Seventh Year’s Utopian Societies Brought to Life in Art Humanities Class

Posted on by Deb Bassino

 

Collaboration and Creativity in the Art Studio!

This term’s Seventh Year Art Humanities Class focused on the creation of three dimensional Utopian Societies. The idea behind the Art and Humanities classes are to bring the themes and concepts students are reading about and discussing in Humanities into physical actuality. The art studio became the hands-on laboratory for what each team determined would be included in their societies. Whether that be a pet store for the animal lover, which one team included or a giant putting green for the sport enthusiast is something another team chose to execute. Not only was the content chosen by each team, but both the materials and methods for execution were student-choice based. This project was open ended and student centered, so student engagement was maximized. This kind of experimentation is inherently focused on the creative process rather than the final product . That being said, the final outcomes were really exceptional. Each one reflecting the unique vision of each individual group.

Music-Upper Elementary Concert Preparations

Posted on by Gina Tryforos

At FWM, Music class is firmly established on the Orff-Schulwerk’s method which involves chanting, movements and instrument playing. Upper elementary students are our main Orff instrumental players who are now working very hard to prepare for our Holiday Celebration. Students will be performing “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” arranged for pitched percussion. Another easily accessible instrument, Recorders will be used and the children will be playing ‘Alleluia’ which would be sung as well.

Health Related Fitness Components

Posted on by Pam Pascarella

 

Students in grades 2nd through 5th completed our yearly Physical Fitness testing.  Students learned about the components of physical fitness and why we test for it.  The components include:  Cardio-respiratory endurance (mile rule), flexibility (sit-and-reach), muscular strength (push-ups), and muscular endurance (curl-ups).  We discussed why aerobic exercise is good for your heart, and flexibility and strength exercises are good for your muscles and joints.  Students learned how to maintain wellness using these components. 


Recommendations to maintain or improve wellness:
To maintain or improve aerobic capacity, participate in moderate or vigorous activities for at least 60 minutes each day. To maintain or improve flexibility, stretch slowly at least 3 days a week, holding stretches 20-30 seconds.   Students can practice any stretch designed for the lower back and hamstrings. To maintain upper-body strength, perform five push-ups per day and gradually increase repetitions. Modified push-ups can be practiced until upper body strength is improved.  One way you can modify a push-up is to place your knees on the floor instead of your toes.  Another way to modify a push-up can be to perform wall push-ups.  Wall push-ups are performed with your body slanted against a wall, instead of the floor. The steeper the slant, the more difficult the push-up.  To maintain or improve healthy abdominal strength, perform ten curl-ups per day and gradually increase repetitions.

Greetings from the Art Room with the Third Grade

Posted on by Deb Bassino

 

Students in the third grade created Three Dimensional line sculptures using cool colored paper strips and glue. This paper sculpture project followed their two dimensional line design project, building on their exploration of a basic element of art; line.  The line is the element of art defined by a point moving in space. The line may be two-or three-dimensional, descriptive, implied, or abstract. The work the children created truly represents their understanding of the element.

Upper Elementary French Class

Posted on by Francoise Cutrone

Reading our new story!

The Upper Elementary students are currently working on the story of “Monsieur Durant” who is a teacher who likes to read stories to his students, loves looking at maps, books, and clocks. One day, he started to tell his students about the story of the Prince of Twisted Words (Le Prince de Mottordu!). This prince twists all the words he pronounces and when he encounters a beautiful princess, she laughs and cannot understand what the prince says to her. This story is on the Smart Board in order for the students to learn how to read and pronounce the vocabulary. The vocabulary is also in Quizlet.com (username= tartetintin2 and password= Charlotte3). We have also reviewed the weather expressions as well as a lot of numbers. I would like to encourage all the 4th and 5th year students to study their vocabulary in Quizlet.com under the title “Monsieur Durant”.

 

Lights, Camera, Action!

Posted on by Danielle Ulacco

This week our Middle School students were introduced to stop motion animation! With our beautiful permanent green wall and our portable mini green screens, students now have the ability to create any type of animation or movie that they can dream of! Students bonded over the excitement and even put on a magic show for me- all in one class period.

We’ve also added “Brackitz” to our MakerSpace. Brackitz are plastic connectors that fit onto our beloved Kēva Planks to allow for even more inventing and designing. Our students’ imaginations continue to grow in many different directions (literally and physically!) Students quickly found them useful and designed elaborate structures and even cars with wheels!

Bravo, to our students who continue to take design risks with the willingness to try and try again.

 

Choice

Posted on by Danielle Ulacco

The MakerSpace continues to grow with the unveiling of new projects and activities every week. When designing the MakerSpace we wanted choice to be at the center of every activity. Choice is empowering and it gives our students a voice and the ability to make their own decisions. Better yet, when we value student choice, our students feel valued. It’s choice that creates interest, knowledge, and the possibility of passion. What more could we ask for, then a child who is passionate about something they had the opportunity to try.

Choice is also a beautiful sight to see as you walk by our room. You’ll see students illustrating on our new white board walls and tables; Students glaring into the 3D printers awaiting their homemade designs; Students learning a new animation application on our iPads, and students practicing their coding lessons and programming skills on their Chromebooks. And if you do happen to take a peek, come on in and feel the energy bubbling throughout the room.

Middle School Sports!

Posted on by Pam Pascarella

 

We are excited to announce that Fraser Woods Montessori’s Middle School sports program will now take place during the regular school day as Afternoon Athletics!

Please refer to the school calendar on MyFWM for specific dates.  Mr. Brown is our head coach for the soccer team.  Those students who choose not to participate in the competitive sports programs are offered an alternative which includes participation in the same sport but at an intramural (non-competitive) level. Mrs. Pascarella runs the intramural program.  Both teams practice together in warm-ups and drills.  The last ten minutes of practice, both teams break off and practice with their own team.

The new MS sports curriculum focuses on four components to develop player performance.  The first is technique.  The coaches’ drills during practice will help players develop skills such as passing, receiving, dribbling, and shooting.  Various drills are planned based on what the team needs to focus on to improve in the game.  The second component is tactics.  The team will learn the transition from offense to defense.  Players will understand what to do when they win or lose the ball.  The third component is fitness.  Players will participate in warm-up activities prior to practice which include running laps, endurance and agility activities.  The fourth component is sportsmanship. Players will demonstrate good sportsmanship and good attitude while working and playing with their teammates.