Dear Parents,

Welcome to our fourth week of the third quarter. I hope you all had a great weekend. This is a bird’s eye view of our 22nd week:

LANGUAGE ARTS  

SPALDING – We will continue with our spelling list this week. Please, review homework as they come home. This week, we will have only two days of spelling.

List 1: mind, shall, alone, order, third, push, point, within, body

List 2: field, belongs, cheese, earn, edge, feather, fence, funny, going, honey

List 3: letters, orange, pocket, shoes, shoe, stairs, stream, talks, tiny, words

READING – READING STRATEGY: In comprehension, students will be able to differentiate between facts and opinion. We will also continue to reinforce the importance of identifying main ideas and supporting details alongside cause and effect relationships..

POETRY: Title: Our poem this month is “Smart” Author: Shel Silverstein. This poem will be memorized over the course of 5 weeks.  

SAYING: Get up on the wrong side of the bed .We will appreciate it if you use it at home because children retain sayings when they engage in it through meaningful use.         

GRAMMAR/VOCABULARY – We will continue to practice all parts of speech, the focus will be nouns again this week.

WRITING – As we continue working on Writing With Ease, students will continue to develop narration, dictation and copy work skills.

LEVELED READERS - Please, encourage your scholars to take their readings seriously. The goal is to phase all students into reading chapter books. All students will continue to do their reflective journals. For some, instead of writing the title of the text, they are expected to write the title of the chapter. Students are expected to hold on to chapter books for two weeks. We do not want them to rush through the books. We want them to form a habit of taking their time to digest the meaning behind every book they read.

MATH

This week, we will focus on subtraction of numbers mentally. Many students eventually learned a strategy or two that they now feel comfortable using while adding numbers mentally. I will suggest you give them random numbers in the car to add mentally. It is a skill that they have to use often to master automaticity.

SCIENCE

This week, we will learn about life cycles, but the focus is on insects with complete metamorphosis and incomplete metamorphosis.

HISTORY

  In History, they will learn about four great thinkers in ancient Greece: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Alexander the Great. 

VIRTUE OF THE MONTH - INTEGRITY

solidity and adherence to moral principle and character.

Walk tall in TRUTH

“We learned about honesty and integrity - that the truth matters... that you don't take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules... and success doesn't count unless you earn it fair and square.” – Michelle Obama

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• We will continue with guided reading and Math groups this week. I look forward to seeing all our wonderful parent volunteers.
• Please, sign up for our Fun Run Raffle Basket.

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c084facaa22a64-funrun/21050656

• Second grade will have their Greek Festival on Friday, January 30^th.
• Our wish list is still active:

- Kleenex

- Sani hand wipes

- Chapter books

Thank you for all you do to support our class!

Have a great week.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Toyin and Ms. Peterson

Dear Parents,

Welcome to our third week of the third quarter. I hope you all had a great three-day weekend. This is a bird’s eye view of our 21^st week:

LANGUAGE ARTS  

SPALDING – We will continue with our spelling list this week. Please, review homework as they come home. This week, we will have only two days of spelling.

List 1: know, no, were, where, there, here, dead, leave, early, close, close

List 2: flower, flour, nothing, ground, lead, led, lead, such, morning, however

READING – READING STRATEGY: In comprehension, students will learn cause and effect relationships. We will also continue to reinforce the importance of identifying main ideas and supporting details.

POETRY: Title: Our poem this month is “Smart” Author: Shel Silverstein.

This week week, we will focus on the literary elements. This poem will be memorized over the course of 5 weeks. (Each week students will work on one stanza, and build on to what they've learned in subsequent weeks.)

SAYING: Get up on the wrong side of the bed .We will appreciate it if you use it at home because children retain sayings when they engage in it through meaningful use.         

GRAMMAR/VOCABULARY – We will continue to practice all parts of speech.

WRITING – As we continue working on Writing With Ease, students will continue to develop narration, dictation and copy work skills.

LEVELED READERS - Please, encourage your scholars to take their readings seriously. Some students will begin reading chapter books this quarter. The goal is to phase all students into reading chapter books. All students will continue to do their reflective journals. For some, instead of writing the title of the text, they are expected to write the title of the chapter. Students are expected to hold on to chapter books for two weeks. We do not want them to rush through the books. We want them to form a habit of taking their time to digest the meaning behind every book they read.

MATH

We finally began using Books 2B in math. The students were so excited when they received their brand new books, but they realized after the first lesson that it’s a path through more learning. The first unit introduces mental Math. While students may assume this is easy Math, the goal is for them to solve problems mentally. If your child is not completing their workbook mentally, then they need a lot of practice with making 10 and 20s. Please, I will suggest we resume: http://gregtangmath.com/games

SCIENCE

This week, we will learn about life cycles, but the focus is on insects with complete metamorphosis and incomplete metamorphosis.

HISTORY

  In History, we will complete a review on Athens, Sparta, Olympics, and Persian Wars. Students will be tested on Thursday. They will begin the last part of Greece on Friday. They will learn about a symposium and some of Greek’s Great Thinkers.

VIRTUE OF THE MONTH - INTEGRITY

solidity and adherence to moral principle and character.

Walk tall in TRUTH

“One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised.”

- Chinua Achebe

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• We will continue with guided reading and Math groups this week. I look forward to seeing all our wonderful parent volunteers.
• Please, if you have any area of expertise that corresponds with what we are learning in any subject area, feel free to contact me about doing a presentation to the class.
• Second grade will have a Greek Festival on Friday, January 30^th.
• Our wish list is still active:

- Kleenex

- Sani hand wipes for kids

- Chapter books

Thank you for all you do to support our class!

Have a great week.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Toyin and Ms. Peterson

Quintus Camp

Looking for a fun, enriching program for your student over Archway Arete Spring Break? We have the answer: Great Hearts is pleased to announce Quintus Camp, taking place this Spring Break!

Designed for parents who want or need options for their students during school breaks, Quintus Camp is an enrichment camp with time for play, learning, projects, and activities - all in a fun "camp" atmosphere that will appeal to your grade K-6 student. With flexible packages for parents (ranging from half-days to full and extended days), Quintus Camp is the perfect choice for school break programming.

Quintus will run Monday through Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Archway Arete March 16th-20th.

If you have any questions, or need a copy of the registration brochure, please email the Quintus Camp Director, Ms. Prestipino, at Quintus.Arete@GreatHeartsAZ.org

Dear Parents,

 The second grade team of teachers will like to invite you to our Greek Festival taking place on Friday, January 30th. This initiative is a part of several culminating activities for our study of the ancient Greece unit in History. The festival has been divided into three main parts.

The first part of the festival will begin in the morning at 8am with nine Greek myth readers’ theaters. Each of the second grade classes will be presenting 3 myths. We invite all parents to join us for this presentation in the morning in the MPR. We would appreciate an RSVP so we know how many chairs to set up. We also ask that you support your child for the next two weeks as they practice the parts that they will be reading for the presentation.

The second part of the festival will begin after the presentation of the Greek myths. We would like to celebrate our scholars’ hard work and diligence in preparing for their parts.  We want to applaud their success by having some popular refreshments from Greece.  Each scholar is being asked to bring $1 to contribute to the celebration.  The deadline for the money is Friday, January 16.

The third part of the Greek festival will be a mock Olympic games for all second graders. The ninety students will be divided into two groups to represent the most popular city-states of Athens and Sparta. They will compete with each other on some common Olympic games that will be announced later. We are excited to see our second grade scholars mingle with each other and enjoy the fun feeling of being Spartans and Athenians for a day. We look forward to the fun and learning that will take place during Arete Olympic Games. Above all, we look forward to the laughter friendship and the communality that will originate from this festival.

All parents are invited to these events. If you would like to help manage some of the games during the Olympics, you are expected to have a finger print card. A separate sheet will be sent home for volunteers willing to sign-up in the coming week. You do not need a finger print card to come in and watch the reader’s theatre presentation. If you have not been fingerprinted, here is your chance!  Our Great Hearts Human Resource Department has been gracious enough to schedule a separate event for all of our Archway Arete and Prep families to have an opportunity to be fingerprinted. The event is scheduled for Thursday, January 22nd, 8:15-10:15 a.m. in the library and is open to all family members of students who are currently enrolled at Arete. We are asking for a $20 donation toward the school to offset the cost. We encourage your family and extended family to have this done if they are interested in volunteering for events at the school or being a part of your child's classroom. Please feel free to contact Office Manager Rachele Holcomb at (480) 222-4233, or via e-mail at rholcomb@archwayarete.org with any questions.

As part of the culminating activity for our Greece Unit in History, our class is supposed to do a bulletin board display of our learning about Greek gods and goddesses. For this reason your child has been given an opportunity to enter a contest for the most beautiful god/goddess picture display. All participants are expected to bring in a picture of their favorite god or goddess. They must show evidence of drawing or coloring it by themselves to reflect their personal creativity. The best 3 pictures will be showcased on our bulletin board display. Please, encourage your scholar to participate in this wonderful event that will showcase their talents and creativity.

Alongside this picture display, all students must write five sentences or a paragraph at least, describing their favorite god or goddess. They must include the following:

·      Name of the god or goddess

·      The reason for choosing the god or goddess

·      Two – three interesting facts you want people to know about the god or goddess

·      Their favorite myth about the god or goddess

·      One question they will like to ask the god or goddess if they had an opportunity to see him/her.

Student’s write-up must be free of errors, and it must reflect student’s genuine thoughts, comprehension of materials learned in class, and independent research about the god and goddess. Your words must fit in the scroll, and your drawing or picture of the goddess should fit on a normal sized A4 typing sheet. You can use the paper with borders included in this packet for your drawing. The god/goddess write-up is due on Friday, January 16^th. There will be no written reflection logs this week for reading.

Please, feel free to contact me if you have questions about the festival.

We hope you can join us! Thank you.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Toyin & Ms. Peterson

Important Announcement about Fingerprinting:

If you have not been fingerprinted, here is your chance!  Our Great Hearts Human Resource Department has been gracious enough to schedule a separate event for all of our Archway Arete and Prep families to have an opportunity to be fingerprinted. The event is scheduled for Thursday, January 22nd, 8:15-10:15 a.m. in the library and is open to all family members of students who are currently enrolled at Arete. We are asking for a $20 donation toward the school to offset the cost. We encourage your family and extended family to have this done if they are interested in volunteering for events at the school or being a part of your child's classroom. Please feel free to contact Office Manager Rachele Holcomb at (480) 222-4233, or via e-mail at rholcomb@archwayarete.org with any questions.

Dear Parents,

I hope you all had a great weekend. Here is a quick look at the second week of our third quarter. It is actually the 20^th week of school. I am half way through calling all parents. For some, I left a voice message. Please, feel free to call me back any time after school. I will continue phone calls this week.

LANGUAGE ARTS  

SPALDING – We will continue with our spelling list this week. Please, review homework as they come home. This week, we will have only two days of spelling.

List 1: road, rode, ride, March, march, next, indeed, four, herself, power

List 2: wish, because, cause, world, country, meet, meat, another, tripped, trip

List 3: people, ever, held, church, once, one, own, before

READING – READING STRATEGY: In comprehension, students will learn how to identify main idea and supporting details. This is a very important comprehension strategy that students have to know. A good way to support them as they begin learning this strategy, is to begin to ask them questions about main ideas and supporting details after completing their reading.  

POETRY: Title: Our poem this month is “Smart” Author: Shel Silverstein.

We had a wonderful conversation about the meaning of this poem on Friday. Students learned that it is a humorous narrative poem, and they were able to pinpoint particular lines that proved it to be one. This week week, we will focus on the literary elements. This poem will be memorized over the course of 5 weeks. (Each week students will work on one stanza, and build on to what they've learned in subsequent weeks.)

SAYING: To Turn Over a New Leaf means to make a fresh start, to change your behavior or attitude. (In the 16th century people referred to pages in a book as “leaves”. When they turned over a new leaf it meant they were turning to a blank page in a workbook to start a new lesson.) We will appreciate it if you use it at home because children retain sayings when they engage in it through meaningful use.

           

GRAMMAR/VOCABULARY – We will begin learning about adverbs this week. We will review nouns, verbs, pronouns, and adjectives.

WRITING – As we continue working on Writing With Ease, students will continue to develop narration, dictation and copy work skills.

LEVELED READERS - Please, encourage your scholars to take their readings seriously. Some students will begin reading chapter books this quarter. The goal is to phase all students into reading chapter books. All students will continue to do their reflective journals. For some, instead of writing the title of the text, they are expected to write the title of the chapter. Students are expected to hold on to chapter books for two weeks. We do not want them to rush through the books. We want them to form a habit of taking their time to digest the meaning behind every book they read.

MATH

We will continue division by 2s and 3s. Please, continue to work on timed mental math homework for multiplication and division. Please, help us ensure the time (2mins) indicated on the worksheet is adhered to.

SCIENCE

As we continue our unit on insects, we will learn about how insects use their senses. As we come to terms with these learning we will make comparisons with how humans use their different senses.

HISTORY

  In History, we will finish our learning on the Persian war. Please, expect a letter axplainingour culminating activities for our Greece unit. By now, you are aware that your scholars are presenting Greek Myths Reader’s Theatre at the end of this unit. Please, expect more information in the letters coming home tomorrow.

VIRTUE OF THE MONTH - INTEGRITY

solidity and adherence to moral principle and character.

Walk tall in TRUTH

“I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.”

                                                                                    - George Washington

Announcements

• There will be no handwriting tutoring anymore after school because we have finished learning how to write the alphabets and numbers. Now that your child knows the art, we will continue to encourage them to put in their best effort at all times.
• We will resume guided reading and Math groups this week. I look forward to seeing all our wonderful parent volunteers.
• We will have Math Tutoring on Tuesday after school at 2:50-320pm.
• Please, if you have any area of expertise that corresponds with what we are learning in any subject area, feel free to contact me about doing a presentation to the class.
• Second grade will have a Greek Festival (More on this to come home).
• Our wish list is still active

- Kleenex

- Sani hand wipes for kids

- Chapter books

Have a great week.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Toyin and Ms. Peterson

Dear Parents,

Happy New Year! Welcome back to our third quarter of the school year. I can’t believe the second half of the year is here. I hope you all had a wonderful time with your families during the holidays. On behalf of Ms. Peterson, and myself, I want to say a big thank you to you all for your support, encouragement, and kind gifts to us. Our hearts were touched, and we are truly blessed to have very supportive parents.

By now, you should have had time to look at your child’s report card. After making few calls, I decided to postpone my phone calls until after you view your child’s report card. I will resume my calls tomorrow afternoon with all hope that I will speak to every one before the end of next week. This is a brief look at our nineteenth week.

LANGUAGE ARTS  

SPALDING – We will continue with our spelling list this week. Please, review homework as they come home. This week, we will have only two days of spelling.

List 1: small, smaller, smallest, war, summer, above, express, turn, lesson, half

List 2: father, anything, table, high, June, right, write, wrote, date

READING – READING STRATEGY: In comprehension, students will learn how to monitor their own comprehension. This is a very important skill for constructing meaning.  

 One good way to monitor comprehension is through self-questioning. Please encourage your scholars to engage in self-questioning. If they cannot answer questions posed to themselves while reading, then they have to go back and read the passage again.

POETRY: Title:

Our poem this month is “Smart” Author: Shel Silverstein

This poem will be memorized over the course of 5 weeks. (Each week students will work on one stanza, and build on to what they've learned in subsequent weeks.)

SAYING: To Turn Over a New Leaf means to make a fresh start, to change your behavior or attitude. (In the 16th century people referred to pages in a book as “leaves”. When they turned over a new leaf it meant they were turning to a blank page in a workbook to start a new lesson.) We will appreciate it if you use it at home because children retain sayings when they engage in it through meaningful use.

           

GRAMMAR/VOCABULARY – We will review all parts of speech learned so far, and practice identifying and using direct quotations.

WRITING – As we continue working on Writing With Ease, students will continue to develop narration, dictation and copy work skills.

LEVELED READERS

Please, encourage your scholars to take their readings seriously. Some students will begin reading chapter books this quarter. The goal is to phase all students into reading chapter books. Let me know if you have questions about when your child would begin chapter books.

MATH

We will begin division by 2s. Please, continue to work on timed mental math homework. Please, help us ensure the time (2mins) indicated on the worksheet is adhered to.

SCIENCE

We will begin our unit on insects this week, and our focus will be on the characteristics of insects. The big question will be: What are the fundamental characteristics that all insects should have to be called an insect.

HISTORY

  In History, we will learn about the Olympics and the Persian wars. Children will learn about where the Olympics originated from and some of the games that people engaged in back in those days when it started. They will also learn about the courage of the Greeks when they were faced with the fighting a war against Persians.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

 Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see. ~Neil Postman, The Disappearance of Childhood (introduction), 1982

Announcements

• Due to cooler weather, shorts are no longer permitted. If your child wears a skirt, please have her wear tights or knee-high socks.
• There will be no guided reading or Math groups this week. Special thanks to : Mrs. Antoniello, Mrs. Lavell, Mrs. Gerson, Mrs. Zinke, Mrs. Everhart, and Mrs. Sinykin. These parents have been extremely supportive and helpful to us. We are thankful for you all.
• There will be no tutoring this week.
• Please, if you have any area of expertise that corresponds with what we are learning in any subject area, feel free to contact me about doing a presentation to the class.

Have a great week.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Toyin and Ms. Peterson