Blog

This Week in Upper El

Posted on by Karen Sankey

Why I Wake Early

Hello, sun in my face.
Hello, you who make the morning
and spread it over the fields
and into the faces of the tulips
and the nodding morning glories,
and into the windows of, even, the
miserable and crotchety-

best preacher that ever was,
dear star, that just happens
to be where you are in the universe
to keep us from ever-darkness,
to ease us with warm touching,
to hold us in the great hands of light-
good morning, good morning, good morning.

Watch, now, how I start the day
in happiness, in kindness.

Mary Oliver

Wishing the happiest of Mother’s Days to all of our Upper El mamas! 

Thank you for a very special Teacher Appreciation Week! Sara and I feel so loved and appreciated with all of your and your children’s heartfelt messages and gifts last week.

Upper el students are hard at work researching the vital functions of an animal of their choice. The process began with using our classroom materials to gather some initial facts. From there, students are weaving in what they learned in this week’s writing lesson on multi-paragraph reports, taking notes, and building outlines for their final papers. They are focusing on crafting strong topic sentences for each paragraph, then developing supporting and concluding sentences. After writing everything by hand, revising, and editing, they will type their final drafts, transforming their research into books about their chosen animals to share with the class. Their enthusiasm is clear – they’re dedicating a great deal of time and attention to this project. We love seeing them share information with each other as they learn more about their animals.

This week, we had our last sandwich-making morning of the year. We made 208 sandwiches for the soup kitchen! Thank you very much to all who contributed ingredients this month. A very special thank you to Teresa and Brandon for helping us make the sandwiches and dropping them off at St. Vincent DePaul! We appreciate all of you!

Next week, we will take the ERB-CTP5 standardized test. We will do a little each morning and keep the testing as low-key as possible. As a Montessori school, we take this test only as a practical life experience. We know that children will need to take tests in the future, as they enter high school and beyond, and we want to help prepare them for that. At the upper elementary level, we don’t report scores. This is because I use this opportunity to guide them through the test and explain things as questions come up. While I do not provide them with answers, I do give more guidance than the test allows if it is being scored. When students reach the middle school level, their tests are scored, and you will receive those scores.

Because we are in rehearsals for the musical until 10:00 each morning next week, the May and summer birthday breakfast will be on May 29, the day after we return from Nature’s Classroom.

If you have not yet turned in your child’s medical forms for our trip, please do so as soon as possible. 

Upcoming Dates

  • Thursday, May 21
    • Spring Musical @7:00
  • Friday, May 22
    • Yearbook Orders Due
  • Monday, May 25
    • No School – Memorial Day
  • Tuesday, May 26 – Thursday, May 28
    • Big Trip to Nature’s Classroom!
  • Friday, May 29
    • May and Summer Birthday Breakfast @8:30
  • Monday, June 1
    • First Annual Variety Show @4:00

Ms. Handibode: The Future is So Bright You Have to Wear Shades

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

 

Last week brought a bittersweet milestone: our chicks have left Fraser Woods and are on their way to a farm. But the life cycle study is far from over! We welcomed five caterpillars into the classroom, and the children have been watching them with the same intense fascination they brought to the eggs and chicks. In just a short time, the caterpillars have grown noticeably, and the anticipation of witnessing metamorphosis is palpable every morning.

May always carries a particular kind of magic in the classroom. It is the month when we look back at how far each child has come since August and also look forward to what remains. Learning at this stage is deeply cumulative — every skill builds on what came before. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the kindergarten animal research project, which has been underway for several weeks. This project draws on reading, writing, geography, science, and mathematics all at once, which is exactly why it lives at the end of the year.

As part of the project, each kindergartner was asked what they hope to be when they grow up — for the “About the Author” section of their books. Word spread quickly, and soon the whole class wanted in on the interview. Their answers speak for themselves:

  • Adeline: An artist who makes the most beautiful art that can be framed.
  • Brooks: A UPS driver who delivers packages to houses and stores.
  • Charlie D.: A builder who builds really tall castles.
  • Charley W.: An eye doctor because she likes to check people’s eyes and make sure they are working.
  • Connor: A scientist who makes potions.
  • Eloise: A ballerina who dances everywhere and a mom who has six children.
  • Hannah: An artist who draws hearts, stars, rainbows, and unicorns.
  • Jasper: A police officer who catches robbers.
  • Johnny: A movie maker who makes movies about dinosaurs or robots.
  • Layla: A make-up artist who makes people look beautiful for their weddings.
  • Melia: A dancer who likes to dance to Peppa Pig music.
  • Mila: An artist who makes tie-dye shirts for people.
  • Morgan: A construction worker who builds houses, schools, and bridges.
  • Nitzan: A basket maker who sells them to people who need to put stuff in them.
  • Olivia: A mommy who makes breakfast and dinner for everyone.
  • Remi: A construction worker who builds houses made out of plastic Legos.
  • Veda: A teacher who teaches little children how to read.
  • Wilder: A scientist who studies moonstones or an astronaut who travels to space.
  • Zaki: A doctor who helps people who are sick.
  • Zion: A prophet of God.

We are so proud of each one of them — and we have no doubt this group will do all of it and more.

Finally, “thank you” feels like far too small a phrase for the kindness shown during Teacher Appreciation Week. We felt the love every single day and are truly grateful for the relationships we have built with each child and with all of you.

UPCOMING EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

This Week

  • Monday, May 11 — Sharing Box and Flowers: Mila M.
  • Tuesday, May 12 — Playground Volunteer: Casey W.
  • Wednesday, May 13 — Guest Reader: Nick L.
  • Friday, May 15 — Birthday Celebration: Mila M.

Next Week

  • Monday, May 18 — Sharing Box and Flowers: Adeline G.
  • Tuesday, May 19 — Playground Volunteer: Dhanishry N.
  • Tuesday, May 19 — Kindergarten Field Trip to Flanders Nature Center
  • Thursday, May 21 — Birthday Celebration: Hannah B.

Mrs. Lopes: Exploring South America

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

 

Last week, we embarked on a journey to a new continent! Our unit on South America began with the children gathering around the map to locate this vast and vibrant landmass. From there, we explored the animals that call South America home and dove into the layers of the rain forest, from the forest floor all the way up to the emergent canopy.

Geography studies like this one connect beautifully to the children’s natural sense of wonder about the wider world. Discovering that jaguars, toucans, and poison dart frogs all share the same forest—just at different heights—sparked rich conversations and plenty of enthusiastic questions. The rain forest, with its layered complexity, offers a wonderful entry point into ecological thinking at the primary level.

A Friendly Reminder

As the weather continues to warm, please remember to swap out your child’s spare change of clothing in their cubby. Summer-weight layers will serve them much better as we head into the warmer weeks ahead—and, as always, comfortable clothes that can handle some outdoor exploration are best.

Extending Learning at Home

  • Pull up a map or globe together and find South America. Ask your child to point out where the rainforest is and share what they know about it.
  • Look up photos or a short video of rainforest layers — the forest floor, understory, canopy, and emergent layer — and see if your child can name the animals found at each level.
  • Visit your local library for picture books about South American animals or the Amazon rainforest. Your child may surprise you with how much they already know!

Ms. Marissa: Weekly Update

Posted on by Marissa Frisk

This week, the children have been very excited to watch our caterpillars continue their transformation into butterflies. Each day, they check on them, make observations, and talk about the changes they notice. It has been a great hands-on way for the children to learn about life cycles and practice patience while waiting for the butterflies to emerge.

We also introduced a new food prep activity: ants-on-a-log with sunflower butter. The children had fun spreading the sunflower butter, adding raisins, and trying a new snack. It was a big hit in the classroom. Our kindergarteners are also finishing up their animal research books and are very proud of their hard work. They have enjoyed learning facts about their animals and putting together their final pages and illustrations.

Middle School: Week in Review

Posted on by Michelle Lamb

We enjoyed last week’s Grandparents and Special Friends Day and the Spring Concert! We have included pictures this week with our weekly pictures.

This week, Middle School students spent time completing sections of the ERB CTP-5  standardized test. This gives students the practical life experience of taking standardized testing, which may be part of their educational path following Fraser Woods.

Finally, this Friday, we come together as a community to celebrate the class of 2026 at 4:30 pm. Students are welcome to bring a change of clothes for the event, as it is a dressy-casual event. The program will last under an hour and conclude with cake.

Coming Up:

  • MS Trip: Complete the required medical form and submit medical authorizations for medication distribution ASAP.
  • Please submit the initial $500 deposit for the MS Trip that was due Monday, 4/20
  • MS Musical: Willy Wonka, Jr., May 21st @ 7 pm.
  • SAVE THE DATE! FAREWELL TO THE CLASS OF 2026 on Friday, May 15 @ 4:30 pm
  • SAVE THE DATE! Middle School Dance on Friday, May 22nd @ 6-8 pm.
  • MS ARRIVAL BEGINS AT 8 am

Math

Pre-Transition: This week in Pre-Transition, students strengthened their division skills by working with the short division algorithm using both whole numbers and decimals. They practiced solving a variety of problems while building accuracy and confidence with decimal placement. Students also explored fractions and learned how to determine whether a fraction will result in a terminating or repeating decimal.

Transition: This week in Transition, students continued building their algebra skills and became masters at solving two-step equations. They practiced using inverse operations to isolate variables and solve equations. Students also began graphing linear equations by creating tables of values, helping them make connections between equations, ordered pairs, and graphs on the coordinate plane.

Algebra: This week in Algebra, students dove into Chapter 8, which focuses on exponent rules. So far, they have learned the Power of Products, Power of Powers, Quotient of Powers, and Zero Exponent rules. Students practiced applying these rules to simplify expressions involving powers and are building confidence in working with complex exponent problems.

Geometry: This week in Geometry, students wrapped up Chapter 6 and demonstrated a strong understanding of rotation symmetry, reflection symmetry, and the theorems used to prove geometric relationships and properties. Through practice, students strengthened their ability to apply these concepts to a variety of geometric figures and proofs.

Algebra II: This week, students reviewed several important concepts learned throughout the year to strengthen their foundational skills before beginning quadratic equations. This review helped students make connections between prior topics and the new material to be sure they are prepared to solve more complex problems involving parabolas, factoring, and quadratic functions.

Humanities

The 6th and 7th grade Humanities classes wrapped up their Animal Farm essay drafts by self and peer editing. It is great to watch their writing process and reflect on their progress since the fall. There has been more independence, increased writing stamina, and a better knowledge of planning and composing an essay.

8th grade had a focused week in Humanities class. They continue with their class biography of Harriet Tubman, She Came to Slay. They annotated and led a discussion on the text. Additionally, they continued their study of the amendments of the Constitution, working their way through the Reconstruction amendments (13-15). Finally, the 8th grade read and listened to excerpts of Frederick Douglas’s speech, “What to the Slave is the 4th of July?” They learned about Douglas and his relationship with Harriet Tubman in their class reading assignments this week.

Science

Middle School students continued working on lessons from the Discovery Education e-book. This week, 6th and 7th-graders continued learning about atoms, their structure, and their subatomic particles. Students learned how to use the Bohr atomic model created by Niels Bohr, where the nucleus of the atom represents Protons (+) and Neutrons (no charge) surrounded by electrons (-) traveling in shells or levels of energy. Students really enjoyed an activity where they were given a card with an unknown element’s Bohr atomic model, and they had to find out the number of subatomic particles and discover the element’s identity and its location in the periodic table. We also started talking about the periodic table and how it was organized in groups and periods.

8th graders started a new unit this week called Meiosis. We started talking about general concepts of bacterial replication and chromosomes as a general introduction to cell division. We talked about us as humans having 46 chromosomes, 23 pairs, where 22 are autosomes and 1 pair of sex chromosomes. We also talked about chromosomes, chromatin, chromatids, centromeres, and telomeres. In addition, students learned that some mistakes in cell division could lead to an extra chromosome in an embryo. Students learned about trisomy in chromosome #13 (Patau Syndrome), chromosome #18 (Edwards Syndrome), and chromosome #21 (Down Syndrome), and their general characteristics. All these lessons and new concepts are supported by classwork, videos, readings, and explanations in class, followed by weekly science articles where students can practice their critical thinking to answer the questions.

Mrs. Wilson: Insects and Pond Life

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

As we welcome the month of May, the children will begin exploring the fascinating world of pond life and insects. Around the classroom, they will discover works and activities inspired by our six-legged creepy crawly friends, as well as the creatures that live in and around ponds. The children have shown so much curiosity and excitement while learning about these living creatures.

Our outdoor time will also become an opportunity for discovery as we search for insects in their natural environment. Through these experiences, the children are learning the importance of caring for living things and practicing gentle hands with our tiny friends.

This week, we introduced the life cycle of a butterfly. Much to the children’s excitement, our caterpillars arrived! Each day, we observe them closely as they grow longer and plumper, eagerly waiting to see the changes that will come next.

For food tasting, we began our series of melon explorations with a sweet and juicy cantaloupe. The children explored the melon’s size, texture, scent, and weight before tasting it. Finding the perfect ripeness made all the difference, and it was a big hit with the children!

Wishing all our mamas a very lovely Mother’s Day!

Love and Light,

Cynthia and Sara

Ms. Vicki’s Weekly Update

Posted on by Vicki Downs

Cars, Trains & Planes… Oh My! 🚗✈️🚂

This week, we began learning about different vehicles and community helpers, and the classroom has been full of movement, building, and creativity!

The children have been especially excited about our wooden train tracks and new Magna-Tile roads. They worked together to build tracks, roads, and pathways while using their imaginations to create busy little worlds filled with vehicles and transportation.

We also explored different ways to “paint” and decorate vehicles:

  • Dot stickers were used to decorate cars
  • Yarn was used to create textured busses
  • Red paint helped bring fire trucks to life

The children loved experimenting with these materials while strengthening fine motor skills and creativity.

For food tasting this week, we explored a watermelon. Before cutting it open, the children knocked on the outside and wondered why they couldn’t smell anything yet. There were lots of smiles and excitement when we finally sliced it open and revealed the bright red inside, instantly filling the classroom with that sweet watermelon scent. The children enjoyed eating triangle slices, carefully noticing where the juicy red part ended and knowing to stop biting once the fruit was gone. It was such a fun sensory and tasting experience!

It has been a wonderful week full of building, creativity, and curiosity. We can’t wait to continue learning about the many helpers and vehicles that keep our communities moving!

Happy Mother’s Day to all of our wonderful mamas! We hope your weekend is filled with love, snuggles, and special moments with your little ones.

Toddler Activity Day is almost here! Art. Water. Sunshine. Thursday, May 28, from 9-11. Start thinking about where you packed that swimsuit and towel!

Ms. Mollie: Big Moments, Little Moments, and All the In Between!

Posted on by Mollie Smith

This week in our toddler classroom was filled with movement, wonder, and so much growth. We turned up the music and had an energetic dance party to Laurie Berkner’s beloved song “We Are the Dinosaurs.” The children stomped, roared, marched, and giggled their way through the classroom, practicing coordination, rhythm, and joyful self-expression together.

Our little learners also began exploring the fascinating life cycle of the Painted Lady Butterfly. From tiny caterpillars to beautiful butterflies, the children are learning patience, observation, and the wonder of transformation. Watching their excitement and curiosity bloom has been such a beautiful reminder of how naturally children connect with the world around them.

In the kitchen, we worked together to make carrot cake step by step. From measuring and pouring to mixing and tasting, the children practiced patience, sequencing, independence, and teamwork. Cooking experiences offer so many opportunities for hands-on learning while building confidence in everyday life skills.

We also spent plenty of time outdoors enjoying the fresh air, sunshine, and opportunities for imaginative play and movement. Springtime continues to invite us outside to explore, discover, and connect with nature.

As we move through this season, we have been taking time to reflect on just how far the children have come. Their growing independence shines through in so many ways — caring for their environment, helping one another, communicating their needs, and confidently completing tasks on their own. It is such a privilege to witness their growth, resilience, and blossoming personalities each day.

With Full Hearts,

Ms. Mollie and Ms. Lizette