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Mrs. Lopes’s Class: Grace and Courtesy

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

                     

“If teaching is to be effective with young children, it must assist them to advance on the way to independence.”- Maria Montessori 

As the children are growing and showing increasing independence in the classroom, we began this week by adding two food preparation lessons onto our Practical Life shelf.  These lessons included a banana slicing lesson and a carrot peeling/slicing lesson.  Through the food preparation lessons in the Montessori environment the children learn self care as they wash their hands. They develop independence as they learn to prepare food. They improve fine motor skills as they prepare the food.  Finally, they practice grace and courtesy as they offer the food to share with their friends.

There are many benefits to involving children in food prep. Even the pickiest of eaters have been known to be more willing to try things when they have had a hand in preparing it. We noticed all the children were drawn to these lessons and took great care in preparing the food and then offering the food to their friends.  Each child practiced grace and courtesy by asking a friend, “Would you like some?” and their friend would respond “Yes, please.” or “No, thank you.”  We will continue to rotate these lessons with other foods as the school year progresses.

We hope you will have fun including your child in food preparation at home as well.  It is wonderful to watch the sense of pride and accomplishment in the children as they complete such a simple task.

Best,

Amanda & Deanna

Middle School: Week in Review

Posted on by Michelle Lamb
It’s the second week back from break and things are already in full swing! The Middle School is working hard in all their classes and keeping busy with preparations for upcoming events (Snowball Dance, research night presentations, moving up information night and varsity basketball games). Please remember to take care of yourselves and each other as we navigate the winter season and all it brings along!

Opportunity for MS students regarding the Snow Ball hosted by our Parents Association:

Students are welcome to attend the Snow Ball on Saturday, Feb. 1st with an accompanying adult (tickets can be purchased online or at door); however, if they would prefer to participate in the event by volunteering, there are plenty of jobs available, including set up the day before, working at the event, and clean up afterwards. The Sign Up Sheet is posted on the Humanities classroom door.

Math
In Pre-Transition class, students are learning about multiplying fractions and using arrays to visually understand regrouping. They are practicing how to use multiplication to find the area and perimeter of different shapes. Students are also studying for Quiz 1 that will be the week after CTP-5 testing and include lessons 6.1-6.4.
In Transition class, students are learning all about transformations of shapes on a coordinate grid. They are practicing how to rotate, translate, and reflect images using ordered pairs. They started a Tessellation art project in class that will be on display in the classroom to bring some new color to the math space.
In Algebra class, students are learning about slope and rate of change. They are working through how to make equations for lines with a given point and slope as well as slope-intercept equations for lines. Students are enjoying creating graphs and using desmos.com to build new 2D shapes with linear equations.
Math Joke: Are Monsters good at Math?………Not unless you are Count Dracula!
Science
6th year Earth Science students conducted the structural integrity of their buildings as part of their Earthquake unit. Students finished building their 4 story building designs which were then tested using Jello as a building’s substrate. Afterwards, students were able to reflect and discuss techniques that worked well and those that didn’t. 7th year Physical Science spent the week identifying unique characteristics of molecular structures. Students had the opportunity to build 3-dimensional molecules based on each element’s valence electron configuration. This required students to apply their knowledge of defining a valence electron, how many electrons are required to fulfill an orbital, and the similarities and differences between double and single covalent bonds. 8th year Life Science students have finished their unit on Meiosis. Ending the unit, students were able to illustrate the stages and benefits of meiosis compared to that of mitosis.
Humanities

6th & 7th year Humanities classes continue to work on their research projects. They are looking at reliable sources, reviewing inquiry-based research, and organizing information. Students are learning/reviewing the importance of finding relevant information and keeping track of resources to later give credit in their papers through in-text citations. The 7th years also continue to plan their essay using the novel A Long Walk to Water to support the quotation from the main character, “Quitting leads to much happiness in life than perseverance and hope.” 8th year Humanities students will finish the novel, If I Ever Get Out of Here, over the weekend. We have covered many themes from friendship and loyalty to bullying and racism in this novel, and it helps students have insight into reservation life. All classes also completed another unit of vocabulary this week.

 

Upper Elementary: CT Science Center

Posted on by Brian Comstock

This week we spent a lot of time preparing for research night which takes place February 6. On Wednesday we visited the CT Science Center in Hartford. The students had a great time exploring the exhibits and visiting the newest exhibit, Mazes and Brain Games. In between that time, we took part in a lab focused on electromagnetism. The students worked in pairs to create an electromagnet and then tested the electromagnetic power.

Cardboard Tools

Posted on by Danielle Ulacco

This week we welcomed the kindergarten students into the world of cardboard. Cardboard is an important medium we use in the MakerSpace. It costs practically nothing, we have an endless supply (thanks to community donations), and when we are done with it we still get to recycle it. It is the basis for the Design Thinking Process and all of the prototyping that occurs in the MakerSpace.

In an effort to understand how to work with cardboard, kindergarten students were introduced to our Make.Do cardboard construction tools. Kindergarteners had a lesson on each tool and how to properly use them: small and large screws, screwdrivers, the puncture tool, and the saw.

Their challenge was to puncture five holes in a piece of cardboard and correctly use the screwdriver to place a screw in each hole. You’d be surprised to see how much force is needed to do go straight through the cardboard. This gave students reinforced instruction on their lefts and their rights and it gave them an opportunity to work on their hand-eye-motor strength and coordination. Here in the MakerSpace we talk about “failing fast” this exercise provided the safe environment for them to move past frustration and into the “ah-ha!” feeling.

This is the first of a series of lessons that each student successfully completed!

Important Information & Upcoming Events

Posted on by Alison Kistner

Current Toddler & Primary Families response requested
Please take a minute to click on this link to complete your family’s desired program choice for the upcoming school year.

Friday, January 16th Moving Up Information Night.  Learn about the curriculum and program for next year.  This is especially helpful for parents whose children are transitioning to a new level (Toddler to Primary, Primary 4 year old to Kindergarten, Primary to Lower Elementary, Lower Elementary to Upper Elementary, and Upper Elementary to Middle School).

Parent Association: FWM 1st Annual Snow Ball Saturday, February 1st – 3:00-5:00pm. The Snow Ball is a dance where students from toddler through middle school attend with their favorite grown up! The adult can be a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or any other adult your child would like to invite. There will be dancing, a winter themed photobooth, craft activities, food, and a very special Winter Basket Raffle. It is not to be missed! Tickets are on sale now for $15 per couple (child/adult pair) in advance or $20 at the door. All ticket purchases include a glowstick and an entry to win the Winter Basket Raffle Grand Prize! Optional purchase of a child’s wrist corsage or boutonniere is available as well. Click this link to purchase your tickets. The Snow Ball Dance promises to be “snow much fun” for students and adults alike!The FWM Gym will be transformed into a magical winter wonderland for this special event. We hope that you can join us!

Parent Association Meeting: Thursday, January 23rd from 8:30-9:30am. in the conference room. Be on the lookout for the upcoming meeting agenda. Everyone is invited and we encourage you to attend!

Mrs. Wilson: New Year, New Friend, New Growth!

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

It was great to see all our little friends after being away for two weeks. We also welcomed our new friend Lennox! We sure did miss them and they seemed to miss us and their peers. They came back ready to get busy with all the new materials. This month we are exploring arctic animals and all things winter.

One of our new lessons is arctic animal object-to-picture matching. Object to picture matching helps build vocabulary. In this instance, they are exposed to the words arctic hare, arctic fox, orca, harp seal, husky, walrus, beluga whale, and polar bear. The toddlers also start making object-photo connections. For example, holding the object polar bear and seeing the photo of the polar bear. This connection is stored in their brains later for reading. This lesson also exercises the left to right hand movement, which prepares them for future writing.

Food Tasting: Beets!!! We explored a raw beet with the stem and leaves and tasted canned beets. I was surprised by how many of our children could not wait to taste more.

We were so excited to be able to get outside a few times this week. It has been quite some time since the children have seen the playground due to the temperature being below 32°.
The children had a surprise waiting for them outside. Ms. Sara donated 4 big Tonka trucks. Thank you, Ms.Sara!

As always enjoy the photos!
Mrs.Wilson, Ms. Sara, and Ms. Heather

Publishing Party

Posted on by Ashley O'Connell

The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. – Melody Beattie

Happy New Year! The holiday season came and went with a blink of an eye and now we are beginning a new decade! There has been plentiful laughter and enthusiasm buzzing in the classroom this week.

In the first half of the year, the children became storytellers, writing true stories about their lives. Now, as we wrap up this unit, the children are working on publishing a story they hold near and dear to their hearts. They have been working so hard this week to get their stories accomplished. It’s beautiful to see all the children’s unique personalities shine through their writing. We will be having an authors circle when the publishing process is over to celebrate and share (those who are comfortable) their efforts.

Soon the children will be learning about writing nonfiction, becoming experts on topics of their choice. This will lead nicely into the research the children are beginning for the upcoming Research Night on Thursday, February 6th, at 6:30. They are in the process of choosing a topic of interest within some categories we provided them. Children will work together with us to do all of their research at school. First year students will make posters with information about their topics, second year students will make posters and write research papers, and third year students will make presentation boards, write papers, and give oral presentations. We will provide all of the information and resources for the children to complete this process successfully.

Art Club Animal Drawings

Posted on by Jen Reid

 

Our first Lower Elementary Art Club session of the New Year was a big success! We began by looking at images of various animals from invertebrates to mammals, birds to reptiles, and everything in between. After a brief demonstration on how to begin an animal drawing by breaking down the body into simple shapes to act as guidelines, students then chose one animal to focus on for their drawing.

With images as their reference, students worked diligently on their animal drawings, sketching lightly in pencil first and then completing their drawing with darker outlines. Next, students worked on the fur, skin, feathers, or scales of their animal using colored pencils. Once complete, students cut out their animal by following along the outline so that next session they can focus on creating an environment for their animals to live in. These cut-out animal drawings will be glued onto their painted habitat, creating a finished art piece with a complete ecological story behind it!