Dear Parents,
Sorry for the late post again! On Monday I left school thinking there was something I had forgotten, and Tuesday morning I finally figured out it was my blog post! I have now set up a notification to remind me to post it on Fridays.
We are reaching the end of the quarter, my how time flies! As we close out these last few weeks make sure to keep encouraging your students. Its likely they are feeling a little stressed right now, but fall break will be a good reprieve from work.
This Week
1) In History we will be having a test this Friday! The test will be on Charlemagne, the Feudal system, women in the Middle Ages, and William the Conqueror. Quizzes 4 and 5 are good resources to use to study for this test. A study guide will be created for your students to study Thursday, so look out for that!
2) In Writing we will be learning about verbs and diving into diagramming sentences. Learning to diagram is an important part of understanding the inner workings of a beautiful sentence, it can also be incredibly fun if approached with the right attitude. Encourage your students to think of it like a puzzle or riddle to be solved.
3) In Reading we will continue to read King Arthur. The story is getting interesting; King Arthur and his knights are about to begin their search for the Holy Grail! Keep reading with your students, you can even direct them to a page number where you remember a detail they need to answer their focus questions, just have them reread and find the detail on their own.
You are all doing an amazing job parenting these kids, keep up the great work!
Best,
Mr. Ohbayashi
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Friday, September 18, 2015
Week 7
Dear Parents,
It's incredible that we have already gotten through 6 weeks of school. Time flies by! You may be starting to notice that its getting a little more challenging for your students. Don't be discouraged if they are struggling more than you have seen them do so before, we want them to struggle (at least a little bit) so they can learn that learning is sometimes difficult and frustrating, but always worth it!
Keeping that in mind, we also don't want to utterly defeat a student. Please let me know if you think the workload is overtaxing your student and we can meet to figure out how to help balance it.
This week:
1) In History we will be continuing to learn about the age of Feudalism. We will study the life of knight and codes of Chivalry. We will also learn about some important people who lived during the Medieval Age. Keep asking your students questions about what they are learning in history, it absolutely helps them understand and retain information when they can explain it to someone else.
2) In Reading we will continue to read the adventures of King Arthur and his knights. This book is much more difficult to Caspian was, so I recommend you continue to read it with your student if you have time. If you explain words they don't understand and have a conversation about what is happening in the story it will greatly increase their comprehension.
3) In Writing we will be copying and deconstructing sentences. The goal is to give students more practice reading and writing cursive and also start to explore what make beautiful sentences beautiful.
Other announcements:
1) There isa Peter Piper Pizza night for the whole school this coming Monday, 15% off all pizza! Ask your students for more details, they should have a flier.
2) A few parents have approached me wanting to organize a 4th grade family day. I am going to forward them all the contact info I have. If you would prefer your contact info NOT be forwarded, please send me an email at bohbayashi@archwaytriviumeast.org.
I am also going to send out a mass email asking this question, to make sure everyone gets it. If you do not respond I am going to share your email with a select few parents who want to organize the outing.
Can't wait to see your students for another awesome week!
Best,
Mr. Ohbayashi
It's incredible that we have already gotten through 6 weeks of school. Time flies by! You may be starting to notice that its getting a little more challenging for your students. Don't be discouraged if they are struggling more than you have seen them do so before, we want them to struggle (at least a little bit) so they can learn that learning is sometimes difficult and frustrating, but always worth it!
Keeping that in mind, we also don't want to utterly defeat a student. Please let me know if you think the workload is overtaxing your student and we can meet to figure out how to help balance it.
This week:
1) In History we will be continuing to learn about the age of Feudalism. We will study the life of knight and codes of Chivalry. We will also learn about some important people who lived during the Medieval Age. Keep asking your students questions about what they are learning in history, it absolutely helps them understand and retain information when they can explain it to someone else.
2) In Reading we will continue to read the adventures of King Arthur and his knights. This book is much more difficult to Caspian was, so I recommend you continue to read it with your student if you have time. If you explain words they don't understand and have a conversation about what is happening in the story it will greatly increase their comprehension.
3) In Writing we will be copying and deconstructing sentences. The goal is to give students more practice reading and writing cursive and also start to explore what make beautiful sentences beautiful.
Other announcements:
1) There isa Peter Piper Pizza night for the whole school this coming Monday, 15% off all pizza! Ask your students for more details, they should have a flier.
2) A few parents have approached me wanting to organize a 4th grade family day. I am going to forward them all the contact info I have. If you would prefer your contact info NOT be forwarded, please send me an email at bohbayashi@archwaytriviumeast.org.
I am also going to send out a mass email asking this question, to make sure everyone gets it. If you do not respond I am going to share your email with a select few parents who want to organize the outing.
Can't wait to see your students for another awesome week!
Best,
Mr. Ohbayashi
Monday, September 14, 2015
Week 6
Dear Parents,
My apologies for getting the letter up late this week, I wrote it but forgot to publish.
This week we will send out deficiency notices if students are struggling in particular subjects. A deficiency notice will be sent if your student has an overall grade of a D+ or lower in a class. If your student receives a deficiency notice, don't panic! They are common the first quarter, especially the first quarter of the first year of a new school. Students who get deficiencies half-way through the quarter still have plenty of time to bring up their grade. The deficiency will provide suggestions for what we can do to help your student improve, usually tutoring. These will be sent out by Wednesday, so keep an eye out for them.
In class this week:
1) In history we will be learning about the Franks and their leader Charlemagne, who re-united Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. If you want to research and discuss these events with your student it would help them in class!
2) In writing we will be working on identifying the difference between proper and common nouns.
3) In reading we will be continuing with King Arthur. This is a much harder book than Caspian, I strongly encourage you have your student read it to you out loud, so you can help them with comprehension. Ask them questions about the story, to make sure they know what is going on.
4) We are going to be reciting our poem this week! Make sure your student has memorized all three stanzas of "Afternoon on a Hill" by Edna St. Vincent Millay.
There will be no tests in History or Language Arts this week.
As always feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns! My email is bohbayashi@archwaytriviumeast.org.
Best,
Burk Ohbayashi
My apologies for getting the letter up late this week, I wrote it but forgot to publish.
This week we will send out deficiency notices if students are struggling in particular subjects. A deficiency notice will be sent if your student has an overall grade of a D+ or lower in a class. If your student receives a deficiency notice, don't panic! They are common the first quarter, especially the first quarter of the first year of a new school. Students who get deficiencies half-way through the quarter still have plenty of time to bring up their grade. The deficiency will provide suggestions for what we can do to help your student improve, usually tutoring. These will be sent out by Wednesday, so keep an eye out for them.
In class this week:
1) In history we will be learning about the Franks and their leader Charlemagne, who re-united Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. If you want to research and discuss these events with your student it would help them in class!
2) In writing we will be working on identifying the difference between proper and common nouns.
3) In reading we will be continuing with King Arthur. This is a much harder book than Caspian, I strongly encourage you have your student read it to you out loud, so you can help them with comprehension. Ask them questions about the story, to make sure they know what is going on.
4) We are going to be reciting our poem this week! Make sure your student has memorized all three stanzas of "Afternoon on a Hill" by Edna St. Vincent Millay.
There will be no tests in History or Language Arts this week.
As always feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns! My email is bohbayashi@archwaytriviumeast.org.
Best,
Burk Ohbayashi
Friday, September 4, 2015
Week 5
Dear Parents,
My apologies, this is the 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) The Prince Caspian Literature Test is pushed back from today (Friday) to this upcoming Wednesday, Sept. 9. The test will focus on the big ideas in the story, namely answering the question, "What is necessary to be a good leader?" The test will require examples from the story and the students have a study sheet to work from.
2) The History Test is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 11. It will cover the fall of Rome, the barbarians, early Christianity, and Charlemagne. Please be sure to have your students study their notes. A study guide will also be sent home this week.
Because of Labor Day, this weekend is an R&R weekend so no studying should be done. I hope they enjoy it!
In class this week:
1) In history we will be learning about the schism in the early Christian Church and about the rise of Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire.
2) In literature, after the Caspian test, we will spend Thursday and Friday memorizing "Afternoon on a Hill" by Edna St. Vincent Millay. Students should have the first stanza memorized on Thursday.
3) In writing we will be finishing cursive this week. Encourage your students to write their best at home as well!
Homework loads are going to be increasing in the coming weeks, 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 it. Enjoy your long weekend!
Best,
Mr. Ohbayashi
My apologies, this is the 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) The Prince Caspian Literature Test is pushed back from today (Friday) to this upcoming Wednesday, Sept. 9. The test will focus on the big ideas in the story, namely answering the question, "What is necessary to be a good leader?" The test will require examples from the story and the students have a study sheet to work from.
2) The History Test is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 11. It will cover the fall of Rome, the barbarians, early Christianity, and Charlemagne. Please be sure to have your students study their notes. A study guide will also be sent home this week.
Because of Labor Day, this weekend is an R&R weekend so no studying should be done. I hope they enjoy it!
In class this week:
1) In history we will be learning about the schism in the early Christian Church and about the rise of Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire.
2) In literature, after the Caspian test, we will spend Thursday and Friday memorizing "Afternoon on a Hill" by Edna St. Vincent Millay. Students should have the first stanza memorized on Thursday.
3) In writing we will be finishing cursive this week. Encourage your students to write their best at home as well!
Homework loads are going to be increasing in the coming weeks, 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 it. Enjoy your long weekend!
Best,
Mr. Ohbayashi
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