Blog

Upper Elementary: Zipping Along

Posted on by Brian Comstock

 

This week we wrapped up our study of the Kingdoms of Life as the last three groups presented. Working in groups encourages active learning, helps to develop key critical-thinking, communication, and decision-making skills. Each group received questions and comments.  A common theme among the groups that came to light was the challenge of working in a group and delegating responsibilities and ideas.   Students shared their solutions for how they dealt with any conflicts or disagreements.

Now that the zip line is up and running the students are thrilled to have another option during recess time!  Every student has gone on the new zip line at least once.

On Wednesday we had a visit from some Botsford Fire Department volunteers to discuss fire prevention.  The students learned valuable information to prevent fires and how to safely exit their homes in the case of a fire.

Mrs. Hood’s class: With My Eyes and My Hands!

Posted on by Andrea Hood

Hand-eye coordination is one of the most important parts of the learning process. It helps your child track the movements of their hands with their eyes, which is essential for reading and decoding. Because your child also uses their visual system with hand-eye coordination, it can greatly impact their writing skills and handwriting as they use their eyes to guide, direct, and control their hand movements across the page as they write letters and words.

This week we introduced a couple of fun exercises that focus on this skill. One of them was Water Pouring. This is a Practical Life exercise that also aims for concentration, practicing aiming for a target, and fine motor skills. If there are spills, your children learn to clean up after themselves. Once they are able to control their movements and pour accurately, they can pour their own water during snack time and throughout the day. Another step towards independence! Later on they will be able to to pour a drink for others as it is part of our Grace and Courtesy curriculum.

Another exercise your children enjoyed this week was hammering wooden golf tees into a pumpkin using a wooden mallet. A point of interest for them was to see the golf tee getting inside the pumpkin and be able to hit the golf tee with the mallet using all the strength they had.

Your children also helped in the process of preparing homemade playdough for the classroom and had a great time learning to shape balls and snakes out of it as a group activity!

This week children learned the song open-shut and we introduced the concept of big-small to go with some of our concrete materials on the Sensorial shelf.

To end this note, we want to thank each of the parents that donated books for our classroom! We appreciate it so much, especially each of our students!

Enjoy the pictures!

Lower Elementary: The Three Year Cycle

Posted on by Karen Sankey

The Montessori three year cycle in Lower Elementary provides the space and time for children to develop interpersonal skills by interacting with and learning among children of different ages. They learn how to cooperate with one another and to respect each other. First year children are the observers, learning from the second and third year children. Second year children are no longer the youngest, but are still learning from the thirds, while practicing for next year by helping younger classmates. This year is as important as the first and third year of their time in the classroom, this is their growth year. The third year children are the leaders; teaching the younger children while also setting a good example for them. Throughout this three year process the children gain confidence, competence and learn how to interact with a diverse peer group. They gain great social skills, preparing them for success many years down the road.

This week we learned about the fundamental needs of humans and then focused specifically on nutrition. The children learned that they have material and spiritual needs. They answered the question, “What do you need to live?” Together, they brainstormed a list of their needs. In our discussion of nutrition, we focused on the sources of the nutrients we eat.

Happenings and Events

Posted on by Alison Kistner

Veterans Day Assembly

In recognition of Veteran’s Day, FWM Kindergarten-Middle School students were invited to a presentation given by special guest, Newtown Police Officer Richard Monckton, US Army veteran. Officer Monckton shared stories and pictures with the students from his time spent during various overseas tours with the army national guard. The students asked many great questions of Officer Monckton. We thanked him for his service and for spending time with us on this important day of recognition.  Thank you to the following FWM alumni for their service:
Christina Cistulli – US Army
Katherine Danziger Lazenby – US Navy
Aaron Gattinoni – US Army
Anna Guaragno – US Army
Tucker Kistner – US Air Force
William Mitchell – US Army

Literacy in Kindergarten through 8th Grade

Faculty in Primary through Middle School are working together to discuss literacy in grades kindergarten through 8th grade.  In addition to becoming more aligned across levels, discussions led to the adoption of the Teachers College Reading and Writing Workshop approach to literacy.  This approach was developed at Columbia University by some of the leading experts in reading and writing instruction.   In addition to being effective, the program is aligned with our Montessori approach and has even been adopted by other Montessori K-8 schools.  However, this program is not exclusive to Montessori and is used in many top tier independent schools and public schools.

Early Dismissal Next Week

A reminder that there will be an 11:30 am early dismissal on Wednesday, Nov. 21st (the day before Thanksgiving).  There will be no After School Program on that day.

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Some of our Favorite Things!

Posted on by Stephanie Thomas

The children are enjoying a variety of activities and works these days. Included in the photos are several posting activities in which the children use their hand-eye coordination to manipulate various materials and place them through a hole or onto a post.

Other favorite times in our class include “circle time” and music class. Both of these events incorporate movement, rhythm, and simple, repetitive lyrics.

Mrs. Doyle’s Class

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

After learning the names of all seven continents and then identifying them on the globe, we are so excited to begin our monthly continent studies. This month we begin by studying North America. Now that the children can identify North America on the globe, we introduce the puzzle map of North America. This is a great opportunity for the children to learn geography from different types of materials.

The children learn that the entire continent of North America actually consists of several countries, twenty-three in total. We introduce the name of each country. We talk on an age-appropriate level about the animals, food, climate, and people found on North America.

We also learn some fun facts about our continent:

  • It is the only continent that has every type of major biome: tropical rainforest, desert, tundra, grassland,  and coral reef.
  • Mexico City is the largest city.
  • North America is the third largest continent.
  • It is bordered by three oceans, the Arctic ocean to the North, the Atlantic Ocean to the East and the Pacific Ocean to the South and West.
  • Canada has the highest numbers of lakes in the world and also the longest coastline.
  • Lake Superior is the largest fresh water lake in the world.
  • Greenland is the biggest island on the planet.

Have a peaceful week!

Mrs. Doyle & Mrs. Lyga

Middle School: A Week in Review

Posted on by Michelle Lamb

Another action-packed week has passed in Middle School! In addition to academics, Middle School students inaugurated the new zip line on Wednesday. They also listened to a presentation from the Botsford Volunteer Fire Department.

This week in Math, 8th years worked on union and intersections of sets along with solving absolute value inequalities. 7th years are working on factoring and reducing fractions with variables included in their examples. 6th years continue to work on adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions.  In addition, they continue to expand their mathematical vocabulary. Middle School students are making excellent progress in math this week!

The 6th and 8th year Earth Science classes have finished their unit on mapping Earth’s surface. Next, students will begin their unit on geology. The 7th years have started their unit on atoms. Throughout this chapter, students will explore the structure and history of the atom and atomic theory.
All Humanities classes completed vocabulary lessons and reviewed the midterm elections, discussing all that they were hearing but didn’t quite understand. What does it mean that the House majority has changed? We even spoke about the basic differences in issue stances on taxes, healthcare, immigration policy, and the 2nd amendment, which are important issues to both parties. 8th year Humanities students are nearing the end of their in-class read, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, after a week hiatus to draft personal narratives. Internships are next week starting on Tuesday, so students reviewed the guidelines and expectations for their required work while they are out. They also completed some grammar work on comma usage on compound and complex sentences. 7th years are wrapping up their Community presentations. 6th years worked on editing skills as well as expository writing lessons.

Happenings and Events

Posted on by Alison Kistner

Visitor at Veteran’s Day Assembly Next Week

Newtown Police Officer and army veteran, Richard Monckton, will visit FWM next week to speak at our Veteran’s Day Assembly.  The purpose of the assembly is to honor the men and women who served in the armed forces while giving FWM students an opportunity to meet and learn from a veteran.

The Zip Line is Ready!

This Wednesday, there will be a “ribbon cutting” on the playground for FWM’s new zip line!  This element was added to the playground over the summer but had to be re-installed after it was determined the pitch from the high anchor to the bottom anchor was too steep.  Thank you to all those who raised their paddle at the 2018 Spring Gala for this and the other new elements on our playground.  Also, a special THANK YOU to parent Ted Farinella whose guidance was instrumental during the re-installation of the zip line.

Family Event: Global Culinary Night this Thursday, November 8th – 6:30-8:00pm

Join us for a cultural potluck cuisine. Taste foods from all over the world. This is an entire family event not be missed.  RSVP today! So far we have food from: Italy, France, Spain, Ireland, Costa Rica, Columbia, Greece, Lebanese, Sweden and more. Let’s celebrate our school’s cultural diversity together! It’s going to be a great night.

Parent Social & Education Event: November 13th – 5:30pm.

Parent Social: 5:30-6:30pm. @ Market Place in Newtown
Education Event: 7:00pm. Edmond Town Hall in Newtown

Avielle Foundation, Brainstorm Experience: The Gift of Failure, by Jessica Lahey NY Times best selling author. Use the promo code: BEFWM for a 20% discount for FWM parents. Secure your tickets here to attend this excellent parent education presentation.  Need babysitting in order to attend this event? Great news, babysitting is being offered at FWM for an additional cost. Join us for a Parent Social at Market Place beforehand. Additional information can be found here!