Governor Lamont Lifts Statewide Mask Mandate- Message to Community 

In a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Governor Ned Lamont announced the statewide mask mandate for schools will be lifted on Monday, February 28, allowing individual schools and districts to develop their own mask policies.

Please take a moment to watch the Governor’s press conference.

It is fair to say that there is a division of thought on this subject both within our school community and in society in general. I kindly ask that we remain respectful of one another’s opinions regarding mask wearing in school.

Manisha Juthani, MD, the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health stated, “Every community is going to be different because vaccination rates differ so much [from] community to community…So we will be giving guidance to the various things you need to look at within your community to figure out what’s going to work best for you. We have communities that have 90+ percent of their students vaccinated and almost 100 [percent] of their educators and staff vaccinated in a school building. That’s a very different calculation than if you’ve got 20 or 30 percent of your students vaccinated.” 

Once we receive this guidance and talk with local health officials, we will have a better understanding. At that time FWM will give official notice to our community.

We recognize that this has been a challenging time for everyone. Our teachers and students have been remarkably resilient and patient as has our parent community and for that we continue to be incredibly grateful.

The good news for all of us is that COVID-19 cases are trending in the right direction and should continue to decline in the coming weeks.

We ask for your continued patience and support during the next few weeks. We will continue to communicate to you any changes that may occur.

Thank you for your support, your patience and your kindness during this turbulent time.

Staffing Updates:

Administrative Assistant

Please welcome Charlotte Wood, our new Administrative Assistant.

Charlotte comes to us with many years of experience as an Administrative Assistant to the Head of School and Administrative Assistant to the Associate Head of Upper School at the Wooster School in Danbury.

Long-term Substitute for Spanish

Vanessa Cruz has joined FWM as our long-term substitute teacher for Spanish. Vanessa is a fluent Spanish speaker and a Behaviorist who specializes in working on one one with children to provide support in school settings. 

Reminders:

Thursday, February 17 – No School, Parent Teacher Conferences

Friday, February 18- No School, Staff Professional Development

Monday, February 21- No School, Presidents Day 

Happy Valentine’s Day to Everyone!!

If you talk to a Montessori teacher, you are going to hear a song of praise for the Montessori Method. Montessori teachers are inspired and passionate about the work they do. I always say Montessori bestows gifts upon learners that you can’t find in any other learning environment.

If I had to choose, I would start with this: A Montessori education allows for children to work, develop and learn at their own individual pace. Teachers present lessons, activities and materials that build upon the child’s skill set—children progress in their development as an individual. In addition, these materials, used independently by the children, provide students with the opportunity to develop their concentration and coordination in addition to academic learning.

A Montessori education offers enhanced social interaction. Have you ever noticed the way children are fascinated by what their peers are doing? Montessori capitalizes on that by grouping children of different ages together in the same learning environments to encourage children to learn from one another, teach one another, and develop important life skills such as inclusion and acceptance.

Montessori fosters independence. Since part of the learning process is self-directed, children gain a sense of independence and confidence in their abilities, they learn to manage themselves and think independently.

Montessori cultivates a love of learning; meaning learners remain curious about the people and the world around them and view learning as an enjoyable life-long process rather than a task that ends when a school bell rings.

Montessori is inclusive of children with different learning profiles. Because children are grouped with peers of different ages and have the same teacher for three years at a time, students feel less pressure to keep up with their peers and more freedom to learn and grow at their own pace. Your child’s Montessori teacher presents a lesson that may have every student’s name on it, but with different goals and expectations for each child’s unique learning style.

With Parent-Teacher Conferences coming up on Thursday 2/17, spend time with your child’s teacher and explore why Montessori matters to you and your child.

Dear Parents,

Parent Teacher conferences are a wonderful platform for communication, building the bond between home and school so that together we can foster the success of each child. Although much of a student’s learning and instruction happens here at school, we believe the connection between home and school should be fluid. The relationship between parents and teachers, and the flow of information between them (each sharing their knowledge of the child at home and at school) can only serve to benefit the children.

Virtual Parent Teacher Conferences will take place on Thursday, February 17th. We have no school on this day.

Your child’s teacher will send a Sign-Up Genius on Friday, February 4th with a variety of times available for you to schedule your parent teacher conference.

In addition, if any parent would like to have a conference with one of our enrichment teachers, please email them directly to set up a time to meet virtually.

Enrichment team emails:

• Jennifer Reid, Art  jreid@fraserwoods.com
• Walker Fuchs, MakerSpace  wfuchs@fraserwoods.com
• Lizette Guedes, Spanish  lguedes@fraserwoods.com
• Pam Pascarella, Physical Education ppascarella@fraserwoods.com

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions. We look forward to talking with you about your child’s progress at school.

Warm regards,

Gina

Another hallmark of a Montessori classroom is the education or learning cycles at each level.

Maria Montessori recognized that there is a range of development for children. The (two or) three-year cycle at each level, matches the range of development of the children they serve.

We know that children in each of these multiage classrooms will generally be in the same developmental range. We witness, every day, the benefits of the interaction of children of multiple ages and multiple stages in their growth and development. Our students are able to experience each social role–the novice, the generalist, and the expert. They are able to explore their own potential at their own pace, noticing the examples of other children and practicing leadership as they are ready.

The fact that the curriculum in Montessori is a continuum (rather than a finite prescription according to grade level) provides a wealth of opportunities for a child to continuously be challenged academically. While the age span in a Montessori classroom is typically 3 years, this does not limit a Montessori teacher’s ability to help a child reach their fullest potential.

In addition, Montessori teachers create additional lessons, bring in materials from the next program level to the environment, and we arrange for children from one program level to visit the next program level to receive one-on-one lessons from the teacher.

The education cycle in a Montessori classroom is the ideal. The multi-age environment offers children the space and the time to develop, to explore, to integrate, and to master before moving on to the next challenge on the horizon.

For those of you who attended Moving Up Information Night, I hope you enjoyed learning about the next level of your child’s experience at FWM.

We’re here to answer any questions.

As I visited each classroom this week, I observed one of the hallmarks of a Montessori Education – The Application of Knowledge.

Each child is provided with learning opportunities that continue to organize their thinking through work with the Montessori materials. This is most easily observed in mathematics. As a student moves from the concrete to the abstract, you can see the application of their knowledge to real-world experiences. This organization of information, making sense of facts and figures and applying them to arrive at a solution, prepares the child for the world of adolescence. As children move into adolescence, thought and emotion evolve into understanding more abstract, universal concepts such as equity, freedom, and justice.

“… the child’s individual liberty must be so guided that through [their] activity [they] may arrive at independence … the child who does not do, does not know how to do.” —The Montessori Method

Join us for Moving Up Information Night to learn what the next level of learning at FWM has in store for your child! Moving Up Information Night will take place over four evenings starting on Tuesday, January 18 and ending on Tuesday, January 25. 

• Toddler 2 – Thursday, Jan. 20 6:30-7:30
• Primary 4 – Thursday, Jan. 20 6:30-7:30
• Kindergarten – Tuesday, Jan. 25 6:30-7:30 
• Lower Elementary 3rd – Wednesday, Jan. 19 6:30-7:30
• Upper Elementary 5th – Tuesday, Jan. 18 6:30-7:30

Wishing you all a wonderful long weekend!

It’s been a wonderful (and icy and snowy) first week back! The children are so happy to be together again and we are excited to be back as well.

Our return to school is also marked by heightened concern surrounding the surge in positive COVID  cases.

Although it is unsettling to hear about the rising positivity rates, we’ve been down this road before. FWM continues to stay informed and up to date with the latest developments. Several updates have been released:

For your information, here is the CDC’s latest update to isolation and quarantine recommendations.  

The Connecticut Department of Health released Updated Considerations for Quarantine, Isolation, Testing, and Contact Tracing Policies and Procedures for PreK-12 Schools.   Compliance with these new changes is optional for all schools.  

Our team at FWM is talking daily and considering how to best incorporate the updated recommendations into our COVID safety protocols. Also, the CT DPH is expecting further updates to the CDC’s guidance.  At this time, FWM has decided to wait for further updates before announcing any changes to our policies.  As information or procedures change, families will be notified by email.

The Omicron variant, by all accounts, is reported to be more contagious but is also reported to cause less serious symptoms, especially for those who are vaccinated. Our vaccination rate for those eligible continues to grow but is not at a level that gives us the measure of security we need to relax our efforts. 

We should all continue to be vigilant and do our part to keep ourselves, our loved ones, and our community safe, because we know it is best for the children to be in school. We’re going to do all that we can to stay safe while continuing to provide in-person learning and fostering those interpersonal relationships the children need to truly thrive. 

Finally, keeping children home from school when they are sick is imperative to reduce transmission in our community. Individuals who are even mildly symptomatic with any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19 should immediately isolate at home and test for the virus. If your child is not feeling well, please keep them home and contact our school nurse, Christina Benoit at cbenoit@fraserwoods.com.

Thank you for your ongoing support and your cooperation to keep our community healthy. 

Staffing Update:

There has been a change in the front office. Michele Stramaglia is no longer at FWM and Mary Zaums will be answering phones and taking on the position of administrative assistant for now. 

Looking Ahead:

Moving Up Information Night will take place over four evenings starting on Tuesday, January 18 and ending on Tuesday, January 25. Please join us to learn what the next level of learning at FWM has in store for your child!

• Toddler 2 – Thursday, January 20 6:30-7:30
• Primary 4 – Thursday, January 20 6:30-7:30
• Kindergarten – Tuesday, January 25 6:30-7:30
• Lower Elementary 3rd – Wednesday, January 19 6:30-7:30
• Upper Elementary 5th – Tuesday, January 18 6:30-7:30

Hope to see you there!

The holiday season gives all of us time to pause and reflect and to say “thank you” to the entire school community – parents, staff, and students alike.

I have witnessed our FWM community come together as a true community family to celebrate and support each other, never losing sight of our purpose… the children. 

As we enjoy this time of family, friends, and celebrating, we want to extend our warmest holiday wishes to each FWM family in our community.  Thank you for entrusting your children into our care every day. 

I hope you all have a festive and special holiday with plenty of time to relax and enjoy family and friends.

Warmest Wishes for a Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year!

True to Montessori, we do our best to keep the commercial “noise” of the holiday season out of our classrooms.

In a Montessori classroom, children are provided with age-appropriate content about different people, places, and traditions surrounding the holidays. This gives the children an opportunity to engage in meaningful activities that teach so much more than ‘a day on the calendar’. By learning about the holidays, they learn about other cultures. They begin to develop an awareness of what is different and what is similar among people around the world. They learn tolerance and acceptance. They learn what brings joy to people all over the globe.  The Montessori approach to celebrating the holidays is a gift to the children as it expands their hearts, their minds, and their world.   

Also true to Montessori is the belief that students are involved in community service. 

Maria Montessori’s vision is that a peaceful world begins with the children and that children would make the world a better place. We as Montessorians know that acts of community service help develop and educate the whole child. Students learn the joy of giving of themselves, and develop compassion because of these real, practical life, volunteer experiences. 

In the images accompanying this blog post, you will see our 8th year class loading gifts from the Middle School’s Holiday Family Gift Drive for two families in need and Upper Elementary students making sandwiches for the St. Vincent DePaul Mission in Waterbury. 

It is our hope that every child grows to become good citizens of the world. It is up to us as Montessori guides, teachers, and parents to teach and model global thinking for our children. 

 

As we prepare to celebrate the holidays with our loved ones, please remember that the health of our FWM community is of the utmost importance.  We need to approach the holidays keeping in mind guidance from the CDC, the state of CT, and our local DPH.  Because there is an increased risk of exposure when traveling to visit others or hosting others from outside of your household, we ask you to take every precaution. 

We ask that all Fraser Woods students follow the guidelines set out in our FWM Healthy Initiatives. A copy of this is in the Resources section of myFWM.org.