Updates and announcements

The kids are so excited to be done with school, but we still have the equivalent of 2 school days of learning left. They are getting antsy, and definitely ready to spend some much-needed time with family.

Our classroom celebration is coming up on Wednesday. Thank you so much for your willingness to donate food and supplies. The students have definitely earned their celebration and this means a lot to them. We still have a couple spots open for food and volunteers. Here is the link: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0b4aadae2baafb6-winter

We will be cleaning out desks on Wednesday, December 21^st. Please send your child to school with a bag to put their supplies in. Reusable grocery bags work better than plastic bags because they are less likely to rip. Students will keep their supplies in the bags and hang them on the hooks for the duration of Winter break so the custodial staff can clean the desks.

Thank you for the Kleenex and hand sanitizer donations! We have had sick kids and teachers the last few weeks.

Here is a message from Mr. Naaktgeboren:

We are holding a grade-level team competition called “Royalty for a Day” to see who can bring in the most tax credits to support Archway Arete’s extracurricular clubs and sports.  If 4^th and 5^th grades bring in the most tax credits, I will be crowned “King of Clubs” for a day when we return from our holiday break.  As the King, I plan on holding a dodge ball tournament for all my royal subjects!  I will also hand out a special treat at the end of the tournament.  I appreciate all your help in asking friends, neighbors, and family to help support Archway Arete and help us win this competition! 

Most Gratefully, Mr. Naaktgeboren, King of Clubs

Winter break starts on Thursday, December 22^nd through Sunday, January 8^th.  School will resume on Monday, January 9^th.

Quarter 2 Evaluations will be sent to parents on Friday, January 6^th at noon.

Our week in learning

We are finishing up our Poetry Unit this week by using all of the poetic devices we have learned to analyze poetry.  Students should also be prepared to recite their poems, Monday December, 19th.

In Grammar we will be reviewing parts of speech through games and activities.

Students should be prepared to take the roots test over 26-50 will on Tuesday, December 20th.

After break we will begin reading The Secret Garden, so please bring that to school on Monday, January 9th!

We will be analyzing the data from our bacteria cultures. It is fascinating to see binary fission at work.

This week, students will learn about the rest of Henry VIII’s wives. Students will start learning about Elizabeth I and the Golden Age of England in January.

Our Unit 4 math test will be on Monday covering multiplication and division of fractions.  On Tuesday we will be playing math games to review all the work we have done this year!

Updates and announcements

The “Important Dates” and “Wish List” sections of the blog have been updated. Be sure to check it out! We also have many end of the year tests. Dates for these tests are listed below. Please keep in mind that we have a lot of assessments wrapping up next week. If you plan to be gone, please have your child arrange to take these assessments before you leave.

Congratulations to our Spelling Bee competitor, Joseph Restivo! He stepped in last minute and won 3^rd place in our school-wide Spelling Bee.

Keep an eye out for a sign up for our classroom party. Students will enjoy decorating mugs, making hot cocoa, completing puzzles, and eating snacks while we watch “The Nutcracker”.

We are also asking for volunteers to help with our writing project. More information is below.

Our week in learning

This week we will continue our final writing assignment for the semester, a five paragraph persuasive essay. On Monday students will be writing their rough drafts and we are very excited to have parent help on Tuesday to help with our editing.  On Thursday we will be typing our essays in class.  We can still use more help on Tuesday, so if you can make it in, please sign up here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0e4eaaaf29a75-fifth

In Literature we are continuing our poetry unit and will be using the skills we have learned to analyze poetry.  Students should be prepared to recite their poems on December 19th.

This is our last week of roots for the quarter!  Students will receive their root review on Monday and should work on it for the remainder of the week.  The test over roots 26-50 will be on Monday, December 19th.

This week we will be studying cell division in preparation for Wednesday’s quiz and analyzing the data from our bacteria experiment.

This week, students will learn about other prominent reformers in the field of Science: Galileo and Copernicus. We will finish work on their foldables. Study guides will be due on Thursday, December 15th. The unit test on the Reformation will be on Friday, December 16th.

This week we will continue learning about division of fractions and will review for the Unit 4 test.  The Unit 4 Test will be on Monday, December 19th.

Updates and announcements

Our semester is still in full swing! I am proud of our scholar’s continuing perseverance as outside distractions become more apparent. Many students have a countdown to Winter Break.

We have a busy week with a couple of hiccups. I have been assigned Jury Duty, which will result in my absence for at least Monday. Hopefully I will be back at school on Tuesday. I will also be working off campus on Friday this week. As always, our scholars are in wonderful hands with Mr. Korth.

We will be doing DIBELS testing this week.

Our Spelling Bee is tonight at 6:30! Show your support to our Arete competitors!

Keep an eye out for our Winter Celebration sign up genius. Students will be enjoying a hot cocoa bar, crafts, treats, and a viewing of a classically and seasonally appropriate video.

Our week in learning

This week we will begin our final writing assignment for the semester, a five paragraph persuasive essay. We will begin by looking at the organization of the essay and then will do research and begin our pre-writing.

In literature this week we are beginning a short unit over Poetry. We will be studying various poetic devices and students will choose a poem to recite the week of December 19th.

100 Point projects are due on Friday!  If your child has recorded a skit please make sure to either email or send in a thumb drive.  We will begin presentations this week!

Students will be tested over the helping verbs on Tuesday, you can check out the link here to help study!

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=helping+verb+blues+youtube&view=detail&mid=0C0AB49C35090405B2B70C0AB49C35090405B2B7&FORM=VIRE

We will also have our roots quiz on Wednesday.

In science, we will be learning about cell division and doing a lab about bacteria!

This week, students will learn about other prominent reformers: Zwingli, Calvin, and Henry VII. Students will also learn about actions the Catholic church took during the Counter-Reformation. We will continue working on their foldables. Study guides will go home this week. The unit test on the Reformation will be on Friday, December 16th.  

We will be studying how to divide a fraction by a fraction this week and today students will take a short quiz over multiplication of fractions.

Updates and announcements

I hope everyone had a relaxing Thanksgiving! We got to make a small turkey and enjoyed our holiday with friends, as our families are up in Montana.

Our week in learning

In writing this week we will be learning about helping and linking verbs.  We will also practice diagramming interrogative sentences.  There will be a quiz over linking verbs on Thursday and there will be a quiz covering helping verbs next Tuesday.  Each child has a list of the verbs in their notebooks and have learned a couple of songs to help them remember.  The Linking Verbs Blues can be found right here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77WEV55NNbU

We will finish our Where the Red Fern Grows this week and will end our unit with a celebration on Friday.  The next unit will begin next week covering Poetry.  The 100 Point Project is due on December 9th!

We will have our roots quiz on Wednesday covering, cornu, derma, cutis.

We will be studying plant cell organelles. There is a quiz on Thursday. 

We are going to discuss the Reformation during this upcoming unit. We will talk about the disagreements happening in the Catholic church at the time. We are studying this as a historical event, not teaching students about “good” or “bad” guys, or what students should believe. We will delve into some of the grievances against the Catholic church sparked changes within the Catholic church, and the formation of different Christian religions. This week, we will look into the importance of the printing press and Martin Luther during the Reformation.

This week in math we will be discussing words problems using multiplication of fractions and will introduce dividing fractions.  Math groups are back to the regular time of 8:00-9:00 beginning next Wednesday.  Thank you to all of our wonderful parents for your incredible help!

Updates and announcements

Everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving break!

Our week in learning

This week in Writing we are practicing our persuasive writing skills by writing an essay from the point of view of the poor Thanksgiving Day Turkey!  We will also take the time to share these essays with the class on Tuesday, hopefully your students won’t request pizza for their Thanksgiving dinner!

We have almost completed Where the Red Fern Grows.  Students should have be working on their projects for the 100 Point Project.  These are due December 9th.

Students will recite, “I Hear America Singing” on Tuesday.  The next roots quiz will be on Wednesday, November 30th.

To deepen our understanding of cells, we will be learning the difference between prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells. Then, we will begin learning about the various organelles found in eukaryotic cells. There will be a ton of brand new vocabulary so I suggest that students make flash cards of the new terms and study them daily.

This week, students will review for the history test. Students will be assessed on their knowledge of the Renaissance on Tuesday, November 22nd.

This week we will introduce Unit 4 which covers multiplication and division of fractions.  We will begin with concrete examples and will then learn the algorithm.  Math groups will be CANCELLED Wednesday, November 30^th. We will be back to the regular time of 8:00-9:00 beginning Wednesday, December 7th.

Updates and announcements

We are academically racing towards our Thanksgiving Break! We have so much learning to do and I am proud of our students’ perseverance.

Our Winter Concert is this Wednesday. Take note as this is mandatory for all students. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Several students forgot their signed folders this weekend. We will need these at school to fill up with this week's work, so folders will be sent home Friday. 

This week our 6 finalists will compete in the oral spelling bee. This will take place on Wednesday, November 16^th. Finalists found out last Wednesday and already received their lists to study. It will be an exciting and suspenseful time in our class as they compete!

Winter dress code starts today.

Picture retakes are actually on November 18^th (this Friday). They did not take place last week as originally planned.

If you would like to volunteer to help with traffic duty, please reach out to me individually.

Our week in learning

This week in grammar we will continue to review complex sentences and dependent clauses.  We will be taking a grammar test on Thursday covering conjunctions, independent, and dependent clauses.  We will finish the week by learning about persuasive writing with a fin Thanksgiving activity.

We are delving deeper into Where the Red Fern Grows. This week we will continue to focus on comparing and contrasting characters.  Students should have chosen their projects for the 100 Point Project and hopefully have begun working on getting some of the work completed.  This project has a TENTATIVE due date of December 9th.

Students will recite, “I Hear America Singing” next Tuesday and we have our next roots quiz on Wednesday!

To deepen our understanding of cells, we will be learning the difference between prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells. Then, we will begin learning about the various organelles found in eukaryotic cells. There will be a ton of brand new vocabulary so I suggest that students make flash cards of the new terms and study them daily.

This week, students will learn about Michelangelo and his great works. Students will also take a look into proper etiquette as described by Machiavelli and Castiglione. Students will be taking home passages from The Courtier and The Prince to read and annotate on Tuesday for our socratic discussion on Thursday. These passages are very difficult and should be read with a parent or older sibling to ensure understanding. W e will also discuss the Renaissance in other parts of Europe and study guides will be sent home. The Renaissance test will be Tuesday, November 22nd. If you plan to be gone, please plan to have your child take the test early.

This week in math we will be learning to use our knowledge of fractions in word problems.  Out Unit 3 Test will be on Thursday and we will begin our new unit on Friday.  We will be having math groups from 8:45-9:45 on Wednesday.  Please let us know if you are able to help. 

Updates and Announcements

We are gearing up for another week of school. It is hard to believe that this is our 14^th week of the school year!

PICTURE RETAKES are tomorrow, Tuesday, November 8th.

We will not have school this Friday in observance of Veteran’s Day.

Our in-class Spelling Bee is coming up! Our written bee will be this week on Wednesday, November 9^th and the scholars who passed will proceed on to our oral bee the following Wednesday, November 16^th.

Our week in learning

Our class did a wonderful job on their personal narratives, learning to move through the writing process and take a paper to publication.  This week we will take a break from writing to focus on Grammar.  Our focus will be identifying, labeling, and diagramming complex sentences.

We are delving deeper into Where the Red Fern Grows. This week we will focus on comparing and contrasting characters, specifically looking at Old Dan and Little Anne from our story.  By Monday, November 7th students should choose their projects for the 100 Point Project and have a parent sign off on this.  This project has a TENTATIVE due date of December 10th.

Students will recite, “Casey at the Bat” last week on Wednesday, November 9th, so please be sure your students are preparing for that.  We will also be having our next roots quiz on Wednesday!

Also, we have noticed that many students are turning their Spalding homework in without checking for mistakes, and writing missed words three times.  As a reminder, students should have words dictated to them, correct them, and write each missed word three times. Please encourage your students to follow this process so that they get the best benefit from their homework!

This week we will be testing on Classification. The students have had the study guide for two weeks prior to the test and should have been studying a little bit every night. The test is on Monday, the 7th.

Then, we will move into the wonderful microscopic world of cells. That unit will continue for the duration of quarter 2.

This week, students will continue their study of Venice during the Renaissance. We will also delve into the works of Leonardo da Vinci, studying his inventions, artwork, and many skills that made him the perfect example of a Renaissance Man.

On Wednesday, students will learn about the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States in their homeroom classes.

Our next focus in math is using our knowledge of fractions to convert measurements from both large to small, and small to large. Please note for the next two weeks our math group times have changed, due to music rehearsals.  We will be having math groups from 8:45-9:45. Please let us know if you are able to help. We so appreciate you!

 Study skill of the week

Our upcoming Science test has lots of information on it, one way to help students understand abstract concepts is to create a concept map.  Have your student take a piece of paper and write each of the major kingdoms on it, and then add detail about that kingdom around the word.  For a more detailed description, as well as other great study ideas, see this website: http://teachmama.com/show-your-kids-how-to-study-5-easy-ways/