Last week we enjoyed speaking to parents about their child during parent/teacher conferences.  As we get to know our students better and build a relationship of trust, we do the same with parents. We were happy to share some insights about each child and receive parental insights which help to strengthen our home and school partnership.  Thank you once again for your time.

On Wednesday we had an excellent field trip to The New Canaan Nature Center.  The instructor, Chris presented an owl program. He showed us live owls and asked the students about the different owl adaptations.  Next, the students dissected owl pellets, which is regurgitated matter from owls.  Students discovered many bones and bone fragments from animals that owls ingested.  Our second program focused on biomes and the animals that adapt to live in these different regions around the world. They loved the live species, especially the hedgehog and chinchilla.  I was impressed with the depth of knowledge our students possess! Thank you, Skip and Deanna for assisting us on the field trip.

On Tuesday, October 31st the Lower and Upper Elementary and Middle School students are encouraged and have the option of wearing costumes to school (students do not bring costumes and change at school – students should bring a change of clothes or wear school clothes underneath their costume!).   There will be a parade starting at 9am which will begin on the field.   The parade line will begin with Lower Elementary and end with Middle School.  The parade will make one loop around the perimeter of the school (the same route as the 11/2 Walk-a-thon).  

Halloween parties will be in the classrooms; each level will have their own time and method for celebrating.  Below are some guidelines for costumes:

• No weapons or violent accessories
• No extra-scary clowns
• No costumes that denigrate a particular gender, culture, or religion
• No gory masks (e.g. blood dripping down)

One of the students’ favorite activities to begin the year is writing about an endangered animal of their choice. Next, the research is shared on circle with their classmates and then they vote on which one we should adopt. This year they chose the Pygmy Marmoset. The Pygmy Marmoset is the smallest monkey in the world weighing about 3.5 ounces!

During the beautiful weather last week we got outside to work on weeding the planting beds near the back entrance to the school. The students worked in teams of three to clean up the beds. Our next goal is to plant some fall flowers for everyone to enjoy.

In writer’s workshop the students worked on developing a character. They began the exercise by thinking about the external attributes of their character, and later the internal characteristics of their character. Once finished, they shared their ideas with a partner. The energy and enthusiasm during the workshop was enjoyable to observe!

One of our favorite traditions in the Upper Elementary classroom is the sharing of “leaves” and passing of the kindness coin throughout the community.  Thoughtful messages are written on the paper leaves by students or teachers and then shared aloud on Friday to be displayed in our classroom. The kindness coin is passed between friends when they notice kind, thoughtful actions by their peers.

Once every six days a few Middle School students drop in for community service. They team up with some of our students to assist with different learning objectives.  This is a positive learning experience and we enjoy seeing our former students as mentors.

We began some new interactive digital math lessons this week on the Smart Board.  My next goal is to send each of you a student log-in for your child. This will enable them to refer to math lessons at home to reinforce classroom learning.

Lastly, one of our students shared the first reading response of the year this week!  As a reminder the goal is for each student to complete six this year.  Miss Hope checked in with every student to find out what book they are currently reading to work towards this goal.

Our first month of school came and went in a flash as we welcomed autumn.  Class rules were discussed and developed in groups to come up with a consensus of the most important rules for our community. Some of the rules included proper hygiene, walking in school, and respect.

During morning circle each day a few students shared their endangered animal research and then accepted questions and comments from their classmates. Once we are finished sharing, then we will vote on an animal for our class mascot.

On Monday we celebrated our first student birthday for the month of September with a birthday breakfast of fruit, yogurt, granola, bagels and cream cheese. This is our new special way to celebrate birthdays in the classroom and families will be invited to join us for their child’s celebration.

If you have not heard already we have a new addition to our classroom and he goes by the name, Captain Nibbles.  The students were so excited to meet him and voted on a name right away.  He is a Djungarian hamster that enjoys napping in his house, eating while sitting in his food bowl and going for a run on his exercise wheel late at night.

Writing workshop challenged the students to search for small moments in their lives to write stories they wish existed in the world, with characters that have similar struggles to their own.  This new workshop has helped me look at writing from a new perspective and it has been enlightening.

It was nice to take a break from our routine and go the White Memorial Conservation Center on Wednesday. The students learned about animal adaptations, saw live animal specimens and caught some during  our pond study.  We took a hike and searched for species of animals and plants. Many students spotted fungi due to the wet summer we had this year. Thank you to Leslie and Jayne for your assistance on our first field trip!

As part of the Montessori philosophy it is important to teach children how to care for the environment, including animals. A few years ago we had a pet turtle which became too large to care for adequately, so another school welcomed him to their classroom.

Since then our class has been missing the opportunity to care for a class pet. Please join us in welcoming, Captain Nibbles to the Upper Elementary classroom! He is a Djungarian hamster and the children are thrilled to have him in our room! They ask me each day if and when they can bring him home.

Our first two weeks were filled with community building activities, adjusting to new routines and becoming comfortable in the Upper Elementary environment.

The students are enjoying the minor changes we made to the classroom set up and the coziness of the small room, where lessons take place, or work on the Chromebooks.

We had the opportunity to spend time in the Makerspace, where students are learning how to work with Keva planks by building towers, spirals and using their engineering skills.

Our Writer’s Workshop kicked off last week with an assessment.  The Upper Elementary writers are going to stretch their skills this year and learn that we all have a story to tell.  In their latest workshop they learned that writers can create realistic fiction from events that happened in their own lives.  Feel free to ask them about my story from elementary school!

To end our first week the class spent time using our game boards and decks of cards to connect and build community. We are so fortunate to spend time with your children and look forward to a great year together!