December is upon us

Snow is just my own wishful thinking. The fresh white powder gives everything a new look. We, however, have had more in the form of rain. We have been lucky to not be rained out of any recess so far this year, so kids are getting outside and getting some much needed exercise.

Student council has come up with some wonderful ideas to improve our recess time. We have started to include more organized games including everybody's it tag, scramble, four square, jump rope, and knock down soccer. We have seen an increase in activity and a decrease in unkind behaviors. Thanks, student council for helping us with some ideas.

Popcorn Fridays have been a HUGE success! It has been a way for us to reward students for outstanding behaviors and use it as a fundraiser as well. Money raised is helping fund climate related reward systems at the school to focus on positive behaviors here at Grout. Thanks so much for supporting this effort.

Looking forward to school activities and special festivities the next few weeks. Then on to a much deserved winter break!

Fall is upon us

I LOVE autumn. I think it's the colors and the sunny, but cooler weather that mesmerizes me. It could also be that I love the beginning of new things and autumn signals the beginning of a new school year and fresh starts.

This year is a fresh start for me in a new position. I have left the classroom after several decades and have stepped into a new position for our school as the School Climate Specialist. My role is creating a climate in our school that facilitates the success for all students and teachers. I also get to work with students and teachers to help make adjustments when what is in place just doesn't seem to work. This has given me many opportunities to create positive relationships all around the building.

This will be a growing and learning year for me as I settle into this position, but like I said, I love new and fresh starts.

If you want to stop by and see me, I am now located in room 204.

Enjoy this fall season,

Karey Kirk

Bring on the May flowers!

I have such mixed feelings when the calendar turns and I see it is May. It is exciting to know the weather is nicer more often than it is bad. I love pointing out all the different types of flowers and trees to the kids. Sunshine simply makes me happy.

It is also the time of year I match the calendar to the curriculum, making sure I am on pace to finish all there is to teach in second grade in the next several weeks. Sometimes, I panic. It is a similar feeling to studying for my finals. How will the kids do at the end of the year? Will they all make it to benchmark?

I will be starting a number of assessments over the next several weeks. This is an important time of year to have all the students here as much as possible. It is very difficult to give assessments to the class when some are missing and I need to find additional time to assess them separately. Of course, if your child is sick, please keep them home!

We are working on a couple really fun units in literacy. We are reading books in a series to get to know the characters over the course of several books. We are also writing opinion letters about those same books and learning to support our opinions with evidence from the actual books. The kids are doing a really good job working in book clubs and having meaningful conversations around the books they are reading.

In math, we are continuing to work with larger numbers. We have investigated a variety of ways to combine large numbers and subtract them as well. We are finally getting to the traditional way of adding and subtracting that I grew up with by carrying and borrowing, although I like to use the term trading to help them understand the concept of moving numbers to and from different place values. For some, this will come easy. For others, they will need a bit more practice at home,

Now I am going to go out and enjoy some of this sunshine!
Karey Kirk

Spring has sprung!

I love watching things around me change on a regular basis in the spring. Each day I find new flowers blooming or trees showing traces of new leaves opening. 

The kids in our class are also changing by the day. Their growth in so many areas seems to happen before my eyes. Our discussions are so much deeper and the level of their thinking astounds me. We have spent a lot of time in the past month or so working in discussion groups. We began by simply sharing a thought while the others listened. Now we can share a thought and others connect their thoughts and questions together to form discussions that deepen their understanding about a topic. The students have surpassed my expectations in every way.  I can teach students information, but that is not nearly as useful to them as being able to have a productive conversation with others where they can not only share what they know, but listen carefully to learn from another's perspective. 

Another sign of spring is how quickly the next weeks will pass and how the end of the school year is just around the corner. There always seems to be so much content to cover before the year ends. You can help at home by having your child well-rested and ready to learn when coming to class. Here are some topics we are covering right now:

Math- Double digit addition and subtraction
Reading - Longer and harder books and keeping track of the story
Writing/Science - Experimenting with force and motion and writing lab reports 
STEM - Habitats and Slide show presentations

Report cards are coming up and should be coming home on 4/20. If you have any questions about your child's report card or progress, please set a time up with me so we can go over things.

I hope you had a restful spring break and are ready for the next stretch!

Karey Kirk

December 2017

It's that time of year that the students are getting excited for the coming holidays and the teachers are trying to wrap up their units of study before sending their students off for an extended break, hoping they don't forget all they have learned in the past several months. 

I have to admit, the kids are working hard in our class. We have been focused on non-fiction both in our reading and in our writing. We have been noticing how authors present information and make it interesting, then try in ourselves in our own books. Every day the students are growing new knowledge. Ask your child what new information they have from the day. 

We are working on subtraction and addition in our math unit, looking for patterns that will help with fluency facts up to 20. You can help by practicing these facts at home as well.

We will be having a holiday party on Dec. 15th. Look for a sign up sheet outside our door towards the end of this week or early next week. 

A super special thank you to several parents that have been volunteering their time. Some are coming in and reading with the kids. Some are staying after school to wipe down tables or sharpen pencils. It is so appreciated! It's hard for me to keep up on some of those tasks. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful break and you are able to spend quality time together.

Karey Kirk

Back to School

It has been great to be back in the classroom with a room full of fresh little faces. We have been getting to know each other and learning routines and expectations.

Stamina has been the go-to word lately. We are working on doing things for longer periods of time without getting tired or giving up. Currently we have a goal to read for 15 minutes, write for 10 minutes, and listen attentively for 7 minutes. While many students are already there, we want to get all our students working towards this goal. You can help your child at home build their stamina while doing their homework reading logs.

Sharing time has started now. Though this may seem like a simple show and tell, there is much more to it. Students are using this time to practice speaking to a specific topic and giving 3 details about their item. Helping your child remember to bring something from home makes this a much easier experience for them. Even better, is to have your child practice what they would like to share at home before coming to class and sharing in front of their classmates. Click below to get a copy of the sharing schedule.

sharing schedule

I look forward to seeing as many families as possible at our back to school night, Thursday, Sept. 14th from 5:30-7pm. 

Karey Kirk

Back to school 8/30/17

Dear Second Grade Parents,

I am so excited to introduce myself as your child’s teacher this year. My name is Karey Kirk. I have been teaching for 28 years. Grout has been my home for nine years now. This summer was quite the wedding season for my family as two of my grown children married the loves of their lives. We also celebrated my parent’s 50th anniversary. Love was definitely in the air. We did some traveling to Idaho to celebrate my grandson’s first birthday and I finished my summer with a trip to Maine to spend time with my 2 year old granddaughter. I hope you and your family were able to relax, refresh and are ready to face a new school year with a second grader in the family.

We will be working hard this year and here are some things you can expect your child to learn.

Literacy

We will be developing our literacy skills through reading, writing, listening and speaking. Your child will have many choices of reading material that interests them. I will be guiding them to make choices at the perfect reading level for each of them. As a writer, your child will be encouraged to see writing as an enjoyable and useful skill. In the classroom, they will be encouraged to use their developing phonics skills to take their best guess when they want to write a word they do not know how to spell. It is my desire for them to gain independence in their writing and not get stuck in their writing waiting for someone to help spell words for them. Please do not be alarmed if work comes home with some words spelled incorrectly. As their writing develops and the students are exposed to more words in our reading and spelling program, their spelling will become more accurate.

Math

The math curriculum we use is called Bridges. There will be a lot of partner work as students work on developing concepts, strategies, and number sense. There will be opportunities for you to work together as a family to strengthen these concepts at home. Another way you can help your child at home is to spend about 5 minutes a night working on addition and subtraction flashcards to increase their speed and accuracy. You can often find these at a local dollar store or make your own. This practice is beneficial because it increases your child’s self-confidence in his /her math abilities.

Library

This year our library time will be on MONDAYS. Books may be checked out when previously checked books are returned. Books are due the FRIDAY BEFORE so our librarian has time to check them in before we arrive. Help your child find a safe place to keep their book for the week. Encourage your child to share their library books with you. Showing your love of reading can be contagious!

PE/PlayWorks

We have PE on WEDNESDAYS and Playworks on THURSDAYS. Please make sure your child is wearing appropriate shoes and clothing that allows full participation those days.

STEM

Students will be rotating throughout the year to the other second grade teachers to learn a variety of topics related to science, technology, and engineering. Topics include google docs, weather, habitats, balance and motion.

Volunteering and Visiting the Classroom

Please feel free to visit our classroom. Your call in advance is greatly appreciated to avoid interruptions, surprises, etc. For the safety of all students, ALL visitors (parents included) are required to check in at the office before coming down to the classroom.

Your child and I value your support and precious time. Any type of help you would like to give is appreciated. You do not need to commit to classroom time in order to help. There are often projects that can be done at home and returned. If you can, classroom volunteers add so much to the educational experience. Please let me know if you are interested. Background checks are required for all volunteers. Forms can be filled out in the office.

Homework

Research supports less homework for students this age, especially after a long day of learning at school. That same research also shows the importance of reading 20 minutes or more a day to gain proficiency as well as a love of reading. Homework will be sent home on Fridays and should be returned on the following Friday. A math page relating to current work will also be included for additional practice. If your child would like additional practice at home, there are many great sites located at www.portaportal.com/wolfsong .

Sharing

I will be sending home a separate paper explaining our sharing in more detail and will include a specific schedule. Your child will usually have sharing every other week on THURSDAYS. Each rotation will have a special theme. Please help your child select an item to share that corresponds to that week’s theme.

I look forward to working with you and your child this year. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact. Email tends to be the fastest way for me to respond.

Thank you,

Ms. Karey Kirk

503-916-6209

kkirk@pps.net