October 1 - Big Day!

As usually happens, we're amazed that September is over, that fall has arrived, and that we've accomplished so much already!  I've been telling anyone who'll listen that this is a special class.  They're energetic, creative, hard-working, funny individuals, who allow me to extend and elaborate nearly every subject I introduce.  I look forward to working with them every day - what a tribute to you, their families!

So, as the title implies, Friday, October 1 is a big day!  We're culminating our Communities unit with the arrival of our building projects.  I can't remember a year when the kids have talked about the progress of their models with such enthusiasm! Thank you for all the support you've given them at home.  One of the primary objectives of this assignment is to involve our families in our learning process.  We all hope friends and families will be able to stop by to see our community collection.  It's bound to be a spectacular sight!

October 1 is also the day our incredible local fire department, ambulance service, police department, and trauma teams visit us.  Mrs. Matthews organizes this event each year and it just seems to get better and better!  Grades preK - 6 will visit safety stations throughout the day, highlighted by the landing and take off of the trauma helicopter!

The students are becoming more consistent with their homework.  Do you think the F.I.S.H. notebooks are helping in this regard?  Remember, your child will have approximately 15-20 minutes of homework each night; 2 sheets of math work and 1 sheet from their packet.  No math homework will be assigned on test days and packet homework may be an experience rather than a sheet of paper (like this week's building project.)  Please don't hesitate to let me know what is working for you and what is not.  It all helps me learn how I can better meet your needs.

Monday, October 4 will mark the beginning of the Snack Store (as detailed in the most recent edition of The Second Grade Gazette.)  Please send in $3.00 with your child for the month of October.  Thank you so much to the two families who have already paid.  Let me know if the money creates a hardship and we can make other arrangements.

Curtis Arnold and Lucy Cucinella have been our most recent Star Students. We've enjoyed their personal pictures and posters describing what they like to do best.  Please stop by to see our Star Student display whenever you're in the building.

Well, it's raining so hard I need to make sure everything's nailed down on our deck.  I hope you're safe and dry.  Please continue to write, call, e-mail, whatever works for you.  Your child and I are working hard to make this a great year and you're an extremely important part of our success!

Enjoy the weekend,
Lanie Groff

WELCOME TO THE 2010-2011 SCHOOL YEAR!

Hello, new second grade students and families! I just can't tell you how excited I am to get our year underway. We have so many things going on at Northville Central School this year. When you arrive on Wednesday, you'll see our door has a sign stating, "Room 130 is under construction." That's not true in the traditional sense (yet!) everything's neat as a pin and ready to go, but we certainly are under construction in many other ways. The following is a sample list of some of the big changes underway!

We are pleased to welcome our new elementary principal, Mr. Bill Crankshaw and Miss Amber Allen, second grade teacher. We look forward to working closely with both of our new staff members. Many other faculty members are changing roles in response to class numbers and economic restrictions.

The physical renovations in our school environment include, new tile and carpeting in many classrooms after removal of asbestos tiles, a new gym roof, repaving of the south parking lot, repainting of exterior trim, and the completion of the next phase of the front sidewalk project.

The faculty is continuing the work we started last year on mapping our curriculum and Atlas software has been installed to help coordinate our results. The entire staff is being trained to use our new management software called PowerSchool. This program will coordinate and allow easier access to student records. Eventually, parents will be able to access their child's grades and teacher comments from home!

This may be much more information than you'd care to know, but I wanted you to be aware of how invested and involved your child's educators are in our students' education! Most of my posts from this point forward will specifically concern what is happening with second graders in our classroom.

I hope you've had a wonderful summer with time for relaxation, projects, trips, or just enjoying the great weather we've had. I can't wait to see the kids on Wednesday!

Most sincerely,

Mrs. Lanie Groff

Lgroff@northvillecsd.k12.ny.us

863-7000 x 4130