Upper Montessori Classroom News

Time is just flying by in our classroom! Wow...we've been in school for almost one month!

Fun Run--I hope to see everyone at the Waukazoo Fun Run on Friday night. It should be a fun event!

I will be taking photos throughout Spirit Week! However, I will not be able to upload the photos until some time next week, I am currently without my home laptop (It is currently on its way back to Dell for repair). It's amazing how quickly we become absolutely dependent on technology! I managed to complete my undergraduate degree without a computer. (I actually had a word processor and thought THAT was pretty cool!) Yet, here I am worried about not having my personal laptop for a week. If I do upload the pictures earlier than next week I will certainly let you know!

Math Facts--Last Friday I sent home some stapled sets of math fact tests. Included were two 5 minute timed tests and several Speedway assessments. Just a quick reminder, we usually take the Speedways 4 days/week and the 5 minute timed test is done just once per week. For the last two weeks we've taken addition and subtraction for the 5 minute assessment. This week we will be doing multiplication. Some students find that timed math tests are not their strength. We will continue to practice these most days, though, because I have found that even when students find these tests to be challenging, they will improve with practice. For students who feel that the one minute assessments are too easy, they will soon be moving into areas that are more challenging!

Biomes--Students brought home a Biomes "contract" tonight for a parent signature. The purpose of the contract was to make sure that all parties involved were aware of the due date for the project. Tomorrow students will receive an assignment sheet that goes into greater detail on
the project. They have seemed very excited about building their biomes! I've heard comments such as, "Maybe I can cut some of that green carpet stuff that is in my basement for grass" or "Colored Saran Wrap would make great water." Students will need a shoe box with lid for a good biome. I do have a few at school--I'm always saving shoe boxes for school--but I don't have enough for everyone. If you have extra, please send them to school!

Students are also reporting some amazing facts they are finding from their research. Facts about animals, the differences between temperate and tropical rain forests, and other interesting facts about biomes in North America. One interesting topic of discussion came about when a student wanted to know whether or not they could use a biome type found in Puerto Rico. We have some excellent researchers in our classroom!

Workplan--these are underway and we are all learning how to work efficiently in a classroom of 25. Students are working at various levels in math and I've seen several examples of students helping other students. Mr. Edwards is showing his skills in math--helping students with difficult problems and reteaching when students have needed the practice. This has freed up Mrs. Perrien to teach lessons and present new material. We are finding that we are a great team! You will find that students are reviewing skills they learned in the 3rd and 4th grade. Some of this is due to MEAP review, but at other times I have found that the review is needed as a particular student or group is preparing to move forward. We review as we move forward to promote a deeper understanding of the skills.

Workplans from last week were carried over into this week. Therefore, the weekly reflection will be coming home late this week. I find that this (a late workplan) is common the first 2 or 3 we have. Students are learning to pace themselves + we are working around other demands within the school (Science Alive, testing, Spirit Week, etc.). Make sure to ask YOUR child how efficiently he or she was with workplan time in the classroom.

Conferences--With conferences just around the corner I have contacted most of you about your scheduled time. Please make sure that you return your pink conference reminder slip to let me know if your scheduled time will work.

Announcements

Student Council Representatives: Sierra (5th) and Logan K. (4th)

Gym Leaders--12 students are gym leaders this year, helping both second grade and kindergarten. All students in the classroom will have the opportunity to apply again in January. Gym leaders usually rotate at the end of the first semester.

Service Squad--Interested 5th graders were able to apply for a position on the school's service squad (safety patrol). This is a paid (classroom economy) position. Students currently "hired" with the service squad include Sierra, Emeline, and Juliette. 5th graders will have the opportunity to reapply again in a few months.

Parent Volunteers--I will begin contacting parent volunteers to set up volunteer schedules for the classroom. If you are NOT registered with the school, however, you will not be able to help in the classroom. If you haven't yet registered and don't have the paperwork, please let me know and I will get you the paperwork. This might seem like a hassle but it is a procedure put into place via the state of Michigan to protect the safely of all Michigan's children. Speaking of parent volunteers...make sure to stop in at the school and visit the PTA bulletin board in the main hallway. There are several committees at Waukazoo that desperately need parent volunteers!

Have a great week!

MEAP dates

Elementary students in grades 4 and 5 will be taking the MEAP assessments in a few short weeks. Testing dates are determined by the state, local school districts cannot change these dates. The MEAP dates are as follows: October 13 and 15; October 20 and 22.

Please do your best to have your child in school on these dates. Students that are not present for the MEAP testing dates will need to take the MEAP outside of their classroom on designated MEAP makeup days.

It's just easier to have kids in school on the actual testing date...

Thanks! :)

Mrs. Perrien

Math Fact Practice

Please ask your Upper Montessori student to practice his or her math facts 2-3 nights per week for homework. Practicing addition and subtraction is important but at the Upper Montessori level we should be focusing on multiplication and division. If your son or daughter is skilled in those areas as well students could make flash cards for equivalent fractions or reducing fractions, fraction to decimal conversion, Roman Numerals…students in the 5^th grade could also work on square root flash cards, or even order of operations, geometric figures, and rounding.

While using a computer games once a week is fine, please do not do this as the sole way to memorize facts. Old-fashioned flash cards are important, too! By varying the method you also make the studying more interesting and fun. The following web site has some links for flash card problems: http://www1.bellevuepublicschools.org/curriculum/k6web/3-6MathwebpPage.htm

Remember, vary the type of flash card practice. Also, when students are ready to move beyond division, visit the previously mentioned website for ideas.

Curriculum: Science and Social Studies

The Upper Montessori students will be spending time this fall learning about energy transfer. Studies will focus on heat energy, electrical energy, and magnetism. We started today with an investigation into heat energy. Today a note was sent home explaining some of the activities we will be doing over the next few weeks. On the back of the note are several "at home" activities, including the steps necessary to make a solar cooker! You will occasionally see our science worksheets. We do these with many of our activities in order to practice working through the scientific method, as well as learn how to properly record scientific data or work through problems. Most of these are used to work through problems, not necessarily to record a right and wrong number. You may also find that we don't answer every question.

We have also been doing plant or animal research. Students started this work last week to practice and refine their research skills. They were given the task of pick their own research topic and let loose in the computer lab! It was exciting to watch so many seasoned researchers know exactly where to begin! From here students will continue studying the animal kingdom throughout the year, learning about animal classification.

Over the next few weeks students will begin a Biomes project. We will do the preliminary research and work at school. They will then (next week) begin building a diorama of their biome as a homework project. More information will follow later this week. Each student will need a shoebox at home to make their biome. They may "raid" my supply cupboard for diorama supplies but should build their model at home. We will feature all the biome dioramas at a classroom biome fair! *Students will bring home information about this project later this week.

Kids InfoBits: Excellent research site!

Homework Tips

How can parents make homework less of a hassle at home? Here are just a few tips for making homework time easier!

• Establish a routine—this involves a regular time for homework each night. In the past parents have commented that working right after school or right after dinner have been good times to complete homework.
  
• Create a work space—Ideally, a flat, uncluttered surface that is well-lit with few distractions.
  
• Provide homework tools—Good to have on hand are pencils and pens, notebook paper, highlighters, glue sticks, colored pencils (preferable to markers), a calculator and a dictionary.
  
• Organization—this involves setting up a space at home where notes and papers go for mom and dad, a place to hang the backpack, and a work space for completing homework. Review the "getting home from school" routine to make sure that kids understand where papers and belongings should go as well as where and when to work on homework.
  
• Be available—Stay nearby to answers questions or provide help as needed. Please offer guidance without giving the answer. Your children may need time to discuss and work through a problem.
  
• (Yes…despite what your kids may tell you, it is okay for you to correct and review completed work!)
  
• Break Time! Kids' attention often wanders after 20-30 minutes. Taking a few minutes break to walk around, get a drink or snack will often help kids recharge and make completing homework easier.
  
• Let Mrs. Perrien know if the homework assignment is especially difficult. Homework should mostly be review (especially in math) of previously learned concepts.

If you ever have questions about homework, please contact Mrs. Perrien.

The end of the first full week!

Everyone went home today looking a little tired and worn out! The first full week is an adjustment for the kids. We spent the last 20 minutes reviewing the week--what we did and all that we had covered, plus we talked about next week.

These past two weeks we've covered a lot of routines and procedures. We've set up the learning environment. We did preliminary assessments in reading and writing and took math tests to determine where we should begin this year. These can all seem tedious because we review and practice, review and discuss. However, the payoff is a well-run classroom with a group of students ready to hit the ground running for the rest of the school year. Speaking of hitting the ground running...next week we will begin with a workplan. Not everything will be on it, but it will be used to further normalize our classroom. I am excited to begin workplans next week!

I have enjoyed getting to know the new students these past two weeks! We have some wonderful personalities joining us this year and I love the diversity in our class.

Thank you again to the new parents for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend the Upper Montessori parent night. Please contact me if you have any other questions. Conferences are just around the corner if you can believe it!

Thank you!

Thank you, wonderful parents, for donating so many of my wish list items for the classroom!

Thank you for the stamps, cups, Kleenex, snack items, hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes, baggies, and disposable silverware.

I appreciate your generosity! :)

--Mrs. Perrien

Upper Montessori News: Routines

Lots of information in this posting!

Parent Night Reminder: Wednesday, September 16 at 6:30 p.m. We will meet for approximately one hour, maybe less. This meeting is geared for the new Upper Montessori parent but returning parents are welcome as well.

Homework: Students will have homework Monday – Thursday night. We talked about homework quite a bit this week! Each student is responsible for his or her homework folder. Taking the folder home each night, returning it to school the next day…these are all tasks that should be managed by THE CHILD. Requesting a teacher signature and a parent signature…these are all tasks that should be managed by THE CHILD. Managing nightly homework is a simple but powerful task that will help to build life-long responsibility skills in your child. IF your son or daughter forgets the folder at home or in the car, please do not bring the folder to school. When this happens it is much more powerful for your child to accept responsibility for being forgetful and learn from the experience. They are much less likely to forget the folder again if the responsibility for it remains theirs. (From personal experience I can tell you I've walked by the homework folder [and even a lunch box] on the kitchen counter. It's very hard to leave items sitting there but in the long run it's been a great learning experience for my girls.)

Classroom notes and school-wide communication will also be given to students in their mailboxes at the end of each day. Students will be asked to place these in their homework folders to make the school-to-home transfer easier. If you prefer an electronic copy of the school newsletter (distributed on Fridays) please let me know or Mrs. Coney (CONEYS@westottawa.net) know and we will make sure your name and email address are added to the list. Remember that the school news is sent home via the youngest child in your family, or only child if that is the case.

Daily Writing: We begin our school day with "notebooking." Based on relevant writing research, notebooking is a period of time every day when the children "just write." Topics are sometimes offered but usually not required. The children have plenty of personal topic lists ready to use. Two key components of Notebooking: Children must write without pausing for the 5-10 minutes of notebooking. So far, this requirement has been met with excellent results! Also during this time the classroom is silent. The second component is that the children write daily. Behind this activity is the idea that children will write better the more that they write. Notebooking is just one component of our writing program and one the students look forward to and are embracing!

Math Facts Assessment: The upper Montessori students take a quick math fact assessment daily. We do a one minute "speedway" assessment and a weekly five-minute timed test. This plan was developed based on a plea from middle and high school math teachers to make sure that students knew their facts! Our math speedway is a three or four day per week one-minute test with 10 problems. It covers basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Ideally, students move forward each time they take their speedway test. The five minute timed test requires students to move through 100 basic math facts with 100% accuracy. Students do addition and subtraction in the beginning of the year each year as a baseline assessment but the main focus is multiplication and division. For those students that pass out of division we have other five-minute challenges! Students compete against their own score each week. The goal is steady progress in memorizing the facts.

These assessments can be fun and the students look forward to them (That is also why everyone starts at zero for the addition speedway.) Most importantly, they take very little time each week out of the school day but the results are seen in our daily math lessons as well as simple fact recall.

I will be posting more information soon about our September and October curriculum. Stay tuned!

Class Photos!

I haven't uploaded all the pictures to the Photobucket account, but you'll see them soon.We had a great day! I really enjoyed this first day back at school!

Social Networking

I am flattered that I've had several requests from Montessori parents to be Facebook friends! However, I choose not to utilize Facebook for professional networking. I think it's important that I keep my professional life separate from my personal life.

Thanks for your understanding!

--Amy Perrien

First Day of School

Just a few days left until the first day of school! The Waukazoo teachers had a busy week back at school: preparing classrooms, working on lesson plans, learning about curriculum and testing changes, and getting committees and activities ready for the upcoming school year.

As the children prepare for their day I do have a few things for them to keep in mind:

• The Upper Montessori students line up at the 4th and 5th grade door (same as last year). They will need to line up at the painted "P". Please consider letting your child ride the bus (if possible) on the first day. The Waukazoo parking lots fill quickly!
• If students are ordering school lunch on Tuesday they will need to have a positive lunch balance; the lunch program is a prepaid program. Parents may send cash or a check or their may call the West Ottawa Food Services office and use a credit card.
• The students will NOT be able to use snack tickets on the first day of school. At this time we do not have any snacks in the snack cupboard.
• Binders will be needed on the first day. Just a reminder that I do have binders available at school for those students that do not bring their own.
• If your child took home a "Getting-to-know-you" brown bag please bring this back (filled) on the first day of school. Those that did not get a bag will receive one on Tuesday.
  
• Students will have their music special on this first day! Please make sure that all students have gym shoes in school by Thursday.
• Remind your child that we will do a lot of talking and whole class work these first couple weeks. The Montessori workplan does not begin right away as I prefer to do team building activities and also set classroom norms.
  
• It is COMMON for the 4th graders/new students to miss their old teacher, their old class, their old routines. They sometimes are sad about the change to a new classroom, new teacher, new responsibilities! What should parents do? Be positive about the new environment and be supportive of their ability to get used to the new routines! (Remember how scared we parents all were when we started middle school, high school, college...it WILL get better!)
• Finally, PLEASE put them to bed early [enough] on Monday night so they are bright-eyed on Tuesday morning. I will meet all students at their classroom line outside!

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

--Mrs. Perrien