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Middle School: Highlight on Advisory

Posted on by Michelle Lamb

Happy Friday! This week sure flew by. The Middle School teachers want to give you a snapshot of what middle school advisory looks like on each level. Also, enjoy this week’s photos!

6th Year Advisory: Forming the Middle School Group

The 6th year advisory period consists of building a strong community and trust among one another. In order to achieve this vision of community and trust for the year, students have shared questions and concerns they face throughout their transition into middle school. Discussions consisting of how to balance homework, prioritizing time efficiently, and respecting peers have been covered in Advisory. Mr. Brown makes the students’ transitions into middle school as comforting as possible while promoting their accountability as students, peers, and members of the community.

In addition to using activities in the Responsive Advisory Curriculum, Mr. Brown forms the 6th grade group in creative ways. One example is Student Scrabble. 6th years used a Scrabble board to connect the students’ names. Then, almost like a crossword puzzle, the group develops a unique clue representing each of their personalities. Each student provides something different about one another to help develop their clues. Once everyone finishes their boards, they attempt to solve them as a class. It is nice to see how some students are surprised to find some characteristics of themselves others saw in them.

It is clear that 6th Year Advisory is a crucial component to this important transition that students go through from elementary to middle school.

7th Year Advisory: Community Development

Each day, the 7th year students with Ms. Sutherland have a new topic to help them get to know each other as community members and practice sharing kindness at FWM.  Students are assigned a role each week and rotate through responsibilities. The following are the topic titles for each day of the school week and an example of what they have already explored:

Monday (Weekend Update) – Students share news stories and current events about what is happening in the world. The advisory has already talked about the ongoing progression of COVID-19, how sports games are affected by living in a bubble, and favorite local restaurants in Newtown.

Tuesday (Talk it Out Tuesday) – Students bring forward an open question that will spark conversation about how to be good community members and spread kindness towards others. They have discussed how stress affects them in middle school, their greatest accomplishments, and what their favorite movies were over the summer.

Wednesday (Work it Wednesday) – Students initiate a physical activity to start the morning advisory group. This is a chance to be creative together and play a fun game in hopes of building friendships among peers. They have practiced morning yoga, tried a 4 minute gym workout routine, and followed along in Simon Says.

Thursday (Life on the Outside) – Students have an opportunity to share a skill or talent they practice outside of school. So far, they have learned different ballet positions and how to throw a spiral football.

Friday (Fun Fridays) – Students can decompress from the busy school week and reflect on how they are feeling. They have talked about our highlights and our lowlights from the first few weeks back at school. They do this all while listening to fun music and enjoying each other’s company.

The ultimate goal for the 7th year advisory group this year is to build our kind community and be comfortable and confident working together.

8th Year Advisory

As 8th years, these are the oldest students at FWM. 8th Year Advisory is unique because it gives space for the eldest students to develop and run items like fundraisers, charitable events, Morning News, as well as discuss what is important in the school community and how they can be effective leaders.

This year, mornings are spent in many ways. First of all, they started the year discussing their goals. What do they wish to achieve as 8th years? How do they want others to view them? The following is the usual weekly schedule for Advisory. Check-ins and activities that strengthen the group will also occur during the week as needed.

Motivational Monday – Each Monday, students will listen/watch/chat with someone who inspires leadership and individuals to be their best selves. For example, on the first Monday, 8th years watched Nigerian American author Luvvie Ajayi talk about getting comfortable being uncomfortable, which motivates people to speak up or do something when they feel others are being treated unfairly. They then discuss and connect with the topic.

Make Peace Tuesday – Students have also begun reading Putting Peace First: 7 Commitments to Change the World by Eric David Dawson as a guide to being leaders and change-makers in their school community. 

Leadership Wednesday – This is the time when 8th years will work on fundraising ideas and planning for events.

8th Grade News (Thursday & Friday) – Each week, 8th years also plan, write, and film the FWM News (formerly the Friday Morning Gathering) that will be viewed by students in Lower El, Upper El, and the rest of Middle School. 8th years have a vision for how they want the news to go this year, so they are working hard to execute their plan and get the first episode out. They are determined to continue this tradition despite restrictions on the students gathering. They have great spirit!

Without a doubt, Advisory is important to the whole Middle School community. Forming cohesive groups that communicate well and work consistently on their social emotional wellness is vital to adolescent development.

Have a Peaceful Weekend,

The MS Team

Mrs. Lopes’ Class: A Walk Around the Sun

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

With the departure of Ms. Carroll, I feel so honored to be able to step into a classroom with such an amazing group of children and families. The children have acclimated to my presence with ease and have enthusiastically welcomed me into their classroom community. Thank you for your support during this transition. Ms. Sharlene and I are looking forward to a wonderful school year with your children!

This week we had our first classroom birthday celebration. Birthday celebrations are so special in a Montessori environment. For a child, one year is a significant amount of time relative to their life. As part of the Montessori tradition, we strive to celebrate birthdays in a way that is both meaningful and educational.

Our children in the primary environment celebrate birthdays with a tradition called “a walk around the sun.” A walk around the sun can be different from school to school, but typically begins by lighting a candle representing the sun in the middle of our class circle. Labels for each month of the year are laid out around the candle. The teacher and class form a circle around the candle and the birthday child walks around the “sun” once for each year of their life, holding an Earth globe. We encourage parents to share a milestone from each year of their child’s life during their walk around the sun.

The Montessori Birthday Walk is more than just a birthday celebration, it’s a Celebration of Life, a lesson in science, astronomy, and grace, and a community building experience for the entire class.

This Friday we will be sending home a “Friday Folder” with your child’s work from the week.  Please empty the folder and return it to school on Monday.  Some children come home with many items each week, while others do not.  Please remember that many of the lessons and materials in our environment are tactile, so even though your child may not be coming home with much “physical” work, our photos we share each week will show how they have been working hard in the classroom.

If you would like to access your child’s weekly schedule, including enrichment classes, you can do so on myfwm.org. Go to the Parents module and select Student Schedules. If you have more than one child at FWM, you can access all from this one location using the drop down menu.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend,

Mrs. Lopes and Ms. Sharlene

Who Am I?

Posted on by Ashley O'Connell

This week’s art project was inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflower paintings. After looking at images of Van Gogh’s work, each child took time to closely examine real sunflowers with their eyes and sense of touch. Students noticed the range of textures, vibrant colors, and shapes of the sunflowers. Then, they carefully drew their own using pencil and oil pastels. Each sunflower was then cut out and arranged to create one collaborative art piece that visually represents the bright, beautiful Lower Elementary community. Thank you so much Mrs. Reid for organizing such a thoughtful project.

Another exciting part of our week was creating the class “Who Am I” material together. “Who Am I” is a collection of Montessori biology materials used to learn about the different kingdoms of life; specifically, animals, plants, fungi, protists, and prokaryotes. As a fun beginning of the year activity, we made this material with a focus on the children in the classroom. This process started with the children answering questions about themselves. Next, it was typed up, and turned into a material the students can use during work cycle. Not only is the “Who Am I” material a fabulous and popular classification work, it also provides work in comprehension and fluency while helping the children get to know each other!

If you would like to access your child’s weekly schedule, including enrichment classes, you can do so on myfwm.org. Go to the Parents module and select Student Schedules. If you have more than one child at FWM, you can access all from this one location using the drop down menu.

Mrs. Wilson’s Toddler Class

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

Normalization in a Montessori environment is when the children freely choose their own work and are able to concentrate, and they do this joyfully. This week we have been seeing a growth in normalization happening. The children spend the first part of their morning preparing for their day and welcoming friends, then the energy of the room changes and we see the children taking the materials off the shelves and working with their lessons. It is a beautiful thing to see.

We will end our study of oceans this week and move into the start of our autumn lessons. The next couple of weeks ahead we will focus on apples.

If you would like to access your child’s weekly schedule, including enrichment classes, you can do so on myfwm.org. Go to the Parents module and select Student Schedules. If you have more than one child at FWM, you can access all from this one location using the drop down menu.

Enjoy this week’s photos!

Mrs. Wilson and Ms. Sara

Mrs. Hood’s Class: On the Move!

Posted on by Andrea Hood

” Movement, or physical activity, is thus an essential factor in intellectual growth, which depends upon the impressions received from outside. Through movement we come in contact with external reality, and it is through these contacts that we eventually acquire even abstract ideas. ” -Maria Montessori

Your children have been enjoying our outdoor environment so much! They are developing their large motor skills by climbing our big rock and the hill to get to the top of the slide. They also like to practice walking on the big rocks path. They run and enjoy exploring in our forsythia tunnel! Some of them love walking around the sandbox frame and others seem to love the tree stump walking path which offers a bigger challenge for balancing!

Toddlers have an inner need to reach their maximum effort. Hand-powered materials build upper body and arm strength as well as develop cardiovascular health. In the classroom your toddler fulfills this need using different materials. One of them is a heavy wagon. Some of the children like to push it empty, others like to put some materials or heavy balls in it, and some children really enjoy asking their friends to hop on so they can give them a ride around the environment. It’s usual to see some children struggling a bit when getting to the corners of the classroom but it’s fascinating to observe how they find ways to move it around. This week in our outdoor environment, we introduced some big wooden spools. Some of the children even attempted to push the spools up the hill! So fun!

We also had the opportunity to enjoy playing in the rain this week! Some of the children were so excited to taste the rain and jump in the puddles, while some enjoyed watching the drops falling on their rain jackets and their friends jumping around.

Children also enjoyed a drum session and exploring some new works in the environment! As your children continue to become aware of their peers, new friendships have been developing and children have been participating more and more in community gatherings. Some of the favorite songs this week were: “Listen and Move” by Greg and Steve and “Drive My Car” by Laurie Berkner. The Animal Boogie by Barefoot Books was the most acclaimed book by the children.

If you would like to access your child’s weekly schedule, including enrichment classes, you can do so on myfwm.org. Go to the Parents module and select Student Schedules. If you have more than one child at FWM, you can access all from this one location using the drop down menu.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Maria 

Ready to Learn

Posted on by Karen Sankey

We love starting our day exercising our bodies and getting the blood flowing before coming inside to meditate and write in our journals. These activities get our minds ready for learning.

This year will be full of different types of lessons in Upper Elementary. One benefit of Montessori education is that students are able to move at their own pace in math and some areas of language. One way we accomplish this is through individual lessons. Each student has at least one meeting time with me each week. During this time, I observe, evaluate, and work with them on the next step of their learning. Students also meet with me as small or large groups for lessons in geometry, biology, geography, history, and evolutionary chemistry.

This week we had small group lessons in geometry. The fourth year students learned about congruent, similar, and equivalent shapes and the fifth years learned about the relationships between lines in equivalent parallelograms and rectangles.

We also kicked off our biology and history lessons. In biology we are learning about the vital functions of plants. We started by learning about three different categories of vital functions: vegetative functions (nutrition, respiration, and circulation), functions of relationship (support, sensitivity, and movement), and the function of reproduction.

In history, our fourth year students have started learning about the Time Line of Life, a study of the changes life has gone through since it appeared on Earth. Our fifth years are learning about the Time Line of Modern Humans which is an overview of fourteen cultures of the modern human species, Homo sapiens sapiens, who lived in Europe during the last 40,000 years.

If you would like to access your child’s weekly schedule, including enrichment classes, you can do so on myfwm.org. Go to the Parents module and select Student Schedules. If you have more than one child at FWM, you can access all from this one location using the drop down menu.

Mrs. Wilson’s – Ocean and Outdoor Fun!

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

In the classroom, there are all types of lessons on the shelf with an ocean or beach representation. I started the year with an ocean theme to bring something that they would be recently familiar with. The children had opportunities to match seashells and transfer objects that symbolized the color of the ocean, items found on the beach, or in the water. Our language shelf consists of figures such as sharks, a blue whale, a dolphin, and a humpback whale. In the background, the children can hear the sound of the waves with some relaxing music. Of course when there is an ocean, we need to dance along to Baby Shark and sing Slippery Fish.

The children seem to enjoy the newest additions to our playground. They utilize the tree stumps to rest, climb, and jump and also to balance across.

Enjoy this week’s photos!

Mrs. Wilson and Ms. Sara

Mrs. Hood’s Class: Slow and Steady!

Posted on by Andrea Hood

Your children have started to settle in little by little. There are less tears everyday at drop off time and more dancing and giggles throughout the morning. As your children’s confidence and trust have increased, they have started to explore the environment more intentionally. They have even started to socialize with some of their peers. Those that are able to say a few words have started to recognize and call their friends by their names.

As the children continue to use their freedom of movement and freedom of choice, some ground rules have been introduced. One of those rules is Respect for Others’ Work. In traditional school settings children this age are encouraged and even expected to share. Sharing is a very important concept, but for children of this age it’s a task that they are not developmentally ready for. In our environment we encourage the concept of taking turns instead. This encourages patience, mindfulness, independence, order, and concentration. Children don’t feel threatened by the idea that another child will take their material away, instead they can peacefully work with the material until they are done. When children want to work independently we encourage them to say: “This is my work. Please don’t touch.” We also encourage the children to observe quietly how other children are working with a material. It’s so fun to see that even at this young age children are able to work on mastering these skills! They just need the encouragement to do so.

Another rule we introduced this week is We Respect our Materials. As guides, we model slowly and consistently throughout the morning the importance of carrying and handling our materials in a gentle way. If one of our students decides to throw a piece of material across the room, we encourage them to use one of the balls instead and we verbalize to them in a few words how we should use the materials. “We throw the ball.” “We are gentle with our materials.”

On another note, children had a blast exploring our toddler fun outdoor space and learning new songs. Some of the children’s favorite songs this week seemed to be: “Walking in the Jungle” by Super Simple Songs, “We are the Dinosaurs” by Laurie Berkner and “La Lechuza” by Plim Plim.

We are excited for a new month and all the fun we are about to have! Stay tuned and enjoy the pictures of your beautiful children!

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Maria