Sunday, March 27, 2016

Quarter 4

Dear Parents,

I hope you have all had a wonderful spring break with your wonderful children!   I was able to visit my family in California and my mom threw me a beautiful wedding shower.

I am so excited for the 4th quarter.  We have some wonderful things to learn about, read, and discuss! I just can't believe that the 4th quarter is here and that I only have nine more weeks with your children until I have to send them off to 4th grade.  I am getting a little bit sad just thinking about it! It has been a fantastic first year at Archway Arete so far.    I am so thankful to be part of such a wonderful community!

If you are able to send in hand sanitizer, tissues, and/or pencils they would be greatly appreciated!!  Below is a summary of what we will be doing in the first week of the quarter.

Best,

Ms. Caro

Language Arts:
In Spalding we will have a 20 word list. We will be spending Literature reviewing Fairy Tales in preparation for our The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe unit that starts week 2; please send your scholars to school with their copy.


History:
This week we will be wrapping up our unit on explorers. Students will learn more about the Spanish mission system and revolts. In addition we will discuss the expeditions of John Cabot, Henry Hudson, and Samuel de Champlain. We will not have an assessment on this short unit and will jump right into the thirteen colonies in week 2 of the quarter!

Math:
The fourth quarter begins with a consideration of time. Students will be observing analog clocks, converting between minutes and hours, and solving problems involving time. Students may enjoy sharing what they are learning by solving some time problems in the car on the way to school or on the way home. 


Science:
We are excited to start our study of astronomy. During this unit, students will be challenged to reconsider some of the things they know and journey through the centuries to discover how scientist proved what we often take for granted. During week one, we will ask ourselves what is moving. Students often know the truth, but fail to understand why. From our perspective, we don't feel like we are moving. So how we do we know that we aren't the center of the universe? Later in the week we will consider why we experience days and seasons.

Assessments:
Friday- Spalding 

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Science Project!

Hello Parents!

Just a quick note before Spring Break. The 3rd grade team is changing the due date for the Science project to April 21st. We want to stress that this is not meant to be worked on over Spring Break; your scholars have earned their R&R! Please reach out to me with any questions or concerns.


Best,

Ms. Caro 

Friday, March 11, 2016

No tutoring last week before Spring Break

Dear Parents,

We will not have any tutoring next week.  Please let me know if you have any questions!  Thank you!

Ms. Caro
Dear 3C Parents,

Here is an update about what 3C will be up to in the last week of quarter 3!  On Thursday we will be having our classroom celebration.  Please see my last blog post and check your emails for more details.

Best,

Ms. Caro

Assessments/Due Dates
Monday-Last book report due
Tuesday-Poetry Recitation
Wednesday-Science Assessment
Thursday-Spalding Assessment/Phonogram quiz

Language Arts:
We will have a 20 word list for Spalding. In Writing and Grammar we will be wrapping up our
opinion piece. We will be using our usual Literature time for Touch Pebbles lessons as well as poetry recitation.

Math:
In Math this week we are going to be reviewing concepts that we have covered so far this year in preparation of the AZ Merit assessment. We will be using a variety of activities to practice this material in fun and engaging ways.

History:
In History we will continue our unit on European Exploration. We will be learning about the search for El Dorado and imagining what that city would have looked like. We will also begin discussing the Spanish mission system. We will not be having an official test on this unit, but we will finish this unit up the week after Spring Break!

Science:

The students will be finishing up their study of light and the eye this week with a review of the content on Monday and a quiz on Wednesday. Students should have their study guides completed by Monday. As we prepare for our next unit in science, astronomy, I want to inform you about the project we will be having students complete in the fourth quarter. It will be similar to some of the history projects that the students have done this year. They will be assigned an object of the solar system to research and asked to create a poster or posters to display the required content.

One additional thing we will be asking students to do is to create a worksheet that other students will use to record the information presented on the posters. The majority of the students's learning about these specific objects will come from the work of other students, so it is important that the posters are done neatly and accurately. The teachers will be assigning each student a specific object to study, but we would like to give you an idea of what the project looks like. Students may start working on these projects once they are assigned their object, but it is not expected that students work on these over spring break, as the break is a designated rest and relaxation time. You may find the document at https://goo.gl/EI4pFk

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Dear Parents,

Please use the following sign-up to volunteer to come to or donate items to our fraction party!  This will be our third quarter celebration.

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d49abac2ca5fc1-3rdquarter

Best,

Ms. Caro


Dear 3C Parents,

Please see the message below regarding the change in the AZ Merit schedule for third grade! Let me know if you have any questions.

Best,

Ms. Caro

AzMERIT Test Schedule Change
There has been a slight adjustment to the AzMERIT testing schedule. Originally, third grade was schedule to take the writing test on Thursday, April 7th; however, it became apparent that the spring concert on Wednesday, April 6th may result in a lack of rest and preparedness for testing the following morning. Therefore, we will have the third grade students take the writing portion of the AzMERIT test on Friday, April 8th. This is the only change that has been made to the testing calendar. Please see the updated schedule below and send any questions or concerns to Assistant Headmaster, Lucia Pantalena at LPantalena@ArchwayArete.org.


DATE
GRADE LEVEL
TEST
Monday, April 4
5th
Writing
Tuesday, April 5
4th
Writing
Friday, April 8
3rd
Writing
Friday, April 8
4th
AIMS Science
Monday, April 11
5th
Reading and Math, Part 1
Tuesday, April 12
5th
Reading and Math, Part 2
Monday, April 18
4th
Reading and Math, Part 1
Tuesday, April 19
4th
Reading and Math, Part 2
Monday, April 25
3rd
Reading and Math, Part 1
Tuesday, April 26
3rd
Reading and Math, Part 2

Friday, March 4, 2016

Dear 3C Parents,

We had another great week in 3C!  We are getting excited for athletic field day next week! Check your emails for an update from me on the subject of athletic field day.  One thing I forgot to mention is that you are welcome to bring a lawn chair and be a spectator for the event.  I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Best,

Ms. Caro

Please see an update of what we will be covering this week in 3C below!

Language Arts:
We will be having our monthly Spalding Assessment on Monday, with Athletic Field Day on our plate as well, our spelling word list will be 10 words this week. We continue our work on our opinion essay in class and will be wrapping up our study of The Little Prince.

Math:
This week we will be finishing up our fractions unit. We will subtract fractions with like denominators and discuss fractions of a set. The students will be tested on fractions on Friday.

History:
 This week we are wrapping up our Native American unit and taking our assessment on Tuesday. Then we will begin our explorers unit. Next week we will discuss the explorations of Columbus and Juan Ponce de Leon!

Science:
This week in science, students will be finishing up their study of light and the eye. We will be considering why we see different colors and the parts of the eye. On Monday, a study guide will be sent home for the quiz that will be taken during week eleven (3/16). Parts of the study guide will be addressed during the lessons on Monday and Wednesday. Please have students start working on their study guides at your convenience, and allow them to skip over questions concerning why we see blue (number 5 on the short answer section) and the eye diagram until we have discussed them in class. The study guide will be due on Monday, March 14.

Quizzes and Tests:
Monday - Spalding Benchmark Assessment
Tuesday - History Test; Native Americans Unit

Thursday - Literary Terms Quiz; The Little Prince and Spelling Test