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Dress code and volunteer still needed for JA Biztown

Dear parents,

I sent the dress code home with students this afternoon, as I am having to spend more time addressing dress code infractions instead of carrying out instruction. Typically, students are continuing to wear outdoor clothes, such as hoodies, or tops with patterns, designs and logos in the classroom. If your children have plain tops, then that is acceptable to wear inside school.

Unfortunately, one of our parent volunteers has had to drop out of JA Biztown. I know it’s short notice, but if you can volunteer for next Friday January 18th, then please let me know ASAP.

Thank you everybody!

John

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STEM week

Dear parents,

Next week is a busy week with lots of assemblies and activities going on. The 4th graders will be doing their STEM project (involving water bottle tossing), throughout the week and displaying on Friday 18th in the South Kiva. Again, if you have any plastic water bottles, please send them in with your student on Monday.

Tuesday 15th: 6th graders are going to STARBASE – please try to be at North Shore by 8:20, so we can leave promptly. 5th graders will be displaying their Invention Convention.

Wednesday 16th: Science Fair for 6th graders. Parents are welcome to visit the fair in the Junior High Gym from 3 pm onwards.

Friday 18th: 5th graders are going to JA Biztown. We leave the North Shore parking lot at 7:20 am and will be returning at approximately 2:30 pm. 4th graders will display their STEM project.

And just to remind you, on Monday 21st there is no school because of Martin Luther King Jr day.

Thanks everybody!

John

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Updated information for STEM week, JA Biztown, and “SCREENAGERS”

Dear parents,

Some updates for STEM week:

  • 5th graders will display their invention convention on Tuesday January 15th.
  • The 4th graders will display their in-school STEM project on Friday January 18th.
  • The 5th graders will be leaving at 7:20 am on Friday January 18th from North Shore parking lot to go to JA Biztown.

Here is some information about the documentary “SCREENAGERS:”

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.

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

Thank you – John

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Information for the New Year

Dear parents,

I hope you had a wonderful and happy holiday break! On Thursday and Friday we eased back into the routine with “specials” (PE, music and computing) on Thursday and then some cultural (social studies and geography) work on Friday morning, looking at the first presidents and US geographical regions. This sets us up to start examining the Westward Expansion of the continent (which some of the students had heard of thanks to the movie Jumanji 2!), starting with Lewis and Clarke. In the afternoon we did some New-Year-themed art work.

Next week is a regular week, except that Friday January 11th is a professional development day for teachers, meaning that there is no school for students that day. Also, on Monday, the 6th graders will be having their first STARBASE field trip. Please be at North Shore parking lot no later than 8:30. The following STEM week from January 14th through 18th is a busier one.

On Monday 14th, the 5th graders are expected to have their Invention Convention/Engineering model ready to display. They are not giving presentations outside the classroom, but I am asking for presentations to their class.

On Tuesday 14th, the 6th graders are going to STARBASE.

Wednesday 16th is the science fair for 6th graders. They should be ready to have their posters in the small gym by 8:30 am. Please do not bring any live animals or plants into the gym. If you have chosen an engineering project then either bring photographs, or if it is small enough the actual apparatus. If you have taken videos, or still shots of the experiment and wish to show them at the fair, then the student is responsible to bring in their own device. There will not be room to charge the device, so make sure it is charged before the fair. Make sure your video is only a couple of minutes long, as judges have a maximum of 10 minutes to spend at each project.

Parents are welcome to come and view the fair after 3 o’clock and we will be ending the open session at 4.30. Please encourage your student to leave their science fair board until the next day, when they can collect it first thing in the morning. Please do not come in to view the fair during the day (from 8.45-3 pm).

Also, if your child has not done so already, I need the title of their project and exactly what they are going to do by Tuesday this coming week.

On Friday 18th, the 5th graders are going to JA Biztown. There are two 5th grade parents who have volunteered to go as chaperones, but if you are still interested, please let me know. If you haven’t done so already, please return the permission slips to me ASAP. The requested donation is $5, either by cash or check to the front office.

During STEM week the 4th graders will be doing a STEM project in class. There will be no need to take the project work home, unless the student has failed to complete the necessary work in class.

Next, the administration has asked teachers to communicate with you that:

this Friday, January 4th, the Intent to Return enrollment period began. This is a time when you will receive an email (you may have done so already) that asks you to officially indicate your intent for the 2019-20 school year. You will have to say whether your enrolled child/children is/are returning for the next school year or not.

If you have any questions about the process or how to secure your spot at MMA for the 2019-20 school year, please communicate directly to the front office and/or the principal René Baker. 

Lastly, there is no school on Monday January 21st for Martin Luther King Day.

Thank you everybody and have an enjoyable rest of the weekend.

John

 

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Field trip tomorrow and Biztown volunteers/chaperones

Dear parents,

Thank you for signing up to chaperone for the field trip tomorrow; we now have enough drivers! I will meet the students in the classroom, and then at 8:40 we will head over to North Shore to drive to the Aerospace Museum.  Normally, I allow students to wear a Friday dress code (jeans), but as we are returning to school in the afternoon, this will not be possible. We will be eating lunch at school on our return, as there is no assigned space available at the museum for food and beverages.

We are still looking for one more chaperone/volunteer for JA Biztown. Typically, this is a parent of a 5th grade student, but it can be open to all parents. You will be driving the students to JA Biztown (located in the Discovery Gateway Museum) and then helping in one of the businesses there. You will be able to see and hang out with your child at times, but usually, you will not be assigned to the same business as your child. Please contact me by email if you are interested.

Thank you!

John

 

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Field trip next week – two more drivers required

Dear parents,

Thank you to everyone who contributed to and attended the Christmas brunch. We had a lovely time and a big THANK YOU to Ms. Alisha for organizing it all.

We’re still looking for two more drivers/chaperones to take us to the Aerospace Museum at Hill AFB. We’re meeting at 8:45 at North Shore Parking Lot and leaving promptly. We have a workshop at 9:30 and then a self-guided tour of the museum and scavenger hunt for the students. We aim to leave around 12:10 to get back for lunch and then recess. You will only be driving/chaperoning for the morning.

You can sign up through: https://www.trackitforward.com/site/389525/event/448689 and/or contacting Ms. Alisha via email at: eventhair@yahoo.com.

Thank you everybody!

John

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Stakeholder survey

Dear Families,

The school has asked that you 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.

Thanks – John

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STARBASE transportation information for 6th grade parents only

Dear parents,
I know several of you have been asking about transportation arrangements in getting the students to the STARBASE camp. Things have become more complicated recently, due to increased security on Base (of course this is a good thing). In order to facilitate this process, the organizers of STARBASE sent us the following information. They will be providing a bus for us to escort the students and teachers onto Base:
After speaking with you I feel like we have a good plan to set in place for Maria Montessori’s transportation while at STARBASE. I will attach a document that provides the address and map to the Hill Aerospace Museum. It will also have some instructions for the drivers of where to park and what the contingency plan is if the bus is not an option.
I will need a list of all the drivers and passengers 16 years or older that will need to get on base. Please have them fill out the form “Transportation for base access” attached to this email. I will need this information by January 2nd. Please make parents aware once that information is turned over to security forces we will not be able to add any drivers.
One last thing, I can not press upon you enough to relay to your parents driving students not to be late dropping off or picking up. The use of the base bus is a courtesy that has been extended to STARBASE and we do not want to keep them waiting; especially if they have other routes. 
I will be sending out the documents, that are referred to in the information above, at the beginning of next week. Again if you could return any pertinent ones to me ASAP that would be really appreciated!
Thank you for supporting our students in their science education!
John