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W E D N E S D A Y W E E K L Y
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In this Issue
Upcoming Events
4-8 p.m.
Panera Bread
(Market Square Shopping Center - near Trader Joe's)
January 11
9:30 a.m. & 5 p.m.
Tell a friend!
January 12
Deadline for WMS sibling applications
January 18
Parent Education - The Journey
8:30 a.m.
January 20
10 a.m.
Tell a friend!
January 24
Information night for parents of rising Primary students
5-6 p.m.
Great Room
January 25
Dads' Day
Drop-off - 10 a.m.
WMS Birthday Celebration
10 a.m.
Gym
January 29-February 1
Toddler conferences
(all classes still in session)
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At Mother Nature's Mercy
Message from
Head of School Lisa Lalama
Snow! Sleet! Freezing rain! This has been a week of Mother Nature reminding us that she is in charge! Last week's Wednesday Weekly focused on new beginnings and being ready to settle in to learning. This week, we have been humbled by the snowfall, arctic temperatures and unsafe road conditions. There are many folks involved in making the decision to open late, close or open for "business as usual."
Yesterday children were begging for school to be open, many of them confused by the erratic schedule. The older students are eager for a snow day because snow days are fun days! Those days are found time with little routine. We all anticipate a day here or there. So far, this winter has given us more than we bargained for.
Rest assured that we do our best to open if conditions allow. Our facilities crew is here well before most of us wake up, spreading ice melt, shoveling snow, contacting the snow plowing service and making sure that when we arrive we are able to enter the property safely. We notify you as soon as possible, after having made the best decision given the facts we have at the time. If you ever feel that it is unsafe for you to bring your children to school, by all means keep them at home. Your safety is paramount.
The latter part of this week promises warming temperatures and safer travel. We are looking forward to returning to the routine of school with your children.
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News & Notes
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Water Everywhere ...
Entering WMS was a little tricky over the past few days. Last weekend we noticed a small amount of ice concentrated near the campus entrance. Our facilities crew was hard at work trying to get rid of the ice and tracing the source of the problem. By the time school opened on Monday, the trickle was more of a flood, creating an ice mound for drivers to scale as they entered.
Chuck Connor, our Facilities Manager, has spent the past few days tracing the leak. After meeting with Suez Water multiple times, contacting plumbers and determining the best time to fix the problem, it was determined that the leak is coming from Suez Water's pipes on Harvey Road.
With warming temperatures and the help of a backhoe, the mound has been reduced. However, the leak persists. Suez Water has advised us that they will be fixing the leak in the coming days and will let us know exactly when that will occur. Unfortunately, they will need to shut off our water to fix the leak. We have requested that this be done on the weekend or late in the day because with no water service to the building, we cannot be open for business. (Everyone let out a loud groan now!) We are trying our best to limit the shutdown to times we are not in operation, and we will let you know the impact as soon as we do.
We apologize for any inconvenience and are as frustrated as you are. We are doing our best to keep school open and not interrupt your schedules any further than they have been already. Thank you for your understanding.
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Safety Reminder: Use Caution When Entering and Exiting WMS's Campus
 With winter weather and varying driving conditions, it is more important than ever to be aware of the traffic considerations on our campus.
As you come to and from WMS each day, please exercise caution at our Harvey Road entrance/exit.
A few things to keep in mind:
- Please drive slowly as you turn off of Harvey Road and into our campus. Our campus speed limit is 8 ⅓ mph. This may feel extremely slow, but it is important to be able to stop quickly, should a child (or any pedestrian) come out from behind a parked car.
- When exiting our campus, watch for pedestrians, particularly as you turn right onto Harvey Road. Many of our families who walk to school cross here, and our Brandywine School District students are dropped off/picked up near this intersection.
- When exiting or entering our campus from Harvey Road it is important to be sure the intersection is clear. Many cars are preparing to enter I-95, and may not be paying strict attention to the light.
- Walkers who are crossing this intersection should proceed very carefully and look in all directions to make sure drivers are coming to a complete stop.
We are working with DelDot and the Arden community to improve the safety of this intersection, and we appreciate everyone's efforts to protect our children!
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It's Time to Rock and Re-Enroll!
On Tuesday, current WMS families should have received a re-enrollment email from Director of Admissions Tiffany Harrison. Starting this year, WMS offers the convenience of online re-enrollment.
Please fill out your child's re-enrollment forms by
Friday, February 16, in order to secure his or her spot for the 2018-19 school year. After February 16, classroom spaces will be made available to new families.
Some WMS programs are near or at capacity, so it is important to meet the February re-enrollment deadline. Your child's space is not secure until WMS has received the enrollment contract and deposit.
In addition, please remember the
sibling application deadline for the 2018-19 school year is this Friday, January 12.
Please contact
Tiffany Harrison if you have questions or did not receive the re-enrollment email. If you prefer to use paper forms for your child's re-enrollment, you may stop by Tiffany's office (now located near the main entrance - formerly Laurie Orsic's office) or the front desk for a re-enrollment packet.
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Eat at Panera TODAY and Raise Funds for the Sixth-Grade Trip
Today from 4 to 8 p.m., Panera Bread at Market Square Shopping Center (near Trader Joe's) will
donate a portion of its sales to support the annual sixth-grade trip to New York City. Eat at Panera to help WMS fifth-graders meet their fundraising goal!
Please bring a copy of the
fundraising flyer so the fifth-graders can receive credit for your purchases.
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Registration for Camp Montessori is Open
It's hard to imagine warmer days after the frigid week we've had, but it's already time to start thinking about summer: Camp Montessori registration is officially open!
Register online today.
Last year, some programs filled to capacity so be sure to sign up early. You'll also get an
early registration discount if you sign up for five or more weeks by March 31.
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Sign Up for Winter/Spring After-School Specials
Take advantage of WMS's winter/spring enrichment lineup: registration for After-School Specials is underway. Tennis, knitting and tumbling are just a few of the great classes kids can enjoy.
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Today's Learners
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Practical Life Skills in the Primary Classroom
by Erin Winner, Lead Primary teacher
Practical Life is one of the most important and misunderstood aspects of a Montessori classroom. While the task of pouring water or spooning beans back and forth may seem trivial to us as adults, this work holds deeper meaning for a child. Each Practical Life activity is carefully designed to meet the developmental needs of young children while building fine motor strength, coordination and independence.
 Maria Montessori believed that children should be given real tools that were sized appropriately for their small hands. Many of the bowls and pitchers we use are made of glass or porcelain. Entrusting children with these fragile materials gives them a reason to use each item with care. Some of the basic transfer tasks, such as water pouring, have direct applications to daily life. As children learn to pour their own water and clean up a spill, they develop increased autonomy and confidence. In many Primary classrooms, there is a water pitcher from which children can serve themselves throughout the day. This small step toward independence is very rewarding for a young child as he discovers his growing ability to participate in the larger world.
There are also many indirect purposes for Practical Life work.
For example, movement tasks develop fine motor control and prepare the hand for writing. Using tongs and tweezers to move items like poms-poms, beads or marbles helps strengthen a child's pincer grip and manual dexterity, which will eventually help the child to hold a pencil. Even the simplest Practical Life activities move from left to right and top to bottom, demonstrating directionality for future reading and writing. More complex tasks such as flower arranging and table scrubbing require children to follow multi-step directions in specific sequence. The ability to accurately sequence and organize processes is important in mathematics as well as reading comprehension. By exposing children to these concepts early on, they begin to internalize and naturally apply them to all areas of learning.
Maria Montessori understood that children are drawn to the tools of adult life - wanting to cook and clean and fully participate as members of the household. In the Practical Life area of every classroom, this drive is channeled to teach perhaps the most important skill that children can develop: concentration. The materials in the Practical Life area are rotated monthly, and usually have a seasonally-appropriate focus. If you were to visit a Primary classroom today, you would likely see a variety of snow-themed activities occupying the Practical Life shelves. Changing the work regularly sparks the interest of the students and invites exploration. As children become fully engaged in repetition of these purposeful activities, they learn to concentrate. When children develop the ability to focus on a task and see it through to completion, they are then ready to move on to new lessons and experiences in other areas of the classroom.
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 The Wednesday Weekly shares WMS news and events that are relevant to the families in our community.
Please send submissions to
[email protected]
by 4:30 p.m. on the Friday prior
to the issue in which you wish to include your information. Content may be edited for length
and style and may be held for a future issue due to space constraints.
For more information, contact Noel Dietrich, Director of Advancement & Communications.
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