I hope everyone has a wonderful break. Thank you for all the thoughtful cards and gifts. Your children are amazing!
Monthly Archives: December 2017
Last Day of 2017
I wanted to make you aware of a few things for tomorrow. First, we have the International Festival from 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Everyone is encouraged to come. Your child will be presenting for part of the festival and will be available to visit other classrooms for the other part. Second, please send your child with their backpack tomorrow. I am concerned that the lower el festival falls on the last day and important items will be left over the break. They will be clearing out their cubbies, lockers, water bottles, in addition to bringing their projects home and gifts. They will have a great deal of items to be responsible for bringing home. I would encourage you to do a quick inventory of items, especially coats before you leave the school tomorrow. The lost and found is generally cleared out the end of each month and I don’t want your child’s belongings to vanish. I have encouraged the students each day to take home their extra items, but will be doing our final inventory before lunch and recess tomorrow. If everything is in their backpacks, it will be easier to make it home. Last, if you still have not taken the parent survey, please take a few minutes to complete this valuable feedback. You can find the survey here.
Thank you for all your support and we hope to see you tomorrow at the festival.
Last Few Days of 2017
It is hard to believe we only have a few days left before we enter 2018.
I first want to thank everyone for another amazing field trip. It was so much fun and I really enjoyed being outside with the students. As you may have seen and heard, our playground is gone and we are adjusting to some changes while the new building is being constructed. Our outdoor space and time is more limited, so I teased with the students that they have homework, which requires them to go outside and play. As many of you are aware, I enjoy taking the students outside in the morning for fresh air and physical movement, this is something that has become more challenging with the recent construction. I feel strongly that time outside engaging with nature is something many children are lacking in their development. I would like to encourage you to find more opportunities for your children to be outside, working on their gross motor skills and observing the world around them. This is a big reason why I love our visits to the Ogden Nature Center.
The students did complete their weekly reflections, I forgot to hand them back this afternoon. I will send them on Monday.
Home projects for the International Festival are due Thursday morning. If you have questions or concerns, please let me know.
Don’t Forget Our Field Trip Tomorrow
Please make certain your child is dressed appropriately for the weather. We will be spending time outside. We will meet our rides at North Shore parking lot at 11:50 a.m. If your child needs a ride, please sign up here. Reminder that siblings are not allowed on field trips at Ogden Nature Center and that all chaperones/ parents are $3.00. I appreciate our drivers and chaperones and the support you offer in order to make these opportunities come alive.
Snack
We are in need of snack for the classroom. We do not have anyone signed up between now and the winter break. If you have not already provided snack for the classroom this year, we would appreciate your help. You can find our snack sign up sheet here. We ask that each family provide at least once during the year, but ideally twice. Thank you so much for your help.
Track It Forward
Maria Montessori Academy Parents Association (MAPA) is very excited to announce that effective December 1, 2017 we will be using Track it Forward to schedule and record volunteer hours.
We feel that using track it forward will help us provide the most positive experience possible when signing up for and recording volunteer hours. This program will allow families to track their hours on their own electronic devices, send out reminders for sign ups and help us become a more centralized Montessori family.
Families are asked to donate 40 volunteer hours a year per family to the school. As a member of MAPA (all parents are automatic members) the MAPA presidency is trying to provide as many opportunities to complete this act of service yearly and Track it Forward will allow families to sign up to volunteer.
In sending your children to a Montessori school you are taking the initiative towards bettering your children and families. MMA’s mission statement is “Education for a better world” and by volunteering you are providing opportunities to help make this a better world.
The reason I volunteer is to provide my children with opportunities they may not get at other schools. “Only a life lived for others is worth living.” — Albert Einstein. By volunteering you are giving of yourself to your children and the children of others. Volunteering does not have to be a big sacrifice of time away from the family or money spent, many teacher at the school offer opportunities to volunteer at home and MAPA has opportunities to volunteer where you can bring your children.
Ways you may be volunteering and not even know.
- Attending a MAPA meeting
- Room mom calls and asks you to cut something out or bring something to the class
- Coming into the school and reading with children
- Bringing in food for an activity
MAPA in cooperation with the MMA is trying to say “thank you” to those that have sacrificed time and volunteered this year by giving those families with 10 service hours completed an “act of service.” The details are still in the works but we want everyone to know that we appreciate and value all of those that have volunteered.
How Track it forward works:
You can sign up in one of two different ways. On the website https://www.trackitforward.com/site/mapa or email mapa@mariamontessoriacademy.orgwith your family’s last name and the names of your children and we will send you an invite. Once in you can track your family’s hours and sign up for volunteer hours.
Again we appreciate all that our wonderful MMA families do!!!
“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.” — Elizabeth Andrew
Hearing Screening for Level 1 and 3 Students
Today your child was sent home with a letter regarding our upcoming hearing screenings. If you do not want your child screened, please sign and return the form by this Wednesday, December 6th. I would also suggest sending me an email, sometimes students forget to give me the form, if you do not want them screened. If you have questions, feel free to email me.
Ogden Nature Center and Parents Attending
I forgot to mention in my last post regarding the Ogden Nature Center’s policy on parent involvement for field trips. These are a few important bullet points they would like for you to be aware of:
- If you have any additional adults who want to attend, the cost will be $3.00 per adult. Please note that memberships of any kind are not accepted as payment for chaperone fees. (You will pay this when we arrive).
- Inform chaperones that all other children, including infants, should be left at home. If siblings are brought on the trip, that chaperone will not be allowed to follow along with the school group and the parent will be responsible for paying general admission rates.
Please know that your support is welcomed and we love having our parents involved with our field experiences.
International Festival
Australia home projects are due in less than two weeks on Thursday, December 14th. Our International Festival is a fun family event and all are invited. The schedule for presenting:
Jr High Presents: Tuesday, December 19th 1-2:30 p.m.
Upper El Presents: Wednesday, December 20th 9-11 a.m.
Lower El Presents: Thursday, December 21st 1-2:30 p.m.
If your child is choosing to provide samples of food for the festival, please email me prior, just to make certain it is appropriate for the event. Toothpicks will not be allowed for any food samples.
I hope to see you there!
Reminder to take the parent survey.
Please take 15 minutes to complete the AdvancED Parent Survey. We value your opinion and incorporating parent feedback is important for our school growth. You can find the survey here.