Its time for another round of Parent Teacher Conferences! This is a student led conference where your child will have the opportunity to share their works and goals with you. Please use the following link to sign up for a time that works for you.
https://www.wejoinin.com/sheets/cazxd
I look forward to meeting with you!
Kirsten
Just a reminder that the orders and money for the See’s Candy Fundraiser are due on Monday, January 25th. Thanks for your support and participation!
Our 5th grade students and Lindsay will be going on a field trip to JA Biztown on January 28. This is an annual field trip that our students look forward to immensely. In order for this field trip to run smoothly, we need 2 parent volunteers (parents are the hub of this amazing operation). You will be responsible for overseeing a student run business.
As you consider whether or not you would like to attend, please consider the following:
This is an amazingly fun and rewarding field trip to chaperone. Your children learn and grow so much during this experience.
If you are interested in volunteering for this field trip, please let me know no later than Friday, January 8.
Also, be looking for a permission slip to come home in the next couple of days.
Thanks in advance!
Kirsten
The science fair is fast approaching! I hope that you and your children have been talking about it and working on it at home. If you are still struggling to find a topic, www.sciencebuddies.org is a great resource. Don’t put this off until the last minute! I know from personal experience how stressful it can be. Remember that 6th graders also need to have a research paper to accompany their project.
Ms. Paula is in need of help from volunteers to make the science fair a success. Here is a message from her:
Science Fair volunteers needed 17 and 18 February 2016. Maria Montessori Academy will be having our annual science fair for the 4th and 5th graders on the 17th and for the 6th and 8th graders on the 18th of February. This is always an exciting time for our students and we need your help to make this a fun and memorable event. We need parent volunteers to help with a variety of tasks from set-up/clean-up, judging, judging coordinators, score keepers and snacks. No experience necessary for most of the tasks. Please contact Paula Dugan at pdugan@mariamontessoriacademy.org or your child’s teacher if you would like to volunteer.
Please let me know if you have questions!
Kirsten
Hello! I hope everyone had a nice winter break! I know I enjoyed spending time with my family and relaxing. Its always a little hard to get back into the routine of things after a long break, but I was so excited to come in yesterday morning and see all of your beautiful children! I want to take a moment to thank everyone for the kindness shown to Ms. Venessa and I for the holidays. We appreciate all of the kind words and generous gifts. Thank you also for your response to my request for help with snack! The children really do miss snack the days we don’t have anything.
Today your children should have brought home two fliers. One is for the school’s See’s Candy fundraiser. Money and orders are due on January 25th. The other is about the Open Houses planned by our school. The Jr. High parent and student night is on January 12th from 7-8 PM. The Open House for Early Childhood and 1st-6th grade is on January 19th from 7-8 PM. Please invite anyone you know that might be interested in learning more about our school and the Montessori method of education.
Today your children started using Utah Compose, which is a wonderful resource to help students improve their essay writing. We will be spending some time working on this in class, but it will also be necessary for your children to practice at home. The website is www.utahcompose.com. Their username is their SSID # with three 0’s in front of it. The SSID # is written in the front of their planners. The passwords will vary. For most students it will either be “password”, “student1”, or their username again. There are a few students that have unique passwords. They should know who they are. Every grade level has an assigned essay topic on Utah Compose that they should be working on.
Our class is going on a field trip to the Leonardo Museum on February 23rd. We will be taking the frontrunner and will not need drivers, but if you would like to help chaperone this trip, please let me know.
I want you to know I love your children and I am grateful for the time that I get to spend with them. While I know our class isn’t perfect and we have some struggles at times, your children are AMAZING and are doing really well. Thanks for all of your help and support!
Kirsten
International Festival is tomorrow from 9-11. I am still missing 11 projects, so I expect to have those tomorrow!
Our class does a gift exchange every year for the holidays. This year some of the students asked if we could do a Secret Santa gift exchange, so we decided to give it a try. All of the students drew names last Friday. They should bring a gift for their person this Friday. The gift should be small and simple and no more than $3. I hope they shared this information with you already and it isn’t new to you! If you are unable to pick up a gift before Friday, please let me know and I will try to have a few extras. I failed to make a list of who drew which name, but if your child doesn’t remember who they have, ask me anyway and I’ll figure it out.
Thanks!
Kirsten
Its the last week before our winter break! Yeah! Just a few reminders moving forward…
Continent/Country reports and display boards are due on Tuesday!!!! The international festival will be on Wednesday morning from 9-11 AM. Parents are invited to attend. Don’t forget to let me know ahead of time if your child plans to bring food to share at the festival.
Our class will also be having a pizza party on Tuesday, so you won’t need to pack a lunch that day.
This Friday is an early out day, so plan to pick up your children by 1:00 PM. After that there will be no school until Monday, January 4th. Have a wonderful break!
Please take some time over the break to work on science fair. As of now, I have only received a few project proposals. Don’t put it off until the last minute!
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you,
Kirsten
Here are a few things that are coming up in the next several weeks.
*First is our field trip to the Nutcracker on Monday, December 7th. We have enough certified drivers to transport the students, as well as a few extra parents that wanted to tag along. The parents that I have coming are Josh’s mom, Curtis and Isaac’s mom, Austin’s mom, Steevie’s mom, Emma’s mom, Kru’s mom, Sadie’s mom, and Aspen’s mom. Please plan to meet at the school no later than 11:15 PM if you are driving. We should return to the school by about 2:15 PM. Students should come to school in clothes appropriate for attending a ballet performance.
*Next, there is a holiday show at the school on December 10th. Here is more information from Ms. Connie, our music teacher:
Wow! Time is going by so fast and I feel like I am getting so far behind! Here are some things you should know about.
*Book reports are due tomorrow
*We can wear jeans to school tomorrow! Yeah! Shirts still need to be dress code.
*There is no school next week for Thanksgiving Break! Have a wonderful holiday.
*Science fair is just around the corner. Please have your students ready with their project proposal and question ASAP. The papers went home yesterday.
*Your children were given a paper today about MyOn, a reading program that our school is using. Students will have access to a digital library of interesting and educational books. They will be assigned books on occasion that are about things that we are studying in class. I have asked that the students get on the site over the break and take the quiz that will get them started and give them access to the books. From there they can explore and read all they want!
*The school’s annual International Festival is coming up in mid December. Your children picked a continent and a country to study and were given a packet of questions to research. In addition to the research packet, each student will need to come to the festival with a presentation to set up and share. This is usually a tri-fold display board with pictures, maps, and interesting facts about their country. In addition, they can bring clothing, artifacts, food (with guidelines), etc. to share from their country.
*Our field trip to the Nutcracker is all set up and ready to go. We have enough certified drivers to transport all of the children, as well as a few extra parents 🙂 The show is free for the students, but adults will need to pay $2 for their ticket. I am still missing permission slips from Lucas and Erik, so try to get those in!
I think I have probably overwhelmed you enough for one night! Please know that I am always here to answer your questions. My e-mail is kgonzales@mariamontessoriacademy.org.
I love your children! Thanks for sharing them with me!
Kirsten
Hello!
Its Chili Cookoff time! MMA will be holding its 2nd annual chili cookoff on Thursday, November 12th from 6-7:30 PM. This is a fun night where you get to sample lots of delicious chili and its all you can eat! The cost is $5 per person up to 4 people and $3 for each additional person. Children 4 and under are free. This is a fun way to support the 6th graders as they prepare to go on their field trip to the Redwoods.
If you make a great pot of chili or yummy cornbread, please sign up to bring some to the cookoff! There will be a prize for the best pot of chili. You can sign up here: http://www.wejoinin.com/sheets/vtlns We need your support!
Also, if any of you would like to come in and help our class make a pot of chili to enter into the contest, please let me know!
Thanks so much for all you do!
Kirsten