Archives

Celebrations of Life

Aug27

I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful summer weather!  I realized that when I changed the blog theme, the sign-up for Celebrations of Life disappeared from the sidebar.

We would love to have you share photos and stories of your child to celebrate their birthday.  Please sign up using this link.   We celebrate on Wednesday afternoons at 2:40.

As a reminder for our returning students, and an introduction to our new students, we do not celebrate birthdays with treats or trinkets.  Your stories and photos are special enough.  Typically, students bring a picture for each year of their life with their current year represented by themselves.  The class participates in a compliment circle and then they sing (complete with a surprise ending introduced to our class by a former student!).

Some students don’t wish to celebrate, and that is perfectly okay (the attention can be uncomfortable, and I want to honor that).   If your child has a birthday during the summer, we would love to celebrate a half-birthday with them.

Back to School Night

Aug17

Good Evening!

Back to school night is tomorrow from 6:30-7:00.  Between the hours of 6:30 and 7:00 we will be in the gym for a short parent education night.  From 7:00-8:00 you can join us in the classroom for a brief informational session.

In addition to the educational component, the school will be providing an opportunity to parents to be background checked between 6:30 and 7:30 tomorrow night during Back-to-School Night. Parents who wish to be certified drivers for field trips, or will be volunteering at the school for more than 1 hour a week, will need to be background checked per the schools background check policy (Background Check Policy). There is a LiveScan required payment of $25.00 due at the time of your prints (cash or check). Please make checks payable to Academica West. A picture ID (i.e., driver’s license, state ID card, passport, etc.) is required for the fingerprinting services. A processing fee of $52.75 to Maria Montessori Academy (cash or check) is required in order for fingerprints to be processed. The fee covers the bill from BCI (Bureau Criminal Identification) which is billed directly to the school.

If you wish to be a certified driver, the office will also need to keep a copy of your driver’s license and an up-to-date copy of your auto insurance card on file. You can call the front office for more information or email ahafen@mariamontessoriacademy.org.

If you can’t make it to be background checked during back to school night, there will be an opportunity on October 18th during Parent Teacher Conferences.

Hope to see you tomorrow night!

Welcome Back!!

Aug14

It’s finally here, the first day of school!

Please be sure your child comes prepared by remembering the following items:

  • School supplies should be prepared as outlined on our school supply page, you can find the guidelines here.
  • All children need to have indoor shoes to wear in the school and classroom.
  • Students should have a reusable water bottle.
  • All snacks and lunches must follow our school wellness policy, which can be found here.  Also, when planning lunches, pack items that require one minute or less to heat, this will ensure your child has enough time to eat lunch without having to rush.
  • We go outside each day at 10:20 to run the track.  Children should have shoes that will allow them to do so comfortably (sneakers, tennis shoes or similar shoes are acceptable).
  • Ball caps or other sunhats are highly recommended for recess and other times we will be outside.  I encourage sunscreen as well.
  • If your child has a book they would like to bring to school for our silent reading period, please have them do so.

Ms. Kari and I are excited to have your kids back in the classroom!!

 

6th Grade Families – Expert Project

Jul19

I wanted to remind the 6th grade families (and introduce new families) of the Expert Project summer assignment.   At the end of the school year your child was introduced to a year long project we are piloting in our classroom this coming school year.  With the introduction, the initial assignment was given.

I am so excited about the opportunity to pilot this project in our classroom this year.  In order for your child to have a good experience, it is imperative that they stay on top of the deadlines for this project.  The introduction letter and first assignments can be found here.

This project is broken into weekly mini-lessons (the first of which is scheduled September 1) and follow-up assignments.  Because this is ultimately a home-project, the bulk of the work will be completed at home by your child. Throughout this project they will learn skills that will help them succeed in Jr. high, high school and university.

This project is going to be a learning experience for us all.  Ultimately, we will celebrate our success during an evening next spring when your child presents their project to you and other invited guests.

In advance, thank you for supporting your child (and me) in this endeavor!