Quarter 3, Week 4

Hello Families! 

We had so much fun on our field trip last week! A HUGE thank you to all our parent volunteers and chaperones that made this trip such a success! We couldn't do it without YOU! 

What's going on in 4A

• Athletic Field Day is this Friday from 12-2:30! Please see the previous post for details, and let me know if you have any questions. We need some snacks donated, as well as some parent volunteers to help keep track of the students and cheer us on! You can sign up HERE. 

• If you would like to volunteer to help Coach Gethings and help at one of the game sections you can do that HERE. 

Lessons

Roots: Students should not only be reviewing the new roots, but also be reviewing a handful of the previous roots. Going forward, with each week's comprehension check over the new roots, 2 previously learned roots will be included at random. This should help the students prepare for the comprehensive roots quiz at the end of the quarter. 

Math: This week we will start by reviewing circles. The test on circles will be Tuesday. We will then learn about solid figures- cube, rectangular prism, square pyramid, triangular pyramid, cylinder, & sphere. The test on solid figures will be on Friday. 

Spalding: Monday: investigate, therefore, before, pleasant, ability, appearance, atmospheric, atmosphere, autumn, canvas. Tuesday: ceiling, celery, salary, college, communities, community, creation, creative, created, create. Wednesday: concert, decided, decide, design, dictionary, elephant, everybody, frightened, frighten, grocery. We will test over all 30 words Friday morning. 

Poetry: This week we start Paul Revere's Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow! I will be breaking down the poem into stanza's and assigning one to each student. Students will have 6 weeks, until the end of the quarter to memorize their section. 

History: We will have a unit test over the early colonial life on Tuesday. Pages covered are 165-179, with the study guide on pages 180-181 in our new history packets. As always, this test in history will be open notes, so students should take care to ensure their notebooks are complete and accurate. Thursday we will learn how the quarrel with Britain begins and the Stamp Act. 

Science: Monday students will get to build a volcano! On Wednesday students will learn about hot springs and geysers, and about the formation of volcanic and folded mountains.

Literature: We began reading Carry On, Mr. Bowditch on Friday. Please make sure students bring in their copy as soon as possible. If your student does not have their own copy, please let me know so I can help them check one out of our library. 

Important Dates: 

Monday: Circle Test (math), Roots Check

Tuesday: History Test

Friday: Solid Figures Test (history), Spalding Test

Athletic Field Day

Hello Families!

Athletic Field Day is Friday, January 31st 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 Thebes, and our team color is red. Your child may wear a plain red shirt (no logos) other than class section or Greek City State, athletic pants or shorts, and any athletic shoes.

There will be no school lunch offered on Athletic Field Day.  Please send your child to school with a lunch.

Volunteers Needed

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080b4aa8af28a2fc1-field to help with the events. 

4A Field Day- We need a few volunteers for class to help with donating a cooler and snacks.  Please sign up here to volunteer for our class.  

Classroom volunteers should check in at the front office before coming to the field or classroom.

If you do not want to volunteer, but would like to come and watch you are welcome to do that as well! Simply go straight to the field and there will be a place to check in there.

Quarter 3, Week 3

Hello Families! 

I hope that this long R & R weekend treats you well! My weekend plans include lots of reading, family time, home projects, and hopefully a hike on Monday! This upcoming week is short, but jam-packed! Kicking it off is the first field trip of the year, and the students all seem very excited, as am I!

What's going on in 4A

• A few last minute notes about the field trip:
• We will be leaving Tuesday morning by 8:30 and returning by noon. We will eat lunch at school when we return. We will continue with regular lessons Tuesday afternoon. 

• Students have been told they are permitted to bring a camera or device for taking pictures, but they should not use that device for anything other than taking pictures. If they are using it for anything other than taking pictures I will take it and they will get it back at the end of the day. They will be responsible for keeping track of anything they bring with them. Students may bring a small bag/backpack/fanny pack to carry with them. 

• There is a gift shop and students may bring money to spend there if they wish. Any money brought or items purchased is the responsibility of the student, not teachers or chaperones. 

• We are running low on tissue boxes. Any donations are appreciated. 

• We still have spots open in a number of our spring clubs. Below is a list of clubs with spots still available. Please go to ArchwayArete.Configio.com to register for clubs! 
• K-1 Art Club: Mondays
• 2-3 Art Club: Tuesdays
• 2-5 French Club: Fridays
• 2-5 Sports Club: Mondays
• 3-5 Science Club: Tuesdays
• 3-5 Strings Club: Thursdays
• 4-5 Art Club: Thursdays
• 4-5 Choir Club: Tuesdays

Lessons

Roots: We will have a roots check over the 4 roots learned this past week. We will learn 4 more this week. 

Math: We will learn about triangles this week, beginning Tuesday afternoon and continuing with triangles on Wednesday. We will do Khan Academy on Thursday, then test over triangles Friday. 

Poetry: We will have poetry recitations for "Concord Hymn" this week, beginning on Wednesday. 

Spalding: There will be no spalding on Tuesday, and we will do 15 words Wednesday, listed below. Thursday is review, and Friday is the test. 

opinion, onion, union, companion, million, behavior, believe, system, possibly, possible, piece, peace, certainly, certain, witness. 

History: This week students will write a short essay on the rights of the English. We will also be learning about the French and Indian War. 

Science: Students will learn about tectonic plate boundaries and earthquakes. There will be a quiz on Thursday. 

Literature: We finished reading Prince Caspian last week! Students will participate in a seminar discussing virtue and motives throughout Caspian on Wednesday. Thursday we will begin Carry On, Mr. Bowditch. Please send that in with your student by Thursday.

Important Dates

Monday: NO SCHOOL

Tuesday: Field Trip

Thursday: Geology Quiz (Science)

Friday: Triangle Test (Math), Spalding Test 

Quarter 3, Week 2

Hello Families!

We are one week in to the quarter and off to a great start! 

What's going on in 4A

• Field Trip to the Arizona State Capitol is coming up on Tuesday, January 21st! Permission slips went home Friday and should be turned in by Friday, January 21. Thank you for those who have volunteered to come as a chaperone! I will finalize the chaperone list and email to confirm on Monday. 
• Please send in $15 with the signed permission slip this week. Checks can be made out to Archway Arete. If the $15 cost for the field trip is a hardship to your family, please let me know. I have a sponsorship available thanks to the gracious offer from a 4A family. 
• We are so proud of Aaron A. who represented 4A at the Arete Spelling Bee! After 60 rounds Aaron came in 2nd place. Well done Aaron!   

Lessons

Roots: On Monday, we will have a comprehension check over the 6 roots we learned in week 1 (#45-50). Students will learn 4 new roots this week. Students should be reviewing roots regularly. I have updated the "Roots" tab on the blog so it now contains #1-50. If your child is missing some roots now or in the future, this will be a good resource to get that information. 

Grammar: Students will be learning about dependent and independent clauses, compound sentences, comma splices, and sentence fragments. 

Math: We are still in geometry, and will start the week reviewing parallel and perpendicular lines. We will focus on perpendicular lines Monday. Tuesday we will test over perpendicular lines and review parallel lines. Wednesday the students will test on parallel lines. We will then start learning about quadrilaterals.  

Poetry: Students should continue to memorize "Concord Hymn". The oral recitations will take place on January 23 & 24. 

Spalding: We will cover 30 new words this week. On each Monday & Tuesday, students will learn new words. We will review on Wednesday and test on Friday. Mondays words are: improvement, improve, century, cent, total, mention, arrive, supply, assist, difference, examination, examine, particular, affair. Tuesdays words are: course, coarse, neither, local, marriage, marry, carriage, carry, further, serious, doubt, condition, government, govern. 

History: Students will take the Arizona assessment on Tuesday. Once the assessment is complete, students will bring home the history notebook for that unit. The next unit we will cover is the American Revolution. We will begin by learning about the colonists and life in the 13 colonies. 

Science: We will start a unit on geology learning about the Earth's layers and the theory of Pangea. 

Literature: We will be finishing Prince Caspian this week!

Important Dates
Monday-Roots Check
Tuesday- Perpendicular Lines Test, History Test
Wednesday- Parallel Lines Test
Friday- Spalding Test

Field Trips

Hello Families! 

We have a field trip coming up on January 21 to the Arizona Capitol. There will be permission slips going home this week. Additionally, there is a $15 charge for this trip because we will be taking an additional trip in late April to the Science Center. Most classes don't get to take two trips, but Mr. Gillingham and Mrs. Mason have allowed us because we study Arizona history in the second & third quarter (which is why we go to the Capitol Museum), and because the students put forth so much effort studying science for the AIMS Science assessment (which is why we want to take them to the science center). Your $10 contribution at registration and the tax credits we receive help to pay for the more expensive trip to the Science Center. The $15 we are asking for additionally will pay for the buses for this trip. 

I will need finger-print cleared chaperones for the trip. For both trips there will be official chaperones that will be responsible for students. However, for both trips parents are welcome to attend. You will only have to provide your own transportation and pay your own entrance fee into the Science Center. The capitol Museum tour is free. 

If you would like to be a chaperone for the upcoming Arizona Capitol field trip, please email me to let me know by Friday, January 10. Class parents are automatically selected as chaperones because of all the work they put in this year if they wish to come. If I have more parent volunteers than needed I will draw names for the available spots. I will send an email early next week to notify those chosen as chaperones. 

 Please feel free to email me if you have any questions! 

Quarter 3- Week 1

Hello Families! 

Welcome back! I hope that the break was full of fun and relaxing for your family. I had a wonderful, relaxing Christmas with my kiddos and husband. My parents and sister & brother-in-law came to visit from Kentucky on New Years and we got to celebrate again! I have soaked up the time off, but I am excited to get back with your kiddos next week! 

What's going on in 4A

• Quarter 2 grades with narrative evaluations are out! Please let me know if you were not able to access this on PowerSchool or if you have any questions. 

• Quarter 3 reading logs will be going home on Monday. Students should spend 20 minutes each night reading, and a parent should initial to confirm that this has been done. Previously these have been due each Monday, however this quarter they will not be turned in until the end of the quarter. Students should take care to keep up with their reading logs throughout the quarter.  

Lessons

Math: We will continue with geometry this week. Students will get more practice with measuring angels with a protractor and identifying acute and obtuse angels. There will be a test on Friday. Students should be practicing their math skills at home with flashcards, XtraMath, and/or Khan Academy. If your child needs their log in information for those sites, please let me know. 

Roots: This week we will learn 6 roots. There will be a comprehension check over these next week. Ideally, students should be spending a few minutes each night reviewing the new roots, as well as a few of the previous roots. 

Spalding: We will learn 10 words on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Thursday we will review all 30 words and test on Friday. 

Poetry: Students will begin memorizing "Concord Hymn" by Ralph Waldo Emerson. 

Science: Students will work in groups reading about either acid rain, biodiversity, climate change, deforestation, or desertification. Groups will create a poster on their topic and present this to the class in their groups on Thursday. 

I will be assigning 4 science readings at the beginning of each week. Students have the option of completing them all at once, or one a night during the week. We will be grading these on Fridays.

History: We will continue in our Arizona unit, learning about Americans in Arizona, the Mexican War, and Territorial Days.

Literature: We will review what we have read in Prince Caspian and continue reading! 

Quarter 2 Grades

Hello Families!

You will be able to access quarter 2 grades and my narrative evaluations soon.  The first paragraph covers sense of wonder & depth of inquiry. The second paragraph is participation, attitude, behavior, work habits and study skills. And finally, the third paragraph is on academics. 

You can find my comments under the "Homeroom" section. All paragraphs are in tact, but because of character limits, some evals are split into different subjects. Let me know if you have questions or are having trouble accessing your child's' grades or eval comments. 

I will update the blog over the weekend with what we will be learning about next week!