SWMA Newsletter Feb 27, 2009 - Volume 1, Issue 2

Posted February 26, 2009 - 11:00pm by Beth Brock

I hope you are enjoying the newsletters! If you have any information that you would like to share, please let me know and I’ll include it in the next issue. There are several exciting events and fundraisers taking place in March that we hope you will all attend. Fondly, Ms. Beth
 

Happenings in the Toddler Cottage from Ms. Jessica and Ms. Debbie:
The end of February has brought us a few sunny days and more time outdoors.  Yay!  The children have enjoyed this extra time outside, walking the balance beam, playing kickball and catch, and chasing bubbles (they never tire of this one!).  Sadly, our plants from the fall have all died off and the sand in the sandbox has greatly diminished.  I would like to have a workday for parents and toddlers on Sat., March 7 to put out more sand, refill the planters with soil, plant some new things for the children to care for.  In 2 hours we could get a great amount done to make our playground an incredible garden for our children to enjoy.  I will be here from 9:00-11:00 on the 7th, let me know if you can join! 

Happenings in the Primary Class from Ms. Natalie and Ms. Cynthia:
We have been exploring Black History month and discussing artistic and cultural contributions from greats such as Martin Luther King, Muddy Waters, Rosa Parks and Henry Osawa Tanner. Our hope is that our children will recognize these faces in pictures, can tell you where the Blues come from in the U.S, and can distinguish the sound of the banjo from a guitar. The Blues and Jazz dance parties have been fun, and the children seem to really love the style of music. Don't blame us if they want to head straight for New Orleans the first year they are driving; it's the music calling! We have also been experimenting with the color Blue and studying the color spectrum. The blue dye did travel up the celery stalk and fresh food is alive with living enzymes that are good for our bodies. Speaking of which, let's double check the amount of sugar in the packaged food coming to school; fat free yogurt can have almost 30 grams of sugar! Apples, bananas, peaches and other fresh foods that have natural sugars are fine!
 
Happenings in Lower Elementary from Ms. Catherine:
The Elementary class continues to rock along!  Planets are still a hit and several of our friends have completed ten or more planet research books!  Do you know which planet has 18 moons?  Do you know which planet is the smallest?  Ask an elementary student and they should be able to tell you all about the solar system.  Soon, we will zoom in to our planet and begin studying the layers of the earth.
 
This area of study, Functional Geography, is a perfect illustration of how the Montessori curriculum begins with the whole picture and then moves to the parts.  We began the year with a study of the whole universe!  We have some amazing charts that show our students how immensely vast the universe really is.  From there, we zoom in to our galaxy and solar system and study the characteristics of each planet.  Then, we will move on to our planet and its parts.  We eventually move on to our continent, country, state, etc.  Some of our students have even moved onto the study of much smaller parts: atoms!  Several Lower Elementary friends can already name most of the elements on the Periodic Table!
 
Please remember that our Parent Listening program has begun.  This is a great program for getting to learn about our students and their works as well as listen to some great reading.  Please let me know if you would like to join us – we’d love to have you! 
 
Happenings in Upper Elementary with Mr. David:
Here are some things Upper El is up to this week:
1.      Made internal organs out of clay and labeled the parts.
2.      Finding the factors in a binomial cube. This is a beautiful, mind-boggling work…I dare you to come in and try it!
3.      Calligraphy
4.      Roman Numerals
5.      Disassembling a broken DVD player and stealing the laser and motors out of it and making them work with a battery.
6.      Field trip to a Coastal Dune Lake Advisory meeting coupled with a trip to the library.
7.      This week we wrote and performed an original short play using all types of punctuation as the characters….we’re working on a sequel now. 
8.      We did “Adjective poems” about things that we love.
9.      Picked up trash around campus and filled in pot-holes on Eden Garden Rd.
10.Studied how the earliest form of printing was done in China in relief during the Han Dynasty around 200AD, about the time of the golden age of Rome.
11.Made our own Chinese symbols, carved them out of Styrofoam and made our own prints.
12.Learned about the Pythagorean theorem and re-created it on the playground. 

 

Anyone who would like to come observe our classroom is welcome. We have fun and learn some pretty cool stuff along the way. Thanks, Mr. D

 

Happenings in Spanish with Ms. Cynthia:
I am thrilled to be the new assistant in Primary!  We are in the process of hiring a part time sub to assist in the classroom so I can continue to focus on Spanish 5 hours a week.  I will be doing the sound of the week in Spanish for the primary classroom.  
 
Happenings in French with Ms. Genevieve:
Miss Genevieve returned this last week of February to resume French instruction after having her baby girl in December. She is pleased to be returning to SWMA and especially seeing all of her friends here again. She is looking forward to hearing several of them greet her with "Bonjour!" as before, and is interested to see what else they remember form last year's lessons...

 

 Happenings in Art with Ms. Rebecca:
This week students of all ages will be exploring painting on foil! We will also start brainstorming Art Show ideas.

 

Happenings in PE with Ms. Serena:
The past two weeks have been filled with holiday cheer.  On Valentine’s Day, we played all sorts of fun valentine games.  We played Valentine Valley in elementary classes.  It’s a fun game that’s a cross between some of the rules of basketball and football.  Mr. David helped create that game.  Thx, David!!  In elementary and primary, we also played valentine tag.  If you were tagged, you became frozen.  To become unfrozen, a friend had to give you a hug.  It was so sweet and so cute to watch.  Our friends love playing tag, and that’s always a favorite. 
 
Last Friday, we celebrated Mardi Gras.  The Elementary played tag and relay races involving the beads.  Primary played tag with the beads as well.  To become unfrozen in this game, your friend had to throw you a bead.  The toddler class sorted the different color beads in different buckets.  At one end of the field were the buckets and the other end were the beads.  Toddlers love running.  So, they ran down to me to get a bead.  They would have to tell me the color of the bead, run down to Ms. Jessica and put the bead in the bucket with other beads the same color.  All friends came home with a Mardi Gras bead.
 
Important Notes from the Board:
Now that acquiring a permanent location has been checked off the list, Retention, Recruitment and Fundraisers are the focus of our school. Fundraisers are underway and many, many thanks to families, students, board members and staff members who are giving their time to plan and execute the fundraisers.  The yard sale and soccer tournament are well under way with planning and preparation - and there is still plenty of time to help out!  The current state of our economy has mandated a philosophy change in our fundraising.  Originally we were focused on just one major fundraiser a year.  This simply is no longer working and we are pursuing multiple avenues of raising funds.  
 
We have made a commitment not to raise tuition for the 2009-2010 school year and for this reason, fundraising  and/or donations are critical. The board is working tirelessly, along with Catherine, to crunch and recrunch numbers while at the same time ensuring that the SWMA programs are not compromised.  A letter writing campaign to solicit donations will begin shortly.  This campaign will not be limited to just our families.  It will go out to past families and people/businesses who have supported the school in the past.  If you know of any individuals, businesses or foundations that are philanthropic please provide us with their contact information.
 
This is your school and we want to hear from you.  Positive comments about areas of improvement are welcomed and encouraged, especially if they come with suggestions for solutions!  We are also greatly encouraged by the increase in numbers from new families inquiring about enrollment for next school year.  It's all good!
 
Important dates to remember:
Tuesday, March 3, 2009...Pirates of East of Eden at B.A.S.E. Camp
Thursday, March 5, 2009...PO Meeting at 8:30 AM upstairs.  
Friday, March 6, 2009...Fundraiser at Cafe Rendez-Vous
Monday, March 9, 2009...Re-Enrollment Applications due back 
Wednesday, March 11, 2009...Pizza Night at Pizza by the Sea
Thursday, March 12, 2009 PO... Meeting and Coffee with Catherine
Wednesday, March 18, 2009...Parent Ed
Thursday, March 19, 2009...PO Meeting at 8:30 AM upstairs 
Wednesday, March 25, 2009...SWMA Works Expo
Thursday, March 26, 2009 PO...Meeting and Coffee with Catherine 
 
Upcoming Happenings to get excited about:
SWMA has teamed up with Café Rendez- Vous in Seaside for an exciting fundraiser! Mark your calendars and plan on joining us Friday, March 6 from 4 to 8 PM. Wendy and Janot were kind enough to donate 10% of all proceeds of wine and food sales if you mention Montessori. Additionally, there will be a raffle for a beautiful piece of jewelry handcrafted by Wendy! There will be live music and free appetizers.   Bring your friends, bring your neighbors! What a fun and delicious way to support the school!