Elementary Blog: Updates from the elementary classroom at Pinewoods Montessori

Pinewoods Beach Bash

5/18/2014

Dear Parents,

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend the school auction yesterday, donated items, or placed absentee bids and especially those who bid on our classroom projects. I can't thank Ms. Summer and the students enough for working so hard on our canvases and classroom quilt.

This week at school the third, fourth, and fifth year students will be taking EOG exams on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Students should try to eat a hearty breakfast and get a good night sleep before the exam. Other than that, they should be encouraged to relax and have fun demonstrating what they know. They will be taking the CAT, California Achievement Test. As a non-public school we are required to take a nationally normed test as opposed to a state test. Parents can expect to get the results before the end of the school year on June 11.

To celebrate the end of the testing period, we will go on a field trip on a historic walking tour of Hillsborough. The Historic Hillsborough Society is hosting History Days and we will tour various sites in our community including the Burwell School, the Hillsborough Museum and we will hopefully have a chance to meet the Mayor. The cost of the trip is $5 and students should bring in their money no late than Friday morning. We are trying to arrange transportation through Orange County Bus, but chaperones may be required.

STEM Fair

Students should continue working on their STEM Fair projects. If someone is still looking for a project, please encourage your child to meet with me SOON. Projects should include a tri-fold board and experiment using the scientific method. If you have any questions, please contact me through email, school, or home: 919-933-0040.

Warm Regards,

Jo Ann

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Happy Mother's Day

5/11/2014

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Dear Parents,

Important Dates:
May 13: Yearbook Orders due. Lindsay is still looking for field trip and class pictures to complete the yearbook. Please send pictures to Lindsay today if possible so that our class can be represented well in the yearbook.

May 13: Field trip to the NC Museum
We will be leaving campus around 9:15 a.m. for the trip to the museum and will return after lunch. Since we are having lunch on the grounds of the museum, we will not be able to heat or refrigerate any lunch items.
Bags will be sent home on Monday afternoon for students to use to pack their lunches. This field trip is free!

Saturday, May 17: Beach Bash School Auction at the Churton Groove Club House

Please try to join us on Saturday for an afternoon of fun and community building from 3-6 p.m. This is not just an excellent way to support school programs, but is important for your children to see their classmates outside of school. It is a way to start setting up summer afternoons together to make sure your children see their friends during summer vacation and maintain school friendships.

Start your summer vacation with a night at Great Wolf Lodge, or a night at the one of the best hotels in the area, the Umstead Hotel. Both are available at the auction. Planning summer camps? This year we will auction passes to the Morehead Planetarium, summer camp at Chestnut Ridge, long summer afternoons at Defy Gravity.

I tend to be a bit competitive. It comes out inappropriately during the school auction. Please come and bid on the elementary classroom project. Among other items, this year we will be offering a classroom quilt which features quilt squares submitted by each of the students.

We are still accepting donations to include in the auction. If you can help make this one of our most successful fundraisers of the year, please contact Jennifer or me this week at school. We are taking donations through Friday.

May 23: Downtown Walking trip to Historic Hillsborough
May 30: STEM Fair at school. I am hoping that we will get 100% participation in the fair. There are many projects that are appropriate for even our first year students. If you are still looking for ideas, please contact me through email and I will be happy to forward to you some of the project ideas.

Teacher Appreciation Week at Pinewoods

My car is clean, I gained twenty pounds, and the classroom looks like a florist thanks to all the teacher appreciation gifts I feel valued and appreciated. Thank you for sharing your children with me for another year and for the many notes and kind words. There are not many professions where you get to spend your days with the future leaders of the world. Your children are fun to be with and valued and appreciated by those of us who are lucky enough to spend their days with them.

Happy Mother's Day

Jo Ann and Summer