Distance Learning Week #11

Happy last week of school! There will not be any NEW assignments assigned in SeeSaw this week. However, students need to complete outstanding activities, as well as "drafts" (activities that were sent back for corrections). Please have your May istation completed by May 28. I'm excited to see everyone's overall reading growth!

Tuesday, May 26 is part 2 of our Graduation Celebration @6:00 p.m. I have sent out a Zoom invite through Emails and SeeSaw Announcements. I hope you can join us, as we recognize the hard work and accomplishments of our second grade students!

Please come drive thru our Starrett pickup line @ your convenience on Tuesday or  Wednesday from 1:00-5:30. Each student has a bag with their 5 reading books, 1 science book, pencil boxes, and Open House activities. I have also included any coats or insulated water bottled that were left behind.

Our "What's Up Wednesday" this week will be our Talent Show. If your child has a special talent they would like to share with his or her friends, this is a great way to have our class enjoy it! This may be a song, dance, poem magic tricks, jokes, skit, musical instrument, or ANYTHING that your child is passionate about. 

This "Talent Show" will take the place of our Virtual Field Day. However, if you want to share an athletic talent, like a sport or racing....this would be a fabulous time to do so! I can't wait to watch the show. I'll add the flipgrid link to our Wednesday SeeSaw Announcements. 

Starrett is ready to serve you between 11-1 on Mondays and Thursdays! 

Our engagement picked up a little bit last week. Thank you for all the time and effort you have put in to completing quality assignments. I have been amazed by your hard work!

Thursday was our winner this week! Continue to complete ALL activities that are left in your inbox. Also return any "draft" assignments to review and correct. 3 days to give it your all!!!! 

Distance Learning Week #10

Happy Monday to my favorite Stallions! The end of the year is just around the corner. This is definitely bitter-sweet. I know many of your are ready for your summer break, but I'm not quite ready to let y'all go. I am so thankful that I've had the opportunity to be your 2nd Grade teacher this year. 

Parents, I am in need of pictures of your second grade graduate. Please text or email me a picture of your child taken on the porch of your home. This "PORCH-trait" will serve as your child's class picture. Let him or her get dressed up and capture this memory. I am ALSO requesting a baby or toddler picture of your child. These will be used in our Awards Show THIS Friday!

Speaking of awards...mark your calendars for our Zoom Celebration on Friday, May 22 @5:30. Parents are invited to join us for "Fun Friday" this week. This special meeting will be dedicated to recognizing your child's accomplishments and celebrating the success of their second grade year. As always, the Zoom link will be sent through SeeSaw announcements on Friday morning. 

 Pickup Regulations:
1.  Please pull around the school, next to the playground and cafeteria.  There will be cones and arrows navigating the path.    
2. A school staff member will get your student name(s) and then retrieve their personal items.  
3. The items will be delivered to you in your car. Please do not get out of your car.  

4. You will check in library books and textbooks during this time.  The only people needing to return technology those not returning to AISD next year.  

 Thank you so much for your time during our End of Year Conferences. I truly loved sharing how much your child has grown. What I thought would be 15-20 minute phone calls...turned into hour+ chats with some families. I truly loved being able to have these special conversations with each of you. I am preparing data reports to be emailed out next week. For those that are still needing to conference...I am always available. Reach out to me and let's set a time! 

I received a lot of positive feedback from "Time-Out Tuesday." Therefore, we are going to continue for the last 2 weeks. My hope is that this will give students who are caught up on their work, a much deserved breather. Also, it will allow other students to have additional time to complete activities they are still working on. Please take advantage of this opportunity! 

Another fun Tuesday event is "Lunch Bunch with Ms. Whitaker!" Details will be posted on our Tuesday SeeSaw announcements. I know she is looking forward to hanging out with 2nd grade! 

Thank you to the following students who have completed their May istation:

Sophia A.

Sophia C.

Noah

Mason

Giselle

King

The good news is that you are still able to login to istation and take your May assessment. I would love to have 100% participation from our class. 

Overall, our class involvement on SeeSaw has declined. I can see how hard a lot of you are working. Please keep trying your best. Finish the year strong! 

The daily breakdown of approved activities still shows Wednesday to be a popular day to engage. I would like to challenge our class to make this our best week yet! 

 Starrett is ready to serve our families on Monday & Thursday from 11-1. 

Distance Learning Week #9

Can you believe that we have been distance learning for 9 weeks? Wow! We just have a few more weeks of our second grade school year. I really want to encourage each of you to finish strong. You have come so far, keep going and don't give up! Here is our updated SeeSaw data. This shows all activities I have approved during our current Six Weeks!

Our daily breakdown shows Wednesday to be a the most popular for completing and submitting activities. Please remember that if I send back an activity to try and help you better understand...take the opportunity! Read the directions carefully and always give your BEST effort. Call, text, or email me with ANY questions. I am ALWAYS here to help!

Ms. Whitaker has invited any and all 2nd graders to an optional Lunch Bunch Zoom on Tuesdays from 12-12:30. 

This will allow students to spend time with their classmates and other second grade friends. Ms. Whitaker is excited to chat with all of you and play a game or two. The Zoom link will be posted on your Tuesday SeeSaw announcements.

Speaking of lunch... 

Drive Up meals are available Monday & Thursday from 11-1 @Starrett

Students will need to login to istation and take their May ISIP assessment (this is different than their istation backpack assignments). This MUST be accessed through Rapid Identity. 

Please have your child do this independently, so that our growth data will be accurate. It is best to provide a quiet atmosphere for your child to assess in and have them engage at a time when they are well-rested and focused. I am asking that every student complete this assessment BEFORE Friday. 

Sadly, our Spring picture day was scheduled for March 17. We may have missed our opportunity to stand up on stage together and say, "cheese"...but we can still make it happen! I need your help, parents!

• Have your child get dressed up in any Picture Day outfit they wish!
• Take a photo of him or her on your porch. (PORCH-traits :) )
• Text or email me a full length picture by Wednesday, May 20.
• I will compile all the images into a group picture.
• This is how we are going to make our 2020 Second Grade picture happen! 
• I will send out a digital image of our group shot to your personal emails.
• Your support is appreciated.

 It is time for parent-teacher "End of Year" conferences. These will be via telephone and will typically last about 15-20 minutes. I am excited to celebrate all your child's progress and growth data, as well as answer any questions you may have. I will also be discussing Extended Year opportunities, if that is something that would benefit your child and support his or her learning. I will send out a request for you to signup for a preferred time & date mid-week. My schedule can be as flexible as needed. Parents will be contacted via email with a confirmation of our scheduled conference. 

From here on out, we will have "Time-Out Tuesday." What does that even mean, you ask? Well....we all need a break from time to time. There won't be any NEW assignments posted on Tuesdays. If you are all caught up on your work, take a well-deserved Tuesday rest. If you still have activities to complete, use this extra time to try and catch up. 

Attention please! I need an immediate response if your child has left anything valuable at school. If so, we are able to get these items retrieved. Mrs. Gilmore is coming up with a plan on how to best organize the collection of personal belongings. At this time, we are referring to things such as: glasses, medication, special jackets, and things of that nature.

Distance Learning Week #8

We have made it to week 4 of our FINAL 6weeks! I want to make a HUGE deal about your effort last week. Just as I had hoped, your participation soared! Take a look at our SeeSaw data for approved assignments. Yes, that's an increase of 73 activities! Wow, Our class is definitely moving in the right direction! 

Here is the breakdown for each day. Y'all were on fire Wednesday. That is our highest day of participation EVER! Thank you for continuing your learning at home and being committed. I have been SO pleased with the effort I am seeing from each you. Keep being AWESOME! 

We have gotten into a good groove with our routine. We will continue to have "Morris Monday" with our Morris the Moose read aloud. I have loved sharing my new books with y'all each week. I hope you have enjoyed them, too. Our "What's Up Wednesday" participation is pretty low, but I still want to provide you with that opportunity each week to use flipgrid. Thank you to Henry for demonstrating real world fractions with his candy bar. That was great! Finally, our Fun Fridays have been fabulous. I absolutely look forward to seeing your smiling faces each week. I have had a blast playing games and interacting together. Can't wait for our next family meeting! 

Here are a few reminders to remember: ALWAYS check your SeeSaw "inbox." Each day there will be an announcement message. The content of my message will vary. It might be a picture, a teaching link, a video lesson, or just a simple hello. I don't want you to miss out, so make sure to always read and listen to my daily messages carefully. 

Finally, we have a big change in our meal pickup schedule. Beginning TODAY, meals will only be available Monday and Thursday. You will still get enough food for the entire week. Technology and packets are also still available on Mondays, if you are still in need or something has changed with your access to a device. 

I believe in you.

Let your light shine bright.

Happy Monday! 

Love- Mrs. Morris

Distance Learning Week #7

Welcome to week 3 of the FINAL 6-Weeks of 2nd Grade! As promised, I will provide you with weekly data on how our class is doing on our SeeSaw activities. I am hopeful that we will see an increase in participation. 

This bar graph shows the number of activities I have approved each week of the current grading period. As you can see, we had a decrease of 35 activities. I know we can bounce back this week!

This calendar breaks down our daily data. As a whole, our class started out strong in the beginning of the week. You are not expected to work on the weekends (if you choose to, that is OK 🌝). I do want to encourage each of you to participate in your assignments DAILY during the school week M-F. Even if you aren't able to finish 100% of the activities assigned each day, there are benefits to daily involvement. A little studying each day helps keep your brain ACTIVELY engaged! 

Students who are making an effort to continue their learning at home, will be marked "present." Mainly, I will be monitoring your progress through SeeSaw. However, if your parents have reached out and provided me with others ways you have been learning and working at home,  I will of course take that into consideration. I want you to be successful and ready for 3rd grade. Attendance matters!

 I want to give a big round of applause to all of you for your hard work! Your effort to keep up with your learning is definitely noticed. Mrs. Gilmore & Ms. Harrell have given us positive feedback.  Your commitment to learn each day is appreciated, boys & girls! I am so proud to be your teacher! 

"What's Up Wednesday" is 100% optional. Thank you to our brave friends who have participated. I've enjoyed seeing your sweet faces and hearing you share "What's Up" each week. This is a fun way to get in some speaking & listening skills:)

We have had 4/20 students take their April ISIP assessment on istation. Please make sure you login to istation and take your test  BEFORE Friday! I am so eager to see the growth you all have made, since the beginning of March. I can't wait to celebrate your progress!

Starrett is ready to serve you! Drive thru meals are available M-F 11-1.

Have a great week, Stallions!❤