Blog

Middle School: All About the Community

Posted on by Michelle Lamb

Another beautiful week has commenced in Middle School. This week, I noticed the mindset shift towards community. I’ve always been in awe of the FWM Middle School because in my school and camp experiences, I have never seen students across the three grades and ages come together to play one game so effortlessly as I have at FWM. I think my entire first year here, I continually commented on the socialization between grades; it truly felt like one community. This came to mind as Ms. Sutherland made a similar comment to me.

Then I thought about how the 8th years are leading the charge with fundraising. They planned and are executing their Name the Bunny fundraiser in the commons. They had each grade, 1-8 nominate a name. Each name was placed on a jar and left in the Commons. Whichever jar has the most value in coins after two weeks, will be the name of our new rabbit. The sole purpose of this is to raise enough money throughout the year to install a water bottle filling station. This group is fully aware that they will not benefit from this, but the idea of helping the community and filling a need is essential to their class. They are planning another fundraiser for Oktoberfest as well.

Another way the FWM Middle School embodies community is with their community service period. This dedicated period occurs one period in their 6-day rotation. They truly look forward to entering the younger classrooms and becoming a buddy or mentor to a younger student during their work cycle. This looks differently depending on the age. It’s beautiful. Not only do the younger children look forward to seeing their Middle School friends, but the older students are reminded about their vital presence in a younger community.

Now for a quick overview of academics:

In Humanities, all classes had their first current events presentations of the year! They really rose to the occasion and had wonderful discussions about important global events. 6th years discussed Becoming Naomi Leon character progression and went through some “anatomy” lessons about writing. 7th years had an awesome week comparing and contrasting political and economic systems, learning about Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung), the cultural revolution in China, and the significance of Tiananmen Square.  They also reviewed essay writing techniques. Finally, 8th years began reading A Different Mirror and discussing the idea of the Master Narrative in the story of America. They also read about and discussed what it means to be American, leading to lessons about stereotypes- are they true? Where do they come from? How can we overcome them?

Week 3 Math classes at FWM are over and chapter 1 is almost done! This week, all math groups continue to prepare for their cumulative chapter tests. This is an opportunity to summarize all they have learned in the past 14 school days.
Algebra 1 has been using the graphing calculator to work on plotting scatter points, drawing linear functions, and creating new absolute value images. They are analyzing data with mean, median, range and mean absolute deviation (MAD) values.
Transition has been working on mastering order of operation, problems using inequalities to compare numbers, and simplifying fractions. Most recently we have practiced how to plot ordered pairs on a coordinate grid using both paper/pencil and a graphing calculator. We have also worked with numbers in scientific notation form.
Pre-transition has been working on understanding mixed, improper, and proper fractions. They are able to identify natural numbers, whole numbers, and integers. They are also practicing different study techniques in order to feel prepared for the upcoming test.
In Science, 6th year students continue working on factors that influence the preservation of a fossil. Students made molds in clay using objects found in nature, then poured plaster of paris into the impression. The result is known as a cast, which represents the initial impression left from the object used. 7th year students conducted their own trials on different types of mixtures. Students were asked to create a solution, suspension, and colloid. Afterwards, each student was to record what methods were implemented in order to bring each mixture back to a pure substance. Finally, 8th year students are busy working on gathering information for their debate on stem cells. This debate correlates to their past unit on the Cell Theory.

Mrs. Carroll’s Class: Across the Planet

Posted on by Cindy Carroll

We have spent the first few weeks of school exploring globes, their smooth blue areas called water/oceans, and the rough areas, land/continents. The Cultural materials make the relationships of all the parts of the Earth concrete, starting with simple globes the child can explore. The first globe, the Sandpaper Globe represents land on the Earth with rough surfaces and water on the Earth with smooth surfaces, so the child can feel the areas on the face of the Earth which are both land and water. The second, the Colored Globe presents the land in its continental divisions, introducing the child to the distinctions between continents and beginning to identify these continents in particular colors. Your child can use this globe to learn the name of each continent. Eventually they will explore the large puzzle maps, which open the surfaces of the globe to lay flat and include puzzle pieces for each continent and our journey begins.

Cultural materials allow your child to satisfy their inherent curiosity about our planet and their place within in. By starting with simple comparisons, between land and water or between the different continents, the materials help the child to understand the geography of our planet. These same globes are later used to introduce the relationship of the Earth and the Moon, and most beautifully during our birthday celebrations, to illustrate the passage of time over the course of each year of the child’s life.
Geography is a wonderful way of sparking a child’s imagination. Beginning with the Sandpaper and Colored Globes, the Cultural materials respond to a child’s desire to learn about the world and inspire them to learn more about our differences and commonalities across the planet.

Until next week…

Ms. Sharlene & Mrs. Carroll

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: Friday Folder Facts

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

 

“We have to remember as adults, that we want things done, and as quickly as possible, so that they are finished and out of the way; whereas the child is interested and content in the doing, not the done.” –Margaret Stephenson The Art of Montessori in the Home

Each Friday we send home the blue Friday Folders with the work the children have completed over the course of the past week. It is not uncommon for us to receive emails asking why there was so little work inside and what exactly are the children doing?

Sometimes it can be difficult to accept the idea of focusing on the process, not the product. What exactly does that mean? Many of the works in the Montessori classroom do not end with a physical product the children will bring home to share with everyone. There is often no way to visually assess what a child is learning. Overall, as a society, we are product driven and often times base our success on this factor. The experience a child has when working with the materials is truly what is most important. However, when you hear they did “nothing” day after day, it can often be unsettling.

Research shows that children from ages 3-6 learn best through their hands. In order to truly understand a concept they need to explore it through touch. This is why so many of the lessons found in the Montessori environment are not based on memorization alone. Most concepts we are teaching involve tracing, manipulating, and exploring with their hands.

Perhaps most importantly, focusing on the process protects the child’s intrinsic motivation to learn and understand. It is not influenced by external factors such as recognition, praise, or reward. The time and experience with the materials is what we truly value and encourage.

So, if your child’s folder comes home with little to no work, just know that their accomplishments can’t always ‘fit’ in that folder. Maybe after weeks and weeks of trying they learned how to zipper their own coat or maybe they can finally carry a work without it dropping. Maybe after observing a lesson day after day,  your child tried it independently for the first time. The list of skills each child can accomplish will never be fully represented in the Friday Folder. So please enjoy the work that is in there but know it is not an accurate portrayal of all that the children are accomplishing.

Warmly,

Michelle & Jeannine

Upper Elementary: Community Helpers

Posted on by Brian Comstock

This week the Upper Elementary students spent some time as community helpers lending a hand in various ways. Some of these tasks included sorting and delivering lost and found items, cleaning up the garden beds, assisting primary students during morning drop off, and tidying up the zen garden. Our community helpers were eager to help out and their tasks will rotate and change throughout the school year. In our classroom, we made stuffed peppers using several peppers from our garden. They came out great and a few students that were not fans of peppers were surprised they enjoyed the taste. Next week, our goal is to make pesto using basil from the enormous basil plant from the same garden. We met to discuss our coffee shop plans and the students agreed on the name, Happe Cafe. They made logos and voted on the logos during student council. At the conclusion of our week we enjoyed some time on the trails during recess.

Español con Señora Hall

Posted on by Sara Hall

I’m so excited to be part of the FWM family and share my passion for language with the children here! In World Language, the children have been diving into stories each class. Storytelling helps students acquire language in a compelling manner and allows them to see words used in context rather than simply learning them in isolation. The children learn actions to correspond with new vocabulary words. 

In alignment with their author study for September, primary classes heard Oso Pardo, Oso Pardo, ¿Qué ves ahí? (Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? By Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle). With the story, they were presented with names of different animals along with their colors. Next, we will work on categorizing living and non-living things, just as they are doing for science this month.

Lower Elementary has been acquiring the skills to discuss which foods we like and do not like. They have been using the story, ¡No me gusta! from the No Me Digas elementary Spanish curriculum. We have been singing and sharing about our favorite and least favorite foods. 

Upper Elementary has practiced retelling stories and sequencing with the stories Isabel va a la escuela and Los Peces, and Los Tiburones, all from The Storyteller’s Corner. They have learned to talk about leaving or staying, how they are feeling, and they have practiced counting 0-10 and backward. 

Middle School just started our Free Voluntary Reading, which is at the beginning of each class. All middle schoolers choose a book to read and spend the first five to ten minutes of class reading in Spanish. Aside from this, they have been singing and hearing stories to say who people are, what they say, and what they like and do not like to do. Then they applied these skills to begin writing their own stories about themselves. 

Reality Check: Photographs with Phones Removed

Posted on by Danielle Ulacco

This article touched my heart and actually made me toss my phone across the room. “American photographer Eric Pickersgill photoshopped away the smartphones and digital devices from his portraits of everyday life. The project “Removed” aims to show our addiction to modern technology, social media, and hyper-connectivity. Pickersgill knows that he’s also amongst the addicted.” Click here to read more.

Middle School: Off To a Great Start!

Posted on by Michelle Lamb

It’s been an amazing start to the year in Middle School! We have enjoyed all of the enthusiasm for learning and excitement for what’s to come this year.

In 6th year Earth Science, students are working on Earth’s History. Within this unit, students are exploring Earth’s past by learning how to recreate fossils and amber preservation. In 7th year Physical Science, students are learning about the properties of Matter. Students have explored this unit by performing several activities involving the combination and separation of solids and liquids. Finally, 8th year Life Science students are learning about Cells. Currently, students are working on establishing the differences between eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, constructing models of each.

In Math, students are off to a busy start with textbook distribution, completing homework questions, and practicing our note taking skills, all in the first week. Algebra 1 has been working on understanding the basics of algebra and how to identify number systems being used in the real world. More specifically, they have been describing patterns in word problems, finding equivalent expressions, and learning to use a graphing calculator.  Transition has been working on reading and writing real numbers. They have also been comparing positive and negative numbers on a number line, using rational numbers in ratios, and discussing order of operations. Pre-transition has been working on interpreting integers and fractions. Students are currently trying to understand mixed numbers, measuring units, and equivalent fractions.
Humanities classes are also in full swing! All students have completed their summer independent book presentations, their first vocabulary unit, and have been writing in their Writer’s Journal. Additionally, 6th years  are going over the class read, Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan. Students are looking at the culture and geography of the Mexican state of Oaxaca with an emphasis on the importance of art. 7th years are reviewing Lensey Namioka’s novel, Ties That Bind, Ties That Break. They studied Chinese dynasties, specifically looking at the Qing dynasty, the Opium Wars, the Boxer Rebellion, as well as the changing culture during the revolution, specifically with regards to women’s rights. 8th years are discussing stereotypes as they review The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and begin their yearlong journey through American history using Ronald Takaki’s, A Different Mirror for Young People:  A History of Multicultural America.
In addition to their classes, students spent time training for community service and beginning electives. As a full group, they shared experiences with each other from the perspectives of being a student mentor and receiving student help during community service time. Then, students broke up by grade and acted out scenarios to problem solve some common situations they might find during their time in younger classrooms. Next, MS students chose from the following electives for the first trimester: fantasy football, dance, and cooking. The groups split equitably and had a great first session. The fantasy football elective set up their rosters, the dance elective worked on choreography, and the cooking elective made three different puff pastry desserts.
We are already completely immersed in the year and have loved watching the 6th years become acclimated to the Middle School environment. It is exciting to think about what is to come with so much curiosity and insight in our classrooms! Thank you to students and parents for a great start to the year.

New Beginnings

Posted on by Ashley O'Connell

It feels great to be back! The children came in energized and ready to go. They are quickly settling into our routines, rekindling old friendships, and making new ones each day. Our third year group has been such an asset to our class by mentoring and guiding the younger and new students through this transition period. It’s heartwarming to see the connections being made. If this is any indication for the year to come, we are all in for a spectacular school year!

It is important to intentionally build community at the beginning of the school year. This year, one of our community building activities was discussing as a class what makes each of us feel peaceful and then the children represented those ideas on doves. They will hang from our ceiling for the rest of the year to help set a peaceful tone in our classroom. Feel free to stop by and check them out!

Mrs. Sankey and I are both so thrilled to have such a diverse group of children with us this year and are looking forward to the learning and growing we will do as a community.