Updates and announcements

This week, we cordially invite you to Math and Phonics night on Wednesday, September 20^th. In addition to word problems and Spalding, we will also be covering the basics of sentence diagramming.

Please be looking through the signed folders with your child at the end of every week, then returning the empty folder on Mondays.

Please check the due dates for the Science Fair in your child’s science fair packet.

There will be no school next Friday, September 29^th.

Please see this week’s family newsletter from Office Manager, Rachele Holcomb, for a link to the annual homework survey. If you are not receiving the weekly family newsletter, email Rachele Holcomb at rholcomb@archwayarete.org.

Our week in learning

This week in grammar, students will take a test on Prepositions and prepositional phrases. They will review sentence diagramming and practice reconstructing sentences from their diagrams.

In literature, students will read through chapters 10-11 and continue building their summarization skills. They will end the week with an exercise summarizing the events of chapters 1-11 in anticipation of an end-of-book test in the first week of October.

In science, students will continue studying chemistry by learning about molecules and compounds, as well as mixtures and solutions. Students will practice writing chemical formulas with atomic symbols, and learn the difference between a solute and a solvent. They will read about the difference between acids and bases and conduct a lab to determine which known substances are acids, bases, or neutral, based on their prior knowledge of the substances.

This week in History, students will continue learning about the Renaissance, focusing on Venice, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and Castiglione. On Friday, students will get to read unabridged excerpts from Castiglione’s The Courtier and Machiavelli’s The Prince in preparation for a socratic discussion on leadership on Monday. Please note that these are difficult passages and may need some parental or older sibling assistance to comprehend. I would suggest taking time to read these, and maybe creating a vocabulary list. The readings can count for reading log credit. We will also be learning about the South region of the United States on Wacky Wednesday. There will be a states location quiz covering the South, Mid-Atlantic, and New England regions next Wednesday, 9/27.

This week in Math, students will finish the unit on “More Calculations with Whole Numbers and test on Thursday. Students will start Unit 3: Fractions on Friday with a review of fractions, equivalent fractions, mixed numbers, and comparing fractions. Math groups will continue this Wednesday, 8:00-9:00.