Updates and announcements

Students have a couple busy weeks ahead of them! Please take a look at the updated “Important Dates” section. The “Wish List” has also been updated.

We are still in need of one or two parents who would be willing to volunteer their time on Friday for Athletic Field day. It is a wonderful opportunity to watch your children compete. The even till last from noon until about 2:30.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR WRITING WORKSHOP! We are looking for volunteers on Wednesday afternoon to run editing and revision stations for the students’ research paper. Students will spend 7-10 minutes at each station with their essays, editing or revising a particular aspect of it. The parent volunteer or teacher at each station will assist students with reading or revising their essays. Red pens will be provided! J We need help with spell checking, grammar, voice/perspective, and organization. Please email me if you are available Wednesday after 1:20pm!

Our week in learning

This week, students will compose their introductions and conclusions, and spend Wednesday editing their rough drafts. On Thursday, students will sit down to write out their full final draft, and on Friday, they will have the opportunity to type it in class. Students should have a full final draft completed by Thursday in order to type on Friday.

Presentations will be on Monday and Tuesday of next week--students should prepare a simple poster board with relevant pictures and facts about their explorer. This should be completed at home.

Roots quiz will be this Wednesday as usual.

Students will read through chapter 17 of the Secret Garden and continue making journal entries.

In science this week, students will learn about two different types of seeds - angiosperms and gymnosperms - and how those seeds are dispersed. They will compare the structure of vascular plants to nonvascular plants and label vascular tissues. On Thursday, students will watch a video about seed dispersal and complete an activity that will challenge them to remember the different dispersal method.

This week in history, students will finish the unit on the Age of Exploration. Study guides are due Monday, January 29th and the Age of Exploration test will be on Tuesday, January 31st. We will begin our unit on Westward Expansion before the Civil War, starting with Daniel Boone, the Louisiana Territory, and the resistance of the Native Americans.

In math this week, we will continue learning about decimals. Students will multiply and divide decimals by 2-digit whole numbers, multiply a decimal by 0.1 and 0.01, and multiply a decimal by another decimal. Graph paper is very helpful to line up decimals and keep their work organized. We will be using some in class, but it might be useful to have some at home to use with homework. Math groups will be this Wednesday, 8:00-9:00.

Help our classroom win the “Royalty for a Day” contest!

I am sure you’ve heard from your child by now that there is a “Royalty for a Day” contest underway, and your help is needed!  We still need $22,000 in tax credits to meet our $75,000 goal and here is how your child’s class wins, and what they will receive:

• The classroom that brings in the most Tax Credit dollars by Great Hearts Day (2/14/18) will be Royalty for a day!
• The teachers will be crowned royalty and receive gift cards.
• The class will wear spirit shirts and receive a treat on the royal day to celebrate.

The top classes will be posted on the white board each Friday at pick-up and the winning classroom will be announced at the end of the day on Feb. 14th .  Leave no one out!  Ask grandparents, aunts, neighbors, coaches, and friends to give their Tax Credit to Archway Arete!  Here is the GIVING LINK:  https://archwayarete.configio.com/moneyrequest?id=5

Let’s make this happen for our class!

Athletic Field Day

Athletic Field Day is Friday, February 2nd from 8:30-11:00 for K-2 classes and from 12:00-2:30 for grades 3-5!  Each year classes are assigned a Greek City State for their team.  This year, your child’s team is Corinth, and our team color is red.  There will be no school lunch offered on Athletic Field Day.  Please send your child to school with a lunch.

Volunteers for Athletic Field Day

In order to have Athletic Field Day run smoothly, we need your help!  Coach Gethings & Coach Warren need volunteers setting up and running the event.  Please sign up at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0d4aaeae2fa0ff2-athletic to help with the events.  We need a few volunteers for our class to help with donating a cooler and snacks.  Please email Mrs. Lynch if you are interested in providing a snack or cooler. We are also in need of one or two parents to volunteer with just our class for the day, keeping track of our 29 scholars and their water and snacks. It is a great opportunity to watch your child compete!

Updates and announcements

We are well into our semester and learning lots!

Please remember to keep particulars of the dress code in mind. Our most recent “tip” for the staff was to remember that hair piece for girls must comply with the dress code. This means small pieces of school colors are allowed. Please no large flower crowns. J

This week, we are studying slavery and the middle passage. Even though it is presented for scholars at the 5^th grade level, it is still sensitive and explicit material. Please have a conversation at home if you see it best.

Our week in learning

This week, students will begin the week with a lesson on appropriate ways to use quotations in their research essays. On Tuesday, they will begin a simple sentence outline of their essays, and on Thursday and Friday, they will begin writing their body paragraphs. We will compose most of the first body paragraph together in class on Thursday. On Friday, we will spend the period composing the second body paragraph--students will complete the third body paragraph for homework over the weekend. Next week, students will compose their introduction and conclusion, rough draft, and final draft.

Students will read through chapter 14 of The Secret Garden and continue adding to their character charts and journal entries. Journal entries are assigned every chapter or every other chapter, and are expected to be a full paragraph in length (5-9 sentences). Entries 1-10 will be collected for a complete grade on Friday, and should be neat, showing good effort, with complete sentences and thoughtful answers.

Students will be reciting their poem, “The Poison Tree”, on Wednesday and their weekly roots quiz will also be on Wednesday.

In science this week, students will finish researching their vascular or nonvascular plant and present their research to the class on either Tuesday or Thursday. Each student will be graded separately on his/her presentation, and a group grade will be given for the worksheet presented to the class. All students are required to take notes on each of the presentations, as some of this information will be on the unit test. On Friday, we will learn about plant life cycles.

This week in history, students will continue to learn about the age of exploration. We will cover the English, French, and Dutch explorers. Please note that we will be covering the slavery chapter and the middle passage later on Friday this week. This is sensitive material and students should have a discussion at home if needed. Study guides will go home on Monday, January 22nd and are due Monday, January 29th. The Age of Exploration test will be on Tuesday, January 31st.

In math this week, we will continue learning about decimals. Students will be dividing decimals, changing fractions to decimals using long division, and multiply and divide decimals by 10’s, 100’s, and 1000’s. Graph paper is very helpful to line up decimals and keep their work organized. We will be using some in class, but it might be useful to have some at home to use with homework. Math groups will resume this Wednesday, January 24th, 8:00-9:00.

Updates and announcements

Our first week is down in the books! Our students are officially closer to being 6^th graders than 4^th graders. We will continue our school year with an emphasis on responsibility and time management.

The Daddy Daughter Dance is this Saturday.

Our week in learning

This week, students will take a short quiz over Indirect Objects on Wednesday.

They will begin the week in language arts researching their explorer using computers. Students will need at least one book source next week as they begin putting together their resources to form their essay. On Friday, students will create a sentence outline for their three body paragraphs, and should have their research largely completed by next Monday.

Students will read through chapter 10 of The Secret Garden and continue adding to their character charts and journal entries. Journal entries are assigned every chapter or every other chapter, and are expected to be a full paragraph in length (5-9 sentences). These will be collected for a complete grade at the end of the book, and should be neat, showing good effort, with complete sentences.

In science this week, students will continue taking notes on plant structure and adaptations. They will specifically focus on vascular and nonvascular plants. Students will be placed into groups and research a type of vascular or nonvascular plant to present to the rest of the class. All research and group work will be completed in class, and will be presented next week.

This week in history, students will continue to learn about the age of exploration. We will cover the questionable virtue of Christopher Columbus, the Spanish Conquistadors, how the connection between slavery and encomiendas, and Magellan’s voyage around the world. Please note that we will be covering slavery and the middle passage later in the unit. I encourage discussion at home on this sensitive topic.

In math this week, we will take a short quiz on our ratio unit, then move on to decimals. Students will learn about comparing, rounding, estimating, adding, subtracting and multiplying decimals. Graph paper is very helpful to line up decimals and keep their work organized. We will be using some in class, but it might be useful to have some at home to use with homework. There will be no math groups this week because we are starting a new unit, however we will start math groups next week, 1/24.

Please see the following note regarding the Bard competition.

Archway Arete Students and Families,

Throughout Western civilization, bards have been keepers of tradition, reciting the poetry of their people and passing on oral history. At every grade level, our students practice memorization and recitation of poems in the classroom. This year, we will again be joining our fellow Great Hearts schools in holding a Bard Competition for our 3^rd through 5^th grade students, whom we will challenge to memorize and recite poetry. Over the course of two rounds and two poems, we will winnow the field to find our school’s most skillful bard. That student will be named School Bard for the year and will represent Archway Arete at the Great Hearts Archway Bard Competition in the spring.

           If your student is interested in competing, you can download the competition guidelines and registration form attached to this e-mail. These forms will also be available through the School Office or your student’s teacher. Whether your student participates or not, we invite all of our Archway families to join us for these public recitations, which promise to be engaging reminders of this oral tradition.

           If you have any questions about the Bard Competition, please contact Mrs. Bowers at kbowers@archwayarete.org.

                                                                                      Regards,

Kellie Bowers

Third Grade Teacher 

Updates and announcements

Ms. White and I would like to thank you all for the wonderful gifts! Our hearts are full and we greatly appreciate the support from all of you. It takes a village and we couldn’t do what we do without the support from home.

Welcome back! Our sleepy students are shuffling into class as I write. They had a well-earned break and are ready to start our third quarter!

Please check the calendar for important dates and wish list for things we may need.

Our week in learning

This week, students will review their knowledge of classifying and diagramming skills, and add a new skill to their toolbox: identifying and diagramming indirect objects! They will have a homework packet sent home on Monday from which they should select two whole problems to complete each night, turning it in each day to show completion, and due Thursday for a full grade.

Additionally, the beginning of the third quarter also marks the beginning of our next project! Our fifth graders will embark on their first research paper at the end of this week! Students will randomly select an explorer to research and write about. We will be researching on computers over the next few weeks, but students will also be required to use at least one book as a source, and they will need to bring that research to class daily throughout the duration of this project. They should have their assignments by this weekend. Please look out for a project packet and signature page coming home this weekend.

In science this week, students will begin their quarter-long unit on plants. We will begin by reviewing parts of the cell that students are familiar with, and taking notes on organelles unique to plant cells. Students will make flashcards for homework this week and will be allowed to use their flashcards on their plant cell quiz on Thursday.

This week in history, students will start to learn about the age of exploration. We will cover the importance of the Spice Islands, ways explorers were able to navigate, and the Portuguese explorers. Please note that we will be covering slavery and the middle passage later in the unit. I encourage discussion at home on this sensitive topic.

In math this week, we will begin with a review of semester one, then move on to a very brief unit on ratio. There will be no math groups this week.