Grade Two March News

St. Cecilia 2015

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

Religion/Family Life
nd

It is hard to believe it is already the 2 week of

March and we are beginning our final term at
school! We would like to thank you for your ongoing support at home.
We had a very successful and fun Spirit Week last
week. Great participation by everyone. We
continue to collect change for our Lenten Project
and welcome any donations that will go towards
the class purchase of a goat or goats.

Important Dates to Remember

March 16 20th March Break
Friday, April 3rd Good Friday
Monday, April 6th Easter Monday

Math
We continue our focus on Geometry and will begin
exploring 3-dimensional shapes. Your child will sort
and describe 3-D shapes using different properties
(see below for the geometric properties and
vocabulary). Your child will also be comparing 3-D
shapes and making skeletons of 3-D shapes using
items like straws, toothpicks, marshmallows and/or
modeling clay.
You can support your child at home by looking for
and naming different 3D shapes around your home
(e.g. a Kleenex box is a rectangular prism).
Encourage your child to use math words to
describe these 3-D shapes. Some examples of
words they will be learning to use are:

face: one of the flat surfaces of a solid

edge
ed
ge: a line at which 2 faces meet
vertex (plural: vertices): a corner; the point
where the edges of a 3-D shape meet

We have learned how to add and subtract 2-digit

numbers with regrouping. We will continue to
work and build on both of these skills regularly in
class through our morning Brain Buster. Extra
practice at home is always helpful.

In early April we will celebrate Easter, the most

important event in Christianity. In class, we will be
sharing the stories and events of Holy Week
leading up to the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We will also begin preparing for the
sacrament of First Communion. We
are learning about the meaning of
the different parts of the Mass and
after Easter will begin to practice the prayers
and responses we need to say and give
throughout.

Language
We are continuing to work on understanding what
we are reading. We are learning to infer (use
clues from pictures or text and our own
knowledge) when reading to help us understand
and answer questions about what we have read.
We are also continuing to practice asking
questions about what we are reading to help us
understand texts.
We continue our focus on narrative writing and
are learning how to write descriptive stories with
a beginning, middle and end.

Science
We have started our next unit on Movement
Understanding Structures and Mechanisms.
Students are learning about the basic nature of
movement as a change in position of an object.
They are learning about the six basic types of
simple machines (lever; inclined plane; pulley;
wheel and axle; screw; wedge), and how they help
humans to move objects. They will also learn that
mechanisms are moving parts that incorporate
simple machines for changing the type and
direction of movement and that mechanisms and
machines help make our lives easier and/or more
enjoyable.