Winter Break!

Hello Friends!

I hope that you have a very wonderful winter break.

Evaluations:
You will receive a lengthy narrative evaluation on your child early in January.

Europe Project:
You may choose to work on the Europe project over break. If you have any questions, let me know.

Optional Reading Project:
Genre Pie! The students can choose to read books from various genres over break. When they read, they should write a 3 paragraph book report. If your child chooses to participate, they will be invited to the pie party! For every book report they write, they will receive a piece of pie at the pie party.
I hope that everyone participates as this is a great chance for students to read books that are outside of the narrow "classic" category that they are restricted to for the daily reading log.


Finally, thank you SO much for the generous Christmas gifts. Ms. Lee and I are incredibly grateful for your generosity.

Sincerely,
Ms. Prestipino

LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL! (Part One)

It's the first last week of school in fourth grade!
I can't even believe it, can you?

Assessments this week:
Science Test Tuesday
Roots Test Wednesday

I hope you have all seen the Europe Research packets come home!
This week we will give the students an opportunity to research at school. Please find book sources or online printouts for them to bring in and start using during the in class research time. This will be taking place on Wednesday and Thursday.

Winter Party!
We are really excited about the Winter party. There will be snacks and a craft.
See the sign up genius to help with this: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0f4aa8aa2caa8-endofyear/

The December Birthday Bash will be taking place during the party snack time. Remember to bring in something to share with the class on Friday! :)

Tax Credit Drive

Hello Wonderful 4B Families,

Please consider supporting our school’s extra curricular activities through a tax credit donation. This money would otherwise just go to the state, but if you sign up the money will go straight to our school! How amazing!  

Tax credit money allows us to run the wonderful clubs we have at Archway Arete. My own gardening club would not be possible without the help from the tax credit support. 

If enough of our families sign up, the kids will receive some cool rewards too like a denim day and an extra R&R weekend! 

We have 100% participation among the Arete staff members and now we just need your help. Tell your family and friends about this cool opportunity. We will all benefit from your support.

Thanks a million!

CLICK HERE to support our extra-curricular activities and clubs today!

Quarter 2 Week 9

Assessments this week:
Monday- History assessment
Friday- Spelling, Vocabulary assessment

*We have been reviewing fractions. there will probably be a quiz on Friday to see how their understanding of fractions has improved.


This week in 4th grade:

History: We are starting short unit on Africa. Additionally, be on the look out for a History Project!
Science: We will be wrapping up our unit on Meteorology. Our weather log will culminate in a graphing activity at the end of the week. There will be a test on the meteorology material next Monday or Tuesday.
Language Arts: We will be working on a expository essay and enjoying the book Pollyanna as a read-a-loud.
Math: We have been reviewing fractions. There will probably be a quiz on Friday to see how understanding has improved.

*I hope that some of our students will participate in the Bard competition! Please look for the application that is going home this Monday.

The December birthday bash will be on the last day of school, in tandem with out winter party. If your child is a December birthday, please plan on sending in a treat to share. There are quite a few December birthdays, and we would like to limit the sweets, so consider sending in small toys, glow sticks, pencils, stickers, etc to share with the class in lieu of cookie and cakes.

Archway Bard Competition

Archway Arete's First Annual Bard Competition

Throughout Western civilization, bards have been keepers of tradition, reciting the poetry of their people and passing on oral history. At every grade level, our students practice memorization and recitation of poems in the classroom. This year, we will be joining our fellow Great Hearts schools and holding a Bard Competition for our 3rd through 5th grade students, whom we will challenge to memorize and recite poetry. Over the course of two rounds and two poems, we will winnow the field to find our school's most skillful bard. That student would be named School Bard for the year and will represent Archway Arete in the Great Hearts Archway Bard Competition. If your student is interested in competing, they should fill out the application.  Whether your student participates or not, we invite all of our Archway families to these public recitations, which promise to be engaging reminders of this tradition.

Quarter 2 Week 8

Hello!
Welcome back from break!

There are no assessments this week besides the usual spelling test.

A LARGE assessment packet went home on Tuesday. Please be on the look out for that.

Math: The class overall struggled with fractions. We will be taking the next two weeks to review them, and other previous topics.
Science: We are learning all about weather!
History: We are studying the origins and spread of Islam this week.
Language Arts: We are wrapping up Robin Hood this week, reviewing previous grammatical concepts, and spelling as usual.

Quarter 2 Week 7

Hello!

Assessments This Week:
Math Test Monday
History Test Tuesday
Science Quiz Tuesday

It should be a great week!

Tutoring

There is no math lab or tutoring this week. 

Thanksgiving

There is no school on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week! 

Quarter 2 Week 6

Hello Friends!

Assessments this week:
Math Test Monday
Grammar Test Wednesday

Math: In math this week, we will be working with division and fractions.
Language Arts: We will continue to work with Robin Hood. In grammar we are wrapping up our unit in the implied "you" and pronouns. This will finish with a quiz Wednesday. We will be spelling as usual. Next week though, we will be taking a 70 phonogram assessment. You can be reviewing them at home!
Science: We are starting our new unit on Meteorology. Throughout the unit the students will be keeping record of the weather in a particular city. http://www.wunderground.com/history/ is a great website to use! I suggest bookmarking the site so it is easily accessible everyday.
History: We are learning about parliament, the 100 years war, and Joan of Arc. How exciting!

Don't forget!
The Winter Concert is on Wednesday!  There will be no homework this night so students can eat dinner, and prepare for the big show! This is a link to Ms. Kaye's blog:  http://archwayaretemusic.blogspot.com/

Quarter 2 Week 5

Hello Everyone!

This week's assessments:
Tuesday: History Assessment
Friday: Life Science Assessment
---You will see a science quiz come home in the test packets on Monday. This would be helpful to study, in addition to NB pages 28-43. A comprehensive study guide will be coming home.

Content:
LA: We will be adding more Robin Hood vocabulary words to our memory, and working on summarization. We will add more grammatical concepts to our repertoire this week with pronouns and the implied "you".
Math: We are studying mixed numbers and improper fractions.
History: There is an assessment on Tuesday covering the important historical figures of the Middle Ages in England. Afterwards, we will begin studying "Bad King John".
Science: We are wrapping up the Life Science unit the week. Please begin studying for this assessment on Monday. It is a very comprehensive exam covering a long unit. There will be fill in the blank definitions, multiple choice, true or false, graph reading, and short answer questions. If the children are able to clearly define each of the major terms found in their science notebook (pg. 28-43), they will be able to succeed on the assessment.

Science Project:
I hope you had a chance to look over the guidelines for the 3D Arizona Ecosystem project. I am very excited about this! It is intended to assess the student's knowledge of Arizona specific information. This is due on November 16th. I recommend working a bit each day. The children will present their ecosystem to the class- about 1 minute each.


Remember there is no school on Veteran's Day.

**A BIG thank you to everyone who helped make the Read-A-Thon happen. It was an amazing day and we had SO much fun.

Quarter 2 Week 4

Hello Wonderful Fourth Grade Families!

Assessments:
Robin Hood Quiz Friday
Fractions Test Thursday
Science Quiz Wednesday

Content:
LA: In language arts we are working on spelling. We are trying out a new format there. We do 15 words on Monday and Tuesday, study on Wednesday, play a spelling game in class and do a practice test for homework on Thursday, and then test on Friday. In grammar we are working on a descriptive essay. We will continue to read Robin Hood and take a quiz this Friday.
Math: We are working on fractions. See if you can practice these at home! We will be adding and subtracting fractions, with like and unlike denominators. There will be a test on Thursday!
Science: We are fitting a ton of content in this week. Starting with animal adaptations and survival strategies, we are in for some interesting stuff! There will be a quizlet on Wednesday covering notebook pages 33-38. They will need to be able to read a graph!
History: We will be discussing some important medieval figures such as William the Conquerer, Henry II, Thomas Beckett, and Eleanor of Aquitaine!


Winter Music Concert!

This year the Winter Concerts will be held on Wednesday, November 18th at the Higley Center for the Performing Arts at 4132 E. Pecos Road Gilbert, AZ 85295. The K-2 Concert will begin at 5:30 p.m. with the students arriving at 4:45 p.m. and the 3-5 concert will begin at 7:00 p.m. with students arriving at 6:30 p.m.

The attire for the 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 Arete dress code for guidelines on jewelry. 

Book Fair!
While the in-school book fair has ended, the online book fair begins! If you would like to get any classic books for your kids or the classroom, Scholastic will sell them through their online catalog. Please refer to my list from the last blog post for classic titles that Scholastic has to offer.
http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/archwayarete

Quarter 2 Week 3

Hello Friends!

Assessments:

Science Quiz-Wednesday.
--Students should study pages 28-32 in their Science Notebooks.

History Quiz-Thursday.
--Students will be quizzed on the life of women in Middle ages and Guilds.

Grammar Test-Wednesday:
--This will cover prepositions.

Robin Hood Vocabulary Quiz-Thursday.

*I will return all tests from 2nd quarter next Monday. Over the weekend, I was out of town due to a death in the family, and I unfortunately do not have everything graded. Thank you for your patience.

Content Snapshot:
LA: We are wrapping up prepositions. Students should be able to classify and diagram these parts of speech. We are reading Robin Hood, of course. Students will recite Dreams by Langston Hughes on Wednesday. We are doing spelling words per usual.
Math: We are beginning our fractions unit! Please find ways to reference fractions in your daily lives with the kids. You will be surprised how many fractions you can find around the house! (This is also a good excuse to bake a pie! There will probably be a pop quiz on fractions some time this week.
Science: We are learning about animals and their habitats this week! There is a quiz on Wednesday.
History: We are learning about women in the Middle Ages and guilds! There will be a quizlet on Thursday.


The Read-A-Thon is this Friday! If you can help, please do, and if you are already helping with this big event, thank you!
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0f4aa8aa2caa8-readathon
Students should dress up as a character from a classic story OR a person from history. For example, any child wearing ragged clothing could be called a "serf". I hope this is a really fun event for the kids!

Paired with the Read-A-Thon is a Scholastic book fair. This is located in our resource room. The children will have a chance to visit the book drive on Thursday. You can send them in with money that day, should you choose to allow your students to make a purchase OR come in during the times allotted before or after school. There are many books in the book fair that would not be considered "classics". If you do not like what your students have chosen to buy, you can certainly return it. I have made a "wishlist" of the classics that Scholastic has available.These are the titles I would highly recommend for your children. You can purchase any of them through their catalog or online. Should you choose to purchase any books as a donation for our classroom library, I would only like books from my "wishlist". Thank you for your support and love of reading!

	A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens Reading Level 6.7, 1080L Item # 317012 $17.99
	A Little Princess Frances Hodgson Burnett Reading Level 790L Item # 360983 $16.00
	A Wrinkle in Time Madeleine L'Engle Reading Level 4.7, 740L Item # 304495 $6.99
	Alice in Wonderland Lewis Carroll Reading Level 7.8, 860L Item # 9780439291491 $3.19
	Call of the Wild Jack London Reading Level 8, 1120L Item # 261813 $4.99
	Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl Reading Level 4.8, 810L Item # 309376 $6.99
	Chronicles of Narnia: Box Set with Movie Cover Cs Lewis Item # 295914 $23.99
	Chronicles of Narnia: Lion Witch & Wardrobe #2 Cs Lewis Item # 296696 $4.99
	Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian #4 Cs Lewis Item # 22296 $3.99
	Complete Adventures of Charlie and Willy Wonka Bindup Roald Dahl Reading Level 4.4, 760L Item # 323195 $9.99
	Cricket in Times Square George Selden Reading Level 4.9, 780L Item # 310800 $6.99
	Fantastic Mr Fox ROALD DAHL Reading Level 4.1, 600L Item # 319825 $5.99
	Heidi Johanna Spyri Reading Level 8.2, 960L Item # 329821 $4.99
	James & the Giant Peach Roald Dahl Reading Level 4.8 Item # 311706 $6.99
	Magic Finger Roald Dahl Reading Level 3.1, 450L Item # 27460 $3.99
	Matilda Roald Dahl Reading Level 5, 840L Item # 39747 $6.99
	Missing Golden Ticket and Other Splendiferous Secret Roald Dahl Reading Level 6, 1070L Item # 323200 $4.99
	Scholastic Classic: The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett Reading Level 6.3, 970L Item # 9780439099394 $4.99
	Scholastic Junior Classic: King Arthur James B Mason and Sara Hines Stephens Reading Level 790L Item # 9780439440646 $3.99
	Stuart Little Eb White Reading Level 6, 920L Item # 318985 $4.99
	The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Mark Twain Reading Level 8.1, 950L Item # 9780439099400 $4.99
	The BFG Roald Dahl Reading Level 4.8, 720L Item # 281390 $6.99
	The Hobbit JRR Tolkien Reading Level 6.6, 1000L Item # 336216 $8.99
	The Tale of Peter Rabbit Beatrix Potter Reading Level 4.2, AD660L Item # 9780590411011 $3.19
	Trumpet of the Swan Eb White Reading Level 4.9, 750L Item # 305619 $5.99
	Where The Red Fern Grows Wilson Rawls Reading Level 4.9, 700L Item # 20974 $6.99
	White Fang Jack London Reading Level 7.4, 970L Item # 83299 $5.99

Quarter 2 Week 2

Hello 4B Families!

Tests this week:
There is a history quiz in Friday.

Content Snapshot
LA-We will be memorizing Dreams by Langson Hughes. We will start right back up with our spelling words. We will read chapters 3-5 in Robin Hood. In grammar we will be introduced to prepositions!
MATH- We will be conquering double digit multiplication!
SCIENCE- We will begin learning about organisms and taxonomy!
HISTORY- We will be taking a look at the great eastern Emperors, Justinian and Theodora.


Spelling:
Public service announcement! Every Thursday for homework, the students are assigned a spelling "practice test". This involves the student and the parent. The parent will read the words to the student in the form of a mock test. Afterwards, the student should check their work. If they check their work and find inaccuracies, they should proceed to study those particular words to ensure mastery before the test on Friday. This homework assignment is very important, and I really appreciate your weekly involvement with this assignment going forward. Thank you!

Our Read-a-Thon is coming up! It will be quite the celebration in the classroom. Should you wish to help by way of food, supplies, or in-person help, please follow this link to volunteer: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0f4aa8aa2caa8-readathon
Our class will really appreciate your help!

If you are fingerprinted, we also could really use help during Math Groups! If you sign up, please mark the date in your calendar. It is really important that I have a leader for EVERY group, so a missing volunteer really is missed. Thank you for your willingness to help!
Here is the link to sign up: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0f4aa8aa2caa8-math

Read-A-Thon!

Read-a-Thon 

Mark your calendars for our second annual Read-a-thon! This special day will be on Friday, October 30th, and will occur alongside our first on-site book fair! Students may come to school dressed as their favorite classical literary characters, scientists, or historical figures. The goal of this event is to stir a continuous love for reading and an opportunity for lifelong learning. Costumes need not come directly from the grade level curriculum, though they must be classically on-mission. We kindly ask that you send costume ideas to your classroom teacher for approval by Friday, October 23rd. Be sure that costumes allow students to engage in regular school day activities like recess, lunch, and some curricular instruction. The headmasters, teachers, fellow scholars, and students' family members will read to students throughout the day. The Read-a-thon will be a huge celebration of reading for our entire school community!

Book Fair 

The Archway Arete book fair will run from Monday, October 26th - Friday, October 30th in the resource room. We look forward to providing this exciting opportunity for students and parents to purchase books for their personal and classroom libraries. The class that purchases the most books from the week-long book fair will be awarded a pizza party. Profits from the book fair will go directly to children's books for the Arete library. The book fair will be open for parents at specific times during the school day, so please plan to attend! There are prizes to be won for participating!

New Quarter

Hello Wonderful Parents!

With a new quarter comes a fresh start. I am so excited to be embarking on a new chapter of 4th grade. I look forward to seeing every student succeed!

There is a new tutoring schedule for October. It is as follows:

Mondays: Math Lab until 3:45
Tuesdays: Math Lab until 3:45 (with Ms. Prestipino)
Wednesdays: No tutoring
Thursdays: Ms. Prestipino is available for individual tutoring by request until 3:25, during Study Hall. Anyone is welcome to request extra help during that time.
Fridays: Ms. Prestipino is available for individual tutoring by request until 3:25. Anyone is welcome to request extra help during that time.
*There is no tutoring on half days!

Remember, this first week back from break is all half days to accommodate conferences. That means there will be no lunch, clubs, or tutoring. 
If you have not signed up for conferences, you may do so here:
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0f4da4ae2fa0fe3-quarter

If you would like to sign up for a specialist's conference, you may follow these links:
Art: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0948aaab28a7f85-quarter1
French: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0c4bafa72aa2f85-quarter

Content
LA: We are starting out new novel, Robin Hood! Please make sure that your child has this with them on Monday. There will be no spelling words this week to accommodate the half days. In grammar, we will be working on diagramming to perfect our skills. We will even do a bit of creative writing!
Math: We will be covering double digit multiplication and division.
Science: We are continuing out study of plants, and focusing on this flower. There will be a large quiz on Friday. This is the beginning of an even larger life science unit. There is a ton of material to learn, and I really think life science will excite your child's sense of wonder. Please, make sure your child is studying for science a little bit every night. Since we will be covering a new topic every day, it is important that each topic is reinforced at home as well.
History: We will be hosting Chivalry Week! There will be knights and ladies, and codes of conduct to conduct ourselves in the most chivalrous way possible. This will culminate with a Middle Ages test on Friday.


*I am also very excited to announce that the 4th grade classrooms now have a set of maps! Each classroom now has a World, Europe, and US map to help reinforce geographical concepts. This is all thanks to an SRP grant that I applied for in the Spring of last year. I am ecstatic to see this come to fruition! Thank you SRP!

Conferences

I will be holding conferences after fall break to discuss your child's progress and strengths.
Please follow this link to reserve your spot!
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/20F0F4DA4AE2FA0FE3-quarter

Quarter 1 Week 8

This is the last week of the quarter!
How exciting!

Math: We will be doing a review of concepts overall.
Science: We are kicking off the life science unit with plants! There will be a short quiz on Thursday.
History: We are still learning about the middle ages.
Language Arts: We will be finished with Princess and the Goblin. We are writing an opinion essay. Students will be bringing this home for homework if they aren't completing the in class goals. Be on the look out for this important work.

Quarter 1 Week 7

We have made it so far! The quarter is almost over!

Remember this Friday is the September Birthday Bash! If your child has a September birthday, bring a treat to share with the whole class and we will celebrate in the last 20 minutes of the day.

Math: We will be studying the 4 operations. There will be a test on Friday.
History: We will be learning more about the Middle Ages. Be on the look out for a shield!
Science: We are finishing up our electricity unit. There will be a test on Thursday.
Language Arts: We will recite our poem on Wednesday. We will finish Princess and the Goblin this week. There will be a grammar assessment on Wednesday. It will cover the same information from Monday's quiz plus diagramming. Students should study red notebook's pages 7-15.

This week....

We have been having a very busy week!

Math: We have been working on the order of operations and negative numbers. There is an assessment Thursday.
History: We have studied Charlemagne, and the children can tell you so much about him! The Middle ages test is Wednesday. The test on the map of Europe test is on Thursday. Hope we have been studying!
Science: We have delved even deeper in to electricity! Quiz Wednesday.
LA: We have been adding to our abilities with grammar, reading a ton, and adding new spelling words. As always, there is a spelling test at the end of the week.

Don't forget! No school Friday!

This week in fourth grade and our tutoring schedule

Math: Last week we finished factors and multiples. The test assessment grades are impressive! We are going to be learning about the order of operations this week! 
Language Arts: We will be learning about adjectives in grammar this week. There will be a mid-book assessment for The Princess and the Goblin this week.
History: We are continuing in the Middle Ages and will be introduced to Charlemagne. Keep studying those maps of Europe. The geography test will be here before we know it!
Science: We will be getting hands on with electricity this week making circuits.




This is the tutoring schedule for the upcoming week:

Tuesday- All Fourth Grade Math Lab- all are welcome. 3:05-3:45, Mr. Posner's room. Pick-up will be along the Archway Side, at 3:45, after sibling pick-up. Please arrive after 3:45.

Thursday- All Fourth Grade Math Lab-all are welcome. 3:05-3:45, Mr. Posner's room. Pick-up will be along the Archway Side, at 3:45, after sibling pick-up. Please arrive after 3:45.

Friday- Fourth Grade Math Lab- review of current material- all are welcome. 3:05-3:45, Mr. Posner's room. Pick-up will be along the Archway Side, at 3:45, after sibling pick-up. Please arrive after 3:45.

Grammar tutoring will be held during study hall on Tuesday and Thursday.
Spalding tutoring will be Monday until 3:45.

Thank You,
Ms. Prestipino 

Quarter 1 Week

Hello 4B Parents!

We are off to another exciting week in fourth grade!

Be on the look out for returned tests and participation grades tonight (Monday). I need every parent to sign the half sheet on the front of your child's packet, and return it tomorrow. Please be sure to leave any thoughts or comments in the space provided.

This week in...

Science: We will be starting our new electricity unit! First we will learn about static electricity and then try some interesting experiments.
History: We are studying Medieval Europe as well as memorizing the countries of Europe. Lets make sure we are studying our map every night!
Language Arts: We will be adding more words to our spelling list this week, and test on Friday. We have read quite a bit in Princess and the Goblin and now its time for a vocabulary quiz! In grammar we have begun to classify subject nouns and verbs. We will practice this skill all week.
Math: We have learned factors and moved into multiples. There will be a test on Factors and Multiples this Friday.

Curriculum Night

Dear Parents,

You are cordially invited to our Curriculum Night event, taking place on Thursday, August 27th from 6:00pm - 7:55pm. 

The purpose of this event is to acquaint you with the school's curriculum and individual classroom procedures across

all grade levels. Teachers will give parents an opportunity to ask questions; we look forward to seeing you all at this event. Please attend if you are able!

Curriculum Night Schedule

6:00-6:25	Welcome and opening remarks by Mr. Gillingham and Ms. Pantalena
	A-L	M-Z
6:30-7:10	Homeroom	Specials in MPR
7:15-7:55	Specials in MPR	Homeroom

Playground Challenge!

Dear Archway Families,

 

Click here to read the exciting opportunity that has brought us one step closer to expanding our playground and building an outdoor classroom! We hope you will accept this challenge. Thank you for your contributions toward making our campus a beautiful place for learning and playing.

 

Appreciatively, 

 

The Archway Arete Team

4B Policies and Procedures

Hello 4B Parents!

Things are well underway here at Archway Arete! I wanted to take a minute and let you know a few things about our classroom. 

Classroom Parent: Every classroom needs a parent willing to volunteer a little bit of time to coordinate celebrations, parent volunteers, and parent donations. It is very difficult for me to do all of those things in addition to teaching your children. Our class is in desperate need of one or two parents willing to give a little bit of time to this important role. Please let me know if you are at all willing to help in this way. 

Homework: While homework will be light this week, expect 40-60 minutes of homework a night this year. For the first quarter, I am asking that parents sign the bottom of the student's planner every night. This will ensure that the students are being held accountable for their work, and you are aware of their assignments. 

Grading Homework: I grade homework on a consistent CAN scale:

C-Completed

A-Accuracy

N-Neatness

You will see this on most returned homework and classwork assignments. If they earn all three letters than they earn all three possible points for the assignment. 

Reading Log: A 20 minute reading log is a daily homework assignment in 4th grade. We ask that students commit to reading a "classic" for their log. While students are certainly permitted to read more "pop culture" books at home, we want our students to experience well written, and intellectually uplifting texts as often as possible. If you need a list of classic texts, there is a link on my blog which may be helpful. Any book in my classroom library qualifies! 

Blog: While email is important, I will use my blog (prestipino4b.blogspot.com) as the primary mode of class communication. Please take the time to subscribe to the blog and check it weekly. I will update the blog most often on Mondays, at the start of the week. 

Birthdays: Celebrations are wonderful, but can often be distracting to the learning environment. In 4B we do birthday celebrations for the last 20 minutes of class on the last school-day Friday of the month. You may send in a treat or gift (like a pencil) for the entire class (30 students) at that time. Please make sure treats are store bought, and contain NO nuts, oreos, grapes, plums, raisins, or mushrooms. We have some allergies in our classroom. The following dates will be the birthday celebrations dates for the year:

August 28th

September 25th

October 30th

November 20th

December 18th (last day also)

January 29th

February 26th

March 31st (This date is on a Thursday because of spring break)

April 22nd

May 27th (we will also celebrate Summer birthdays this date).

Greetings 4B Parents and Guardians

Welcome to Fourth Grade! 

I am so excited you are joining my class this school year. As a Great Hearts teacher my classroom culture is joyful and dedicated to virtue, and academic rigor. We will spend time reading imaginative and awe-inspiring literature, discussing deep questions, and persevering through challenges. I look forward to watching your students grow into virtuous leaders and lovers of learning who enthusiastically embrace the good, true, and beautiful. 

This will be my second year teaching at Arete. In addition to my time working with fourth graders, I received a Bachelors Degree with High Distinction from the University of Virginia. At the University, I double majored in Religious Studies, focusing on Christianity and Islam, and in Italian Studies. It was through the Religious Studies Department that I participated in the Distinguished Majors Program, in which I wrote a research thesis on pneumatology in early Syriac baptismal liturgy. At the University, I also worked closely under Dr. Vigen Guroian, a Children’s Literature consultant for Great Hearts Academies, who personally recommended me for my position at Archway.  In addition to my academic qualifications, I spent over four years volunteering my time as a mentor to youth with Younglife. I functioned as the Team Lead for operations in Madison County, Va where I worked closely with four leaders to execute weekly social and instructional events for local kids, fostered mentor relationships with High School students, and acted as liaison between the local schools and Younglife committee. I am thrilled to combine my passion for the liberal arts and my love of young people in order to provide the best instruction possible for your children this year. 

Throughout the year, I hope that we will stay in close contact in order to best care for your child. You can reach me easily through email at lprestipino@archwayarete.org. Additionally, I will maintain a classroom blog (prestipino4b.blogspot.com) where you can find information about upcoming tests and classroom events. I recommend you use the “follow my blog” widget on the right side bar so that you receive an email when the blog is updated. I look forward to getting to know you and your child at Meet the Teacher night this Thursday.

Respectfully yours,

Ms. Prestipino