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

Headlines 5/23

We are almost there!  Today marks the last week of elementary school for these not so little kids.  The excitement is evident and the students are ready for promotion and celebrations.  We do have a bit more work to do, so read on for what to be ready for this week. 

Math: This morning we reviewed finding the volume of three dimensional shapes and using those skills in context to solve word problems.  Tomorrow we will review the packet the students worked on today and will take a short quiz to assess their skills.  For the remainder of the week we will play math games to review all we have learned this year.

Writing/Grammar: Today students should have completed their assessment over  Across Five Aprils, by writing a letter from Jethro's point of view to President Lincoln. We also began a short read aloud of The Wise Woman by George Macdonald.  We most likely will not finish the book, but I hope to pique their interest in this beautiful piece of prose.

Science: Today we reviewed the nervous system in class and we will do the same tomorrow.  Students were also put in groups today, and we will be having an egg drop contest in class tomorrow!  Our quiz over the nervous system will be Wednesday.

History:  Today our students chose a topic and worked on writing a letter to President Obama about a topic of their choice!  Tomorrow they will peer and self edit before sending them off in the mail.

Important Dates:

• Wednesday, May 25, 5:30 pm: Fifth Grade Promotion Ceremony
• Wednesday, May 25-Friday, May 27: Half Day Dismissal, 12:05 pm
• Friday, May 27, 9:30-11:00 am: End of Year Celebration

Important Information

There has been some confusion about what to wear for the promotion.  Students should be dressed in semi-formal attire.  T-shirts will be handed out as a gift at promotion and they may wear these with uniform pants on Friday.

The following is from the newsletter which went out last week:

The fifth grade promotion ceremony will be held on Wednesday, May 25^th at 5:30 p.m. in the gymnasium. Fifth grade students should arrive in the gym at 5:15 and be seated with their class sections. Fifth grade students should follow the semi-formal dress code outlined in the family handbook.   We will have plenty of space in the gymnasium to host your families and friends at this memorable ceremony, so there is no limit on the number of guests each family can bring. Refreshments will be made available to all at the end of the ceremony. Make note that we will not be providing professional video recordings of the ceremonies. We look forward to celebrating this special occasion with your fifth grade students!

For the class party on Friday, our amazing parent volunteers would like for you to know the following:

We are looking forward to celebrating a fabulous school year on Friday May 27th.  All 5^th graders will be celebrating together in the MPR.

 A few details for the party

 1. Students should plan to wear their 5th Grade T-shirts with uniform shorts, pants or skirts.  The shirts will be handed out ahead of time. 

 2. Please remind your student to bring their yearbook if they purchased one! They will be singing them at the party.  

Students who did not order a yearbook can sign the 5^th grade

T-shirts or bring journals/paper to have signed.

3. Students are welcome to bring cameras.  There will be 3 photo booths at the party.  Volunteers will be available to snap photos of students.

Please remind them they are fully responsible for the camera at all times.  Labeling cameras is recommended. 

NOTE: PLEASE make sure that all donations for the party are in your child’s classroom by Wednesday May 25th as we will be checking everything off the list that morning. 

Headlines, 5/16

We are officially in our last full week of school!  Time is truly flying by as we begin to wrap up all of the learning and prepare to send our fifth graders onto the prep.  We will be busy this week and our goal is to stay focused and have fun!

Math: Today we took the Galileo test in Math, so we took a break from our regular curriculum.  Starting tomorrow we will be learning how to find the volume of three dimensional shapes.

Writing/Grammar: To begin our week we will learn how to write a formal business letter and for our final Across Five Aprils Assessment we will be writing a letter from Jethro's point of view to President Lincoln. T

Literature: We have really enjoyed the class discussions and themes that we have focused on in Across Five Aprils.  We will be finishing the book this week and students will receive a participation grade for their vocabulary journal and a test grade for the letter they will be writing in class.  Also, please encourage your students to begin studying for the roots quiz now!  We will be taking the test Tuesday, May 26.

Science: The class has been very interested in The Nervous System and how their brain works.  We will continue delving deeper into their gray matter this week!

History:  This week students will be completing a study guide over The Civil War as this unit comes to a close.  We will be taking the final test on Friday.

Important Dates:

• Wednesday, May 25, 5:30 pm: Fifth Grade Promotion Ceremony

The fifth grade promotion ceremony will be held on Wednesday, May 25^th at 5:30 p.m. in the gymnasium. Fifth grade students should arrive in the gym at 5:15 and be seated with their class sections. Fifth grade students should follow the semi-formal dress code outlined in the family handbook.   We will have plenty of space in the gymnasium to host your families and friends at this memorable ceremony, so there is no limit on the number of guests each family can bring. Refreshments will be made available to all at the end of the ceremony. Make note that we will not be providing professional video recordings of the ceremonies. We look forward to celebrating this special occasion with your fifth grade students!

• Friday, May 27, 9:30-11:00 am: End of Year Celebration

Headlines 5/10

I am sorry I did not get the blog out yesterday.  My computer is very sadly under the weather.  I am hoping that a quick trip to IT will alleviate the symptoms!  We are doing our best to stay focused and continue our learning this week, with only a couple more weeks to go, we have a lot to accomplish!  

I also want to take this opportunity to say thank you for making Ms. Porcelli and I feel so loved and appreciated last week.  From the wonderful lunches, the coffees, treats, special gifts, and beautiful photo album, we were completely spoiled by you!  It is a true blessing to work in a community that is so kind and encouraging, and it makes teaching here a joyful experience.  I am humbled by the devotion you each have to your children, our school, and the community.  

Math: Our test over angles was very challenging for the students.  This test required a great deal of critical thinking as well as knowledge of the properties of angles.  We will be allowing students to make corrections to their quizzes and raise their grades, and we will be providing help and support in tutoring today and Thursday.  If your child did not do well, please encourage them to attend.  For the remainder of the week we will be reviewing for the cumulative Singapore Assessment.

Writing/Grammar:  The students did very well on the grammar quiz yesterday!  This week we will be using our strong writing skills to complete a character study from Across Five Aprils.

Literature: This week we will continue reading Across Five Aprils.  We will be using the text to discuss how Jethro has changed over the course of the book.  We will be finishing the book next week and students will receive a participation grade for their vocabulary journal.  Also, please encourage your students to begin studying for the roots quiz now!  We will be taking the test Tuesday, May 26.

Science: This afternoon we will be testing over the Endocrine System, and from there we will begin our next unit covering the Nervous System.

History:  We are continuing our study of The Civil War this week by discussing how both African Americans and women helped the war effort, as well as studying the battles of Vicksburg and Gettysburg.

Important Dates:

• Wednesday, May 25, 5:30 pm: Fifth Grade Promotion Ceremony
• Friday, May 27, 9:30-11:00 am: End of Year Celebration

Headlines 5/2

We are back at it this morning after a lovely three day weekend.   Apparently I was a bit gung-ho last week in my countdown of school days, we NOW have 20 days left of the year, and are working hard to make every moment count!

Math: We are beginning our week with a review of angles.  This unit is not particularly difficult, but does involve quite a bit of problem solving and using the properties we have learned in class.  We will be reviewing in class today and tomorrow with a test either Wednesday or Thursday.

Writing/Grammar:  This week we will fine-tune our skills in writing showing paragraphs and will be reviewing compound and complex sentences.  We will have a short grammar quiz on Friday.

Literature: We are enjoying reading Across Five Aprils, and are adding to our list of vocabulary.  This week we will be using our reading as a springboard for writing.

Science: We will begin the week by learning about the Thyroid Gland and discussing how fight or flight works within the body.  Today the students will begin the Endocrine Study Guide to prepare for the test on Thursday.

History:  We are continuing our study of the Civil War this week by discussing the Emancipation Proclamation as well as learning about some of the major battles fought in the war.

Important Dates:

• Friday, May 8, 11am-1pm: Prep Tour 
• Wednesday, May 25, 5:30 pm: Fifth Grade Promotion Ceremony
• Friday, May 27 9:30 am-11:00 am: Yearbook Signing Party (more info to come!)