Quarter 3 Week 4: January 27-31

Families of 4C,

Athletic Field Day:
This Friday, January 31 is Athletic Field Day! Field Day for 3-5 grades goes from 12:00-2:30pm. Our team is Argos, and our students will wear blue athletic wear. Students may come to school in their athletic wear and wear it for the whole day. Please note that pop culture is not permitted on athletic clothes, but sports team logos and brands are acceptable. If you have any questions regarding field day attire, send us an email and we will happily answer them. We will need volunteers to donate coolers and snacks for this event. Coolers will be sent home with your student at the end of the school day. If you are interested in donating to this event, you may visit the Sign Up Genius here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0B4FAAAF2FAAFC1-athletic

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 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: 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 continue their study of geometry. On Monday, they will take their test over geometric solid figures. On Wednesday, they will be taking their weekly review quiz. On Friday, they will be taking their test area and perimeter.

History: Students will continue learning about the American Revolution. This week, they will learn about Patrick Henry and the Townshend Act.

Science: Students will continue their study of geology this week and will have their first review quiz on Monday. On Wednesday, students will be making their own volcanoes. On Thursday, they will take two review quizzes, one on electricity and another on chemistry.

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 #60-62. The review quiz will be over last week’s roots #57-59.

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: Geometric Solids
• Science Quiz: Geology
• Wednesday:
• Math Quiz: Week 4 Review
• Roots Quiz: #57-59
• Thursday:
• Science Quizzes: Chemistry and Electricity
• 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. Conforti
TMartin@ArchwayArete.org

--Mrs. LaVell
RLavell@ArchwayArete.org

Quarter 3 Week 3: January 21-24

Families of 4C,

Field Trip:
Our Field Trip to the Arizona State Capitol will be on Tuesday, January 21. Permission slips came home in your child’s take-home folder on Friday, and are due to the teacher this Tuesday, January 14. The cost of the field trip is $15. Please send the money to school with your child attached to the permission slip. We will be at the capitol in the morning and will return to school by the students’ regular lunch time of 12:15. Please send your child to school with their lunch as usual on the 21st. Students are permitted to bring a camera and spending money for the gift shop if they wish. I ask that you send your student with a maximum of $20 spending money if you decide to send them with anything. Please reach out to Mrs. Conforti and Mrs. LaVell with any questions regarding the field trip.

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 10 words. Due to the field trip on Tuesday and MLK Day Monday, we have a shortened words list this week. 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 10-word Spalding test on Friday.

Writing/Grammar: Students will continue their study of grammar for the next week before getting back into writing lessons. This week they will be learning about writing complex sentences. Before the AzMERIT writing test, we will be spending more time on writing to prepare students. After they take their writing test, we will get back into grammar lessons for the duration of the school year.

Math: This week, students will learn their next math concepts on geometry. On Wednesday, they will be taking their test on quadrilaterals and triangles. On Thursday, they will be taking their weekly review quiz. On Friday, they will be taking their test over geometric solids.

History: Students will continue learning about the American Revolution. This week, they will learn about the Stamp Act and the Townshend Act.

Science: Students will continue their study of Geology. This week, they will be learning about plate boundaries, earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes. There will be a geology review quiz on Wednesday.

Literature: This week we will begin reading our next literature book, Carry On, Mr. Bowditch. 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 #57-59. The review quiz will be over last week’s roots #54-56.

Poetry: Students will continue their memorization of the poem “Concord Hymn” by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Recitations for this poem will take place this Friday, January 24.


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

• Wednesday:
• Math Test: Quadrilaterals and Triangles
• Roots Quiz: #54-56
• Science Quiz: Geology
• Thursday:
• Math Quiz: Week 3 Review
• Friday:
• Spalding Test: 10 words
• Math Test: Geometric Solids
• Poetry Recitations: “Concord Hymn” by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Class Information:

Typing:
The skill of typing is an important one for all of our students to be able to learn and perform effectively. While I do not expect any fourth grader to be a typing professional, I would like to get them as comfortable as possible using a keyboard. Not only do we type essays in class, but students will be expected to type their essays for the AzMERIT Writing test in the Spring. For this reason, it is imperative that students feel comfortable enough to perform this skill.

I highly encourage you to allow your student to practice typing on a computer keyboard as often as possible at home. Many students are wizzes when it comes to navigating a tablet, phone, or other touch screen device, but many of them do not have proper exposure to regular computers. It would be beneficial if you and your student found something on a computer that they enjoy, that would also help them practice typing on a regular computer keyboard. I will be periodically updating the blog with any examples I find, and if you have any ideas, feel free to email us and share them! Thanks!

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.

Headphones:
All students need to bring in a pair of headphones to keep at school. Students are expected to use headphones whenever they do activities on the computer, such as Khan Academy and TypingQuest. They will also need to have them each time they take a standardized test. I have room in the classroom for students to keep headphones at school. Thanks!


--Mrs. Conforti
TMartin@ArchwayArete.org

--Mrs. LaVell
RLavell@ArchwayArete.org

Quarter 3 Week 2: January 13-17

Families of 4C,

Our class is off to a great start to the new semester! We have been very impressed with their maturity and ability to work hard this week after so much time off.

Field Trip:
Our Field Trip to the Arizona State Capitol will be on Tuesday, January 21. Permission slips came home in your child’s take-home folder on Friday, and are due to the teacher this Tuesday, January 14. The cost of the field trip is $15. Please send the money to school with your child attached to the permission slip. We will be at the capitol in the morning and will return to school by the students’ regular lunch time of 12:15. Please send your child to school with their lunch as usual on the 21st. Students are permitted to bring a camera and spending money for the gift shop if they wish. I ask that you send your student with a maximum of $20 spending money if you decide to send them with anything. Please reach out to Mrs. Conforti and Mrs. LaVell with any questions regarding the field trip.


Lessons This Week:

Spalding: This week, students will study their next 30 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 30-word Spalding test on Friday.

Writing/Grammar: Students will continue their study of grammar for the next two weeks before getting back into writing lessons. Before the AzMERIT writing test, we will be spending more time on writing to prepare students. After they take their writing test, we will get back into grammar lessons for the duration of the school year.

Math: This week, students will learn their next math concepts on geometry. They will be taking two tests this week on angles: one on Monday and one on Tuesday. On Wednesday, they will be taking their weekly review quiz. On Friday, they will be taking their test over parallel and perpendicular lines.

History: Students will continue learning about the American Revolution. This week, they will learn about the French and Indian War, the Seven Years’ War, and the early quarrel with Britain. They will be taking their first unit test over chapters 1-5 on Thursday.

Science: This week we are beginning our new unit on Geology! Students will first learn about the layers of the Earth, Alfred Wegner, the theory of Pangaea, and the movement of plates via the convection current. On Friday, they will take a review quiz on Meteorology.

Literature: We will continue reading The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and will finish it by the end of the week. Our next book will be Carry On, Mr. Bowditch. 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 #54-56. The review quiz will be over last week’s roots #51-53

Poetry: Students will continue their memorization of the poem “Concord Hymn” by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Recitations for this poem will take place on Friday, January 24.


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

• Monday:
• Math Test: Angles
• Tuesday:
• Math Test: Angles
• Wednesday:
• Math Quiz: Week 2 Review
• Roots Quiz: #51-53
• Thursday:
• History Test: Unit 4 Ch. 1-5
• Friday:
• Spalding Test: 30 words
• Science Quiz: Meteorology Review
• Math Test: Parallel and Perpendicular Lines

Class Information:

Typing:
The skill of typing is an important one for all of our students to be able to learn and perform effectively. While I do not expect any fourth grader to be a typing professional, I would like to get them as comfortable as possible using a keyboard. Not only do we type essays in class, but students will be expected to type their essays for the AzMERIT Writing test in the Spring. For this reason, it is imperative that students feel comfortable enough to perform this skill.

I highly encourage you to allow your student to practice typing on a computer keyboard as often as possible at home. Many students are wizzes when it comes to navigating a tablet, phone, or other touch screen device, but many of them do not have proper exposure to regular computers. It would be beneficial if you and your student found something on a computer that they enjoy, that would also help them practice typing on a regular computer keyboard. I will be periodically updating the blog with any examples I find, and if you have any ideas, feel free to email us and share them! Thanks!

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.

Headphones:
All students need to bring in a pair of headphones to keep at school. Students are expected to use headphones whenever they do activities on the computer, such as Khan Academy and TypingQuest. They will also need to have them each time they take a standardized test. I have room in the classroom for students to keep headphones at school. Thanks!


--Mrs. Conforti
TMartin@ArchwayArete.org

--Mrs. LaVell
RLavell@ArchwayArete.org

Quarter 3 Week 1: January 6-10

Families of 4C,

I hope everyone is having a good start to the new year, and that you were able to enjoy a relaxing time with your families over the holidays! I am looking forward to seeing all of our students on Monday, and am eager for a strong start to the new semester.

Math Tutoring:
There will not be any math tutoring this week. Tutoring will resume in week 2, on January 16 on an invitation-only basis. If it is recommended that your child attend math tutoring in the third quarter, you will receive an email later this week.

Winter Review Packet:
All winter extra credit packets are due on Monday, but I will accept them on Tuesday as well for any students who may have forgotten over the break. After Tuesday, winter packets will not be accepted for a grade or for the pizza party opportunity. Any students who completed any portion of the winter packet will receive extra credit in either math and/or ELA. Any students who have completed the ENTIRE packet will receive a pizza party with Mrs. Conforti (date TBD).


Lessons This Week:

Spalding: On Monday, students will be taking their 50-word Spalding test. This test is not taken for a grade, but is completed solely for data purposes. 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 Friday.

Writing/Grammar: Students will continue their study of grammar for the next two weeks before getting back into writing lessons. Before the AzMERIT writing test, we will be spending more time on writing to prepare students. After they take their writing test, we will get back into grammar lessons for the duration of the school year.

Math: This week, students will learn their next math concepts on geometry. While we are in the geometry unit, students will be utilizing Workbook 4B. However, students will be returning to Workbook 4A toward the end of the third quarter and the fourth quarter, as we learn decimals.

History: Students will be starting their study of the American Revolution and the framing of the Constitution.

Science: This week, students will be learning about the impact that humans have on the environment, and will be working in groups to make posters about different environmentalist concepts.

Literature: We will continue reading The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Please send your copy to school with your student. 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 #51-53. There will not be a review quiz this week, but review quizzes will resume regularly in week 2.

Poetry: Students will learn their next poem for recitation this week.


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

• Monday:
• Spalding Test: 50-words (not taken for a grade)
• Friday:
• Spalding Test: 20 words
• History Test: 13 Colonies

Class Information:

Typing:
The skill of typing is an important one for all of our students to be able to learn and perform effectively. While I do not expect any fourth grader to be a typing professional, I would like to get them as comfortable as possible using a keyboard. Not only do we type essays in class, but students will be expected to type their essays for the AzMERIT Writing test in the Spring. For this reason, it is imperative that students feel comfortable enough to perform this skill.

I highly encourage you to allow your student to practice typing on a computer keyboard as often as possible at home. Many students are wizzes when it comes to navigating a tablet, phone, or other touch screen device, but many of them do not have proper exposure to regular computers. It would be beneficial if you and your student found something on a computer that they enjoy, that would also help them practice typing on a regular computer keyboard. I will be periodically updating the blog with any examples I find, and if you have any ideas, feel free to email us and share them! Thanks!

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.

Headphones:
All students need to bring in a pair of headphones to keep at school. Students are expected to use headphones whenever they do activities on the computer, such as Khan Academy and TypingQuest. They will also need to have them each time they take a standardized test. I have room in the classroom for students to keep headphones at school. Thanks!


--Mrs. Conforti
TMartin@ArchwayArete.org

--Mrs. LaVell
RLavell@ArchwayArete.org

Quarter 2 Week 10: December 16-18

Families of 4C,

There is a full day of school on Monday, and Tuesday and Wednesday will both be half days with a dismissal time of 12:05. On Wednesday, we will be cleaning our classroom in the morning and we will begin our winter celebration after morning recess.

Please send your child to school with a sturdy bag on Wednesday to store their desk contents in over the break. I recommend either a tote bag or sturdy shopping bag, and I will have a few extra bags to give any student that does not have one, or if their bag breaks.

Please be advised that the last day for students to turn in any absent work or missing assignments is on Tuesday, December 17. After Tuesday, no late work will be accepted.


Lessons This Week:

Spalding: There is no Spalding this week.

Writing/Grammar: There is no writing/grammar this week.

Math: This week, students will be reviewing what we have learned in the semester so far. For any students that have completed all four levels of rocket math, they will have a celebration with Mr. Naaktgeboren on Tuesday and will be grandfathered in to the rocket math celebration at the end of the school year!

History: There is no history this week.

Science: Students will continue learning about the process of the scientific method on Monday. On Monday and Tuesday, they will be taking review quizzes over the first units we learned: chemistry, electricity, and life sciences.

Literature: We will continue reading The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Please send your copy to school with your student. 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 Tuesday, December 17.

Greek and Latin Roots: On Tuesday, students will be taking their cumulative roots review test over all roots learned this year, #1-50.

Poetry: Students will continue their memorization of the poem, “The Flag Goes By” by Henry Holcomb Bennett. Recitations for this poem will be on Monday, December 16.


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

• Monday (12/16):
• Poetry Recitations: “The Flag Goes By” by Henry Holcomb Bennett
• Science Review Quizzes
• Chemistry
• Electricity
• Tuesday (12/17):
• Roots Test: #1-50
• Science Review Quiz
• Life Sciences

Class Information:

Winter Review Packet:
There will be an extra credit packet sent home over the winter break. This packet is completely optional, but highly recommended to keep students’ brain warmed up over the long break. Complete pages from the packet will be taken for extra credit in the third quarter. Any students who complete the ENTIRE packet will receive a pizza party with Mrs. Conforti when we get back from break (date TBD).

Typing:
The skill of typing is an important one for all of our students to be able to learn and perform effectively. While I do not expect any fourth grader to be a typing professional, I would like to get them as comfortable as possible using a keyboard. Not only do we type essays in class, but students will be expected to type their essays for the AzMERIT Writing test in the Spring. For this reason, it is imperative that students feel comfortable enough to perform this skill.

I highly encourage you to allow your student to practice typing on a computer keyboard as often as possible at home. Many students are wizzes when it comes to navigating a tablet, phone, or other touch screen device, but many of them do not have proper exposure to regular computers. It would be beneficial if you and your student found something on a computer that they enjoy, that would also help them practice typing on a regular computer keyboard. I will be periodically updating the blog with any examples I find, and if you have any ideas, feel free to email us and share them! Thanks!

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.

Headphones:
All students need to bring in a pair of headphones to keep at school. Students are expected to use headphones whenever they do activities on the computer, such as Khan Academy and TypingQuest. They will also need to have them each time they take a standardized test. I have room in the classroom for students to keep headphones at school. Thanks!



I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and enjoy your time with loved ones! I look forward to a strong start to 2020 for all. See you in the new year!

--Mrs. Conforti
TMartin@ArchwayArete.org

--Mrs. LaVell
RLavell@ArchwayArete.org

Quarter 2 Week 9: December 9-13

Families of 4C,

This is the last full week of the first semester. Next week, there is a full day of school on Monday, and Tuesday and Wednesday will both be half days with a dismissal time of 12:05. On Wednesday, we will be cleaning our classroom and having our winter celebration to end the second quarter.


Lessons This Week:

Spalding: This week, students will study their next 30 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 30-word Spalding test on Friday.

Writing/Grammar: This week, students will continue their study of Grammar. We will be learning everything we have covered this semester and be doing some in-class practice for the cumulative review test this Friday (12/13).

Math: This week, students will be practicing their cumulative review over everything we have learned this far in the school year. They will be taking their cumulative review test on Thursday. Their cumulative review will cover place value, ordinal numbers, order of operations, factors, multiples, 2-digit multiplications, writing expressions, solving various word problems, and all things fractions (including adding, subtracting, multiplying, fractions of a set, ordering fractions, and word problems).

History: This week, students will continue their study of Arizona’s history and will take their cumulative review test on Arizona’s history this Tuesday. Later in the week, students will study ancient Rome and will begin learning about the start of the American Revolution.

Science: On Monday, students will finish the meteorology unit by taking the unit test. Students will also be learning about the process of the scientific method this week, and will learn how to use scientific observations to make predictions.

Literature: We will continue reading The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Please send your copy to school with your student. 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: Students will learn roots #48-50 on Wednesday. On Wednesday, students will take the review quiz over roots #45-47. Next week, students will be taking their cumulative roots review test over all roots learned this year, #1-50.

Poetry: Students will continue their memorization of the poem, “The Flag Goes By” by Henry Holcomb Bennett. Recitations for this poem will be on Monday, December 16.

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

• Monday: 
• Science Test: Meteorology
• Tuesday:
• History Test: Arizona’s State History
• Wednesday:
• Week 9 Math Quiz: Review
• Roots Quiz: #45-47
• Thursday:
• Math Test: Cumulative Review
• Friday: 
• Spalding Test: 30 words
• Grammar Test: Cumulative Review
• Monday (12/16):
• Poetry Recitations: “The Flag Goes By” by Henry Holcomb Bennett
• Tuesday (12/17):
• Roots Test: #1-50

Class Information:

Typing:
The skill of typing is an important one for all of our students to be able to learn and perform effectively. While I do not expect any fourth grader to be a typing professional, I would like to get them as comfortable as possible using a keyboard. Not only do we type essays in class, but students will be expected to type their essays for the AzMERIT Writing test in the Spring. For this reason, it is imperative that students feel comfortable enough to perform this skill.

I highly encourage you to allow your student to practice typing on a computer keyboard as often as possible at home. Many students are wizzes when it comes to navigating a tablet, phone, or other touch screen device, but many of them do not have proper exposure to regular computers. It would be beneficial if you and your student found something on a computer that they enjoy, that would also help them practice typing on a regular computer keyboard. I will be periodically updating the blog with any examples I find, and if you have any ideas, feel free to email us and share them! Thanks!

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.

Headphones:
All students need to bring in a pair of headphones to keep at school. Students are expected to use headphones whenever they do activities on the computer, such as Khan Academy and TypingQuest. They will also need to have them each time they take a standardized test. I have room in the classroom for students to keep headphones at school. Thanks!



--Mrs. Conforti
TMartin@ArchwayArete.org

--Mrs. LaVell
RLavell@ArchwayArete.org

Quarter 2 Week 8: December 2-6

Families of 4C,

I hope you all have a relaxing and enjoyable holiday with loved ones! It is hard to believe how quickly the second quarter is coming to a close.

Eval Writing Day:
As the semester draws to a close, Archway Arete teachers are hard at work drafting narrative evaluations for each of their students. This labor of love requires many hours of intentional reflection and to facilitate this process, our teachers are given one work day to focus on writing these evals. On Friday, December 6, Mrs. Conforti will be away from the classroom writing narrative evaluations. If you are interested in supporting our classroom during this absence, please email Mrs. Conforti and Mrs. LaVell (tmartin@archwayare.org and rlavell@archwayarete.org). Thank you in advance!

Lessons This Week:

Spalding: This week, students will study their next 30 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 30-word Spalding test on Friday.

Writing/Grammar: This week, students will continue their study of Grammar. They will be learning about the predicate nominative, predicate adjective, demonstrative pronouns, and state-of-being verbs this week. Next week, they will review the parts of speech we have learned about this year in preparation for their cumulative review nest next Friday (12/13).

Math: Students will continue learning about fractions of a set this week. In order to allow for more practice, I have pushed the date of the Fractions of a Set test to Friday (12/6).

History: This week, students will continue their study of Arizona’s history be learning about the Mexican War, the days of Arizona being a Territory of the US, and learning how Arizona finally became a state. They will also be learning about the state symbols and the state crest.

Science: Students will continue their study of meteorology this week by learning about the difference between weather and climate, as well as the people who study weather and climate. On Wednesday, they will review for their unit meteorology test that will be given on Thursday.

Literature: We will begin reading The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Please send your copy to school with your student. 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: Students will learn roots #45-47 on Tuesday. On Wednesday, students will take the review quiz over roots #42-44.

Poetry: Students will learn their new poem for memorization, “The Flag Goes By” by Henry Holcomb Bennett. Recitations for this poem will be on Monday, December 16.


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

• Wednesday:
• Week 8 Math Quiz: Review
• Roots Quiz: #42-44
• Thursday:
• Science Test: Meteorology
• Friday: 
• Spalding Test: 30 words

Class Information:

Typing:
The skill of typing is an important one for all of our students to be able to learn and perform effectively. While I do not expect any fourth grader to be a typing professional, I would like to get them as comfortable as possible using a keyboard. Not only do we type essays in class, but students will be expected to type their essays for the AzMERIT Writing test in the Spring. For this reason, it is imperative that students feel comfortable enough to perform this skill.

I highly encourage you to allow your student to practice typing on a computer keyboard as often as possible at home. Many students are wizzes when it comes to navigating a tablet, phone, or other touch screen device, but many of them do not have proper exposure to regular computers. It would be beneficial if you and your student found something on a computer that they enjoy, that would also help them practice typing on a regular computer keyboard. I will be periodically updating the blog with any examples I find, and if you have any ideas, feel free to email us and share them! Thanks!

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. If you need another login sheet, send us an email and we will send your student home with a new one.

Headphones:
All students need to bring in a pair of headphones to keep at school. Students are expected to use headphones whenever they do activities on the computer, such as Khan Academy and TypingQuest. They will also need to have them each time they take a standardized test. I have room in the classroom for students to keep headphones at school. Thanks!



--Mrs. Conforti
TMartin@ArchwayArete.org

--Mrs. LaVell
RLavell@ArchwayArete.org