Our week in learning 1/29

 The quarter is nearing the halfway point, athletic field day is this week, and we will need volunteers 
for a special activity.

In language arts this week, students will compose their introductions and conclusions, and spend 

Wednesday editing their rough drafts. On Thursday, students will sit down to write 

out their full final draft, and on Friday, they will have the opportunity to type it in class. 

Students should have a full final draft completed by Thursday in order to type on Friday.

Presentations will be on Monday and Tuesday of next week--students should prepare 

a simple poster board with relevant pictures and facts about their explorer. This should 

be completed at home.

Students will read through chapter 17 of the Secret Garden and continue making

 journal entries. 

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR WRITING WORKSHOP! We are looking for volunteers 
on Wednesday afternoon to run editing and revision stations for the students’ research 
paper. Students will spend 7-10 minutes at each station with their essays, editing or 
revising a particular aspect of it. The parent volunteer or teacher at each station will 
assist students with reading or revising their essays. Red pens will be provided!  
 We need help with spell checking, grammar, voice/perspective, and organization. 
Please email me if you are available Wednesday after 1:20pm!

In science this week, students will learn about two different types of seeds - 
angiosperms and gymnosperms - and how those seeds are dispersed. They will 
compare the structure of vascular plants to nonvascular plants and label vascular 
tissues. On Thursday, students will watch a video about seed dispersal and complete 
an activity that will challenge them to remember the different dispersal method.

This week in math, students will continue the decimal unit, multiplying and dividing a decimal by
 two-digit whole numbers and by other decimals.

In history, students will complete the Age of Exploration unit with a unit test on Tuesday, and
 begin a new unit on westward expansion in the U.S. 

Royalty for a Day Contest

Help our classroom win the “Royalty for a Day” contest!

 

I am sure you’ve heard from your child by now that there is a “Royalty for a Day” 

contest underway, and your help is needed!  We still need $22,000 in tax credits 

to meet our $75,000 goal and here is how your child’s class wins, and what they 

will receive:

 

·         The classroom that brings in the most Tax Credit dollars by Great Hearts 

Day (2/14/18) will be Royalty for a day!

·         The teachers will be crowned royalty and receive gift cards.

·         The class will wear spirit shirts and receive a treat on the royal day 

to celebrate.

 

The top classes will be posted on the white board each Friday at pick-up and the 

winning classroom will be announced at the end of the day on Feb. 14th .  Leave no 

one out!  Ask grandparents, aunts, neighbors, coaches, and friends to give their Tax 

Credit to Archway Arete!  

 

Here is the GIVING LINK:  

 https://archwayarete.configio.com/moneyrequest?id=5

 

Let’s make this happen for our class!

 

Our week in learning 1/22

We are already into the third week of the quarter! Thank you to those of you who have signed up to volunteer for math groups and athletic field day. There are still spots available if you would like to sign up for a math group this upcoming Wednesday, 1/24.

In language arts, students will begin the week with a lesson on appropriate ways to use 
quotations in their research essays. On Tuesday, they will begin a simple sentence outline 
of their essays, and on Thursday and Friday, they will begin writing their body paragraphs. 
We will compose most of the first body paragraph together in class on Thursday. On Friday, 
we will spend the period composing the second body paragraph--students will complete the 
third body paragraph for homework over the weekend. Next week, students will compose
 their introduction and conclusion, rough draft, and final draft.

Students will read through chapter 14 of The Secret Garden and continue adding to their 
character charts and journal entries. Journal entries are assigned every chapter or every 
other chapter, and are expected to be a full paragraph in length (5-9 sentences). Entries 1-10 
will be collected for a complete grade on Friday, and should be neat, showing good effort, with 
complete sentences and thoughtful answers. 

In science this week, students will finish researching their vascular or nonvascular plant and 
present their research to the class on either Tuesday or Thursday. Each student will be graded 
separately on his/her presentation, and a group grade will be given for the worksheet presented 
to the class. All students are required to take notes on each of the presentations, as some of this 
information will be on the unit test. On Friday, we will learn about plant life cycles.

This week in history, students will continue to learn about the age of exploration. We will 
cover the English, French, and Dutch explorers. Please note that we will be covering the 
slavery chapter and the middle passage later on Friday this week. This is sensitive material 
and students should have a discussion at home if needed. Study guides will go home on 
Monday, January 22nd and are due Monday, January 29th. The Age of Exploration test will 
be on Tuesday, January 31st. 

In math this week, we will continue learning about decimals. Students will be dividing 
decimals, changing fractions to decimals using long division, and multiply and divide 
decimals by 10’s, 100’s, and 1000’s. Graph paper is very helpful to line up decimals and 
keep their work organized. We will be using some in class, but it might be useful to have 
some at home to use with homework. Math groups will resume this Wednesday, January 
24th, 8:00-9:00. 

Athletic Field Day!

Athletic Field Day

Athletic Field Day is Friday, February 2nd from 8:30-11:00 for K-2 classes and from
12:00-2:30 for grades 3-5!  Each year classes are assigned a Greek City State for their 
team.  This year, your child’s team is Sparta, and our team color is yellow.  There will be 
no school lunch offered on Athletic Field Day.  Please send your child to school with a lunch.

Volunteers for Athletic Field Day

In order to have Athletic Field Day run smoothly, we need your help!  Coach 
Gethings & Coach Warren need volunteers setting up and running the event.  Please 
sign up at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0d4aaeae2fa0ff2-athletic to help with the 
events.  We need a few volunteers for class to help with donating a cooler and snacks.  
Please sign up here to volunteer 
for our class. http://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084ba9a72fa2ff2-athletic

Our week in learning 1/16

This week in grammar, students will take a short quiz over Indirect Objects on Wednesday.

They will begin the week in language arts researching their explorer using computers. Students will 
need at least one book source next week as they begin putting together their resources to form their 
essay. On Friday, students will create a sentence outline for their three body paragraphs, and should
 have their research largely completed by next Monday.

Students will read through chapter 10 of The Secret Garden and continue adding to their character 
charts and journal entries. Journal entries are assigned every chapter or every other chapter, and are 
expected to be a full paragraph in length (5-9 sentences). These will be collected for a complete grade 
at the end of the book, and should be neat, showing good effort, with complete sentences. 

In science this week, students will continue taking notes on plant structure and adaptations. They will 
specifically focus on vascular and nonvascular plants. Students will be placed into groups and research
 a type of vascular or nonvascular plant to present to the rest of the class. All research and group work 
will be completed in class, and will be presented next week.

This week in history, students will continue to learn about the age of exploration. We will cover the 
questionable virtue of Christopher Columbus, the Spanish Conquistadors, how the connection 
between slavery and encomiendas, and Magellan’s voyage around the world. Please note that we 
will be covering slavery and the middle passage later in the unit. I encourage discussion at home on
 this sensitive topic.

In math this week, we will take a short quiz on our ratio unit, then move on to decimals. Students will
 learn about comparing, rounding, estimating, adding, subtracting and multiplying decimals. 
Graph paper is very helpful to line up decimals and keep their work organized. We will be using some in class, but it might be useful to have some at home to use with homework. There will be no math groups this week because we are starting a new unit, however we will start math groups next week, 1/24. 

Bard Competition

Archway Arete Students and Families,

Throughout Western civilization, bards have been keepers of tradition, reciting the poetry of their people and passing on oral history. At every grade level, our students practice memorization and recitation of poems in the classroom. This year, we will again be joining our fellow Great Hearts schools in holding a Bard Competition for our 3rd through 5th grade students, whom we will challenge to memorize and recite poetry. On February 7 and February 8, over the course of two rounds and two poems, we will winnow the field to find our school’s most skillful bard. That student will be named School Bard for the year and will represent Archway Arete at the Great Hearts Archway Bard Competition in the spring.

If your student is interested in competing, you may fill out the forms that will be going home with your student shortly. The forms are due back on January 29th. Whether your student participates or not, we invite all of our Archway families to join us for these public recitations, which promise to be engaging reminders of this oral tradition.

If you have any questions about the Bard Competition, please contact Mrs. Bowers at kbowers@archwayarete.org.

Our week in learning 1/08

Welcome back! I hope everyone's winter vacation was relaxing and refreshing.

In math this week, we will begin with a review of semester one, then move on to a very 
brief unit on ratio. There will be no math groups this week.

This week in history, students will start to learn about the age of exploration. We will 
cover the importance of the Spice Islands, ways explorers were able to navigate, and the 
Portuguese explorers. Please note that we will be covering slavery and the middle passage 
later in the unit. I encourage discussion at home on this sensitive topic.

This week in grammar, students will review their knowledge of classifying and diagramming 
skills, and add a new skill to their toolbox: identifying and diagramming indirect objects! They will 
have a homework packet sent home on Monday from which they should select two whole problems 
to complete each night, turning it in each day to show completion, and due Thursday for a full grade.

Additionally, the beginning of the third quarter also marks the beginning of our next project! Our fifth graders 
will embark on their first research paper at the end of this week! Students will randomly select an explorer to 
research and write about. We will be researching on computers over the next few weeks, but students will also 
be required to use at least one book as a source, and they will need to bring that research to class daily 
throughout the duration of this project. They should have their assignments by this weekend. Please look 
out for a project packet and signature page coming home this weekend.

In science this week, students will begin their quarter-long unit on plants. We will begin by 
reviewing parts of the cell that students are familiar with, and taking notes on organelles unique
to plant cells. Students will make flashcards for homework this week and will be allowed to use 
their flashcards on their plant cell quiz on Thursday.

In literature, we will begin reading The Secret Garden. Please make sure your child brings his or 
her copy of the book to school by Tuesday.