Spelling Lists 4/22-4/26

Pink Group – run, cut, tug, sun, rug, nut, bun, bug

Red Group (beginning blend only) – scarf, snap, swim, scale, snow, swing, scooter, swing

Orange Group (beginning blend only) – wheel, quilt, twin, key, whip, twelve, kite, quack, quiet

Yellow Group – fish, trash, brush, dish, rash, flush, wish, crash, rush, smash

Dark Green Group – when, dead, trees, each, sled, death, queen, steam, reach, head, east, street

Green Group – form, shore, board, word, four, world, floor, more, worse, horse, storm, corn, poor, oar, work, roar

Blue Group – golf, calf, ginger, cycle, guest, gentle, cart, cent, guess, gym, code, circle, gave, giant, card city

Upcoming Dates: Testing and Field Trips

Our testing schedule for 3rd graders has been finalized. They will be doing their Math test on Monday, May 6th and English/Language Arts testing on Wednesday, May 8th. Both testing sessions will be in the afternoon. During this week, please help your child to get a full night’s sleep and eat a hearty breakfast so that they will be at their best for testing, especially so that they don’t feel frustrated or overly tired.

We also have our last field trip coming up on May 1st. We will be traveling down to the Clarke Planetarium in Salt Lake and we will be taking the Frontrunner to get there. We will need to meet at the train station on Wall St. at 8:10 AM with our train departing at 8:37 AM. Because of the nature of traveling on a train with many children and the large space in the planetarium, we encourage any available parents/guardians to attend. I have 9 free wristbands for adults who want to attend and will give those out first to chaperones who are willing to drive other students from North Shore or MMA that morning and after that on a first come, first serve basis. Our wonderful room parent will be coordinating rides and will send out an email shortly in order to ask for who needs rides and who is willing to provide them. Thank you to all of you for your wonderful support of our field trip experiences! I have included more information below. I will also be sending this information home with your student next week. I already have all permission slips for this trip, so I do not need anything returned to me.

Discovery Gateway Clark Planetarium

110 400 W. Salt Lake City

The lead instructor is Ms. Christina; cmiller@mariamontessoriacademy.org

We will participate in interactive displays and a workshop on planets. We will also attend a movie at the Dome theater on extreme space.

What you will do and what you will learn
  • Discover, explore, and create with interactive hands-on exhibits
  • Science and space through interactive displays
  • Workshop on planets
  • Attend a movie on extreme space
What you will need to wear or bring
  • School uniform
  • Sack lunch and water bottle with easy to carry backpack
  • Money for gift shop if desired
Our Schedule
  • 8:10 a.m. – Meet at UTA train station on Wall Ave (2350 Wall Ave) and board Frontrunner. Train leaves at 8:37 a.m.
  • Arrive at Clark Planetarium by 9:45 a.m. Explore the planetarium and it’s interactive exibits.
  • 10:30 – Participate in Science Around the Sphere.
  • 11:30 – Attend a movie at the Dome Theater about deep space. Lunch will be eaten after the movie at the Dome Theater. Students will walk with chaperones to fountain area of the Gateway to enjoy lunch.
  • 1:10 p.m. – Leave Clark Planetarium and board frontrunner for ride home. Will arrive back at the station on Wall Ave in Ogden at 2:24 p.m. Parents will need to pick children up there.

Who to contact about carpools: Natalie Monsen – velleasegray@gmail.com

Weekly Recap and Tidbits

Tidbits

Our field trip to see the Earth Day documentary is this Thursday, April 18th. Students should be taken directly to the Megaplex at the Junction. After the movie (around 10:30), they will need rides back to school. We have enough chaperones for this trip, but we are counting on most people being able to drive their own students to and from the theater. If you can’t drive your student, please let me know ASAP so that we can make sure there are enough available rides.

Weekly Recap

This past week our highlight was beginning to share our home projects. The kids loved sharing stories and ideas they are excited about and we had some excellent work with everything from Pokemon to Fortnite to magical kingdoms under the sea. We saw puppet shows and clay creations and drawings and dioramas–I was so impressed with the creativity! We will continue presenting home projects this week.

Thank you all for your support of our classroom and your student!

Spelling Lists 4/15-4/19

Pink Group – peg, net, leg, jet, ten, beg, wet, men

Red Group (initial blend only) – smell, skate, spear, skip, smoke, spill, skunk, spoon

Orange Group (initial blend only) – present, drum, tree, trip, drill, dress, track, drip, prize

Yellow Group – sack, chick, duck, back, sick, luck, snack, quick, truck, thick

Dark Green Group – less, feet, mean, web, keep, heat, next, teeth, peach, been, sleep, speak

Green Group – bird, fire, drier, first, tire, crier, fur, chirp, wire, pliers, girl, birth, shirt, stir, hire, thirst

Blue Group – three, shred, square, throne, shrink, squint, through, shriek, squeak, threat, shrimp, squish, throw, shrank, squash, squeeze

Utah State Testing (3rd graders only)

UT state standardized assessments (now called RISE and Aspire Plus) will be on the follwing days for our class. These assessments are important to us for several reasons.

The state assessment data are important to your family because the results are one way to communicate how much your child has learned in English language arts, writing, math, and science. At MMA, we know that these tests are but one indicator of a child’s progress in these content areas.

The state assessment data are important to us because determining what a student knows or does not know is a vital cornerstone in individualizing learning experiences, which is the basis of a Montessori education. The results help us to identify needs for new and additional materials, tailor professional development for teachers, and determine where to best invest school funding.

Taking tests is a practical life skill, required for college entrance as well many professions. Doctors, lawyers, teachers, contractors, nurses, and cosmetologists (to name just a few) all must take tests in order to enter their professions. Standardized testing in school provides a valuable opportunity to practice taking tests in a low-stakes environment, better preparing our students for future assessments – which is why we encourage all students to participate.

If you choose to opt your child out of testing, please complete the Parent Exclusion from State Assessments Form. This form must be handed from you to either Ms. Lana or Ms. René, who will take 5 minutes to review this form with you. We ask that these forms are submitted no later than April 12th. Thank you for your cooperation and support.

Weekly Recap and Tidbits

Tidbits

  1. Our next field trip is Thursday, April 18th at the Megaplex in Ogden to see this year’s Earth Day movie about penguins. Students need to be dropped off and picked up at the Megaplex. I will be sending home a permission slip and information letter on Monday. We are still looking for 2 more chaperones for our class! Please let me know if you would like to attend. We are also coordinating rides across the Lower Elementary classrooms. If you are willing to drive other students that may not have a ride to the theater, you can sign up here: https://www.wejoinin.com/sheets/okoqm. These drivers will be meeting at North Shore to take any extra students. Also, the following is from Ms. Jalee, who has coordinated our field trips this year: “With this field trip, we will be going slightly over on our field trip budget. Ms. Autumn said we can ask parents to donate with cash or check directly to the office for the Lower El field trip fund. It is not required that they donate but would be greatly appreciated.”
  2. For anyone interested in ordering spring pictures (the order form went home with your student last Friday), they will be held on Wednesday, April 10th. Please have your child bring the order form back with them so that I know to send them to pictures. Only children who will be ordering will go to have their pictures taken.
  3. We are getting into the “Spring Fever” time of year where our students are more active and excited. While this can be a fun time where they are very engaged in learning, it can also mean an increase in misunderstandings, strong feelings and the need for peace talks. We do our best in class to support the children in resolving their issues with each other and working through their feelings and actions, but we inevitably don’t notice everything happening with everyone all the time. If you feeling something is happening with your student that needs to be brought to my attention, please feel free to contact me and I will be happy to step in and help wherever I can.

Weekly Recap

The week before Spring Break was busy! Our 3rd graders are preparing for the state testing coming up in a month and our 2nd and 1st graders continue to make progress. It has made our classroom bustle with energy! As always, our cosmic education lessons (botany, zoology, history and geography) are some of our favorites, and as the math and reading skills of everyone in the room increases, it allows us to do more and understand more with these fun subjects. We are learning more about South America (including Ms. Pat teaching us some Spanish every morning) and getting more into botany now that we have plants growing again.

For Writer’s Workshop on Friday mornings, I have been trying to alternate reading books about social skills and peace education with more academically-oriented (but still fun) books. A few weeks ago, we read “My New Friend Is So Fun!” and talked as a class about how we might feel sad, jealous or upset when our best friend or a good friend chooses to play with someone else. The children offered suggestions about how they might respond and they had some great ideas about how to not be upset when this happens. Last week, we read “Commotion in the Ocean” and talked about different types of animals in the ocean as well as some of the different forms of poetry in the book. After we have our class discussions, the children then write about what we read and their own personal response to it. This week, we will be reading “We Are All Wonders” (a shortened, picture-book version of the popular book “Wonder”) and writing about how we can be inclusive and see the good in everyone.

As always, thank you for everything you do!

Spelling Lists 4/8-4/12

Pink Group: pot, dog, hot, hop, log, top, jog, mop

Red Group (beginning sound/blend only): sun, tent, six, stem, stick, sink, tie, stop

Orange Group (beginning blend only): present, drum, tree, trip, drill, dress, track, drip, prize

Yellow Group: pill, bell, ball, hill, tell, call, spill, shell, small, fill

Dark Green Group: cube, food, fruit, crust, build, dude, spoon, juice, skunk, tooth, suit, trust

Green Group: her, deer, ear, earth, germ, spear, dear, steer, herd, cheer, fern, heard, clear, beard, near, learn

Blue Group: screen, strong, spring, scream, strange, scrape, stretch, spread, squirrel, spray, scratch, stripe, spruce, straight, scram, strict