Ms. Laura's Class

Hello, and welcome back from Fall Break!

I hope everyone had the chance to rest and recuperate – I have certainly noticed less sniffilies in the classroom.  Thank you to all who attended Parent Teacher Conferences last week, it was great to meet those I hadn’t met before, get reintroduced to those I met in the whirlwind of the pool party, and visit with those I have met a few times now!  I am looking forward to continuing to build on these relationships as we move forward into the school year.

Some things to be aware of heading into week ten:

1. Emails for student conferencing have gone out.  If you didn’t receive one, or you need it sent again, please contact me.  I appreciate you working with me to find a day that works well for these conferences, and I am excited to implement this into my classroom.
2. I am working (albeit slower than I would like) on getting all information requested during Parent Teacher conferences out to you.  Thank you for your patience.
3. This week is Red Ribbon Week!  We are going to be doing all sorts of activities from door decorations to essays to listening to guest speakers.
4. Friday is Fall Festival.  Please see the previous post for more info on that.
5. Your child got their spelling words today!  Look for those coming home written in planners as well as in sheet form within the next couple of days.  As I said in PTC, expect them to have those words for a couple of weeks at a time.
6. I am looking for one more volunteer to come and read with a book club in my classroom.  The commitment would be 2 times per week, for about a half hour each time.  Please email me if you are interested.

Thank you all! As always, any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at lhughes@mariamontessoriacademy.org

Almost forgot!

Suggested IXL for the rest of this month: (PLEASE NOTE!!! I am NOT requiring every unit listed to be completed!  This is just a general list of things we have been studying in class that your child can choose from.  ONLY 20 MINUTES OF IXL IS REQUIRED PER NIGHT. I don’t want your child to miss out on other things because he or she is on the computer doing IXL.)

• 4th: D.1,10; L (any unit); E.1,3,5,16
• 5th: C. 12-18; D 1,2,5,13; F 1,2,6,7; K 15; L.6.8, X.1
• 6th: B. 6; C. 1,4,6; D 1,-3; I 1,4-7,9; J 4; K 1; O 1,3,4; Y 1,2; Z 1; HH 1,3

Hello!

Thank you for understanding my brief hiatus from posting last week.  I was down in Salt Lake City continuing training.  I got to work closely with some amazing instructors, I had the opportunity to learn some new things, but most importantly, I was inspired with some amazing ideas that I am excited to bring back to my own classroom.

I missed my students terribly tho, so I am very excited to get back into the classroom this week, even though it is only for a short week.

Very happy belated birthday to Donovan!

Nuts and Bolts:

• If you have not yet signed up for a Parent Teacher Conference, please follow this link. The sign up program sends you a reminder email, so you shouldn’t miss your time.  I’m looking forward to meeting with all of you!
• This is your reminder that this week we are on early release schedule, and we have Thursday and Friday off for fall break.
• Parent Teacher Conferences mean MAPA BOOK FAIR!  Get ready (and excited!) to buy some books.
• Speaking of books, if you are OK with having your child read from the Young Adult section of the library, (think Twilight, Hunger Games, Michael Vey’s novels)  your child will need permission.  As the books in this section can be quite heavy at times and sometimes not suitable for the age, reading level, and maturity of some upper elementary students, my students cannot check books out without permission.  Please, consider the topics young adult novels often contain, consider the maturity and reading level of your student, and if you would like to give permission, please shoot me an email at lhughes@mariamontessoracademy.org  or send in a note with your student.
• Lost and found is overflowing! Everything will  be donated after Parent Teacher Conferences.  Please make sure you check that out while you are in the school for conferences to make sure all things are returned to you.
• From the MMA Monday Moments page:
  

  fall festival is just around the corner!

  Join us for our Annual Fall Festival Friday, October 27th from 4-7pm. Watch for volunteer sign ups after the upcoming Parent Teacher Conferences. This is another great way to get those hours in :).

  Don’t wait in line at Fall Festival!! Purchase tickets before the event and walk right in. We will be pre-selling Fall Festival tickets and wristbands at a discounted price on Monday, October 16th from 1-7pm at Parent Teacher Conferences in the school lobby. If you miss us that day, we will also host a drive-through ticket pre-sale on Monday October 23rd from 3-4pm. Drive through the East end of North Shore parking lot, pull up in your car and purchase your tickets!

  Price Details

  • Wristbands – allow access to bounce houses, dunk tank, and climbing wall – provided by Custom Events
  • Tickets – allow access to all other events and goodies, including haunted house, root bier garden, cotton candy and more

  Pre-Sale Individual Prices:

  1 wristband for $7

  4 tickets for $1

  Pre-Sale Bundle Prices:

  1 wristband and 16 tickets for $10

  24 tickets for $5

  Prices at the Door:

  1 wristband for $8

  4 tickets for $1

  Hope to see you all there!

  MAPA

   

  As always, any questions, comments, concerns please email me directly at lhughes@mariamontessoriacademy.org

   

   

Thank you for your patience.

Please follow this link to sign up for a parent teacher conference slot.  An invitation to sign up was emailed as well.  I am looking forward to seeing you all in two weeks time!

In other news, your student brought home the rubric and prompt for their next take home project: a book report on an award winning book.  If this paper did not come home, let me know so I can make sure you and your child have all of the information.

Thanks so much!

Administration brought to my attention today that no special birthday treats are allowed at MMA.  So please disregard what I said in the last post about birthday treats being OK to bring.  This is part of the wellness guidelines here at school

September has come to a close, and therefore also our normalization period.  So, suffice it to say there is also a lot of events coming up.  Here is a brief overview of what the month ahead looks like in our classroom:

Now that normalization has ended, we can start having true celebrations of life.  When you come in, please bring photos and be ready to share stories and memories about the life journey your child has already been on.   Our aim to is to share with your child how cherished they are, and how our life and world is better because they were born and are a part of our class.  A special snack to share with the class that day is welcomed.  Please follow this link to see the sign up sheet.  Some things to note:

• If your child’s birthday falls during the week, I have already set up a block of time from 11-12 on your child’s actual birthday for you to come in.
• If your child’s birthday falls on a weekend, I have done my best to already set aside an hour block from 11-12 the Friday before the actual date for you to come in.
• If your child’s birthday fell during normalization, was during summer, or falls during a break, there are lots of dates available on the We Join In page for you to find a date that works best for your calendar.
• If I have assumed a date (for example, the Friday before the birthday) but you would like to be rescheduled for a different day, please email me, and I will remove you from that date so you can sign up for a date that will work better.

The fourth graders have a field trip on Thursday, October 12.  Please see previous post if you need any more information about that.

I will be gone the week of the 9th – 13th.  I am attending courses in Salt Lake City for my certification that week.  Ms. Natalie and Ms. Dixie will be taking over my class.  Should problems arise, I will be available via email that whole week.  Ms. Natalie will be going on the field trip with the fourth graders.

Parent teacher conferences are the 16th, 17th, and 18th.  We have early out schedule those three days, and no school the 19th and 20th.  The MAPA book fair is also that week.

Red ribbon week is the week of the 23rd, with the Fall Festival ending the week on the 27th.

We have our next book report due on Wednesday the 25th (I had a typo in the info packet: it says Wednesday the 26th – but that Wednesday is the 25th).  This book report will be on an award winning book.  This can be any genre as long as it has won an award and is grade and reading level appropriate.  It will use the same rubric as the last book report.  More details will be coming on this once I have announced this project in class. Please note:  I am aware that the public library is closed for repair.  The school library is allowing students to check out 2 books at a time due to this, however, those books are not to leave the school.  My students are given 30 minutes of reading time in two 15 minute blocks EVERY DAY.  If you would like them to use this time to read the book for the book report, they are welcome to do so, please work with and encourage your child at home to be using this time wisely.

More details about all the wonderful things happening in this busy month will be coming as we get into October.  I didn’t want to overwhelm with details all in one post.  If you have any questions, please feel free to email me a lhughes@mariamontessoriacademy.org

Howdy,

Sorry for the late post.

Real quick nuts and bolts:

1. Permission forms for the 4th grade field trip to the American West Heritage Center have gone home, due on Thursday.  We are asking for donations of $7-10 to help us fund this trip.  Please follow this link to pay online, or please send a check/cash with your student to be handed in at the office.
2. The 6th graders have an at home project for science to be looking at the moon every night and record what they see.  They should have the handout with them
3. Book reports are coming due this Friday.  Please see the previous post about these.
4. We have a couple of in house visits coming up!  Wednesday, October 4th the 5th graders are going to get a visit from Rocky Mountain Power to talk about electricity, and then the next day, October 5th, the fourth will get a visit from Dan Guthrie, the weather man.

This week we would like to wish a very happy birthday and a successful next trip around the sun to: Ashton!

As always, any questions/concerns please email me at lhughes@mariamontessoriacademy.org

And we are feeling alive!

Last week we had a great week, end capped by a fantastic field trip to the Freedom Lights Festival where we got to meet Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, discover the truth behind Molly Pitcher’s nickname, and find out whether we would have been allowed to leave Ellis Island (most of us couldn’t).  All in all we had a great day out and about!

Just a real quick post to update you for the week:

1.  Please remember that book reports on the biography of a peace maker are due Sept. 29 (Friday of next week)
2. Calls home about planners have begun.  Last week we had several students who forgot their planners or didn’t have them signed.  A reminder of my expectation: The planners should be filled out with the day’s work and signed daily.  Please only sign the planner if the day has been filled out. Any student who forgets their planner will be calling home, either to have you bring it, or to have you come to school to sign it.  This is not a punishment!  My hope is that the planner coming home daily to be signed will encourage my students to check in with you daily about what has been happening in the classroom, and that you are using this as a way to check in about their day at school. But I remember from my days in school how easily things like planners can get lost underneath beds and couches.  The call home is to encourage personal responsibility in my students on both sides, mine and yours.  The call home also doubles as a grace and courtesy lesson as your child practices leaving clear voicemails and conveying information via the telephone, all in a safe and supportive environment.  Thank you for your understanding.
3. We are getting IXL and Utah Compose set up this week.  Please be on the lookout for login information coming home around Thursday.  For those who aren’t familiar, IXL is a math learning program that allows your child to do math problems online at their own pace, and Utah Compose is an online essay submitting website.  I will be requiring 10 minutes of IXL per night, as well as 20 minutes of reading.  I appreciate you working with me to make sure these two things happen daily.
4. I want to wish Bhavjeet a very happy birthday as she celebrates another trip around the sun this Thursday.  I am still working on finding good dates to celebrate birthdays that happen during the summer months and normalization period.  Please stay tuned for those dates to be coming to this blog post soon.
5. Just a reminder that this Friday, 9/22 is a half day due to professional development.

As always, please email lhughes@mariamontessoriacademy.org with any questions or concerns.  Just a reminder that if you reply to this blog post, I likely won’t see it.  Thanks!

Please follow this link to place your student in a car for tomorrow.  Parents who are chaperoning that have requested their child in their car already has the child placed in that car.  Any one who doesn’t sign up with a car will be placed wherever there is room.  Thank you!

It has been brought to my attention that I have not made you aware of this on the blog – so please accept my sincerest apologies and allow me to right my wrong.

Students have an home book report on a historical peacemaker coming due.  Originally, this project was due on the 20th, but due to some major details falling through the cracks on my end as far as informing you all, I have decided to extend the deadline till the 29th.  As I am required by MMA to have a home project every month,  I cannot extend the deadline later than this.  Tomorrow, students will be sent home with an information packet containing the rubric for book reports, but here is the bulk of that information.

Students will write a short book report on a biographical peacemaker (such as Maria Montessori).  Any short book on any historical peacemaker will do as this is just an introduction into writing book reports.  We are exploring the rubric for book reports step by step as we read Wonder in class, so students should have a good idea of what is expected as they write this report.   I will be happy to help students pick out books if they are having trouble, we have many books in class, as well as the school library which they are welcome to explore.  As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to email me at lhughes@mariamontessoriacademy.org

While I am correcting my mistakes, I meant to post the following reminder about the Redwoods meetings coming up tomorrow: The first meetings about the 6th grade Redwoods Field Trip are coming up.  There will be  a meeting for students during lunch on Tuesday the 12th, and following that at 5:30 pm there will be a meeting for parents.  If your child is going on the Redwoods field trip, you need to attend that meeting.

Thank you all for your patience and understanding.

Sorry for the late post.

Thank you to all of you who came to say hello at Back to School night last Thursday.  It was great to see you all.  If you were not able to attend, but would like one of my information sheets with dates for field trips and due dates for home projects, please shoot me an email and I will send one home with your child.

Really quickly, some things to be aware of.

The 4th grade American West Heritage Center field trip is coming up on October 12th.  The cost for each student will be $10.00.  Please follow this link to find the secure pay site.

This Friday is the field trip to the American Lights festival.  If you have not yet signed a field trip form and sent it back, please do so.  If you need a copy of the permission form, please shoot me an email at lhughes@mariamontessoriacademy.org.

Birthdays are coming up, but due to the normalization period, parents are not able to visit the school to do Celebration of Life activities.  If your child has a summer birthday, or a birthday that falls within September, I will be having a signup of available dates for you to come help us celebrate your child.  This will be coming soon to a blog near you!

Please be aware that if you are subscribed to this blog and you reply directly to the email it comes in it is likely that I won’t see it.  Please double check that you are emailing me at the Maria Montessori address.

Thank you all!