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December Family Connection Newsletter

Posted on by Karen Sankey

This month’s Family Connection Newsletter discusses a hallmark of Montessori Education – Grace and Courtesy. Children become sensitive to lessons on Grace and Courtesy from the age of two and a half. Teachers at each level of our school – toddler, primary, elementary, and middle school – approach these lessons differently and appropriately according to the age of their students.

As children enter into the sensitive period for absorbing grace and courtesy in toddler and primary, teachers present specific lessons in the classroom on careful use of materials, movement around the classroom, managing oneself, and appropriate behavior. Our classroom guides model treating each other and the children with respect and kindness at all times. During their elementary years, when friends naturally become a major focus for children, lessons in grace and courtesy focus on managing and developing relationships. At the upper elementary and middle school levels, students begin to focus on establishing a sense of their social self, and teachers at these levels encourage and facilitate self-governance, as well as care for the school community and larger community outside of school.

I hope you find this month’s newsletter useful and informative!

Wishing you holidays filled with peace, love, and joy,

Karen Sankey
Director of Montessori Education

Mrs. Semmah: Gifts From The Heart

Posted on by Kaoutar Semmah

As the Holidays are quickly approaching, we often hear the children speak, throughout the day, of what they hope to receive as a gift. Through literature, classroom conversations and taking a peek into the different holidays celebrated by those around the world, we introduce the concept and power of giving as the best gift of all.

We asked each child what gift they could share during this holiday season.  We told them it does not need to cost anything and it really is about helping others and our communities.  They could share their gift with a loved one or even be a secret gift giver and do something anonymously for someone in need.  The simplicity of their words is heartwarming.

The world could learn a lot by listening to these children!

  • David… I can help my mommy by giving her a big unicorn.
  • Lucia… I can help people by giving them a cry baby doll and they  can get hugs from the baby doll and feel special.
  • Ruscher…I can help people by giving them magnets, Legos, and Hot Wheel cars.
  • Remi…I can help my teachers by giving them a special card to make them feel happy.
  • Katie… I can help my mommy and daddy by giving them a little Christmas tree.
  • Soren…I can help my nonny who lives in California by giving her my Legos, dolls, and pictures of Disneyland to make her happy.
  • Elsie… I can help my mommy by giving her jewelry.
  • Ella…I can help my dad by giving him a red car.
  • Levi… I can help my mommy by giving her a  dragon that lights up and has a blue fire to warm her.
  • Casey…I can help my grammy by giving her my Shark Wave Transformer.
  • Jonathan…I can help my mommy by making bows.
  • Simone…I can help my mommy by giving her two baby dolls, two spoons, and a bowl.
  • Lemon… I can help my grandma by giving her a princess doll to hug.
  • Carter… I can help my nanna by giving her big hugs.
  • Oliver…I can help my mommy by giving her a big blue Monster Truck.
  • Savina… I can help people by giving them a flower on a rainbow.
  • Charlotte…I can help my mommy by giving her a princess dress.

Wishing each and every one of you peace and love during this holiday season.  Take time to enjoy the gifts that aren’t wrapped.

Warmly,

Kaoutar & Michelle

Mrs. Lopes: Gifts From the Heart

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

As the Holidays are quickly approaching, we often hear the children speak, throughout the day, of what they hope to receive as a gift. Through literature, classroom conversations and taking a peek into the different holidays celebrated by those around the world, we introduce the concept and power of giving as the best gift of all.

We asked each child what gift they could share during this holiday season.  We told them it does not need to cost anything and it really is about helping others and our communities.  They could share their gift with a loved one or even be a secret gift giver and do something anonymously for someone in need.  The simplicity of their words is heartwarming.

The world could learn a lot by listening to these children!

Noelle- I can help feed my baby sister.

Kian- I can read to my brother Ben.

Izzy- I can help make breakfast.

Arjuna-  I can help make pancakes for my family.

Jack- I can help clean up.

Evie- I can be kind to my brother Ruscher.

Brisa- I can help take care of my baby sister.

Daniel- I can help make eggs.

Fiona- I can give toys to people who don’t have any.

Annie- I can be kind to my sister Lily.

Sara- I can feed my guinea pigs.

Ayan- I can help sweep the floor.

Nava- I can give a toy to someone who doesn’t have any.

Eleanor- I can give away toys to my friends.

Advay- I can help my Mommy take care of my baby.

Owen- I can give a shiny rock to someone.

Rowan- I can help take the trash bins out to the road.

Sullivan- I can teach someone how to play hockey. 

Carmen- I can give flowers to my Mama.

Desi- I can give away some of my clothes to people who don’t have any.

Wishing each and every one of you peace and love during this holiday season. Take time to enjoy the gifts that aren’t wrapped.

Warmly,

Amanda & Hema

Middle School: Building Community

Posted on by Michelle Lamb

Being the oldest members of the school community holds great privileges and responsibility. It is important to connect with each other in middle school and also to bring students of all ages and families together. The middle school is doing this now through two different projects.

Birdhouses- Grades 6 & 7

The 6th and 7th year Community Building class have worked for the past several weeks creating birdhouses to display around the Fraser Woods premises. The goal of creating these birdhouses is for teachers, students, and families to see an aspect of wildlife conservation every time they step outside.

To begin this project, students were asked to choose a native bird to our northeastern territory. Once a bird was decided, students researched the habitat, geographic region, and nesting requirements specific to each bird. Students were able to generate a QR code from The National Audubon Society website, which provided a full review of their bird’s image, geographic range, feeding behavior, songs/calls, and how climate change will reshape the range if patterns don’t change.

Next, students designed and constructed the birdhouses. The QR code was laser engraved onto the side of each birdhouse allowing anyone with a phone to scan the QR code and be taken to the Audubon’s website specific to each bird species. A silhouette of the bird was also engraved opposite the side of the QR code. Working alongside Mr. Fuchs in MakerSpace, students assembled their birdhouses, applying mineral oil as a weathering deterrent prior to finding a location to place them outside.

We hope everyone who comes across these birdhouses will take the time to scan the code and learn a little bit about the bird species and what impact we have on maintaining their longevity.

Family Holiday Gift Drive- Grade 8

As part of their Leadership class, 8th grade students have a few initiatives they organize and run in connection with the town of Newtown. Partnering with the Newtown Fund and Social Services, the 8th grade requested a family for the Fraser Woods community to provide a holiday meal, provisions, and satisfy their holiday wish list.

There are several courses of action they take to run the initiative. First, they take the received information from the Newtown Fund and create a Sign Up Genius to send to the community. Then they write all email communications that are sent to Fraser Woods families. Next, they collect and keep track of all donations, wrapping and labeling as needed. Finally, students will help deliver the gifts and provisions to the family on delivery day, December 17th.

This time of year it is important to reflect about what we have, show gratitude, and help others. The middle school teachers are incredibly thankful for the generosity and hard work of the middle school students and their enthusiasm towards community projects.

Upper El: Lessons and Caring for Others

Posted on by Karen Sankey

“An education capable of saving humanity is no small undertaking; it involves the spiritual development of [the human], the enhancement of [their] value as an individual, and the preparation of young people to understand the times in which they live.” -Maria Montessori

We were active and engaged this week! Individually, we continued to make great progress in our math lessons and work. In geometry, fourths learned about the difference between congruent, similar, and equivalent plane figures. Fifths learned formulas for finding the area of a rectangle and inverse formulas for finding the base or the height when given the area. Our history study of human evolution continued with the children adding information and illustrations to our class timeline of humans, and we began researching Homo neanderthalensis. In our language lesson this week, students learned the rules for capitalization and are now working on editing passages for capitalization errors. We also squeezed in some time to plant 52 flower bulbs in our garden beds!

After a week of hard work and lessons in math, geometry, history, and language, we spent Friday morning serving the greater community by making sandwiches for the St. Vincent DePaul Mission in Waterbury. This work is aligned with this age group’s grace and courtesy work of caring for others by being conscious of their needs and taking action to support them. Thank you to all who contributed ingredients for the sandwiches! These awesome students are getting very efficient at making sandwiches and I think we will increase our bread supply next month so we can make even more!

Wishing you an lovely weekend,

Karen and Angie

Mrs. Doyle: Gifts From The Heart

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

As the Holidays are quickly approaching, we often hear the children speak throughout the day, of what they hope to receive as a gift. Through literature, classroom conversations and taking a peek into the different holidays celebrated by those around the world, we introduce the concept and power of giving as the best gift of all.

We asked each child what gift they could share during this holiday season.  We told them it does not need to cost anything and it really is about helping others and our communities.  They could share their gift with a loved one or even be a secret gift giver and do something anonymously for someone in need.  The simplicity of their words is heartwarming.

The world could learn a lot by listening to these children!

Alex–        I can help my Mommy bake banana bread for my whole family to eat.

Angie–      I can help keep my cars clean and also bake brownies with my mom.

Bodie–     I can help my Mommy and Daddy wrap all the presents.

Ella–          I can help take care of my baby sister and make funny faces so she laughs.

EmmaJo–  I can teach people how to do cartwheels.

Greyson–  I can bring toys to animal shelters for the animals to play with.

Harper–    I can read Llama, Llama, Red Pajama to my brother, Spencer.

Isla–            I can help decorate the house for Christmas so it looks really pretty.

Jonathan–   I can help Daddy fix his cars.

Landon–      I can teach everyone how to play basketball.

Livie–           I can help take care of my cats and give them treats.

Leo–              I can teach everyone how to build things with Legos.

Melina–      I can play with my dogs and make them happy.

River–         I can help my sister get up on things she is to small to climb.

Saanvi–       I can give some of my toys to children who don’t have any.

Stephen–    I can teach everyone how to do Taekwondo because it’s really hard.

Tommy–     I can make everyone really happy because I am so nice.

Zara–            I can help pick up people when they fall down and I can give them lots of hugs and kisses.

Wishing each and every one of you much peace and love during this holiday season.  Take time to enjoy the gifts that aren’t wrapped.

Warmly,

Michelle & Maria

Mrs. Wilson: It’s The Holiday Season

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

It’s the holiday season, and there is excitement everywhere. The children are busy with all the different holiday lessons on the shelf. I try to incorporate all the holidays the children in this classroom would celebrate. In the refinement of the hand area, the children can choose to put wooden candles into the menorah, hand transfer and sort poinsettias by color, use tongs to transfer miniature gingerbread cookies, and use a silver spoon to scoop blue and silver gems into a pitcher and then pour them back into a silver bowl.

Around the classroom, we have color-matching dreidels and felt ornaments to hang on a large felt Christmas tree. We have language cards that name items used in many celebrations, such as Unity Cup, lights, and Christmas tree.

The children were introduced to a trampoline. This has been a very exciting area of the class. They are learning patience while they wait for it to become available. With the colder weather approaching, we are going to add in more large motor movement to get our energy out.

Food Tasting this week was kale. They were able to explore the softness of a kale leaf, taste a piece of the raw kale, and also tasted it roasted. It was very sweet to see how they delicately nibbled a piece. Surprisingly, they seem to enjoy kale both ways.

Lower El: Learning About the Earth

Posted on by Ashley O'Connell

This year Lower Elementary students are learning about the Composition of the Earth. This physical geography unit follows the Sun and Earth study that we explored last year, and provides the children with a more intensive study of the planet. The goal is to provide an impressionistic understanding of the Earth’s composition and formation.

This week we explored the layers of the earth: inner core, outer core, mantle, and crust. Each child made a sphere out of clay in art class and cut it in half. After the clay dried, the children had a chance to paint the layers of the earth on their own model. Shout out to Mrs. Reid for collaborating with us!