A Note about the Calendar
As stated in yesterday's Bloomz alert (if you are a current parent and did NOT receive this message, please contact
Noel
),
WMS has
made the difficult decision to cancel all school-wide events and field trips effective immediately.
This decision was made based on the best information we have available, encouraging organizations to eliminate large group activities and events outside of our standard educational programs. By the end of spring break, we will reassess the situation and share updated information regarding future events. We know this is disappointing but our priority is to mitigate risk, both among our students and the family members and friends who visit the school for these special events.
A Message from the Fifth-Grade Class
Dear WMS Families,
We are sorry to announce that P.J. Bingo has been postponed. We thank you for your donations you have given us for our sixth-grade trip to New York City next school year. However, we understand if you would like a refund for your tickets you have purchased or money you have donated. Please see
Allie
in Room 9/10 for any refunds or questions you may have. Thank you for your continued support in our education and school events. We hope to see you at our next fundraiser!
Sincerely,
WMS 5th Grade Class
Spring Break
As you plan trips and activities for spring break, please know that if your family visits a country designated by the CDC as Level 2 or 3, you will be asked to stay home from school for at least 14 days, which is the recommended self-quarantine by the CDC.
Additional travel information can be found at
www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html
. As of today, we are still planning to run spring break child care; however, as you know, this situation is changing day by day and hour by hour - please continue to pay close attention to all communications from the school including Bloomz posts, newsletters and other emails.
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SPECIALS/ENRICHMENT PROGRAM NEWS
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Stay tuned for what's been going on in Spanish, art and the Maker (S.T.E.A.M.) Studio next month!
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Physical Education & Health
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Primary Program
This month, Primary students (including kindergartners) focused on underhand throwing and catching. When teaching the children to throw, PE teacher Jill Hallissey introduced students to the rhyme, “Tick, Tock, Step and Rock!” Along with this rhyme, children learned the motions of swinging the throwing hand backward and forward, while stepping with the
opposite
foot and rocking out with the throw. They caught on quickly and loved experimenting to see how far they could throw the ball. When teaching the children how to make a safe catch, Jill used the verbal cues, “Reach, grab and give (a hug).” Giving the ball a “hug” ensures that the ball stays close to the body, which increases the chances of making a solid catch. Both of these skills help children strengthen their hand-eye coordination, which in turn, can support academic skills such as reading and writing.
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Elementary & Middle School
PE
Elementary and middle-school students worked on their overhand throwing and catching skills this month.
During classes, students received individual instruction and guidance on the proper form, and then participated in various developmentally appropriate activities and games in order to master these skills. Some of the students’ favorite throwing and catching activities include long-time WMS favorite “Castleball,” a game in which the object is to throw balls to knock down the other team’s castles (made of hula hoops), and “Poison Ball,” a game in which participants try to throw balls at a target in order to knock it over to the other team’s side. Middle-schoolers have also been playing handball during recess.
Last week, when PE classes moved to the Great Room due to talent show rehearsals, students took a break from their regular curriculum to do other activities including yoga and
Pound fitness
.
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Heath
In health class, elementary and middle-school students recently started a unit on the human body. All classes will learn about the main systems of the human body (e.g., the skeletal system, the muscular system, the digestive system, etc.) through various assignments, videos and hands-on experiments. In middle school, the unit is titled Anatomy & Physiology, and students will spend more time delving deeper into the structure and functions of all of the systems of the human body.
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Toddler Program
Toddlers are continuing to explore the concept of a steady beat, exercising their voices by making different sounds, experimenting with different instruments and responding to the expressive qualities of recorded music through movement.
Primary Program
Primary students have been hard at work, preparing songs and movements for their concert in April
- "
Farmhouse Animal Friends."
Kindergarten Program
Kindergartners have continued to develop their singing voices.
They are learning about notes and rests, and preparing some special songs for the concert. Along with singing with their younger classmates, kindergarten students will accompany the group on Orff percussion instruments.
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Lower Elementary (6-9) Program
In early February, Lower Elementary students enjoyed performing on recorders and percussion instruments in a dragon parade to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Now, they
are focused on learning to read and write traditional musical notation. Some students will be composing songs to play on their recorders. Last week, they enjoyed attending a Calypso performance with
Duo Extreme
.
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Upper Elementary & Middle School Programs
After their wonderful performances in last week's
talent show
, Middle School and Upper Elementary students participated in workshops with teaching artists from the Delaware Institute for the Arts in Education (DIAE), along with attending a Calypso performance from Duo Extreme. During the workshops, they learned about conductors and their use of nonverbal gestures to communicate with a musical ensemble. At the Calypso performance, they learned about how, in the absence of a conductor, ensemble members can communicate using changes in their expressive playing styles and dynamics. Duo Extreme also demonstrated how musicians can use unusual playing styles to create different sound variations on their instruments. In the coming month, students will create musical conversations using expressive qualities of instruments and voices, and they will explore non-traditional playing styles for various percussion instruments.
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Extended day
is a time for our students to unwind from their school day, socialize with their peers in a Montessori environment and try out new activities.
Between our basketball team traveling to local schools, our coders working on their websites and our annual swimming trip on Presidents Day, our elementary and middle school students have been busy. Our Primary group has been baking tasty treats while our toddlers are exploring yoga and music from We Kids Rock!
In the coming weeks, running club will begin for students from kindergarten through eighth grade, Soccer Shots will kick off for our Primary group and another round of music classes for our toddlers will also start.
If you are in need of care or have any questions regarding the upcoming programming, please feel free to reach out to
Tracey Gable
, Director of Montessori Enrichment.
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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
wednesday-weekly@wmsde.org
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.
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WILMINGTON MONTESSORI SCHOOL
WWW.WMSDE.ORG
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Copyright © 2020. All Rights Reserved.
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