Bruno Upper EL Classroom

It’s amazing how much can be accomplished in just four school days! On Tuesday, we returned to school to see our amazing new floors. On Wednesday, students spent time preparing and practicing for Parent’s Night, then had their Specials classes on Thursday. Friday, we had a field trip in the morning, and we’re back to lessons in both classrooms for the afternoon.

Reminders:

• No vocabulary is due on Monday, but the review unit test is this Friday, March 1st
• Parent’s Night is Tuesday, from 6:00 to 7:00 PM in the Upper building. You’re welcome to visit other divisions, too!
• The Community Open House is Sunday, March 3rd, from 2:00 to 3:30 PM.
• No school on Friday, March 8th, for the AMS Convention
  

New Floors!

While everyone was off for Presidents Day weekend, our new floors were installed and are beautiful! Mr. Dana, again, worked all weekend to keep our Upper makeover moving forward by putting the final touches in both classrooms.

When we returned to school on Tuesday, there was a massive task ahead (refer to last week’s pictures of all the furniture, bookshelves, and materials in the hallway). Educators and students assisted in cleaning the furniture and materials as they were placed back in the classrooms. Students ensured all the Montessori material was handled with care. In Montessori, this type of activity is called Caring for the Environment in Practical Life, and it looks different at each developmental stage. Including students in this process gives them a sense of pride and responsibility for their environment.

“The children love to do these things [practical life activities] for themselves and they learn to be careful and precise in their movements. This is both education of movement, because there is a refinement of muscular co-ordination when the work is carefully done, and education through movement, because these activities involve judgement and will, self-discipline, and an appreciation of orderliness.”

– Maria Montessori

Back to Work

Tuesday’s hard work gave us one fully functional classroom, which means on Wednesday, we could get back to work during the work cycle. Students chose the jobs they wanted to present on Parent’s Night and practiced giving presentations with the materials.

Parent’s Night is Tuesday evening, 6:00 to 7:00 in the Upper building. Make sure to come and see our beautifully redone classrooms and visit with students eager to present their favorite lessons.

By Friday, we got both classrooms set up and functional for lessons.

Field Trip

We ventured downtown to The Birmingham Children’s Theater on Friday morning to see Mr. Chickee’s Funny Money. The play is based on the book by Christopher Paul Curtis, the first African-American author to win the Newberry Medal. His first book, The Watsons Go to Birmingham, received the Coretta Scott King Honor Book Award and the Newbery Honor Book Award, in addition to numerous other awards.

This week, Upper had a fun time! In Geography, students hid stones on our campus last week. Students used the cartography skills they had learned to create a map of their stone and then traded maps with others to follow the map. In Literature Studies, students recently began their third group rotation of reading Holes, Maniac McGee, or The BFG. Ask your child which novel they’ve enjoyed most and why.

Midweek, we celebrated Valentine’s Day with a board game in the morning. Students enjoyed socializing with their friends while learning new games or having a chance to play an old one.

We ended the week much differently than any other week. Mr. Dana has been tirelessly updating our classrooms for weeks. He and a parent volunteer have been putting some finishing touches and adding surprises to both classrooms. This weekend, since it’s a three-day weekend, our old tile floor and carpets will be pulled up, and we will have a beautiful new laminate floor laid and ready for when we return to school on Tuesday. To work in such a tight timeframe, Mr. Dana, Mr. Zech, and Mr. Fox cleared both Upper classrooms of all furniture so the flooring work could start Friday afternoon. We ended Friday afternoon sitting in one of our empty rooms, fascinated with how large the room appeared. Students are looking forward to returning on Tuesday to see our new floors.

Reminders:

• No schools Monday, 2/19, in observance of Presidents Day
• No vocabulary is due, but the review unit test will be on Thursday
• The field trip to The Birmingham Children’s Theater is Friday, 2/23. Return permission forms and payment ASAP
• Play practice resumes this week
• Join us for Parent’s Night on Tuesday, 2/27. It will be a great opportunity to see our updated classrooms completed.
• Sunday, 3/3, Community Open House
• Week of 3/4, Spring Book Fair
• No school on Friday, 3/8, for the AMS convention
• Saturday, 3/9, PTO Trivia Night and Dinner Fundraiser

Work Cycle

Valentine’s Day and Other Fun

Upper Classroom Progress

This week, the Upper renovation continues. Mr. Dana has worked tirelessly to ensure our classrooms are beautifully redone by Parents Night on February 27th. A few new surprises are being added to our classrooms, but we can’t share that intel yet. While we’re all excited to have our rooms remodeled and the change in scenery, we will also be excited when we return to our normal routines and classrooms. Students and other educators have been flexible as we use other classrooms and areas for quiet places to have lessons or to do work.

In Culture, students have been researching notable individuals for their Living Wax Museum. Students are composing a list of the top individuals they find the most interesting and what their contribution was to society as a whole. We can’t wait until April to see how students use their strengths and individual styles to present their notable individual. 

Up-Coming Reminders:

• The vocabulary review unit is due Monday, 2/12
  • The review unit test will be the following Friday, 2/23
• Monday, 2/12: PTO meeting and no play practice
• Valentines Day, Wednesday, 2/14: See weekly email for details
• Monday, 2/19, no school in observance of President’s Day
• Friday, 2/23, Upper field trip to The Birmingham Children’s Theatre.
  • Permission slips will be sent home later this week.
• Parent Night, Tuesday, 2/27. Division times TBA.
• Sunday, 3/3, Community Open House… Bring a friend!
• Week of 3/4, Book Fair
• No school Friday, 3/8, American Montessori Society (AMS) annual conference
• Saturday, 3/9, PTO Trivia Night and Dinner Fundraiser

Outside Play

Work Cycle

This week we switched classrooms with Mr. Dana, as our Upper renovation continues. One of our classrooms now has a fresh coat of new paint and other aesthetic improvements. Mr. Dana still has lots of work to do, but there is already a lot of visible improvement! Mr. Dana is still scheduled to have the new floors laid on Presidents Day weekend.

We wish Mr. Brendan safe travels as he and Ms. Rachel travel to a Theater Festival in Bequia, a small island in the St. Vincent and the Grenadine Islands. While there, they will share the magic of the theater with local low-income children on the island. We can’t wait to hear about their trip when they return!

In science, students explored electricity and the flow and build-up of electrons through producing static electricity. They learned about the transfer of electrons and how that leads to atoms having a + or – charge. Their knowledge was put into action as they rubbed balloons on their hair, causing static electricity in their hair and also causing the balloon to cling to the wall or ceiling.

We were able to spend extra time outside this week. After experiencing freezing temperatures recently, it was nice to enjoy recess and PE outside. Geography class was also able to enjoy the temperatures while sitting at the outdoor theater. Perhaps Punxsutawney Phil was right, and we will have an early Spring!

Reminders

• Vocabulary unit 12 is due Monday, and the test will be on Friday, 2/9
• The vocabulary review unit will be due on Monday, 2/12
• PTO meeting Monday, 2/12
• Valentine’s Day will be a board game and social work cycle. Lunch and the afternoon will be our normal schedule.
• No school on Monday, 2/19, in observance of President’s Day
• Friday, 2/23, Upper field trip to the Birmingham Children’s Theater
• Tuesday, 2/27, is Parent’s Night at Bruno

Static Electricity

Outside