Week 4

Dear Parents,

This week clubs are starting! If you haven't already signed your student up for an extra-curricular club, there are some great after school opportunities. I myself will be leading the Drama Club, where students will learn the fundamentals of theater.

Other important reminders:

1) Curriculum night is next Thursday, 7:00-8:00. Please come to get first hand knowledge of what your students are learning and how they are learning it.

2) Picture day is next Friday on September 4th. Students must still be in dress code for picture day. Please do not send them out of uniform or with non-dress code accessories.

In class this week:

1) In history we will be exploring the dark (or not-so-dark ages) ages. Be sure to ask your students questions about the period at home! You may be surprised just how much learning and progress took place after the fall of Roman civilization.

2) We are going to be finishing up Caspian next week and there will be a test Friday. The test will not focus on a memorization of the events of the book, but rather a discussion of some of the big ideas we have drawn out by reading about the adventures of Caspian and the Pevensie children. It will be open book test and we will flag passages that are important in class. Make sure your students are studying though!

3) In writing we will finally be learning cursive! This will be a difficult process for some, the best help from home will be giving them opportunities to practice. If they write anything, ask them to write it in cursive. They will probably be asked to use cursive for the rest of their Great Hearts career, so practice will pay off.

Homework loads are going to be increasing in the coming works, keep encouraging your students! Learning is frustrating, but its worth it. If your student ever takes longer than an hour on a single assignment, please email myself and Mrs. Wycklendt so we can take action at school to help them.

Thanks for everything you are doing to support us, we really appreciate you!

Best,

Mr. Ohbayashi

Week 3

Dear Parents,

From now on my posts will update you on events and tests coming in the next week. I will not check my blog daily, so please communicate with me via email, not comments on the blog.

The first two weeks of school have been hectic, but also thrilling. I have been very excited to get to know your students, and have found that they are thoughtful and enthusiastic learners. We have improved our handwriting, dived into C.S. Lewis's Prince Caspian, and even discussed the meaning of the virtues. I have been constantly impressed by your students ability to rise to the challenge of Great Hearts expectations. It was a big adjustment for everyone and we have had some bumps, but I am very optimistic about the coming year.

Next week we will be studying on new topics, so be ready to have discussions with your students about:

1) The glory and fall of the Roman Empire.

• Any at home research and discussion is always helpful to students in their history studies. Feel free to ask them questions and inform them of facts you know about Rome.

2) The adventures of the Pevensie children in Narnia.

• The best way you can help your children in literature is let them read to you. This will improve their reading and comprehension skills faster than any other method of instruction.

3) And the beauty of Nouns (!?).

•  Its hard to imagine how grammar can be exciting, but this week we will be exploring the power of Names in our language. Language, and the way it is formed, contains incredible beauty and wonder when we consider it carefully. Our goal is not to just learn how our language works, but to begin to explore its depths and master its power.

There will be no tests next week, but there will typically be a short quiz in history every week and bi-weekly in grammar. This will be a very short assessment (no more than five questions) meant to help us as teachers know how well your student is mastering the curriculum. These quizzes usually will not require very much studying at home, but I wanted to inform you of them.

If you have any questions or concerns about the coming week or in general feel free to email me at bohbayashi@archwaytriviumeast.org

Have an excellent weekend!

Best,

Mr. Ohbayashi

Week 1 (8/11-8/14)

Dear Parents,

We made it through our first week of fourth grade!

I have been incredibly impressed by your students' desire to learn. Last week we spent a lot of time learning the procedures and expectations of our new school and I know it was difficult for many, but every fourth grader is making an effort!

This blog will typically be used to communicate what we are learning in a particular week and upcoming test dates. I will check comments on the blog weekly (updates will usually come on Fridays), so in order to contact me it would be best to email me at bohbayashi@archwaytriviumeast.org .

I) This week we spent a lot of time discussing expectations and discipline, let me outline the way discipline will work in 4th grade at ACTE. We have four expectations:

       1) Raise your hand.

       2) Follow Directions.

       3) Respect your teachers and fellow students.

       4) Sit in scholarly position.

In a situation where a student has failed to meet one of our expectations, that student will receive a behavior infraction, which will be marked on their monthly calendar inside their homework folder. The purpose of a behavior code is to remind the students of our expectations and to communicate with parents about the incident. Behavior codes will be common in the coming weeks, because we will all still be adjusting to the new expectations. I recommend that you do not regard single behavior codes as serious offenses, but rather gentle reminders to correct behavior.

The codes are:
       1) TLK- Talking out of turn. This includes shout outs or talking/whispering during inappropriate                       times.
       2) FOL- Not following directions.
       3) DIS- Disrespectful behavior.
       4) UPL- Being unprepared to learn. Usually in the case of not having their homework or                                    materials required for the daily lessons.

If a student receives three of the same behavior infractions in a single month, a detention shall be issued. The purpose of this detention will be for the student, the teacher, and the Dean of Students to discuss how we can all work together to meet the expectations of our classroom.


II) Next week we will be learning about:

     1) The fall of Rome
             -Home research and discussions with your student about Rome would help them!
     2) Manuscript letter formation
     3) Prince Caspian
             -Feel free to have your student read their assignments to you! It helps a lot.\


I am super excited to continue the year. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Best,

Mr. Ohbayashi