Blog

Mrs. Lopes: Harvest Celebration

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

We hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween weekend!  Last Wednesday, was our Annual Primary Harvest Celebration.  First, the children had a chance to search for a pumpkin on the playground during our “Pumpkin Hunt”.  The children were so excited to search the playground for the perfect pumpkin!  After finding a pumpkin, we came back inside to carve our class pumpkin.  Ms. Heather asked the children for suggestions on what type of face to carve and “spooky” won.  While Ms. Heather was carving the pumpkin, the children enjoyed a snack of mummy rice crispy treats, apple slices, and apple cider.  Once the pumpkin was carved we lit the pumpkin and read a Halloween story.  Finally, we sat outside our classroom to watch the Middle School/Elementary Halloween parade.  Lots of fun was had by all!  Thank you again to all who donated their time or supplies to make our celebration a success, we truly appreciate it!

Although I do miss “in person” conferences, it was so nice to see you all over Zoom last week!  I enjoyed sharing with you all the accomplishments and hard work your children have been doing in the classroom.  Thank you for all the open and honest conversations and your support for our home/school connection.  As always feel free to reach out as needed.

Have a wonderful week,

Amanda and Heather

Mrs. Hood: Let’s Celebrate!

Posted on by Andrea Hood

Last week we celebrated the Fall harvest with our annual wagon ride and visit to our very own “Fraser Farm” located in our Zen garden which was transformed into a beautiful Pumpkin patch for our toddlers to explore.

First the children were invited to ride in wagons all around the school knowing that they needed to keep their eyes open for the pumpkin patch. The children seemed to enjoy the ride and were eager to find the pumpkins.

Once we arrived at our Fraser Farm,  children were ecstatic to run around and pick their own pumpkin. There were giggles and so much excitement! Children explored different sizes of pumpkins and worked hard to carry them around. We all had a great time! When the time came, every toddler got into their wagon, carrying their  chosen pumpkin and we went for another ride around the school arriving  at our classroom, satisfied with the experience and happy to hold their pumpkin.

A big shout out to our wonderful Middle School students who happily offered to pull the wagons for us. Also a big THANK YOU to Angela Giorgio for helping with communications  and Patricia Martinez for finding the decorations, wagons and purchasing the pumpkins for all the children.  Thank you to all of you as well who donated  for the pumpkins.  We are thankful to be part of a community that cares!

We also celebrated life and growth with two birthdays and got to enjoy some delicious treats! It was a celebration week and we went for it!

We thank you so much for sharing some time with us during Parent-teacher conferences! It’s truly one of our favorite times of the year because we get to talk more in detail about all the wonderful observations we have seen in each of your children. There is so much that happens here at school that won’t ever fit in a weekly blog! Thank you for partnering with us in providing the best experience for all our toddlers!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Maria

Upper El Week Eight

Posted on by Karen Sankey

It was great to get back to a full week of school after our short week last week. We started on Monday with individual student-teacher conferences, checking in to make sure that everyone is on track and staying current on their assignments. These check-ins help everyone to pause and organize. They allow me time with each student, one-on-one, to guide them to develop time management and organizational skills. They bring their planner to the conference and we make sure that all assignments are entered on the correct due date while also making plans for when they will work on each assignment. We also use the time to check in and see who needs extra help on anything. This opportunity to learn and take part in the organization of their day teaches students responsibility and allows them to take ownership of their daily and weekly schedule, providing them the opportunity to exercise executive functioning skills like planning and prioritizing, organization, time management, and defining and achieving goals. These are skills they will carry with them  throughout their educational journey.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Exploring Materials for Hidden Strengths!

Posted on by Walker Fuchs

 

In the Makerspace our lower elementary and 4/5th graders have been exploring unconventional building materials. Our young makers were challenged with first designing and then building functional chairs made completely out of cardboard. While students were initially surprised by the choice of a “flimsy material”, they quickly learned to adapt their plans to the material.  Often, perceived weaknesses can be turned on their head with a little creative thinking and ingenuity- and our students did not disappoint. Working with unconventional materials provides the opportunity for our makers to think outside the box and feel the spark of excitement as they achieve something they previously thought was impossible. 

This project has now evolved from the initial design phase, paper drawings, to modeling, virtual 3D models made on tinkerCAD software, and finally to real structures! The students were able to test and refine their design through iteration of their ideas and constructed several prototypes before their final product. Each trial led to new discoveries about how they could adapt the given material to the challenge at hand. We are so excited to see the final products of this design process and can’t wait to continue to learn with our makers.

 

Mrs. Wilson: Pumpkins Pumpkins

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

For the month of October the children explored all things pumpkin and pumpkin related. We used language cards to show the life cycle of a pumpkin. And read the book Pumpkin, Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington. We ended the month with our annual Pumpkin patch and some fun activities.

We started the morning going on a wagon ride around the school. The 7th grade class came to help pull the children in the wagons around the school hallways. They were dropped off at the Zen Garden where the children were invited to explore and find a pumpkin. Afterwards they went on another ride back to the classroom.

The next activity we did was to explore a large pumpkin and create a Jack-O-Lantern. I gave them choices on how we wanted our pumpkin to look and we all seem to agree that a happy pumpkin was what we wanted.

The children participated in the costume parade as audience. As we watched the older children walk by in their costumes we clapped and waved for them.

We finished our pumpkin activities with Food tasting. The children were eager to taste a delicious Sugar Pumpkin. Which the majority of them really enjoyed.

Thank you all for taking the time to chat with Mrs. Biba and I during conferences. It was great to spend time with you all.

Mrs. Wilson

An Atmosphere of Mutual Respect

Posted on by Gina Tryforos

As Montessori teachers we understand that each child has a natural desire to learn when given the opportunity to learn in a way that matches their strengths and learning style. Children in a Montessori classroom also learn to respect their teachers and their peers. The children quickly learn and understand that everyone (teachers and students) is part of a community  that supports one another while they learn together. Our teachers work as facilitators. Our students also work together in partnership and collaboration as they explore the learning opportunities all around them. 

“Because the teacher respects each child and refrains from interference, the children treat one another with the same respect and kindness.~ ” Maria Montessori

(Maria Montessori Speaks to Parents, p. 61)

Upper El Week Seven

Posted on by Karen Sankey

“So in the child, besides the vital impulse to create [themselves], and to become perfect, there must yet be another purpose, a duty to fulfill in harmony, something [they] have to do in the service of a united whole.” -Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind

Empathy, the ability to imagine yourself in someone else’s shoes, share in their feelings, feel for them, and value what they are feeling, plays a key role in building and maintaining friendships and relationships and in developing strong communities. Maria Montessori believed that every one of us has the duty to work toward something bigger than ourselves which serves the interests of all humanity. Because of this, Montessori education teaches empathy in a variety of ways, one being the modeling of empathy by teachers and peers. Over time, children observe and absorb this empathy into their own behaviors. This helps to set an expectation for the way we treat each other. It’s always heartwarming to see friends helping each other spontaneously throughout the day.

Halloween Information – Next Wednesday, October 27th, elementary and middle school students are invited to wear their Halloween costumes to school. We will participate in a Halloween parade on the field and will show off our fabulous costumes to friends and teachers in other grade levels. Each student should bring clothes to change into after the parade. Costumes cannot include masks or weapons and should not be scary. If you have any questions, please reach out.

Have a beautiful weekend!

Lower Elementary Biologists!

Posted on by Ashley O'Connell

This week we started the study of life. Animals are more familiar to children than plants, and vertebrates are the most familiar animals. Throughout the year, first and second grade children will study five classes of vertebrate animals and third grade children will study five classes of plants in evolutionary order. We will learn about fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals as well as seaweed, moss, ferns, pine trees, and flowering plants.

First year students learned about the external parts of fish. We started with a little in-school field trip to the Middle School science room to observe Mr. Brown’s fish. Mr. Brown facilitated a discussion about the external parts of the fish. We will follow up next week with an introduction to classroom materials of fish.

Second year students also took a trip to the science room to learn about the body functions of fish. Mr. Brown reviewed the external parts of fish and then the children talked about what goes on internally. They will be introduced to our classroom body functions of fish materials next week.

Third year students learned about the external parts and body functions of seaweed. They were introduced to the classroom material and were thrilled to be studying botany this year! The third year students will be visiting Mr. Brown’s classroom this year to observe some of these plants more closely under a microscope.