Vol. 6, Issue 1: September 2019
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Index
1.
Message from Mr. Matt, M.Ed.
2.
Yoga
3.
Toddler
4.
Primary
5.
Elementary
6.
Adolescent
7.
Message from Ms. Jackie
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Message from Matt Simberg, M.Ed.
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Dear Parents,
As we seemingly steamroll into October, I want to share and reflect a little on September by sharing my thoughts and observations with you. While it feels like we have been in school now for three months, it has just been three weeks. In that time, we obviously had our first week of school. To bring us into our second week, we had a school picnic in Moorestown. It was a great time had by all. New and returning parents got to meet each other and connect. The children had fun with games and swimming in the pool where we had two lifeguards. One of the lifeguards was a former student of mine that I had the pleasure of teaching through elementary. During the week we had a successful back to school/collaboration night. There was really good attendance for all levels. Upon, observing the different classrooms, talking with teachers and hearing from parents, the children, families and teachers are seemingly acclimating quite well!
Even though we did not get to start in Moorestown as planned and certain things considered. This new school year has been refreshing. Maybe it is because the move to Moorestown is on the horizon, but also because the families that have joined MSOE has been a great experience and addition to the school. Everyone has been so supportive of the school and each other. It is very much appreciated and exciting to look forward to the rest of the school year with all of you, probable new families throughout the year, and finally being in Moorestown!
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In yoga class, students have been practicing the basic postures such as mountain pose, cat/cow, butterfly and various warriors. We are learning how to hold poses for a count of 5 breaths. Students are encouraged to concentrate on their breath while gaining strength and flexibility.
Our theme this month is
RESPECT
. Here are some ways to incorporate what we learned at home.
Mindful Breathing - Balloon Breath
Sitting up tall or lying on your back, place both hands your stomach. On the inhale, notice the belly full up like a balloon and deflating on the exhale. Repeat 3 times.
Positive Affirmations
I am respectful.
I am considerate.
I am polite.
Question to Ask
When did you show respect today?
***AFTER SCHOOL YOGA SERIES IMPORTANT NOTICE***
Please note – change of date for the after school yoga series. It will now start on Friday
October 11
th
– November 22
nd
(no class on October 25
th
because of the ½ day).
There are still a couple spots available. Please register online
here
.
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Dear Parents,
I would, along with Ms. Tori and Ms. Julie, like to officially welcome you, as we wrap up the month of September, for the 2019-2020 school year here at MSOE! I hope that you all had a wonderful, fun filled summer with your children! I am so happy to be back to school and ready to have a joyful experience working with your little ones and watch them blossom and grow this year! Thank you for entrusting me with your very precious little ones.
Our year has gotten off to a great start, and have an absolutely great group of toddlers! They are all very sweet and eager to learn, participate and explore their new environment. The transition into our classroom has been working into a smooth one for them all. Overall, this class has adapted very well and has been adjusting more quickly then usual. For some of our class, this is their very first experience in a school setting and I am happy to report that we have had very few tears.
I look forward to getting to know our new parents, and welcoming back our returning families who have 2nd year toddlers, I appreciate all of your support last year. I am looking forward to working together with all of you, as a team, to help your child with his/her physical, emotional, social, and academic development.
Mr. Matt has put out an email to you for our make-up Back To School/Collaboration Night, Thursday, October 3rd. I welcome you to schedule a time to come into the classroom to observe some time this year.
I hope that you are enjoying seeing the pictures through Transparent Classroom. It helps you get a little glimpse into your child’s world while he/she is at school.
Throughout the year we will be focusing on independence. The toddlers are loving their new found independence by taking their own shoes on and off, unzipping their back packs and hanging up their own backpacks and putting their lunch and water bottles on the lunchbox shelf. Some of our younger toddlers need a little assistance, so please encourage them to do these things at home for themselves! They are so proud that they can do these things independently, you will surely hear them say, “I did it”!
September's Curriculum was centered around the new season of fall, apples, harvesting and farm animals. During Circle time we have been singing lots of songs that the children know as well as some new ones. We have started counting from 1-10 in Spanish. We are going to close the month of September by making our own applesauce, for our food tasting activity.
Please feel free to contact me at any time! Should you have any questions or concerns about your child, my door is always open. You can reach me via the school phone or email me at
chris@montessoriseeds.com
I’m looking forward to the year ahead with your children!
Best Regards,
Ms. Chris
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Dear Primary Parents,
It has been a good start to the school year. Mrs. Mary and I are enjoying getting to know your children and observing so much growth from returning students. Additionally, I want to take the opportunity to thank so many of you for joining me on our first collaboration night. I have to say it was awesome! The love, commitment and honesty that each you bring to our community of children is inspiring. I look forward to only moving forward in momentum and creating partnerships with one another to support your children through this most important time of development.
The past few weeks have been extremely busy. We began the first week of school getting to know one another. The children sang many songs and did many activities getting acquainted with learning each other’s names and cooperating with each other. The children also made many art projects circled around describing themselves, family and school. Additionally, we read the story “Our peaceful classroom” by Aline Wolf and talked about what we want our peaceful classroom to look like.
During the second week of school Mrs. Mary brought in many objects from the beach from her collection. The children discussed different types of sea creatures, seashells and had the opportunity to share about fun times at the beach during the summer. I think one of the highlights was when all the children got to touch a blow fish and describe what it felt like. As you can imagine it was quite a hot topic of conversation.
Most importantly we have been working diligently to establish routines and procedures in the classroom.
Everything in the prepared environment is intentional with the purpose of meeting a developmental need for your children.
During the ages of three to six the children are in their sensitive period for order. It is most important we establish this foundation as early as possible so that they can be successful in this process of self-discovery.
Here are a few things we are working on in the classroom to bring your awareness to:
- Putting things away in their proper place (all work has a proper place, and all work must be put away and ready for the next person when finished)
- Independence (practice putting on shoes by themselves or asking help from an older friend in the classroom)
- Indoor versus outdoor voices (we are working on bringing about awareness to pride in our work space)
- Indoor versus outdoor shoes (getting into the swing of changing shoes when entering the classroom and changing shoes when leaving to go outside)
- Grace and courtesy (providing the children with practice on how to navigate peaceful relations with one another. This may include how to ask someone to work with you, what to do if you accidentally bump into someone, how to interrupt an adult or teacher etc.)
- Lunch time procedures (opening and closing containers, practicing good manners at the table)
- Listening (we are working on group time etiquette and making sure that all mouths are silent when a speaker is talking and giving our full attention to one another.
A few reminders
- Please make sure to LABEL every item that comes in with your child so that we can keep track of things.
- Do your best to consistently bring your children by around 8:15 every morning. (We usually start the work cycle around 8:30 am and it is always a good idea when starting their day to have a little extra time to put their things away before the work cycle begins.)
We look forward to a great year with all your children! Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any additional questions or just want to touch base. Thank you for your continued support.
Best Regards,
Mr. Carl and Ms. Mary
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Dear Parents,
What a really good, almost, first month of school in the elementary classroom! Some of the words that you see in the caption are what I am seeing in the classroom. We have a handful of new children coming from different backgrounds of education. This can lead to a rocky start, but everyone has been acclimating well! The classroom has been infected with what we are now calling “yarn time.” The first couple of days, it was sweeping across the classroom. It was great for dexterity, learning a new skill, socializing and getting to know each other. By the third day of school it was proving to be wonderful, but also getting out of hand. In hindsight, I am even more appreciative of this experience for your children. One parent even contacted me to say she could not believe how her and her child went to go and do something and she had to bring yarn so she could make things.
During this initial class time, I quickly brought the balance of other lessons, especially for the newer children. Now, the class is starting to run more like a well oiled machine of structure in what might seemingly look like chaos from the outside in. Children are working on various activities at a quiet buzz. They are learning conflict resolution, putting themselves in other’s shoes, how to shake hands properly and expressing a love of learning! Older children are working with younger children. The patience and engagement that is being shown is heartwarming.
As we roll into October, we are working on a few “going outs,” our “Halloween Presentation,” lessons in all subject areas, and conferences with families of children that are new to the class. Everyone is getting along quite well. It has been a great preview into what I expect will be a great year!
Sincerely,
Mr. Matt
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For our first newsletter of the school year, the MSOE Adolescent Program would like to announce that we will be referring to ourselves as Evergreen or the Evergreen Team. Alan and Victoria decided that on our way home from a 3 day Odyssey Camping Adventure at the Knowhere Farm. We spent the first 2 days at school setting the precedent as the leaders of the school. We helped younger students out of cars and into the building, fixed broken things in an emergency, helped teachers when they needed help, etc.
We planned and shopped for our food and provisions and planned what to pack for ourselves to live and work on the farm. The trip was truly an adventure. We lived cooked, ate and slept outside among the farm animals (literally). Mary showed us around and we found several areas where we can help out and started right away. Mary showed us and allowed us to help milk the goats, clean, bridal and ride a horse and let us burn stuff!
Back at MSOE, we are continuing to find ways to serve the school while adjusting to the busy schedule. During our second week both Alan and Victoria did ‘Mini presentations’ on topics of interest to them. We have begun reading “A Fish in a Tree” and have had several successful seminars discussing the book. Now completed Unit 1 of the History of North America we are ready to move onto the establishments of the colonies here.
The Evergreen Team meets with Mr Dan for Math class daily (except Fridays) and are beginning to find their learning lane in unconventional ways. We also have optional opportunities to participate in Mindfulness classes and Yoga weekly.
As our school location is still in flux, we intend to take advantage of as many ‘going outs” as possible. We have already gone shopping many times, have explored the local neighborhood, shops and even attended an international student civic engagement in Center City Philadelphia.
These are our beginning steps towards creating independent, freethinking, productive, good citizens of the world.
Sincerely,
Mr. Frank
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The first thing I want to say is a big thank you to everyone for welcoming me with open arms. What a great community I am walking into! I am so grateful to finally find a career that reflects who I am as a person.
I bet you are all wondering who I am and where I came from! Here is a little background about me; I grew up in Delanco my whole life going to public school, playing sports and always found myself helping others. Forever babysitting from Elementary into college, even now, as I cannot say no to a smiling face. My passion has always been to try and make things easier for others.
As an adult, I started out my work experiences with a strong interest in business and marketing, not knowing exactly where it would take me. Having had different jobs in sales, I learned so much about running a successful business, but I was still missing something. That something was a purpose, wondering where my place in the world would be, and that is when I came across MSOE!
I feel my purpose is coming through in the form of helping Matt to smoothly operate MSOE! It is being a part of an education like this for families, and helping in any way that I can that excites me the most. There is so much to do with MSOE and I believe that will always be the case. What I see in the classrooms, the parents I have met and the feel that I get from being here, makes me feel like this is a great fit for me! It is my hope to use my organizational skills, background in marketing and sales, being passionate about education and being there for these brilliant children, is what I realize now drives me. It’s hard for me to put into words how excited and grateful I am for this opportunity to have this role in MSOE.
I am excited, knowing that with some more time, I will be able to help my fellow MSOE staff run this amazing school.
I look forward to getting to know each and everyone of you and your children as they grow, flourish and learn here at Montessori Seeds of Education.
Sincerely,
Jacquelyn Brown
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www.montessoriseeds.org | 609-832-2546 | msimberg@montessoriseeds.org
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