Category Archives: Information

Thank You

Posted on by

I wanted you to know how much I enjoyed visiting with each of you during conferences.  Your children are a delight and I feel fortunate I get to spend my day with each of them.  I look forward to working on the goals we have set in place and at anytime you have a question, concern, or a celebration, please feel free to email me.

Reminder that we are nearing the end of the month and home projects are due.  Next month we will be working on our Europe projects for the International Festival held in December.  Start thinking which country your child would like to research.  I will begin a sign up sheet inside the classroom.  You can send me an email or they can come and tell me.  It will be on a first serve bases.  This is our most in depth project of the year.  For those of you new to the International Festival, it is like a science fair for country studies and a big school wide event.  Your child will need a 3-part display board for this project.  We will not be having a formal project due in December, but I would encourage these to be completed by the end of November.  Please see our page on home projects for additional information.

Thank you for your continued support with the roaring readers club.  Please send back folders tomorrow morning.

October is here!

Posted on by

Families, official normalization is now over and I would like to encourage volunteers to come read with students. If you are available and interested, please send me an email.  We would love the help!

Several families received information regarding our new Roaring Readers club.  Thank you for your support with this new and important program.  I was concerned when I evaluated the number of students who completed the first night of reading.  Please remember to return these folders back to school on Friday.

Picture day information was sent home today.  Pictures will be taken on the 10th.

Home projects were amazing this past month.  I want to congratulate the students on a job well done.  Rather than sending home their rubrics for this first project, I have decided to share them at our upcoming conferences.  (Conference will start Monday, October 17th and finish Wednesday, October 19th.  Fall break will follow on Thursday, October 20th and we will resume on Monday the 24th).  Information regarding MYON was sent home.  This is a great resource for students working on their home projects.  For October, level 1’s will complete a time line of their own life.  Level 2’s will research and present anything on space, solar system, etc.  Level 3’s anything relating to the time line of life.  Please see the classroom blog page for any additional information.

Last week we initiated a new class mentor program. So far it has proven to establish wonderful relationships and help our newer students feel confident in knowing they have a go to person to ask for additional help and support.

We are continuing to establish strong work ethic and have explored the importance of stretching our elastic brain.  I would encourage you to ask your children about the work they are accomplishing and setting goals in order to achieve their potential.

I will be setting up sign-ups for conferences before the end of the week.  I look forward to visiting with each of you.  As always, if you have question, concerns or celebrations, please feel free to email me.

Peaceful Place

Posted on by

We had a busy week last week.  We enjoyed the peace celebration and focusing on what peace means in many different aspects.  We experienced what peace sounds like, looks like, and feels like, when we are working in the classroom.  We had conversations about perspective and created watercolor artwork which represents how everyone can look at the same thing and see something different.  We talked about how this relates to our interactions with others and to be respectful of others thoughts and opinions, because we all “see” things differently.  We celebrated our differences and created a unified peace symbol that related to our geography studies. The students have been holding classroom meetings where they take time to compliment one another and problem solve class issues as a team.  They individually offer solutions and then we review them to see if they are related, realistic, and respectful.  Students then vote for which solution they feel will work best to solve the problem we are experiencing inside the classroom.  The students solved their first issue, visiting with friends at circle, they voted to create a seating arrangement.  I love that the students know that the classroom is their work environment and they take ownership of that environment.  They write their own class rules, learn to problems solve, recognize the wonderful things that are happening, hold each other accountable, and take care of the classroom in which they work.

Reminder that this week is the last week of September.  Home projects need to be completed and presented by Friday.  Please do not wait until Friday.

We will start our studio classes on Friday.  Students will visit 3 different classrooms during our studio rotation.  They will be grouped according to grade level with other lower elementary classes.  They will enjoy classes focusing on art, science, and social studies.  This is a great opportunity for the students to create friendships with students outside of our classroom.

Original Work Art Fundraiser

Posted on by

Get your children’s art printed on everyday items.  This fundraising opportunity is fun and all money raised goes directly into our classroom for educational items, field trips, books, etc.

Check out http://www.originalworks.com/fundraising-items/all-products/ to see all the products you can buy with your students’ personal artwork.  These items make great gift ideas for family members.

Students have completed an original piece inside the classroom, but If you want to work on something at home, or have a special keepsake piece in your collection, please see the guidelines:  original-works-guidelines  .  All entries are due September 21.  Purchase dates will be sometime in October.

New Beginnings!

Posted on by

It was wonderful meeting so many of you at our back to school evening.  I look forward to meeting more of you at our fall conferences mid October.  If you were unable to attend and would like to volunteer in some capacity this year, please let me know.  We are also in need of a room mother and if you would be willing to help this year, please send me an email.

We have such amazing group this year!  We have filled our days with opportunities to build our classroom community, create new friendships, establish routines, review grace and courtesy, and prepare ourselves for a successful school year.  I am so pleased to announce a resent change to our classroom, Ms. Chelsea Wilson.  She is our new classroom assistant.  The children met her Wednesday and she already makes a wonderful addition to our community.  We feel so fortunate to have her with us.

This week we have been focusing on the Montessori Great Lessons. These are stories and lessons that are meant to ignite the child’s imagination and curiosity.  The aim is to inspire the students to think big and ask big questions. Students learn the definition of the word “theory” and that not everyone believes the same thing about how the Earth was created or how life came to it, but that we all respect each others’ ideas and can discuss them openly with confidence and acceptance of differences. These lessons also lead to the study of many science and social studies topics throughout the rest of the year.  The students were presented the story of the Birth of the Universe, the black time line, which represents the age of our planet and the coming of man, the coming of all life on our earth, and their place in our universe.  We will continue with the story of language and numbers in the coming days.

We will continue during our normalization period and through out the school year working on building character and building community.  The students have been exploring ideas such as the Golden Rule and establishing their own classroom rules.

We are continuing with our observations and assessments and will be starting a more formal work cycle starting Monday.

I want to sincerely thank you all for your support and generous classroom donations.  It really is appreciated.  We are so fortunate to have a new mini fridge thanks for a wonderful donation and already it has made a big different for our classroom snack routine.

As always, if you have questions, concerns, or celebrations, please email me.  Your child’s success depends on our partnership.  I am looking forward to a wonderful year full of endless possibilities!

A fun family event for a good cause!

Posted on by

The Annual MMA 5k Family Color Fun Run is September 17th @ 8:00 am

Pre-registration ends on September 4th

 

You can sign up online or via paper and check to the school
https://www.raceentry.com/races/mma-annual-5k-family-color-fun-run/2016/register
A few changes we have made, that you may not know about:

-We have a new race course…its legit this year, you will run or walk 3.1 miles away from the school!

-We’re doing a color run…their will be 5 stations where you get fun color tossed on your shirt.

–Families can become sponsors themselves by upping their registration to $100 and will get their childs or family name on the t-shirt.

-Each registered racer will receive a t-shirt and a swag bag full of goodies.

–Swag bags include: Fiiz coupon, flashlight pen, lanyard, water bottle, sunglasses, t-shirt.

–Prizes this year are awesome! they include Chick Fil A goods, PTR-i therapy sessions and paraphernalia, Wolf Creek golf passes, water bottles, awesome Rec Outlet outdoor gear such as headlamps and camera cases.

-We will have raffle baskets including things like new backpacks, school spirit shirts, Rec Outlet gear, Doterra products, running products.

-Your children can bring their scooters or skate boards, this is a family event!

-We will have a DJ announcing and playing music during the race.

-We will have a fun photo booth so you can document the fun!

-At the end of the race there will be booths doing giveaways such as: Chick Fil A, Great Harvest handing out bread, and more!

-Dont forget the pancake breakfast after the race!