As parents and educators it is our job to guide our children but it is also our job to learn from them. One of the things our children can teach us, or rather remind us, is to find the excitement and joy within the little things. Last week the class enjoyed a lesson about electricity, circuts, and conductors. The lesson involved seeing which materials conducted electricity to make a tiny lightbulb, no bigger than our thumbnail, light up. The joy and the excitement the students expressed each time the lightbulb lit up was huge!
HALLOWEEN: - This is just a reminder that Halloween is not celebrated in Great Hearts classrooms. Please do not send treats to pass out on Friday. - Every year the scholars and I have a fun conversation about our favorite type of candy. That discussion then leads to a reminder that candy is a great treat or dessert but it is not a snack. I know that, as parents, every one is very conscious of putting a healthy snack in the front pocket of the backpack but kids will be kids and candy seems to stick to them like magnets. Despite parents best efforts, every year candy somehow gets snuck into backpacks and desks. Scholars always seem very surprised when I discover it and I often hear them whispering to each other, "How did Mrs. Spencer know I had candy in my hand.?!?!?!" (One year I even heard a student whisper that he wanted to be a teacher when he grew up so he could see things without looking. ;-) ) Anyway, if a student pulls candy out for snack he/she will have the opportunity to put it in their lunch box for dessert. If a student puts candy in his/her desk for a mid-literature lesson treat, he/she will have the opportunity to put it in the garbage. :-) FOCUS ON EVENTS: Read-a-Thon - Our amazing PSO president, Tracie Petro, met with the teachers last week and asked that we remind everyone about participation in the Read-a-Thon. Please note that scholars are reading at least 30 minutes every day at school. That can be logged on the Read-a-Thon sheet too! If you have questions about the Read-a-Thon please read the weekly Athenian Echo that gets e-mailed every Friday. Historical and Literary Figure Day - This day will be on Friday, November 12th. Students may dress up as a historical character or a classical literary character. *Reminder* - pop culture characters are not allowed. Here is a list of characters that students have dressed up as in the past: Classic fairytale characters Classic book characters Aesop's Fables characters (One year a student dressed up Jack's cow from Jack and the Beanstalk.) Ancient Egyptian Characters Frog or Toad from Frog and Toad Owl from Owl at Home Winnie the Pooh Characters Sherlock Holmes George Washington Abraham Lincoln Famous painters and composers (I have seen some students come as a famous painting.) Robin Hood Albert Einstein and other famous scientists I know there is more but I can't remember them all. Still that list should give you some good ideas. E-mail us at any time if you have questions about if a character would be appropriate or not. More information is also located in the Athenian Echo. GENERAL ACADEMICS: Spalding - Students will learn 10 new words on Monday, 10 new words on Tuesday, and 10 new words on Wednesday. the 30-word review is on Thursday and the test is on Friday. Math - Numbers to 20 with a focus on addition methods including counting on, and "making 10." *Note - "Friendly Notes Part 2 is going home in the students red homework folders today. This information page includes the addition methods students are learning in class. History - Ancient Egypt Literature - Folk Tales Grammar - The difference between sentences that are statements and questions. Poetry - "October's Party" by George Cooper (stanza 1 only) *Note - Poetry recitations are this week. UPCOMING DATES: October 11-29 - PSO Read-a-thon Tuesday, October 26 - Great Hearts Roosevelt Ground Breaking, 8 AM Friday, October 29 - Picture Retake Day *Students must wear school uniform Friday, November 5 - Half Day Dismissal, 12 PM: Academy In-service * Trivium Spirit Day * November 8-10 - PSO Book Fair Thursday, November 11 - No School: Veterans Day Friday, November 12 - Literary/Historical Figure Day Please see the Athenian Echo for more information about upcoming dates and events. ON A PERSONAL NOTE: Today is the 25th. That means only two months until Christmas! This weekend I rested a lot which was one of the best things I could have done. I also made some cute pocketbooks out of Dollar Tree potholders and Ziplock bags. Friends and family will be the victims... I mean recipients of the gift. (They really are super cute!) NAME THE GOOD: - Ahhh... restful weekends and lots of sleep is soothing to the soul. - I already mentioned it above, but it was seriously fun to experience the excitement of lit up lightbulb! - Almost everyone at Archway Trivium East really likes or absolutely loves their job!!! Have a exciting week!
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Hello there! Second quarter, to me, feels like the one that moves fastest. It also feels the most exciting. Mmmmm.... you may see that I feel that way for all the quarters. ;-) Probably because there is something exciting about each quarter. I like second quarter because it is fun. We go full swing into reading groups and lyceum math groups. The students are learning new concepts. The weather is cooler. It is wonderful.
SPEAKING OF COOLER WEATHER: Water bottles - Yes. It is cooler, but students still get thristy. Please make sure your scholar brings a water bottle to school every day! Jackets - Students are allowed to wear their Archway Trivium East Fleeces and cardigans inside the classroom. Non-uniform sweaters and jackets can be worn outside. UNIFORM REMINDERS: Uniform shirts - All uniform shirts must be the white or blue polo shirts and they must contain the Trivium East uniform patch. With cooler weather there are long sleeved polo shirts available through Dennis and Anton uniform companies. Students are not allowed to wear a long sleeve shirt under the short sleeve polo. Page 39 of the Family Handbook: Boy’s Shirts- a. Short or Long sleeve polo with school crest b. Color: White, Baby-blue c. Fit: Shirt must always remain tucked in d. Vendor: Dennis Uniforms or Anton Uniforms Girl’s Shirts- a. Short or Long sleeve polo with school crest b. Color: White, Baby-blue c. Fit: Shirt must always remain tucked in d. Vendor: Dennis Uniforms or Anton Uniforms Please e-mail us if you have questions about uniforms. GENERAL ACADEMICS: Spalding - Students learned 10 new words today. They will learn 10 words on Tuesday and Wednesday, review the 30 words on Thursday and take the test on Friday. Math - Numbers to 20 - This week's focus is on identifying numbers and number words to twenty, recognizing that numbers 11 - 20 are a ten and some ones, number order, and comparing numbers. - This unit's "Friendly Notes" contain a large amount of information. "Number to 20 Friendly Notes Part 1" was sent home in your scholar's homework folder today. Science - Electicity - The Electricity unit test will be on Thursday. The study guide will be placed in your scholar's red homework folder tomorrow (Tuesday.) We will be reviewing the unit concepts in class on Tuesday and again before the test on Thursday. History - Ancient Egypt Literature - Aesop's Fables Grammar - Subject and predicate, identifying complete sentences and fragments Poetry - "October's Party" by George Cooper (1st Stanza only) HOMEWORK TIP: Focus on just 10-15 phonograms each day. Practice those 10-15 phonograms orally. Choose one day each week to have you child write them. Again, don't do more than 10-15 each day. That will help keep the phonogram practice down to just 2-5 minutes. UPCOMING DATES: Tuesday, October 19 - PSO Night at Chipotle Goodyear, 4-8 PM Friday, October 22 - Coffee with the Headmaster, 8:30 AM Tuesday, October 26 - Great Hearts Roosevelt Ground Breaking, 8 AM Friday, October 29 - Picture Retake Day Students must wear school uniform Please see the Athenian Echo for more information about upcoming dates and school events. NAME THE GOOD: - We are doing reading groups and Lyceum groups now!!! Yay!!!!!! - It is nice and cool out in the morning and so much nicer during traffic duty. Have a great week! Welcome Back! I hope everyone had the opportunity to enjoy extra quality time with their children over fall break! My fall break was pleasantly slow and well balanced between activities and relaxation.
PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES: I have already met with a few parents before having the chance to edit and publish this blog post. I do want to give those of you whose conferences are scheduled during the second half of each day a heads up. After conducting several conferences in a row, my tongue always seems to start tripping over itself and I jokingly wonder if I am capable of speaking clearly. :-) In all sincerity, tongue trippings or not, I do enjoy the conferences. Please note that, as of this moment, there are still some parents who have not yet signed up for a conference. I strongly encourage you to do so by copying and pasting this link into your browser bar: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E084CAFAF22AAFA7-fall1 QUESTIONS ABOUT VIEWING REPORT CARDS: The Athenian Echo that is e-mailed each Friday has general directions about access the parent portal. If you scroll down to the previous blog post that I published on the Monday before fall break there is directions that a parent wrote for me so that I could share with my future first grade parents to easily view the grades. I also e-mailed directions in a separate e-mail yesterday. SECOND QUARTER: Much of the 1st quarter, particularly in math, was a review and more in-depth exploration of the concepts taught in Kindergarten. The majority of the second quarter of math is the introduction and learning of new concepts. This includes methods of addition and subtraction within 20, making ten, mental math, shapes, patterning, geometric solids, and comparing numbers. All 70 phonograms were reviewed/re-introduced during the first quarter. During second quarter we will continue to practice the phonograms. The students will be learning new spelling rules and applying what they learned in first quarter to second quarter words. GENERAL ACADEMICS: Spalding - No new words are being taught this week. The focus will be on reviewing proper handwriting and letter formation. Math - Ordinal numbers Science - Electricity Unit UPCOMING DATES: October 11-13 - No School: Parent/Teacher Conferences October 11-29 - PSO Read-a-thon October 18-22 - Classroom Observations for Parents - Spalding or Singapore Lesson Tuesday, October 19 - PSO Night at Chipotle Goodyear, 4-8 PM Please see the Athenian Echo for more information about upcoming dates and events. ON A PERSONAL NOTE: Why do I include this portion in my blog? Good question. A few reasons I suppose. I enjoy writing and as I include general classroom information it seems perfectly natural to personalize my blog to contain more than just, "We are learning how to spell time, and add numbers, and studying electricity this week." It also provides a professional comradery that, I feel, makes it easier for parents to contact me if questions or concerns arise. Why do I usually include a "Naming the Good" as well? That is easy. Because there is so much good! NAMING THE GOOD: - Fall break was wonderful! I spent time with David, snuggled with my cats, took naps, and took THREE ballroom dance lessons while wearing my NEW ballroom dance shoes! - I really (really really really really) love my breaks but I do miss my students. Not a day went by that I didn't think about them and I am sincerely looking forward to seeing them again on Thursday! - Conferences have been going great so far! - The wonderful PSO has provided and is providing yummy food for the teachers during the conference days. Talk to you all very soon!! |
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May 2022
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