Distance Learning Packet Clarification

Hello all,

I noticed a confusing question on the math for today.

The problems that have a grid are long division problems and the grid is there to help keep things lined up.

I'm sorry if this was confusing and if you have any questions or problems please reach out. I also will also be posting the keys to the blog soon.

I did want to let you know that as of right now Great Hearts has asked us not to plan any Zoom activities so my wish to read literature is not possible at this time.

Quarter 4 March 23-27

Hello 4C Families!

I hope you are all well and enjoying your time together.  Our daughter is home from college in Minnesota and will be completing the rest of the term from home on-line  and our son will be starting his 7th grade packet that the Prep has prepared their students. We are happy to all be home together. We have been taking walks, watching movies, playing cards and board games and doing a lot of baking (and eating!). Our bunnies, Eddie and Ollie are happily flopped in the back yard as I write this and I am including their picture below.

You will have received the e-mail from Mr. Gillingham with the distance learning packet info.  If you need a paper copy of the packet that can be picked up at Archway Arete tomorrow.  Information about pickup was also sent out in a previous email that contains instructions and times.  If you do not have that information please reach out to me and I will make sure you get the information.  Mrs. Chilson and I will be there at 8:00 am to help with packet distribution and look forward to saying hello.

The rest of this blog will be about the lessons in the packet.  The days listed and the pace is a suggestion.  You may have your child work through the packet as you wish.  If you have any questions please let me know.

Typically literature is a lesson that is read to the students. They do not read the book independently.  I would love to continue reading this book to the class. If you would be interested in having your child log log on to a zoom meeting where I would read the chapter I would love to do so.  Please let me know if this would be of interest.  Zoom can be downloaded on a phone, tablet or a computer.

The electronic packet and the paper packet are identical.  If you are using the electronic packet you do not need to print the reading materials unless you would like to.

Lessons for March 23 - 27

Math: This week, students will spend time reviewing concepts they have already learned this year. The first worksheet for each day is a math facts review worksheet. The next page is four word problems. We recommend that students use bar models to help them solve these. The third page is the more difficult of the three pages. This is a collection of different kinds of problems the students have worked on this year. Students will have math work every day of the week

History: In history, students will be covering the first two chapters of the unit on the United States Constitution. The first chapter, “The Idea of Self Rule,” is followed by a page of fill in the blank and short answer questions. The second chapter, “New Constitutions for the States,” follows the same pattern. This week, students will only have history on Monday and Thursday. 

Writing: For writing, students will take the information that they learned in history by reading the pages and answering the questions to formulate a response to two writing prompts. Monday’s writing prompt is “Jefferson’s third important idea about government was ‘If the people do not give their consent that the government can have this or that power, then the government does not have it.’ What does this mean? Do you agree or disagree? What powers should the government have, and how does this relate to the idea of ‘Limited Government’? Please answer in at least 5-7 sentences.” Thursday’s writing prompt is “What does the word ‘democracy’ mean? Did the individual states create a true democracy as a model for their state constitutions? Why or why not? Please answer in at least 5-7 sentences with examples from the text.” Students should take the information from the readings and develop their own answers to these questions. This week, students will only have writing on Monday and Thursday.

Spalding: In Spalding this week, students will learn two new words a day Monday through Thursday. They will write the word three times with syllable breaks. For example, for the word chorus, they will write “cho rus” three times. They will then write a sentence using that word. The sentence should demonstrate an understanding of the word’s meaning. A poor sentence would be, “The word chorus starts with a c.” A good sentence would be, “The school chorus sang during our spring concert.” After learning the two new words, there are phonograms for that day. It is recommended that a parent help with these. On Friday, the assignment is to write a new sentence that demonstrates an understanding of the words’ meanings for all of the words.

Literature: Students will read the first two chapters of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz this week. Both chapters are in the packet, but students may use their own copies of the book if you have it. On Monday, students will read and annotate the first chapter, “The Cyclone.” We recommend that the child annotate the chapters as they read because they will be expected to write a summary on the following day. Thus, on Tuesday, the students will write a summary of chapter one. On Wednesday, students will read and annotate chapter two, “The Council with the Munchkins.” On Thursday, students will write a summary of chapter two. On Friday, the students will read a story called, “The Blind Men and the Elephant.” Following their reading of the story, they will answer three review questions in complete sentences.

Reading Comprehension: Each day, the lessons end with a reading comprehension worksheet. These are worksheets that your child has been doing throughout the year. We had been doing this reading sprint in 4 minutes when in class but there is no need to time these sprints at home.

Science: The science lesson for the week will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. The students will be reading articles on content that we have already covered, so these lessons will be both review and extensions of the content they have already been assessed on. Following each article are some multiple-choice questions. The Tuesday lesson also includes some short answer questions, which should be answered in complete sentences and vocabulary review. At the end of each science lesson is a matching exercise on past content to help students retain the lessons they studied earlier this year.

Grammar: The grammar lessons will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. The grammar lessons for this week are paragraph edits that require students to read an error-filled paragraph to find and correct the mistakes.

Additional Resources:

1. Great Hearts Coronavirus Page: https://www.greatheartsamerica.org/coronavirus/
2. Khan Academy: khanacademy.org 
3. Xtra Math: https://xtramath.org/#/home/index
4. Typing Quest: https://online3.typingmaster.com/login?id=pp8gsu2q7 
5. LibriVox: https://librivox.org
6. Madame Gebarra's blog:   http://gebaraaretefrench.blogspot.com/

If any student passes all four operations in Xtra Math please let me know! I can create a "2.0" account that has more multiples in a shorter time frame for them.

I am missing all of you and am thinking about you all.

Mrs. Chilson look forward to speaking with you this week! I will be calling half of the class and Mrs. Chilson will be calling the other half of the class.  Then, if closings run longer, we will alternate back and forth our half of the class so both of us will connect with all families.  Our goal is just to touch base, let you know we are here to help, and possibly to have a conversation with your child if they are interested. We are also always here to help and you may call any time during regular school hours 8-3.  If we are not available, please leave a message and we will call back as soon as possible.  In addition, you can text both of our phone numbers.

--Mrs. LaVell RLavell@ArchwayArete.org --Mrs. Chilson VChilson@archwayarete.org

Quarter 3 Week 9 March 2 - 6

Hello 4C Families!

This is our last week of the quarter and we have all worked very hard,  I hope you will all have a relaxing Spring Break! We have a busy week and I am looking forward to our class celebration on Friday. We will be watching Prince Caspian in class and enjoying some Prince Caspian themed food.  Thank you to all who are working to make that celebration possible!

Lessons This Week:

Spalding: This week, students will study their next 31 words. For nightly Spalding homework,
students should have the words dictated to them by someone at home and should write them
one time each in syllables. Any words that are misspelled should be written again for additional
practice. We will take our 31-word Spalding test on Friday. 

Writing/Grammar: We will do small writing assignments this week and paragraph editing.

Math: This week, students will continue their study of decimals and we will be learning how to
multiply and divide decimals..

History: The Americans have won the revolutionary war and we will be taking our end of unit test
on Tuesday.

Science: We will be doing AIMS review for the remainder of the quarter.

Literature: We will continue reading Carry On, Mr. Bowditch this week. Please send your copy of
this book to school with your student in advance. For nightly homework, students will read a book
of their choosing for 20 minutes every night, unless otherwise specified. Students will keep their
quarterly reading log in their yellow take-home folder.

All reading logs are due on WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4th.

Greek and Latin Roots: On Wednesday, students will be tested on roots 1-75. It is a multiple choice
test. I have offered a practice multiple choice test to help with studying and I have seen many of
them working on it..

Important Dates: *assessment dates are subject to be pushed back if necessary

• Monday:
• Poetry Recitations
• Tuesday:
• all make-up work due
• History unit 4 test, chapters 1-20

• Wednesday:
• Math Quiz: Week 9 Review
• Roots Quiz: #1-75
• Reading logs due
• Thursday:
• Math Test: B 7.2 Multiplying Fractions
• Friday:
• Spalding Test: 31 words

Class Information:

Xtra Math:

Any student who passes multiplication, addition, subtraction, and division on XtraMath will earn
a special secret prize from Mr. Gillingham! Please encourage your students to work on this at home
whenever you have spare time. Each practice session of XtraMath only takes about 5 minutes to
complete.

--Mrs. LaVell

RLavell@ArchwayArete.org

--Mrs. Chilson

VChilson@ArchwayArete.org

Quarter 3 Week 8 February 24 - 28

Hello 4C Families!

We had a great week and I am so thankful to Mrs. Chilson for her support and for making 4C her new home.  I am also happy to announce that Nathaniel Conforti has arrived!  Both baby and momma are doing well.  Your students were able to see a picture of Mrs. Conforti's adorable baby and we spent some time making a book of advice for her. 

Lessons This Week:

This week on Wednesday  and Thursday  morning we will have Galileo testing. Wednesday will be math and Thursday will be ELA. The only preparation is that your students are well rested and have had a good breakfast.

Spalding: This week, students will study their next 20 words. For nightly Spalding homework, students should have the words dictated to them by someone at home and should write them one time each in syllables. Any words that are misspelled should be written again for additional practice. We will take our 29-word Spalding test on Friday.

Writing/Grammar: Students will continue their writing practice this week. They have done a great job with our writing practice days and I can see that they are improving on their writing stamina. You should be very proud of the work they are doing and the focus that they have for these long assignments.

Math: This week, students will take a cumulative review test on units 1-6 and continue their study of decimals. They will learn about adding and subtracting decimals.

History: Students will continue learning about the American Revolution.

Science: Students will continue their study of geology this week. We will take our Unit 7 test and we will spend the remainder of the quarter doing review for AIMS.

Literature: We will continue reading Carry On, Mr. Bowditch this week. Please send your copy of this book to school with your student in advance. For nightly homework, students will read a book of their choosing for 20 minutes every night, unless otherwise specified. Students will keep their quarterly reading log in their yellow take-home folder. All reading logs are due at the end of the quarter.

Greek and Latin Roots: On Wednesday, students will be learning their next four roots on roots #72-75. The review quiz will be over last week’s roots #69-71. The multiple choice test on 1-75 will be next week

Poetry: Students will learn their next poem for recitation, “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Recitations for this poem will take place on Monday, March 2.

ALL MAKEUP AND LATE WORK IS DUE ON TUESDAY, MARCH  3


Important Dates: *assessment dates are subject to be pushed back if necessary

• Monday:
• History Test Chapters 1-14
• Math Test Cumulative 1-6
• Tuesday:
• Science Test Unit 7
• Wednesday:
• Math Quiz: Week 8 Review 
• Roots Quiz: #69-71
• Friday:
• Spalding Test: 20 words

All late and make-up work is due on Tuesday, March 3rd


Class Information:

Xtra Math:
Any student who passes multiplication, addition, subtraction, and division on XtraMath will earn a special secret prize from Mr. Gillingham! Please encourage your students to work on this at home whenever you have spare time. Each practice session of XtraMath only takes about 5 minutes to complete.


--Mrs. LaVell
RLavell@ArchwayArete.org

--Mrs. Chilson
VChilson@archwayarete.org

Quarter Three Week 7 February 17-21

Hello 4C families!

I hope you are enjoyed the long R&R weekend. We had a wonderful Great Hearts Celebration and I am very thankful for the kindness and love that you poured out on Mrs. Conforti  I know she was very touched and thankful to all of you. Mrs. Chilson and I plan to continue with the strong foundation that Mrs Conforti and I have laid and I anticipate a smooth transition. 

History: We will continue our study of the American Revolution. 

Literature: Students will continue reading about the life of Nathaniel Bowditch. For nightly homework. For nightly homework, students will read a book of their choice for 20 minutes every night unless otherwise specified. All reading logs are due at the end of the quarter.

Math: This week in math students will study rounding decimals and be tested on Friday.

Poetry: Students should continue to work toward memorizing "Paul Revere's Ride." Recitations will take place on March 2nd. 

Greek and Latin Roots: Students will be assessed on roots 66-68 this week and learn the next three roots. 

Science: We will continue our study of geology. 

Spalding: I am happy to announce that Mrs. Chilson will be taking over our daily Spalding lesson. Mrs. Chilson has been trained to be a coach by Great Heart’s Spalding director, Mrs. Clouse and I am excited that 4C gets to benefit from her expertise.  Students will learn new words this week and be assessed on Friday.


Scheduled tests and quizzes this week:

Wednesday: Greek and Latin Review Check (67-69), Math Quiz

Thursday: Meteorology Quiz
Friday: Math Test - Decimals (Rounding)

Friday: Rock Quiz
Friday: Spalding Test

Please send all e-mails to both me and Mrs. Chilson & please note that Mrs. Conforti will not be reading or responding to e-mail while she is on maternity leave. 

rlavell@archwayarete.org

vchilson@archwayarete.org

Quarter 3 Week 6: February 10-14

Families of 4C,

Please read through the blog until the end, and thank you for allowing me to use this week's blog as an opportunity to bear my soul and give kuddos to the 4C team we have assembled! This will be the final blog post I will write, as this is the last week I will be working before I begin my maternity leave. Next week, Mrs. LaVell will be taking over the blog to discuss weekly assignments, testing dates, and any pertinent classroom information.

I am so pleased with the partnership Mrs. LaVell and myself have built over the past two years working together. She and I both came into assistant roles at Arete part-way through the 2018 school year in fifth grade classrooms, which allowed us to establish a strong foundation of what we wanted to have as a classroom dynamic when we became partners in 4C. From the beginning of our time as lead and assistant in fourth grade, it was important to us both that we built a strong rapport and open lines of respect and communication with one another, teachers, students, parents, and other faculty members. I am beyond blessed and grateful to have had a loving and competent comrade in my journey as a teacher. Her support to me and to all of our students has remained consistently exceptional, and I know she will continue the routines and high expectations for the students of 4C for the remainder of the school year. I am excited for her to step into this opportunity as lead teacher for your children in my absence, and am fully confident in her ability to finish out the school year strong, bearing the responsibility of state testing, field trips, class parties, and the daily grind that comes with the rich learning we do here at Great Hearts.

I am equally excited with the opportunity of Mrs. Chilson stepping in to fill the assistant role in our classroom, and fully confident that she will do her due diligence to uphold the expectations of our classroom that have been cultivated with care. Mrs. Chilson has known many of the students in our class since they were in kindergarten, and the experience she has both with the school and with these students as individuals has given me peace of mind in leaving for a few weeks to take care of my personal responsibility as a new mother.

To ease the transition of team LaVell-Chilson and to better support the students of 4C, I kindly ask that you continue to CC both of them on all email communications just as you have done with Mrs. LaVell and myself. I find that students are more strongly supported when both teachers, parents, and other faculty members are all in open lines of communication.

Beginning Friday after school, I will have an out-of-office reply to my email address and will not be available for communication on leave from Feb. 15-May 18. RLavell@archwayarete.org and VChilson@archwayarete.org will be your go-to resources for any questions or concerns you may have for the rest of the year.


Great Hearts Day:
A Day for Friendship - 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. This many times 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.

In the morning, we will have a Great Hearts Day assembly and be doing buddy reading with our first grade buddy class. We will also have a library visit. Students will then have a couple hours of regular instruction time before lunch, and then finish with out Great Hearts Day celebration following their afternoon special.


Lessons This Week:

Spalding: This week, students will study their next 29 words. For nightly Spalding homework, students should have the words dictated to them by someone at home and should write them one time each in syllables. Any words that are misspelled should be written again for additional practice. We will take our 29-word Spalding test on Friday.

Writing/Grammar: Students will continue their writing practice this week. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, students will be practicing paragraph edits where they are to find errors in writing. On Thursday, they will do an expository writing assignment from start to finish, simulating what it will be like on AzMERIT writing day.

Math: This week, students will continue their study of decimals. They will learn about decimals by each place value, and learn how to round and compare the sizes of decimals.

History: Students will continue learning about the American Revolution.

Science: Students will continue their study of geology this week.

Literature: We will continue reading Carry On, Mr. Bowditch this week. Please send your copy of this book to school with your student in advance. For nightly homework, students will read a book of their choosing for 20 minutes every night, unless otherwise specified. Students will keep their quarterly reading log in their yellow take-home folder. All reading logs are due at the end of the quarter.

Greek and Latin Roots: On Wednesday, students will be learning their next three roots on roots #66-69. The review quiz will be over last week’s roots #63-65.

Poetry: Students will learn their next poem for recitation, “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Recitations for this poem will take place on Monday, March 2.


Important Dates: *assessment dates are subject to be pushed back if necessary

• Monday:
• Math Test: Hundredths
• Wednesday:
• Math Quiz: Week 6 Review
• Roots Quiz: #63-65
• Science Test: Geology Mid-Unit Exam
• Friday:
• Spalding Test: 29 words
• Science Quiz: Life Sciences Review

Class Information:

Xtra Math:
Any student who passes multiplication, addition, subtraction, and division on XtraMath will earn a special secret prize from Mr. Gillingham! Please encourage your students to work on this at home whenever you have spare time. Each practice session of XtraMath only takes about 5 minutes to complete.


--Mrs. Conforti
TMartin@ArchwayArete.org

--Mrs. LaVell
RLavell@ArchwayArete.org

--Mrs. Chilson
VChilson@archwayarete.org

Quarter 3 Week 5: February 3-6

Families of 4C,

There is no school on Friday, February 7.

Mrs. Conforti’s Maternity Leave:
Baby Conforti is expected to arrive any day now! Mrs. Conforti’s last day before going on maternity leave will be Friday, February 14, and she will be returning in May for the final week of the school year. In her absence, we are pleased to announce that Mrs. LaVell will be stepping in to fill the position as 4C’s lead teacher, and Mrs. Chilson from 4B will be coming in to help as 4C’s assistant! We are so eager to have Mrs. Chilson aboard the 4C team while Mrs. Conforti takes this much-needed time to be with her family! Please see the welcome note below from Mrs. Chilson.


Dear Families of 4C,

My name is Victoria Chilson and I have been a member of the Arete community since 2015!I have had the pleasure of working in Kindergarten, 1st, 3rd, and now 4th grade. I am excited for this midyear change and the opportunity to help in 4C during Mrs. Conforti’s absence. Aside from enjoying my career at Arete, my free time is spent with my family! My husband and I were married in October 2014 and I am the proud wife of a firefighter with the Scottsdale Fire Department. We have a 3 ½ year old daughter named Charlotte. She is an absolute joy and keeps us smiling all day long. In addition to Charlotte, we have our two dogs who mean the world to us, Lou and Harvey. We enjoy spending time outdoors, going to sporting events, and cooking together. We are also looking forward to Baby Chilson joining us this July! 

Thank you for entrusting your children with us, as I know they are your most prized possessions. I look forward to getting to know your families better for the remainder of the school year. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Warmly,

Mrs. Chilson
VChilson@ArchwayArete.org


Great Hearts Day:
A Day for Friendship - 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. This many times 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.


Lessons This Week:

Spalding: This week, students will study their next 20 words. For nightly Spalding homework, students should have the words dictated to them by someone at home and should write them one time each in syllables. Any words that are misspelled should be written again for additional practice. We will take our 20-word Spalding test on Thursday.

Writing/Grammar: Students will continue their writing practice this week. This week, students will be focusing on writing opinion essays. Most of this essay should be completed in class, unless otherwise directed by the teacher.

Math: This week, students will begin their study of decimals. They will learn about decimals by each place value, starting with hundredths on Monday.

History: Students will continue learning about the American Revolution. On Monday, they will take their unit test over chapters 1-10.

Science: Students will continue their study of geology this week. Our volcano making day has been pushed back to this Tuesday.

Literature: We will begin reading Carry On, Mr. Bowditch this week. Please send your copy of this book to school with your student in advance. For nightly homework, students will read a book of their choosing for 20 minutes every night, unless otherwise specified. Students will keep their quarterly reading log in their yellow take-home folder. All reading logs are due at the end of the quarter.

Greek and Latin Roots: On Wednesday, students will be learning their next three roots on roots #63-66. The review quiz will be over last week’s roots #60-62.

Poetry: Students will learn their next poem for recitation, “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Recitations for this poem will take place on Monday, March 2.


Important Dates: *assessment dates are subject to be pushed back if necessary

• Monday:
• History Test: Unit 4 Chapters 1-10
• Wednesday:
• Math Quiz: Week 5 Review
• Roots Quiz: #60-62
• Thursday:
• Spalding Test: 20 words

Class Information:

Xtra Math:
Any student who passes multiplication, addition, subtraction, and division on XtraMath will earn a special secret prize from Mr. Gillingham! Please encourage your students to work on this at home whenever you have spare time. Each practice session of XtraMath only takes about 5 minutes to complete.


--Mrs. Conforti
TMartin@ArchwayArete.org

--Mrs. LaVell
RLavell@ArchwayArete.org