Naaktgeboren's Class Blog

Greetings Families, If you signed up to provide an item for tomorrow's capacity lesson with ice cream, please just send it in with your child that morning. You do not need to drop it off at school later that morning. Also, math center volunteers, please be reminded that we do not have math centers tomorrow. Best, Michael Naaktgeboren

Greetings Families, Due to AzMERIT testing, there will be no tutoring this week. Students who traditionally attend tutoring on Monday's will attend study hall and be picked up at the MPR at their regular time. Thank you for understanding and I apologize for any inconvenience.  Best, Michael Naaktgeboren

Greetings Families, I hope you are doing well and that your family is ready for a restful and enjoyable weekend. Next week we head into what may be a stressful week for your child as we take state testing. As you discuss this with them, please just encourage them to do their best. I can promise them that if they do their best, I will be proud of them. We also ask some things of you. Please ensure that you have them in bed at a reasonable time on Sunday and Monday night. If homework isn't finished Sunday evening, just let it slide (I won't say that to often). It is more important that they have happy hearts coming in Monday than that they solved a few more problems on a worksheet. We also ask that you provide them with a hearty breakfast that is high on the protein and low on the sugar. I will be providing them with mints, which have been proven to make students more alert, so they will get their sweets. Lastly, we ask that you provide them with a substantial snack, as they ...

Join the headmaster and a 4 th  grade teacher this Thursday morning, April 28 th  at 8am for coffee conversations.  Learn more about what 4 th  grade will look like for your child and see the new renovations to our school library!  Please sign up here:  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e084da5a929aa8-coffee2 Thank you! Joy Whitehead | Development Officer Arete Preparatory Academy & Archway Arete | 4525 E. Baseline Rd. | Gilbert, AZ 85234 Phone: (480) 222-4233 Email:  Jwhitehead@archwayarete.org or Jwhitehead@areteprepacademy.org

Greetings Families, On Wednesday, the students will be reviewing measurement by making ice cream. The third grade team is asking parents to provide the items to make the ice cream. If you would like to donate the necessary items, please click here to go the the SignUpGenius . If you would like, you may also donate some toppings. Thank you for your support. Best, Michael Naaktgeboren

Greetings Families, Please note that due to AzMERIT testing, we will not be having reading groups or math centers the week of April 25. Thank you for your support and efforts, and I apologize for any difficulties this may cause. Best, MIchael Naaktgeboren

Coffee Conversations with Mr. Gillingham Mr. Gillingham is looking forward to meeting with Archway parents in the newly renovated Arete library! The main focus of the conversations will be to discuss any questions families might have about their student's move from his or her current grade to the next grade this coming fall. One lead teacher from the next grade will also be present. We hope you can come. Conversations for 3rd grade parents will be April 28th at 8:00 a.m. You can signup by clicking here . Best, Michael Naaktgeboren

Greetings Families, There was an oversight on the blog this week and I failed to note that we have an assessment in literature on Thursday over the first ten chapters of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  In class today, we will be reviewing the comprehension parts of the assessment and students should start their studying tonight. They should also practice the dictionary skills at home. The vocabulary words on the review are not the same as the ones on the assessment, so it is dictionary skills, not vocabulary memorization, that the students are being assessed on. I apologize for the short notice in regard to the upcoming assessment. Best, Michael Naaktgeboren

Greetings, As noted before, we will be discussing the sensitive subject of slavery this week. The third grade team makes a good effort for this lesson to be informative without being to overwhelming for our young pupils. However, many of the students have a lot of questions and some of startled by the way Africans were treated. Some questions may need to be differed to the home where a one-on-one conversation can be had and with a parent who knows the child the best. For those reasons, I am again providing you with a copy of the text we will be reading and discussing in class. I hope it is helpful for any questions you might encounter. Best, Michael Naaktgeboren

Greetings Families, I hope everyone's weekend is off to a great start. If you like, you can inform your child that my wife is doing well. I had to rush out early yesterday as she became very ill, but whatever her ailment was, it seems to have passed in large part. I am thankful to have such a skilled assistant to take over when I must leave and a gracious team to support her in leading the class.  Below are the lessons for the week. Assessments at Glance (Important Dates) Thursday: Science Project Due & Literature Assessment Friday: Spading Assessment Monday (April 25, 2016): AzMERIT Tuesday (April 26, 2016): AzMERIT Monday (May 2, 2016): History Assessment Lessons Language Arts : In literature, we continue our journey into Narnia and thoroughly enjoying ourselves! The study guide for the first assessment (chapters 1-10) will go home on Monday and the assessment will be on Thursday. Grammar will consist of more diagramming of sentences with com...

Greetings Families, I apologize for the delay in sending this out. I had believed I had already posted something regarding this in on the blog, but had actually failed to do so. We have pushed the science project due date back to April 21, 2016 to give students more time to complete it. This was done because we did not expect students to work on it over the break and then we had other nights where homework was not expected, namely concert night and the night before AzMERIT. We hope this date will make the project more easily completed on time. Best, Michael Naaktgeboren

Greetings Families, I hope everyone is well and is enjoying their weekend. On Friday, the students had their first opportunity to experience AzMERIT. They all seemed to handle the pressure well and I look forward to hearing how they are doing. We have two weeks off until the next installment. If for some reason your child is ill on a testing day, please don't feel like you need to force them into coming. We have makeup days and I would rather see them do well than to see them try to do something they aren't physically up to. It has been a joy being their teacher this year and I hope their AzMERIT performance resembles the effort and progress they have made this year. Here are the assessments for the week and the lessons. Assessments at a Glance Monday: Math (Time and Multiplication Properties) Wednesday: Science (Astronomy) Thursday: Spalding Language Arts: We will have a 20 word Spalding list with our test being on Thursday as Friday is a half day. We...

Dear Parents, On Wednesday, April 20th – Friday, April 22nd, we will be hosting an Usborne Book Fair for spring. The goal of the book fair is to give our scholars the opportunity to purchase books for their personal library and promote reading during summer. It will also give the school an opportunity to add to its classroom and school libraries. The book fair will be held in the resource room, and it will run from 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. every day with an extended time period on Friday 22nd until 8p.m during the Fine Arts and French event. The book fair will open to parents at: 7:30-8:00am, 11:30a.m.-1:00p.m., and 2:45-5:00 p.m. We are very excited that the book fair will afford our scholars the opportunity to develop great reading habits and discover a genuine love of reading and learning. The quality and content of Usborne Books is phenomenal. Profits from the book fair will go directly to children’s books for the Arete library. Students will be allowed to preview the books on Tuesd...

Greetings Families, A number of students have complained about losing the project directions that I gave each student. I am providing a copy of those directions. At the top of the page, you will find the list of 15 objects the students will be researching and creating posters and worksheets for. The numbers next to each object represent the student numbers. Each child has used his or her number for the whole year, so they should know which object they are. If you have any questions, please email me. Best, Michael Naaktgeboren

Greetings Archway Arete Parents and Guardians, I hope this beautiful spring season finds you well. Believe it or not, our Archway Arete Spring Concerts are fast approaching. This spring, the concerts will be held on Wednesday, April 6th at the Higley Center for the Performing Arts located at 4132 E. Pecos Road Gilbert, AZ 85295. The K-2 concert will begin at 5:30 p.m. with students arriving promptly at 4:45 p.m. The 3-5 concert will begin at 7:00 p.m. with students arriving at 6:30 p.m. The attire for concerts will be as follows: Boys : Black pants, white dress shirt, black dress shoes, and black socks. Hair should be combed neatly. Girls : Black skirt, white top, black tights, and black dress shoes. Hair should be pulled away from the face with no distracting adornment. Please follow the Archway Arete dress code for guidelines on jewelry. Working with your children is a delight and privilege. We look forward to enjoying this beautiful event with you. If you have any questions, ple...

Greetings Families, I hope you have had a great week and I hope your weekend is a restful time. The students returned from the break full of energy and excitement and it was good to be back to our regular routine. By the end of the week, I think we had most things back to normal. We only have eight weeks left together. It is hard to believe. Thank you for your grace toward me in allowing me to be your child’s teacher. It is a privilege and an honor to serve you in your noble task of raising a child into a mature and virtuous adult. Assessments and Events at a Glance Monday - Spalding Benchmark Assessment Wednesday - Spring Concert Friday - AZMERIT Writing Achievement Test General Announcements We will be having the Writing portion of the AZMERIT test on Friday 4/8. We ask that you please ensure your scholars get a good night's rest and a hearty breakfast to make sure they are at their best for this important achievement test.  We will on...