April 6th - 10th

Special Note:

McKenzie Towne School is excited to present "Singing Through the Seasons," our Spring Concert for the Grade 2 classes on Thursday April 23rd. 

The dress rehearsal is open to families to come watch. Please note, there may be pauses during this performance to fine tune some details. 

Dress Rehearsal:

Grade 2: 11:00am -11:30am

Evening Performance:

Grade 2: 5:00pm - 5:30pm (doors open at 4:30) 

Phonics:

This week in phonics, we focused on learning the sounds of “ou” and “ow.” To help us remember these sounds, we’ve been calling them our “ouch” words! Students practiced recognizing and using these patterns in a variety of engaging ways.

We discovered that “ou” is often found at the beginning or in the middle of words, while “ow” is commonly found at the end of words and sometimes in the middle when a word ends with an “l” or “n.” These patterns helped students begin to notice and decode words more confidently.

Our heart words for the week were “eye” and “heart,” which we practiced reading and spelling as words we know by heart.

To build our skills, we used picture sorts, word mapping, and decodable texts. 

Math:

This week in math, our class began learning about regrouping using base ten blocks. Students explored how numbers are built using ones, tens, and hundreds, and learned that you cannot have a number larger than 9 in any place value. When there are more than 9 ones, tens, or hundreds, we need to regroup!

To support this understanding, students have been playing “Race to 100” with a partner. This engaging game helps reinforce the concept of regrouping in a fun and interactive way, as students build numbers and practice exchanging groups when needed.

We have also been drawing numbers using ones, tens, and hundreds representations. This visual approach helps students recognize when regrouping is necessary and strengthens their understanding of place value. 

Science:

This week, our classroom began an exciting hands-on learning experience as we started the process of hatching chicks! This project connects closely to our Living Systems unit in science, allowing students to explore life cycles and animal development in a meaningful way. 

We began by observing and comparing eggs, noticing differences in size and colour. Students shared their prior knowledge about chickens and asked thoughtful questions, helping guide our learning journey. We also explored the difference between oviparous animals (those that lay eggs) and animals that give live birth, making connections across different species.

As part of our investigations, we studied the life cycle of a chicken, discussing each stage in detail. Students were especially engaged in examining the day-by-day development of a chick inside the egg, building their understanding of how living things grow and change over time.

Writing:

This week in writing, our class focused on adding more detail to our sentences by using adjectives. Students began by identifying nouns in simple sentences, building a strong understanding of the people, places, or things they were writing about.

Next, they brainstormed adjectives to describe those nouns, thinking carefully about words that would make their writing more interesting and vivid. Finally, students practiced adding those adjectives back into their original sentences, transforming them into more detailed and engaging pieces of writing.