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V
olume 2, Issue 5 | February 2016
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Message from Matt Simberg, M.Ed.
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The refresher course was very rewarding and informative. I'm sure my experiences will prove to benefit MSOE and the future. It is a great privilege to be part of such a huge repository of ideas, encouragement and direction. I would also like to update you all on the status of our enrollment for the coming year.
- Enrollment is looking very good for next school year. Looking at our conservative projections we could have 25 elementary students. I may even have to close enrollment if we reach between 25 and 30 students which is very likely. One new elementary child is already enrolled and we are expecting 3 to move up from Primary. That would already put us at 24 if everyone re-enrolls.
- Primary has 16 children. If we open a toddler classroom then we will have space for approximately 10 primary aged children. One new primary aged student already enrolled. If we cannot open a toddler classroom or start a new space, then we will accept 20 total primary children and 5 toddlers decided on a case by case basis.
- With regards to toddlers, if we can open a space, I am confident we will have 5 toddlers and I would not be surprised if we were able to have 10 by January of 2017.
Everything continues to be very exciting and rewarding for Montessori Seeds of Education. We have put out ads for teachers and assistants at all levels. Within a few hours of putting out the ads we have been receiving applications. I am so grateful to be a part of this journey and it is exciting to see MSOE growing at this rate.
That being said, I cannot stress the importance of parent involvement within our community. We have had a few experiences now with parents collaborating and offering to collaborate with the children. We want to encourage you to keep the ideas coming. Are you available to take elementary or adolescents on going out trips? Would you like to come in and share your expertise or talents? We want to hear from you.
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Uniform Exchange Program
One of our parents, Sonja Strahm (Carl's mom) has volunteered to be the point person for our uniform exchange program. If you have any gently used uniforms that no longer fit your child(ren), you are welcome to bring them to school. Sonja will sort them and store them until we set a date to make them available for parents to come and pick up uniforms for your child throughout the school year. It will be first come first serve. Please make sure they are washed before sending them in. Thank you!
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Toddler/Primary Update
This month was full of color and fun activities. We talked about Matisse and his life, played a matching game with his artwork and did cutouts. We talked about love and how to be loving. We also talked about presidents and what it means to be a president of our country. The children overcame lots of illnesses. We talked about the importance of washing our hands and keeping our bodies clean. They learned a new song in Greek and Spanish and practiced singing and walking on the line.
We got a new washing station in the classroom. The children enjoyed cutting apples and carrots. We also rearranged the classroom to accommodate new practical life activities. The older Primary students have been matching flags. We also did Home-Adventure-Home stories. The children wrote stories that start at home and then go into an adventure and end back home.
We have been doing finger games with addition and subtraction. Some of the older children have been doing more advanced math like the stamp game and multiplication facts. We have been playing a syllable game where we clap syllables out. We also have been learning about animals from different climates and regions.
Next month we are going to start doing more planting, so if anyone has seeds like mustard or alfalfa seeds they would like to bring in, that would be great. Next month's artist will be Henri Rousseau. We will be baking more as well, so if you know any good recipes that are simple and tasty, please send them in. All baking will be gluten and nut free.
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Chess Club
We are thrilled to announce that we will be starting a
Chess Club for the elementary students. The club will meet on
Thursday afternoons from
3:30-4:30pm beginning March 10th and will continue through
June 9th. Participating students are asked to attend weekly, to ensure that instruction is consistent for all students.
For the spring semester, this club will be offered to all MSOE elementary students at no charge. However, we may need to ask students to bring in chess sets on Thursday to use during the club meetings. Once we know the total amount of participants, we will let parents know if we need the sets. Please email me at
[email protected]
by
Friday, March 4th if you would like your elementary child(ren) to participate.
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Elementary/Adolescent Update
The elementary/adolescent classroom is buzzing. Between the IYES projects, MMUN and everyday work, the children are quite busy. Please
click here for the IYES video put together by Alexander, Sarah and Ms. Aubrey. MMUN delegates are working hard; keeping up with each other's topics, preparing for the conference, making poster boards and cultural projects, flags, and preparing for speeches if they choose. There will be over 2,000 delegates this year from around the world, more than 500 adults, possible media coverage and at least ambassadors from around the world, specifically coming to witness the event and speak to the children for this 10th anniversary of which I have been a part for 9 years. It has been an honor to be close to this organization and watch it grow into what it is today.
As I mentioned earlier, the classroom is buzzing with other work too as I am sure most of you have seen or read through Transparent Classroom. What you may not have seen or caught on Transparent Classroom includes: learning about different states and countries, their resources and landmarks, Spanish with Ms. Patty, language games such as labeling the environment to help with spelling, recognition and handwriting, growing lima beans, learning about geometry and England through a story called Flatland, daily mindful meditations, children reading to each other and helping each other read, poetry, creating and performing skits, lessons on being courteous, planning, goal setting and achieving, as well as complimenting each other. There is so much always going on and lessons are so interwoven between subjects, it is a joy to see children catch on to this and get excited to do follow-up work. Please
click here to see the Marble Run created by the Upper Elementary and Adolescents with a special thanks to Jed Morfit!
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Amazon Smile
When you shop at AmazonSmile, Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price to Montessori Seeds Of Education Inc. Bookmark this link
and support us every time you shop.
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Calendar Highlights
Here are some upcoming important dates.
- Mar 9-12: Upper Elementary MMUN Conference in NYC
- Mar 25: Half day dismissal - NO Aftercare
- Mar 28-Apr 1: Spring Break
Click Her for our Google Calendar.
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