Hello!

Things are moving right along in our classroom!  We had a great week with lots of fun things happening.  We had two assemblies this week with two different authors.  The children learned a lot about how to be better writers and how to follow their dreams, no matter how old they are.  We also did a really amazing activity in our class on Monday.  The 6th graders were finishing up their unit on Ancient Rome.  We learned about their legal system and some of the laws of that time.  We turned our classroom into a courtroom and had a trial for a real court case from Ancient Rome.   Everyone in the class played a role in the case.  Some were jurors, some were lawyers, and some were defendants.  Everyone did a great job and we learned a lot while we were having fun!  Our Friday incentive activity for today was making play dough.  We learned about measuring and kneading dough and we had a lot of fun together while making a big mess.

Monday our class will be doing their SAGE Interim Testing for Language and Math.  Please be sure your child comes to school well rested and with a good breakfast.  Please send a water bottle and a HEALTHY snack for your child.  If you have any concerns about the SAGE Interim Testing, please contact Stephanie Speicher at sspeicher@mariamontessoriacademy.org.

Remember the food truck on Wednesday for the Jr. High fundraiser.  Also, money for pizza Friday is due on Wednesday.  It is $1.75 per slice and you can order as many as you would like.  Please send cash or check in a sealed envelope clearly labeled with your child’s order.

Our class has decided to have a Thanksgiving/Gratitude Feast on Thursday, November 20th at 12:00 PM.  Your children created a menu and I created a sign up sheet so that you can sign up to help.  Each student is allowed to invite one special guest to the feast.  They are to invite someone that they are thankful for in their life.  The sign up sheet can be found here:  http://www.wejoinin.com/sheets/lrpgz

I am still waiting for some of the students to turn in their Veteran’s Day reports.  I expect to have all of them on Monday.

I got the updated list for certified drivers this morning.  I now have Sheralin Noble, Jeannie Smith, and Monique Penman on the list for our class.  Please contact Ms. April (abench@mariamontessoriacademy.org) in the office if you think your name should be on that list.  Our field trip to the Nutcracker is coming up on December 8th, so we need to make sure we have enough drivers by then or we will have to make other arrangements.

Yesterday, I sent home a letter with each student that had a spreadsheet attached showing all of the work that they have accomplished in the last two weeks.  This is meant to be another way, in addition to the planners, for me to communicate to you what work your child has been doing at school.  It is also another way for the students to be held accountable for what work they are, or are not, doing.  These spreadsheets will be sent home every other week, so if you are not seeing them, please ask your student about them.

I know this is long with a lot of information!  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  I enjoy teaching and spending time with your children.  They are amazing!  Thank you for sharing them with me.

Kirsten