Individuals as Teammates

Happy Monday! Wow, who knew we were going to have a fire drill today? No one in our room. After the drill we met to discuss how things went. We decided we lined up, walked out, and took care of ourselves quite well--even though the alarm was a big SURPRISE! During our discussion, we also decided we needed to be quieter when lining up and simply say, "Here," when we get to our safety spot. That's what a good teammate would do.

Each person in our room is a unique individual. When we come together, we are still individuals, but we also form a team. It's an odd idea isn't it? Really it's making one out of many. This idea is why we are working so hard on helping everyone be individually and independently responsible. We listen, make transitions, and do our jobs independently, so our class team can work well and learn together. It's the individual links in a chain that make it strong; it's the individuals in our room that make us a strong team.

In the coming weeks, we will continue to explore the behaviors that support our learning: getting along, listening, using our work time, being kind, safe, respectful, and responsible. So here's to great Teammates and here's to Seconds!

Odds and Ends

Did you know that all Woodlamd students have recess before lunch this year? Did you also know that all Woodland students run a lap around the Square before heading to the playground? Did you also, also know that at least one teacher runs the lap with his second-grade learners most days?

Here's one more "did you know." Did you know we had a fire drill on Thursday? Everyone exited the building quickly and quietly. The learners in Room 223 put on a great display of safe and mature behavior. We know how to take care of our business, so here's to Seconds! Thanks families for all the support you show each and every day.

What a Week

What a week it has been. You might even say it's been a strong week! We are off to a great start as we learn how to do second-grade work, how to be part of a classroom team, and how to cooperate. The Woodland Way is alive and well in our room.

This morning, we also had our first, all-school assembly. During the assembly, Ms. Carlson talked about how important the Woodland Way is for everyone when we are in school, on the playground, and on the buses. No matter where we go or what we do, it's about being kind, safe, respectful, and responsible.

Here are some things you might want to talk about as a family...things we have done this week:

• We read Hunter's Best Friend at School.
• We sang The Barnyard Song (and the bird went tweet-tweet).
• We are reading Rumplestiltskin and learning about characters, wants, and problems.
• We talked about how mathematicians work.
• We started working in our Math Journals.
• We laughed and learned together!

Enjoy the weekend ahead. Here's to Seconds!!

Off and Running...And Learning

We had a great first day in second grade. We read a little, wrote a little, and did a little math. We also began rereading a familiar book, "Hunter's Best Friend at School." In our discussion, we talked about how Hunter and Stripe were really in charge of their choices. Unfortunately, they needed reminders from their teacher and from their friends about how to be their best selves. After only finished half the book, we already noticed how characters' choices affect other characters and other events. Who knew? More to come tomorrow. Here's to Seconds!

Open House!

What a treat to meet so many students and families last week during Summer Assessments.

Ms. Muck and I are looking forward to seeing more smiling faces Tuesday, September 2 from 5:30-7:00 p.m. at Woodland's Open House. Woo hoo. Open House is a great opportunity to visit school, bring in school supplies, find your child's/children's classroom, and meet all the wonderful people who are part of the Woodland community.

Here's to an energetic evening. Here's to Seconds!