Bruno Upper EL Classroom

February was a full and productive month in Upper Elementary as students continued exploring new ideas across subjects while building on the work they began earlier in the year.

In Math, students spent time working in geometry, learning about angles, types of triangles, polygons, and quadrilaterals. Through measurement and observation, they practiced identifying shapes based on their defining characteristics. Lessons on area helped students understand how the space inside a shape is measured and compared.

Students also continued work with coordinate planes, learning how points are located using the x and y axes and how ordered pairs represent positions on a grid. Some students explored square roots using Montessori materials that make the relationship between square numbers and the sides of a square visible. Integer operations and linear equations were also introduced. Students used Hands On Equations, a balance model that allows them to physically move pieces while solving algebraic equations. This hands on approach helps students understand how equations stay balanced while working toward a solution.

In Language Arts, students continued strengthening their understanding of grammar and sentence structure. Lessons included compound words, the correct use of quotation marks in writing, sentence diagramming, sentence analysis, and ongoing grammar study. During sentence analysis work, students use Montessori grammar materials that guide them through structured questions to determine the role each word plays in a sentence. This helps students think about how language works rather than simply memorizing grammar rules. Students also practiced narrative writing, focusing on organizing ideas, developing details, and clearly communicating events through their writing.

Literature studies continued this month as fifth- and sixth-year students wrapped up reading Pax, Journey Home, while fourth-year students continued reading The Witch of Blackbird Pond. These stories provided opportunities for discussion about characters, historical settings, and the decisions characters make throughout the story.

Science lessons focused on the scientific method. Students discussed how scientists ask questions, form hypotheses, test ideas, and analyze results. They also talked about how this process can be applied when investigating real-world questions. This work will prepare students to apply the scientific method to their science projects.

In Cultural Studies, students began exploring world religions, learning about the beliefs, traditions, and historical influence of religions around the world. History lessons also continued to expand students’ understanding of the past. Fourth- and fifth-year students began a unit on American government, learning about how government systems are organized and how decisions are made. Sixth-year students studied the events leading to World War I, the war itself, and how the consequences of that conflict helped create the conditions that eventually led to World War II.

Outside of lessons, students enjoyed celebrating Valentine’s Day with a class exchange during afternoon free choice time. The warmer weather also allowed them to spend more time outside enjoying the fresh air. Students began preparing for the upcoming Peace Ceremony that Upper Elementary will help lead alongside Middle and High School in March. They will continue practicing and preparing for this special event.

Many of the materials you see in classroom photos reflect a core Montessori principle: students begin by exploring concepts through hands-on experiences before moving to more abstract work. Whether measuring shapes, building equations, or analyzing sentences, students actively engage with their learning in ways that help them develop deeper understanding.

Valentine’s Day, Beautiful Weather, Peace Ceremony Preparation

Students in Upper returned to school in January, ready to build on prior lessons and take on new challenges across subject areas. The month was steady and productive, with students engaging in both hands-on and abstract work.

In Math, students explored decimals, coordinate planes, algebraic expressions, square roots, exponents, rational numbers, and geometry concepts. During geometry lessons, students used protractors and rulers to measure angles and sides of triangles to classify them by type. They used the Fraction Circle Insets to see how degrees relate to a full circle and to understand why the interior angles of a triangle add up to 180 degrees. On pegboards, students constructed coordinate planes, labeled the x and y axes, and identified quadrants before transitioning to graphing on paper. Decimal Layout Boards were used to build numbers by place value, helping students clearly see how tenths through millionths are structured within the base-ten system.

Students also worked with the Montessori Square Root Board, a hands-on material that allows them to explore square numbers visually and understand the relationship between a number and its square root. This material helps students see how a number can form a perfect square and how the square’s side length relates to square roots. Like many Montessori math materials, this work begins with concrete materials before students progress to more abstract calculations.

In Language Arts, students continued developing their understanding of grammar through sentence diagramming and sentence analysis. During sentence analysis lessons, students used the Montessori Sentence Analysis Boxes, which guide them through structured control questions to determine the function of each part of a sentence. Rather than simply memorizing grammar terms, students are taught to ask specific questions that help them identify the subject, predicate, and other sentence elements logically. This process strengthens and supports clearer, more intentional writing.

In History, fourth and fifth year students continued their study of the Revolutionary War. Through our classroom simulation, students manage their colonies and respond to taxes imposed by “King Fox,” which represents England’s mercantilist policies. To connect learning to experience, students designed and constructed small boats using twine and popsicle sticks to test how long their structures would float. This experiment tied into discussions surrounding colonial trade and events such as the Boston Tea Party.

Sixth year students concluded their study of the Roaring Twenties and examined the stock market crash of 1929, which led to the Great Depression. They discussed the New Deal and explored how federal programs were designed to support economic recovery and stabilize the country during a period of significant hardship.

Students continued their monthly classroom job assignments under the guidance of an elected leader and secretary. Daily community meetings remain an important part of our classroom environment, providing time for discussion, shared responsibility, and collaboration. Upper students have also begun preparing for the Peace Ceremony they will host with Middle School on March 4th.

Many of the materials you see in classroom pictures reflect an important Montessori principle: students first build understanding through concrete, hands-on experiences before moving to more abstract work. Whether measuring triangle angles, constructing coordinate planes, building decimal numbers by place value, or analyzing sentence structure through guided questioning, students are actively constructing meaning. January reflected continued growth in independence, responsibility, and academic confidence across the Upper classroom.

December flew by as we dashed toward the New Year. Upper Elementary students dedicated extra time to practicing for the winter concert and delivered a fantastic performance. They played instruments such as recorders, drums, chimes, glockenspiels, and xylophones. They also sang in Spanish and in rounds with the Lower Elementary students. The audience enjoyed additional performances by the choir and the string ensemble. In the end, our talented students gave a beautiful performance, showing their hard work and practice. Thank you as well to Ms. Janelle for her thoughtful planning and dedicated support of our music program.

The Middle School hosted its annual Holiday Shop, which serves many purposes for our school community. It allows Middle School students to use practical math skills as they plan for the shop, price items, and assist younger students in managing their budgets. The shop also gives younger students a sense of ownership and joy as they purchase gifts for their families independently. Finally, the shop’s profits support the annual Middle School trip in the spring. This year, students have chosen to travel to Boston and the New England area. They play an active role in researching, planning, and fundraising for their spring trip.

This month, Upper Elementary also hosted its fourth annual Holiday Feast. The feast is one of the students’ favorite activities of the year, and this year was no exception. Students enjoyed trying a variety of foods and having extra time to sit with their friends while they talked and ate. The feast would not be possible without support from our Upper Elementary families. We appreciate everyone taking the time to contribute in their own way. A big thank you to our room parent for organizing and coordinating the feast and to the parents who volunteered their time to ensure it was a success.

We spent our last day of school in December playing games, lounging in our pajamas, and watching a movie. Each student brought in a wrapped gift, and we enjoyed a festive gift exchange. The games and gifts were a big hit and a fun, memorable way to close out 2025.

November was a shorter month, but a lot was packed into Upper’s schedule. In Language Arts, students had lessons on nouns, adjectives, verbs, sentence diagramming, apostrophe use, and other topics. In Math, students learned about squaring numbers, advanced squaring, coordinate planes, types of angles, subtracting fractions, multiplying with decimals, and various review lessons. Students continue to practice math facts and review other key skill concepts.

In Cultural class, students learned to play the ancient game of Senet. Known as one of the oldest “board” games, the ancient Egyptian game used numbered sticks (like dice) and involved moving stone pieces across a wooden board. The goal is to move all of your pieces off the board first. Students have also chosen to play the game outside of Cultural class! In Science class, students wrapped up the Zoology unit, discussing the Animal Kingdom, how animals are classified, and the characteristics of vertebrates and invertebrates.

In history, 4th and 5th year students have been exploring early American Colonial history through a game. Students take on the roles of colonists selling cash crops but face opposition from mercantilism, represented by King Fox. King Fox enforces taxes and interferes with the import and export of goods. The game shows how the colonists grew tired of England, eventually leading to the Revolutionary War. The game also integrates math with history and reinforces fluency in math facts.

The 6th year history students wrote investigative journalism articles about Progressive Era social activists known as the Muckrakers, such as Jacob Riis, Lewis Hines, and Mark Twain. Students wrote persuasive pieces calling for action on issues like exposing child labor in factories and mines, women’s suffrage, and the harsh realities faced by immigrants, including poverty and poor housing conditions in city tenements.

Congratulations to Ms. Peyton and the cast of “A Recipe of Me” for delivering an outstanding performance at the Fall drama event. Great effort and show, and yet another fantastic production!

Pictures of “A Recipe of Me” are courtesy of Mr. Dana, via Bruno’s Facebook page.

October brought cooler weather and changing leaf colors to campus. Students continue to make progress in their math and language lessons during the work cycle. In math, upper students have studied geometry, angles, hands-on equations, decimals, the area and volume of shapes, algebra, coordinates, long-digit multiplication and division using Napier’s Bones or abstract methods, and other topics. In language arts, they focused on nouns, sentence analysis, diagramming, construction, advanced parts of speech, and a variety of reading skills.

In cultural classes, students explored different aspects of American and world history. In American history, 4th- and 5th-grade students studied the indigenous tribes of Alabama. Students chose a tribe, created a diorama of it, and presented the information they researched. Also, in American history, 6th-grade students have been learning about the Industrial Revolution. They also examined the differences between yellow journalism and the impact of muckrakers on the public. In world history, students studied the history of handwriting and used clay tablets to write words or messages in hieroglyphics. Finally, in science, students have been progressing from the three domains at the beginning of the tree of life to vertebrates and invertebrates in the animal kingdom. This foundational knowledge will support the entomology project they will complete in class. 

Upper now has its own JBMA Times! Two students decided to create a newspaper for their classmates, so they took the initiative and published two editions in October. (Mr. Brendan assists with editing and printing). The newspaper starts with current events relevant to Upper, then features an inspiring and hilarious story about our beloved mascot and local celebrity, Bruno Bear. We look forward to reading the next edition!

We finished October with a fun and well-deserved day. This year, our Halloween parade was held in the gym, but students enjoyed being able to see each other’s costumes, which is hard when they’re spread out around the track. We went back to the classroom for a day of board games, Halloween crafts, sweet treats, and the movie Coco. It was a perfect way to end the week and close out the month!

We have new signs around campus! The office isn’t always easy for visitors to find, so this will definitely help. All of our buildings will get new signs, and soon we will have a new sign for our school on 119! The next time you’re on campus, take a moment to look around at the natural surroundings and the architecture of our buildings. We truly have a beautiful campus!

We had an excellent month in Upper! Our school community came together for a Peace Ceremony in celebration of the International Day of Peace, observed on September 20th. Montessori schools around the world observe this international holiday, and our community marks the occasion each year with a special ceremony. Upper students selected a country and language, then researched how to say “peace” in that language. They shared information about their chosen country and demonstrated how to say peace, highlighting that the concept of peace has a universal meaning across all nations. Upper students did a fantastic job presenting “peace” in their selected languages and served as outstanding role models for the younger students.

This month, Bruno had the honor of hosting James Spann for a weather presentation. Mr. Spann delivered an engaging and informative talk about the science of weather, discussing topics such as weather safety and various weather phenomena. He also shared a personal story about his experience with dyslexia, explaining how he overcame his learning challenges in school. Mr. Spann showcased pictures and details about the F3 tornado that struck in April 2021, which devastated our Primary and Toddler playgrounds and the pond area. The tornado also caused damage to Oak Mountain Middle School and Eagles Point, as well as to Mr. Spann’s own property.

Mr. Spann was impressed with Bruno Bear and the weather knowledge of Bruno’s students, including one of our own Upper students. He invited her to join him at the front of the audience along with Ms. Leeann. Bruno was featured on the evening weather segment and on James Spann’s Facebook page. Mr. Dana also took great pictures of the event, which are now posted on Bruno’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

In the classroom, students received many different lessons throughout the month. The 4th-year students had lessons on multidigit multiplication and division using a variety of Montessori materials, such as the Stamp Game, Checkerboard, Test Tube Division, and Napier’s Bones. Throughout the month, students in the classroom engaged in a variety of lessons. The 4th-year students focused on multidigit multiplication and division, using various Montessori materials such as the Stamp Game, Checkerboard, Test Tube Division, and Napier’s Bones. Additionally, they learned to use Hands-on Equations materials, which serve as a foundation for developing algebra skills.

We concluded the month by welcoming Mr. Wayne to our Upper classroom! He is a wonderful addition to our Upper family, and we look forward to the experience he will bring to our class.

September was an exciting month, and we eagerly anticipate what October will bring for Upper!

We welcome both our students who have moved up from Lower and our new students! During the first week of school, students participated in “Getting to Know You” games. In one activity, students wrote about something interesting they did over the summer, and then the class tried to guess who each student was based on their summer experiences. Some students traveled abroad, while others visited the beach, the lake, or family in Texas, Virginia, and Florida. Others won ice skating competitions, went camping, attended overnight camps, day camps, or sports camps, visited a ranch in Wyoming, spent their days at the pool, and participated in many other fun activities! Mr. Fox and Ms. Leeann spent the first few days reviewing student expectations, routines, and procedures. Students played the “Montessori Olympics,” where they demonstrated traditional Montessori lessons, like rolling a rug, finding and carrying work materials, appropriately carrying a chair, and navigating around the classroom and work rugs, among other skills. Students also used the Positive Discipline student-led method in creating a Class Constitution. Students collaborated to develop nonpunitive guidelines to maintain a safe and productive learning environment, then drafted the Constitution, and students signed it. It is hanging in the Upper hallway, where it will remain for the school year.

After the first week of school, our traditional Montessori work cycles began. Students learned how to create their work plans, supported each other in finding necessary materials, and followed through on their plans. Small group lessons started with math and language. In math, students received new lessons on fractions using the metal insets, checkerboard multi-digit multiplication, stamp game multi-digit multiplications, types of angles, algebra ratios, squaring and square roots, volume and area of shapes, along with refresher lessons. In language, lessons focused on analyzing sentences, constructing sentences, diagramming sentences, and symbolizing sentences by part of speech, as well as review sessions. In cultural subjects, students revisited the Great Montessori Lessons, the timeline of life, the origins of civilizations, the characteristics of living organisms, and the three domains of life.

Upper Elementary students had a fantastic first month of the 2025-2026 school year! Exciting lessons and activities are planned for September. Be sure to watch for the weekly Upper emails and emails from Ms. Melanie and Ms. Susan about important dates for other school activities.