Naaktgeboren's Class Blog

Greetings Parents, As I'm sure you have heard, life has been hectic in the Naaktgeboren household. On Thursday night, at 11:23 p.m., Sarah Ruth (Ruthy) was born. She weighted 7 lb 9oz and measured 19 in. long. Thank you for your prayers and thoughts. I am blessed to have such a supportive class and parents. My plan, assuming nothing happens, is to return full time on Thursday. General Announcements Wednesday, February 3rd will be our mid-year benchmark test. We will be looking at your scholar's progression in reading and math since the beginning of the year. There is no studying necessary and this will not go in the grade book. The third grade team asks that you ensure your student gets a good night's rest, eats a healthy breakfast, and comes to school with a healthy snack for the day. The first book report of the quarter is due Monday, February 1st. Please sign your scholar's permission slip for the field trip via the online registration ( cl...

Greetings Families, MIM Field Trip: February 19, 2016 The third grade field trip is quickly approaching! We will be going to the Musical Instrument Museum  on Friday, February 19, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. and we will return to campus at 2:00 p.m. Students will need to bring a sack lunch with them; as we will be leaving the lunches on the bus during our tour. Please do not pack any items that need to be warmed. Click here to register and pay for your child's field trip. Field Trip Chaperones  If you are interested in serving the class as a field trip chaperone, please email me directly . Assuming there is more interest than availability, any interested parent or guardian who has fingerprint clearance on file with Archway Arete will have their name placed in a drawing. Only one person per a family is eligible to serve as a chaperone. Chaperones are required to pay the same rate as students. Best, Michael Naaktgeboren 

Greetings Families, This year, our students are taking a typing class that will be once a week. This class is to prepare scholars for online standardized testing and for the many academic, social, and vocational expectations of the future. Students are able to access the online typing program at home if they would like. This is not a expected or requirement at this point. Please click here  to view the login information. Best, Michael Naaktgeboren

Greetings Families, I have received a number of emails regarding chaperoning the MIM field trip. Thank you for your interest and support. On Friday, I will collect the names of everyone who has emailed and then randomly select five individuals to serve. If a couple has offered and is selected, you may choose which one will serve as a chaperone, as only one person per a family is allowed. Please remember that chaperones are also required to pay the fee for the trip and must be fingerprinted. Best, Michael Naaktgeboren

Greetings Families, I hope you have enjoyed your weekend. Here are the lessons for the week. General Announcements Please keep in mind that Friday is a half day. Lessons Language Arts: We will have our usual 30 word Spalding word list. In writing we will continue our Norse Mythology review. Literature will be a continuation of our Trumpet of the Swan  unit with our first assessment on Monday.  Math: We will continue our length unit by reviewing grams and kilograms and look into solving word problems. History: Our Viking unit continues with a look at the hierarchy of the culture and discussing the economy of the culture. Science: Our sound unit continues with many hands on exercises and a review of key terms such as volume, amplitude and pitch. Quizzes and Assessments Monday: Literature Test Friday: Spelling Test Best, Michael Naaktgeboren

Greetings Families, I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend. Please remember that we will have no school on Monday, January 18th. As we approach the day, it might be good to take a moment and reflect on some words from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals...We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only power of concentration, but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate.  I am blessed to teach in a school where morality is not neglected for the sake of efficiency. Our students, who spend hours a week reflecting on great books, historical figures and events, discoveries, music, art, French, along with...

Greetings Families, MIM Field Trip: February 19, 2016 The third grade field trip is quickly approaching! We will be going to the Musical Instrument Museum  on Friday, February 19, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. and we will return to campus at 2:00 p.m. Students will need to bring a sack lunch with them; as we will be leaving the lunches on the bus during our tour. Please do not pack any items that need to be warmed. Click here to register and pay for your child's field trip. Field Trip Chaperones  If you are interested in serving the class as a field trip chaperone, please email me directly . Assuming there is more interest than availability, any interested parent or guardian who has fingerprint clearance on file with Archway Arete will have their name placed in a drawing. Only one person per a family is eligible to serve as a chaperone. Chaperones are required to pay the same rate as students. Best, Michael Naaktgeboren 

Greetings Families, If your 3rd-5th grade child has a love for Legos, check out Robotics using Lego Mindstorms . The club meets on Fridays from 3:05 to 4:35. Build and program robots using the LEGO Mindstorms system! Learn about mechanical and software design, loops, conditional statements, problem solving, and teamwork skills. Work in small groups, program and build your robot, and rise to the challenge. Control the robot to avoid obstacles, pick up and carry objects, and play sounds. Projects are structured so that students work in an open-ended, investigative environment while having fun. Best, Michael Naaktgeboren Extracurricular Coordinator

Greetings Families, I apologize that I am getting to this late. I hope you enjoyed your weekend. I wanted to let you know that my wife, Emily, is due to deliver our third child, Sarah Ruth, on Friday. If things go well, it will happen Friday after school is over, but these things don't often work out according to our ideal plans. That being said, there is no way to know when I will be out. Thankfully we have a very skilled assistant to step in during my absence. It might be nice if some of our regular volunteers reached out to her to see if anyone could help cover recesses and lunches, assuming I must miss some school days. Let's get to the lessons for the week. Quizzes and Tests: Tuesday: History Quiz; Christianity and the Fall of the Roman Empire Friday: Spelling Test General Announcements:  The third grade team is shifting expectations of book reports in the spirit of organization and preparation for rigor of 4th grade. Students will still have 3 book report...

Greetings Families, In science today, we had the opportunity to perform a demonstration on matter, with an emphasis on gases. Many students have seen the wonderful reaction between vinegar and baking soda for a volcano, but today we saw how the mixture allows for a chemical reaction that creates CO2 (Carbon Dioxide). The aim of this demonstration was for students to understand that air, the many gases that surround us, is not nothing, but trillions of elements and molecules. This will be very important as they try to understand sound as energy that bounces air molecules around and into our ears. Thank you, Mrs. Geyer, for taking these pictures. Best, Michael Naaktgeboren

Greetings Families, It is good to get back to school and start the new year. With the new year, we are starting our new book,  The Trumpet of the Swan. Unfortunately, a few of the students have not brought their copy to class. If you have it at home, please end it in soon with your child. If you have not purchased the book, you may purchase a copy from Amazon or Barnes & Noble . Best, Michael Naaktgeboren