Dear Parents,

Here are the spelling lists for next week.  Spelling tests are on Thursday.  We highly encourage all students to study their words at home with a parent or sibling.

List A:  bib, fin, kid, pig, rib, wig, lid, pin

List B:long, strong, tongs, gong, song, honk, prong, wrong

List C: antenna, balance, boulder, cliff, joint, machine, motor, muscle, planet, slope

List D:ambition, auction, coast, current, frail, intelligent, novel, resident, starve, volunteer

Calendar updates:

October 5: Field trip to Black Island Farms.  Waiver forms and detailed information will be coming home next week.  Students will need transportation to and from Black Island Farms. Please let me know if you will be attending this field trip with your child so I can make sure we have enough chaperones.  The requested donation for the field trip is $4.. Students need to pay in advance at the office or on the online payment link which will be emailed next week.  Adults attending will need to pay for themselves at Black Island Farms the morning of the field trip.

October 16-18: Parent Teacher Conferences (sign-up sheets will be posted the first week of October)

October 19-20:Fall Break. No school.

October 27: Fall Festival at MMA (more details to come)

List A: ax, bag, cab, van, cap, dad, gas, ham  (all first graders are currently on this list)

List B: bank, tank, plank, sank, fang, hang

List C: accident, acrobat, alarm, bounce, enormous, gap, scoop, support, tangle, weigh

List D: attract, crew, dangle, drift, event, launch, opposite, reverse, signal, steer

We went over what list each students is on last week.  All second and third graders should know what list they are on.

Dear Parents,

Our first home projects are due next week.  This is meant to be a fun, simple project.  Students will present a favorite book they have read.  If they are not yet reading fluently they may choose a book someone has read to them.  Students will need to tell about the main characters, a brief summary of the book, and share why they liked it.  As with all home projects, they will need a visual aid (e.g. puppet, mini-book, shadow box, mobile, clay model, etc.) to accompany their report.  If possible I would like them to bring the book as well.

Students will be presenting their reports on the following days:

Monday, Sept. 18: Christine, Denver, Lucas, Christian, Halee, Kalia, Brody, Alejandro

Wednesday, Sept. 20: Eli, Graysha, Pranet, Taylor, Gage, Evan,  Xienna, Sam

Thursday, Sept. 21: Daxton, A.J., Savannah C, Evie, Axel, Luca, Aaron,

Friday, Sept. 22: Camdyn, Asher, Tony, Crystal, Savannah B, Lily

Dear Parents,

This year MMA is hosting a parent/guardian only Open House this Thursday, September 7th from 6-7:30pm.  The schedule was 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 be classroom tours. From 6:30-7pm we will host a Montessori 101 workshop in the gym for elementary and in the yurt for junior high. Then, from 7–7:30pm there will be classroom tours again. If parents work late and want to attend the Montessori 101 and then do the later classroom tour – that works for them and vice versa for parents who want to attend and leave earlier. If parents have two children at the school they can attend both classroom tours. If our seasoned Montessori parents do not want to attend the Montessori 101, they can attend either the early or late classroom tours. 

Hope to see you there!

Ms. Krista

Ms. Krista and Ms. Sharon’s class Overview

2017-2018

Normalization:
The first 6 weeks of school are called the “normalization period.” During this time, students learn the rules and organization of the classroom. They become familiar with how to use their individual work-chart and how to work independently, etc. Please have your child at school during this important time.

Friday Schedule:

Starting Sept. 29 the lower-elementary students will rotate through social studies, art/music, and P.E. classes throughout the morning from 8:40-11:30am. Friday afternoon will focus on our Continent Studies—Africa (first semester) and Europe (second semester)

Class Blog:

I will be using the class blog for listing upcoming events and information.  Please Subscribe to my blog by clicking “Subscribe to Ms. Krista’s class by email” on the lower right column.  You will receive an email asking you to verify.  Click the link to verify.  You will then automatically receive an email each time I post something on the blog.

Celebrations of Life:
This is a celebration in honor of your child’s birthday. I will send a schedule out each month for the following month’s birthdays.  Parents are invited to attend. Please provide a picture and brief summary for each year of your child’s life.  The school policy does not allow food or party favors.  If your child has a summer birthday then I will schedule his or her celebration of life sometime midyear.

Continent Study Project:
During each semester students will be assigned to do a presentation on a country or territory in the continent we are studying. This semester each child will be assigned a country in Africa.   The International Festival will be held in December this year.  Each child will need to be prepared to present their country at the festival.  I will provide more details as we get closer.

Home-Based Projects:
Each student will be expected to do a home-based project several times during the year, which also includes book reports. This is an opportunity for them to do a presentation on something they are excited to learn about and share with the rest of the class. I will provide more information as they are assigned. For a brief summary of topics please click the link at the top right of the blog.

Reading:
Research has shown that reading for at least 20 minutes a day helps create successful readers and writers. I highly encourage you to have your child read to you at home daily
Seasonal Clothing:
Please make sure your child is adequately dressed for the seasonal changes. They will need boots, gloves, hats, and coats during the cold weather season. Please always send a jacket as the weather can change unexpectedly.   We will also be having P.E. every Tuesday.  Please make sure they bring appropriate athletic shoes that day.

Attendance:
Please have your child here on time. It is very distracting and disruptive to our line time and work-cycle when students arrive late. Students are allowed 5 unexcused absences a year. Please contact the office if you know your child will be absent.  School policy requires that I notify a parent by email once a child has been tardy 3 times in a semester.  If a student’s tardies exceed this amount the student will have to be referred to the administration. (Please read through the parent handbook at mariamontessoriacademy.org for complete policy guidelines.)

Illness:
In an effort to keep all our students and teachers healthy, please keep your child home if they are sick. Students are not allowed to call from the classroom phone. If a child needs to call home they will need to go to the office. Parents will be notified if their child has a fever or is throwing-up.

Water bottles:
Each child is expected to have their own water bottle in the classroom. Water bottles will be sent home on Friday to be washed. Please return them on Monday.

Snack:
Snack is a part of MMA’s philosophy. An online sign-up sheet is used for our classroom snack. You will find the link on my blog under “sign-ups”.  If everyone can sign up for at least 2 different weeks during the year than snacks will be covered! Snacks also need to be healthy to follow MMA’s health policy. Please click on “Snack Suggestions” on the top right column of the blog for ideas.

Lunch:
We have a microwave in our class for use during lunch time. Because many children bring lunches that need to be heated, please make sure all microwavable items will take no longer than 1-2 minutes.

Field trips:
I will be scheduling several fieldtrips during the year. Transportation is a challenge and we need authorized drivers. Please talk to the office if you are willing to become an authorized driver for our class fieldtrips.

Please subscribe to MMA’s blog  to receive the weekly newsletter for upcoming information. Check the school calendar for important events and no-school days and early outs.

We look forward to teaching your children this year!

Sincerely,
Ms. Krista and Ms. Sharon

Dear Parents,

I have added an online sign-up sheet for our classroom snack to the lower right column on the blog under “sign-ups”.  I am also including it here.  Please click on the following link: snack sign-up.

If everyone can sign up for at least 2 different weeks during the year than snacks will be covered!  Please remember that donated foods must follow MMA’s wellness policy. You may click on “snack suggestions” on the top right column of the blog for ideas

We appreciate your help in making sure the children have snack throughout the school year.  Thank you very much!

Ms. Krista

Dear Parents,

I hope you are all enjoying your summer.  I’ve noticed a few “Back-to-School” ads coming out already.  So for those of you who are hoping to get a head start on school shopping I’ve made a list of classroom supply needs for this coming school year.

PLEASE LABEL THE FOLLOWING WITH YOUR CHILD’S NAME:

• 3 regular composition notebooks
• 2 Primary composition notebooks. (for 1st and 2nd graders only. See sample picture below)
•  
• 2 sturdy plastic pocket folders with prongs (color specified by grade). 1st graders-2 green; 2nd graders-2 blue; 3rd graders-2 red
• Small sturdy dry-erase lapboard
• Pencil pouch
• 8 count watercolor
• Water bottle
• Slippers with sturdy soles.  (2016-2017 MMA Parent Handbook:  “All students need to have a soft sole shoe/slipper that must be worn at all times while in the building. The slipper needs to be free from logos, lettering, graphics, sparkles, sheen, decorative accents, and characters. *Note: a small pattern is acceptable.”)

PLEASE DO NOT LABEL THE FOLLOWING ITEMS:

• 2 fine point dry-erase markers
• 2 Packages of regular non-mechanical pencils
• Large package of Crayola twist-up colored pencils (not twist-up crayons)
• 1 box of tissues
• 1 roll paper towels
• 1 container Clorax or Lysol wipes
• 2 Yellow highlighters
• 1 ream of paper
• 1 package of Ziploc bags any size

Dear Parents,

Ms. Sharon and I would like to express our great appreciation for all of the special gifts sent in this past week.  The flowers were beautiful, the notes were sweet and tender, and the drinks were delicious.  Thank you so much!  We have loved working with all of your children this year.

Upcoming Events:

Monday, May 15: SAGE language test for 3rd graders.  This is the final SAGE test this year.  Please make sure your child gets a good night’s rest and a nutritious breakfast.

Spirit Week–May 15-19

Monday–Crazy hair/hat day

Tuesday–Crazy Sock day

Wednesday–Mix Match day

Thursday–Pajama day

Friday–Dress down day (jeans, shorts, t-shirts, etc., but no logos)

Friday is also field day.  We will be outside all morning so don’t forget to slather on the sunscreen before sending your child to school.

May 22-26: School dismisses at 1pm all week

May 22-24–PTC

May 24:  3rd grade bridging ceremony begins at 10:30.  Parents of 3rd graders are invited to attend.

May 26: Last day of school!

Dear Parents,

Our end of year Parent teacher conferences are coming up on May 22-24. Students are invited to attend with their parents. Please no younger siblings.

Please Sign up for conferences by May 21.   After that I will print the schedule and clear the online sign-up. Changes to the sign-up will not be able to be made after that date.

May 2017 PTC sign up link

Thank you,

Ms. Krista

Friday, May 12:  Christine. Denver, Lucas, Christian, Brody, Alejandro, Eli, Allie

Tuesday, May 16: Donovan, Maddy, Luna, Graysha, Pranet, Taylor K, Morgan

Wednesday, May 17: Gage, Evan, Daxton, Xienna, Jaicee, Auston, Brighton

Friday, May 19: Taylor KP, Cyan, Marcus, Rigel, Halee, Kalia

Spelling words:

List 1:ring, sling, sing, wing, swing, king, bring

List 2:whale, whisker, whisper, white, wheat, whirlpool

List 3:whoever, sometimes, whenever, everybody, everything, airplane, airport, somewhere, haircut, myself, mailbox, elsewhere, upstairs, downstairs, bedtime

List 4: various, original, entire, straight, complete, ancient, current, common, modern, plain, dozen, popular, sincere, ridiculous, hungry

This will be the last week of spelling tests this year.