Greetings Families,
I hope your weekend is going well. I'm sure the students are enjoying a little break after being thrown into a week of study. Though third grade wasn't easy, fourth grade is a whole new challenge. The goal I have is to show them the path to success and the reward of accomplishing some hard. Far too often, even like we adults, children choose the road of least resistance. However, great things only happen when we are willing to put ourselves through things which cause a little suffering.
This post will be a little lengthy, but I ask that you read all the way through it. There is a lot of important information to communicate. I don't want you to be caught off guard because you failed to read it here first.
Let me begin with this week's lessons.
Lessons
Math: The students studyed whole numbers last week and will be tested on their understanding of whole numbers on Monday. If the class performs like they did on the practice test, overall they will do pretty well. They averaged as a class 82%. We reviewed the practice test on Friday, so I'm hoping that students who didn't perform very well will understand their mistakes and will make the corrections on the test.
After taking the test on Monday, students will jump into Unit 1, Chapter 2, which is a unit on estimation (rounding). This is a quick chapter, and they will have the test over this chapter at the end of the week (It will be Thursday or Friday, depending on how quickly they are moving in their understanding.).
Grammar/Writing: Last week, students reviewed the four kinds of sentences and nouns. On Monday, they will take their first grammar test. The test is lengthy, but I believe most students will perform well on it. They need to know the four kinds of sentences: declarative, exclamatory, interrogative, and imperative. This includes what each are: statement, strong feelings, question, command (following the same order as above) and be able to identify each as a sentence. They must also be able to label the five parts of a complete sentence: capital letter, subject, verb, end mark, and complete sense. After completing the section on sentences, the test will turn to their knowledge of nouns. They must be able to correctly match nous to the four types of nouns: person, place, thing, or idea. Likely the most difficult part of the test is what will come next. They must take singular nouns and make them plural. This will require them to add just an s; an es after s, sh, ch, x and z; change a y or i and add es when the word ends in a y after a consonant, change an f to v and add es like in wolves, add es after an o unless the word is an Italian word, and irregular nouns like children, mice, and deer. The test will end with a section on proper nouns being pluralized.
After the test on Monday, students will then look at how to classify and diagram very simple sentences (sentences that only possess a subject and a verb). There will be a much shorter test on this later in the week.
History: In history, students will conclude their study of geography and will take their first history test on Wednesday. There is a study guide for this test in their history notebooks (p. 17). Students may start working on that on Sunday if they like since there is only one chapter left to cover on Monday. We will spend some time reviewing this material on Tuesday, which is when the study guide is due. It is very important that students study for this assessment. Last week, students took their first history quiz. I'll talk about that a little later. Unfortunately, it wasn't very good (Feel free to go ahead and jump to that section if you like, but remember to come back.).
After the test on Wednesday, students will start the longest unit of the year: the Middle Ages. They will begin by reviewing the glory that was Rome and how it fell apart.
Going forward, students will likely have a quiz or test each week in history. There may be some weeks off, especially short weeks, but quizzes and tests are fairly regular. There are a handful of reasons for this. (1) This practice lets me keep a good record of students who are performing well with respect to classroom discussing and instruction engagement. (2) This reduces the amount of study cramming that is required in other subjects, like science and math. If students are reviewing their notes regularly, most of these assessments will require little cramming the night before. (3) The daily stress of knowing that they must be able to use the information being taught in class is just the right amount of stress to ensure correct engagement. Because there are more tests and quizzes, each one is a little less consequential so the stress level isn't as high. (4) The hard work of remembering information is an important part of training the brain to remember details and information. If you would like to read about why I quiz so often in fourth grade, read Make It Stick by Brown, Roediger and McDaniel.
Literature: If math, science, history, and grammar lend themselves to causing some student stress, literature is where they find relief. Next week, students will read chapters 5, 6, and 7 of The Princess and the Goblin. When the opportunity presents itself, ask your child about the story while you are riding in the car or at home enjoying dinner together. Though little "action" has taken place, the students seem to really enjoy the story thus far, especially some of the conversations between the characters.
On Friday, we will turn our eyes away from The Princess and the Goblin and will instead look at The Book of Virtues by William Bennett. Every even week, that is week two, four, six, and eight of each quarter, the students will read legends, myths, Biblical stories, biographies, poems, or other writings that aren't to long. The purpose of each reading and seminar afterward is to discuss the situations the characters find themselves in and the virtue that can be gleaned from their noble or ignoble decisions and actions. The readings this year will include: "The King and His Hawk," "Hellen Keller and Anne Sullivan," "David and Goliath," "The Story of Cincinnatus," "St. George and the Dragon," "As Rich as Croesus," "The Sin of Omission," "Damon and Pythias," "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize,""Can't," "Jonathan and David," "Nathan Hale," "George Washington’s Rules of Civility," "Icarus and Daedalus," "O Captain! My Captain," and "Dolley Madison Saves the National Pride". You can expect your child to bring a copy of the reading home each even week and you might find it enjoyable to read it with them and discuss it in your own household.
Poetry: Students should continue to commit "Humanity" by Elma Stuckey to memory. At some point during week three, students will be asked to present the poem before the class or only to me. Again, I encourage you to discuss this poem with your child. We had the chance to do it this past week in class and it was very rewarding. Students will also be reading "Clarence" by Shel Silverstein this week, but they are not expected to recite this poem.
Greek and Latin Roots: On Monday of last week, students were given the first four Greek and Latin roots. This week, they will learn the next three and be tested on the first four. Students should review these a few nights a week. Their notecards are kept in their backpacks so they should have them available every night. The study of Greek and Latin roots is cumulative, so they will be tested on the first 25 at the end of the first quarter, 50 at the end of the second quarter, 75 at the end of the third quarter, and 100 at the end of the third quarter. There will also be other review over only those from the prior week and cumulative. Regular review and focus on the ones they find the most difficult is the path to success.
Idiom: Students will learn about a less used idiom, "blow hot and cold," this week. Last week they learned about a more commonly used idiom, "as a crow flies." Students are not tested on the idioms, but you may find it enjoyable to hear what they mean and quiz your child's understanding.
Science: Students will begin the week with a mass, volume, density lab on Monday. On Tuesday and Thursday, they will have their first science quizzes. I will give some support on these first quizzes in respect to what the students should study and know, but it should not be anticipated in the future. Again, as a briefly noted above, the regular quizzes are meant to help motivate students to study more effectively and regularly and to reinforcing brain development and memorization skills. The reason I will move away from letting students know that they need to know is that it will serve as a crutch to their actual learning and thus prevent the main reason for teaching and testing to start with: learning and retention for later usefulness. They will also learn about what a vacuum is, elements and the periodic table, atomic numbers and mass, and mixtures and solutions.
Spalding: During the first week, students were introduced to Spalding, some for the first time and some for the fifth time. Though some of my students have been present at Archway Arete for many years, most of them still fail to hold a pencil correctly. This, unfortunately, results in them having cramping hands and sore fingers after taking five pages of grammar notes. I'm really stressing to them and working with them to correct these issues, but they are slow to want to change. I shared a couple of stories with them, one about Tiger Woods and two personal stories about how hard it is to change to doing something right when we've mastered doing something wrong, but how it has very positive rewards if we are willing to go through the hard phase of relearning something. The big things I want them to take away from my handwriting lessons are that they should sit up (not be hunched over, which will lead to back pain), that their arm should be gently laid on their desk (not hanging off the desk or pressing down on the desk), and that they should grip the pencil with their thumb and middle finger and should allow the pointer finger to simply rest on top (so they don't get hand cramps from gripping the pencil like it will run a away or painful spots on their fingers from the pencil rubbing their knuckles). I ask that you also encourage the same thing at home. I understand that most of you likely don't hold or sit correctly as I didn't until I started teaching at Arete. However, the only way to correct something is to regularly practice doing it the right way over and over. For the sake of their backs, necks, and hands, I hope the children heed my instructions.
This week, students will be working through the rule pages of their Spalding notebooks. This will be the last week of Spalding with no homework.
Comments about Graded Work
Grades in General: Before I start talking about some of the work I've graded last week, the first thing I want to give you is my personal beliefs about grades. I will likely tell your child a number of times this year that I don't care about their grades. My greatest concern for your child is his or her moral virtue--things like responsibility, honesty, integrity, and wisdom. The reason for this is because students who possess these virtues and others often find that intellectual virtue follows behind (unless there is a good reason like a disability that hinders it).
Grades, for me, though likely not for you or your child, are a benchmark of current success or mastery in a specific subject (like history) or skill (like studying). They do not indicate a child's overall ability level or intelligence. I think of tests and quizzes as assessments, instruments given by me to assess a child's current level in respect to a specific skill (can this child do this sort of problem in math or has this child learned how to study to prepare himself/herself for a history assessment). Where I will often differ from your child and you is that I don't think of an F as a bad thing. An F simply means that a child has not yet mastered a specific subject or skill. When an F happens, it simply means that I need to identify the cause: a lack of understanding of the material, poor teaching technics used by the teacher, prior knowledge not present to understand the new information, poor study habits, and in some cases, but not many, a learning challenge caused by some past trauma or present disability. In all of these cases, having an F on a test may be the best thing for a child because it at least alerts you and me to some issue. If a struggling student simply gets lucky and does well, we will likely assume that the child is fine until some later time. And, thankfully, fourth grade is a great year to struggle and fail at times--for any of the reasons noted above. This is the case because there are still four years to resolve this issue before an F in a class really hurts you. Colleges don't look at fourth-grade transcripts, so if something is wrong, it is best to fix it when it won't hurt the child's long-term future.
So, if you get a quiz back on Monday or a test later in the week and the grade is not what you want or would have expected, please understand that you are not the only parent going through this painful experience and for all the pain you are feeling, your child is likely experiencing more. Your child may start to think that they aren't smart because they failed the first history quiz of the year. Or, after the first math test, they may see an F or D and think they are just bad at math. None of this is likely the case. What is likely the case is that your child is acting like a third grade student in fourth grade and though third grade wasn't easy, it wasn't fourth grade. They've never had to study like this before. They've never had to pay attention in class like this before. There is now an expectation placed on them that is immense but completely bearable if they are taught (mostly by me), supported (by both of us), and encouraged (mostly by you). Fourth grade is a time for your child to flourish because though they may struggle, when they come out successful on the other end, there will be a sense of 'nothing is impossible if I pay attention to detail and do my best.'
History Quiz: Now, having given you my prep talk, let me give you the hard news. The class really performed poorly on the first history quiz of the year. Though I told them the eight vocabulary terms they needed to use and it was a matching quiz, the class average was 68.5%. Twelve out of 28 students failed or got a D. Seven students got a C. Now, I didn't have these students last year so I can't say this with absolute confidence, but I'm pretty sure that they WAY underperformed. But like I said above, this likely indicates something that I expect to be the case at the beginning of every year--they weren't prepared because they thought they were prepared. I suspect that many, or most, of the failing students, spent very little time studying the eight terms I told them to study. They likely looked at them, thought they knew them, and went forward without really studying at all. The result, the class averaged a D+ on a very easy quiz. Therefore, I'm asking you to remind your child of the importance of paying attention in class and of studying. For most students, 95% of all my students, paying careful attention during class is not enough to remember everything they need to know. They have to study. They have to train the mind to think better. It isn't easy, and the only cure is time plus effort.
MCC: On most days of the week, I give the students a short reading and comprehension activity. These are graded every day and reviewed together. On most days, these are returned that day. Please keep a lookout for these because these will be the primary way I determine if your child's comprehension skills are at grade level. When I start sending home grade reports, you will see that there is a section entitled Literature Work and MCC. The MCC grade will make up most of this category. If you see failing or D grades here, it should give us some concern. Though it is not required, it is helpful to have your child explain what they are reading about when they do their nightly reading for 25 minutes. Just asking questions will help their brains develop comprehension skills.
Math Practice Test: I mentioned this briefly in the math section above. The students did well on the Unit 1, Chapter 1 practice test and I'm hoping for good things to come in the future--like Monday. However, don't let this early success comfort you so much that you aren't diligent with respect to your child's math development. These first few weeks are pretty easy for most students as most of it is a review from third grade with just a slight increase in difficulty, like going from one hundred thousand to one hundred million in the place value.
Tardies
I want to take a moment and let you know I understand the challenges faced with getting your child to school on time. My daughter who just entered kindergarten this year made me late to school one day last week (I have to be here by 7:15) because she woke up late, was slow to eat her breakfast, and just wasted to much time. The result was that I was late to work, getting to school at 7:19 on the third day of school. That's not a very good way to start the year. However, I know I have to be on time.
The same is true for your child and your child will suffer if he or she is late, whether it is his/her fault, a siblings fault, or your fault. Unless there is a significant reason for your child's tardiness (illness, accident, appointment, etc.), your child may miss graded work and will receive a zero because of an unexcused tardy. In addition, students who are tardy will also lose part of their participation grade because they cannot participate if they are coming into class late.
Thank you for making every effort to have your child to school by 7:45 so they can be unpacked and reading to begin working at 7:50. Though the doors lock at 7:50, students who sneak through the door right before it closes will still be considered tardy to my class. Though dropping them off at 7:45 will likely give them enough time to get to class and unpack, they won't have time to begin the morning work or use the restroom. I strongly encourage you to drop them off by 7:35, 7:40 at the latest. This will allow them the time to settle in without feeling like they have to rush to get things taken care of before school starts. As soon as the bell rings, the students are hard at work.
Dress Code
This year, Great Hearts proper and Archway Arete are putting more emphasis on the dress code. That means that students who fail to meet the dress code standard will receive a uniform infraction. Getting one of these doesn't mean that your child is in any significant threat, though a consequence may be given for repeated offenses and the Dean of Students, Ms. Kaye, may get involved for students or families who object or refuse to comply with the dress code. I hope this isn't the case for any of my students.
I do want to mention a number of regular issues that should be resolved by Monday and then another that you will have time to correct. To read the whole uniform policy, click here and turn to page 45-50.
As noted above, if you have a complaint about the dress code expectation in respect to the shoes, or any other aspect, it is not my place to judge the standard or excuse students who do not comply. If you have an issue regarding the dress code, please address that concern to Dean Kaye.
Two more notes in respect to dress code. For small infractions, like a missing belt, a shirt not tucked in, or a hair tie out of uniform, I will address it with the child so they can correct it the next day or immediately. Significant infractions, such as the wrong shoe color, uniforms without the crest, skirts of inappropriate length, inappropriate hairstyles or length, nail polish, or uniforms that are severely worn, will not usually be addressed with the student because your child cannot always control these things. Instead, I will usually send home a uniform infraction or email you. I don't want to put any significant pressure on your child to fix something out of their control.
I hope you have stuck it in there and have read everything. If you have, good job of persevering through hard things. I know that my weekly lesson updates are the most soul-rivitign things to read.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I'm looking forward to another great week starting early Monday morning.
Best,
Michael Naaktgeboren
I hope your weekend is going well. I'm sure the students are enjoying a little break after being thrown into a week of study. Though third grade wasn't easy, fourth grade is a whole new challenge. The goal I have is to show them the path to success and the reward of accomplishing some hard. Far too often, even like we adults, children choose the road of least resistance. However, great things only happen when we are willing to put ourselves through things which cause a little suffering.
This post will be a little lengthy, but I ask that you read all the way through it. There is a lot of important information to communicate. I don't want you to be caught off guard because you failed to read it here first.
Let me begin with this week's lessons.
Lessons
Math: The students studyed whole numbers last week and will be tested on their understanding of whole numbers on Monday. If the class performs like they did on the practice test, overall they will do pretty well. They averaged as a class 82%. We reviewed the practice test on Friday, so I'm hoping that students who didn't perform very well will understand their mistakes and will make the corrections on the test.
After taking the test on Monday, students will jump into Unit 1, Chapter 2, which is a unit on estimation (rounding). This is a quick chapter, and they will have the test over this chapter at the end of the week (It will be Thursday or Friday, depending on how quickly they are moving in their understanding.).
Grammar/Writing: Last week, students reviewed the four kinds of sentences and nouns. On Monday, they will take their first grammar test. The test is lengthy, but I believe most students will perform well on it. They need to know the four kinds of sentences: declarative, exclamatory, interrogative, and imperative. This includes what each are: statement, strong feelings, question, command (following the same order as above) and be able to identify each as a sentence. They must also be able to label the five parts of a complete sentence: capital letter, subject, verb, end mark, and complete sense. After completing the section on sentences, the test will turn to their knowledge of nouns. They must be able to correctly match nous to the four types of nouns: person, place, thing, or idea. Likely the most difficult part of the test is what will come next. They must take singular nouns and make them plural. This will require them to add just an s; an es after s, sh, ch, x and z; change a y or i and add es when the word ends in a y after a consonant, change an f to v and add es like in wolves, add es after an o unless the word is an Italian word, and irregular nouns like children, mice, and deer. The test will end with a section on proper nouns being pluralized.
After the test on Monday, students will then look at how to classify and diagram very simple sentences (sentences that only possess a subject and a verb). There will be a much shorter test on this later in the week.
History: In history, students will conclude their study of geography and will take their first history test on Wednesday. There is a study guide for this test in their history notebooks (p. 17). Students may start working on that on Sunday if they like since there is only one chapter left to cover on Monday. We will spend some time reviewing this material on Tuesday, which is when the study guide is due. It is very important that students study for this assessment. Last week, students took their first history quiz. I'll talk about that a little later. Unfortunately, it wasn't very good (Feel free to go ahead and jump to that section if you like, but remember to come back.).
After the test on Wednesday, students will start the longest unit of the year: the Middle Ages. They will begin by reviewing the glory that was Rome and how it fell apart.
Going forward, students will likely have a quiz or test each week in history. There may be some weeks off, especially short weeks, but quizzes and tests are fairly regular. There are a handful of reasons for this. (1) This practice lets me keep a good record of students who are performing well with respect to classroom discussing and instruction engagement. (2) This reduces the amount of study cramming that is required in other subjects, like science and math. If students are reviewing their notes regularly, most of these assessments will require little cramming the night before. (3) The daily stress of knowing that they must be able to use the information being taught in class is just the right amount of stress to ensure correct engagement. Because there are more tests and quizzes, each one is a little less consequential so the stress level isn't as high. (4) The hard work of remembering information is an important part of training the brain to remember details and information. If you would like to read about why I quiz so often in fourth grade, read Make It Stick by Brown, Roediger and McDaniel.
Literature: If math, science, history, and grammar lend themselves to causing some student stress, literature is where they find relief. Next week, students will read chapters 5, 6, and 7 of The Princess and the Goblin. When the opportunity presents itself, ask your child about the story while you are riding in the car or at home enjoying dinner together. Though little "action" has taken place, the students seem to really enjoy the story thus far, especially some of the conversations between the characters.
On Friday, we will turn our eyes away from The Princess and the Goblin and will instead look at The Book of Virtues by William Bennett. Every even week, that is week two, four, six, and eight of each quarter, the students will read legends, myths, Biblical stories, biographies, poems, or other writings that aren't to long. The purpose of each reading and seminar afterward is to discuss the situations the characters find themselves in and the virtue that can be gleaned from their noble or ignoble decisions and actions. The readings this year will include: "The King and His Hawk," "Hellen Keller and Anne Sullivan," "David and Goliath," "The Story of Cincinnatus," "St. George and the Dragon," "As Rich as Croesus," "The Sin of Omission," "Damon and Pythias," "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize,""Can't," "Jonathan and David," "Nathan Hale," "George Washington’s Rules of Civility," "Icarus and Daedalus," "O Captain! My Captain," and "Dolley Madison Saves the National Pride". You can expect your child to bring a copy of the reading home each even week and you might find it enjoyable to read it with them and discuss it in your own household.
Poetry: Students should continue to commit "Humanity" by Elma Stuckey to memory. At some point during week three, students will be asked to present the poem before the class or only to me. Again, I encourage you to discuss this poem with your child. We had the chance to do it this past week in class and it was very rewarding. Students will also be reading "Clarence" by Shel Silverstein this week, but they are not expected to recite this poem.
Greek and Latin Roots: On Monday of last week, students were given the first four Greek and Latin roots. This week, they will learn the next three and be tested on the first four. Students should review these a few nights a week. Their notecards are kept in their backpacks so they should have them available every night. The study of Greek and Latin roots is cumulative, so they will be tested on the first 25 at the end of the first quarter, 50 at the end of the second quarter, 75 at the end of the third quarter, and 100 at the end of the third quarter. There will also be other review over only those from the prior week and cumulative. Regular review and focus on the ones they find the most difficult is the path to success.
Idiom: Students will learn about a less used idiom, "blow hot and cold," this week. Last week they learned about a more commonly used idiom, "as a crow flies." Students are not tested on the idioms, but you may find it enjoyable to hear what they mean and quiz your child's understanding.
Science: Students will begin the week with a mass, volume, density lab on Monday. On Tuesday and Thursday, they will have their first science quizzes. I will give some support on these first quizzes in respect to what the students should study and know, but it should not be anticipated in the future. Again, as a briefly noted above, the regular quizzes are meant to help motivate students to study more effectively and regularly and to reinforcing brain development and memorization skills. The reason I will move away from letting students know that they need to know is that it will serve as a crutch to their actual learning and thus prevent the main reason for teaching and testing to start with: learning and retention for later usefulness. They will also learn about what a vacuum is, elements and the periodic table, atomic numbers and mass, and mixtures and solutions.
Spalding: During the first week, students were introduced to Spalding, some for the first time and some for the fifth time. Though some of my students have been present at Archway Arete for many years, most of them still fail to hold a pencil correctly. This, unfortunately, results in them having cramping hands and sore fingers after taking five pages of grammar notes. I'm really stressing to them and working with them to correct these issues, but they are slow to want to change. I shared a couple of stories with them, one about Tiger Woods and two personal stories about how hard it is to change to doing something right when we've mastered doing something wrong, but how it has very positive rewards if we are willing to go through the hard phase of relearning something. The big things I want them to take away from my handwriting lessons are that they should sit up (not be hunched over, which will lead to back pain), that their arm should be gently laid on their desk (not hanging off the desk or pressing down on the desk), and that they should grip the pencil with their thumb and middle finger and should allow the pointer finger to simply rest on top (so they don't get hand cramps from gripping the pencil like it will run a away or painful spots on their fingers from the pencil rubbing their knuckles). I ask that you also encourage the same thing at home. I understand that most of you likely don't hold or sit correctly as I didn't until I started teaching at Arete. However, the only way to correct something is to regularly practice doing it the right way over and over. For the sake of their backs, necks, and hands, I hope the children heed my instructions.
This week, students will be working through the rule pages of their Spalding notebooks. This will be the last week of Spalding with no homework.
Comments about Graded Work
Grades in General: Before I start talking about some of the work I've graded last week, the first thing I want to give you is my personal beliefs about grades. I will likely tell your child a number of times this year that I don't care about their grades. My greatest concern for your child is his or her moral virtue--things like responsibility, honesty, integrity, and wisdom. The reason for this is because students who possess these virtues and others often find that intellectual virtue follows behind (unless there is a good reason like a disability that hinders it).
Grades, for me, though likely not for you or your child, are a benchmark of current success or mastery in a specific subject (like history) or skill (like studying). They do not indicate a child's overall ability level or intelligence. I think of tests and quizzes as assessments, instruments given by me to assess a child's current level in respect to a specific skill (can this child do this sort of problem in math or has this child learned how to study to prepare himself/herself for a history assessment). Where I will often differ from your child and you is that I don't think of an F as a bad thing. An F simply means that a child has not yet mastered a specific subject or skill. When an F happens, it simply means that I need to identify the cause: a lack of understanding of the material, poor teaching technics used by the teacher, prior knowledge not present to understand the new information, poor study habits, and in some cases, but not many, a learning challenge caused by some past trauma or present disability. In all of these cases, having an F on a test may be the best thing for a child because it at least alerts you and me to some issue. If a struggling student simply gets lucky and does well, we will likely assume that the child is fine until some later time. And, thankfully, fourth grade is a great year to struggle and fail at times--for any of the reasons noted above. This is the case because there are still four years to resolve this issue before an F in a class really hurts you. Colleges don't look at fourth-grade transcripts, so if something is wrong, it is best to fix it when it won't hurt the child's long-term future.
So, if you get a quiz back on Monday or a test later in the week and the grade is not what you want or would have expected, please understand that you are not the only parent going through this painful experience and for all the pain you are feeling, your child is likely experiencing more. Your child may start to think that they aren't smart because they failed the first history quiz of the year. Or, after the first math test, they may see an F or D and think they are just bad at math. None of this is likely the case. What is likely the case is that your child is acting like a third grade student in fourth grade and though third grade wasn't easy, it wasn't fourth grade. They've never had to study like this before. They've never had to pay attention in class like this before. There is now an expectation placed on them that is immense but completely bearable if they are taught (mostly by me), supported (by both of us), and encouraged (mostly by you). Fourth grade is a time for your child to flourish because though they may struggle, when they come out successful on the other end, there will be a sense of 'nothing is impossible if I pay attention to detail and do my best.'
History Quiz: Now, having given you my prep talk, let me give you the hard news. The class really performed poorly on the first history quiz of the year. Though I told them the eight vocabulary terms they needed to use and it was a matching quiz, the class average was 68.5%. Twelve out of 28 students failed or got a D. Seven students got a C. Now, I didn't have these students last year so I can't say this with absolute confidence, but I'm pretty sure that they WAY underperformed. But like I said above, this likely indicates something that I expect to be the case at the beginning of every year--they weren't prepared because they thought they were prepared. I suspect that many, or most, of the failing students, spent very little time studying the eight terms I told them to study. They likely looked at them, thought they knew them, and went forward without really studying at all. The result, the class averaged a D+ on a very easy quiz. Therefore, I'm asking you to remind your child of the importance of paying attention in class and of studying. For most students, 95% of all my students, paying careful attention during class is not enough to remember everything they need to know. They have to study. They have to train the mind to think better. It isn't easy, and the only cure is time plus effort.
MCC: On most days of the week, I give the students a short reading and comprehension activity. These are graded every day and reviewed together. On most days, these are returned that day. Please keep a lookout for these because these will be the primary way I determine if your child's comprehension skills are at grade level. When I start sending home grade reports, you will see that there is a section entitled Literature Work and MCC. The MCC grade will make up most of this category. If you see failing or D grades here, it should give us some concern. Though it is not required, it is helpful to have your child explain what they are reading about when they do their nightly reading for 25 minutes. Just asking questions will help their brains develop comprehension skills.
Math Practice Test: I mentioned this briefly in the math section above. The students did well on the Unit 1, Chapter 1 practice test and I'm hoping for good things to come in the future--like Monday. However, don't let this early success comfort you so much that you aren't diligent with respect to your child's math development. These first few weeks are pretty easy for most students as most of it is a review from third grade with just a slight increase in difficulty, like going from one hundred thousand to one hundred million in the place value.
Tardies
I want to take a moment and let you know I understand the challenges faced with getting your child to school on time. My daughter who just entered kindergarten this year made me late to school one day last week (I have to be here by 7:15) because she woke up late, was slow to eat her breakfast, and just wasted to much time. The result was that I was late to work, getting to school at 7:19 on the third day of school. That's not a very good way to start the year. However, I know I have to be on time.
The same is true for your child and your child will suffer if he or she is late, whether it is his/her fault, a siblings fault, or your fault. Unless there is a significant reason for your child's tardiness (illness, accident, appointment, etc.), your child may miss graded work and will receive a zero because of an unexcused tardy. In addition, students who are tardy will also lose part of their participation grade because they cannot participate if they are coming into class late.
Thank you for making every effort to have your child to school by 7:45 so they can be unpacked and reading to begin working at 7:50. Though the doors lock at 7:50, students who sneak through the door right before it closes will still be considered tardy to my class. Though dropping them off at 7:45 will likely give them enough time to get to class and unpack, they won't have time to begin the morning work or use the restroom. I strongly encourage you to drop them off by 7:35, 7:40 at the latest. This will allow them the time to settle in without feeling like they have to rush to get things taken care of before school starts. As soon as the bell rings, the students are hard at work.
Dress Code
This year, Great Hearts proper and Archway Arete are putting more emphasis on the dress code. That means that students who fail to meet the dress code standard will receive a uniform infraction. Getting one of these doesn't mean that your child is in any significant threat, though a consequence may be given for repeated offenses and the Dean of Students, Ms. Kaye, may get involved for students or families who object or refuse to comply with the dress code. I hope this isn't the case for any of my students.
I do want to mention a number of regular issues that should be resolved by Monday and then another that you will have time to correct. To read the whole uniform policy, click here and turn to page 45-50.
- Belts for Boys: Boys must wear a black belt with their uniform. This is true for shorts and pants.
- Appropriate Length Hair for Boys: Boys must have their hair cut short enough that their hair does not tough their collar, come below the midpoint of the ear, or cover their eyes.
- Headbands, Bows, Barretts, and Hair Ties for Girls: Girls may wear headbands, bows, barrettes, and hair ties, but they should match the school uniform. That means they should be black, white, baby blue, or navy blue. Other colors will not be permitted. They should also be small to prevent them from being a distraction.
- Bracelets: Students may wear one watch, but are not allowed to wear bracelets. This includes hair ties for ladies. Students who wear bracelets will be required to remove them, even if cutting is required.
- Shoes: Shoes should be all black. However, this is the one you will have some time to correct. In addition, the headmasters and deans have decided to slightly amend the expectation for this year. What follows was presenting in the school newsletter and it will be the standard I use going forward.
"Please note, there is an error in the 2018-2019 Family Handbook that is being corrected. The error states that solid white shoes are also an option. This is not the case and only solid black shoes are an option. We will send a link to the corrected handbook in next week's newsletter. In the spirit of unity of purpose, Great Hearts has standardized the shoe requirements across all of the academies. In order to ease into the new standard, during the 2018-2019 school year, we will accept shoes with a colored sole and small white details on the shoe. The rest of the shoe, including laces, must be solid black and the style athletic by Tuesday, September 4, 2018. Please reach out to Dean of Students, Stephanie Kaye, with questions" (Archway Arete Newsletter, August 10, 2018)
As noted above, if you have a complaint about the dress code expectation in respect to the shoes, or any other aspect, it is not my place to judge the standard or excuse students who do not comply. If you have an issue regarding the dress code, please address that concern to Dean Kaye.
Two more notes in respect to dress code. For small infractions, like a missing belt, a shirt not tucked in, or a hair tie out of uniform, I will address it with the child so they can correct it the next day or immediately. Significant infractions, such as the wrong shoe color, uniforms without the crest, skirts of inappropriate length, inappropriate hairstyles or length, nail polish, or uniforms that are severely worn, will not usually be addressed with the student because your child cannot always control these things. Instead, I will usually send home a uniform infraction or email you. I don't want to put any significant pressure on your child to fix something out of their control.
I hope you have stuck it in there and have read everything. If you have, good job of persevering through hard things. I know that my weekly lesson updates are the most soul-rivitign things to read.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I'm looking forward to another great week starting early Monday morning.
Best,
Michael Naaktgeboren