Grade 2 Weekly Classroom Update 3/20/2026

 🌟 Grade 2 Weekly Classroom Update 🌟

Dear Grade 2 Families,

We had a fun and engaging week filled with creativity, hands-on learning, and exciting new concepts! Here’s a look at what we explored together.

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📚 Language Arts – POWER Writing

In Language Arts, students worked through the full POWER Writing process:

• 🧠 Planning their ideas (Legend of the Leprechaun)

• 🗂 Organizing their thoughts

• ✏️ Writing their drafts

• 🔍 Editing and re-reading their work

Students are learning how to take their ideas from start to finish and are becoming more thoughtful and independent writers.

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🔢 Math – Esti-Mysteries & Addition Strategies

In Math, we continued building strong number sense through:

• 🔍 Esti-Mysteries (estimating and explaining thinking)

• 🔢 Counting by 10s from any number

• ➕ Addition using a 100s chart

Students are developing flexible strategies to solve problems and are becoming more confident explaining their thinking.

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🔬 Science – Objects, Materials & Light

In Science, students explored:

• 🧱 Objects and Materials

• 💡 Sources of Light

We discussed how different materials are used for different purposes and explored what objects give off light. Students are beginning to think like scientists by observing and asking questions.

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🍀 Leprechaun Trap Building

Students had so much fun designing and building their Leprechaun traps!

This activity was connected to our Science learning, as students explored materials used to make objects. They thought carefully about which materials would work best, why certain materials are stronger or more useful, and how to design a trap that could work effectively.

This hands-on experience encouraged creativity, problem-solving, and scientific thinking.

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🌍 Social Studies – Culture & Totes About Me

In Social Studies, we continued learning about culture and heritage through discussions and journal reflections.

Our Totes About Me exploration has led us to Hong Kong again, where students learned about traditions, culture, and connections within our classroom community. It’s been wonderful to see students making meaningful connections between their own lives and the world around them.

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📌 Reminders & Important Information

🚍 Telus Spark Science Centre Field Trip
Our Grade 2 field trip to the Telus Spark Science Centre is coming up on Tuesday, March 31st.

Please ensure that all permission forms are signed and returned on or before the field trip date. We want to make sure every student can attend this exciting learning experience!

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🌷 Spring Break
📅 March 21–29 – No School

We wish all of our families a wonderful and restful Spring Break! Enjoy this special time together.

We look forward to welcoming students back on Monday, March 30th, 2026.

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Thank you for your continued support and partnership. It’s a joy to see our students learning, growing, and shining each day!

Grade 2 Weekly Update 3/13/2025

 🌟 Grade 2 Weekly Classroom Update 🌟

Dear Grade 2 Families,

We had another wonderful week of learning in Grade 2! Students have been busy building their writing skills, strengthening their math strategies, and learning more about culture and heritage in Social Studies. Here is a snapshot of what we explored this week.

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📚 Language Arts – Writing & Editing

In Language Arts, students spent time planning, writing, and editing their work. We used tools like the Four Square Planner to organize ideas and help students structure their writing with a clear beginning, middle, and ending.

Students also practiced editing their writing, looking carefully for things like capital letters, punctuation, and spelling. It has been great to see students take pride in improving their work and sharing their ideas with others.

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🔢 Math – Esti-Mysteries & Number Strategies

Our math learning continues to focus on building strong number sense.

Students explored Esti-Mysteries, where they observe a picture and make reasonable estimates about how many objects they see. These activities help students develop flexible thinking and mathematical reasoning.

We also practiced several important strategies including:

• Making 10 to add

• Doubles and doubles plus one

• Using a 100s chart 

These strategies help students build confidence with mental math and understand how numbers work together.

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🌍 Social Studies – Culture, Heritage & Totes About Me

In Social Studies, students continued learning about culture and heritage and discussing how traditions, languages, and celebrations help shape who we are.

Our Totes About Me presentations took us to Hong Kong this week! Students enjoyed learning about another place connected to the heritage of someone in our classroom. These presentations continue to help us appreciate the diversity of cultures in our community.

We were also fortunate to learn alongside an Indigenous Knowledge Keeper, who helped deepen our understanding of culture, language, and traditions.

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🎨 100th Day of School

Students celebrated the 100th Day of School with special activities, including creative 100 Day art. It was a fun way to celebrate how much learning and growth has happened over the past 100 days!

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📌 Reminders

📅 Student Involved Conferences
Student-Involved Conferences are happening next week, and we are asking all families to sign up. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to share their learning and reflect on their growth with you.

Please make sure to book your conference time if you have not done so already.

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📦 Leprechaun Trap Materials
Next week we will be building Leprechaun traps in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day!

Students are encouraged to bring:

• Shoeboxes, or

• Small package boxes

These will be used to design and build creative traps in class.

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📅 IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES

🍀 March 17 – SPIRIT DAY: Wear Green for St. Patrick’s Day

📦 Leprechaun Trap Building
Please send shoeboxes or small package boxes to school for our trap-building activity.

🥨 March 19 – Edo Fun Lunch Day / Mr. Pretzel Treat Day
(Orders can be placed through healthyhunger.ca by March 15.)

👨‍👩‍👧 March 19 – Evening Student Involved Conferences (K–6)

👨‍👩‍👧 March 20 – Daytime Student Involved Conferences (K–5)

🌷 March 23–27 – Spring Break
There will be no school during this week.

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Thank you for your continued support and partnership in your child’s learning. It is always a joy to see how much our students grow each week!

Grade 2 Weekly Update 3/6/2025

 🌟 Grade 2 Weekly Classroom Update 🌟

Dear Grade 2 Families,

We had another exciting and busy week of learning in our classroom! Our students continue to grow as thinkers, writers, mathematicians, and curious learners. Here is a look at what we have been exploring together.

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📚 Language Arts – Writing Super Sentences

In Language Arts, students have been practicing how to write super sentences using our Who, What, When, Where, and Why template. This structure helps students organize their ideas and add important details to their writing.

We practiced turning short ideas into strong sentences by asking questions such as:

• Who is the sentence about?

• What are they doing?

• When did it happen?

• Where did it happen?

• Why did it happen?

Students are becoming more confident writers and are learning how to add interesting details to make their sentences clearer and stronger.

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🔢 Math – Esti-Mysteries & Making 10

In Math, we have been working on Esti-Mysteries, where students look carefully at a picture and make reasonable estimates about how many objects they see. This helps students develop strong number sense and mathematical thinking.

We are also learning about Basic Math Facts using the Part–Part–Whole strategy. Students practice seeing numbers as pieces that fit together to make a whole.

This week we introduced the strategy “Make 10 to Add.” Students break apart one number to make a ten first, which makes addition faster and easier. These strategies help students build strong mental math skills.

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🌍 Social Studies – Culture, Heritage, and Indigenous Perspectives

Our Totes About Me presentations continue to take us on a journey around the world. This week we learned about Bangladesh!

Students are discovering the many cultures represented in our classroom and learning about:

• Different countries and traditions

• Family heritage and ancestry

• Languages, food, and celebrations

We also explored learning about Indigenous Peoples of the Calgary area and discussed Indigenous perspectives on Land. Students learned that for many Indigenous communities, the land is not just a place to live, but something that people care for, respect, and have a deep relationship with.

These conversations help students understand that land holds history, stories, and cultural meaning, and that people have responsibilities to care for it.

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🤝 Buddy Learning with Grade 5

We also had more opportunities to learn alongside our Grade 5 buddies. Buddy time included collaborative activities, shared reading, and helping each other with learning tasks.

The Grade 2 students always look forward to this time. Our Grade 5 buddies are fantastic role models and help build confidence in our younger learners.

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📌 IMPORTANT UPDATES

📝 Cultural Heritage Questionnaire
A Cultural Heritage Questionnaire will be coming home soon. This activity will be completed with families at home and will help students gather information about their heritage and family background.

This information will support our Culture and Heritage Unit in Social Studies, helping students make deeper personal connections to our learning.

📅 Please return the completed questionnaire by Monday, March 9.

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🚍 Telus Spark Field Trip Forms
Field trip forms for our upcoming Telus Spark trip have been sent home.

Please review, sign, and return the forms as soon as possible.
📅 All forms must be returned by Friday, March 13.

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📅 Upcoming Dates

March 12 – SPIRIT DAY: 100th Day of School
Students can dress like they are 100 years old or dress like their future selves. We are excited to celebrate this fun milestone together!

March 19 – Evening Student-Involved Conferences
(The booking system opened March 2 for Kindergarten and March 9 for Grades 1–5)

March 20 – Daytime Student-Involved Conferences
(The booking system opened March 2 for Kindergarten and March 9 for Grades 1–5)

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Thank you for your continued support at home. Our classroom community grows stronger when school and families work together. We are excited for another week of learning ahead!

Grade 2 Weekly Update 2/27/2026

 🌟 Grade 2 Weekly Blog Update 🌟

We had an exciting and meaningful week filled with learning, creativity, and buddy connections! Here’s a look at what we explored together.

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📚 English Language Arts

This week in ELA, we continued building our writing and comprehension skills through:

• Learning and singing Follow the Drinking Gourd

• Exploring the story of Viola Desmond and discussing courage and fairness

• Using the Four Square Planner to organize our writing ideas

• Continuing to read Elmer and the Dragon (Chapters 3–4)

Students practiced organizing their thoughts clearly before writing and adding details to strengthen their sentences.

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🔢 Math

Math was full of hands-on learning and games this week!

We worked on:

• ➕ Zero Property of Addition

• 🔁 Order (Turn-Around) Property of Addition

• 🔟 Make 10 strategy

🪙 School Money Counting Activity
Students practiced counting coins and combining amounts using classroom “school money.” This helped build real-world math skills while strengthening mental math strategies.

Students are becoming more confident explaining how they solve problems and recognizing number patterns.

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🔬 Science – How Sound Travels

Our Sound unit continued with our exciting “How Sound Travels” Science Stations!

Students rotated through six hands-on stations:

• Hanging Sounds

• Stringing Along

• String Telephone

• Crazy Kazoo

• Clinking Jars

• Making Waves

They explored how sound moves through solids, liquids, and air. Students recorded observations and discussed how vibrations travel from one place to another.

Having our Grade 5 buddies support the stations made the learning even more special. The collaboration, leadership, and encouragement were beautiful to see!

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🎨 Art & Pink Shirt Day

Students completed their vibrant landscape artwork inspired by Alma Thomas and also created Quilting Heart Art for Pink Shirt Day.

We attended the Pink Shirt Day assembly and reflected on kindness, inclusion, and standing up for others.

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🧳 Totes About Me

During Totes About Me, our ancestry exploration led us again to Vietnam.These conversations continue to build pride, empathy, and appreciation for the diversity in our classroom community.

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👯‍♀️ Buddy Learning with Grade 5

We had several meaningful learning moments with our Grade 5 buddies this week:

• Grade 5 Pink Shirt Day presentation

• Visiting the Grade 5 Science Fair

• Supporting our Sound experiment stations

Our Grade 2 students truly look up to their buddies, and it is wonderful to see leadership and mentorship in action.

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📅 IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES

📖 March 5–12 – School-Wide Story Telling / Medicine Wheel Residency
Students will participate in special storytelling experiences connected to the Medicine Wheel teachings.

🗓 March 19 – Evening Student-Involved Conferences
(The booking system will open March 9 for Grades 1–5.)

🗓 March 20 – Daytime Student-Involved Conferences
(The booking system will open March 9 for Grades 1–5.)

We look forward to meeting with you and having students share their learning progress.

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Thank you for your continued partnership and support. It is a joy watching your children grow in confidence, curiosity, and kindness each day!

Grade 2 Weekly Update 2/21/2026

 

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🌟 Grade 2 Weekly Blog Update 🌟

Dear Families,

We had another meaningful and engaging week in Grade 2! Here is a look at what we explored together.

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📚 English Language Arts

This week, we focused on writing Super Sentences using the Who, What, When, Where, Why template. Students learned how to expand their ideas by including important details to make their writing more complete and interesting.

We practiced identifying each part of the sentence and checking that our writing includes clear details. This work is strengthening sentence structure, clarity, and creativity.

We continued reading Elmer and the Dragon (Chapters 2) during snack time, building comprehension through discussion and prediction.

We also enjoyed an Author Spotlight presentation: Brave Like a Buffalo in the gym, which encouraged perseverance, courage, and positive character traits.

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🔢 Math

In Math, our focus was on strengthening mental math strategies:

• ➕ Counting On

• 🔟 Make 10 Strategy

• 🎲 Numeracy games such as Go Fish – Make 10 and Make 10 Shakers

Students practiced explaining how they decomposed numbers to make friendly tens. This strategy is helping them build flexibility and efficiency in addition.

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🔬 Science – Sound and Its Qualities

Our Sound unit continues! This week we explored:

• 🎵 Characteristics of Sound: Pitch, Volume, and Duration

• 🔊 How sound travels

• 👂 “Guess the Sound” listening activities

• 📓 Recording observations in science journals

Students practiced describing sounds using scientific vocabulary and identifying how sound moves through vibrations.

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✊🏾 Black History Month Learning

Throughout the week, we engaged in meaningful conversations and read-alouds highlighting important historical figures:

• Harriet Tubman – Timeline activity and discussion about courage and leadership

• Alma Thomas – Abstract Artist

• Oscar Peterson – Celebrating excellence in music

• Follow the Drinking Gourd – Learning about coded songs and the Underground Railroad

Students reflected on bravery, perseverance, and the importance of standing up for justice.

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🎨 Art

Students started working on a beautiful landscape artwork inspired by Alma Thomas. They explored colour, pattern, and expressive brush strokes to create vibrant pieces.

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🧳 Totes About Me

During Totes About Me, we continued exploring our classroom ancestry. Our learning has led us again to China and Japan. We discussed traditions, family heritage, and cultural connections.

It has been wonderful to see students proudly sharing their backgrounds while learning about the diversity within our classroom community.

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📅 IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES

📌 February 24 – Report Cards Open
Report cards will be available in your MyCBE account. Please log in to view and download a copy.

💗 February 25 – SPIRIT DAY: Pink Shirt Day
Pink Shirt Day is an annual event across Canada that stands against bullying and promotes kindness and inclusion. Students are encouraged to wear pink to show their support for creating a safe and caring community.

📚 February 27 – NO SCHOOL
Non-Instruction Day – There will be no classes for students.

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Thank you for your continued support at home. It is a joy to see your children growing in confidence, curiosity, and kindness each day!