Our home learning plans for
toddlers
include a healthy mix of face-to-face interactions with teachers (including several morning meetings per week, music, STEAM and one-on-one check-ins), as well as video lessons and suggested activities for caregivers to enjoy with their children at their convenience.
Some of the lessons shared in the Toddler Program this week include:
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Like our toddlers, our home learning plans for
Primary
students consist of opportunities to connect with teachers and classmates through live meetings and specials, along with recorded content (like the
videos
the teachers created together before we headed home) and suggested activities to work on away from the computer screen.
Primary students are encouraged to include household chores (like
preparing snacks
) in their daily schedule and enjoy plenty of outdoor time (see Tracey’s article below, regarding after-school outdoor activities with Brandy). On some days, students are provided with challenges (like creating a leprechaun trap, designing a fairy garden or making a gratitude jar/journal) that they are later invited to share with their teachers and classmates.
Kindergartners
continue to attend Specials classes with their cohort and receive
additional assignments in all core subject areas as well as special challenges for them to complete with their families while at home.
For this group, teachers put a special emphasis on continuing to build the academic foundation students will need as they enter first grade in the fall.
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In the
Lower Elementary Program
, students are able to work more independently than our younger students. They look forward to the daily connections they make with their classmates via Zoom meetings for the class as a whole and through Specials programs.
As they do in the classroom, students use daily work plans, completing assignments that cover all areas of the curriculum. This week, students have started using
Khan Academy
for math assignments. They are also working on long-term projects like reading and writing biographies and creating
time capsules
that will integrate writing exercises to help students document their lives during this very unique time in history.
Staying active is an important part of the day for these energetic first- through third-graders, who love working up a sweat in Zoom PE class and after-school enrichment with Brandy.
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Upper Elementary & Middle School
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For
Upper Elementary
and
Middle School
students, the move to home learning plans required less adjustment than our younger students. While our oldest students are missing their daily face-to-face interactions with friends and teachers, they are accustomed to working independently and completing assignments using Google Classroom. At both of these levels, students meet as a class each morning, and then move onto more individualized schedules.
Upper Elementary students meet in small groups for math and reading, and attend cultural lessons as a class. This week, they will be embarking on Passion Projects, an opportunity for in-depth exploration of a topic that interests each child, and receiving a lesson from a parent on how to make masks for first-responders from home.
Middle-schoolers also attend science, book club and Specials classes through Zoom and check in with their teacher for individual lessons and help throughout the day. They are now in the process of
choosing topics for a persuasive essay related to the criminal justice system and inspired by
their Supreme Court projects
.
Our oldest students are remaining active with two
PE classes
per week and after-school enrichment with Brandy.
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Elementary Maker Afternoon - Tomorrow (Thursday) at 2:45 p.m.
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Please join us tomorrow (Thursday, 4/2) for our Elementary Maker Afternoon.
Make something to share with the group or come to see what others made. Listen to a story, and leave with ideas to try some making at home!
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Enrichment News
Hello WMS Families,
A few updates from the enrichment corner of WMS:
We are now offering daily optional enrichment meetings after school hours. WMS assistant teacher and coach Brandy Solomon will be hosting these meetings, and they will be filled with activities, games, sports and most importantly an opportunity for your students to interact with each other in a relaxed way for about 30 minutes. Primary families will meet at 4:30 p.m., and elementary and middle school students will meet at 5:30 p.m.
To our toddler families, you are more than welcome to tune in to the Primary meeting, but I suspect that at that point in the day, your little ones will be exhausted.
Please see the below for the Zoom meeting links, and
email me
if you have any questions!
Daily Enrichment with Brandy:
Elementary/Middle School - 5:30 p.m. -
Zoom Link
Lastly, you may receive phone calls from our assistants just to check in and say "hello" to your child.
That is all for now, and we look forward to connecting again soon!
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Director of Montessori Enrichment
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Home Learning Photo Challenge
We love seeing what your children are doing at home throughout the day as they work on projects, assignments and free choice activities, so we are kicking off a new photo contest!
Please tag
@WilmingtonMontessori
in your post on Instagram using
#WMSatHome
or share your images on our Facebook page. You can also
email them
to Noel or send them to her via Bloomz. When we return to school, a lucky participant will receive a WMS swag bag as a prize - each new post will count as a new entry in the random drawing!
We can't wait to see what you're working on!
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Camp Montessori Early Registration Deadline - April 15
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Please note: Should camp be canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, your payment will be refunded.
Register for five or more weeks of camp per family (e.g., 2 campers x 3 weeks of camp = 6 weeks total)
by April 15 and receive your 10% early registration discount.
Questions? Contact
Tracey Gable
, Director of Montessori Enrichment.
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Our entire WMS staff remains employed during this time, being paid their full salaries as they work tirelessly to support our families each day. We are all here for you. If you need to reach us, here's how to get in touch:
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Classroom Communications - Update Regarding Email & Bloomz
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As your teachers have shared, our
Bloomz parent communications platform has struggled with the new volume of users as schools around the world move to online instruction. Notifications have been delayed and there have even been intermittent issues logging in. They have been working to increase their capacity, and improvements are ongoing.
We know how important it is that you receive your classroom's Zoom links and materials on a timely basis, and so we have decided as a school to email classroom schedules and Zoom links, along with posting them to Bloomz.
Supplemental content may still be posted via Bloomz, but please know that you can depend on receiving your weekly class schedules via email on Sunday evenings, along with any other time-sensitives communications.
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General Questions
We are still checking our voicemail hourly throughout the school day - if you have a question, call us at
302-475-0555 and the appropriate staff member will return your call within the next 24 hours.
You can also contact any staff member through the
staff directory on the school website.
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Educational Questions
As always, your child's teachers should be your first source of information regarding your child's education. If you have additional questions, please contact
Lisa or
Sarah.
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Nursing/Health Concerns
Reminder: If your child becomes ill during our closure, please notify Nurse Kathy of the nature of the illness so we can continue to track patterns within our community. Thank you!
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Social Media
Stay in touch with WMS on social media!
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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.
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WILMINGTON MONTESSORI SCHOOL
WWW.WMSDE.ORG
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Copyright © 2020. All Rights Reserved.
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