November 30th - December 3rd

Happy Friday to all the students of Room 17! I hope that you will all be able to get outside this weekend and enjoy some unseasonably warm weather activities!

In Writing, we focused on descriptive writing about a "elf" friend of ours. The students keep working on using descriptive language that paints a picture for the reader through the use of Triple Scoop adjectives, similes and their 6 senses to describe the elf.  Next week, we will start to create a writing piece about someone special to the students.

In Math, we continue to explore adding two digit numbers and using our hundreds chart to help us when adding 10 to a number (next number down in the column) or adding ones (move to the right in the row of numbers). Students are still looking at various ways to represent a number and building up their number sense to see patterns when skip counting by 2's, 5's and 10's.  

In Science, we are looking at various ways that magnets are used in our everyday lives at home and in the world of medicine with an MRI machine and its ability to take pictures of the soft tissue parts of our bodies.  We have discussed the magnet's abilities to repel or attract to other magnets based on the poles that are being put together. 

In Social Studies we are exploring the village of Meteghan in Nova Scotia and the original settlers of the area which included the Mik'maq First Nations group, the Acadians who brought their French culture to the area and the British who also influenced the region too.  We spent time practicing our French greetings and being able to talk about going lobster fishing!

A couple of reminders that Monday students need to be in the formal uniform as we will be preparing some parts for our January assembly on Responsibility.  Please remember to also look at the important dates for the rest of December and a reminder that for the first week back we will be teaching online to the students. Have a wonderful weekend and see everyone on Monday!

 November 23rd - 27th

Hello and Happy Friday to one and all! It has been another busy week of learning and the students of room 17 were awesome this week! Lots of hard work and focus as we head into the last three weeks before winter break.

In Writing, we looked at creating our own monsters and writing descriptive details about what they looked like, how do they act, what do people think of them and try to include at least one or two similes to compare our monsters to others.  We keep discussing the importance of putting lots of details, triple scoop words and similes to create clear pictures in the mind of our readers.

In Math, we continue to explore number sense and also creating bar graphs to show our room's favourite colour choices. We continue to look at numbers and different ways to represent them and how to count on in addition by adding 5's or 10's to our 2-digit numbers.

In Science, we have started to look at Magnetism and the many properties of magnets including what makes an object magnetic or not and the definitions of attract and repel when putting two magnets together with each other.  Moving on, we will look at more characteristics of magnets and where we find magnets in our everyday lives. 

In Social Studies, we have started to explore the village of Meteghan, how to get there, what province it is located in and what we should bring with us to deal with the weather we would experience at this time of the year. Next we will learn about the early settlers of this area and the influence that the Acadian people brought to this area of eastern Canada.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and see everyone in formal uniform on Monday!

 November 16th - 19th

Hello room 17 and I hope you have had a wonderful long weekend! A couple of reminders to wear formal uniforms on Monday and also to make sure you have appropriate running shoes for Physical Education classes, which because of the weather getting colder, are sometimes being held inside the gym. If is just unsafe to wear black shoes if they are dress shoes and not multipurpose shoes.

This week, we have been focusing our writing on descriptive writing of superheroes. As a class, we created a walking story about Superman and then later in the week, the students had to pick their own superhero and explain their characteristics, what their super powers were, what their costume is and how do people feel about them. We have also been working on doing some of our good copy writing on the computers and using Google Drive to input our writing pieces with a picture inserted as well.  

In Mathematics, we are still looking at place value and how to add 2 digit numbers together. Students have also continued to explore increasing patterns both in shapes and also in numbers and work on seeing the patterns when we increase our numbers by either 5's or 10's.  Students also had a chance to make a picture graph about our favourite insects. I believe that butterflies won easily!

In Science, we have wrapped up our unit on Small Crawling and Flying animals and students will be looking at Magnetism next. We will explore the various types of magnets and test to see if objects are magnetic or not and the many ways we use magnets each and every day at home and school.

In Social Studies, the students continue to explore life in Iqaluit and what types of jobs are available in this northern Canadian community as well as what kinds of goods they can produce there. Students were also made aware of the high cost of groceries in Iqaluit as goods must either be flown to Iqaluit in the winter months or come by boat which adds to the cost of each item. We will begin to explore the eastern community of Meteghan which is located in the province of Nova Scotia.

That's a quick summary of the week at school and I hope you have a wonderful Sunday and see everyone tomorrow morning at school!

 November 9th - 13th

First things first! Please make sure to read this important message about next Monday!

Hello Le Roi Daniels!

Although it may be dreary, grey and gloomy outside, here at Le Roi Daniels we are always cheerful and full of brightness.

On Monday November 16, we are going to bring colour and joy to our school  by having a casual day where students can wear ANY colour of the rainbow.

This is one way to show our joy and remember we have a “ RAINBOW OF POSSIBILITIES” in our school.

Be as creative as you would like!

Thank you grade twos for a wonderful week of learning!  We had a chance on Tuesday to take part in the virtual Remembrance Day and the students were respectful during all parts of the video commemorating those fallen soldiers who fought for our freedoms.  

This week we have been continuing to work on descriptive writing and the importance of adding triple scoop words into each sentence we write to give our readers a clear picture.  We have tried to personify snow and write as if we are snowing and the feelings people have as we blanket the ground and streets.

In Mathematics, we continue to look at place value and assigning values to numbers, be it in the ones or tens place. Students have also been comparing numbers and using symbols to express either greater than or less than.  We have also created graphs and collected data to add into our bar or picture graphs.  

In Science, we are wrapping up our unit on Small Crawling and Flying Animals and have explored the various ways that insects are able to protect themselves from their predators including camouflage and the bright colours tell predators to stay away.  We also discussed the food chain and the importance that all parts must work in sync in order for the chain to remained balanced.  

In Social Studies, we have discussed the activities to do in Iqaluit during both the summer and winter months.  The students created bright posters inviting other people to come visit this northern community and find interesting things to try out including dog sledding or kayaking! 

Have a wonderful weekend and look forward to seeing the rainbow of colours in class on Monday!

 November 2nd - 6th

Hello Room 17! I hope you are having a good weekend and staying warm with this windy, cold weather we are experiencing outside.  A reminder that students need to wear their formal uniforms on Monday and Tuesday, as Tuesday is our Remembrance Day virtual assembly because there is no school on Wednesday to commemorate November 11th, Remembrance Day.

In Mathematics, students continue to learn about place value and the value assigned to each number whether it be in the ones place or tens place. We have also been looking at patterns found in numbers whenever we add 5 or 10 to the number when counting. Students have also been given more opportunities to work on open ended word problems and being able to use pictures, number sentences and word sentences to show their understanding in a variety of ways.

In Writing, we have continued to focus on using Triple Scoop words and trying to add them into our sentences to make our writing more descriptive overall. Students were given a number of robot pictures to choose from and then had to use only their words to describe their robot and the rest of the class had to guess which one was theirs.  

In Science, we explored the world of slugs and snails and their importance in the food chain for many animals and insects. The students were also given an opportunity to explore and research on another insect on the computers. If you are reading this blog entry, I will be giving away pencils to those students who can come to me, either on Monday or Tuesday and tell me the three names of the various body parts that an insect has. It gave the students a chance to research and find out about their lifespan, predators and the habitat in which they live in.

In Social Studies, we are looking at creating Welcome to Iqaluit posters and what we kind of activities we can do there in the summer and also winter months. The students learned that they can kayak, hike, fish and try some delicious Inuit foods in the summer months and build an igloo, snowmobiling, cross country skiing, dogsledding or watching the Northern Lights dance across the sky.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and see you in formal uniforms tomorrow morning!

October 26th - 29th

 

Hi there! It is amazing how October has flown by and November is just around the corner! Two months of grade two have been completed and it was great to connect with so many parents on Thursday night to discuss the students' progress since September.  I hope that if you are planning on going out for Halloween tonight that you will have a safe and fun time this year.

In Writing, we continue to work on refining our descriptive writing on the scarecrows that we created in class. The final assignment will have the scarecrows put up on the class bulletin board and the student's writing will be read out loud to the rest of the class and we will try to guess which scarecrow matches the writing. We continue to talk about adding lots of details to our writing to help our reader create a clear picture just from the words.

In Mathematics, we continue to explore number sense and the relationship between adding and subtracting a set of numbers and how they form a "fact family". Students have also discussed and worked on creating increasing patterns with shapes and numbers. Next up, we will be looking at decreasing patterns and the pattern rules with each one.

In Science, we explored the world of bees and also looking at the characteristics of snails and slugs. Students have been creating labeled diagrams and looking at the habitats that each animal lives in. We will also be looking at each animals predators and they ways in which they are able to evade these predators as well.

In Social Studies, we have taken a "virtual" airplane to the community of Iqaluit and have begun to explore the town and see how many of the houses are built on stilts because of the permafrost on the ground which makes it next to impossible to dig into the ground or to have a basement in their houses. We will next be discussing what activities we can do while in Iqaluit and create posters inviting people to come up to Iqaluit and take part in some very unique experiences.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and see everyone on Monday in formal uniforms. A few reminders that we will be going to the library to exchange our book on Thursday, and homework and if you are interested in purchasing something from the Acorn art fundraiser, are due by Friday. Thank you!

 October 19th - 23rd

Hello Room 17! Another busy week has come and gone in the grade 2 classroom. The students have been busy preparing their Acorn Art fundraising pages to come home next week and also completing a wintery scene to enter the contest to maybe chosen as the artwork for the Minster of Health's Christmas cards! The students were able to create some very amazing art pieces that they look forward to sharing with you!

In Writing, we have been working on adding more details to our writing and have recently typed out a good copy, using our Google Drive accounts, a piece entitled the Best Part of Me. The students had to choose a body part and then try to think of all the important reasons why that body part was important to them. We also tried to use a simile to compare that body part to something else using "like" or "as". The students will next be using their writing talents to create a piece on a scarecrow that they have created.

In Mathematics, we continue to work on fact families and seeing and understanding the relationship between adding and subtracting sets of numbers. Students are also gaining the understanding that when adding the order of the numbers does not effect the sum total, but when subtracting the bigger number has to be put first in order to subtract whole numbers. 

In Science, we have explored the world of worms and also bees in our studies of small, crawling and flying animals. Students learned how worms and bees are both helpful towards humans and both provide us with different needs. Worms give us rich soil by moving through the soil and bees provide us with honey and also pollination of plants.  

In Social Studies, we have virtually "flown" to Iqaluit, the northern community located in the Nunavut territory. We have been looking at the landscape and also what they building look like and why many are built up on stilts because of the frozen permafrost on the ground. We will be looking at the first people her, the Inuit, and their language and culture too.

 A few reminders before the start of the next week. If students need retakes for pictures on Monday, you need to email me to let me know this. Students need to be in their formal uniforms for Monday and on Thursday it is a half day because of Parent Teacher Interviews. If students want to dress up on Thursday to celebrate Halloween, they need to come dressed on the bus and are allowed to bring a small treat only for themselves, not for their classmates. As Thursday night is Parent Teacher conferences and a reminder that they are being done virtually via Microsoft Team Meetings. Friday there is no school as there is a Professional Development day. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and see you tomorrow!

 October 13th - 16th

Already the middle of October! How time flies so quickly and now we have also had the chance to experience some wonderful October snow as well! Just a reminder that students should be coming to school appropriately dressed for being outdoors with boots, mitts, snow pants, warm jackets and hats to keep them warm. We have been doing our Physical Education classes outside and we want everyone to be well prepared to go outside and not be cold during these times and also during our movement break times. 

In Writing, we have been working on creating complete sentences that include upper case letters to begin the sentence, extra details in the sentence to make it more interesting for the reader and punctuation at the end of the words too. We have been exploring the Best Part of Me this week and trying to explain, in our own words, why it is the best part of ourselves. After creating their rough copy in our writing books, we have been typing out our good copies in Google Drive as a way to display our final written product. Students can also access their Google Drive accounts at home as well!  

In Mathematics, we have been looking at creating our own word problems, both in addition and subtraction. The students have been discussing appropriate vocabulary for addition or for subtraction that helps give clues as to what has to be done in order to find the answer to the question.  We have also talked about using pictures, number sentences and word sentences when working on solving a problem.  

In Social Studies, we continue to explore the geographical regions we will be looking at - the Arctic region in the northern part of Canada, the Atlantic region in eastern Canada and the Prairie region which is found in the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.  We will next be looking at the climate of each region and if we were to travel there, what types of articles of clothing would we make sure to bring with us.

In Science, we have looked at spiders and compared them to insects to see the differences we can see between them.  Students have also worked on writing as many facts as they can about spiders and how instrumental they are to us keep the insect population down. As a few students wrote, "without spiders, the insects would rule our world!"

In Art, we are creating a colourful project for our Acorn Art fundraiser and it will be coming home in the next week or so for you to see!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and remember to always wash your masks and try to have an extra one in your child's backpack just in case one gets lost along the way to school!  Thank you!

 October 5th - 8th

Happy Friday everyone! I want to thank the students of room 17 for a great week of learning. I hope that you have a chance to get together with family (safely of course) and celebrate each other.  Yesterday, we took the time to discuss what we are grateful in our lives and the students did an amazing job of thinking of all the many things we are thankful for.  

In Writing, we are looking at expanding our sentences to include more than just a subject and verb by using Triple Scoop adjectives and more details to give our readers an even clearer picture through our words. Students are also becoming more cognizant of what a sentence needs to start with (Upper case letter) and ending our sentences with some form of punctuation. The more practice we have a chance to do, the greater the improvements the students can expect to make.

In Mathematics, we continue to explore the definition of addition and strategies we can use to add more complex numbers together efficiently.  We also continue to look at patterns and explaining the pattern we are creating with a pattern rule.  The students are also developing the awareness of patterns in the world around us within movements in dance and also in our weekly music classes. 

In Science, we have been looking at the characteristics of spiders and how they differ from insects. As well, we continue to explore insects and the various types we can see in the world around us. From ladybugs to beetles, we talk about how they are different, similar and protective measures they have to avoid predators.

In Social Studies, we are looking at the various physical regions that makes up each community and will relate it to what people are able to grow, types of jobs available in the community and how their culture is formed.  We will then look at "virtually" visiting each community, how long it takes to travel there and what items we would want to pack in our suitcase in order to be comfortable.

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend and see everyone on Tuesday!

 September 28th - October 2nd

Hello to everyone and happy weekend! I hope you are all out and able to enjoy some wonderful fall weather as the leaves continue to fall off the trees with many colours! 

This week saw the students continue to work on completing our 6 senses of fall writing pieces and going back and editing for word choice, spelling and punctuation.  We will continue to work on adding more details to our sentences and trying to use more triple scoop adjectives to make our writing create vivid pictures for our readers.

In Math, we are looking at patterns, the various attributes that make up our patterns and how to explain the pattern rule to help someone else make our pattern. We continue to explore ways to represent numbers such as pictures, tally marks, number sentences and also base ten blocks. The students have been given open ended word problems to make them think about how to explain their answers through pictures, number sentences and word sentences.

In Science, we have looked and drawn out diagrams of ants and also beginning to look at the characteristics of spiders. The students finished the week by creating butterflies using pastels and the symmetry, and patterns that can be found in their wings to protect them from predators.

In Social Studies, we are starting to look at the physical geography of each of the communities we study and how that affects people who live there. What can they grow, how does it affect the interests and jobs of people who live in the communities as well.

I hope you enjoy your Sunday and see everyone in their formal uniforms tomorrow morning.  Remember that there is no school on Friday this week because it is a teacher Professional Development day.

 September 21st - 24th - Week at a Glance

Hello and happy weekend to the students of room 17! I hope you are enjoying your long weekend as on Friday the teachers were busy preparing for upcoming events during our Professional Development day activities. 

This week, the students were busy working on writing about using their 6 Senses (including feelings) to describe the season of fall. They were trying to create pictures in the minds of their readers by using a variety of descriptive words to talk about what they can see, smell, touch and do during this season of fall. We will continue to work on this next week and also discuss the importance of editing our work to create a finished product that our audience is looking forward to reading.  

We have also been working on understanding the importance of Literacy Centres where the students work on a variety of literacy skills within the classroom while the teacher is working with a small group on Guided Reading. The students are being instructed on what tasks they need to work on and allowing the teacher to interact with those students on reading comprehension and decoding strategies.  

In Science, we had a chance to do a nature walk to the front of our school and see the various insects that are still busy making their way around our natural world. We saw lots of ants, flies, a mosquito or two and a spider during our walk. Students have also been talking and diagramming the life cycle of a butterfly and discussed the metamorphic change that they go through on their way to becoming an adult.

In Social Studies, we have continued to reflect on the vastness of our country of Canada and the location of the various communities we will be studying this year - Iqaluit in Nunavut, Meteghan in Nova Scotia and Saskatoon in Saskatchewan. We have started to talk about landforms and waterways that vary in the communities and compare them to what we see in and around our city of Calgary too.  We will start to look in depth at pictures and video of each community to see how the geography effects the people in that community.

A few reminders for parents about next week. Remember it is Photo Day on Monday and students need to be in their formal uniforms. Also on Wednesday, September 30th is Orange Shirt Day.  This day encourages communities to recognize and support reconciliation events and activities. Students are encouraged to wear an orange shirt for this day with their navy pants/shorts/skirt or under their tartan dress.  It is NOT a casual day but rather just an opportunity to wear orange with our uniform.

Thank you and I hope that people continue to stay safe and healthy to start the school year!

The homework package for this upcoming week can be found on the HOMEWORK link page and you can download it from there. The homework will be due by Thursday, September 24th. Thank you!

September 14th - 18th - Week at a Glance

Hello Room 17! Thanks to all of you for a wonderful week here at Le Roi Daniels. We have started to settle into the routine of being back at school and trying our best each and every day! The students have been spending time reviewing our single letter graphemes and working on our printing and understanding of the various sounds that are associated with the letters. Students have also discussed and practiced their roles as writers who are there to create a clear picture for the reader with the words they choose to use. We have also talked about the various Brain Pockets we all have - our Memory, Fact and Imagination Pockets that we use depending on what type of writing we are trying to express to our readers. Along our writing journey, we will also be looking at when we need to use upper case letters, periods or other forms of punctuation within our sentences. In Math, the students have been exploring patterns and what makes up a complete pattern. We have discussed the various attributes that can change within a pattern - colour, size, shapes, direction and thickness or thinness of a shape within the pattern. Students also are looking at how numbers form patterns and understanding how to count by 2's, 5's and 10's while examining a hundreds chart. In Science, we have talked about the various jobs associated with being a scientist and what the students will have to do while participating in our science classes to be an effective scientist. Our first unit we will be exploring has to do with Small Crawling and Flying Animals, notably various insects, spiders and slugs or snails that we find in our community environments.  Also this week, the students participated in the Terry Fox Run on Friday and thank you to all the students who participated and also for many of those who were able to bring in a donation to put towards cancer research. All the students came to have a greater appreciation of the courage and perseverance that Terry Fox showed us in doing his Marathon of Hope and trying to support research in finding a cure for cancer.

A few reminders that the homework will be posted on this Blog page on Sunday night and that Monday is a formal uniform day. Almost all the students received their homework books and communication folders on Friday and they were given a colour (red, blue or yellow) as their assigned colour in which they need to complete this level of homework. The homework will be due on Thursday, September 24th as Friday is a school wide PD day.  If you have any questions about the homework, please do not hesitate to email me to discuss it.

Thanks and have a safe and relaxing weekend,

Mr. Hakes

 Weekly Reminders - September 17th and 18th notes:

Hi there Room 17! I hope you have had a chance to check out Mr. Hakes' blog page and have seen the various pages found here.  A few reminders for the rest of the week - Thursday we will be going to the Learning Commons to exchange our books so please remember to put your child's Library books in their backpacks to be returned tomorrow. They will then be able to get TWO new books to take home for the week.  Secondly, on Friday we will be holding our Terry Fox Run and students are invited to wear casual clothes that are comfortable to run in as we will be doing our run during Friday morning.  The final reminder is that the students will be coming home on Friday with their homework books and their communication folders. Inside each homework book, there will be a colour (either red, blue or yellow) and that is level of homework I would like to see your child work on from the homework package. The homework will be loaded onto my blog page each Sunday and will be due either on or before the following Friday of that week. Remember that students need to do approximately 10 minutes a night of homework and that they are also strongly encouraged to be reading on a nightly basis as well. In each homework book, I will have the students glue their usernames and passwords for both Raz Kids and Mathletics that they can access from home. Thanks and see the students tomorrow!

 Welcome Back Week

Hello to room 17 students and parents! I am so glad to be back at school and see your smiling grade 2 faces once again! The week was very busy and starting with our Ice Cream Social on Monday, the students arrived for classes on Tuesday, ready to begin their learning journey once again. However, this year features a lot of safety protocols because of COVID and the students arrived with masks on and were amazing at following the rules that have been put in place to protect everyone at Le Roi Daniels.  A reminder to make sure that each of your child's masks gets labeled with their name as the ones being handed out to them at school, there are a lot of masks that are the same and we don't want them mixed up! The week was very busy, as we all got to know each other a little better after such a long time apart. There were lots of opportunities to get to know their new classmates, see old friends and make some new friends as well. We also had the chance to connect via Google Meet with the parents who were able to join us on Thursday night for the Meet the Teacher and Introduction to Grade 2. For those who were not able to join us, I have put the link to my Powerpoint on The Grade 2 Items page as well as Mrs. Taylor's Welcome Back video. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to email me with your questions. As for now, enjoy the rest of your long weekend and we will see the students on Tuesday morning!  Thanks again for a great start to the school year!

Mr. Hakes

Monday, June 15th

Hello Room 17! Hope you have all been able to get out and enjoy some fresh air and walk, bike, hike and spend some quality time outdoors this past weekend! Our Google Meet session will be on Monday at 10:00 am. Remember to come up with 2 truths about yourself and 1 lie. We will try to guess which are the truths about you and which is the lie! You can also wear your favourite hat or if you have one, a crazy hat!

Today's Drawing Instructions

Hi there! Thanks to all of you who were able to attend our Google Meet session today. As there were a number of people who weren't able to complete or hear the drawing instructions, I will type them up below. If anyone wants to take a picture of their finished drawing and you can include it with your At Home Learning activities for the week, that would be fun to see! I will also take a picture of my finished drawing and share it on the Pictures page this weekend!

Here goes the instructions:

1) Put your page landscape style.
2) Draw a big circle in the middle, not touching the edges of the page.
3) Draw a triangle on either the right of left side of the triangle and have the point facing out.
4) Draw a smaller circle inside the other circle near the top middle part of it.
5) Draw a large oval shape below the big circle, just touching the bottom of the circle.
6) Draw 2 tiny stick feet below the oval.
7) Draw 3 horizontal W's on the inside and right side of the oval.
8) Draw a line across the oval from one side of the page to the other, but not through the oval.
9) Draw an arc at the bottom of the big circle towards the middle that is on the same side as the triangle you drew.
10) Draw three uppercase M's in the top space of the page, not touching each other.
11) Colour in half of the small circle black.
12) Colour the triangle yellow. Colour the rest of the inside of the big circle green. Colour the oval brown. Colour the area below the line blue. Colour the M's, the W's and the tiny stick feet black.
13) Write the word "QUACK" beside the big circle in a speech bubble.
Do you know what animal you tried to create?  Yes, a duck!!

Next week's Google Meet session is on Monday, June 8th at 10:00 am. 

We are going to play: WOULD-YOU-RATHER! 

Before next Monday, you need to come up with 1 or 2 "would-you-rather" questions (examples below). You will have a chance to ask a classmate your question. They have to answer the question, and provide 1 or 2 reasons why they chose that answer. 

Example "would-you-rather" questions:

-Would you rather shovel snow for an hour, or rake leaves for an hour? 

-Would you rather be the tallest person in the world, or the shortest person in the world? 

-Would you rather be able to be invisible, or able to fly? 

-Would you rather kiss a frog or hug a porcupine? 

Also, please bring a blank piece of paper, a pencil and some pencil crayons or crayons with you for the Google Meet session.  Thanks!

Raz Kid's Assessment Information

Please try to complete the reading assessment on, or before, tuesday june 2nd. the test will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

RAZ KID ASSESSMENT INFO WILL BE IN THE At home learning FOR THis WEEK! below is an explanation of how to complete the reading assessment found in raz kids...

You will see the above "Flight Check" on your Raz Kids Dashboard once your Reading Assessment has been assigned! 

For Parents:

Usually as students end their school year, teachers are able to do 1-1 reading assessments to best determine where to begin for the following year.  Since we unfortunately are not able to meet and read with each of our students we are asking for you to follow the detailed instructions below and complete the assigned reading task.  Your child will record themselves reading INDEPENDENTLY and the results will be shared with the teacher.

Teachers will use this information to help your child transition into the next grade and provide next year’s teacher with a great starting point.

If you are unable to complete this task due to computer difficulties please contact your child's teacher.

Please note that the task will take about 15 minutes and can only be done once and then will disappear from your child’s reading folder.  Thank you for helping us set your child up for success next year.

For Students and Parents:

Literacy: How to complete the Reading Assessment

To complete the reading assessment on Raz Kids. Please follow the steps below.

Please make sure that you are in a quiet space when completing this assignment so

that your teacher can clearly hear your voice when you read!

You only get one chance to do the reading assessment and then it disappears so do

not start until you are ready!

1. Log in to Raz Kids.
2. You will see a new button called “Flight Check.” Click on it!

3. You will earn extra stars for doing this task! Click on the microphone button to start.
4. It looks like this: 

4. Press “Yes” when you are asked if you have time to complete this assignment.
   Remember to be in a quiet room in your house when you do this!
5. Start reading! You need to use your normal talking voice when you do this, don’t
6. whisper or shout!
7. When you are done reading, press the done button.

7. Now you need to RETELL what you read. Hit the record button when you are ready. 

8. When you are done retelling, press the “Pause” button. Then click “Done”.

9. Now it is time to answer some questions about the story you read.
10. When you are done answering all 5 questions, press done.

7. Now you need to RETELL what you read. Hit the record button when you are ready. 

8. When you are done retelling, press the “Pause” button. Then click “Done”.

9. Now it is time to answer some questions about the story you read.
   When you are done answering all 5 questions, press done. Great work!

Yearbook Cover Challenge

Hi there!
 If you are interested, our school is holding a contest to help design the cover for our school yearbook. The details, as outlined by Mrs. Taylor, can be found by clicking HERE.  Good luck if you choose to enter and be creative!

Welcome to another week of online learning! I hope everyone was able to have an enjoyable weekend and get outside to get some fresh air and sunshine! The At Home learning activities have been updated for the week and are available on the At Home Learning link. I look forward to seeing everyone Monday at 10:00 am.

Do you like to code or want to learn how?

Check out my Learning Resources page and search for:

Simply click onto the website and find a topic you are interested in and get started!

Hello Room 17! I hope everyone is having a safe and enjoyable long weekend and had the chance to get outside and enjoy some fresh air. As we are starting our school week technically on Tuesday, the At Home Learning is not due until Friday this week.  I will be posting the At Home Learning activities for Monday so if students want to get a head start on their work a bit earlier, you are more than welcome!  Look forward to connecting with everyone on Google Meet on Tuesday at 10am!

Hi everyone! I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend! I imagine that everyone tried their best to make their mom feel very special on Sunday and let them know how much they mean to them! 

I will post the At Home Learning on the Home Learning link and I look forward to seeing everyone on Monday at 10:00am for our Beach Party and a chance to share a book that they have read recently that they really enjoyed and want to share with others in the class! 

A reminder that there will not be any At Home activities on Friday as it is a school system wide PD day!  

Welcome to the first week of May! I hope that you are your family were able to get outside and have some safely distanced quality time together. I really was impressed by the number of students who were able to make a video to describe about the anatomy of various insects of create their own version, either on paper or with coloured clay! They were all very well done!

A reminder to students that next Sunday is Mother's Day and we will talk a little about some ideas of what you could do to let your mom know how special she is in all that she does for you!  The At Home Learning activities can be found on the Home Learning link on the blog! Thanks and look forward to our chat on Monday morning!

Happy Friday everyone!

  While exploring fun projects on various websites, I came upon one I thought might be fun to try. An architectural studio called Fosters + Partners have created some paper building templates that students can print out, fold, colour and use to build their own paper cities. I have included the PDF file HERE of the various templates. If you choose to create your own paper city, please feel free to take a picture and share it with me!  I have also included a link to their website HERE, the various activities are found in their News section of the website, including how to draw realistic trees too. 
Also, I updated the Pictures section and put the names beside those students who shared their favourite toys with us. Check and see how you did in your guessing!

April 29th - Hello Room 17! A couple of notes that I wanted to pass along to you:

1) For our Google Meet session next Monday at 10am, remember you can dress in your pyjamas and bring along your favourite stuffy to show your classmates. I would also like you to bring along your favourite toy and share with your classmates during our meeting why it is your favourite toy!

2) This is a link to a Google Meet extension if you are interested in adding it to your browser on your computers. All you should have to do is click the link and install it. It allows you to see more than one face on the screen during the sessions. 

Google Meet Extension

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-meet-grid-view/bjkegbgpfgpikgkfidhcihhiflbjgfic

Google Meet Grid View - Chrome Web Store FABULOUS! Five stars! USAGE INSTRUCTIONS: -Install extension, refresh/enter/re-enter Google *Meet* (not Hangout) (ideally with 4+ people) -Click the little grid in the upper right (find your webcam feed in the upper right, then look three icons to the left of it) -Click "display your own camera", "highlight speaker", and perhaps the "only show speakers with video enabled" option -- my ... chrome.google.com

3) If you want a challenge activity to do on top of the At Home Learning for this week, you could make a 3D insect similar to what Adam has created below. I believed he used playdough or modelling clay and also labeled the different parts of his spider too! Not expected of anyone, but it looked like fun!  

Thanks very much and it was great to see the class on Monday. Looking forward to next Monday too!

Happy Monday! In a few short hours, we will get a chance to reconnect via the Google Meet app and I am looking forward to seeing all of you once again! Also I have posted a link to a great site that has a number of other website linked to it where you can go and see a variety of museums, art galleries and landmarks from around the world. If you get a chance, check some of the sites out!

Click HERE for the link!

Hello Room 17! Today is Earth Day and I hope that you and your family can do something together to celebrate this important day. Maybe make sure to turn your lights or electronics off for an hour or so or watch a documentary on how we can watch out for endangered wildlife and keep them healthy.

Also, below I will be adding a PDF file on How to Access Google Meet from home. It gives step-by-step instructions of how to get into the meeting next week.  Hope you are all doing well!

Click HERE for the PDF file.

April 20th - 24th

Hello and welcome to our next week of At Home Learning!

Thank you for all your patience and hard work this past week as we continue to adjust to a different way of learning this year in Grade 2! The At Home Learning will be posted on the Home Learning link for this week and our self portrait challenge will be found under the Pictures area. Take a few moments to look at the Pictures and try your best to figure out who is who and write down your guesses. All the answers will be posted on Friday and you can check to see how well you know your classmates!  

This week's challenge activity will be to bake something if you haven't had a chance to do so yet or create an art picture (paint it, draw it, video tape a short movie) and share it with your other work on Friday.  Hope you are all doing well and look forward to connecting with all of you next week!


Note: Please check your emails for information regarding Google Meet throughout this week and remember to keep these emails handy, as you will need this important information moving forward! 

April 13th - 17th

Hello there! As Monday is a Professional Development day, I thought I would send out this picture of the cookies that my son and I baked this weekend and offer a challenge to everyone in Room 17 today. If you can, I challenge you, with an adult's help of course, to learn how to do something new today. I have always been afraid to bake, but I took on the challenge and with my son's help we created these delicious cookies by following the recipe. I would love to see you bake, cook, build or create an amazing art piece today as part of your work. Have fun and feel free to post any pictures of you and what you were able to accomplish!

The At Home Learning for this week is posted below and you can click HERE to access it. Have a great week!

Monday Greetings!

Information about picking up Student's Belongings

It is very important that you please go to your CBE account and access the conference booking system.  Please click on Mrs. Taylor’s name, pick Wednesday or Thursday of this week to come and collect your child’s personal belongings.  Mrs. Taylor recently sent and email with the details.

If you have ANY school items at home  (home reading books, library books, character bags or math supplies), please be sure to bring those with you and return them to the table in the middle of the gym.

Thank you,

                                  Welcome Back Video from Mr. Hakes

Welcome back after Spring Break!

Dear Room 17, Grade 2 Parents:

Thank you for your patience as we have worked through some necessary planning in preparation for resuming structured learning opportunities for your child. I understand there has been a lot of uncertainty about what learning is going to look like moving forward. I can assure you that we are going to work on key learning outcomes at-home within the parameters established by the province and CBE.

Starting Monday April 6, 2020, you will receive from me a weekly learning plan. Each week’s plan will highlight what we are working on, will include various resources and will explain the activities or tasks I would like your child to work on.

I will primarily be communicating with you and your child via the teacher blog -  mrhakesclassroom.blogspot.com and if necessary, will replicate lessons into a paper format. Today’s homework will be found on the homework link at 5:00 pm tonight and please submit it either by scanning it or take a photo of your child’s work and send it to my CBE email with your son or daughter’s name attached as well.

Students and/or parents can reach out to me for help or for clarification via e-mail Monday through Friday between 9:00 and 10:00 or between the times of 1:00 and 2:00. I can be reached on either time at adhakes@cbe.ab.ca. I will try my best to answer most questions that same day.

I recognize this is new for most of us and we will get through this together. I am here for your child and look forward to being in regular contact with your child and yourself. I have attached an optional daily schedule that you are welcome to follow if it helps in terms of routines.

Take care of each other,

Mr. A. Hakes

8:00- 9:00am	Wake up (keep to regular sleep schedule)	Eat breakfast, get dressed, make bed
9:00- 9:30am	Physical activity	Choose from a cardiovascular (run, skip, hop, Just Dance) activity, strength activity (crunches, pushups) or flexibility(yoga, stretching) activity
9:30- 10:30am	Academic time	Engage in At-Home Learning Task
10:30- 10:45am	Snack time	Nutrition break, wash your hands
10:45 - 12:00	Creative time	Drawing, colouring, crafting, listening to music, cook/bake, sing, coding, building, create a digital story, create a video, create a presentation, etc..
12:00	Lunch	Wash your hands, eat a healthy lunch
12:30-1:30	Outside Time	Go out in the backyard and play, go for a walk with the family etc… Remember social distancing and stay safe.
1:30- 2:30	Read/games/movement	Cuddle up with a good book, play a board game/card game, exercise (Go Noodle, Cosmic Kids, Just Dance)