St. Joseph Catholic School

Placeholder text, please change
Mrs. Samantha Applegate » Home

Home

Welcome to 2nd Grade with Mrs. Applegate!
 
 
My name is Samantha Applegate and I am so excited to be joining the SJCS family! I grew up in central Indiana and graduated with my degree in Elementary Education from Ball State University in 2017. My husband and I relocated to the Chicagoland area in 2019 where I spent the first three years teaching Kindergarten. This will be my fifth year teaching and my second year teaching at St. Joseph. 
 
When I'm not teaching, you can find me spending time at the lake and watching college football. I also enjoy concerts, reading, and spending time with my friends and family. Some of my favorites include Diet Coke, Starbucks, and trips to Target. I look forward to an amazing 2022-2023 school year!
 

Posts

Wednesday 05.15.2024

Reminders:
  • Please check at home for books:
    • Media Center books are due on or before May 24th
  • Friday is the Variety Show → 12:15 pm in the Gym
 
ABC Countdown:
  • Thursday - M - Movie Day → We will watch "Migration"
    • Your child may bring a small towel or blanket to sit on during the movie.
  • Friday - N - Name Day
Homework:
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Phonics: No homework - new packets come home tomorrow
 
3. Math: Inches, Feet, and Yards - estimating

Tuesday 05.14.2024

Homework:
 
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Phonics Assessment is tomorrow!
Practice words with oo, ou, ew, ue
Practice trick words January, February, July, December, enough, special
 
3. Math: "Centimeter Madness" page
 

Monday 05.13.2024

ABC Countdown:
  • Tuesday - K - Kindness
  • Wednesday - L - Letters (to the third grade teachers)
  • Thursday - M - Movie Day → We will watch "Migration"
  • Your child may bring a small towel or blanket to sit on during the movie.
  • Friday - N - Name Day
 
Homework:
 
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Math: "Sew Good at Measurement" page
**Note: I have sent home a laminated ruler for students to use for homework.
 
3. Phonics:
Keep practicing words with ue, ew, oo, ou (Assessment is Wednesday)
Practice trick words: January, February, July, December, special, enough
 
Additional Reminders:
  • Please check at home for books:
    • Media Center books are due on or before May 24th
  • Friday is the Variety Show → 12:15 pm in the Gym

05.13.2024-05.17.2024 Week at a Glance

ABC Countdown:

J

Mon, 5/13

Jammies

Wear your jammies to school.

K

Tues, 5/14

Kindness

Spend the day doing acts of kindness.

L

Wed, 5/15

Letters

Write a letter to your next year’s teachers.

M

Thurs, 5/16

Movie

Enjoy a movie with your class.

N

Fri, 5/17

Name Day

Choose a new name or nickname for the day.

 
 
 

Religion

Students will:

  • Read about the blessings that come from serving those in need.
  • Retell the story of the Good Samaritan.
  • Give examples of kindness
  • Define Beatitudes.

Math

Students will:

  • measure the length of an object using a ruler.
  • measure an object in centimeters and inches and find the difference between the two units of measurement.
  • estimate lengths using inches and centimeters
  • find the difference in measurement between two items

Phonics

Students will:

  • Read and spell words with the sounds of oo, ou, ue, and ew
  • Read and spell trick words January, February, July, enough, special, and December
  • Learn the sounds of au and aw

Reading/Writing

Students will:

  • Generate text-based observations and questions about I Have a Dream.
  • Explain how images contribute to a text.
  • Identify adjectives and generate alternative adjectives in sentences

Thursday 05.09.2024

Homework:
 
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Math: 10.6 Homework Page - AM and PM
 
3. Phonics:
Keep practicing words with ue, ew, ou, oo.
Practice trick words: January, February, July.
 
Additional Reminders:
  • ABC Countdown:
    • Friday, 5/10 - I - Ice Pops → Enjoy a sweet treat (ice pops) with your classmates. (We made sure to get ice pops that are free from artificial dyes.)

Wednesday 05.08.2024

Homework:
 
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Math: 10.5 Homework Page - Time to 5 minute intervals
 
3. Phonics:
Keep practicing words with ue, ew, ou, oo.
Practice trick words: January, February, July.
 
Additional Reminders:
  • Tomorrow is our last food pantry collection of the year! → Second graders should bring ramen.
  • ABC Countdown:
    • Thursday, 5/9 - H - Hawaiian Day → Dress in your best Hawaiian shirt OR wear your school uniform with a lei.
    • Friday, 5/10 - I - Ice Pops → Enjoy a sweet treat (ice pops) with your classmates. (We made sure to get ice pops that are free from artificial dyes.)

Tuesday 05.07.2024

1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Math: 10.4 Homework Page - Time to the Quarter Hour
 
3. Phonics:
Keep practicing words with ue, ew, ou, oo.
Practice trick words: January, February, July.
 
Additional Reminders:
  • Thursday, May 9 - Food Pantry collection → Second graders should bring ramen.
    • This is the last food pantry collection of the year. Please be generous. Thank you!
  • ABC Countdown:
    • Wednesday, 5/8 - G - Game Day → Bring a (simple) card game or board game to play with your classmates.
    • Thursday, 5/9 - H - Hawaiian Day → Dress in your best Hawaiian shirt OR wear your school uniform with a lei.
    • Friday, 5/10 - I - Ice Pops → Enjoy a sweet treat (ice pops) with your classmates. (We made sure to get ice pops that are free from artificial dyes.)

Monday 05.06.2024

Important Announcements:
  • The second graders received a special St. Joseph pin from Fr. Trout this morning. Mrs. Medina has taped the pin to your child's home folder in hopes that it makes it home without getting lost! Please be on the look out for the pin.
  • Our class voted on a movie for movie day. We will be watching Migration but since it is rated PG we need signed parent permission. A permission slip is coming home tonight in your child's folder, please sign the form and return to school!
Homework:
 
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Math: 10.3 Homework Page - Problem solving with telling time
 
3. Phonics:
Keep practicing words with ue, ew, ou, oo.
Practice trick words: January, February, July.
 
Additional Reminders:
  • Thursday, May 9 - Food Pantry collection → Second graders should bring ramen.
    • This is the last food pantry collection of the year. Please be generous. Thank you!
  • ABC Countdown continues next week:
    • Tuesday, 5/7 - F - Fancy Day → Dress up in your fancy clothes to attend the May Crowning Mass. (There should be no sweatpants or jeans.) If your child needs to bring a different pair of shoes for gym and/or recess, please send those in with him/her that morning. Your child can also wear his/her uniform if s/he does not want to participate in dressing up.
    • Wednesday, 5/8 - G - Game Day → Bring a (simple) card game or board game to play with your classmates.
    • Thursday, 5/9 - H - Hawaiian Day → Dress in your best Hawaiian shirt OR wear your school uniform with a lei.
    • Friday, 5/10 - I - Ice Pops → Enjoy a sweet treat (ice pops) with your classmates. (We made sure to get ice pops that are free from artificial dyes.)

05.06.2024-05.10.2024 Week at a Glance

 

Religion

Students will:

  • Reflect on their First Communion
  • Discuss and read about Mother Mary in honor of May Crowning

Math

Students will:

  • tell time to the nearest quarter hour
  • Solve time word problems
  • tell time to the nearest 5 mins
  • identify label times correctly with AM or PM based on time of day.
  • Practice telling time

Phonics

Students will:

  • Spell words with long oo (u) sound
  • Spell trick words January, February, July
  • Spell trick words enough, special, December
  • Read decodable on level passages with proper fluency

Reading/Writing

Students will:

  • Describe how repeated language conveys meaning in a song
  • Determine the main idea of an informational text by looking at historical photographs
  • White an informative paragraph using evidence from two sources
  • Make observations and questions about I Have a Dream

Science

Students will:

  • explore the different properties of materials used for clothing, such as texture, flexibility, and absorbency
  • design and build a hat that protects them from the Sun
 
ABC Countdown: 

E

Mon, 5/6

Exercise

Get your heart pumping while you participate in different exercises throughout the day.

F

Tues, 5/7

Fancy

Dress in your best fancy clothes for Mass!

G

Wed, 5/8

Games

Bring your favorite card game or board game to share with your class.

H

Thurs, 5/9

Hawaiian Day

Dress in your best Hawaiian shirt/clothes or wear a lei.

I

Fri, 5/10

Ice Pops

Cool off with your class as you enjoy this sweet treat.

Thursday 05.02.2024

Homework:
 
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Math: 10.2 Homework page - telling time to the nearest half hour (think today's lessons as a review and warmup for the chapter to activate prior knowledge - and to give the kids a little break during this busy week!)
 
3. Phonics: new packet went home today
  • Practice words with ou, oo, ue, ew
  • Practice trick words: January, February, July

Wednesday 05.01.2024

Homework:
 
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Math: 10.1 Homework pages - telling time to the nearest hour (think of today and tomorrow's lessons as a warmup for the chapter - it hopefully should be more of a review to activate prior knowledge)
 
3. Phonics: no homework, New packet goes home Thursday
 
Additional Reminders:
  • Library books are due Friday
  • ABC Countdown:
    • C - Thursday 5/2 - Camp-Read-A lot- Please send your child with a towel, flashlight and small pillow to enjoy some extra reading time during class. (They can keep the books from Wednesday for Thursday to read, and they can borrow other books in our classroom.)
    • D - Friday - Dance Day - enjoy music and dancing throughout the day

Monday 04.29.2024

Homework:
 
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Math: no written homework -  Chapter 8 Money Test is tomorrow!
 
3. Phonics: keep practicing words with ou, ow and trick words bought and brought
  • Assessment is Wednesday 5/1
 
Additional Reminders:
 
  • ABC Countdown begins tomorrow, Tuesday 4/30! We will complete an art project as a class.
  • B - Wednesday 5/1 - Books - bring a book to share with the class
  • C - Thursday 5/2 - Camp-Read-A lot- Please send your child with a towel, flashlight and small pillow to enjoy some extra reading time during class. (They can keep the books from Wednesday for Thursday to read, and they can borrow other books in our classroom.)
  • D - Friday - Dance Day - enjoy music and dancing throughout the day!

04.29.2024-05.03.2024 Week at a Glance

Please check for an email from me with details about the upcoming week for First Communion!
 
Tests/Quizzes:
  • Math: chapter 8 money quiz, Tuesday 4/30
  • Phonics: Unit 14 quiz, Wednesday 5/1

Religion

We will spend Religion time preparing for First Communion on Saturday.

Math

Students will be reviewing money concepts to take their chapter 8 quiz on Tuesday 4/30. We will then begin learning about time. Students will tell and write time to the nearest hour and tell time to the nearest half hour.

Phonics

Students will be finishing up Unit 14 and complete their phonics test on the ou and ow sound. We will begin Unit 15 where the students will read and spell words with the sounds of oo, ou, ue, and ew. We will also be learning the trick words January, February, and July.

Reading/Writing

We are continuing our work in Module 3 about Civil Rights. Students will identify the main topic of different sections of an informational text and give examples of civil rights in order to understand the importance of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. They will also be making connections among a series of Civil Rights events and compare important points from two texts about the same topic.

Science/Social Studies

We will be finishing up our Social Studies unit on Civics and will resume Science next week.

 

Tuesday 04.23.2024

Homework:
 
1. Read 20 minutes 
 
2. Phonics:
- Practice spelling words with ou, ow (/ou/ double vowel syllables)
- Practice trick words Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday
- Unit 14 Assessment will be on Wednesday, 5/1
 
3. Math 8.5 Homework - Dollars
- Math Chapter 8 Quiz will be next Tuesday, 4/30
 
Important Reminders for First Communion
  • Eucharist Prayer Service is Tuesday, 4/30, at 5pm
    •  All students receiving First Communion should be in attendance with one or two parents. (Please note this is not for the entire family.)
  • Godparents’ Day is Friday, 5/5, at 12:30pm
    • All students will attend this prayer service (during school)
  • First Communion is Saturday, 5/6, at 10:00am
    • Please note there are no assigned seats unless your child has a reading for this Mass.

Monday 04.22.2024

Homework:
 
1. Read 20 minutes 
 
2. Phonics:
- Practice spelling words with ou, ow (/ou/ double vowel syllables)
- Practice trick words Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday
- Unit 14 Assessment will be on Wednesday, 5/1
 
3. Math 8.4 Homework - money word problems
- Math Chapter 8 Quiz will be next Tuesday, 4/30
 
Additional Reminders:
  • Alex’s Lemonade Stand - tomorrow, Tuesday, 4/23
    • Students should wear blue, yellow, or teal.
    • Students should bring in donations of any amount. Thank you for your generosity.
  • No School - Friday, 4/26 → Professional Development Day for teachers
Important Reminders for First Communion
  • Eucharist Prayer Service is Tuesday, 4/30, at 5pm
    •  All students receiving First Communion should be in attendance with one or two parents. (Please note this is not for the entire family.)
  • Godparents’ Day is Friday, 5/5, at 12:30pm
    • All students will attend this prayer service (during school)
  • First Communion is Saturday, 5/6, at 10:00am
    • Please note there are no assigned seats unless your child has a reading for this Mass.