Welcome to Second Grade

Hello, my name is Meg Tupou. I am the 2nd grade teacher at STMS. I am an alumni of St. Thomas More and this school community has played a large role in my life.

After my time at St. Thomas More I went to Archbishop Murphy High School. I continued my education at Western Washington University and attended their college of education. I earned my degree in Early Childhood Education focusing on the development of children and importance of family partnership to build strong foundations for our students. The STMS speech program gave me the skills I needed to be the commencement speaker at my college graduation. I then earned my Master’s degree in Educational Technology and Instruction. I have goals of going back to school to learn more about brain development and behavior.

My husband Taani and I have two amazing children TJ and Mella. We love spending time with family and friends. One of our favorite places to visit is Disneyland for all the magic it entails. We also frequent Hawai’i to visit Taani’s parents and family. We have a pitbull puppy Kalo that we love to take on outdoor adventures. We love to attend sporting events and cheering on our WA teams.

2nd Grade Overview

  • In Science, students are encouraged to explore the word around them with inquiring minds. Students are able to observe the life cycle first hand when we hatch chicks. They witness matter change its’ state before their eyes when studying physics and investigate the minerals around them while learning about geology.
  • Students develop life-long study skills in second grade. They are able to keep their binder organized, take responsibility for their assignments and take care of their personal belongings.
  • Second grade students choose and memorize a 20+ line poem for our primary speech program. These public speaking skills are practiced throughout the year.
  • In Second Grade, our stewardship theme is Caring for God’s Creation. Students raise money to donate to the Woodland Park Zoo for endangered tigers. The children also contribute daily lunch scraps to our compost bin to feed the pigs on Fairbank’s Farm.
  • Second grade is an important year in Faith. Children prepare academically and spiritually for First Reconciliation and First Communion. A large part of this preparation is practicing daily conversation and reflection with God.

2nd Grade Standards

Religion:

  • Develops concept of belonging & forgiveness
  • Learns new prayers: Act of Contrition and Morning Offerings
  • Develops understanding of God as our Father, Jesus as God’s greatest gift to us & that the Holy Spirit is God
  • Studies the sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist & Reconciliation
  • Students begin to learn more about the parts of the Mass as they prepare the All Saints’ Day Mass. Each student will also complete a project researching a Saint.

Language Arts:

  • Students will strengthen their reading comprehension and accuracy by reading frequently and interacting with the text
  • They question what they read and determine it’s importance
  • Students make predictions or inferences
  • They can summarize and retell
  • Students write in complete sentences
  • Students spell at least 30 frequently used words correctly- using weekly spelling rules for support

Math:

  • Use mental math for single-digit addition and subtraction problems
  • Add using regrouping
  • Apply addition and subtraction concepts and strategies
  • Use critical thinking and strategies to solve 2/3 step story problems
  • Demonstrate an understanding of place value – to 1,000
  • Compute three-digit addition and subtraction problems
  • Model fractions – understand the vocab and visual representations
  • Tells time to the nearest five minute
  • Leave second grade strong number sense and problem solving strategies

Science:

  • Observes/ participates in science experiences
  • Studies Physics (force and motion), Geology (rocks and minerals) and Life Cycles
  • Develops awareness of the scientific process
  • Awareness of relationships of humans on earth

Social Studies:

  • Students become more aware of their role and responsibilities in their community
  • Create and utilize maps
  • Discusses how our choices effect others
  • Practice teamwork skills and group work

Heifer International

Image result for heifer international

We are excited to be raising money to make a donation to Heifer International this Lenten season. 2nd grade is working to raise $120 to purchase a pig. The students are confident we will reach this goal. If we do, we are hoping to earn $360 to purchase a pig, sheep and goat. Here is a link to see what Heifer International is all about!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtYyo9d8Jm0

100th Day Mystery Bag

Another fun activity to celebrate our 100th Day will be the 100th Day Mystery Bags! Students will get a paper bag tomorrow to bring home and fill with 100 of a given item. They will need to make sure all 100 of their chosen item will fit inside their paper bag and are school appropriate.  Some examples are paper clips, Legos, pennies, bouncy balls, etc.

There is a piece of paper attached to their paper bag. They will need to write 3 clues for guessing what their item is. They will read their clues for the class and students will make guesses about what they think the chosen item may be.

Mystery bags need to be brought back to school, no later than Wednesday February 12th for the 100th day of school.

100th Day Snack

The 100th Day of Second Grade is coming up next week! To help us celebrate, we will be making a 100 Day Snack. There are 10 different ingredients and students will need 10 of each.

Please use the sign up genius link below to donate different ingredients for our snack. We will need about 220 pieces of each ingredient. If snack ingredients could be brought to school by Monday February 10th that would be so helpful!

Thank you!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090A4AAFA722AAFD0-100th

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