Dear parents,

On Thursday, the 4th graders will be going on their field trip to the American West Heritage Center near Logan. We will be transported by school bus and leaving from the North Shore parking lot at 8.30 am. Please make sure that your child is there by 8.15 so that we can leave promptly. When we are there, the children will undertake a series of different activities that are connected to the exploration and settlement of the area. For example, going to an early school, finding out about the first houses, building a teepee and visiting a trader’s hut. As we will be outside for the majority of the time, please make sure that the children are wearing good shoes, a warm jacket (it can get cold) and for this trip they may wear jeans  (Friday dress code). Also, please bring a sack lunch, there are no facilities to heat food where we eat. If you still haven’t returned the permission slips, please do before Wednesday.

Once again, parent teacher conferences begin on October 16th through 18th and run from 1.30 – 6.50 pm. The conference slots are 20 minutes in length and you can book one using the link: https://www.wejoinin.com/sheets/dqvad

At school the 6th graders have been working on medieval life, focusing on the differences between the daily life of a peasant and a knight or noble. They then went on to research The Plague, or Black Death, which decimated the population of Europe and led to many changes in society. They have started looking at the physical geography of the US, before moving onto political geography and the Westward Expansion.

The 5th graders have been studying Mesopotamia (an area of land between Iraq and Iran incorporating the Tigris and Euphrates rivers) and how from this area arose the first major civilizations. They have been looking at the gods and goddesses that were worshipped and constructing a ziggurat (a kind of proto-pyramid). Lastly, the daily life and what kind of jobs the people undertook – comparing those that are still familiar to us today, with those that are not (such as cup bearers and viziers compared to bakers and accountants). They then moved onto ancient Egypt, looking into tomb building, the pyramids, gods and goddesses and the cult of the afterlife.

The 4th graders have been studying Utah history, moving from the Native American tribes of Utah, to the first Spanish explorers and then onto the trappers and traders that preceded the pioneers. They have recently started studying global geography and will be moving on to using latitude and longitude with mapping skills.

In language arts we have been working on our Scholastic News Magazines and writing different opinion essays based on information found in the magazines. For example, should children be taught cursive writing in school and should we allow fidget spinners? We are also using Utah Compose, an online writing program, and using it to write essays on tropical rainforests – one of our biome projects for the year.

In math, the 6th graders have been looking at rates and ratios. The 5th graders: decimal place value, and order of operations. The 4th graders have been looking at place value and rounding.

Several of you have emailed me saying that the PDF link for the home project is no longer working. I apologize for this, but unfortunately, it seems to be affecting many of the teachers’ blogs. Hopefully, our IT staff can rectify it ASAP, and please email me if you need a copy.

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Many thanks – John

Dear parents,

The October parent teacher conferences will be held on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, October 16th, 17th and 18th. You can sign up for a 20 minute slot by visiting the wejoinin site: https://www.wejoinin.com/sheets/dqvad. Conferences begin at 1.30 and the last sign up is at 6.30. There are no sign ups between 4.50 and 5.30. At the conference we will discuss your child’s progress so far this year and your child will provide samples of their work. We will be setting goals when this is appropriate for your child.

The 4th graders also have their field trip to the American West Heritage Center on Thursday October 12th. If you haven’t returned your permission slips please do so and remember that we are leaving at 8.30 am from the North Shore parking lot by school bus. The bus returns at around 2.45 pm.

Last week we started using the IXL online math program. IXL is a program that dovetails with the Common Core curriculum (https://www.ixl.com/) and has a series of questions that the children work through. It is a great program that we will be using it in class (each student has to log a minimum of 40 minutes per week in school), along with the expectation that it is used at home as well. Probably every 2 weeks I will be posting which sections can be attempted at home. Each child should be aware of the grade and sections that they can be working on.

The sections that can be attempted so far are:

6th grade: A1 – A5 (whole numbers); B1 – B7 (multiplication); R1 – R3 (ratios).

5th grade: A1 – A7 (place values and number sense); B1 – B7 (addition and subtraction); C1 – C5 (multiplication); O1 – O4 (mixed operations).

4th grade: A1 – A4 (number sense); B1 – B5 (addition); C1 – C4 (subtraction).

3rd grade: A1 – A8 (numbers and comparing); C1 – C3 (addition); P1 – P2 (estimation and rounding).

Naturally, if a child’s curiosity makes them want to try other areas then that is fine; but if they are making a lot of mistakes, it is probably better that they are taught it first before they attempt any more.

I will be sending out the new IXL usernames and passwords in the near future, once they have been updated in October.

If you have any questions about PTC, field trips or IXL, then please email me.

Many thanks – John

Dear parents,

I gave the students their first home project today, based on the classification of living things. This afternoon we had a lesson on classification and the animal kingdom and I gave them the project instructions. There are six Kingdoms, but as two are bacteria, the children were asked to do just one of the four remaining: Animalia (animals), Plantae (plants), Fungi, or Protista (single celled organisms). They can present using a poster, a PowerPoint, or a booklet. For the project, they need to describe what makes that Kingdom unique compared to the other Kingdoms and then provide a minimum of three examples from the Kingdom.

Naturally, many of the children wanted the animal kingdom, but in order to broaden their research some were given either Plants, Fungi or Single-Celled organisms. Each Kingdom has some fascinating examples of organisms that the students can research and write about.

I have attached a PDF to this post and please email me if you have any questions. The due date is Friday October 13th.

Classification of Living Things Project

With thanks – John

Dear parents,

It looks like we have enough drivers for the trip! Thank you so much. I will meet all the drivers just before 8.30 on Friday at the North Shore Parking Lot where I will give you directions and an itinerary. All students are to meet at North Shore as well instead of going into school.

It looks like there is a strong chance of rain in the morning, so please make sure that your child has a rain jacket or umbrella, along with adequate footwear. We will be having a late lunch at 1.30 pm. So again, please provide your child with some food for a mid-morning snack. We will return for 3 pm pick up. Friday dress code please.

Thanks again!

John

Dear parents,

I’m sorry to keep on about this, but we are still short of rides for the field trip this Friday. If you have already signed up through the carpool link – thank you! And, can you make sure that you have correctly allocated the number of students you can take.

Here’s the carpool link again: https://www.groupcarpool.com/t/y0vs8j and Jen can be contacted through email at noyesbush@msn.com, or on 801-791-1292.

Thank you everybody!

John

Dear parents,

I have a attached a PDF document which details some important dates over the school year. These are a mixture of classroom events and school-wide events. It is not a definitive guide, as over the year, field trips will be added as the opportunities arise. Likewise, home projects will be announced nearer the time. Please email me if you have any questions.

Many thanks – John

The 2017-18 year at a glance

Dear parents,

We are in need of drivers for the field trip to “A Celebration of the Constitution” in Bountiful next Friday September 15th. One of our parents, Jen Noyes, has created a quick carpool sign up. Parents need to click on the link to volunteer to drive AND add students as riders. Jen can be contacted through email at noyesbush@msn.com, or on 801-791-1292. The carpool link is: https://www.groupcarpool.com/t/y0vs8j.

Unfortunately, we only have one parent signed up at the moment and unless we have enough drivers for the 28 students then we will not be able to attend.

Alisha Coakley has volunteered to be our room mom for this year. Thank you very much Alisha! Once this field trip has been arranged then carpooling for future field trips will go through Alisha.

Again, if you have any questions then please email me.

With thanks – John

Dear parents,

The whole of upper elementary are going on a field trip to “A Celebration of the Constitution” in Bountiful next Friday September 15th. The aim of the trip is to inform the students of the Constitution, the Founding Fathers, Freedom Fighters and Ellis Island. Although these are primarily 6th grade history requirements, they are important for all students to attend.

Tomorrow, the students will receive the permission slips. The top page is information for parents to keep, so please detach it from the second page which should be returned with the student. As usual, it is important that you return the permission slips ASAP, so that we can guarantee your child’s place on the field trip.

As with many field trips, we are dependent on the generosity of parents in driving us to the field trip location. Usually, this is arranged through the room mom (parent). However, as we do not have a room mom at the moment, can you please indicate to me if you would like to drive students to the field trip, including how many students you can take. When we have a room mom, then hopefully she can finalize the details with you.

We are leaving at 8.30 am from the North Shore parking lot and will arrive at Bountiful Park at 9 am. After enjoying the presentations, we will have lunch at 1.30, before returning to school at 2.15 pm, arriving back at school at 2.45 for pick up at 3. This field trip is free for students and chaperons.

Please remember that there is an Open House this Thursday from 6.00-7.30. From 6-6.30 and  7-7.30 there will be classroom tours and open questions and from 6.30-7 there will be a Montessori 101 in the gym. You only need to attend one of the classroom tours.

Lastly, the school is holding one of its biggest fundraisers on Saturday September 23rd with the 5K run and pancake breakfast. This is held in the morning, starting with the run at 8 am and then after you’ve finished a pancake breakfast! The school has sent out an email about this, but if you want more information, then please contact Jenna Beers at beers.jenna@gmail.com. I think I mentioned it in a previous post, that all proceeds go to MMA and not just to the 6th grade field trip.

Hope you all enjoyed the long weekend and have a great week!

John

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