If your child has a temp or vomiting  please keep them home following this 24 hour guideline. Your cooperation in this matter helps keep everyone well. Thank you for your mindfulness and cooperation in keeping our classroom community well!! On a final note, we may be in for some snow in the upcoming weeks. Please check Facebook or KAFF news for any late start or cancellations due to snow. They usually announce around 6 am. If there is a delay school will start 2 hours later than usual, which means an 11:00 am start. Please see the FUSD website (linked here) for more information regarding weather impacts. 

Snacks:  We are out of snacks. If you are able please send in snacks to share with the class (we currently have 20 students). I have a fridge so if you wish to bring in string cheese or other items that need to be kept cold we are able to do so. I appreciate everyone taking a turn making a snack donation and keeping our hungry kiddos feed, the morning fuel really helps get them through the morning.

Field Trip to City Hall/Gingerbread Building:  Our field trip to City Hall was a success, all gingerbread building permits were approved and we were given the green light to build our gingerbread buildings. This year the folks city hall wanted to see the students bring their approved plans to life and dropped by Marshall while we were building to give some building tips and lend a hand. They had as much fun as the students did (maybe more by the joy on their faces 😀) and it was so cool to have them join us in the classroom. Thank you to everyone who donated supplies to make gingerbread building happen. 

Holidays:  We learned about holidays celebrated in December, such as Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. One of the things I love to do to help with their understanding is making latkes and playing the dreidel game so they have a tactile understanding of some of the traditions associated with Hanukkah. Thank you to everyone who donated supplies so the kids could try latkes, almost all of them for the first time ever. Thank you to Ms. Kelly for helping us make some of the best latkes we have ever had! 

Don't forget, our first Friday back will be a full day. That means 3:30 dismissal. Enjoy what is left of your break, I look forward to seeing our second graders and Ms. Brown on Thursday! 💙Ms. Shaw

December 2023

 Happy December. We have so much going on this month so please read on for all that is happening in class and at Marshall.

Math:  We have decided to continue with our math groups through at least the end of this semester. Each group will be working on finding 1, 10, and 100 more than a given number as well as using this information to find sums and differences within 100. 

ELA:  We will be reading stories that will help us with our understand of the water cycle. This will be the end of our water unit. From here we will jump into our NatGeo unit on Citizenship. This unit includes some of Aesops Fables which we will use to launch our Gingerbread Stories unit. As part of our Gingerbread unit we will be reading different Gingerbread books, and studying various story elements with these stories. In phonics we are continuing learning unpredictable vowel teams. This week is ea and next week is oo. We will not do phonics the three day week before break. 

This week is our big TestNav benchmark testing in math and ELA, as well as our reading fluency testing. Please make sure your student is well rested and in school this week so that they can test in our room with our class as opposed to having to do a make-up test at a later date elsewhere. Thank you!

Science/Social Studies:  In Science we will finish learning about solids/liquids/and gases and about the water cycle. We will also finish learning about how Flagstaff get it's water and how the water cycle works in Flagstaff.   

In Social Studies we will begin learning about the different holiday celebrated at this time of year, as well as who celebrates them, how the holiday began and the importance to those who celebrates. We will look at some of the traditions associated with each holiday, and to help us better understand these traditions we will make a craft or some kind of food associated with the holiday. Be on the lookout for a sign-up sheet for needed supplies soon. Thank you! Also, as part of the Gingerbread unit we will be talking about local government and their role in the infrastructure of our city. We will use this information to make blueprints for our gingerbread houses, which we will take to city hall to be (hopefully 😉) approved. 

City Hall Field Trip:  After we learn about city government and their role in our infrastructure we will be using what we learn to make gingerbread house blueprints. On Wednesday, December 13th we will be walking to city hall to have them talk to us a little about city government, building permits, and hopefully tie it in a little to the new Marshall school build! After this we will be showing off our ginger bread house blue prints to have them either approved or denied. If you would like to join us on the field trip please email me and let me know. We will be walking. We should leave the school about 12:50 and be back about 3:00. 

Gingerbread Houses/Craft Morning:  After we have our plans approved by the city we will be bringing our gingerbread buildings to life. We will be making gingerbread houses and having a craft morning. Details and a sign up sheet will be going out for this soon. Please be on the look out. If you would like to get a jump start we need all boys to bring in can of vanilla frosting and all girls to bring in a box of graham crackers.  We cannot make this happen without your generous donations so thank you in advance!!

Food and Supply Drive:  Starting this week Marshall is holding its annual Food and Supply Drive. Each grade level is being asked to bring in specific items to help with the needs of our communities we reach with these items. 2nd grade is collecting toothpaste, toothbrushes, and toilet paper. If you are willing and able to donate any of these items please have your child bring them in any time this week. Thank you.

Spirit Weeks:  Oh how Marshall loves their Spirit weeks. Please see the attached flyer for all the upcoming spirit week days. 

STEAM Night 2:  You are invited to help us celebrate the A in STEAM with Marshall's with a performance from the choir followed by arts and crafts. Please see flyer below for more information. 

Early Release Days:  Thursday, December 14th and Wednesday, December 20th are both early release days so please plan accordingly. December 20th is the last day of school before break. 

If you have any questions about any of this jam packed December and all of its events please feel free to reach out via email. Although it is a short three weeks, and the last week is a short three days we will be packing it in with lots of learning so please make sure your students are in attendance!! Thank you. 💚 -Ms. Shaw

November 2023 Update

Happy November. Quick update on next week. It is a short two days before heading into our 5 day break but we will absolutely be cramming in the all the learning we can so I highly encourage having your students present for both days. Tuesday is our Fall Feast Luncheon, see below for more information.

Math:  In math we have been learning how to write three digit numbers with place value disks and comparing two three digit numbers. We are also taking a break from our regular math program to spend a few days doing math groups with Ms. Thompson and Ms. Johnson, strengthening our addition and subtraction fluency skills. We will do this for the remainder of this week and the week after break before picking back up with finding 1, 10, and 100 more or less of a given number. 

ELA:  Our ELA has been such an amazing work of stories that have supported both our science unit and Native American Heritage Month. We are learning all about the importance of water and being good stewards of water. We began our water unit comparing and contrasting "Frog Brings Rain" and "Lila and the Secret of Rain." The students showed a great understanding of the different uses we have for rain and it's importance. Last week we read "We Are Water Protectors" and "Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior" both by the amazing Carole Lindstrom. We discussed how the Native American community views water as life and the importance of safeguarding water,  and the students wrote about how they could be water protectors/stewards at home and at school. We also finished up reviewing and testing on predictable vowel teams last week (which included ee, igh, oa, oe, oi, oy, ai, ay, au, and aw). We began unpredictable vowel teams with ie, which we will finish before break. After break we will work on unpredictable vowel team ow. An unpredictable vowel team simply means a vowel team that is written one way but has two different pronunciations. The students are learning how to always try reading unfamiliar words using the most common pronunciation first. 

Science/Social Studies:  In Social Studies we continues our cross-curricular learning by reading "The Unbreakable Code" to teach about Veterans Day and the amazing Code Talkers who served our nation in WWII. In science we have moved from properties of solids to properties of liquids. We will learn about gases next. All of this will take us into the water cycle that we have been leading into during our ELA. We are also keeping a close eye on and recording our observations on Pumpkin Jack, who is happily rotting away on our shelf. We will be taking data on him monthly.

Fall Feast Luncheon:  Tuesday, November 21st is our Fall Feast Luncheon. 2nd Grade Luncheon is from 11:30-12:00. Each meal is $5. Menu and other grade level lunch times are attached. I look forward to having you all join us on Tuesday. 

In the spirit of gratitude I would like to take the time to express how grateful I am for each of my students and their families. I truly do what I do because I enjoy educating and being around children, and this bunch brings me a lot of joy and laughter. I have enjoyed getting to you, their families, and the support and love you give your children is both abundant and evident. I also have appreciated our conversations and have felt the support and appreciation, and in public education that goes a long way. Thank you for what you do for us in room 9! - 🤎Ms. Shaw

Halloween Updates and More

 Just a few quick updates for the week ahead...

Math:  We will be wrapping up how to read and write numbers in unit form, standard form, expanded, and word form this week. After that we will be using these forms to read and write numbers within 1,000 with place value disks.

ELA:  We will be reading "Pumpkin Jack" and after introducing vocabulary and doing two reads we will be writing about the life cycle Pumpkin Jack goes through in the story. In phonics we will be working on the vowel teams au/aw. We wrapped up our reports on bats and spiders as well as did some great three part stories on how animals use certain adaptations to in their habitats.

Science:  Last week we introduced the scientific process by doing a simple experiment of testing if certain cookies would sink or float. This week we will continue learning the steps in the scientific process be conducting a science experiment with different colored pumpkins on Monday before we read Pumpkin Jack on Tuesday. We will be seeing if all pumpkins (green, white, black pumpkins) are orange on the inside. After we are done with this experiment we will set up the carving of our pie pumpkin to look like Pumpkin Jack, which will set us up for the beginning of our plant unit in the spring. After we read Pumpkin Jack we will place Pumpkin Jack in a sealed tub to start to decompose and begin his life cycle. We will take data on our pumpkin throughout the year, leading up to our plant unit in the spring. 

Social Studies:  In honor of the end of Filipino American History Month we will be reading "Francesca Isa, Dalawa, Sorpresa!" and listening to it in the Tagalog language of the Filipino people. After we listen to this story about a Filipino girl celebrating her birthday we will make a Pabatin, a game where toys and prizes are hung from bamboo sticks that the kids have to jump to get. We will also be learning about Día de Los Muertos.

Halloween:  As a second grade team we have decided that second grade will all be doing a pajama party on Halloween this year. There were a lot of factors surrounding this decision, the main one being that we are at specials on this day and costumes make it really difficult to run at PE and other specials activities. So instead of costumes all second graders may wear their pajamas this Tuesday. Again - no costumes but it is a pajama party. Please make sure your child has on the appropriate shoes for recess and a jacket for the cold. Also, we will have a small fall/holiday themed "celebration" (standards aligned should anyone ask). I will not send out a sign up sheet for food, I will just hand out what we get. If you wish to send in any treats please make sure they are store bought. Please also make sure whatever you send in does not require any cutting, slicing, mixing, or assembling by me. I do not have the tools or time available to do so. Thank you for understanding. 

Hope you have a restful rest of your weekend. Picture retakes is this Friday and we have not received picture packets as of yet. Hoping they come in by the beginning of the week so you can make a decision on retakes by Friday am. If not, I would advise to do retakes. 💜-Ms. Shaw

Mid October Update 2023

 Happy October, is it just me or is this month flying by? Thank you all who attended conferences, it was so  great to meet with each of every one of you. The partnership between home and school is so important, and the time we have and conferences to communicate your child's academic growth and how to keep working together to build on that is so fundamental. I appreciate you taking the time out of your schedules to make it happen, you all are amazing! October is always a great month, we are so busy while at the same time we really start to settle into our routines. Here is what is happening in second grade for the rest of the month:

Math:  We have moved into our unit on place value. We are working on understanding place value units of one, tens, and hundreds. 

ELA:  We are reading stories from our NatGeo curriculum that are teaching us all about animal adaptations. We are learning about how animals use those adaptations to survive in their habitats. We are also using these stories to learn about plot, beginning, middle, and end, and to write stories that have a beginning middle and end about animal adaptations. We will have a fun art project based on camoflouging to go with our writing. We will also be researching and writing about bats and spiders the next couple of weeks. In phonics we are working on vowel teams. Last week we learned about vowel teams igh and oa, this week we are learning about vowel teams ee and oe. Next week is vowel teams ai/ay and oi/oy.

Science:  We kicked off science by learning what it means to be a scientist. Next week we will begin to learn the scientific process by planting a pumpkin in a jar and making a hypothesis about what we think will happen to the pumpkin. You know we alway tie in literature as much as possible so we will be reading the story "Pumpkin Jack" to help us do a little pre-learning to our spring plant unit as well as build vocabulary.

Social Studies: We learned all about the history and importance behind Indigenous People's Day. We will be learning about Día de los Muertos coming up. 

Lamar Haines:  Our field trip to Lamar Haines was a huge success. The kids did a great job hiking and learning a little more about Flagstaff history and gathering evidence to write how they know there was life up on the mountain. Here are a few pictures from our field trip.

Besides writing about our findings the kids also made their own pictographs on rocks that we put on our cave on the outside of our wall. The really show an understanding of how people used pictographs to communicate and what types of things they were communicating. Here is a picture of the students making their pictographs on our homemade rocks and our rock drawings on our cave. 

Snacks:  I need to give out a very special shout out to my very own mom and dad very supplying our class with snacks. They purchased the snacks shown below, plus some (as well as a special Halloween treat because they just can't help themselves 🤣).

This will cover us for quite some time, so you do not need to purchase any snacks for a while. Also thank you to Yareli and her family for sending in snack the other day without me even requesting, you are appreciated!

First STEAM Night of the Year:  Our first steam night of the year is coming up next week. This month we will be focusing on the M in STEAM - Math! This is a free, family event full of activites, so please join the fun!

 Crede Repertory Theatre:  This has become a tradition of sorts here at Marshall. Crede has been visiting our school for years and giving us bi-lingual and interactive performances that we just love. This year was "The City Dog and The Prairie Dog," a story about exploring the world and learning new things, and coming back home. At the same time teaching about how each species plays an important role in their ecosystem. The students love the music and getting to interact with the play. Here are a couple of pictures from the performance:

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

• November 3rd - Picture Retake Day
• November 21st - Thanksgiving Luncheon

We are not sure what the plan is surrounding Halloween this year. At this time we are pretty sure second grade is probably doing a pajama party instead of costumes, but we have not solidified that as of yet. We have not mentioned any of this to students at all!! When we know I will tell them and notify you as well. We should know early next week at the latest. Either way we will do a small harvest party. We will not do a snack sign up, if you wish to send in non sugary treats that is fine, we will partake in whatever comes our way. Thank you - Ms. Shaw

Conferences

Happy October! The Gallop was a success - thank you to our parent volunteers who made our day a success. Please remember all money is due this Friday, October 6th. If you collected your pledges and want to send them in sooner that is fine. 

This week is Hispanic Heritage Spirit Week. We are super excited about this, as we have been learning all about Hispanic Heritage. Our spirit week are as follows:

Sí se puede day- translated in English as "It can be done", or "Yes you can". Wear your favorite college’s gear
Tejano (tay-hah-no) Tuesday- dress up day. A Mexican American inhabitant of southern Texas. Also, a style of folk or popular music originating among the Tejanos, with elements from Mexican-Spanish vocal traditions and Czech and German dance tunes and rhythms, traditionally played by small groups featuring accordion and guitar. Students and staff can wear their best Tejano dress (jeans, boots, belt buckles, cowboy hats) or rock their favorite music tee. 
Wardrobe Wednesday - Wear traditional clothing, bright colors that represent the various cultures, colors that represent the various flags, or beach attire.  
Hispanic Hero/ Inspiration Thursday - Dress as your favorite Hispanic role model.
Fútbol Friday - Wear your favorite soccer team attire. 

Conferences are coming up the week after this week (October 9th-11th). All three days will be 12:45 early release times so please plan accordingly. Please sign-up on the attached sign-up for your child's conference time (Conference Sign-Up). Please sign your child's name in your conference spot. All conferences will be in person, if you need a phone call or online meeting please feel free to email me to make arrangements for this to happen during your conference time. If you would like a translator present please let me know so that I can arrange for one to be in attendance. In order to honor each families conference time I will do my best to begin and end on time. If you feel you have question that will end up exceeding the allotted amount of time given to discuss your child's academic progress we will have to schedule another conference time to continue our discussion. Thank you for your understanding. School is closed the Thursday and Friday following conferences for fall break. I hope to see everyone at conferences. If you have any questions please reach out via email.

Looking forward to seeing the second graders in the morning, ready to end our last full week of the quarter strong!! -Ms. Shaw