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Amazing year – Wonderful Summer

I wish to thank everyone for a wonderful opportunity to have taught your child this past year. We have had so many transitions and progressions and everyone succeeded in moving forward. I am sure all will have fun doing a variety of things this summer. I ask that all of my students continue to READ, READ, READ! And of course, when they are out and about, have them do some sort of computation with the groceries or telling time, etc.

The school supply list is already up and comes with an Amazon wish list this year. You may choose how you wish to work on preparing for this need over the summer or gather it all in the fall. You may purchase individually the types of items the classroom needs or you can purchase the bulk item. The shipping address is the school if you wish to have it delivered directly.

WISH LIST HERE

Again, I appreciate all of you and most especially your children, please give them big hugs from me. I miss them already!

Have a great summer!

Upcoming State Evaluations – A Note from Our Director

UT state standardized assessments (now called RISE and Aspire Plus) will be on the following days for our class.

Monday, April 15th,  Afternoon, Science

Wednesday, April 24th, Afternoon, English

Thursday, May 2nd, Morning, Math

Monday, May 6th, Afternoon, Writing (5th)

These assessments are important to us for several reasons.

The state assessment data are important to your family because the results are one way to communicate how much your child has learned in English language arts, writing, math, and science. At MMA, we know that these tests are but one indicator of a child’s progress in these content areas.

The state assessment data are important to us because determining what a student knows or does not know is a vital cornerstone in individualizing learning experiences, which is the basis of a Montessori education. The results help us to identify needs for new and additional materials, tailor professional development for teachers, and determine where to best invest school funding.

Taking tests is a practical life skill, required for college entrance as well many professions. Doctors, lawyers, teachers, contractors, nurses, and cosmetologists (to name just a few) all must take tests in order to enter their professions. Standardized testing in school provides a valuable opportunity to practice taking tests in a low-stakes environment, better preparing our students for future assessments – which is why we encourage all students to participate.

If you choose to opt your child out of testing, please complete the Parent Exclusion from State Assessments Form. This form must be handed from you to either Ms. Lana or Ms. René, who will take 5 minutes to review this form with you. We ask that these forms are submitted no later than April 12th. Thank you for your cooperation and support.

 

Ms. Rene & Ms. Kotie

Loads of Events and New Learning

February & March have been and are so full of events and notifications for the whole school. I hope all are receiving the quick notes as things occur; let me know if you need to renew with our classroom Remind app.

PLUS: CHECK OUT THE MMM EACH WEEK FOR SCHOOL WIDE UPDATES

We had a great time the past few weeks working on mastery pieces for our portfolios and enjoying the variety of special events we’ve had. The Fun Run, Valentine’s party, and Spelling Bee just to name a few.

This past Friday, I sent home a homework letter. These daily tasks are ten-twenty minutes long and serve multiple purposes. If you have any questions or request for alternatives, please let me know. We are in the home stretch to the end of school and need to really stay strong in moving our minds as far as we can; thank you for helping your child achieve this year!

Tomorrow is the school wide Spelling Bee. We will be rooting for our students to all do well. Three students were chosen from our in-class spelling be to be our representatives in the school wide event. We are excited to see this tomorrow!

Yearbooks can still be purchased for $20 right now, until March 1st; then they will be $25.

 

 

FUN RUN INFO

Parents,

Our school offers incredible field experiences for our students throughout the year.  These experiences culminate in the 6th grade Redwoods trip and the 9th grade Crow Canyon trip.  While students are asked to contribute towards the costs of these trips, their contributions only cover a portion of the actual costs.  In order for our school to continue to provide amazing experiences for all of our students,  we need your support through fundraising efforts!

Please register your child on funrun.com tonight! The process is very simple and will only take a minute or two.
Our class is having a blast preparing for the Maria Montessori Academy Fun Run coming up soon! We’ve also begun to learn how to solve problems using character through Boosterthon’s character theme, MindSpark Mystery Lab. While they’re teaming up with the MindSpark Kids to solve mysteries, your students will learn five 21st-century character traits that will help strengthen themselves and our world. Make sure to ask your students what they’ve learned each day, and together you can watch the story unfold on funrun.com!

Remember, we need your help connecting to sponsors who can make a pledge to help our school! Please make sure all pledges for the Maria Montessori Academy Fun Run are entered on funrun.com. The more pledges we get, the more incentives our class earns on our Pledge-O-Meter.

Thank you for your generosity and support of our school. If you have any questions, please let me know.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Jan 21, 2019                         NO SCHOOL: MARTIN LUTHER KING JR /CIVIL RIGHTS DAY

5th year Assembly Thursday – Reaction Time Science

Jan 29, 2019                        CHILI COOK-OFF (AFTER SCHOOL)

Feb 1, 2019                           MMA BOOSTERTHON FUN RUN (DURING SCHOOL)

Feb 13 to 15, 2019               PARENT-TEACHER/ PARENT-STUDENT CONFERENCES (SIGN-UPS ON TRACK IT FORWARD)

SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR

Feb 18, 2019                        NO SCHOOL: PRESIDENT’S DAY

Feb 26, 2019                        SPELLING BEE/ SPELLING BEE WEEK

Feb 2019                               LAST WEEK: HISTORY WEEK

MMA BOOSTERTHON FUN RUN
MMA is hosting a Fun Run (similar to the old Jump Rope for Hearts), meaning there is no selling or delivering products. Once our program begins next week on January 23rd, family and friends anywhere in the world can support our school by giving pledges toward the number of laps your students will run on the day of the Fun Run: February 1st.
Our Fun Run will be powered by the Boosterthon Fun Run, a fun organization that organizes Fun Runs all over the country. This year 2,900 schools like ours will run their fun run through Boosterthon. We’re excited for their expertise and making this EASY on everyone involved—including you!
Our Fun Run also comes with a world-class character theme. This year’s theme is MINDSPARK MYSTERY LAB, combining S.T.E.A.M skills (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) with character-building – which is a beautiful follow-up to STEM week. While they’re teaming up with the MindSpark Kids to solve mysteries, our students will learn five 21st-century character traits that will help strengthen themselves and our world. Through this year’s Fun Run, our school goal is to raise $8,000 for field experiences, such as Redwoods and all other field trips.
We need YOUR help! Teachers will give you more information next week. Brainstorm with your student to think of people to contact and promote this fundraiser. Then, help them register their pledges online when given the logins.
We can do this!

What a week!

We made it through STEM week and had a blast while doing it! This week all students participated in a variety of assemblies, experiments, and other activities to understand more about STEM and STEAM in their world. We have discussed a great deal how each letter in this acronym impacts our daily lives. Ask them about it and see what they can tell you. They also have been working on essays related to this topic. Ask them to share it with you, or if they don’t have as much done on it, help them work on it over the weekend.

We have a new assistant! Ms. Emily has joined us now and has stepped right in to the mix to understand and help. She has previous experience working with children and in schools. Soon, you will be able to view her bio on the MMA website.

As previously posted, students are now looking forward to the Spelling Bee and conferences in February. Letters went home and will come home again for the spelling bee and Parent-Teacher Conference sign-ups are ready on Track-it-Forward. This year, these conferences will be a Parent-Student format where parents will interact with their student and the student’s portfolios. Students will be showing and speaking about the things they have been learning and show/share some of their proudest moments. I will be present to assist and answer any other questions.

Our students are making good progress in both reading and math. I am very pleased and think that they are as well. The DYAD reading we have been participating in and the extra time spent on their core math understandings are paying off. We will be continuing these two practices while building their grade level and above level skills in these areas.

Looking forward to seeing you at the upcoming events!

SCREENAGERS – Movie shown tomorrow!

On January 10th from 6-7:30 PM, MMA will be screening the documentary SCREENAGERS for all interested parents, students and friends of the school in the Junior High commons area.

SCREENAGERS – The average child in America spends more time consuming electronic media than going to school, with many teenagers going online “almost constantly.” In SCREENAGERS, physician and filmmaker Delaney takes a deeply personal approach as she probes into family life to explores parental struggles over social media, video games, academics and internet addiction. Through poignant and funny stories along with insights from authors, psychologists, and brain scientists, SCREENAGERS reveals how tech time impacts kids’ development and offers solutions on how adults can empower kids to best navigate the digital world and find balance.

 See you there!