Naaktgeboren's Class Blog

Greetings Families, I hope you are enjoying the last weekend of the first quarter. One more week of hard work and then break. On Friday, my colleagues and I went to Talkingstick Arena (where the Suns play) to meet with Great Hearts employees from Arizona and to hear from the Great Hearts' leadership. One of the things that first inspired me about Great Hearts and that was rekindled in me yesterday was our pursuit for something greater than helping students become college and career. We do not believe that education's telios , or goal or chief end, is to make children utilitarian citizens. That is a part of education, but it is no the goal. Instead, education is about something far grander. Something far more beautiful and wonderful. Something we as teachers only do in part alongside the greater community your children dwell in and that you are endeavoring in and have been endeavoring in since their infancy. That is to make happy souls. Souls not simply satisfied by the fu...

Greetings Families, During most quarters, the last Friday of the second to last week is the final day to turn in all missing work for 80% of its value. Because there is no school on Friday, I'm moving that deadline back to Monday. Tomorrow, if necessary, your child will receive a packet including a grade report and all of his or her missing assignments that aren't Spalding assignments, math workbook pages, or found in the history, literature, or science notebooks. These are due by Monday. No missing work will be taken after Monday. Late Work - Due Monday, October 1 Best, Michael Naaktgeboren

Greetings Families, It is hard to believe that the quarter only has two more weeks. These next two weeks often present challenges for students because of their growing anxiety and excitement for the break. I ask that you keep a vigilant eye on homework completing and test preparation. I hate to see students who have learned how to be successful on assessments lose ground because of the upcoming time off. In addition, these upcoming weeks will present students with the opportunity to gain some lost ground and improve their grades if they weren't as diligent in the prior weeks.  Before I get into the lessons, I do have a few quick notes about other things. No School Friday Friday is a teacher in-service day, so there is no school for students on Friday. Homework Survey Upon reviewing the fourth-grade homework survey data, the majority of families are finding that homework is being completed within the suggested time (61%). About twenty percent of families...

Greetings Families, I hope you are enjoying your weekend. I’m currently driving back from Sedona. Well, my wife is driving while I type. I was asked by a small church to come up and preach for in place of their pastor who is on an anniversary retreat with his wife in Mexico.  Before I dive into the lessons, I do have a few things to discuss. Test and Quiz Performance Not that there isn’t still progress to make, but I did see an improvement on this past week’s test and quizzes. The grades on the most recent Greek and Latin roots review check were very good. Most students got 100% on it. In addition, the history test over the Byzantine Empire went very well. I think the class average was in the high 80’s, and there were many students who got an A or A-. Thank you for the support in this area. We are now trending in the right direction. Chivalry Week This week, students will have the pleasure of enjoying chivalry week. This is something fourth grade has done since Arete ...

Greetings Families, I hope you are enjoying your Saturday evening. Today, I had the pleasure of taking my mom to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate her 62nd birthday. Given her health condition, I'm very thankful for another year we've had with her. Below are a few notes and then what you can expect your child to see in his or her lessons this week. Homework We are now five weeks into the year, and I'm still seeing some poor trends with respect to homework. First, every day, I have a number of students who aren't turning in homework assignments. This is unacceptable. The purpose of the homework I send home each night is to review the concepts the students are learning in class during the day and to review concepts the students should have mastered throughout the year. Neglecting the homework increases the likelihood that students will not master current content and will forget content previously learned. If you are seeing a trend of missing homework on your child...

Greetings Families, In an effort to provide a fruitful homework experience for our scholars, we rely on the feedback of our families. Parents, please share your feedback by completing this homework survey at your earliest convenience. Best, Michael Naaktgeboren

Greetings Families, This SignUpGenius is for fingerprinted volunteers who are interested in supporting students during the Thursday morning (7:55-8:35) Khan Academy sessions. I am looking for up to 6 volunteers each week. Please sign up for the days you are available. Please include your child's name when you sign up. This SignUpGenius is for every Thursday to the end of the year. There will be Thursdays that do not have Khan Academy sessions: no school days, school and state testing days, and some other days. I will try to remove all of the slots beforehand. If you sign up on a day when there is no Khan Academy session, I will do my best to email you to let you know. Lastly, please feel free to come to the classroom whenever you drop your child off on the morning you are volunteering. You do not need to drop your child off, leave, and come back. That is why I schedule the volunteer time first thing in the morning. Best, Michael Naaktgeboren

Greetings Families, I hope you are enjoying the long weekend. Personally, I enjoyed a little more football today that I should have. At least my favorite team, the Gators, won! So did the Chargers (Arete Prep's football team). Here are the lessons for next week and some other notes. Lessons Grammar/Writing : In grammar this week, students will be introduced to possessive pronoun adjectives and possessive noun adjectives. They will take this information an apply it to what they've learned in the weeks past. At the end of the week, the students will take a grammar test over much of the information they have learned this year. Grammar is much like math in that it is usually cumulative. History : Students will continue to study the Byzantine Empire this week. Students will also take the Europe Map test on Friday. Students have hopefully been studying this regularly, as we have been making out way through the countries of Europe for the past couple of weeks. The students ...