Sunday, October 29, 2017


Dear 4D Parents:
This quarter is moving quickly and we have an important week coming up.

Important Dates
:

  • Tuesday, October 31st - Read-A-Thon ends - Literacy Day - Dress as a Literary Character (We will have Literature Groups from 12;30-1:00 and we will be doing Reader's Theater, please sign up on the Literature group link to join us for the fun.)
  • Friday, November 3rd - Early Release - School ends at 12:30 for Teacher In-Service
  • Wednesday, November 8th - Parent Positive Series - 6:30-8 - Minds of Boys and Girls
  • Friday, November 10th - No school - Veteran's Day
  • Thursday, November 16th - Mandatory Winter Concert - 3-5 grades preform at 7:00
  • Wednesday-Friday, November 22-24 - No school, Thanksgiving Break


Believe it or not, the third annual Archway Lincoln Winter Concert is fast approaching. This year, the concerts will be held on Thursday, November 16th at the Higley Center for the Performing Arts located at 4132 E. Pecos Road Gilbert, AZ 85295. The 3-5 concert will begin at 7:00 p.m. with students arriving at 6:30 p.m.

The attire for concerts will be as follows:

Boys: Black pants, white dress shirt, black dress shoes, and black socks. Hair should be combed neatly.
Girls: Black skirt, white top, black tights, and black dress shoes. Hair should be pulled away from the face with no distracting adornment. Please follow the Archway Lincoln dress code for guidelines on jewelry.

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Academics this week:

The students will finish up their opinion paragraph with the typewritten final draft. We will learn how to classify and diagram prepositional phrases. We will also summarize a chapter of Prince Caspian in class. For our end of the book activity for Prince Caspian, the students will make 6 Character Trading Cards. They will be given a sheet with instructions for what each card should have on it. 



We will finish Prince Caspian on Friday. Our next book will be Robin Hood. I have placed a picture of the cover of the book in the margin. Please make sure your child has the book with this cover by Tuesday, November 7th.

We will begin our week in math with a unit test on Monday. After that, we dig deeper into the operations of fractions, reviewing how to add and subtract fractions with different denominators and learning how to add mixed numbers.

The final geology test is on Monday, 10/30. The next unit is Meteorology. We will discuss Aristotle and his thoughts on meteorology. The students will learn about the water cycle, the distribution of water on the Earth, and clouds.



In History we will continue our study of the Middle Ages and focus on life in a castle, and the role of knights in a feudal society. Students will virtually tour a medieval castle and learn the important components of their structure. We will then turn our attention to the steps it took to become a knight and why knights were instrumental components of the Middle Ages.

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Recess:
We still have two recess breaks for the hard working scholars. The only change that has occurred is that now two days a week, each class (in their 2 class groups) have access to the playground equipment after lunch. 4D and 4C use the playground on Tuesday and Friday from 12:25-12:45, directly after lunch. All other times are the same.





Sincerely,

Mr. Bergeron

Sunday, October 22, 2017


Dear 4D Parents,

It was a pleasure meeting with you all last week during our conferences. I enjoyed our conversations and I am confident we will have a very successful quarter. We had a great first week back and I am so thankful for all the birthday wishes, gift cards, cards and presents. I am honored to teach such a wonderful class and to have such a supportive group of parents and students.

We are in the middle of the Who's Reading Program and I hope your child has been enjoying being a part of the conversations. This program will culminate with Literary Day on October 31st. A permission slip went out last week that you need to fill out if your child is planning on dressing up for this day. Please have them turn that in this week, if they have not done so already.

This week's academics:

We will be writing an opinion paragraph in class throughout the week. We will have a quick check for vocabulary and characters on Chapters 1-8 of Prince Caspian on Monday. In grammar, we will begin learning about prepositions.

This week in math, we will finish our first fraction unit by studying how to convert from an improper fraction to a mixed number. We will review for our unit test on Thursday and Friday, and the test will be on Mon., Oct. 30.

This week students will learn about some rare geological features including geysers, hot springs, fumaroles, and mud pots. The students will learn about the four types of mountains and three types of rocks. The science test is moved to Monday, October 30th.

This week in in History we will continue our study of Feudalism. Students will play the role of lords and serfs and create their own medieval manor layout. We will have a review day on Thursday providing an overview of Middle Ages thus far. On Friday students will have a quiz on the Middle Ages. The review on Thursday and their Thursday night homework sheet will help to prepare them for Friday's quiz.
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This quarter, we've begun a system for participation. It's called STAR which stands for Sit up, Tract the speaker, Ask/Answer questions, Respect our space. Each Monday, we will send out a report on how well your child did the previous week in these areas.

Needed for the classroom: Tissues, and hand sanitizer.  

Sincerely,
Mr. Bergeron

Sunday, October 15, 2017


Dear 4D Parents:

Welcome back! I hope you and your family had a wonderful break. I am eager to begin this next quarter, and of course meet  with you all at conferences this week.

We are in the middle of the Who's Reading Program and I hope your child has been enjoying being a part of the conversations. This program will culminate with Literary Day on October 31st, where your child can dress as their favorite character in Literature.

Academics this week:


We will pick up ELA with sentence revisions and continued understanding of setting. The students will receive their copy of Paul Revere's Ride which includes the dates to memorize the stanzas by. This poem is the fourth grade project and will be recited January 8-10. It is a daunting task but if they keep up with the plan, it will be completed well and worth the effort.

In math this week, we will continue studying fractions. We will learn about mixed numbers and improper fractions and how to convert from one to another. Please continue practicing multiplication and division facts with your student, because these facts keep recurring as we explore concepts relating to fractions.

As you practice math facts I recommend using the Rocket Math App. I have included a link (under Helpful Links in the right hand margin of this blog. This is a fun way to have your child learn their facts. I encourage you to utilize this or something similar.

In science, we will continue our study of volcanoes. We will discuss the types and parts of volcanoes, and types of lava. The students will learn about famous volcanoes such as Mount St. Helens and Mount Vesuvius.

This week in history we will continue learning about the Middle Ages. We will focus on feudalism and the hierarchy of kings, lords, knights and serfs. We will focus more specifically on the role of serfs as we progress through the week.

I'm looking forward to meeting with each of you during our scheduled conference time this week.

Sincerely,
Mr. Bergeron

Sunday, October 1, 2017


Dear 4D Parents,


We are about to begin our final week of the First Quarter!  We have shared so many great memories as a class, and I am truly fortunate to be able to teach such an amazing group of scholars. I am looking forward to more great memories as we continue through this year.



 Here are some important dates that are coming up:

  • 10-3 - 4th Grade Coffee Talk from 8:15 - 9:30 a.m.
  • 10-6 - Early dismissal - 12:30
  • 10/9-10/13 - Fall Break
  • 10/16-10/18 - Mandatory Parent/Teacher conferences (10/18 conferences in the afternoon)
  • 10-18 - School resumes, second quarter begins

Our Scholastic Book Fair Is in full swing. Here is the link for our book fair, if you'd like to order online http://www.scholastic.com/bf/archwayclassicalacadlincoln

We will not have a regular library time this Thursday. Instead, the students will have the option to purchase items from the book fair during our scheduled library time. If you would like to browse the items with your child, please feel free to come by the book fair when it is open.

Book Fair Hours:

  • Monday, Tuesday, Friday: 7:25-8:30am, 12:00-1:00pm and 3:00-4:30pm
  • Wednesday: 7:25-8:30am and 12:15 - 4:30pm
  • Thursday: 7:25-8:30am, 12:00-1:00pm and 3:00-7:00pm

Parents will be able to enter through the parent walk up gate and go to the library during the morning and afternoon hours. They will need to sign into the office during the lunch hour times.

Parent/Teacher Conferences: 
4D Homeroom Parents please sign up here



Conferences are for parents only.

Thank you so much for your continued partnership!



Literature Groups will take place each Tuesday from 11:30-12:00. This is a chance for volunteers (who have been fingerprinted) to come in and listen to a group of students read and then ask some prepared questions. The students always enjoy this time to spend with parents.

There will be a Sign-up Genius link sent out for volunteers.
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Academics this week:

We will introduce the literary concept of theme during literature and continue describing the characters that are introduced in the chapters of Prince Caspian we will read this week. On Friday, we will have the spelling/phonogram test and the students will individually recite the poem "The Violet".

In math this week, we'll continue our study of fractions. We will discuss comparing and ordering fractions with different denominators and adding and subtracting fractions with the same denominator. We will also continue practicing putting fractions in simplest form. **This is a key skill in fractions, one that requires fluency in multiplication and division facts. If possible, please review these math facts with your child at home!

We will go over the study guide for the second geology test on Monday and take the test on Tuesday. Then we began the last unit of geology with volcanoes.

This week in history we will continue our study of the Middle Ages. We will focus on the rise of feudalism and examine the relationship between kings, lords, knights and serfs.  Students will study heraldry and why it the importance to knights in the Middle Ages. Students will also make their own coat of arms using symbols and designs of the Middle Ages.
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Thank you for helping to make this quarter a success, I truly appreciate your support!
I'll see you at you scheduled conference. Please let me know if you have any questions. I hope you have a wonderful break.


Mr. Bergeron

Dear 4th Grade Parents, We hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. We were very excited to share such a wonderful day with those of you w...