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 will be given a map with numbers representing the nations and an answer sheet with the names of the countries on it. The students will have to match the numbers to the correct locations of the countries.
There are a couple of good sites online to help students study for this. I had them write one of them in their notebooks earlier this week. Here is another one: https://online.seterra.com/en/vgp/3007.
Literature: Students will continue their journey with Irene and Curdie in The Princess and the Goblin. Students should continue to work on their STEAL sheets and keep their summaries up to date. These will impact their ELA participation grade.
Math: In math, students will continue their study of the order of operations. This appears to be one of the more fun units for them. I think they like the challenge of figuring out which thing to do next. This week, they will not only be asked to solve them, but to create them to solve word problems. They will be assessed toward the end of this week.
Poetry: Students should continue to work toward memorizing "Afternoon on a Hill" by Edna St. Vincent Millay. We went over this beautiful poem in class on Friday and I enjoyed hearing the students interpretations of the poem. We will also be reading "the drum" by Nikki Giovanni, but this poem is not required for memorization.
Greek and Latin Roots: The students will be quizzed on the last three Greek and Latin roots they learned last week and will learn the next three this week. Students will only be quizzed on the last this this week, but should still aim to keep all of the others fresh in the mind. They will have a review on numbers 1-22 during week 8 and tested during week 9. If your child misses school, it is his or her responsibility to catch up on the roots they miss. They are also located on the resource page of this blog.
Science: Science will lend itself to some hands on activities this week as students study series and parallel circuits. They will also learn how an electric current running through a wire creates an electromagnet. They will have the electricity test next week.
Spalding: Spalding will be a little different with the short week. They will learn around ten words on Tuesday and Wednesday. They will review them on Thursday and will be tested on them Friday.
Classroom Parents
This is a little late because they have already introduced themselves because of me being behind, but I want to acknowledge this year's class moms. Ms. Olszowka and Ms. Allgood will be serving our classroom as the class moms. Ms. Olszowka has served as a class mom multiple times and Ms. Allgood stepped in as a lead mom last year when my main class mom left. These two ladies are very strong leaders and very task organized. I have confidence that they will do a great job of serving the class this year.
However, there is still a great deal of work to be done apart from their positions. They will need your help to ensure that our class has all they need--chiefly, great celebrations. They will be communicating with you this year in respect to how you can help out with classroom celebrations and will keep you up to date on what is happening with the PSO.
Respect and Dignified Obedience
I want to keep you informed in how our class is doing with regard to respect and dignified obedience. I think it is the desire of the students to do the right thing, but many of them struggle to restrain the impulse to do what is wrong. Thankfully, at this point, wrong is getting out of their seats, talking, and a few unkind words here and there. Oh, and they seem to like to yell in the bathroom.
Let's just say that they aren't where they need to be. However, they are children. If they were acting like adults, they wouldn't really need instruction with respect to moral virtue. Except that many adults don't act as one with moral virtue.
It is always my desire to have a warm and carrying relationship with my students, but at the same time, I will always hold them to a very high standard. I do this for two reasons. First, because I know they can reach it if I keep it high and press them toward it. Second, because it will ultimately be for their good. There may come times this year when I reach out to you about your child's behavior. I ask that you give me the benefit of the doubt that I want what is best for your child. However, know that you are always welcome to come to my class and observe my instruction. If your child complains that I'm unkind or unfair, please don't hesitate to come observe my teaching methods and interaction with the students. It is sometimes the case that my students have never been expected to perform in such a disciplined manner before. That isn't to say that their parents don't have high expectations for them, but that the expectations of the home and school are different. I suspect you don't have your child walk around your house with their hands behind their back and silent. You also probably don't have them raise their hand to speak at dinner and you may not even have them ask to be excused. It just happens to be the case that home like if very different from school life, and some students find the transition difficult. (I am personally dreading sending my son to school because at this point, age four, he has no self-control. He isn't that bad of a kid, but you never know when he will just start running through the house screaming.)
Thank you for the support you offer in respect to helping your child understand the expectations of the classroom and toward developing in them moral virtue.
Uniform Standards
Going forward, I will be much more strict about the student's uniform. If your child fails to meet the dress code, you will be notified by a dress code infraction form. Please know that I will not treat your child any differently because of their uniform. However, it is my responsibility to keep them in proper attire. The biggest infractions are boys with no belts, girls with hair bands that are the wrong color, and shoes that are not mostly black with black shoelaces.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. Thank you again for all you are doing to support your child at home. I hope you have enjoyed the R&R as much as they have.
Clubs with Available Spots
Monday: 1-5 Math Club, 2-5 Sports Club, 2-5 Band, K-1 Art Club
Tuesday: 2-3 Art Club, 3-5 Dance Fitness Club, 4-5 Choir
Thursday: 3-5 Science Club
Curriculum Night
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 will be given a map with numbers representing the nations and an answer sheet with the names of the countries on it. The students will have to match the numbers to the correct locations of the countries.
There are a couple of good sites online to help students study for this. I had them write one of them in their notebooks earlier this week. Here is another one: https://online.seterra.com/en/vgp/3007.
Literature: Students will continue their journey with Irene and Curdie in The Princess and the Goblin. Students should continue to work on their STEAL sheets and keep their summaries up to date. These will impact their ELA participation grade.
Math: In math, students will continue their study of the order of operations. This appears to be one of the more fun units for them. I think they like the challenge of figuring out which thing to do next. This week, they will not only be asked to solve them, but to create them to solve word problems. They will be assessed toward the end of this week.
Poetry: Students should continue to work toward memorizing "Afternoon on a Hill" by Edna St. Vincent Millay. We went over this beautiful poem in class on Friday and I enjoyed hearing the students interpretations of the poem. We will also be reading "the drum" by Nikki Giovanni, but this poem is not required for memorization.
Greek and Latin Roots: The students will be quizzed on the last three Greek and Latin roots they learned last week and will learn the next three this week. Students will only be quizzed on the last this this week, but should still aim to keep all of the others fresh in the mind. They will have a review on numbers 1-22 during week 8 and tested during week 9. If your child misses school, it is his or her responsibility to catch up on the roots they miss. They are also located on the resource page of this blog.
Science: Science will lend itself to some hands on activities this week as students study series and parallel circuits. They will also learn how an electric current running through a wire creates an electromagnet. They will have the electricity test next week.
Spalding: Spalding will be a little different with the short week. They will learn around ten words on Tuesday and Wednesday. They will review them on Thursday and will be tested on them Friday.
Classroom Parents
This is a little late because they have already introduced themselves because of me being behind, but I want to acknowledge this year's class moms. Ms. Olszowka and Ms. Allgood will be serving our classroom as the class moms. Ms. Olszowka has served as a class mom multiple times and Ms. Allgood stepped in as a lead mom last year when my main class mom left. These two ladies are very strong leaders and very task organized. I have confidence that they will do a great job of serving the class this year.
However, there is still a great deal of work to be done apart from their positions. They will need your help to ensure that our class has all they need--chiefly, great celebrations. They will be communicating with you this year in respect to how you can help out with classroom celebrations and will keep you up to date on what is happening with the PSO.
Respect and Dignified Obedience
I want to keep you informed in how our class is doing with regard to respect and dignified obedience. I think it is the desire of the students to do the right thing, but many of them struggle to restrain the impulse to do what is wrong. Thankfully, at this point, wrong is getting out of their seats, talking, and a few unkind words here and there. Oh, and they seem to like to yell in the bathroom.
Let's just say that they aren't where they need to be. However, they are children. If they were acting like adults, they wouldn't really need instruction with respect to moral virtue. Except that many adults don't act as one with moral virtue.
It is always my desire to have a warm and carrying relationship with my students, but at the same time, I will always hold them to a very high standard. I do this for two reasons. First, because I know they can reach it if I keep it high and press them toward it. Second, because it will ultimately be for their good. There may come times this year when I reach out to you about your child's behavior. I ask that you give me the benefit of the doubt that I want what is best for your child. However, know that you are always welcome to come to my class and observe my instruction. If your child complains that I'm unkind or unfair, please don't hesitate to come observe my teaching methods and interaction with the students. It is sometimes the case that my students have never been expected to perform in such a disciplined manner before. That isn't to say that their parents don't have high expectations for them, but that the expectations of the home and school are different. I suspect you don't have your child walk around your house with their hands behind their back and silent. You also probably don't have them raise their hand to speak at dinner and you may not even have them ask to be excused. It just happens to be the case that home like if very different from school life, and some students find the transition difficult. (I am personally dreading sending my son to school because at this point, age four, he has no self-control. He isn't that bad of a kid, but you never know when he will just start running through the house screaming.)
Thank you for the support you offer in respect to helping your child understand the expectations of the classroom and toward developing in them moral virtue.
Uniform Standards
Going forward, I will be much more strict about the student's uniform. If your child fails to meet the dress code, you will be notified by a dress code infraction form. Please know that I will not treat your child any differently because of their uniform. However, it is my responsibility to keep them in proper attire. The biggest infractions are boys with no belts, girls with hair bands that are the wrong color, and shoes that are not mostly black with black shoelaces.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. Thank you again for all you are doing to support your child at home. I hope you have enjoyed the R&R as much as they have.
Clubs with Available Spots
Monday: 1-5 Math Club, 2-5 Sports Club, 2-5 Band, K-1 Art Club
Tuesday: 2-3 Art Club, 3-5 Dance Fitness Club, 4-5 Choir
Thursday: 3-5 Science Club
Curriculum Night
I want to say thank you to those who were able to attend curriculum night. If you were not, you can find the curriculum packet that was handed out under resources.
Best,
Michael Naaktgeboren
Best,
Michael Naaktgeboren