“Believe you can, and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Welcome new 2nd grade parents to our blog! Here you’ll find precious photos of your child in their school element and read up on what happens here at St. James Day School!

We are closing in on our second week of school with learning in full force. Last week we spent quite a bit of time learning classroom and school rules as well as what it means to be a class family. We talked many times about the word: cooperation. Students defined cooperation as listening to others, taking turns, and not giving up when frustrated. We put this concept into action when students were challenged to make the tallest tower that would support a marshmallow. They had dry spaghetti, tape, string, and a marshmallow. 

We also had the opportunity to visit the middle school science lab. We dug for and help worms, checked out the aquarium and different types of fish, and learned about how the 8th graders are growing corn on Mars soil. How impressive!

This week we started our first math module and have learned all about making the next 10 to create easier addition problems. Students learned how to take Sprints. A math sprint it designed to increase fluency and confidence solving math equations. They also teach the students how to identify patterns in the equations for easier solutions.

School has only just begun but we are well on our way to an outstanding year here in the 2nd grade and St. James. Go Spartans!

Wow! Has an entire school year really almost passed? The days were sometimes long, but the year has been short. Words and pictures do not do justice for the fun and learning that has taken place this year at St. James Day School. We are within single digits of the number of days we have left in the classroom, so we are learning as much as we possibly can and having fun all the while.

Last week we completed the Stanford 10 test and the students performed their very best! Thank you to all the parents that sent encouraging notes to the kids and thank you to everyone for the wonderful snacks during testing week. We are still enjoying the leftovers! On Friday, we were a part of an experiment on TragEGGtory. Our class split into 2 teams and created structures that would hopefully protect an egg as it was thrown over a net. The UNCRACKED egg that was thrown the farthest using the least amount of materials won the challenge. I am pleased to report that team NEON PUGGLES from our very own classroom won 1st place in Lower School.

This week the middle school students completed a scavenger hunt game with the second grade students. There were many tasks to complete including a human pyramid, break dancing and a bronze tower made of pennies. We love any opportunity to collaborate with the big kids.

2nd grade was also invited to attend the Roman Carnival hosted by the Middle School students. The carnival was wonderful fun and very creative! Way to go SJ Middle Schoolers!

There is much anticipation for Field Day on May 21st and the Lower School Send Off on May 27th.

It’s been an amazing year. The students were nothing short of incredible I will miss them dearly. We are ready for summer!

Hello May! We are winding down our year here in 2nd grade. We still have a few things to check off our academic list so hard work is always on the menu but we are definitely sneaking in some sweet treats when we can! This week, we paused our learning to make some signs of encouragement for the 8th grade students taking a very important Algebra 1 test next week. The class had a great time getting to be creative and make their signs colorful and encouraging!

Also this week we practiced letter writing as we wrote to the first grade students to give them a peek into our classroom and some information on what to expect next year. Our class did an excellent job writing the letters and decorating envelopes for their first grade friends. These second grade students have very sweet hearts.

April 22nd was Earth Day and we made sure to learn all we could about helping our planet. Second grade students created wildflower earth bombs to plant around campus and their homes. We used earth colored construction paper, water and a blender to make this Earth Bombs and this experiment was a total hit with most of the class. The blended up construction paper became mushy and some students were very intrigued while others were very disgusted. It was an exciting time in class.

Mrs. McCarly taught the second graders the art of collage and they created the most interesting suns. Take a look at all the colors!

Second grade is truly the best! We have had two wonderful weeks of learning and fun. We started a new unit of math and the kids are really showing their intelligence with the foundations of multiplication! They are loving all the “big kid math” and have said things like “I have waited all year for this!” I am proud to say all students in the class had high scores on their last math module exam.

We have also continued our unit of study on Citizenship. We have learned many things about our country’s flag, the true meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance, the U.S. Constitution this week. We learned that our countries money is made at the U.S Mint Building. We also learned where some old and damaged money goes to die. Ask your child how farmers in New Orleans are using old money on their farms.

The Spring Musical was a true hit! The Oompa Loompas were the stars of the show, in my opinion. Thank you to Mrs. Tipton for all her hard work putting together such an amazing production. There were many moving parts and the entire SJDS student body worked together beautifully. I was so proud to see our kiddos perform.

We had a small Easter Celebration on April 1 before our Easter break. We water-colored “surprise” eggs and they turned out very nice. Students were pranked by thinking they were getting a brownie snack, but were instead given BROWN-E’s. They were displeased with this, however their real snack made up for the pranking.

This school year is quickly coming to an end. We have around 32 days of school left! I am soaking up the sweet and silly personalities as much as I can and reflecting on how much these kids have grown this year.

We are busy busy here in 2nd grade at St. James. Spring Musical is coming and we have been hard at work practicing every Wednesday. The students are anticipating the big performance. An email regarding ticket information has been sent to all parents of musical performers. Be sure to check out your ticket options.

Our class has also been hard at work water-color painting individual works of art to be used in a conglomerate framed art piece to be used in the auction fundraiser. I promise you wont want to miss the auction! There are many wonderful items up for grabs from all grade levels! Our class has also entered a framed class photograph that showcases each 2nd grade students personality. Just think: “class photo, but with 2nd grade style”.

2nd graders have just completed Module 5 of Eureka Math with flying colors. We will begin the foundations of multiplication and division soon. There is much excitement about learning to multiply and divide. We have started writing personal letters to grandparents and will also begin a new science study on plant and animal characteristics. Today, the 7th and 8th grade students visited our classroom to play a math game they created for the 2nd grade students based on what we have learned in the last module. There was a lot of competition between the groups and everyone was an incredible sportsman. Thank you to the 7th and 8th grade for making our Fun Friday F.U.N.!!