Helpful Highlights
THANKSGIVING BREAK
There is no school Monday, November 23rd - Friday, November 27th, due to our Thanksgiving Holiday. Enjoy the week off with your families, as we reflect on God and His goodness towards us. We look forward to seeing everyone back in class on Monday, November 30th. We are thankful for you and your families!
VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP
Normally, 2nd Grade takes some AWESOME Field Trips!!! Due to COVID, we are not allowed to go on any right now; so, we decided to do the second best thing and bring them to us!!! On December 4th, our second graders will have the opportunity to tour the Atlanta Botanical Gardens virtually. We will get to fall down the rabbit hole and into the Garden’s Alice’s Wonderland Reimagined exhibit. Students get to meet the main characters in this year’s show and get a behind the scenes look at how the giant plant sculptures were created. We also get to meet a few members of the Garden’s amphibian collection and study their adaptations and behaviors with the Garden’s knowledgeable Education Team. They will show us how they care for the animals and teach us about amphibians’ habitats, life cycles, and relationships with plants. It goes right along with our Science unit!!!
SPELLING BEE
Each year, students in grades 1st-4th have the opportunity to compete in the ACSI Spelling Bee. The Spelling Bee encourages and develops good spelling habits and usage of words and vocabulary. This year due to COVID, ACSI is having each school host their own spelling bee. All materials, rules and processes will be followed as specified by ACSI. The NCCS Lower School Spelling Bee will be hosted on our campus, on Friday, February 19, 2021.
Each class will hold two in-class spell-offs, that all students will participate in, to determine who will represent their class in the Spelling Bee. All classroom spell-offs will begin with the easy list and continue through average and possibly difficult. The top two spellers from each spell off will advance to the final spelling bee. To begin preparations for your classroom spell-offs, students can study and practice the designated word list for their grade level. We encourage them to try their best! Second grade classroom spell-offs will be held:
Thursday, November 19th
Thursday, December 3rd
The top 4 spellers from each class will advance and compete in the Final NCCS LS Spelling Bee on Friday, February 19, 2021. Parents of these super spellers will be invited to attend the Spelling Bee event in the NCCS school gym. An award ceremony will immediately follow the Spelling Bee.
God has created each student with different talents and abilities that they can use for His glory! The Spelling Bee gives students an opportunity to show their talents! If you have any questions, please email your child’s teacher.
CHRISTMAS SHOPPE
It is time for the most anticipated PTF event of the year, Christmas Shoppe (located on campus). Our students get to shop for special gifts for the special people on their list! Gifts are wrapped by volunteers and ready to go under the tree. Our visit to the Christmas Shoppe is on Thursday, December 10th.
2nd GRADE CANDY CANE CHRISTMAS
On Wednesday, December 16th, Lower School will be having a fun Christmas themed day. 2nd Grade has chosen a “Candy Cane Christmas,” as our theme. Students do not have to wear their uniforms that day. Instead they need to wear red and/or white clothes (no pajamas). This will be a regular school day; but, all activities will be based around this theme. This is not an official party; but, Lower School just wanted to do a little extra something this week, to make it fun for the children; so, we added this theme day. There will be a portion of this theme day that we will be combining all 2nd Grade classes together for story time and a special singing, with Miss Davis’ family.
Loving Learning
Right now, we are loving learning about:
Bible - How God prepared a leader through Moses. This week we will learn about Moses' great responsibility and how God prepared him for it. We will also discuss the character trait of “responsibility.”
Phonics / Spelling
Spelling Focus: sound of /ow/ spelled ou or ow
Grammar / Creative Writing - We will start our Unit: “More on Nouns.” Topics this week will include: Capitalizing Proper Nouns and Abbreviations of Days, Months, and Titles of People.
Reading - We continue our third unit of Foundations & Frameworks: Characterization
Comprehension Focus: Character
Pattern Statement: Appearance, actions, and words can reveal things about the character.
Visual Tool: Bubble Map
SPECS Logs: Reader’s Response, Visual Tool, Reflection (Today, I learned…..)
Vocabulary: brier patch, madame, strict, recital, wilting, mail coach, clerk, dangerous, boil, gliding
Math - We continue Unit 4: Time and Measurement - students will learn to tell time to the nearest hour, half hour, and 5 minutes. They will also tell time using A.M. and P.M. We will be discussing place value and representing 3-digit numbers using base-10 blocks and expanded form, as well.
Science - We will be reviewing for our “What Changes the World Around Us?” Test. A review will come home on Tuesday for the Test on Thursday.
Save the Date
December 3 - In-Class Spelling Bee #2
December 4 - Virtual Field Trip (Atlanta Botanical Gardens)
December 10 - Christmas Shoppe
December 16 - Candy Cane Christmas (more details to come)
December 18 - LS Christmas Program (Half-day)
December 21 - January 4 - Christmas Break!!!
