Headlines 2/13

Happy Monday! We have a fun and active week ahead and are looking forward to enjoying celebrating friendship and fitness!

Great Hearts Day is tomorrow, thank you to parents who have offered to bring in snacks. We will have a normal day until noon, and will spend the remainder of the day in activities celebrating the virtue of friendship.

Friday is Field Day. We are Macedonia and our color is blue. Please encourage your child to wear a blue shirt that day and comfortable shorts or pants. They are welcome to wear athletic clothing and shoes that is free of pop culture references, but brand names are fine! Be sure to bring a water bottle that day and I would suggest sending in a small bottle of sunscreen to apply before we head outside. We will be eating lunch in our classroom that day, so please be sure to send in a sack lunch.

We still need one rolling cooler for our water bottles. If you have one you could share, please just shoot me an email. 

That was a lot of info, so please let me know if you have any questions!

ELA

We are enjoying reading and discussing  The Secret Garden; we will continue this novel study for about two more weeks.

Students should have completed an outline of the body of their paragraph at this point. This week we will be completing our rough drafts and peer and self-editing and will be ready to type essays in class the following week.. Students should be working on their projects at home. We will begin presentations on Tuesday, February 21st. Please let Mrs. Anderson know if you have any questions regarding these!

We will have our quiz over Roots 62-65 on Wednesday.  Students should study these nightly!

We introduced our new poem, I, Too, by Langston Hughes last week. We will recite these poems on Friday, February 17th (Note the date change!).

Math

We are continuing our study of decimals this week and will be practicing multiplying decimals by decimals. As we prepare for AZMerit, we are aiming to complete this chapter in a timely manner and therefore will not be having math groups this week. We will keep you posted on the next time they are scheduled!

History

This week, students will finish learning about the Age of Exploration. We will learn about Sir Francis Drake’s journey around the world, the French and Dutch explorers, and the growth of slavery during the Age of Exploration. Please note that the topic of slavery is very serious and we will be discussing the brutality of the middle passage. This chapter will be discussed with homeroom teachers on Friday. Students will be getting their study guides on Monday, 2/13, due on Wednesday 2/22. The test will also be on Wednesday 2/22. We will go over the study guide on Tuesday, 2/21.

Science

This week in science we will be reviewing plant anatomy, taking a quiz Tuesday, and then learning about Photosynthesis for the rest of the week.

Headlines 2/6/17

Can you believe we are already half way through third quarter? We have already accomplished so much, and continue to work hard.

Last week our class discussed what it means to be a self-advocate and make pro-active choices that encourage our success. To that end, today, we reiterated the importance of completing homework on time, and studying for tests and quizzes. We have had a large amount of late work and students grades are being affected by not turning work in on time.

This might be a good time to check in with your child and make sure they are keeping their work organized, studying for tests and quizzes, and completing their reading logs each night.

Thank you so much for the extra donations of glue sticks and markers; they are very much appreciated!

A Sign-up genius for Great Hearts Day will be coming out soon, so stay on the lookout for that, and don't forget that Friday is a half day!

Have a wonderful week and thank you for all your continued support as we work together to educate your young scholars.

ELA

We are enjoying reading The Secret Garden and identifying character traits as we read. We are continuing our study of characters this week.

Students are beginning their explorer reports today. They should have their materials in class each day to research. If you need me to print out resources for your student, please email me the link and I will be happy to help! We will complete outlines on Thursday and Friday. Although we have a timeline of due dates, these may be adjusted to ensure that as the majority work is done in class. We will keep you updated on all due dates as we progress,

We will have our quiz over Roots 62-65 on Wednesday.  Students should study these nightly!

We introduced our new poem, I, Too, by Langston Hughes last week. We will recite these poems on Wednesday, February 22nd.

Math

This week we will continue our study of multiplication and division of decimals and learning to convert fractions into decimals. There are no math groups this week.

Science

This week we will be learning about the different kinds of seeds that develop into angiosperms. There will be a unit test on Friday the 10th. The students will receive a study guide on Monday and should study all plant notes throughout the week.

History

This week, students will continue to learn about the Age of Exploration. We will be covering Christopher Columbus, Spanish encomiendas and slavery, and Magellan’s voyage around the world. Take note that we will be discussing the slavery of African people during the Age of Exploration this week and next week. Students will continue their study of United States Geography with the Midwest.

Field Day!

Athletic Field Day

Athletic Field Day is Friday, February 17 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, our team is Macedonia, and our team color is blue.  There will be no school lunch offered on Athletic Field Day.  Please send your child to school with a lunch.  

 

Macedonia

 

 Volunteers for Athletic Field Day

In order to have Athletic Field Day run smoothly, we need your help!  Coach Rubino & Coach Steinmann need volunteers setting up and running the events.  Please sign up here to help with the events.  Also, we need a few volunteers for class to help with donating a cooler and snacks.  If you would like to help walk around with our class, bring a cooler, or be in charge of snacks, please email me and let me know!

Athletic Field Day Attire:

Please have your child wear a blue color t-shirt that day.  Students may decorate their shirts with their team name and/or symbol of their Greek City State.   Students should wear athletic clothing free of pop culture references.  Sports team and brand logos are acceptable on clothing.  Athletic shoes are mandatory (any color).  Hats and sunglasses may be worn.  Sunscreen must be applied at home.  Please see pg. 52 in the family handbook for more detailed information.  

Headlines 1/30

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and was able to enjoy warmer temperatures and sunshine! I am happy to be back to a regular schedule this week and looking forward to learning and accomplishing a great deal.

Tuesday, February 14th is Great Hearts Day! We have reserved this special day to focus on the virtue of friendship and celebrate the traits that make a great-hearted student. We are planning interactive and fun activities centered around these topics, and time will be writing poems for our classmates.  Archway Arete strives to cultivate a rich, academic environment rooted in the classical tradition. This many times requires popular culture to be left at the door. On that note, students will not be permitted to bring store-bought valentines, candy, or gifts to school. Thank you for partnering with us. Pleas be on the lookout for a sign-up genius for goodies for our celebration!

ELA

We are enjoying reading The Secret Garden and identifying character traits as we read. We are focusing on finding textual evidence to support our inferences and opinions as we read.

This week in grammar we will introduce transitive and intransitive verbs. We will also be discussing our next writing project. Students will be writing a research paper over one of our explorers from our History Unit. The will be bringing home a packet today with all the information and a signature page to complete. This will be a long term project culminating in class presentations with a poster board. Please be on the lookout for this to come home tonight!

We will have our quiz over Roots 59-61 on Wednesday.  Students should study these nightly!

Poem recitations of  “The Road  Not Taken” by Robert Frost will be Wednesday, February 1st. We will also be learning our new poem, I, Too, by Langston Hughes.

Math

We began our next unit covering decimals on Friday, and we will continue this week, learning to order, add, and subtract decimals. We will be having math groups on Wednesday and a short quiz on Thursday. Math tests over Unit 6 went home on Friday. This was a very challenging unit and a difficult test. Therefore, as a team we decided to grade this test on a curve, and we will be revisiting these concepts later in the year. Math corrections are due on Tuesday for all students!

Science

We will continue to learn about the plant kingdom. We are learning about seed plants and Angiosperms specifically this week. There will be a quiz on the parts of a flower on Feb. 2nd.

History

This week, students will continue to learn about the Age of Exploration. We will be covering Marco Polo, the technology used during this time period, motives for travel, and the prominent Portuguese explorers, Bartolomeu Dias and Vasco da Gama.

Headlines 1/23/17

We had a busy day in 5C! We started the day by taking the mid-year MAP test in Math. We had a few technical issues but our kids handled it extremely well and worked very hard! Some students still need to finish Math, and we will take the Language Arts portion on Thursday.

We are running short on a few supplies in our classroom. We are moving quickly through our dry erase markers, kleenex, and glue sticks. If you are out and about and see some great deals, we would love to have our supplies replenished!

ELA

This week we will continue reading The Secret Garden and will complete our daily journaling based on the book. We will also be discussing how to identify personality traits of the characters.

In Writing we are finishing up our informative essays about the the interaction of humans and the environment. This will primarily be an in class assignment as we help prepare them for the writing prompts on AZMerit. We will also do a grammar review with a short sentence diagramming quiz on Friday.

We will have our quiz over Roots 55-58 on Wednesday.  Students should study these nightly!

Students should be working on memorizing “The Road  Not Taken” by Robert Frost. Recitations will be Wednesday, February 1st.

Math

This week we will complete Unit 5. We will be reviewing Monday and Tuesday and will take the Unit Test on Wednesday. We then move on to decimals! There will be no Math groups on Wednesday due to our testing this week.

History

This week, students will finish learning about the Glorious Revolution in England with King William and Queen Mary. The study guide is due on Tuesday, January 24, and the test will be on Wednesday, January 25th to accommodate MAP testing (students were made aware of this change last week). The East Coast quiz will be on Friday, January 27th. Students will begin learning about the Age of Exploration on Friday, beginning with Marco Polo.

Science

We will continue to learn about the plant kingdom. This week will be our first lesson on reproductive life cycles in plants as well. Be on the lookout for science homework in  the form of journal entries too!

Headlines 1/17/17

I hope everyone enjoyed their three day weekend! 

We spent the last hour of class on Monday watching an excellent documentary about the Children's March in Birmingham. I asked the students to share with you what they learned and hope that it sparked some conversation about freedom and the legacy of Martin Luther King. 

Our class was focused and worked hard last week and I hope to see more of the same this week!

We still have some slots available for the field trip to the Reniassance Festival on Tuesday, February 28th, if you are interested in attending please let me know!

ELA:

We have enjoyed reading The Secret Garden in class and have been completing daily journaling based on the book. We also are focusing on comparing and contrasting setting in the story.

This week in Grammar we are beginning our next writing assignment. Students will be using the AZMerit rubric to help them complete an informative essay about the the interaction of humans and the environment. This will primarily be an in class assignment as we help prepare them for the writing prompts on AZMerit.

We will have our quiz over Roots 51-54 on Wednesday.  Students should study these nightly!

Our next poem is “The Road  Not Taken” by Robert Frost. We will take the time to discuss the meaning of the poem in class and recitations will be Wednesday, February 1st.

Math:
This week we will review finding areas of a triangle and will them move on to finding the area of Parallelograms and rectangular prisms and cubes.  We will have math groups on Wednesday!

Science:

We will continue to learn about the plant kingdom. This week will be our first lesson on reproductive life cycles in plants as well. Be on the lookout for science homework in  the form of journal entries too!

History:
his week, students will learn about the execution of King Charles I and Britain’s Puritan “King”, Oliver Cromwell. Students will also learn how King Charles I’s sons came to power after Cromwell’s death. Students will be writing a short newspaper article describing the circumstances around King Charles’s trial and execution. Students will be receiving the Unit study guide on Thursday (due on Tuesday, January 24th), and the test will be on Thursday, January 26th. The East Coast study guide is due on Wednesday, January 18th and the quiz will be the following Wednesday, January 25th.

Headlines 1/9/17

Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed a restful break and was able to relax and enjoy our beautiful Arizona winter.  I also want to thank you all for your generous gifts. I know that Mrs. McKernan and I felt incredibly spoiled and blessed by you!

We have lots of new happenings in fifth grade this quarter and are looking forward to a wonderful second semester.  Also, we will be taking a field trip on February 28th to the Renaissance Festival.  This is a fun and interactive field trip and we would love to have your help. If you are interested in attending, please let me know.

ELA

We will begin third quarter by reading The Secret Garden. This is a fun book that the students will enjoy!  Please be sure to have the book to school by tomorrow.

This week in Grammar we will learn how to identify both direct and indirect objects.  We will be using all of the sentencing diagramming skills we have learned this year to diagram these in sentenced

We begin our next set of roots this week as well. Please remember that next Wednesday will be the first quiz covering Roots 51-54.  Study these nightly to make sure you are prepared!

Science

This quarter, we will be studying the Plant Kingdom! We will be introducing the topic this week and studying non-vascular plants.

History

This week, students will learn about Queen Elizabeth I and the Golden Age of England. Students will explore the success of Sir Frances Drake and King James I, and study the Civil War under King Charles I. In Geography, students will study the states in the South. Students will receive a study guide to fill out with the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and South regions. The Study guide will be due on Wednesday, January 18th and the quiz will be the following Wednesday, January 25th. This gives students plenty of time to refresh their memories and review the material.

Math

Today we began Unit 5 and learned how to find the base of a triangle and find the area of irregular shapes. We will continue discussing areas of irregular figures this week. We will have math groups on Wednesday!