Greetings Families,
I hope you are having a terrific weekend. I have finally had a little time for rest, and am hoping to get to bed early tonight so I'm prepared physically and mentally for a huge week! With so much happening, it almost feels like school is starting all over again. However, I am convinced we will get through it!
There are several things I need to communicate to you as we prepare for the first days of hybrid on Wednesday (half day), Thursday (full day) and Friday (full day). I will do my best to not ramble too much, but I do want you and your child(ren) to be prepared whether they are coming to campus or remaining remote learners.
WEEK 5 SCHEDULE
Monday and Tuesday - Distance Learning as Usual
Wednesday - 1/2 Day for In-Person Learners / Independent Work for Remote Learners
Thursday & Friday - Hybrid Learning Schedule Starts
HYBRID
As noted above, starting Thursday, students will begin following the hybrid schedule whether at home or in-person. Below, I've linked a Google Sheet with the schedule for in-person and remote learners, a Google Doc laying out some expectations for remote learners, and my explanation of the hybrid schedule.
WATER BOTTLES
This will be one of the most important things for students to remember each day. They must bring a water bottle. Because of the potential spread of the coronavirus, the water fountains are not available for student use. This means they must have a water bottle every day. I recommend that you purchase your child an expensive one that they can either leave at school on their desk or in their backpack. Also, please place their name on their water bottle. You could also let them personalize their water bottle with stickers so long as they do not have pop-culture references on them.
SUPPLIES
If your child is returning to campus this year as an in-person learner, they will need to bring some school supplies with them. At first, we will have them only bring what they need to survive for the first few days. However, we will start having them bring in their other supplies over time. We want to be respectful of students trying to bring too many supplies at once. There will be an email detailing this early this week. Right now, expect to send them in with a pencil box or pouch with a few pencils, a couple of red pencils, their colored pencils, a glue stick, a small pair of scissors, and a dry erase marker. They should also bring in their notebooks, folders, whiteboard, and other school supplies we provided them with. If they've not already labeled their notebooks, workbooks, and folders, please do that before Wednesday. Please have them put the subject, their name, and their grade and section (3B) on each.
Red - English (Notebook and Folder) - it can also say grammar or writing
Blue - History (Notebook and Folder)
Green - Science (Folder Only)
Purple - Math (Notebook and Folder)
Yellow - Take Home
Black - French (Notebook) & Music (Folder)
One additional thing we are asking for students to bring this year is a small pencil sharpener that has a place to collect the pencil shavings. Students will not be able to move around the room as easily so we want them to have this--even though it will lead to way more messes, but safety first.
CLASSROOM LIBRARY BOOKS
Over the past six years, I've assembled a decent little classroom library. However, given the potential risk of students sharing items, my library will not be open for student use until we have a little more clarification on possible procedures and safety measures. Therefore, I recommend that students bring in books to read during independent time. However, there are works that I would rather students not bring to school. These are books that do not support the moral virtue we aim to inspire in our students.
Considering the classical tradition of our school and our commitment to moral and intellectual virtue, we believe that children, even in their free and independent reading times, should select from works that are useful and sweet. “Medieval authors, such as Geoffrey Chaucer [1343-1400], tell us that fiction in this period was held to a standard of being both utile et dulce, useful and sweet,” says Cooper. “Literature was defined, in part, by its capacity to do something useful for its readers, something that went beyond providing mere entertainment” (Lisa Cooper, associate professor of English at the University of Wisconsin–Madison). This does not mean that students cannot read contemporary works, but that the books they read should be both sweet, that is it should be enjoyable, and useful, that is it should promote the formation of virtue.
LESSONS
Language Arts: This week we will do 15 words on Monday and 15 on Tuesday. There will be a spelling test on Friday. For grammar, we will begin adverbs. We will continue reading Pinocchio starting with Ch. 15 on Monday. We have a new poem which we will be memorizing entitled “The Bee” by Isaac Watts. Children should review it daily at home. Recitations will be on Wednesday, September 16th. Recitations are an individual effort so you may want to rehearse at home in front of a family audience.
Math: Students this week will be continuing to practice comparing numbers in the hundreds, by selecting greater; less than, or equal symbols. As well as estimating answers to problems by using rounding to the nearest ten or hundred, in addition to identifying the reasonableness of their answers. Using model drawings or bar models, students will solve one-step word problems, and identify the correct operation to use, such as subtraction (difference) or addition (sum). On Friday there will be a quiz on these skills.
History: Scholars will be reading and understanding where in the world the Mississippi, MacKenzie, Amazon, and the Ob River are located. In addition, they will identify their similarities and differences. Discussing the wildlife and details related to the climate/landforms in these regions of the world. They will also be introduced to the difficulties of navigation on these rivers, being able to explain why it is sometimes difficult to travel on these major rivers. Being able to compare and contrast is a very important third-grade skill, as well as being able to acquire the stamina for notetaking with clear details. Each of these rivers is critical to the survival of many people, vegetation, and wildlife that rely on the resources found near these rivers.
Science: One of the primary concerns we have in our science lessons is not only that they learn and enjoy science content, but that they also learn to think as scientists themselves. We want them to begin to wonder, come up with their own questions, make their own predictions, conduct their own experiments, and communicate their own findings. That is why during this week’s Thursday lesson, before they read about energy transfer, they will be asked to observe energy transfer during a few teacher demonstrations and then model it themselves. Before we tell them what they should know, we want them to have some experience with it. And, we want them to be able to give evidence for what they believe. It isn’t enough that they simply believe what I or a book says. They should be able to prove it themselves. On Friday, students will look at specific terms scientists use to describe their experiments and results: claim, evidence, and reasoning. Students will then take one of the demonstrations they’ve observed so far this year, describe how it shows a transfer of energy from one place to another, give evidence that a transfer of energy took place, and make a scientific claim: “I know … because ….“ Please reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns. Best, Michael Naaktgeboren