Planners, celebrations of life, Open House for parents

Dear parents,

You should be seeing planners being brought home by the students. Planners form a dual purpose of planning the day’s work and as evidence of work being completed. The students will also record their spelling words along with any important future dates. Once you have read their planner please initial it under the day. We keep track of students who are using their planners effectively, but if you could remind them that they need to show you what they have been doing it would be a great help.

Celebrations of life are where the student chooses to celebrate their birthday with their classmates. Typically, this happens with one or more parents and possibly a sibling. The school asks that families do not supply food for the celebration of life, using photographs and anecdotes is more typical. If you wanted to use a slide show, then that could also be arranged. I will be asking the students who would like to celebrate and then make arrangements.

The school is holding an Open House next week on September 7th from 6-7:30pm for parents and guardians only. This schedule has been set-up to accommodate families that want to attend early, attend later, and who have more than one child at this school. From 6-6:30pm there will a classroom tour. This is an informal arrangement where I will give a short guide of the classroom and the routine, along with any questions you may have about a Montessori education, how this differs from a traditional education and how this can work for your child.

Then, from 6:30-7pm the school will host a Montessori 101 workshop in the gym for parents of elementary students. Then, from 7-7:30pm there will be classroom tours again. This allows parents who work late to attend the Montessori 101 and then do the later classroom tour (and vice versa for parents who want to attend and leave earlier).

Please let me know if you have any further questions by email.

Many thanks – John

Snack

Dear parents,

I hope that you all got to see the eclipse in some way. An awesome event!

I have made a new snack sign up sheet through wejoinin: https://wejoinin.com/sheets/atpix starting from next week. If this is new to you, then Montessori schools provide a simple snack for children in the morning between 9 and 11 am. This is to provide them with some sustenance for the morning, as well as giving the children the opportunity to prepare and serve the food. Here are some suggested healthy snacks:

  • Celery/carrots/broccoli and ranch dip
  • Pretzels
  • Graham crackers
  • Bagels and cream cheese
  • Strawberries, cantaloupe, oranges, grapes, apples, pears
  • Cheese sticks or cheese pieces
  • Raisins or fruit leather
  • Granola or granola bars
  • Whole wheat crackers
  • Dry cereal (not sugar cereals)
  • Goldfish crackers
  • Rice cakes
  • Jerky
  • Tortilla chips and salsa
  • Tortillas
  • Whole wheat bread and butter

A couple of things to remember when giving snack are:

  1. If you are using something that requires a cup such as salsa, then you will need to provide that as well.
  2. No candy, or sweet, sugary foods.
  3. No popcorn – sorry, it just gets too messy

There are 36 weeks in the year, so if everyone signs up for one slot, we have the year almost covered. Also, you will see that some weeks are shorter than others. Lastly, when you sign up, please remember to put the date in your phone and set a reminder for the Friday before.

Thanks everyone!

John

First day, new pick up and drop off pattern

Dear parents,
Tomorrow, the school doors will open at 8:15 a.m. and school starts at 8:30 a.m. When you drop your child off in the morning, please do not walk your child into the school. For the first two days of school, either I or Ms. Emily (our new assistant) will be holding a sign where new students can meet us. If you are a returning student, we are now based in Room 18 (where Ms. Krista used to be) and no longer in our old classroom ( Room 22).
In the Fall, construction will start for the new Junior High building. Due to this, we will have a different pick up and drop off pattern this year. This pattern has been approved by the North Ogden Police Department and has to be followed. Basically, if you travel north bound after pick up, then follow the red route. If you travel southbound, then follow the blue route. Here is the PDF: http://mariamontessoriacademy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/17-18-Drop-Off-Map-1.pdf. There is also a Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Av109AjuwQ&feature=youtu.be.

Also, the North Shore Aquatic Center has asked that we not use their parking lot until after Labor Day, because they are still open and need the lot for those visiting the pool.

A few other helpful things to remember to help you while you are dropping off or picking up are:


1. Please pull forward if there is space in front of you.

2. Please try to avoid using your cell phone. 

3. Please follow the directions of staff directing traffic.

4. Please stay in your car when you are using the pickup lanes.

5. Lastly, please be patient. The first couple of weeks of school are always slow with regards to pick up. People are still getting used to it and once North Shore closes, then people can park and pick up over there.
Thanks everybody!
John

Solar eclipse day Monday August 21st

Dear parents,

The first day back to school coincides with a solar eclipse. Although we are not in the path of the total eclipse, we should be able to see a partial eclipse of about 90% totality. Obviously, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and the school has purchased enough solar eclipse glasses for students and faculty.

Therefore, this will be a slightly unusual first day back. Apart from some brief getting to know you activities and introductions, we will be spending most of the day preparing for and observing the eclipse. Students will be given clear safety instructions about how to wear the glasses and not to look at the sun at any point during the eclipse. We will also spend some time constructing a pin hole projector. We can also use binoculars to project an image of the sun onto paper. Therefore, if you wish to send some binoculars in with your child, then we can organize this project.

This is a link to some good information that we will be using in class: http://static.nsta.org/extras/solarscience/SolarScienceInsert.pdf.

Monday is, like the rest of the week, an early out day. School will be finishing at 1 pm.

If you have any questions about the beginning of school, or the eclipse, then please email me.

Many thanks – John

Pool party tomorrow and school information

Dear parents,

Tomorrow (Tuesday 15th) evening is the back to school pool party where you can meet up with teachers and staff and have some fun! It is from 7-9pm at the North Shore Aquatic Center.

At the pool party you will have a chance to meet Bri McMullin, who used to be our room mom last year. Bri is organizing the 5K run and pancake breakfast for Saturday September 23rd. This is a big fundraising event for the school and Bri will be there with information about how you can get involved. Alternatively, if you can’t make it tomorrow, you can always email her at: brianne.mcmullin@gmail.com 

Regarding fundraising, all benefits from fundraising events now go directly to the school, rather than, for example,  just for the 6th or 9th grade field trips.

If you are interested in purchasing school spirit shirts, here is the link: https://squareup.com/store/MariaMontessoriAcademy. You can also try on school spirit shirts at the pool party tomorrow evening and put in an order there. School spirit shirts can be worn as part of the dress code and here is the link regarding the dress code: http://mariamontessoriacademy.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Dress-Code-Guidelines-Updated.pdf.

Lastly, for information through social media about MMA, you can go to @MMAofUT on Twitter and for Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MMAofUT/.

Thanks everybody!

John

 

 

 

Supply list

Dear parents,

Here is the supply list again in case some of you did not get it through the email. There are no changes.

Thanks – John

2017-18 Student Supply List for Mr. John’s class

 What is required this school year?

  • Flash drive – with the increasing use of computers this is now essential (a safer place to save work and allows students to bring work home if required).
  • Colored pencils – we have a large selection of colored pencils in the class, but if you would like your child to have some personal ones then it is recommended.
  • Blue or black pens – four (two of each).
  • Index cards, lined 3” x 5” – 1 packet only.
  • For new students to the class only: Three 2 inch or 1 inch binders (one for math, language and social studies). One 1-inch binder (for physical science). (If you are a returning student then students should already have their own set of binders). Please do not bring anything bigger than a 2-inch binder – we are running out of shelf space! We do not use composition notebooks in class.
  • Plastic dividers for each binder (pocket dividers are optional).
  • Trapper keeper. Can be optional, but a lot of students find them very useful.
  • # 2 Pencils – 24. If the student prefers to use mechanical pencils, it will be their responsibility to supply leads.
  • Dry erase markers – blue and black, or a combination of blue, black, green and red.
  • Scissors – appropriate for your child’s size/age and left or right handed.
  • Handheld pencil sharpener with shavings catcher attached.
  • Erasers for pencils – 10.
  • Clipboard – we have approximately 15 clipboards in the class. However, these tend to disappear, so a clipboard with the student’s name is a good idea.
  • 12-inch ruler.
  • 2 Glue sticks
  • Compass and protractor for geometry.
  • One small ream of copy paper.
  • One packet of wide-ruled lined notebook paper, 150 sheets each.
  • 2 rolls of paper towels.
  • Plastic placemat for lunch – label on the back with your child’s name.
  • Refillable water bottle – labeled with student’s name in permanent marker.
  • A quart or sandwich size box of Ziplock bags.
  • Indoor shoes (slippers) – can be Croc-like , or plain slippers without cartoon characters or designs. No flip-flops please.

What is not required this year

  • Pink erasers
  • Crayons
  • Kleenex