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Important Information & Upcoming Events

Posted on by Alison Kistner

Martial Arts Winter Program OPEN!  With the success of the fall program, FWM is offereing a winter Martial Arts program with Sensei Chris Schaefer.  The program is a 6 week course that will begin on Wednesdays starting January 8th.  The last class is on Wednesday, February 12th.  The class is from 3:00-3:45pm.  The cost of the program is $120.00 per student.  Registration closes on January 3, 2020.  Please sign up at your MyFWM.org account under PROGRAMS.

Thursday, December 19th After School Program Closing Early The After School Program will be closing at 5:00pm. due to the Faculty & Staff Holiday Party.  Please make necessary arrangements so your child is picked up by this time.  Thank you in advance for your understanding!

Friday, December 20th Parent Breakfast (9:30am.) and Holiday Concert (10:00am.) All are invited to the Parent (and guests) breakfast provided by the Parents and to enjoy the musical selections from students in Primary through 8th. To sign up to bring a breakfast treat, click here.

Friday, January 16th Moving Up Information Night.  Learn about the currciulum and program for next year.  This is especially helpful for parents whose children are transitioning to a new level (Toddler to Primary, 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.

Two NEW After School Art Clubs coming for Next Term!  Ms. Reid will be offering Art Club: Drawing, Painting, & More! for Lower Elementary students on Tuesdays and Muddy Hands for 5th through 8th grade on Wednesdays.  Registration opening soon!

Mrs. Carroll’s Class: Inclusion and Peace

Posted on by Cindy Carroll

Tis’ the season for celebrations!  A time to honor the many beautiful and wondrous ways that people observe the diverse collection of holidays from around the world. All of these occasions are a marvelous way to reinforce the idea that people around the world have distinctive yet similar observances.

This week the children celebrated the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. They were completely engaged in learning about the eight day celebration. Thank you Leah Mayor (Newman) and Laura Wilhelm for your compassionate Hanukkah storytelling, dreidel game, and to Cassie Stevenson for the delicious latkes.

Our Christmas celebration began with a reading of The Night Before Christmas.  No true Christmas celebration would be complete with out a brightly colored, incredibly sweet Christmas cookie. Thank you Christi Orlowski for the delicious sugar cookies. We had fun icing and then decorating our holiday treats. Thanks also go out to Lisa Jackson, Lisa Manca, and Chelcie Georgette for contributing to our festive morning.

Learning about the holidays of different cultures embraces the Montessori principals of inclusion and peace and helps students understand that celebrations have had a great significance to people throughout time and across all cultures. Rituals and celebrations are a large part of human history. They have to do with your culture, your time and place in history. So let’s take a look at creating rituals in our own families, specifically towards the end of the year, the festive season.

Your children will be bringing home a very special gift for you. Please enjoy this token of love and gratitude. We had a great time creating these gifts and know you will appreciate your children’s creative efforts.

A gentle reminder. Please send your children into school with warm winter attire.

May your holidays be merry and filled with moments you’ll always remember.

Cindy & Sharlene

Mrs. Wilson: Sensitive Period for Order

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

This week was like a breath of fresh air as I observed some of our toddlers displaying their sensitive period for order. The sensitive period for order begins at birth and peaks around the age of 18 months to 2.5 years. To help them with their needs it is important that the adults have the prepared environment in order. By modeling and gently guiding, we show the children how to put away the lessons when they are finished which helps them during this sensitive period.

The children continued using holiday-themed lessons. We added a few more to the environment that they seem to enjoy using. One, in particular, is the snowball toss.

We added a few new types of equipment to the classroom. The children have been receiving lessons on mopping up spills with a mop and sweeping up crumbs with a broom. When it is your turn to wash the linens you may find a mop head in the basket. It can be thrown into the washing machine along with the rest of the laundry. Thank you!

This week the children were able to explore fresh figs. They tasted both fresh and dried and the majority of the children enjoyed the dried figs better.

Warm wishes,
Mrs. Wilson, Ms. Sara, and Ms. Heather

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: Classroom Celebrations

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

 

In the Montessori environment, celebrating holidays is an important component of our philosophy. The children are introduced to the traditions and rituals of celebrations around the world. There is a  gentle focus on how each holiday is distinct and yet there are similarities as well. Helping the children to learn about different holidays highlights the Montessori principals of peace and inclusion.

On Tuesday, Gia and Seth Feltman spent time in our classroom sharing the story of Hanukkah and serving latkes and applesauce. It is always amazing to watch children approach new food with hesitancy and before you know it, ask for more!  Thank you to Rossana Cinquegrana for making the delicious latkes.

On Thursday, Ashley and Salim Boutagy read the classic  ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas.  Everyone then had a chance to decorate their own sugar cookie. Thank you to Meg Gill for providing the cookies and toppings. Please know that we are ever so grateful for all of the ‘behind the scenes’ help that goes into making our classroom run smoothly.

There is always a learning curve in the beginning of the winter when the children are learning to dress themselves in snow gear and also be responsible for all of their clothing. If you have a preference as to whether your child’s snow gear should come home each day, remain in the locker until Friday, or stay there for the season, it would be most helpful if you could send us an email letting us know.

Your children will be bringing home a very special gift for you. Please enjoy this token of love and gratitude. We had a great time creating these gifts and know you will appreciate your children’s creative efforts.

Wishing everyone joy and peace this holiday season!

Michelle & Jeannine

Going Out

Posted on by Ashley O'Connell

We had a fabulous time at Stepping Stones Museum this past Tuesday. The children were happily engaged in the learning session about the water cycle and while exploring the museum. We started our day with a break out session learning about what happens during the water cycle. The children discovered the essential role that water plays in our lives. They learned about evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and accumulation through experiments and hands-on activities. Afterwards we had some free time to explore the other exhibits, such as the Water Lab. Here, the children engaged in pumping, pushing, and directing water. While at work, the children gained an understanding of how water can make things move to generate activity. Another favorite was the new Dinosaur Exhibit. This included exploring a dinosaur nest, making dinosaur tracks, discovering fossils, building a dinosaur skeleton and more. Some other exhibits we enjoyed were the Build It, Express Yourself, and Multimedia Gallery.

Thank you to our parent volunteers for coming on the trip with us!

Mrs. Hood’s Class: Holiday Joy!

Posted on by Andrea Hood

Winter holidays are used in our environment as a fun way to keep children engaged, encourage joy of learning, and help us to introduce the passage of time and seasons. Since they bring a sense of light and joyfulness to the long, dark winter months and create a sense of community, we welcome them wholeheartedly. Peacefulness and purposeful work using the holiday materials is something you can observe when entering the environment! As children are growing, their concentration does too. It’s such a gift to be able to witness this!

This week children had fun learning a new song, Candle Chase by Lauren Berkner, in honor of Hanukkah. Through this song they practiced using their fingers for counting. They really enjoy it! Their faces also glowed when hearing the song Jingle Bells, so much, that organically they paired with a friend to dance and have a good time!. As we continued learning Spanish, children also practiced the song Feliz Navidad by Jose Feliciano. What a blast!

We introduced cauliflower as food tasting, and even though this food didn’t receive a thundering ovation, we were joyful as some students kept asking for more and more.

We can’t wait for our holiday pajama celebration next week! Please feel free to send your child in pajamas on Thursday, December 19th and thank you in advance for all your support to make this happen!

Mrs. Lopes’s Class: A Week of Celebrations

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

“The Montessori approach to celebrating special days is a gift to children
as it expands their minds, their hearts, and their worlds.”
—Alex Chiu, Montessori Musings

 

In the Montessori environment, celebrating holidays and festivals is an important and exciting study for the students that focuses on the tradition and rituals of celebrations.  Learning about the holidays of different cultures embraces the Montessori principals of inclusion and peace and helps students understand the significance of the several holidays celebrated during this winter season. Holidays are a way that people and cultures come together to worship that which they hold dear, to rejoice, and usually to feast with their community and families.  By exploring the variety of holidays celebrated this time of year, the children learn it is wonderful to be different and honor what is unique about each culture and person.

What an exciting week we have had in our classroom!  We enjoyed listening to a special guest reader and had fun with two holiday celebrations.

On Monday, Mr. Robertson came to our classroom to read the story I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child.  This book shows how an older brother convinces his little sister to eat her vegetables.

On Tuesday, we had our Hanukkah celebration.  We discussed the meaning of the menorah and traditional ways Hanukkah is celebrated.  Thank you to Natalia Kokalj-O’Driscoll and Kristen Rio for bringing in and serving authentic Jewish latkes to the children.  Thank you also to the parents who kindly donated applesauce and sour cream to go with them.  Many of the children enjoyed trying this traditional Hanukkah food.

On Thursday, we had our Christmas celebration.  We read Twas the Night Before Christmas together and then decorated Christmas cookies.  Thank you to Hudson’s grandmother and Kristen Rio for helping the children decorate their cookies and to all the parents who donated supplies for the activity.  The children were so excited to bring the cookies home to share with their families!

Your children have also been busy rehearsing for the school wide Holiday Concert next week.  Please mark your calendars for next Friday, December 20 at 10am.  The children cannot wait to share the songs they have been practicing with you.  Also, just a reminder that next Friday is an early dismissal day and all children will be dismissed at 11:30am.  If you are planning to take your child home after the holiday concert please plan to pick them up in the classroom at the end of the performance.  This helps us to keep track of all the children as they are leaving, thank you for your help!

Have a great weekend,

Amanda and Deanna

Culture Through Reading

Posted on by Sara Hall

One of the greatest things about learning another language is learning about the cultures of its native speakers. Students are introduced to new traditions, holidays, and perspectives while building upon their language skills. All first through eighth year students have learned about the tradition of El Día de los Reyes Magos. 

Lower elementary students are exploring Flamenco dance as we begin to learn about Spain. We read a story called, Jorge va a España, which introduced Flamenco dance and a few major cities in Spain. Then, students constructed castañuelas and abanicos, common accessories used in Flamenco.

Upper elementary students have been working toward becoming independent readers in Spanish. They have been reading stories and identifying cognates, summarizing the main idea, and recalling details from the text. Most recently they did this with the story, “La carta a los Reyes Magos” from Storyteller’s Corner. 

Middle school classes have just completed their third unit of our SOMOS curriculum. They are now working on writing sequels or alternative endings to video clips we saw in this unit. They also listened to a story which summarized the traditions of El Día de los Reyes Magos.