Greetings Families,
I want to wish those who celebrate Christmas a Merry Christmas and people of other faiths and traditions a joyous holiday season. I hope that this winter break has provided your family with a little more time to enjoy one another and to reflect on the great blessings provided to us. Two thousand, eighteen was a great year, and I'm looking forward to what is to come in 2019.
I also want to say thank you for the generous gifts extended to my family and me by so many of you. It is my great pleasure to serve your children as their teacher, and I am looking forward to starting the second semester with renewed vigor to help them move toward intellectual and moral virtue.
I am so proud of the achievements so many of my students have made this year thus far. For example, the class average went up in every subject except math from the first to second quarter. And the small decline in math (less than to percentage points) is usual as the fractions unit is usually the most difficult unit of the year. In ELA, 10 students had an A or A- during the first quarter while there were 18 in the second quarter. The results were even better in history which had six students with an A or A- during the first quarter while this past quarter had 20. The number of student with an A or A- in science improved from 11 to 15 from the first to second quarter.
As much as I would like to take credit for the improvement my students made from the first to the second quarter, the credit really goes to them and you. My lessons plans and teaching strategies have gone unchanged. What has changed is the level of effort by the students in the classroom and how they've learned to be responsible for their studies. One of the biggest indicators of this was the fact that 17 students earned an A or A- on the Greek and Latin roots quiz which had 50 roots and was reviewed very little in class. The developing moral virtues of my students, responsibility, wisdom, perseverance, and prudence, are paying dividends in respect to their academic performance.
The majority of the credit for my students' improvement goes to you. No one is more important to your child's moral and intellectual development than you. I may teach them, but you are the one who makes sure they do their homework each night, that helps them study, that counsels them on how to treat others, and trains them to desire their best. This list is limited only to things that you do to help them be good students. In a single day, there are dozens of other things you do to give them the best opportunities and future possibilities. As an educator, I reap the rewards of your effort. The legacy of Arete's achievement is the love and support our families give to their children. You are continuing that legacy. Thank you for how much you love your child and how hard you work on their behalf.
I hope you enjoy the rest of the break. Your children are in my thoughts, and I look forward to seeing them soon.
Best,
Michael Naaktgeboren
I want to wish those who celebrate Christmas a Merry Christmas and people of other faiths and traditions a joyous holiday season. I hope that this winter break has provided your family with a little more time to enjoy one another and to reflect on the great blessings provided to us. Two thousand, eighteen was a great year, and I'm looking forward to what is to come in 2019.
I also want to say thank you for the generous gifts extended to my family and me by so many of you. It is my great pleasure to serve your children as their teacher, and I am looking forward to starting the second semester with renewed vigor to help them move toward intellectual and moral virtue.
I am so proud of the achievements so many of my students have made this year thus far. For example, the class average went up in every subject except math from the first to second quarter. And the small decline in math (less than to percentage points) is usual as the fractions unit is usually the most difficult unit of the year. In ELA, 10 students had an A or A- during the first quarter while there were 18 in the second quarter. The results were even better in history which had six students with an A or A- during the first quarter while this past quarter had 20. The number of student with an A or A- in science improved from 11 to 15 from the first to second quarter.
As much as I would like to take credit for the improvement my students made from the first to the second quarter, the credit really goes to them and you. My lessons plans and teaching strategies have gone unchanged. What has changed is the level of effort by the students in the classroom and how they've learned to be responsible for their studies. One of the biggest indicators of this was the fact that 17 students earned an A or A- on the Greek and Latin roots quiz which had 50 roots and was reviewed very little in class. The developing moral virtues of my students, responsibility, wisdom, perseverance, and prudence, are paying dividends in respect to their academic performance.
The majority of the credit for my students' improvement goes to you. No one is more important to your child's moral and intellectual development than you. I may teach them, but you are the one who makes sure they do their homework each night, that helps them study, that counsels them on how to treat others, and trains them to desire their best. This list is limited only to things that you do to help them be good students. In a single day, there are dozens of other things you do to give them the best opportunities and future possibilities. As an educator, I reap the rewards of your effort. The legacy of Arete's achievement is the love and support our families give to their children. You are continuing that legacy. Thank you for how much you love your child and how hard you work on their behalf.
I hope you enjoy the rest of the break. Your children are in my thoughts, and I look forward to seeing them soon.
Best,
Michael Naaktgeboren