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