Grandparent's Day

Grandparent's Day ~ RSVP here!

As a grandparent of an Archway Arete student, we hope you can join us for our first annual Grandparents Day Event! Coffee and refreshments will be served in our new library with the headmaster at 8am. An assembly begins at 8:30am where you can enjoy a song and poem recitation by our students. Virtue awards will also be presented. After the assembly you will have the chance to sign up for our special "Heritage Society" and have a tour of our campus. We hope you can join us for this special event!

Reserved parking in the front of the building will begin at 8am and please sign in at the front office desk before proceeding to the library or assembly. Overflow parking will be available at "The Falls" event center just East of our campus on Baseline Road.

Week 4

Good afternoon!

I hope everyone has a had a restful weekend! We have a big week ahead with DIBELS testing and our poetry recitations! The upcoming 3-day weekend will be well deserved! :) Here's what's on the agenda:

Literature:
This week we are continuing our Tom Thumb stories from around the world! We will read “Little Finger of the Watermelon Patch,” a story from Vietnam. Then we will compare and contrast the characters of Tom Thumb, Issun Boshi, Thumbelina, and Little Finger. There will be a small assessment on Thursday.

Spalding: There are 29 spelling words this week! Some of these words have silent e’s! Here’s how we remember them:

Job 1 – “vowel, consonant, e” (ex: time – e helps the i say i)
Job 2 – “v, u – job 2!” (ex: have, blue)
Job 3 – “c, g – job 3!” (ex: chance, charge – notice how the e helps the c/g say its second sound)
Job 4 – Every syllable must have a vowel. (ex: little)
Job 5 – no job e! (ex: are)

Please practice the following phonograms at home: b, d, g, r, t, ar, ay, ch, oo, ou. Spelling Test and McCall-Harby Reading Comprehension Test on Friday!

Words this week:
Monday: my, up, last, not, us, am, good, time, have, blue
Tuesday: chance, charge, little, are, ago, old, bad, red, of, be
Wednesday: but, this, all, your, you, out, may, into, him (Note: 9 words today!)

Grammar: We are learning about pronouns in grammar this week! We have a fun, interactive PowerPoint that will help us identify and come up with pronouns to make our sentences a little more interesting!

Writing: copy work and narration exercises from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Poem: “Caterpillar” by Christina Rossetti – We will recite in partners on Friday!

Idiom: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. (Golden Rule)

Math: This week we will have our second math test - on Tuesday! We were blown away by our first math test scores and are excited to see how we do on Tuesday after our unit 2 review on Monday. The rest of the week will be very fun as we work together to dig deeper into what it means to "add". This will include writing number sentences, making our own unique number stories, and learning about the addition and equals signs.

Homework will be as follows: Monday- review test B, Tuesday- addition worksheet, Wednesday- WB 25-26, Thursday- WB 27-28, and Friday- WB 29-30

Geography:
This week in Geography we will be learning about the continents and oceans of the world.  Students will be able to locate the 7 continents (Europe, Africa, Asia, North and South America, Australia and Antarctica), and the 4 oceans (Pacific, Atlantic, Indian and Arctic) on a map,  and will be creating a booklet with facts about each continent.

Science:
This week in Science we are continuing to study habitats, this time focusing on the forest and prairie. We will also take a look at animals and plants that live underground. We will discuss adaptations and interactions within each of these habitats and work on a world habitats mobile!

Have a wonderful week! :)

Spalding Rules

Spalding Rules

(Note: This is a shortened list that includes the most common rules and rules that we will encounter in the first section (A-G) of spelling words. We will send home more rules as we encounter them!)

1 - The letter q is always followed by u, and together they say “kw”
2 - The letter c before e, i, or y says “s”
3 - The letter g before e, i, or y says “j”
4 - The vowels a, e, o, and u usually say their name at the end of a syllable:
“A may say “a” at the end of a syllable.”
“E may say “e” at the end of a syllable.”
“O may say “o” at the end of a syllable.”
“U may say “u” at the end of a syllable.”
5 - The letters i and y may say “i” at the end of a syllable:
“I may say “i” at the end of a syllable.”
“Y may say “i” at the end of a syllable.”
6 - “English words don’t end in i.”
8 - There are five spellings for the sound “er”. The phonogram /or/ may say “er” when it follows w. (Ex: works)
17 - We often double l, f, and s following a single vowel at the end of a one-syllable word.
18 - We often use /ay/ to say “a” at the end of a base word.
19 - Vowels i and o may say their name (“i” and “o”) when followed by two consonants. (Ex: find, old)

Week 3!

It's already time for another wonderful week of school! Last week we really got to know each other well as we worked together to master our Spalding phonograms, learn about different landforms and geography in History, and display our impressive singing skills with Ms. Weddle. Here is a video of the students singing during music class:

We can't wait to see what this third week of school brings as we venture forward and keep learning and working together: Here's what to expect for week 3:

Literature:

In Literature this week, we will be starting Tom Thumb stories from around the world! We will read and compare these similar stories from England, Japan, and Denmark. We will also start sending home leveled readers this week! Please have your child read through the stories one time each night to increase fluency. We will check fluency on Friday, and new books will go home every Monday. Homework is to read for 15 minutes every night; the readers probably will not take this entire time, so please have your child complete their reading with a fun book of their choice!

Spalding:

We are excited to begin spelling words this week! Please listen to your child sound out the words and check to make sure markings are correct. Our first spelling test will be on Friday. It will contain all 30 words, as well as the ten phonograms of the week. We will also take the McCall-Harby reading comprehension test every week after the spelling test. This consists of a short reading passage that we will read to the class. There are ten “yes”/“no” questions that the students will answer following the listening of the story. (Please note that this reading test is not weighted as heavily as the spelling tests!)

Writing:

In Writing, we are doing copy work and narration exercises from Rumpelstiltzkin.

Grammar:

We are continuing to study nouns and discussing the differences between common and proper nouns. There will be a small noun quiz on Friday!

Idiom:

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (the Golden Rule)

Poem:

“The Caterpillar” continued! Work on stanza 2 – we will be reciting soon! J

Math:

This week we will continue to strengthen our addition skills as we take on some interactive activities with number bonds, number stories, and matching number pairs. We will have a chance to practice combining parts to make a whole number and decipher how we can break down different whole numbers within 10 into two parts. Last, your super scholars will also be taking their 1st grade beginning of the year addition and subtraction Singapore assessment tests. We will make sure to allow a lot of room to breathe and re-assess as they navigate through these assessments.

History:

This week in Geography we will be studying bodies of water, such as oceans, lakes and rivers.  We will discover the major rivers of our own country and discuss why they are so valuable to the communities around them.  We will review landforms and bodies of water in preparation for a simple quiz on Monday using a variety of interactive mediums. The students should have a delightful time of discovery learning new vocabulary for this unit.

Science:

This week we will be begin a unit about habitats. During this unit, we will explore plants, animals, and environments around the world. The students will describe, compare, and contrast habitats. The first habitat that students will study is a familiar one: the desert. We will learn about how desert animals and plants are able to survive in that environment. We will also begin to explore forest habitats and learn about plants and animals that live in them.

After School Clubs

A message from our Extracurricular Coordinator:

Greetings Families,

Last week we were happy to introduce the fall 2016 schedule for clubs via the school newsletter. This week we would like to introduce the new portal for club registration and payment. This is a significant change from last year, as we are transitioning away from Wufoo to a Great Hearts wide platform, Configio.

To view available clubs, click here. This will also be linked on the ArchwayArete.org site under “Announcements” in the left-hand column.  When you arrive at Archway Arete’s Configio page, you will find the eleven clubs being offered by Archway Arete staff. At the present, Friday, August 19, the clubs are available to be seen, but you cannot currently register or make payment. Clubs will open for registration and payment on Saturday, August 20, at 8:00 a.m. We have provided this delay to give everyone an equal opportunity to register. Every club has a maximum number of spots and spots are filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.

To register and make payment for clubs, you will have to create a Configio account. If you select the “Notify Me” on a club of interest, you will be directed to a screen asking you to set up an account. Click on “Register for an Account” and provide the necessary information. This will be the only way to register a student and make payment for clubs and future field trips, as cash and check will no longer be accepted at the front desk.

If you haven’t registered for our third party vendor clubs and would like to please visit Chess Emporium and Play-Well TEKnologies (Lego Clubs).

If you have any questions regarding club registration, please email Michael Naaktgeboren, Extracurricular Coordinator, at mnaaktgeboren@archwayarete.org.

Curriculum Night

Dear Parents,

You are cordially invited to our Curriculum Night events, taking place on Wednesday, August 17th 
(grades K-2) and Wednesday, August 24th (grades 3-5). The event starts at 6:00 p.m. in the Arete gymnasium, with opening remarks from Mr. Gillingham, Ms. Pantalena, and Mrs. Mason.

The purpose of this event is to acquaint you with the school's curriculum and individual classroom procedures across all grade levels. Teachers will give parents an opportunity to ask questions. (Please note, this is a parent only event.) We look forward to seeing you there!

Curriculum Night Schedule

6:00-6:25	Welcome and opening remarks in gym (Mr. Gillingham, Ms. Pantalena, and Mrs. Mason)
	A-L	M-Z
6:30-7:10	Homeroom	Specials in MPR
7:15-7:55	Specials in MPR	Homeroom

Week 2

Wow! It's hard to believe we're already entering week 2! We had fun this last week listening to some of Aesop's Fables, discussing our virtues, and applying the steps of the scientific method to "save Fred".

We're looking forward to another week of fun and hope to see you all at Curriculum Night on Wednesday! Here's what's coming up in week 2:

Literature:
In Literature, we will continue to explore the morals in Aesop’s Fables. We will read “The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs,” “The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing,” “The Maid and the Milk Pail,” and “The Fox and the Crane”. We will talk about the human-like characteristics that the animals have and the different virtues that could have been shown in the stories, had the characters made different choices. We will take a mini quiz on Aesop’s Fables on Friday, where students will match up each moral with the corresponding story we covered in class.

Spalding:
This week we will be working on forming our capital manuscript letters. We will also be working on two-letter phonograms to prepare us for our upcoming spelling words! At home, please listen to your child say the sounds as they write each phonogram three times. There are also some old (single letter) phonograms to review each night!

Writing: 
In “Writing with Ease,” we will do copy work and narration exercises from The Adventures of Pinocchio.

Grammar: 
In Grammar, we will learn a noun jingle! We will discuss how a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea. We will also distinguish between common and proper nouns and apply this knowledge on a noun word sort.

Poem: 
“The Caterpillar” by Christina G. Rosetti – Continue to work on stanza 1. We will recite the entire poem on September 2nd in class!

Math:
In Math, we will start with ample review of our key concepts from last week so that our students can ace their very first test on Tuesday. Both the review and the test will give students a chance to master counting and comparing numbers within 10. Starting Wednesday, we will begin number stories and number bonds. We will use pictures and items to practice grouping and counting different features within sets. Please note that for homework this week students will receive a practice test for Monday, some important rest time after their first test for Tuesday, workbook pages 15-16 for Wednesday, workbook pages 17-18 for Thursday, and finally a very fun zoo animal themed number bond worksheet for Friday.

History:
This week students will be learning about various landforms in their world.  The vocabulary for the week will include; hills, mountains, islands, volcanoes (gases, eruptions, lava), deserts, plains, canyons and valleys.  We will learn about specific named landforms (Grand Canyon, Mojave Desert, Great Plains, etc.), and actively find their locations on the map.

Science:
In Science this week, we will continue to explore the scientific method. We will practice making careful observations and asking questions. We will review the steps of the scientific method by completing a science experiment on Thursday!

Week 1

Good evening! It was so good to meet you all at Meet the Teacher on Thursday! I know we're in for a great year!! We cannot wait to start learning with our new super scholars. :) This week is full of activities as we get back into the swing of things and a nice routine. Here is what we have coming up!

Literature:
In Literature, we have some exciting stories this week! On Monday we will read Kevin Henkes’ Chrysanthemum and discuss what can make us “wilt” and “bloom” and tie this in with our virtue of friendship. Tuesday we will begin our first unit, which is Aesop’s Fables! We will be reading “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” “The Fox and the Grapes,” and “The Dog in the Manger”. As we read each fable, we will discuss the moral of the story and identify common fable components. We will also be introduced to our first idiom “Sour Grapes!” This idiom refers to something a person decides is not worth having only after they find out that they cannot have the desired object.

Spalding:
This week we will be focusing on proper posture, pencil grip, and handwriting features. We will be learning how to form all of the manuscript lowercase letters, focusing on a particular handwriting feature each day. We will also be learning the single letter phonograms associated with each letter formation. We want to have a strong handwriting start, so please make sure your child is holding his or her pencil properly and forming letters in the correct way (left to right, top to bottom, etc.) We will be sending home a “Features Formation” packet to assist you in helping your child with homework!

Writing: 
We’ll be starting week 1 in Writing with Ease. We will do copy work and narration exercises from Little House in the Big Woods.

Grammar: 
In Grammar, we will be learning what makes up a complete sentence! The five components are: subject, verb, makes sense, has a capital letter at the beginning, and a punctuation mark at the end! We will be using both Shurley English and First Language Lessons for grammar this year. We are so excited to be introducing Shurley, as there are catchy jingles and it makes grammar fun for the students! This week we will be learning the Sentence jingle!

Poem: 
“The Caterpillar” by Christina G. Rosetti (The poem will go home this week to practice at home, and we will also practice in class! We will recite in partners or small groups on Friday, September 2nd. More details to come later!)

Math: 
In this very first and exciting week of math we will start off our first unit on Monday with some gummy bear fun as we practice sorting by color and counting within the number “10”. Throughout the week we will continue to practice counting and comparing numbers within “10” using different items and fun visuals. On Friday, students will have a chance to get up and be active as they practice putting numbers in order by organizing themselves into lines. Please practice counting and sorting at home too! I recommend having your children help in the kitchen or at the grocery store so we can continue having fun! This week’s homework will be very light; we will only have to finish any workbook pages that are not completed in class. By the end of the week pages 7-14 should be completed in the workbook. Please let me know if you would like a copy of the number cards we use in class to help your students count at home.

Geography/History:
This week in our Geography unit we will be studying maps and globes and how they represent places on the earth.  We will discuss ordinal directions through the use of a variety of games and activities. Students will learn about map keys, decode simple symbols, and find those symbols which are represented on a map.  Students will enjoy creating their own Compass Rose after learning about its usage on maps and globes, and how a compass in general, is beneficial to people in a variety of circumstances.

Science:

This week we will begin science by discussing what a scientist is and what a scientist does. Students will learn about and describe the steps of the scientific method. At the end of the week, students will apply what they have learned to conduct a science experiment!

We look forward to seeing everyone's bright and smiling faces tomorrow! Have a wonderful week! 

Welcome!

Welcome to 1A! We cannot wait to begin this journey with you!!