Blog

Mrs. Hood’s Class: Little Snowflakes

Posted on by Andrea Hood

Happy New Year! We hope you had a wonderful holiday break and you got some relaxation and meaningful time with your families! We are thankful for all of you and for the joy your wonderful children bring to our lives! What an honor it is to see them growing and blooming right before our eyes! We want to thank you also for your generosity through your gifts and encouraging words! Ms. Lizette, Ms. Maria and I love partnering with you through this adventure!

Your children transitioned peacefully after the break and they arrived eager and ready to explore the environment and all the new works on the shelves. For the next month we will focus on our Winter studies, using water as a main object for conversations and sensorial experiences. This week we introduced one of the conditions of water that is truly magical: snowflakes. Children learned that even though snowflakes have in common symmetry and a hexagonal structure, the detailed structures of the snowflakes are totally different. I can’t stop thinking how the individuality of a snowflake is parallel to human life. Each one of your children are so unique and so precious and we are grateful we are able to “contemplate” them as they grow and continue to share their beauty.

At the end of the week, children enjoyed choosing their favorite stencil to paint their own snowflake, not forgetting the magical touch of glitter as the last detail.

Another highlight of this week was the addition of the rocking moose and the slide to our climbing structure. There is a sense of exhilaration in the life of a child when using slides, no matter how big or small they are. Apart from promoting balance, coordination, and spatial awareness, this exercise promotes positive social skills. Children learn to play together and take turns. Children learn to be patient and tolerant and they increase their communication skills.

As part of our Enrichment of Vocabulary curriculum we added opposites to our language works. It’s so great to see your children purposely observing and verbally communicating while enjoying finding the matching opposite cards.

For food tasting children seem to enjoy using all their senses in the exploration of a beet! Its leaves looked like hair for some of the children and the roots of it were fun to touch. Most of the children were not too enthusiastic about tasting this food, but at least some of them liked it and asked for more!

As we continue to enjoy our winter season, please make sure your child brings a labeled bag with winter gear inside. This includes: snow pants, waterproof mittens with mittens clips, snow boots, winter hat and winter jacket. Feel free to leave it in your child’s locker as we will use it, weather permitting.

Mrs. Lopes’s Class: Our Five Senses

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

The holiday season came and went in a hurry and the new year has officially begun. We were so excited to see the children’s enthusiasm as they returned to the classroom ready to learn and get back to work!

Children of all ages are eager to learn about their world and everything in it.  When young children use all of their five senses, they understand how their bodies work and find new ways to experience the world. In the Montessori environment, children are taught to experience the world through all five of their senses. This can give them new insights and allow them to think creatively.  This week we explored each of our senses in depth and talked about how we use our senses to understand the world around us. The children have been enjoying the new lessons this unit has brought to our Sensorial shelf. We also ended the unit with a “taste test” to explore the flavors of sweet, salty, sour, and bitter.  It was interesting to watch their reactions as they tried each flavor!

As we begin this new year, we would like to wish you all a very happy new year and look forward to what the remainder of the school year will bring!

Amanda and Deanna

Mrs. Carroll’s Class: A New Year Begins!

Posted on by Cindy Carroll

The holidays are behind us now and the new year looms on the horizon as a time of hope and promise in our lives, our families, and our communities. Your children’s smiles and laughter once again warm both our classroom and our hearts. It is not uncommon to see an increase in children’s emotional, social, and academic development after returning from the break. Our classroom routines are well established and each child is discovering their part in our classroom community. We slowly begin to introduce longer and more involved lessons. It truly is an exhilarating time of the school year!

Matter is everywhere! We have begun our study of the basics of solid, liquid, and gas and look forward to illustrating how matter can change from one state to another: melting, freezing, boiling, condensation, sublimation, and deposition.

Our classroom travels have taken us to the continent of Asia, the largest of the seven continents.  We look forward to exploring the various countries, customs, animals, foods, music, and literature this culturally rich continent has to offer.

Thank you again for your thoughtful and generous holiday gifts.  Ms. Sharlene and I are blessed to have such a warm, supportive classroom community.

Stay well!

Cindy and Sharlene

Upper Elementary: New Year, New Lessons

Posted on by Brian Comstock

Although it was nice to enjoy some time off with friends and family during the holiday break, there is something calming about returning to school and following the natural routines of the day with the students. We moved on to new units in both readers and writers workshops. Our readers workshops are centered around nonfiction, and informational books. As for writers workshop, we focused on research writing, specifically based on ancestry, since that is the topic for Research Night. This year students will gather information about their family history and then make a slideshow presentation. They each brought home a blue folder with helpful resources to get started. Research Night is scheduled for February 6th at 6:30. While we were discussing the annual research fair a group of FWM alumni stopped by to say hello. They recalled their time researching their ancestry and I was able to pull up some old photos from their research night 9 years ago!

Middle School: Happy New Year!

Posted on by Michelle Lamb

Happy New Year, Middle School families! Mr. Brown, Ms. Sutherland, and I would like to express our utmost gratitude for your generous class holiday gifts. We hope you were able to have a peaceful time with family and friends over the past few weeks.

This week, students began their new Community Service rotation for the second trimester. We considered students’ input before placing them, and I think we are off to a great few months.

In Humanities, we are on to new projects! The 6th and 7th years have embarked on their research projects surrounding the theme, A Moment in History, which they will present on the evening of February 6th. The historical events that students have selected are incredibly interesting. Here is a preview of a few topics: Hurricane Katrina, D-Day, and the ratification of the 19th amendment (Women’s voting rights). Students have already developed thesis statements and questions to guide their research, and they are ready to go! 8th years are just about done selecting their topics for their Expert Project. More about those topics to come. 8th years are also finishing up the novel, If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth, and should be complete in the next week. Finally, it was a current events week for all!

6th year Earth Science students are working on their Earthquake Safe Building project. Students have a limited budget of supplies to create a 4-story building that will be able to withstand excessive shaking. 7th year Physical Science students have begun their unit on Molecules. Currently, they are learning about the similarities and differences between covalent and ionic bonding. Following this concept, we will dive deeper into the electron configuration present for each atom. 8th year Life Science students are on the unit Meiosis. We have discussed the process of cell division and genetic variation. Students have been able to discuss this in depth following a video about Dolly, the sheep which was cloned in 1996.

This week in Math, students had a smooth transition back to classes and their regular routine. Students started the week by reviewing the material that was covered back in December. They spent the first few classes refreshing their math brains before the Chapter 5 test. Each class began Chapter 6 this week and are already off to a successful start. More specifically here is what each class is learning.
Pre-Transition: Students are currently talking about multiplication properties and arrays. Arrays are a visual tool to help students better understand how multiplication of variables works. They are also practicing how to multiply fractions both numerically and pictorially.
Transition: Students are currently working to understand translations and transformation on a Cartesian plane. Students are practicing how to move linear and nonlinear functions from one place to another given the specific directions.
Algebra: Students are currently learning about rate of change, also known as slope. From given information, students are able to graph, plot and analyze information about different rates of change.
Math Joke of the Week:  Why was the equal sign so humble?
Because she knew she wasn’t greater than or less than anyone else.

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: What Is Normalization?

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

Normalization is a buzzword often used by Montessori teachers everywhere. So what exactly does it mean and more importantly how do we achieve it? When children in a Montessori environment demonstrate deep concentration, self-discipline, social skills, and a true love of work we describe this as a normalized classroom. Normalization is achieved by consistent and clear ground rules that everyone is familiar with. It is our job to make sure the environment is always well prepared and designed to meet the needs of the children. As Montessori teachers, we are confident that if we do our part coupled with the opportunities provided by the environment and Montessori materials, our children will thrive.

After the winter break and upon our return in January we often see noticeable growth in the children’s social and emotional development. They come back eager to learn and raring to go! The first half of the year they have become comfortable and confident with our classroom routines and expectations. They have developed deeper relationships with their peers and teachers. It is always an exciting time and sets the groundwork for the second half of the school year.

Here’s to a wonderful remainder of the school year!

Michelle & Jeannine

Important Information & Upcoming Events

Posted on by Alison Kistner

After School Enrichment Program Registration is OPEN!   Please sign up at your MyFWM.org account under PROGRAMS. Programs offered: Martial Arts, Art Club: Drawing, Painting, & More! and Muddy Hands. Please see individual program descriptions on myfwm for additional information.

Sibling Admissions Applications At this time of year in the Advancement Office we focus our attention on sibling applications as siblings of current students receive admissions priority. We have begun to receive new student admissions applications for the upcoming September 2019 school year. As you may know, some programs/classes have limited availability each year depending on the number of students returning back from the previous school year that are not yet eligible age wise to move up to the next program level. If you are interested in pursuing a space for a sibling of a current FWM student, please complete a sibling admissions applications online here. It is suggested that you complete this application as soon as possible. Toddler Program 2020/21 Eligibility: children:15 months and older September 2020 and Primary Program 2020/21 Eligibility: children: 3-6 years of age by December 31, 2020.

If you have any additional questions or would like to schedule a parent observation of a particular program level, please contact Alison Kistner, Director of Advancement: akistner@fraserwoods.com.

Current Toddler & Primary Families response requested
At this time of year we begin to prepare student re-enrollment contracts for the upcoming school year. 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).  Childcare is available for parents on this evening.  Please RSVP with Michele Stramaglia at mstramaglia@fraserwoods.com by January 10th.

A Great Year!

Posted on by Karen Sankey

2019 was a great year for Lower Elementary! We learned so much through our lessons and experiences. We had a great time performing in our school play, going on field trips, celebrating holidays, spending time in nature, learning from each other, and making new friends. Thank you for sharing your children with us this past year. Here’s to a great 2020!

We wish you the happiest of holidays and we hope you enjoy this special time with your precious children!

With love,

Karen and Ashley