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Ms. Handibode: Next Stop, South America

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

 

We are now studying the continent of South America in our classroom. South America is pink on the Montessori map and a topic of great fascination for the children. It is a beautiful region with vibrant cultures and traditions and a wide range of climates and terrains.

South America is the fourth largest continent in our world and comprises twelve individual countries. It is connected to North America by the Isthmus of Panama. An isthmus is one of the landforms we study. Brazil is the largest country in South America, and the major languages spoken are Spanish and Portuguese.

Located in South America,  is the Amazon jungle, the largest rainforest in the world. The rainforest is an ecosystem with a dense tree canopy that lets very little light through. To be considered a rainforest, there must be more than 60 inches of rain each year. Rainforests also contain over 40% of the world’s animal and plant species. There are four layers in a rainforest; each layer receives different amounts of sun, rain, and wind and is home to various species.

As the weather gets warmer, now is a great time to check the extra clothes in your child’s locker to see if they should be changed from winter clothes to spring/summer clothes.

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love!

Michelle & Maria

This Week in Upper El

Posted on by Karen Sankey

Upcoming Events
April 8-11: CTP testing (see below)
May 27, 28, and 29: Nature’s Classroom overnight field trip (see below)

This week, we welcomed a new friend to Upper El—welcome Emmie and family to FWM! It was a wonderful return to school after our two-week break. We jumped back into our biology work, focusing on the vital functions of plants.

On Monday, we reviewed the concepts we had learned before the break. We analyzed a chart of vital functions and discussed the differences between the vegetative, relative, and reproductive functions of plants. On Wednesday, we explored the creation and use of starch in plants. After the lesson, Upper El students independently tested potatoes and other root vegetables of their choice for starch, extending their activity by examining their specimens under a microscope and recording their observations in their science notebooks.

In geometry this week, one group learned about inverse formulas for finding the area of a rectangle. They practiced determining the missing base or height when given the area and the length of one side. Another group focused on the formula for calculating the area of a circle.

We concluded our week by sharing books with our kindergarten buddies. Our fourth and fifth graders are doing an outstanding job helping their kindergarten friends with reading and sharing stories. This week, they concentrated on books about animals in preparation for a research project the kindergarten students are undertaking.

CTP Testing
The Comprehensive Testing Program (CTP) evaluates reading, writing, and math skills and is administered once a year in the spring. We begin testing students in fourth grade and continue through eighth grade. For fourth and fifth graders, this assessment serves as practice, and we do not report scores at these levels. Parents will receive scores starting in sixth grade. Testing will occur during the week of April 8, with students completing small portions each morning on their devices. It’s essential for them to arrive at school each day with their devices fully charged. Please reach out if you have any questions about the testing process.

Nature’s Classroom
On May 27, we will depart for Nature’s Classroom in Charlton, Massachusetts. We will travel by bus and will stay two nights at the Pondside facility. We will return to school on May 29 after spending two nights at Nature’s Classroom. Last year, the cost for this trip was $450. This may change this year depending on the cost of the bus and on the number of students attending. I will hold an informational session for any parents interested. Please email me if you are interested. I will also send more information in a separate email next week.

Read the blog post from March 8 here.

Summer Learning at FWM

Posted on by Gina Tryforos

At FWM, we recognize that summer is a valuable time for students to reinforce their learning while also enjoying a more relaxed environment. 

Our Summer Learning Initiative is a new program that is still under construction. 

It is a half-day program designed to support academic growth with a focus on literacy instruction. Similar to what happens in the classroom, these two-week workshops provide opportunities for review and reinforcement for some students while also introducing new skills for the advancement of others. 

We have a workshop that focuses on students entering Kindergarten and First Grade, running from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM. We are also working to develop another workshop for students entering grades 2-5. 

Our first two-week workshop:

  • Week 1 – June 23 – June 27
  • Week 2 – June 30 – July  3 (closed July 4)

The workshops are structured to be both educational and engaging. By creating a supportive and inclusive space, we aim to encourage students to continue developing their skills as they do throughout the school year.

If you’re interested in enrolling your child or learning more, please contact Gina Tryforos at gtryforos@fraserwoods.com

Middle School: Welcome to the Spring Trimester!

Posted on by Michelle Lamb

Happy Spring, Middle School Community!

It felt great to get back to outdoor lunches three days this week with lots of sunshine and fresh air. This is a great time of year to work through the curriculum and start looking at the end of the year. The next two months will be busy for MS. Please refer to the weekly blog and MyFWM to keep up-to-date with announcements and find scheduled dates and times. The MyFWM calendar is an excellent resource.

Here’s what’s coming up in the month of APRIL:

Here’s what went on this week:

Humanities

6th grade Humanities began their unit on North Africa and the Middle East. Since they will study ancient civilizations, the class began with opinion writing about whether modern society can know the history of a group of people without writing. There was a great discussion about how information is found through discoveries of various types of artifacts. Next, they completed a current political map of the region and spent part of a few days’ classes exploring it on Google Earth. The class enjoyed virtually dropping into various parts of the countries and observing architecture, natural features of the terrain, and notable sites. They even visited the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, Petra in Jordan, and the Burj Khalifa in the UAE. Students reviewed what they know about timelines as they covered the common era (CE) as well as the era before the common era (BCE). Finally, with Ms. Sara, students completed their Nick Cave Soundsuits, which are on display by the art room, as well as completed summarizing practice by reading news articles, extracting important information, and paraphrasing. This work is in preparation for future current events assignments.

The 7th grade began their Powerful European Leaders unit this week. Beginning with a piece of writing that highlighted what they feel are important qualities of a great leader, the class had a wonderful discussion about this topic and created a class list of these qualities. Next, students completed and reviewed a current political map of the continent of Europe. Finally, the class spent a couple of classes investigating significant events, people, places, and outcomes of WWI. Next week, they will hone in on Russia’s Revolution of 1917 and begin reading George Orwell’s allegory, <em>Animal Farm</em>.

The 8th grade continued to study the Virginia Colony this week. They looked at the Jamestown Settlement, the initial problems that almost led to its demise, then the introduction of tobacco, subsequent farming, and the economic impact in the 1600s. Students read and annotated an article from the National Park Service about “The Rise of the Colonial Plantation System.” They also learned about the formation of the first governing body in the colony, the House of Burgesses. Students began to understand the scope of the Transatlantic Slave Trade by observing the timelapse database on Slave Voyages, which is curated by several research universities, museums, and institutes. Additionally, the class watched the the Smithsonian Channel documentary, Pocahontas: Beyond the Myth. Finally, students ended the week working on their expert projects, and some students had check-ins with Mrs. Lamb. Next Friday, all research and expert interviews are due.

Math

This week, the Pre-Transition class continued into the exciting world of Chapter 6. They kicked off the week by revisiting the skills they mastered before Spring Break, reviewing their quizzes, and making any needed corrections to ensure understanding. Then, the class tackled the power of exponents, learning how to calculate values and simplify expressions like pros. They also got hands-on with expanded notation, rewriting numbers in base 10 with ease. To top it off, they wrapped up the week by mastering the art of multiplying decimals and percents. What a week of growth and learning!

This week, the Transition class continued exploring Chapter 6. They began the week by reviewing the skills learned before Spring Break, looking over their quizzes, and making key corrections if needed to solidify their understanding. Then, they ventured onto angles and lines, uncovering the properties that help determine angle measures. From parallel lines to transversals, alternate interior angles to same-side exterior angles, students unlocked the secrets of these powerful geometric concepts. It was a week filled with discovery and excitement!
To start off the week in Algebra, students reviewed the concepts learned prior to the break, looked over their quizzes, and made any necessary corrections to solidify their understanding. They then continued on with Chapter 6. They are now able to find an equation for a line given its slope and a point or any two points on the line. They can also write equations for lines in both slope-intercept form as well as slope-point form. Algebra closed out the week with students discovering how to find the equation for lines through two points and practicing graphing these lines.
This week in Geometry, students looked over the concepts learned prior to the break, reviewed their quizzes, and made any necessary corrections to ensure understanding. The week continued with learning more Chapter 6 concepts. Prior to the break, Geometry previewed different types of quadrilaterals and applied theorems about quadrilaterals and regular polygons to find angle measures and segment lengths. This week, they looked deeper into the properties of kites and trapezoids and practiced with proofs using postulates and theorems.

Science

This week, 6th-grade students started work on our new unit covering Environmental Science. Students have access to a Google Slide presentation and a guided notes outline on this topic. They began the week discussing what the study of environmental science is and explored the history of the field. Then, they discussed an essay written by Garrett Hardin, “The Tragedy of the Commons,” in which he proposed that individuals are likely to make decisions based on personal need, regardless of the negative impact their decisions may have on the larger world. The class used the original 1972 The Lorax cartoon to further our understanding of this topic. 6th grade ended the week finding modern-day examples of a commons and explaining how that commons is being overused or exploited.
7th-grade students began a new unit on bonding this week. They are currently working on ionic bonding, the transfer of electrons in a chemical reaction. Students learned how to predict atomic behavior based on their knowledge of the periodic table’s groupings. They also used their knowledge of ions to predict how atoms would react in a chemical reaction. Students learned the Bohr model diagrams, how to find the number of valence electrons, how to determine the number of energy levels an atom will have, and how to draw Lewis dot diagrams.
This week in Life Science, 8th graders spent the first two days of the week working on creating a study guide for the unit test. Students worked in small groups to complete a study guide to review the material for our unit on cell division. The end of the week was reserved for a whole class review as well as the test itself.  Students did an excellent job preparing for the test! Ms. Pickard was really impressed with the amount of effort and time the 8th-grade students spent completing their study guides and readying themselves for the test. This work really paid off and is visible in their test scores.
Looking forward to the rest of the trimester!

Exploring Geometry in Lower Elementary

Posted on by Ashley O'Connell

Lower Elementary students have been hands-on with geometry this week, using movement and Montessori materials to explore lines, angles, and polygons!

First Grade: Lines in Motion
First graders are discovering horizontal, vertical, and oblique lines with the Box of Sticks—and even using their own bodies to form them! This interactive approach helps solidify their understanding of these fundamental concepts.

Second Grade: Measuring Angles
Second graders are mastering the Montessori Protractor, measuring, and adding angles together. Some even challenged themselves by combining more than two angles at a time, deepening their grasp of geometry through exploration.

Third Grade: Building Polygons
Third graders are constructing polygons with the Box of Sticks, reinforcing their knowledge of sides, vertices, angles, region, perimeter, and more! This hands-on activity helps bring geometric concepts to life in a meaningful way.

By engaging in active, tactile learning, students are building a strong foundation in geometry—one that fosters curiosity, confidence, and deeper understanding. We’re excited to see where their discoveries take them next!

Read the March 8 blog post here.

Mrs. Wilson: Welcome Spring

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

My favorite time of the school year is the return from spring break. The children return with a new refreshing energy and appreciation for their Fraser Woods family. You can see how much they missed each other and how much they have grown developmentally. The children have been having some wonderful serve-and-return conversations with each other, telling stories to their peers or seeking each other out for help versus asking the teachers. It has been so endearing to see and hear their interactions with each other.

This week, the children have been finishing up exploring the safari animals and St. Patrick’s Day materials. We also celebrated one of our friends’ birthdays. As we gradually transition into spring, the children have been discovering signs of the season outside. They have found acorns starting to grow roots, noticed sprouts, and even spotted two little crocuses blooming in our garden.

Food Tasting: This week, we tasted sweet potatoes, which were a big hit with most of the children.

Love and Light,

Cynthia and Sara

Read the March 8 blog post here. 

Mrs. Hood: Colorful Wonders 🌈

Posted on by Andrea Hood

Colors are everywhere, and recognizing them is an important milestone in a child’s cognitive development. Beyond just naming colors, children use them to sort, categorize, compare, and organize, which are key skills for early math and communication development. While colors are always part of our classroom experience through materials, books, songs, and activities, this week, we took a deeper dive into the magical world of colors, focusing on the colors of the rainbow!

We kicked things off with a fascinating walking rainbow experiment. Using cups of water, paper towels, and red, blue, and yellow food coloring, the children watched in amazement as the water traveled through the paper towels, mixing to create new colors like orange, green, and purple. Through this experiment, we explored capillary action, the same process that helps water travel from a plant’s roots to its leaves. The children were captivated by the transformation, with plenty of “Wows!” and giggles as they checked on the progress throughout the week. For our older toddlers who have already mastered primary, secondary, and tertiary colors, we also introduced the concept of different shades and tones, adding an extra layer of discovery to our rainbow exploration.

Our color celebrations continued with a vibrant introduction to the Indian festival of Holi! Holi marks the arrival of spring and is known as the festival of colors, symbolizing joy, love, and new beginnings. We read the beautifully illustrated book Festival of Colors by Kabir and Surishtha Sehgal, which helped the children understand the meaning and traditions of this special celebration. Then, the real fun began! We took to the field for our very own Holi celebration, where the children joyfully threw colorful powder into the air—and at each other! Laughter, excitement, and bursts of color filled the space. It was truly a sight to behold!

A huge thank you to Keerti Murari for introducing this beautiful cultural tradition to our class and for providing the colorful powder that made our celebration so special. And a big shout-out to Shannon Turkett for her generous donations that helped make our Holi festivities extra fun! We are so grateful for your support!

We also had the joy of celebrating a special birthday in our class this week! Our little friend proudly walked around the sun while we all sang and celebrated her special day. Afterward, we shared a delicious treat together, making it a simple yet joyful moment for everyone.

To top off our colorful week, we explored pineapple as our featured food tasting of the week. The children enjoyed observing, touching, and tasting this yummy fruit.

From science and culture to celebrations and food, this week was a perfect blend of hands-on learning and joyful experiences.

Enjoy the pictures of your happy children,

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Patty

Read the March 8 blog post here.

Ms. Mollie: Finally, SPRING!

Posted on by Mollie Smith

Finally, Spring!!! This week, it’s been such a joy welcoming the children back after the long break. The children were eager to return to different works throughout the classroom. We have enjoyed each sunny day, playing, walking, digging, climbing, and running as fast as we can! The children this week have been embracing and exploring all of the different qualities of spring. We have been exploring different types of eggs and who might grow in them!

We have the beauty of the Fraser Woods campus to explore many different types of spring flowers. The miniature daffodils growing outside of our classroom have been a highlight in our week, the beautiful yellow and as one student said “they smells good ones”. One of the most treasured photos from this week is of the children exploring the daffodils, passing them to each other, exploring, observing, and touching the petals with a sense of wonder and gentleness.

With Full Hearts,

Ms. Mollie, Ms. Lizette and Ms. Anabel

Read the March 8 blog post here.