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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
October 4
3-6 p.m.
Gym
October 5
All-Staff Professional Day - No classes/No child care
October 8-12
Toddler Conferences
(all classes in session)
October 10
5 p.m.
Learning Commons
October 11
9:30 a.m. & 5 p.m.
Tell a friend!
October 16
Lockdown Drill
10 a.m.
October 18
Parent Education: The Journey
8:30 a.m.
October 21-24
Sixth-grade Global Citizenship Action Project (GCAP) Trip
New York City
October 25
Picture Make-up/Retake Day
October 26 & 29
Primary/Elementary/
Middle School Conferences - no classes for these groups only (Toddler classes ARE in session),
child care available
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Middle-schoolers and 9-12 students embarking on educational overnight adventures
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Rites of Passage
Message from
Head of School Lisa Lalama
This week will be a bit quieter than most. The 9-12 students climbed aboard a bus this morning, heading to Washington, D.C., for their annual overnight field trip. Each year of the three-year cycle, the Upper Elementary students head off to a different destination for an overnight adventure. This is the year they visit our nation's capital. Rites of passage are important in our lives, and this trip is a huge one for the 9-12 students.
I remember so well when I moved from the "kids' table" at family celebrations at my grandparents' house to the grown-up table. I yearned to be at that table, to be part of the adult conversation. It was a rite of passage, and as one of the oldest of 22 grandchildren I just couldn't wait to earn my place in the main dining room. The same is true of the Upper Elementary Program at WMS. For years, as younger students, they have watched and waited. They wanted a seat with the older students and to have the privileges that come with age. Today, they are finally experiencing those privileges. And now, our 9-12 students will be carefully watching their friends in the middle school to see what awaits them.
We look forward to new rites in the coming year as we now have students from toddlers through eighth grade. We'll keep you informed as our students move between levels and get their chance at the "grown-up table" of the next level at WMS.
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News & Notes
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Play and Learn with WMS at Brandywine Hundred Library
WMS will kick off another season of "Play and Learn" sessions - a partnership with Brandywine Hundred Library that introduces Montessori learning to the community.
Led by Primary Lead Teacher My Dang and Director of Admissions Tiffany Harrison, this free monthly class reinforces the learning partnership between parents and their young children. Parents and children learn about WMS and the Montessori Method in a comfortable, classroom-like environment with activities including Morning Meeting, songs, movement and work time with Montessori materials.
Please invite a friend to join us for our next session on October 10 at 10:30 a.m. or 11:15 a.m.
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Screenings and Assessments Information Meeting - October 10
When: Wednesday, October 10, 5 p.m.
Where: Learning Commons
Join us for an information session on how WMS monitors each student's growth and development in a number of different areas. School Nurse Lisa Chou will be discussing hearing, vision and gait screenings that Delaware requires for specific grade levels. Sarah Williams, Director of Early Childhood Education, will be speaking about literacy, math, and Ages and Stages assessments. Finally, guest speaker Nina Straitman, Assistant Professor at University of Delaware and licensed speech-language pathologist, will be talking about the speech screenings performed earlier this fall and what each result truly means for your child.
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Tea Collection Fundraiser Begins October 8
From October 8-15, Tea Collection's Tea School Days program offers families a chance to save on children's clothes and give back to their child's school.
When you shop at
TeaSchoolDays.com* you'll get 15% off and free shipping, and WMS will receive 15% of sales.
Here's how it works:
2) Enter promo code
SDF18WILMINGTON at checkout
3) You get 15% off your order and WMS gets 15% of sales (hooray!).
*Note: This link won't be active until the fundraising event begins on October 8.
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Blood Drive Reminder: Give Blood at WMS and Help Save Lives
Blood Bank of Delmarva Blood Drive
Thursday, October 4, 3-6 p.m.
Regardless of your blood type, your blood donations can always be used. Consider donating blood at tomorrow's
Blood Bank of Delmarva (BBD) Blood Drive at WMS
, to help keep up the blood supply for the 19 Delmarva area hospitals BBD serves.
The blood drive is open to anyone in the community, so please tell a friend!
Save time on paperwork and make an appointment through
BBD's website (enter sponsor code WLMS) or simply walk in to donate.
Bonus superhero opportunity: WMS students whose parents donate blood at the blood drive will receive a superhero pin, and are encouraged to wear this pin and a superhero t-shirt on Friday, October 12.
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Today's Learners
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Continents, Cultural Studies and Cut-Outs in the 6-9 Classroom
In the Lower Elementary classroom, students have been learning more about what our earth looks like as a globe and a flat map, and its seven continents and five oceans. Using Montessori materials including a globe and corresponding flat map puzzle, students get to know the continents through color (each continent is represented by a different color) and song (view video below).
Armed with that knowledge, the students are challenged to create a continent book, featuring facts and punch-out pictures of each continent. It's a classic Montessori lesson designed to teach children about our earth's physical geography while helping them to hone their pincer grip and project planning skills.
To assemble the book, students use the puzzle pieces from the map, trace around the shape of each continent and use a stylus or push-pin tool to create a perforation along the continent's perimeter. Then they punch out their shapes, paste them onto separate pages and arrange them in the same order as they sing the continents in the Continent Song.
To account for various age and skill levels, students are asked to produce slightly different versions of the continent book. First-graders begin by simply labeling the continents in their books, while second-graders provide one fact about each continent and third-graders provide at least two facts.
"That's how a teacher can take the same lesson and raise the bar for each age level," said 6-9 lead teacher Melissa Connelly. "There is tremendous pride for third-graders when they finish that higher level of work."
This continent lesson sets the stage for the 6-9 students' future studies about specific continents - this year they will focus on Africa, Asia and Australia.
"You start with the big picture and move inward, and then you make the connections," Melissa said.
Next up for the Lower Elementary students' continent work is a globe project with 6-9 lead teacher Carol Lettich. She'll guide them through a lesson on cardinal direction and the hemispheres, and they will revisit their continent shapes as they stencil them onto both sides of a circle, representing the eastern and western hemispheres.
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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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