Gingerbread Frosting Recipe

Ingredients

·         2 large egg whites

·         1/8 tsp. cream of tartar

·         2 tsps. water

·         3 cups icing sugar (powdered/confectioners sugar

Instructions

With an electric mixer, beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and water until frothy.

Mix in powdered sugar; beat on high speed until icing is stiff, 5 to 10 minutes.

Use or cover up to 8 hours.

Makes about 1-1/2 cups.

2nd Grade Annual Gingerbread House Making

Ms. Helmbrecht’s and Ms. Hull’s classes will be making Gingerbread Houses on Wednesday, December 21^st.  This is a great event and a great opportunity to get involved at school!  In order to do this we will need many volunteers to come in and help from 12:45-2:45.  We will need volunteers to help with decorating, making the gingerbread houses at school, clean up, as well as providing extra batches of frosting.
 

Ingredients Each Student Will Need

(Please send to school on or before December 21^st.)

v  1 Package of graham crackers (Keebler graham crackers work the best due to the perforations)

v  1 LARGE box to carry home the gingerbread house

v  1 piece of stiff cardboard (approximately 12 inches square covered in aluminum foil.)

v  1 Package (or more) of materials of choice for decorating to share (ex. cereal, candy, spearmint leaves, mints, candy canes, gum drops, etc.)  By sharing this will keep the cost low but everyone will have a variety.

v  Please do not bring any peanut products!!!

All houses will be brought home that day!

Winter Concert

Just a reminder that tonight is our Winter Concert at Westwood Community Church.  The K-2 performance is at 6:00 p.m.  Please have your child meet in the back room, "the barn", at 5:50 p.m. to line up.  At the conclusion of the concert, please check in with your child's homeroom teacher to pick up your child.  There will be a collection for the food shelf, so any nonperishable food items would be appreciated.  The students have been busy preparing for the concert.  We wish them the best of luck!

Intersession

Just a friendly reminder that our first intersession is fast approaching. If your child is interested in taking classes during intersession please look for the class offering handouts in this week's Thursday Folder.  If not...enjoy your TWO weeks off!!!

Intersession Dates:

November 14th to November 25th

**Classes are offred November 14th to November 18th**

It's...FIELD TRIP TIME!!!!

As part of our Core Knowledge curriculm the second graders at STRIDE study Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Our students will jouney through the beloved tale witnessing Ebenezer Scrooge’s discovery of the true meaning of Christmas over the course of one fateful evening. We will join Scrooge, Tiny Tim and all the ghostly apparitions in Dickens musical tale of redemption and hope at the Paramount Theatre after studying this tale in the classroom. 

Please look for the orange field trip permission slip that was sent home with each child today, October 31st. 



Second Grade Family Night

Greetings!

Grab your gym shoes and your family because we are having a game night! Use this opportunity to meet your child's friends and their families as well as have LOTS of fun!

When: Friday, November 11th, 2011

Time: 6:00 p.m.

Where: STRIDE Academy gymnasim

Birthday Shout-Out

We'd like to wish a very warm and happy birthday to....

Meleena--November 4th

Rachel L.--November 11th

Kai--November 14th

Caroline--November 21st

Joseph--November 23rd

Lilah--November 24th

Ezequiel--Nobermber 28th

Your second grade family hopes you have a wonderful day!

October Leaders of the Month

An enthusiastic congratuations to

Meleena

and

Kate

These wonderful ladies are our second grade Leaders of the Month for October. October focused on being enthusiastic and both of these girls are just that. They have positive attitudes, always try their best, come to school ready and excited to learn, and, simply put, have contagious positive energy all of the time.

Congratulatios girls, we are VERY proud of you--keep up the awesome work!

-Mrs. Helmbrecht and Ms. Hull

NWEA and Interim Testing

Good Morning!

Included in this week's Thursday Folder were your child's performance results on the NWEA tests that they took last month.

These results will be discussed in detail at your parent teacher conference time. So please schedule a time to meet with your child's teacher on October 20th, 2011.

ALSO

 

The Interim Tests--

These are tests written to assess each child's mastery of the Minnesota State Language Arts and Math Standards for grade 2.  All of these standards are to be mastered by the end of second grade.

We've broken these standards into three sections. Your child's teachers has been focusing on the first group of standards during the fall, the second group will be focused on during the winter, and the third group during the spring. 

A test will be given after each term.  A math and language arts test that corresponds with the standards taught in the fall will be given next week. The tests that corresponds with the standards taught in the winter will be given around the middle of winter and the test that corresponds with the standards taught in the spring will be given before then end of the school year. 

If you have questions,please contact Mr. Ulbrich, Mrs. Helmbrecht or Ms. Hull. 

Thank you! 

Leaders of the Month!

September's Leader of the Month theme was Lead by Example. We'd like to give an enthusiastic CONGRATULATIONS to September's second grade Leader nominations:  

Emma-Grace  

and 

Brielle 

Congratulations girls! You've done a fantastic job...keep it up! 

It's Official!!

Hello Everyone!

We celebrated the first official day of fall on September 23rd!! With the change of season comes a few changes in clothing choices. It is recommended that your child comes to school with a sweatshirt, sweater, jacket or something long sleeved to wear when they are outside for recess. Your child may also wear a sweatshirt or sweater in the classrooms as long as it is plain (no writing or designs) and without a hood. These items may be left at school if they do not want to carry them to and from school.

Ciao!

Ms. Hull and Mrs. Helmbrecht

Checking Your Child's Grades

Dear Parents and Guardians: 

Your child's current grades can be accessed by going to:

 

www.strideacademy.org.  

1. Scroll to the yellow box on the bottom of the home page

2. Click on grades

3. Type in your child's lunch number for the user name

4. Type in your child's last name for the password.  

If you have questions of your child’s teacher, please contact them sooner than later. 

Quarter One Conferences

Happy Autumn!

Just a quick reminder that the end of quarter one is October 13th. 

STRIDE Elementary conferences are scheduled for October 20th, 2011 beginning at 8:30 a.m. and continuing to 7:30 p.m.

Please contact your child's teacher to set up a time for your Parent Teacher Conference.

Birthday Shout-Out!

We'd like to wish a VERY happy birthday to these incredible second grade classmates: 

Paige --October 17th 

Daylan--October 24th
Hunter--October 25th 

We hope your birthday is as special as you are :)

Stomp Out Bullying

Nobody likes a bully!

If your child has a blue polo please have them wear it to school on Monday October 3rd, 2011 to support "Stomp out Bullying". 

We have been talking about being a good friend but this week we will talk about what a bully is and what to do if someone is being a bully. Please talk with your children about bullying at home!

Social Studies and Science

Greetings!

The second grade students have switched classes again! If your child is in Mrs. Helmbrecht's homeroom class they are studying science. During this unit your child will be learning about the digestive system.  They will learn about the digestive organs, eating healthy and my plate (the "new" food pyramid).

If your child is in Ms. Hull's homeroom the are studying social studies. We quickly learned about ancient and modern Japan and are now moving on to ancient Greece. During the unit on ancient Greece we will study democracy, Greek gods and goddesses, the Trojan war, Sparta, Athens, Athenian children and democracy, the Olympic games, the Persian wars, a symposium, the great Greek thinkers, Alexander the great and the geography of this part of the world.

Core Knowledge pairs well with the social studies unit on ancient Greece. In Core Knowledge your child will be learning about mythology and Autumn related writings.

Mid Quarter Grades

Dear Parents,

We hope you are enjoying the cool down--we know we are!! It is hard to believe that the first quarter is half over! Mid quarter grades are being sent home this week in your child's Thursday Folder. Please look over your child's grades and discuss his or her performance in each class with your child.  After you have done so, please fill out, sign, and return the parent confirmation sheet that is attached to the grade print out. This needs to be returned to school as soon as possible. If there are any concerns please contact your child's teacher.

**Also, if you have not already done so, please contact your child's teacher(s) to set up a fall confernece time. **

Thank you for your continued support!
~Ms.  Hull and Mrs. Helmbrecht

Writing

Greetings Parents!

Writing class has been packed full of work during these last 5 weeks! The students have learned about the four steps to writing:

1. Pre-writing--thinking of ideas to write about.
2. Drafting--writing down initial ideas.
3. Editing--reading through what you've written to make sure the content flows and makes sense.
4. Proofreading--fixing grammatical errors as well as punctuation and formatting mistakes.

We have been focusing on step four in detail these last few weeks. During this step students have been using proofreading marks to proofread pre-written text. They have gotten very good at identifying mistakes as well as identifying the correct proofreading marks to use. We will continue to delve deeper into proofreading during the remainder of the quarter.

A glimpse ahead: quarter two is focused on practical writing skills; quarter three focuses on narrative writing skills and quarter four focuses on descriptive writing skills.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your child's teacher.

Cheers!

Ms. Hull and Mrs. Helmbrecht

Bus Safety

Bus safety is taught each year. This week all STRIDE Academy students are learning about bus safety.  Each child participates in this training regardless of whether they ride the bus to school or not.

If you have questions please contact your child's teacher.

Book Orders --Ms. Hull

In Ms. Hull's homeroom, book order forms were sent home last week in the Thursday Folder. If you would like to order your child a book, please fill out the form and return it with the payment by September 30th, 2011.

Remember you can also order online (and earn a free book for your child's classroom). Please use the code HYYX2 to order from Ms. Hull's class.

Calling All Leaders!

September: Lead By Example

"A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way." ~John C. Maxwell

As we continue to progress through the month please talk with your child about STRIDE Academy's Leader of the Month theme: leading by example.  We, as teachers, encourage our students to understand that in order to lead by example each student needs to think about how their words and actions support the development of the leader within them as well as how thier words and actions affect others.

The students that Mrs. Helmbrecht and Ms. Hul nominate this month for Leader of the Month will be students who practice restraint and good judgment as well as understand that being a leader is NOT telling others student what to do (bossing them around) but rather showing others by thier actions. The old adage, "actions speak louder than words" works well when discussing this theme.

Thank you for talking to your chidren about being leaders and incorperationg the monthly themes into your homes. Best of luck to each second grade student. We've been impressed thus far, so keep up the great work parents and students.

Ms. Hull and Mrs. Helmbrecht

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures!

Greetings Parents!

Your child's school pictures should have been sent home this week. If you are interested in picture retakes, please have your child's origional pictures and new forms returned to school ASAP.

Picture retakes are scheduled for Friday, September 23^rd

^Cheers!

^{Ms. Hull and Ms. Helmbrecht}

Transportation Update

Transportation Update

On Tuesday, September 6th we will begin busing with the St. Cloud and Sauk Rapids School Districts.  If you have not yet received updated busing information, please contact Linda at the Elementary School. 

Leaders of the Month!

Each month throughout the year STRIDE Academy will focus on a theme that connects with our Leader Expectations and/or the 7 Habits.  This theme will first be presented at a school-wide assembly at both the Elementary and the Middle School, and then reinforced as the month goes on in the classrooms.  We kicked off this month’s theme September 1st, Lead by Example.  The following quote is one your children will be talking about, as well as see around the school, throughout September as they are focusing on leading by example:

A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.


~ John C. Maxwell

In addition to introducing the new theme for the month at our Leader Assemblies, we will also be recognizing the Leaders of the Month from the previous month.  Two students from each grade will be selected each month that exhibited characteristics, above and beyond the theme for the month. 

Congratulations our August Leaders of the Month

Developing Good Habits

2nd Grade: Jacob and Tamara

In addition to being recognized at the school-wide assemblies, students will receive a certificate, have their picture posted on the Leader Board, and receive a formal lunch, downtown at Food Ecstasy with Mr. Ulbrich, Mrs. DeDominces, and Mr. Haagenson.  Congratulations again to STRIDE Academy’s first Leaders of the Month!  Keep up the hard work! 

Always Remember, Never Forget

Always Remember, Never Forget was and is a phrase that has lived in our heart since September 11th, 2001, and continues to be passed on through stories with our children today that do not have a living memory of that infamous day. 


As the nation prepares to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, many parents and teachers are struggling with how to teach about the disastrous events.  Many younger students, meanwhile, might not even realize the significance of the day itself.  “When young students watch the image of the two towers being attacked, they don’t understand if that’s happening now, if it’s happening many times over, or one time,” said Joan Brodsky Schur, a longtime member of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and author of We Are Living History: Reflections of a New York City Social Studies Teacher.

At STRIDE, you can be certain that the teaching we do will be done in a respectful way towards the people who gave their lives, but also respect the needs of children.  Please take time next week and talk about this piece of our history in your homes. Below you will see some of the resources we will be using on Friday September 9, 2011 to teach the second grade students about his important day.   Please feel free to use them as well and pass them on to other parents. 

Sincerely, 

Ms. Hull and Mrs. Helmbrecht 

a.     http://www.socialstudies.org/resources/moments

b.    From PBS, “America Responds”: A lesson that is cited and used by several other sites as well: http://www.pbs.org/americaresponds/educators.html

c.     A digital archive of pictures of objects having to do with 9/11: http://americanhistory.si.edu/september11/

d.    A second digital archive: http://911digitalarchive.org/

e.     A podcast on the post-9/11 landscape: http://www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources/podcast-episodes/post-landscape-30336.html

Birthday Wishes

We would like to recognize our 2nd graders who have celebrated August and September birthdays.  We hope you enjoy your special day!

 Soraya~ August 5

Rachel~ August 15

Keve ~ August 16

Keely ~ August 29

William ~ August 29
Mrs. Helmbrecht~ September 2

Emma Grace ~ September 2

Alexander~ September 23

Dontae ~ September 24

Happy Birthday!

No School

Greetings!!

A friendly reminder that there is NO SCHOOL on Friday September 2nd and Monday September 5th. Enjoy your long weekend and Happy Labor Day!!

Ciao!

Ms. Hull and Mrs. Helmbrecht

Yay--Book Orders!

Hello Parents and Students!

Throughout the year you will be receiving many book orders. As in the past, if your child and you choose to order a book you may return the order form and your payment to the homeroom teacher.

Besides the traditional way of ordering a book from a book order we are very excited to extend an invitation to each of you to order your books online. If you are interested in doing so, click on the link below and set up a free account. Once you've entered your information, Scholastic will link you to either Mrs. Helmbrecht (code: GM9WB ) or Ms. Hull's (code: HYYX2 )class ordering forms where you are able place and pay for your book order. 

The NEATEST things about ordering online, besides being quick and easy, is that every time a parent places an order online your child's homeroom classroom receives a FREE BOOK and or a $3.00 voucher to buy a book with! Every time!! It is a wonderful way to help build a great library for the students! And the best part is IT IS FREE! You do not pay anything extra! So please, if you are able to, try placing a book order online! If you'd rather not, we still WELCOME all orders in the traditional way of ordering.

Click below to set up a free account on Scholastic:


http://pcool.scholastic.com/parentordering/login.jsp?ESP=SBC/ib//acq/pcool_slimnav_Parents///nav/txtl////


To be linked with Ms. Hull's classroom order you will need to enter the following code: HYYX2. 

To be linked with Mrs. Hlembrecht's classroom order you will need to enter the following code: GM9WB.


Thank you for supporting your child's reading and development as well as the growth of their homeroom library!

Cheers,

Mrs. Helmbrecht and Ms. Hull

NWEA Testing

Dear Parents,

In second grade, students are given the state tests called the NWEA. These tests helps educators pinpoint each child's individual ability level in math, reading and language arts.  The tests are taken at two times during the year (sometimes three) so that we are able to monitor student growth.

Students take the NWEA tests in the fall to give us a base score (where they are at). Then we, the teachers, give each student a target score or a goal score (where they should be at the end of the year).

The students and teachers have talked about setting goals already this year so once the test results are received we will be speaking to the children about how they did, where we'd like to see them be at the end of the year, and how we (the student, parent and teacher) plan to get them to that point. It is important to remember that some students may have a higher or lower base score than others.  Because we want to see growth in ALL students, each child will be given an individualized goal for spring that correlates to their fall test score.

In order to give us an individualized reading on each child's ability in math, reading and language arts, the NWEA tests are designed in a very unique manner. What is unique about these tests is that, for every student, the tests questions all begin at the same level of difficulty based on grade level but get progressively harder or easier in accordance to the child's answer choices. Which means, if the child is answering correctly the test will give them harder level questions to see how advanced they are. For children who are not answering correctly the test will automatically adjust the question difficulty to a slightly easier level to determine what  level they are at.

Our students are taking the NWEA tests during the afternoon this week (the week of August 22nd) and next week (the week of August 29th). It should take each student about three days to complete all three tests--afternoons only!  This is NOT a timed test, students have as long as they need to complete each of the three portions.

We know all the students will do great! As parents, please encourage your child and remind him or her to do their best on these tests! Please contact STRIDE with any questions or concerns regarding these tests. 

Best Wishes,

Mrs. Helmbrecht and Ms. Hull

Spelling

Hello Parents and Students!

This week we've begun spelling in 2nd grade. There are two levels for spelling, a level 2 (the red level) and a level 3 (the purple level).  Students are placed at a level that corresponds with their reading level and class.

We will not have spelling each week. For about the first half of the year if the school week only has 4 days, we will most likely not have spelling. During the second half of the school year we will have spelling even if it is a 4 day week.

Basic expectations for spelling are that each week students will:

1. write their spelling words in their planners
2. work on and finish their spelling packet (torn out of their workbook) by Friday.
3. practice their words every night so they get a great score on their test (ALWAYS on the last day of the week)


Please help your child with their spelling work each week as well as help them practice each night. The sooner you as the parent practice with them the greater the chances are of them doing well on their packet as well as their test. Sometimes students practice their words incorrectly; learning an incorrect spelling habit early in the week makes it hard to relearn the word the correct way :)

Thanks for all your support and help!

Mrs. Helmbrecht and Ms. Hull 

Social Studies and Science

Greetings!!

Last week we began our first unit in social studies and science class. Currently Mrs. Helmbrecht is teaching science to her homeroom students and Ms. Hull is teaching social studies to her homeroom students. We will have wrapped up the first unit by September 1st and will be ready to flip classes. This means that beginning on September 6th and continuing for three weeks Mrs. Helmbrecht will be teaching science to Ms. Hull's homeroom students and Ms. Hull will be teaching social studies to Mrs. Helmbrecht's homeroom students. It is done this way so that students cover one whole unit in one class before beginning a unit in the other class. This flip happens about every three to four weeks throughout the school year.  Your child will not have social studies and science at the same time.

The first unit in science is about life cycles; focusing on the life cycles of butterflies, frogs and chickens. A highlight--students will be able to witness the life cycle of a butterfly at school! In social studies students will be studying ancient India and ancient China during the first unit; focusing on the religion, history, important figures, geography and culture of these two areas.

A lot of information is presented to your children during these class sessions (which are limited in number and length). Please discuss with them what they may have learned that day so they are better able to retain the information. We encourage students to read books on these subjects or do research with their families on the computer or at the library to broaden their understanding of these topics.

Cheers!

Ms. Helmbrecht and Ms. Hull

STRIDE Academy Silent Auction 2011

Hello Parents and Students!
 

We are writing to remind you of STRIDE Academy's annual Silent Auction.  Although the actual auction date has not been specified yet, the teachers have received their classroom donation themes from P.A.T.H.S. As in the past, each classroom is given a theme for which parents and families of the students in that class can purchase and donate items.  The donated items are made into themed baskets and kits which are then bid on at our annual auction in the fall. All money that is collected from the auction goes toward school and student needs.

Also, P.A.T.H.S. has decided to have another classroom contest this year in regards to donations for the auction. The contest will be based off of how much participation each classroom has. Although we know it is not always possible, our goal is to have each child and/or family donate an item for their classroom's basket(s) this year. So please be on the watch for items that fit into our themes this year. Our themes are:

Mrs. Helmbrecht- Cooking/Grilling/ Baking

Ms. Hull-Camping

Keep in mind that as the summer season winds down items related to camping and grilling may be going on sale!  If you have any questions please speak with either of the 2nd grade teachers.  Again, THANK you for all of your support. You are a dynamic part of what makes STRIDE Academy so great.

See you soon! 

Mrs. Helmbrecth and Ms. Hull

Welcome to Second Grade!

Dear parents/guardians and students,

Welcome to STRIDE Academy and to our second grade class website! We are thrilled to continue the STRIDE Academy legacy this year. We hope you are ready for a year packed full of fun, excitement, and learning, we know we are!


We are looking forward to working closely with you and your child this year. Please check back periodically for updates on what we are learning in our different classes, spelling word lists, important dates to remember and other important information. If you wish, you may subscribe to this blog. Subscribing will send you email alerts whenever we make a new post. We look forward to seeing all of your smiling faces very soon! 



Sincerely,



Mrs. Helmbrecht and Ms. Hull