Elementary Blog: Updates from the elementary classroom at Pinewoods Montessori

Week of Conferences

11/16/2013

Dear Parents,

Mark
your calendars:

November
22: School picture orders due
November
27-29: Thanksgiving holiday
December
7: Hillsborough Holiday parade

Hillsborough
Holiday Parade
Once again we have the opportunity to
participate in the Hillsborough holiday parade on December 7. We
will join other local schools and organizations to parade down the streets
of Hillsborough with Santa Claus to welcome in the holiday season. If your
child would like to join in on the fun, please email me this weekend so
that I may finalize our plans with the city of Hillsborough on Monday. In
the past we have been able to invite younger siblings and former
students to join us in this very special event. Parents are welcome
to walk alongside the truck to represent our school and to ensure the
safety of the children. Please let me know how many people from your
family will be attending.

Conferences
Thank you to everyone who was able to join Summer and me during conferences on Monday and
Tuesday. I look forward to conferences every year to share the benefits of
multi-aged classrooms and Montessori education. More and more private
schools are adapting the model of multi-aged classrooms, but Montessori
classrooms have over 100 years of proven experience. Younger children
learn from older students; older students reinforce their learning by
helping others learn concepts that they have already mastered. This
arrangement mirrors the real world where people work and socialize with
individuals of all ages and dispositions. Montessori classrooms have the added
benefit of working with specially designed materials to aid in the understanding
of academic concepts. It is a pleasure to watch your children learn and grow in
our environment.

Community
Service Project
Field trips or going out into the community and serving the community are part of the elementary curriculum. In the past the elementary class has supported the local animal shelters, collected supplies
for NC schools damaged by hurricanes, collected and distributed books to local
charities, held bake sales to support Ronald McDonald
house, etc. This year we will sponsor a local family through the
Orange County Department of Social Services. Orange Country DSS works hard to
provide Christmas to local families who would otherwise be unable to share
a festive meal or give presents to their children. Next week the
elementary students will be going into the primary classrooms to decorate
snowflakes. The snowflakes will be hung in trees outside of the
building. The project works like the angel tree found in malls around the
area. Families choose a snowflake, purchase a gift and return the gift to
school for distribution. The elementary students will sort and label
the gifts, track our progress, and finally arrange for the gifts to be
transported to the Orange Country DSS on December 9. This is intended to be a
community wide project. Students will be writing letters and making
posters announcing the project to our school community. Please help the children
learn the importance of giving back to the community and helping those less
fortunate.

Field Trips
I am working on arranging a field trip to Old Salem Village. The trip is tentatively scheduled on December 10. Confirmation and information to follow.

NC Science Olympiads
It is time to form our Science Olympiad team. Students in second through fifth
grade are eligible. Students work with parent and teacher coaches to compete in the NC Science Olympiad trials in March. This year the following categories are included at the elementary school level:

3-2-1
Teams construct two rockets to stay aloft for the greatest amount of time using
two liter bottles.

Backyard Biologist designed to determine a team's
knowledge of living organisms in their own backyard. The focus is on trees,
plants, amphibians, and reptiles.

Bone and Brawn
Teams demonstrate
their knowledge of the human skeletal and muscular system.

Bridge-A-Roni
Teams design and build the lightest bridge from only pasta
and glue with the highest structural efficiency possible.

Data Crunchers
Teams demonstrate their understanding of data collected from
scientific experiments. They will interpret graphs and make observations about
trends in data. Strong math skills required.

Ecology Experts
Teams are assessed on their knowledge of marine, freshwater, and arctic
biomes.

Genes R Us
Teams demonstrate an understanding of traits that
may or may not be inherited and use Punnett squares.

Fossil Frenzy
Teams explain how fossils and trace fossils form and what can be interpreted
about our past environments and organisms. If your child is interested in
participating or you are able to coach a team, please let me know. Teams will be
formed in early December.

Students will begin working on their Colonial America projects next week. Trade and occupations will be assigned by next Friday.

Upper elementary book reports are due on Wednesday.

Thank you to everyone for sharing their children with us,

Jo Ann and Summer