Final School Week of 2018

Hello Everyone!

First of all, I want to say thank you to everyone where was able to attend our feast or to send something to help support our feast. It was such an amazing turn out and we had plenty of food and supplies. The kids all had a good time and as teachers, we were able to relax most of the time and just enjoy. I also wanted to say a HUGE thank you to all the kids. They helped set up the tables and carried and set up the chairs beforehand so we could be ready when it was time to start. We truly have such an amazing class. I love them all dearly.

This is our final week of school for the year 2018. Winter break starts this Saturday and goes until Wednesday, January 2. We will return to school on Thursday, January 3. If your child wishes to bring a gift for the teacher/teachers here are some things I hope will be helpful. Besides having Ms. Sara and myself in the classroom, we also have another teacher in our classroom full time. Her name is Ms. Lorraine. While she mainly works with helping meet specific goals for certain students, she interacts and helps with all the kids on a daily basis. To help with anyone who would like to give gifts here is a bit about all of us. Also, Lorraine and myself work Monday through Friday but Ms. Sara does not work Fridays.
Ms. Jalee: Favorite color is blue; prefers chewy, fruity candies to chocolate such as Swedish fish and starburst; would rather have chocolate with caramel or nuts than plain; likes chocolate milk, hot chocolate, and lemonade.
Ms. Sara: Favorite color is rose gold and coral; loves chocolate, especially dark chocolate; not a big soda fan; likes lotion; does not like to paint her fingernails; likes to cook/bake.
Ms. Lorraine: Favorite color is blue; loves chocolate and is partial to dark chocolate; likes chocolate donuts; favorite drink is Coca-Cola; always has cute fingernails.
*Please know that I am not posting this because we are expecting gifts.  In the past I have had parents emailing me asking about likes and dislikes because they are planning on getting a gift for the teachers. We do not expect anything but want to be helpful for those who wish to share a gift. It is completely up to you and your child if you want to give anything. We love your children whether they bring us gifts or not.

This past week we learned about how holidays are celebrated in Israel, India, and Italy. We learned things like many people in Israel celebrate Hanukkah, and many people in India celebrate Diwali, and in India they hang their stocking on January 6th. This week we will learn about how holidays are celebrated in Germany, Russia, and here in the U.S.A. We will then take the knowledge we have gained and learn about writing informative papers.

 

We have started our next study on the theme of STRUCTURE.  We have made some small changes to the project expectation which will be due Friday, January 18th.  The changes are as follows:

Level 1: Will research and present on a scientist

Level 2: Will do a project using the scientific method

Level 3: Will present on either simple machines or forces of motion

The students will be presenting school wide after STEM week starting January 22nd.

We will be focusing a lot on these areas as a class and as levels in the next couple weeks and also going into January. We also had a great simple machine/force of motion workshop at Hill Aerospace museum.

*This is the original write up:

Structure November 26th-January 11th
Stem Fair January 14th
The theme STRUCTURE is what your child will be studying during our third thematic unit.  To relate the theme STRUCTURE to our STEM Festival the week of January 14th, STRUCTURE can mean certain processes scientists use or explore such as the scientific method, the physical structure of matter or the structure of the universe, the structure of the classification of living things and so much more. There’s a lot to explore!
For the STEM Fair home project, we will ask that your child create a science presentation based on Utah state science standards they’ve been studying in class.  We want to treat our STEM Fair not as a general “Science Fair,” but rather a celebration of science.
A science celebration presentation is not limited to just a tri-board.  Listed below are ideas your child can choose from (but are not limited to) for the STEM Fair.

Some ideas include, but are not limited to:

  • Poster or tri-fold board
  • Brochure
  • Hands-on experiment with write-up
  • Experiment demonstration by student (must be able to show over and over)
  • Create a board game
  • Video (Example: Make their own Bill Nye)
  • Performance or skit
  • Diorama
  • Create a book
  • Create a lesson or work

Below is a list of state standards that your student should be familiar with by the second half of the year when we hold our STEM fair:

1st grade- Scientific Method on Earth/Space sciences, Life sciences, or Force and Motion

2nd grade- Scientific Method on Earth/Space sciences, Life sciences, or Force and Motion

3rd grade- Sun, Earth, Moon relationship, Living and Non-living within an Environment, Forces and Motion, Gravity, Heat and Light

 

Have a wonderful day!

Jalee

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Next Home Project

We have started our next study on the theme of STRUCTURE.  We have made some small changes to the project expectation which will be due Friday, January 18th.  The changes are as follows:

Level 1: Will research and present on a scientist

Level 2: Will do a project using the scientific method

Level 3: Will present on either simple machines or forces of motion

The students will be presenting school wide after STEM week starting January 22nd.

We will be focusing a lot on these areas as a class and as levels in the next couple weeks and also going into January. We also had a great simple machine/force of motion workshop at Hill Aerospace museum.

*This is the original write up:

Structure November 26th-January 11th
Stem Fair January 14th
The theme STRUCTURE is what your child will be studying during our third thematic unit.  To relate the theme STRUCTURE to our STEM Festival the week of January 14th, STRUCTURE can mean certain processes scientists use or explore such as the scientific method, the physical structure of matter or the structure of the universe, the structure of the classification of living things and so much more. There’s a lot to explore!
For the STEM Fair home project, we will ask that your child create a science presentation based on Utah state science standards they’ve been studying in class.  We want to treat our STEM Fair not as a general “Science Fair,” but rather a celebration of science.
A science celebration presentation is not limited to just a tri-board.  Listed below are ideas your child can choose from (but are not limited to) for the STEM Fair.

Some ideas include, but are not limited to:

  • Poster or tri-fold board
  • Brochure
  • Hands-on experiment with write-up
  • Experiment demonstration by student (must be able to show over and over)
  • Create a board game
  • Video (Example: Make their own Bill Nye)
  • Performance or skit
  • Diorama
  • Create a book
  • Create a lesson or work

Below is a list of state standards that your student should be familiar with by the second half of the year when we hold our STEM fair:

1st grade- Scientific Method on Earth/Space sciences, Life sciences, or Force and Motion

2nd grade- Scientific Method on Earth/Space sciences, Life sciences, or Force and Motion

3rd grade- Sun, Earth, Moon relationship, Living and Non-living within an Environment, Forces and Motion, Gravity, Heat and Light

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Feast Tomorrow

Hello All,

Tomorrow is our class holiday feast. I look forward to seeing many of you there. The feast will start at about 11:30 and go until about 12:30. If you are able to come help set up, even if you didn’t sign up to do this, please be there at 11. There shouldn’t be much to set up, since I will be having the kids help with much of this in the morning. If you are bringing something, food or otherwise, please be there on time or early so we don’t have to wait past 11:30. The feast will be in the elementary school gym. Tomorrow is also an early out day so school will get out at 1 p.m.

Thank you to all who were able to attend or otherwise help with our field trip the Hill Aerospace Museum. The kids had a lot of fun and we had many chaperones which helps greatly. Our next out of school field trip will be in March to Union Station on 25th and Wall.

MMA’s Winter Concert is coming up. This is for all students grades 1st – 9th who wish to participate. It will be Monday, December 17 at 6:30 p.m. in the new gym that is in the Jr High portion of our school. Orchestra students should be there by 5:45 and all other students should be there by 6:15. Students need to wear a solid colored top and black bottoms.

Please take a few moments to complete this anonymous Stakeholder Survey before it closes on December 14th. We need your feedback as change only comes when we know where we can improve.
The survey link is https://goo.gl/forms/crazDfVKIu8ENemv2.
If you would like to be entered into a drawing for a $25 gift card, please take a screenshot of the last page of the completed survey and send it to info@mariamontessoriacademy.org.

In the next couple of weeks before our winter break, we will be learning about different winter holidays that are celebrated around the world. This year, we will learn about how the countries Israel, India, Germany, Russia, United States, and Italy celebrate this time of year. Using the information we learn, the students will be working on writing an informational paper. We will also be doing some Christmas crafts/activities like making ornaments for their trees.

Again, I look forward to seeing many of you tomorrow. Have a great day!

Jalee

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Field Trip Tomorrow

Hello All,

Tomorrow is our field trip to Hill Aerospace Museum. Our field trip will be starting at 9 a.m. If you are transporting your own child, please be there at about 8:50 a.m. If you child needs a ride and is being transported by another parent, you can just bring them to school at the normal time. We will be walking over to North Shore about 8:25 so that we can leave shortly after 8:30. Our room mother has made sure that all the kids who need rides have them. You can also just meet us at North Shore at 8:25. We will be leaving the museum at about 11:15 so if you are driving your child or others and not planning on staying, please be back by then to pick up. We will then go back to the school for recess and lunch. If you signed up on track if forward to chaperone, I will be emailing you shortly.

Thanks for all you do!

Jalee

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December is Here

Hello All,

I am sending this post via email and blog since I did not get it posted earlier.

Happy December. The weather has been teasing us. Maybe we will see snow by Christmas.

Our field trip to Hill Aerospace Museum is this Tuesday, the 4th. It looks like we will have plenty of drivers for those who need it. We will be meeting at the museum about 8:50 am. Our field trip will start at 9. We will be doing a scavenger hunt as well as a simple machines workshop while we tour the museum. We will be there until 11:15, at which time we will return to the school for the rest of the day. Pack a normal lunch for your child, we will eat when we return. If you are taking your own child and not transporting any others, you can meet us at the museum and I will take attendance there. I will email you by tomorrow afternoon to let you know if we will need you to take any children besides your own. If you signed up on track it forward to be a chaperone, I will most likely have another student or two with you besides your own. The weather is getting colder, and there is an outside part of the museum but I will leave it up to the kids whether they want to see that part or not.

We have our holiday feast next Monday, the 10 from 11:30 to about 12:30. There are still spots open on track it forward if you would like to bring something. The link is https://www.trackitforward.com/site/389525/events .

That day is also a half day. Please plan on picking your child up at 1:00 pm.

Don’t forget this Thursday, December 6th from 5:30-6:30 is our parent education night. Our teachers have heard you and understand that you would like more knowledge about what Montessori looks, sounds, and feels like, how it can benefit you and your child, and a better connection to some of its vocabulary. We will host a night with two prime topics being featured: Grace and Courtesy (Communication, Independence, Movement, and Self-Discipline) and The Benefits of Montessori (how it differs from traditional schooling). After a short introduction together in the small gym, we will break out into groups to discuss the two topics. We look forward to seeing you all there! Any questions can be directed to sellis@mariamontessoriacademy.org or jhall@mariamontessoriacademy.org.

Our next home project will be a STEM (science) based project and will be due about mid January. Be looking for a blog post later this week with more specifics.

Thanks for all you do.

Jalee

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Some Updates

Original Works keepsakes will be delivered to your children on Friday, November 30th. If you would like to help sort, please let Rachael Bush know (rachael.bush@gmail.com)! We’re going to be opening boxes and checking order forms in the conference room right after drop off Friday morning!
Parent Education Night
 
Mark your calendars for an exciting, educational evening. It will be held next Thursday, December 6th from 5:30-6:30. Our teachers have heard you and understand that you would like more knowledge about what Montessori looks, sounds, and feels like, how it can benefit you and your child, and a better connection to some of its vocabulary. We will host a night with two prime topics being featured: Grace and Courtesy (Communication, Independence, Movement, and Self-Discipline) and The Benefits of Montessori (how it differs from traditional schooling). After a short introduction together in the small gym, we will break out into groups to discuss the two topics. We look forward to seeing you all there! Any questions can be directed to sellis@mariamontessoriacademy.org or jhall@mariamontessoriacademy.org

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Last Week of November

Hello All,

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know I did and enjoyed time with my family and got some good rest.

I look forward to seeing the kids on Monday! Please keep in mind that the weather is definitely getting colder. Please send your kids to school with proper clothing. All students will be going out to recess everyday so they will need good shoes, a coat, gloves, etc. Please help make sure they are dressed warmly.

Just a few reminders. We have our field trip to Hill Aerospace Museum on Tuesday, December 4th in the morning. We will be needing drivers for this and love chaperones. We will have the sign up on Track it Forward at the beginning of next week.

We also have our class holiday feast on Monday, December 10 from 11:30 to 12:30ish. I have heard from some of you that are coming. Please let me know by next Wednesday the 28th if you will be attending and how many will be coming so I can get a sign up ready and know the right amount. The 10th is also a half day for professional development. To go along with our holiday feast, throughout the next month until winter break, we will be learning about the many holidays celebrated around the world this time of year.

Thanks for all you do and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Jalee

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Thanksgiving Break

Hello All,

Just a reminder that all this week is Thanksgiving break. We will not have school all this week. We will be back at school Monday, November 26. I hope you have an amazing Thanksgiving with your families and friends.

We will be going on a field trip the morning of Tuesday, December 5 to Hill Aerospace Museum. We love when parents can join us of these trips and chaperones are always appreciated. We will also need drivers. We will have a Track it Forward sign up for this by the beginning of next week. Please watch for that.

Our holiday feast will be Monday, December 10 from 11:30 to about 12:30. I have already heard from some of you that you will be attending. I would like to have a sign up ready by the middle of next week for food. Please let me know by the 28th if you will be attending and how many. I look forward to seeing many of you there.

Thank you to all who were able to attend the Cultural Festival. All the students did such a wonderful job on their projects. I always love projects like this because I learn something new from all of them. This year a few things I learned were that the flag once had 15 stripes instead of 13, there are no actual known pictures of Crazy Horse, bald eagle nests can weigh a ton, and those are just a few. Thank you for supporting your children in their research and presentations.

Have a wonderful week!

Jalee

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Ogden Electric Lights Parade

 

November 24th is the annual Ogden Electric Lights Parade. Our school will be represented and the marketing committee has come up with a float that will represent MMA. We are looking for students from MMA who would like to be part of our parade! The meeting place will be in front of the Ogden Temple. The parade starts promptly at 5:30pmThe floats will be lined up at 5pm.
Students 12 years and younger must ride in the trailer or truck. If your student is over the age of 12, then they may walk next to the float. Students who ride or walk will be carrying white peace signs or holding tea lights. All students will need to sign up to participate. Waivers will need to be signed at our meeting place, the Ogden temple.
The parade starts on 22nd and Washington and then ends at 27th. The marketing committee advises our MMA parents whose child(ren) are in the parade park towards the end of the parade so when we are done you can find your child.
We have some, but if your child would like to wear glow necklaces and bracelets during the parade we highly suggest the more the better! (It is a light parade!) the glow wear is also our symbol to honor Troy and Molly Cox.
If you have any questions you can email Ms. Autumn (adouglas@mariamontessoriacademy.org) or Ms. Kaley (kparsons@mariamontessoriacademy

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One More Week

Hello All,

Can you believe we only have one more week until we have Thanksgiving break?

Don’t forget this Friday from 1-3 p.m. is our Cultural Festival. I sent home purple papers with all the information. I have also posted it on the blog and sent it in a email. For your student to participate in the Cultural Festival, they need to have their project turned in by Friday. If it is done sooner, please send it sooner so they can practice presenting to the class. Since as a school we are studying the United States from the beginning with the 13 colonies to modern day, students will need to choose something about the united states to present on for the Cultural Festival. Some ideas for the students to pick from could be things that happened during the time of the 13 colonies, such as food, clothing, job; anything related to Native Americans; pioneers; colonization of the United States; a specific state; a famous person in history from the United States; etc. The sky is the limit. As long as it has something to do with the United States from the time it was colonized to today. Students can present using a tri-fold storyboard, a diagram, or however they choose to present. To present, we will have the desks set up around the perimeter of the classroom and students will each have a space to set up their display and present to those who visit our classroom. Because this is how we will be setting up, for this presentation, I would discourage using a Powerpoint presentation.

If you signed up to help or donate something, this Thursday is the community gratitude feast. This is where we invite people from around our community, such as police officers, firemen, etc, to come enjoy a feast put on the by the school. This is not the feast for students.

Our class will be doing a holiday feast on Monday, December 10 from 11:30 to 1. All are invited. Please let me know by this Friday, the 16th if you will be attending and how many will be with you (if you are bringing a younger sibling or if both or just one parent is coming). I would like to get a number so I can create a sign up sheet for food.

Don’t forget that this Friday is the last day before Thanksgiving break. We will not have school the week of November 19. School will resume November 26.

Thanks for all you do!

Jalee

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