Greetings Families,
I hope you are off to a good start on your three day weekend. Mine started off well as my wife, kids, and I went to Chick-fil-a for dinner. I then came back to school for basketball practice. I am missing the in-service tomorrow because my girls are playing in the region championship. If we win, we will be playing at home next Friday night in the first round of the state playoffs for 1A. If we lose, we will be playing away next Friday night in the first round of the state playoffs for 1A. Either way, we made it to state, which is the first time the Arete/Mesa Prep girls varsity basketball team has done that. So we are pretty excited.
Great Hearts Day
First, let me share with you the note from the admin regarding Great Hearts Day.
This year, 4B will be doing something a little different. Instead of passing a card around for everyone to write something nice about the other child, we have elected to do team building activities where students have to count on other another--where students have to demonstrate friendship for the groups to be successful. Though they won't have anything to hang on their way, my hope is that these activities will be memories of how friendship makes things better.
You should be seeing something coming from the class moms soon regarding the activities. As I noted earlier, there is a chance I will actually miss the activities due to basketball travel. Parent volunteers will be needed to support the class in these fun times.
New Assistant Teacher
Next week, on Great Hearts Day, unless things happen sooner than expected, Mrs. Conforti, from 4C, will be leaving for maternity leave. Her assistant teacher, Mrs. LaVell, will be taking her spot. After discusses with Mrs. Conforti, Mrs. LaVell, and Mr. Gillingham, it was decided that Mrs. LaVell would be better served by a seasoned and skilled assistant to support her as she takes on larger roles. For the sake of the fourth grade as a whole, we decided that Mrs. Chilson should move to 4C during Mrs. Conforti's absence because of her strong leadership skills and teaching ability. That means that 4B will be getting a new assistant teacher. The students already have the pleasure of meeting her this week as she volunteered to whole days to come in and to become acquainted with the students and the procedures. The students spoke very highly of her and noted how nice of a person she is. I believe she will be a great fit in 4B, and I am excited to have her join the fourth-grade team. Here are her introduction letter and a picture. As you have an opportunity, please make her feel welcome. Your students did a great job of this over the past week.
I'm not sure if she has an Arete email yet, but if you would like to reach out to her, please feel free to send me an email, and I'll forward it along.
Lessons
Grammar/Writing: Over the weekend, I've asked students to have you read over their essays that they typed in class this week. Though I will read all of them and give feedback, there just isn't time for me to read every student's paper and to provide editing suggestions in person during the school day. Thus, I'm asking that you take some time to read through your child's paper with them and that you offer constructive feedback on things like word choice, grammar issues, and ensuring that the sentences and complete sentences and that they make sense. To do this, please go to docs.google.com. Sign in to my student account, naak4b@gmail.com. The password is chargers. Any support you can give them will be greatly appreciated. I will print the papers out on Monday, so you have the whole weekend to work on it. Next week, students will be assigned a paper to write on Thursday. They will have almost the whole day to work on this one paper. This is to simulate the experience they will have on the AzMERIT writing day. For this essay, I will print it out before they leave and grade it.
History: Students are continuing to study how the conflict between Great Britain and her American colonies continued to escalate into war. Today, we read about the great declaration, the Declaration of Independence, which was written to explain to the world while Britain's colonies had it as their duty to separate from their mother country because Parliament and the king were not protecting their inalienable rights. Next week, on Tuesday, students will be tested (open-notes) on chapters 1-14. They will then look at how the war was going between Britain and the Americans.
Literature: In literature, students will continue to study the remarkable life of Nat Bowditch, the endured servant who faced every obstacle and prevailed as a remarkably learned man and success story. Today, the students learned of the time when he thought he would be freed and able to attend Harvard only to find out that his endenture has been sold to another man--still four years before he would be free. It is remarkable how often we, and especially children, feel that our lives are unbearable only to be shocked at how difficult the lives of those who came before us truly were. As many of your children will read about next quarter, many of our countries founding fathers and signers of the Constitution were raised by uncles or other family members because both their parents died when they were in childhood. The study of history and great men like Nat Bowditch, whether in history class or in literature, reminds us of how blessed we are to be Americans living in the 21th century and how great we can be if we only apply ourselves to greatness.
Math: Now finished with geometry, students will turn their attention to decimals. Today, we started the unit with a look at the tenths place and the hundredths place. We will review this on Monday when we return, and the students will be tested on the tenths place on Tuesday. Students will then quickly review the hundredths place for an assessment on Wednesday. Though it seemed that most students were starting to understand this pretty well, there is a great opportunity for you to help them over the next few weeks in the study of decimals. Whenever you are able, if you happen to be out shopping, you money to help them understand decimals up to the hundredths place. Money is what is allowing many of them to already find success. Any discussions you can have with them regarding decimals will only help them make the connections they need to find mastery. I will also place some helpful videos below if students are struggling with decimals.
Poetry: Students should continue to work toward mastering "Paul Revere's Ride." Though not required, the schedule I recommended was that they should have the first six stanzas memorized by now. This week, they had roughly 45 minutes to an hour to practice, but there is not enough school time for them to master this tremendous effort.
Greek and Latin Roots: This week, students will take a long review check over roots 1-66. Click here to go to the Quizlet. I will also embed it below.
Science: Today, students took the geology midterm. When reviewing it before the test, it seemed like most of the students had a strong grasp of the content. Next week, students will start with studying the three main types of rocks: igneous, which comes from cooled magma, sedimentary, which comes from compressed sediments--usually formed underwater, and metamorphic, which is igneous rock or sedimentary rock that going through a change due to extreme pressure and heat. Following the study of rocks, students will look at weathering and erosion (weathering-the breaking down of rocks and soil & erosion-the movement of rocks and soil to another place). There will be a life science review quiz on Thursday. I've placed the study questions below.
Spalding: Students will learn new words and be assessed on Friday.
Schedule
Tuesday: History Test - American Revolution (Ch. 1-14)
Tuesday: Math Test - Decimals (Tenths Place)
Wednesday: Math Test - Decimals (Hundredths Place)
Wednesday: Greek and Latin Roots Review Check (1-66)
Thursday: Math Quiz
Thursday: Science Quiz - Life Science Review Quiz
Friday: Spalding Test
Friday: Great Hearts Day Celebration (1:35 -2:55 p.m.)
Friday-Monday: R&R Weekend
Monday (February 17): No School - Presidents' Day
I hope you have a great long weekend. If you need anything, please let me know. Thank you for all of your support. It is always a pleasure serving as your child's teacher.
Best,
Michael Naaktgeboren
Life Science Review Quiz
1. Low, flat clouds that look like a layer or sheet. They produce rain and fog.
2. Feathery and wispy clouds that produce nice, fair weather.
3. Puffy clouds that usually mean nice weather.
4. ________________________ are masses of water droplets and ice crystals floating in the atmosphere.
5. ___________________________ is the force of the atmosphere on surroundings.
6. ______________ is the horizontal movement of air from high pressure to low pressure across the Earth’s pressure.
7. ____________________ measure wind speed.
8. ____________________ measures atmospheric pressure.
9. ____________________ move in a consistent direction over time.
10___________________________ is caused by global winds curving from the Earth’s rotation.
11. All weather happens in the _____________________.
_____________________________________________________
1. Define water cycle.
2. Define precipitation.
3. Define evaporation.
4. Define transpiration.
5. Define condensation.
6. Define run-off.
7. A _____________________ is created when two air masses of different temperatures and humidity meet.
8. ________________ are big storms that form over the ocean.
9. _______________________ are the scientists who read, study and analyze the weather report.
I hope you are off to a good start on your three day weekend. Mine started off well as my wife, kids, and I went to Chick-fil-a for dinner. I then came back to school for basketball practice. I am missing the in-service tomorrow because my girls are playing in the region championship. If we win, we will be playing at home next Friday night in the first round of the state playoffs for 1A. If we lose, we will be playing away next Friday night in the first round of the state playoffs for 1A. Either way, we made it to state, which is the first time the Arete/Mesa Prep girls varsity basketball team has done that. So we are pretty excited.
Great Hearts Day
First, let me share with you the note from the admin regarding Great Hearts Day.
A Day For FriendshipIf you have been around Great Hearts for a while, you know we discourage pop-culture, and that this includes valentines, candy, or other gifts. We don't want it to be focused on romantic affection or shallow acts of kindness like giving everyone some sort of card. Instead, the goal of this day, and all days at Arete, is to promote genuine love that is humble and sacrificial and expressed through faithful friendship. This whole year, one of my class expectations is that students love others as they love themselves. That is what Great Hearts Day is meant to encourage, and we feel that this is best done apart from some of the more traditional pop-culture methods.
Friday, February 14th is Great Hearts Day! We have reserved this special day to focus on the virtue of friendship and celebrate the traits that make a great-hearted student. Teachers are planning interactive and fun activities centered around these topics. Archway Arete strives to cultivate a rich, academic environment rooted in the classical tradition. Many times this requires popular culture to be left at the door. On that note, students will not be permitted to bring store-bought valentines, candy, or gifts to school. Thank you for partnering with us.
This year, 4B will be doing something a little different. Instead of passing a card around for everyone to write something nice about the other child, we have elected to do team building activities where students have to count on other another--where students have to demonstrate friendship for the groups to be successful. Though they won't have anything to hang on their way, my hope is that these activities will be memories of how friendship makes things better.
You should be seeing something coming from the class moms soon regarding the activities. As I noted earlier, there is a chance I will actually miss the activities due to basketball travel. Parent volunteers will be needed to support the class in these fun times.
New Assistant Teacher
Next week, on Great Hearts Day, unless things happen sooner than expected, Mrs. Conforti, from 4C, will be leaving for maternity leave. Her assistant teacher, Mrs. LaVell, will be taking her spot. After discusses with Mrs. Conforti, Mrs. LaVell, and Mr. Gillingham, it was decided that Mrs. LaVell would be better served by a seasoned and skilled assistant to support her as she takes on larger roles. For the sake of the fourth grade as a whole, we decided that Mrs. Chilson should move to 4C during Mrs. Conforti's absence because of her strong leadership skills and teaching ability. That means that 4B will be getting a new assistant teacher. The students already have the pleasure of meeting her this week as she volunteered to whole days to come in and to become acquainted with the students and the procedures. The students spoke very highly of her and noted how nice of a person she is. I believe she will be a great fit in 4B, and I am excited to have her join the fourth-grade team. Here are her introduction letter and a picture. As you have an opportunity, please make her feel welcome. Your students did a great job of this over the past week.
Hello parents and students of 4B! My name is Olivia Johnson, and I am very excited to be the new apprentice teacher for 4B. From a very young age, I was fostered with a love of learning by both my parents and my teachers. This love for learning continued into my collegiate career, when I attended the University of Arizona. I graduated in May of 2019 with my Bachelor of Science in Nursing with Honors and a Minor in Psychology. I was very involved during my undergraduate career, serving as a Senator in the student government on campus for three years, as well as a chemistry preceptor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry. I also completed my undergraduate honors thesis, which examined the best practices in caring for pediatric patients with autism spectrum disorder in healthcare settings. I discovered my passion for working with children at a young age and have spent the last eight years volunteering at a local children’s hospital and the last three summers working as a counselor at a local summer camp. Along with this, I have two dogs, a Snoodle named Bella and a one-eared German Shepard named Uno. In my free time, I enjoy river rafting, going to yoga, hiking, reading, and baking. I am looking forward to meeting you and your students, as well as a wonderful rest of the school year!
I'm not sure if she has an Arete email yet, but if you would like to reach out to her, please feel free to send me an email, and I'll forward it along.
Lessons
Grammar/Writing: Over the weekend, I've asked students to have you read over their essays that they typed in class this week. Though I will read all of them and give feedback, there just isn't time for me to read every student's paper and to provide editing suggestions in person during the school day. Thus, I'm asking that you take some time to read through your child's paper with them and that you offer constructive feedback on things like word choice, grammar issues, and ensuring that the sentences and complete sentences and that they make sense. To do this, please go to docs.google.com. Sign in to my student account, naak4b@gmail.com. The password is chargers. Any support you can give them will be greatly appreciated. I will print the papers out on Monday, so you have the whole weekend to work on it. Next week, students will be assigned a paper to write on Thursday. They will have almost the whole day to work on this one paper. This is to simulate the experience they will have on the AzMERIT writing day. For this essay, I will print it out before they leave and grade it.
History: Students are continuing to study how the conflict between Great Britain and her American colonies continued to escalate into war. Today, we read about the great declaration, the Declaration of Independence, which was written to explain to the world while Britain's colonies had it as their duty to separate from their mother country because Parliament and the king were not protecting their inalienable rights. Next week, on Tuesday, students will be tested (open-notes) on chapters 1-14. They will then look at how the war was going between Britain and the Americans.
Literature: In literature, students will continue to study the remarkable life of Nat Bowditch, the endured servant who faced every obstacle and prevailed as a remarkably learned man and success story. Today, the students learned of the time when he thought he would be freed and able to attend Harvard only to find out that his endenture has been sold to another man--still four years before he would be free. It is remarkable how often we, and especially children, feel that our lives are unbearable only to be shocked at how difficult the lives of those who came before us truly were. As many of your children will read about next quarter, many of our countries founding fathers and signers of the Constitution were raised by uncles or other family members because both their parents died when they were in childhood. The study of history and great men like Nat Bowditch, whether in history class or in literature, reminds us of how blessed we are to be Americans living in the 21th century and how great we can be if we only apply ourselves to greatness.
Math: Now finished with geometry, students will turn their attention to decimals. Today, we started the unit with a look at the tenths place and the hundredths place. We will review this on Monday when we return, and the students will be tested on the tenths place on Tuesday. Students will then quickly review the hundredths place for an assessment on Wednesday. Though it seemed that most students were starting to understand this pretty well, there is a great opportunity for you to help them over the next few weeks in the study of decimals. Whenever you are able, if you happen to be out shopping, you money to help them understand decimals up to the hundredths place. Money is what is allowing many of them to already find success. Any discussions you can have with them regarding decimals will only help them make the connections they need to find mastery. I will also place some helpful videos below if students are struggling with decimals.
Poetry: Students should continue to work toward mastering "Paul Revere's Ride." Though not required, the schedule I recommended was that they should have the first six stanzas memorized by now. This week, they had roughly 45 minutes to an hour to practice, but there is not enough school time for them to master this tremendous effort.
Greek and Latin Roots: This week, students will take a long review check over roots 1-66. Click here to go to the Quizlet. I will also embed it below.
Science: Today, students took the geology midterm. When reviewing it before the test, it seemed like most of the students had a strong grasp of the content. Next week, students will start with studying the three main types of rocks: igneous, which comes from cooled magma, sedimentary, which comes from compressed sediments--usually formed underwater, and metamorphic, which is igneous rock or sedimentary rock that going through a change due to extreme pressure and heat. Following the study of rocks, students will look at weathering and erosion (weathering-the breaking down of rocks and soil & erosion-the movement of rocks and soil to another place). There will be a life science review quiz on Thursday. I've placed the study questions below.
Spalding: Students will learn new words and be assessed on Friday.
Schedule
Tuesday: History Test - American Revolution (Ch. 1-14)
Tuesday: Math Test - Decimals (Tenths Place)
Wednesday: Math Test - Decimals (Hundredths Place)
Wednesday: Greek and Latin Roots Review Check (1-66)
Thursday: Math Quiz
Thursday: Science Quiz - Life Science Review Quiz
Friday: Spalding Test
Friday: Great Hearts Day Celebration (1:35 -2:55 p.m.)
Friday-Monday: R&R Weekend
Monday (February 17): No School - Presidents' Day
I hope you have a great long weekend. If you need anything, please let me know. Thank you for all of your support. It is always a pleasure serving as your child's teacher.
Best,
Michael Naaktgeboren
Life Science Review Quiz
1. Low, flat clouds that look like a layer or sheet. They produce rain and fog.
2. Feathery and wispy clouds that produce nice, fair weather.
3. Puffy clouds that usually mean nice weather.
4. ________________________ are masses of water droplets and ice crystals floating in the atmosphere.
5. ___________________________ is the force of the atmosphere on surroundings.
6. ______________ is the horizontal movement of air from high pressure to low pressure across the Earth’s pressure.
7. ____________________ measure wind speed.
8. ____________________ measures atmospheric pressure.
9. ____________________ move in a consistent direction over time.
10___________________________ is caused by global winds curving from the Earth’s rotation.
11. All weather happens in the _____________________.
_____________________________________________________
1. Define water cycle.
2. Define precipitation.
3. Define evaporation.
4. Define transpiration.
5. Define condensation.
6. Define run-off.
7. A _____________________ is created when two air masses of different temperatures and humidity meet.
8. ________________ are big storms that form over the ocean.
9. _______________________ are the scientists who read, study and analyze the weather report.