Hello all!

Well, we are moving right along as we start our 5th week of school.  It is going by so fast!  We are getting more into a regular routine as we start work cycle and cultural lessons.  It is so exciting to see the children pulling works off the shelf.  The returning students are picking up right where they left off and the new students are learning and exploring new things.  I have loved seeing how anxious the children are to get to work!  Granted, some are more anxious than others, but for the most part, they are being productive and working hard.

We talked a lot about the September 11th attacks last week.  We read stories and did a writing assignment about different aspects of that day.  This week we will switch our focus to the Constitution, since it is Constitution Day on September 17th.  We will be working on memorizing the Preamble, so feel free to help your student with that at home!

As some of you know, our school is starting a Student Council this year.  We have two students from our class running for office.  Elizabeth is running for Secretary and Annika is running for Vice President.  We are having an assembly on Wednesday morning at 9:15 where they will get to give speeches to all of the Upper El in preparation for the election.  I wish them luck and know that they will do a great job!  As part of the Student Council, each class gets to elect a class representative.  We had several students that wanted the position, so on Friday, they all gave speeches and we had a class vote.  Everyone did a wonderful job and I was so proud of them!  In the end, Alex was chosen.  Congratulations, Alex!  I know he will represent our class well.  Layla had the second most votes, so she will be Alex’s back up.

I would like to remind you all to ask your students for their student planners every day.  They are expected to bring them back signed every morning!  I make a list on the board every day of everything we did that day and give the students time to write it in their planners.  They have no excuses for not having them filled out and bringing them home each night.

Also, please check www.montessorimanager.com as another way to see what your students are doing in class.  Ms. Kristina spends a lot of time every day inputting the data for you to see.  If you aren’t seeing any work for your child, it is likely because they are not bringing their work charts to Ms. Kristina so that she can see their works.  As this is a new system, we are all getting used to the routine and hope to have all of the kinks worked out soon.

Thanks to all of you who supported the school’s 5K yesterday!  It was a great event and the weather was perfect.  I think we all had a good time!  I hope to have a picture of the participants from our class up soon.  I am still trying to figure out how to do everything I want to do on this blog.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns!