1st Week of May!

Dear Parents,

I can not believe that next week is already May! This year has flown by!  As the year begins to wind down I am reflecting a lot about how much I have learned this year and about the fun times I have had with your children.  Although I am confident that they are ready for 4th grade, I will be sad to see them go! That being said we still have plenty of work to do in the next month and I look forward to all the learning we will get to do together.

This week began with AZ Merit testing.  Although testing is never very much fun, I was very proud of all of my students for working hard to persevere through this challenge! We were all thrilled to celebrate the end of AZ Merit with the ice-cream making celebration.  In addition we got to apply our capacity unit to real life situations.

Next week we have a full week of learning!  Please see below for an update on what we will be covering!  Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Best,

Ms. Caro

Language Arts: We are travelling deeper into the world of Narnia, spring is finally coming and we are about to meet Aslan! In writing we will continue to summarize stories about the ancient Greeks. There will be a review of sentence types in Grammar. We will have a shortened Spalding list as there will be a monthly benchmark at the beginning of the week. Our last one of the year if you will believe that!!

Math: During week 6, students will review angles and shapes, and start looking at solids. If you would like to have some fun with math at home, you might have your child measure the walls of rectangular rooms in your home and then challenge them to find the perimeter and area of those rooms. You may have to help them multiply two digit numbers by two digit numbers though, or you may have them measure in yards and round to the nearest whole number.

Science: This week, students will finish the Objects of the Solar System Museum activity. It has been great seeing the effort students have put into their posters and worksheets. The students have really seemed to enjoy looking at their peer's posters and collecting information. I have also been impressed with the amount of excitement students have had about what they have learned. They often come to my desk to share something about their object before school. 

The students will have an assessment on Wednesday. The latter part of the week will consist of a discussion on why Pluto is no longer considered a planet and what constitutes a star. You may enjoy watching a video that discusses how stars form from the New York Times at

http://www.nytimes.com/video/science/100000003302881/born-from-dust.html. However, please don't show it to your child ahead of time, as we want them to share the excitement of learning together.

History: This week we will be having an assessment on the southern colonies on Tuesday, May 3rd. We will be learning about the Pilgrims and the Plymouth Colony. The students will have a chance to decide if they would have signed the Mayflower compact! 

Tuesday: History Test (Southern Colonies)

Wednesday: Science Test

Friday: Spelling Test

Dear 3C Parents,

     We had another productive and exciting week in 3C!  The students and I thoroughly enjoyed our journey to outer space.  (This was an activity where we set up a scale model of the solar system to experience the relative distance between the planets and the sun!  It was a great time.) We also used some time to practice for the AZ Merit testing next week using the online sample tests.  

     Monday and Tuesday next week we will have AZ Merit testing. We ask that each student get a good night's rest before each of these days and a hearty breakfast. We also ask that you send your student with a good snack to keep them going.  Wednesday we will celebrate the end of testing by recapping our measurement unit by making ice cream, taking a few moments to relax, enjoy each other's company, and eat our ice cream!

     I am looking forward to all of the learning and we have left to do this year!  I can not believe we only have 5 weeks left.  See below for an explanation of what we will be covering next week. 

Best,

Ms. Caro 

P.S. Also a reminder that Friday there is no school! 

Language Arts;There will be no Spalding due to AZ Merit Testing. We will continue our journey into The Story of the World in writing class and diagram sentences and prepositional phrases in Grammar. Spring is finally coming to Narnia in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, your scholars are always sad when it's time to close that book!

Science: The students will continue to explore and research the objects of the solar system by studying the work of their peers in the museum project. Due to AzMERIT and no school Friday, their will only be two days of science this week.

Math: On Monday and Tuesday, students will spend some time reviewing math and developing their math sense through games and activities, in addition to the AzMERIT testing. On Wednesday, students will be reviewing measurement by making ice cream as a celebration of hard work this year and as a reward for their efforts during AzMERIT testing, which can be a heavy burden on young souls. On Thursday, students will start a unit on angles.

History: This week we will be reviewing for our Southern Colonies assessment which will be given on Monday, May 2nd. We will be reviewing our study sheet, playing Southern Colonies BINGO, and practicing an enjoyable reader’s theater about life in Jamestown. For homework this week students will only need to study to prepare for their upcoming assessment.

Dear 3C Parents,

The third grade team has decided to plan a fun celebration for the end of AZ Merit next week-making our own ice cream!  This activity will also coincide with the capacity unit that we recently covered.  I know it is a bit last minute, but we are planning this celebration for next Wednesday, April 27th.  We will be doing the activity in the outdoor classroom starting at 9:35, after recess.  If you would like to sign up to bring one of these items to help us prepare for this fun event please sign up here!  Thank you so much for all of your support!  

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d49abac2ca5fc1-icecream

Best,

Ms. Caro 

Dear Parents,

On April 28th there will be a coffee shop conversation to learn more about what you can expect next year in 4th grade.  One of the 4th grade teachers will be present to answer all of your burning questions!

Here is the link: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e084da5a929aa8-coffee2

Best,

Ms. Caro

Dear Parents,

We had a very productive and exciting week in 3C!  We have another great week ahead.  Below is an update about what we will be covering next week.  Please reach out to me with any questions!

Best,

Ms. Caro :)

Language Arts: We continue our journey into Narnia and thoroughly enjoying ourselves! The study guide for the Ch 1-10 test will go home on Monday. Grammar will be more diagramming of sentences with compound verbs and subject nouns. In Spalding we will have 30 words on our list.

Science: This week in science, students are continuing their discovery of the universe. On Monday, students will consider tides and how the moon, and sun to a lesser degree, impact their coming in an going out. On Wednesday, the students will be introduced to the planets and other objects of the solar system. This lesson will set the stage for the museum days in which students will learn from one another by taking notes from the project posters. On Thursday, students will travel outside to the south part of the campus to consider a scale model of the solar system. The aim on this day will be for students to consider the great size of the universe and how we are relatively small by comparison. Thursday is also the due date for the project. On Friday, we will begin the student project museum activity, where students will walk around the room to learn about the objects of the solar system from the efforts of their peers. This activity will continue into week five, as only ten students will present each day.

Math: In math this week, the students will be considering shapes, with a focus on perimeter. Students will review previously learned shapes and be introduced to others, with the goal of being able to identify regular and irregular shapes with three to ten sides. They will finish the week by discussing how shapes can have the same perimeter, but different area and vise versa. Wednesday will have a little bit of a different focus, as the students will be considering patters in mathematics. 

History: This we we will be discussing the colonies of Maryland, South Carolina, and Georgia. We will be covering the difficult concept of slavery and the plantation system. See last week’s blog post for more detailed information on this topic. On Monday students will be given a study guide. We will not have covered everything on the study guide yet, but we wanted to give students plenty of time to study for this assessment. The study guide is due on Monday 4/25and the test will be on Monday 5/2.

Dear Parents,

On Wednesday, April 20^th – Friday, April 22^nd, we will be hosting an Usborne Book Fair for spring.  

The goal of the book fair is to give our scholars the opportunity to purchase books for their personal library and promote reading during summer. It will also give the school an opportunity to add to its classroom and school libraries. The book fair will be held in the resource room, and it will run from 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. every day with an extended time period on Friday 22^nd until 8p.m during the Fine Arts and French event.  The book fair will open to parents at: 7:30-8:00am, 11:30a.m.-1:00p.m., and 2:45-5:00 p.m. We are very excited that the book fair will afford our scholars the opportunity to develop great reading habits and discover a genuine love of reading and learning. The quality and content of Usborne Books is phenomenal.  Profits from the book fair will go directly to children’s books for the Arete library.

 Students will be allowed to preview the books on Tuesday, April 19^th. They can make a wish list to take home, and then come back with you or their teacher to purchase the books.  You may send an envelope with some money so that your child can purchase books from the book fair.  Usborne accepts cash, check, and credit cards.  If you send a check with your child, it needs to be made out to our Usborne consultant, Kaycie Foster. Tax will be charged on all purchases, so take that into consideration when you are sending in cash with your child.

If you would like to purchase books to donate, the book fair has a wish list for each classroom and the school’s library.  For every book donated to the library, your child gets an opportunity to enter into a raffle to win a book daily. For the purchase of at least five books, you are entered into a raffle to win a book basket, daily. We look forward to seeing your scholars and our entire school benefit from this event. I will be available to take questions if you have 

any via my email:  oatolagbe@archwayarete.org

Dear 3C Parents,

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  Here is an update on week 3 of the 4th quarter.

Best,

Ms. Caro

Language Arts: We will have a 20 word Spalding list with our test being on Thursday as Friday is a half day. We're reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and everyone is enchanted with the book so far. in grammar will will be reviewing clauses and classifying sentences.

Math: During the third week, students start the week by being assessed on time and multiplication properties. They will then have an opportunity to consider area and measurements. 

Science: During the third week, students will be exploring the moon by reading part of an eBook created by the National Science Teachers Association. We will have a quiz on Wednesday over previous material, and we will discuss and make observations about eclipses on Friday.

History:  This week we will continue our exploration of the original 13 colonies.  We will be learning more about Jamestown and the Virginia colony.  We will be learning more about the real story of Pocahontas which coincides nicely with our current poem.  We will be discussing cash crops and their role in the Southern Colonies.  Additionally, we will be creating a timeline of pictures for the important events in this unit! 

Quizzes and Tests:

Monday: Math (Time)

Wednesday: Science (Space)

Thursday: Spalding

Spring Concert Event Details Greetings Archway Arete Parents and Guardians, I hope this beautiful spring season finds you well. Believe it or not, our Archway Arete Spring Concerts are fast approaching. This spring, the concerts will be held on Wednesday, April 6th at the Higley Center for the Performing Arts located at 4132 E. Pecos Road Gilbert, AZ 85295. The K-2 concert will begin at 5:30 p.m. with students arriving promptly at 4:45 p.m. The 3-5 concert will begin at 7:00 p.m. with students arriving at 6:30 p.m. The attire for concerts will be as follows: Boys: Black pants, white dress shirt, black dress shoes, and black socks. Hair should be combed neatly. Girls: Black skirt, white top, black tights, and black dress shoes. Hair should be pulled away from the face with no distracting adornment. Please follow the Archway Arete dress code for guidelines on jewelry. Working with your children is a delight and privilege. We look forward to enjoying this beautiful event with you. If you have any questions, please reach out to Stephanie Kaye at skaye@archwayarete.org . Please click here for a map to find Higley Center for the Performing Arts.  Thank You, Stephanie Kaye 2nd-5th Grade Music Teacher Archway Classical Academy │Arete skaye@archwayarete.org

Dear 3C Parents,

We had a wonderful first week back!  We had very few absences this week (no more winter colds!) and the students were in good spirits.  We had many great discussions regarding fairytales, the solar system, explorers, and time.  I am looking forward to a great rest of the quarter.  See below for an update of what we will be doing in week 2!

Best,

Ms. Caro

General Announcements:

• We will be having the Writing portion of the AZMERIT test on Friday 4/8. We ask that you please ensure your scholars get a good night's rest and a hearty breakfast to make sure they are at their best for this important achievement test.

• We will only have 2 book reports due this quarter as it is so short. Due dates are 4/28 and 5/20.

• Poetry recitation is 5/13; Pocahontas will be the last poem for the year.

• We will not be assigning any homework on April 6th as it is Spring Concert night.

• Please send your student to school with their copy of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by Monday.

Language Arts:
We will have our monthly Spalding assessment on Monday and a 20 word list. We are cancelling our weekly spelling test as we'd like the AZMERIT to be the only test on our plates for Friday. In writing we are exploring more about the ancient world by summarizing stories about the Israelites in Egypt. In grammar we will be reviewing conjunctions and classifying sentences. In TouchPebbles we will be discussing John Muir. Our proverb for the week is: "No man is an island."

Math: 
Students will be finishing up their look at time during the second week of the quarter. They will also spend time on Wednesday creating a "Multiplication Properties" foldable, which will strengthen their math sense and give them some tools for mental math. You might challenge them to use some of these properties with these problems: 8 x 5 x 0 (associative and zero property), 8 x 12 {[8 x 10] + [8 x 2]} (distributive property), or 9 x 1 / 1 x 9 (commutative and identity property).

Science: 
Students have had to make an argument for why the earth orbits the sun even though we do not feel like we are moving. From there, they had to discern why we experience days and why their are seasons. Instead of just accepting what they have been told, they have been challenged to think through why we can make an argument for it. Next week, they will be confronted with three other challenging ideas. First, students will be faced with the challenge that Copernicus's theory of planets orbiting the sun in circular patterns made the planets follow irregular patterns, though better than the theories than came before. Students will be introduced to Kepler, a German mathematician, who thought the planets followed an ellipse pattern and who was proved right. Second, the students will be challenged to consider why the earth doesn't fly off into outer space and why the sun's gravity doesn't pull our planet to a burning end. Third, the students will aim to understand why astronauts don't experience gravity as we do here on earth even though they are under the pull of earth's gravity. The aim is for students to not only know facts, but to understand why.

History:

We are beginning our exciting unit on the 13 colonies.  We are so excited to read about and discuss this important part of our nation’s history. We will be starting with an overview of the 13 colonies and discussing their similarities and differences.  We will then turn our discussion to Jamestown and the beginning of the Virginia colony.  We will be learning about Captain John Smith in more detail and discussing his policy that “He who does not work, will not eat.”  On Friday students will have the opportunity to do a reader’s theater about the Jamestown colony, time permitting with the AZ Merit.  Students will have a short assignment that will allow them to practice their map reading skills.  

The Third Grade Team would like to let you know that during week 4 of the quarter we will be having a class discussion regarding the slave trade.  Slavery will also be mentioned throughout the unit as it pertains to the topic. This information will be presented in a manner that is appropriate for 3^rd graders, but we wanted to make you aware of when we would be talking about this in case there were conversations you would like to continue at home on the topic. We are including a link to a Google Doc that has the information that your students will be reading in class on the subject. Please reach out with any questions or concerns.  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Smtz7jiU4mnXX8gXh3las-lLJgFdPzn_tPfZhemhl1A/edit

Quizzes and Tests:

Monday - Spalding Benchmark Assessment

Friday - AZMERIT Writing Achievement Test