Headlines 8/29

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  I apologize for getting the blog out a little late this week.  I came in late last night from California where I was able to enjoy a little sunshine and sand.  The students worked hard last week completing their MAP testing and taking several tests on Friday.  We will be working on test corrections tomorrow in Math, and those tests should be coming home on Friday. 

Thank you so much to those parents who attended curriculum night. I hope you were able to learn a lot about what you can expect this year.  I will be putting the powerpoint on the blog for those of you who were unable to attend, feel free to take a look when you have time.

Also, tutoring times have changed a bit, they are as follows:
Monday: 3:05-3:40
Wednesday 2:05-2:25
Thursday 3:05-3:40.

I am also available Friday mornings from 7:20-7:50 for any additional help your child may need. 

Have a great week!

ELA

In writing and grammar this week we will be learning to diagram, identify, and label prepositions and prepositional phrases.  We will also be having a test over all of the parts of speech we have studied this year on Friday.  In Literature we are enjoying reading Voyage of the Dawn Treader and discussing how characters can change over time.  We will be completing the majority of our Spalding notebook set-up and will continue to receive new words on Mondays and Tuesdays, and will take a test over those words on Thursday.  Make sure to keep reviewing our newest roots for the quiz on Wednesday and to work on memorizing our poem “Some Opposites.”

Science

Students will be learning about the engineering process. We will be discovering independent and dependent variables through the engineering of a “mint mobile”. There will be a short quiz on Tuesday covering the vocabulary words hypothesis, control variable, and experimental variable.

History

This week in history, we will be continuing our new unit on World Lakes. Students will learn about the lakes of Africa and South America. Students will also be taking several short quizzes and creating postcards about a lake of their choosing. We will end the week with lakes of North America and no homework during our R&R Weekend!

Math

Thank you so much to the parents who volunteered their time to get our math groups up and running.  They were a success thanks to you!  We will begin our next unit covering order of operations, mental math and the distributive property on Monday.  

Headlines 8/19

I hope everyone had a wonderful week; I think I felt a cool breeze this morning, which gave me hope that fall will someday show it's face!  5C worked so hard and I have been extremely impressed with the responsibility and good behavior I have seen thus far.  I am already confident that we are going to have a wonderful year together!

Today your children will come home with their Friday folders.  All of the graded work for the week is in this folder, as well as a short survey for them to fill out regarding their participation and behavior.  Please take a few moments to look through this with them and discuss their progress.  My hope that by taking the time to see all of their work, you will have a better idea of where they are in class throughout the year.

We also had a special treat today with some of the seniors from Prep, be sure to ask your child about that!

Remember that Curriculum Night is this coming Wednesday from 6-8 pm.  I look forward to seeing each of you there and sharing more about what you can expect from fifth grade.

ELA In writing and grammar this week we will be taking a break from grammar and focusing on writing summaries.  We will be reading both narrative and expository texts and will develop a well written summary of six to seven sentences. Spalding will officially begin next week and students will have words assigned Monday and Tuesday , with a test on Thursday.  Hopefully everyone is continuing to study their Greek and Latin roots.  We will have a test every Wednesday of the last four we have studied, as well as one review.  In Literature we will continue journaling about and reading Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  This week we will also begin our first poem.  We will be discussing and memorizing “Some Opposites” by Richard Wilbur.  The poem will be introduced on Wednesday and students will have two weeks to have it memorized.

Science Students will be applying their knowledge of scientific investigation, once again, in an interactive science experiment. Through this week’s lab they will learn how to share their scientific findings with others. The following week, we will be doing an engineering lab to explore dependent and independent variables. I am requesting donations of a few materials. Please follow the sign-up genius link if you are willing to donate. I need the materials by August 26th. Thanks! http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0f4da4ae2fa0fe3-science

History This week, students will be preparing for their first unit test on Spatial Sense. The unit test is on Wednesday in their homerooms. We will be studying U.S. geography throughout the year. Originally, this is all supposed to be one unit in May, but we have split it up into different regions. Students will start with an introduction lesson this week, with more lessons between units. We will have periodic quizzes and a final exam toward the end of the year. We will also start their new unit, World Lakes, on Friday. We will be looking into the major lakes of Africa.

Math This week in math we will be finishing up our first unit over whole numbers.  We will be having our first math groups on Wednesday from 8:00-9:00 and welcome parent help!  If you would like to help this week, please send me an email and I will send a key home with your child.  Our Unit 1 test will be Friday.

Finally, please see below for a letter regarding clubs.  Have a great weekend!

Greetings Families,

Last week we were happy to introduce the fall 2016 schedule for clubs via the school newsletter. This week we would like to introduce the new portal for club registration and payment. This is a significant change from last year, as we are transitioning away from Wufoo to a Great Hearts wide platform, Configio.

To view available clubs, go to ArchwayArete.Configio.com. This will also be linked on the ArchwayArete.org site under “Announcements” in the left-hand column.  When you arrive at Archway Arete’s Configio page, you will find the eleven clubs being offered by Archway Arete staff. At the present, Friday, August 19, the clubs are available to be seen, but you cannot currently register or make payment. Clubs will open for registration and payment on Saturday, August 20, at 8:00 a.m. We have provided this delay to give everyone an equal opportunity to register. Every club has a maximum number of spots and spots are filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.

To register and make payment for clubs, you will have to create a Configio account. If you select the “Notify Me” on a club of interest, you will be directed to a screen asking you to set up an account. Click on “Register for an Account” and provide the necessary information. This will be the only way to register a student and make payment for clubs and future field trips, as cash and check will no longer be accepted at the front desk.

If you haven’t registered for our third party vendor clubs and would like to please visit Chess Emporium at https://www.chessemporium.com/?page=singleProgram&catalogId=67777 and Play-Well TEKnologies (Lego Clubs) at http://register.play-well.org/registration/new/53484.

If you have any questions regarding club registration, please email Michael Naaktgeboren, Extracurricular Coordinator, at mnaaktgeboren@archwayarete.org.

Best,

Michael Naaktgeboren

Extracurricular Coordinator

Headlines 8/14

We had a wonderful first week of school.  We spent a lot of time discussing our policies and procedures as well as taking the time to get to know each other.  Hopefully you all had a chance to read through the policies and procedures packet that went home last week.  We also took time to get to know each other as each students is presenting their "hand" which they traced and illustrated with interesting information about their lives.

Please be sure to put Curriculum Night on your calendar on Wednesday, August 24th.  We will be discussing our curriculum for the year and sharing important information that will help your child have a successful year.  I look forward to seeing each of you there!

Math: We will continue our study of Unit 1 in Singapore Math by learning about estimation, factors, and place value.  This is a great time for students to review some of the foundational math skills they have learned.  We will also begin Rocket Math this week, which is the school wide curriculum we use for basic math skills.  Students have the opportunity to track their progress as the year progresses as well as practice in class and at home.

ELA: This week in ELA we will be reviewing nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives in grammar, and will practice diagramming basic sentences.  In Spalding we will continue to set up our notebook and will have our first test on Thursday.  This year students will have 15 words to practice on Monday and Tuesday and we will test over the list on Thursdays.  We are already enjoying reading Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and will continue to read and annotate in class this week.  Wednesdays we will take a short quiz to review the last four roots we have studied in class.  Students will be responsible for knowing the meaning of the root as well as an example of a derivative.

Science:  We will continue to explore the scientific method through experimental observations. You may have heard about our penny lab last week. This week we have another interactive project planned that will give the students insight into the importance of variables. 

History: This week students will be continuing their study of World Geography. We will learn to plot coordinates using longitude and latitude lines and  discuss the time zones in relation to the International Date Line
We will complete a fun activity where we create globes out of balloons and label the important imaginary lines of the world.  We will also prepare for a vocabulary quiz.

This year in History we will have many short, low-stakes quizzes (usually two per week, lasting no more than 5 minutes) to solidify learning. Students will take their first unit test on Monday, August 22^nd.


Have a wonderful week and thank your for all your support and dedication to your children's learning.  I look forward to seeing you all the 24th!
 

An Exciting Announcement!

This letter was included in you Meet the Teacher packet, but I wanted to post it on the blog in case it was lost in the shuffle or you were not able to attend.

Enjoy your weekend!

Dear Fifth Grade Families,

We are happy to officially announce that we will be starting something new and exciting this year in fifth grade.  After observing our students and gaining a deeper understanding of what the transition to Prep entails, we will be giving the fifth graders an opportunity to learn from all three lead teachers on our team. 

Mrs. Lynch will be teaching Science, Mrs. Stapleton (formerly known as Ms. Prestipino J) will be teaching History, and Mrs. Anderson will be teaching Grammar and Writing.  Spalding, Literature, Math, Greek and Latin Roots, Poetry, and Idioms will be taught in the student’s homeroom class.  We see several benefits to this method of teaching including the opportunity for more movement throughout the day, adjusting to multiple teachers and environments, and teaching greater personal responsibility.  Our ultimate goal is to help create a more seamless and stress free transition to sixth grade!

The block of time set aside each day for our class rotations is 10:00am to 12:00pm Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.  On Wednesdays all subjects will be taught in the homeroom class.  

We will be sharing more detailed information regarding the details of block scheduling on Curriculum Night, but please let us know if you have any questions or concerns until then. We are very excited to start this new venture with your scholars and look forward to watching each one grow in their pursuit of truth, beauty and knowledge. 

   Sincerely,

Mrs. Lynch, Mrs. Stapleton, and Mrs. Anderson

Welcome to 5C!

Dear Fifth Grade Families,

I want to first thank you for the privilege of teaching your students.  As a parent myself, I know how important a teacher is in the life of a child. I am very excited for this second year at Archway Arete.  After spending eleven years at home raising my three children I was honored to be a member of the first year staff at Arete.  For the past two years it has been evident that I could not ask to work with a more thoughtful and kind group of parents and staff.

        I started my teaching career in 2000 in the Kansas City area where I graduated with a degree in Elementary Education from Emporia State University.  I married my husband, Shawn in 2001 and we have three children, Maya, 13; Isaiah, 11; and Will, 8.  I taught fourth grade for four years and then had the opportunity to stay home with my children. After living in Overland Park, Kansas for almost twenty years, our family moved to Phoenix in 2010 and made our home in Ahwatukee.   While my children were young I practiced a different type of teaching, working as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor.  However, my love of children and education drew me back to my first calling.

  When I'm not working I stay active; running, teaching yoga, and any other type of fitness activity!  I love to read and discuss literature with my book club and we are active in our church community.  We spend lots of time carting kids to baseball, basketball, football, and dance. 

I am so honored to be a part of Great Hearts Academy and I look forward to a fruitful and passion filled year with you and your child!

                                Sincerely,

                                                                Shauna Anderson

This is my crazy crew; we spent our summer vacation in beautiful Breckenridge, Colorado!  I am longing for those cooler temps right now!  

Dear Fifth Grade Families:

      Welcome to our classroom!  My name is Jan McKernan and I am the Assistant Teacher for Mrs. Anderson’s fifth grade class.  It’s going to be a fun year full of learning and new adventures!

      A little bit about me. I grew up in the Adirondack Mountains in New York State. I married my high school sweetheart in 1995 after graduating from Syracuse University with my Master’s in Psychiatric Social Work. We moved to Arizona in 1996.  I love the warmth and sunshine of the desert!  This is my 8^th year working at local schools and I am proud to have been a part of Archway Arete’s inaugural year. I spent the last 2 years in 2^nd grade and am looking forward to learning new things in 5^th grade.  I also coach Advanced and Beginner’s archery at Arete Prep.

     I have 2 sons, ages 16 and 14, who are both students at Arete Prep again this year.  Aidan will be in 11th grade and Evan will be in 8th grade.  We also have two pets. We have a crazy cat named Delilah and an Arizona Desert Tortoise named Frito.  As a family we enjoy riding bikes, canoeing, and watching movies.  I also really enjoy reading in my spare time and can’t wait to read wonderful classics as a class.

     I am looking forward to a great year at Archway Arete and to getting to know every student and family that is a part of our classroom community.

                                                                              Let’s have a great year!

                                                                              Mrs. McKernan