Ms. Hansen's Happenings

Week of February 2, 2015 Dear Parents: What a wonderful week with your students.  We had some great learning experiences this week. We explored sound and magnets this week.  We used computers to publish many poems in anticipation of our "Poet Tea" on Friday. We also had a wonderful visit from an author.  Don't forget that Tuesday is picture day. A note about the Valentine's Day party is in the Friday folder along with a list of students.   IB tidbit: Each week our class starts the week by reflecting on one PYP attitude or one learner profile attribute.  This last week students reflected about how they were going to be principled this week.  Next week, students will be thinking about how they are going to be open-minded.   In Science/Social Studies: We explored sound and light energy this week. Student explored different object that make sound and discovered that vibration makes sound. We also learned the difference between the sound waves made by high pitched sounds

Week of January 26, 2015 Dear Parents: What a wonderful week with your students.  We had some great learning experiences this week.  We built structures to hold cotton balls.  We explored sound energy.  We read and wrote more poetry.  I am looking forward to the students sharing their poetry with you at the "Poet Tea".  An invitation with time and date was sent home in the Friday folder.  Don't forget if you have a science fair project it is due Monday.  We will also have our author visit on Tuesday morning. IB tidbit: One of the elements of PYP is students taking action.  Action does not mean a huge service project. Action can be as simple as reading a book about something we are studying.  It can also be sharing at home what students have learned.  Be on the look out for action in small ways. In Science/Social Studies: We are working on physical changes.  We changed paper and we used materials to build a structure.   This next week we will be learning about fo

Week of January 19, 2015 Dear Parents, Another wonderful week in second grade.  We have been very busy using our technology skills to create a Google presentation for the upcoming science fair.  We have also created a Google document to publish one of the poems students have been working on.  Students even inserted a picture on the document.  Did you know you can access your child's Google drive from home? Just bring up Google drive and the students can sign in using their username and password. IB tidbit: We hare having our five year evaluation visit this coming week.  We will have visitors on campus on Thursday and Friday.  We have been working on our How We Express Ourselves unit of inquiry. The students are creating very creative poems. In Science/Social Studies: This week we created a Google presentation for our "How does heating and cooling effect matter?" science fair project.  We also took the experiment through all the steps for a scientific investigati

Week of January 12, 2015 Dear Parents, Welcome back.  I hope everyone enjoyed their winter break.  A huge thank you to the parents that volunteered to help out at our winter party.  It was a great way to celebrate the end of the first semester.  I am looking forward to great learning this semester.  Report cards will be in the Friday folder on January 16.  Please continue with your homework support at home. IB tidbit: Did you know that your students have started a new unit of inquiry called "How We Express Ourselves"?  The central idea is: People express themselves through poetry.  We will be inquiring into the characteristics of poetry, the poet's purpose for writing a poem, and the connection between the poet, poem and the reader.  I can't wait to see the creative poetry that the students will come up with. Science/ Social Studies: Our class took some time this week to reflect on our classroom essential agreements.  The students reviewed what we created as