Mid-Month July Missive

Hot of the Press - 

It is hard to believe that we have already reached the middle of July. I did a quick count, and I have officially been in SC for eight months. Within these eight months, I have made some awesome new friends and officially celebrated my first 4th of July in SC. Hard to believe that much time has gone by already.

  

With that said, July has been a busy month for MSM. We ended the month of June with our indoor Fourth of July parade due to the indecisiveness of Mother Nature and her need to rain. All of the classes made some awesome t-shirts for the parade. The ASK group made some equally amazing signs and showed them to the whole gym. We gave a shout out of great birthday wishes for Ms. Mary - in which the entire gym full with parents, teachers, and the all of the students sang Happy Birthday.

Ms. Mary

     


Shout - outs:

~ Sprinkler Days: July 21st - Weather permitting

~ Picnic Days: July 14th & July 28th - This is a school packed lunch or one brought from home. Please no lunches that required to be warmed up. And, please have a water bottle has well. And, we are a NUT FREE school.

~ PM Group with Ms. Mary - Bowling Day July 21st 12:30 - 2:30 at Golden Lanes, with a cost of $4 and parents are welcome to join the field trip day.

~ Every Tuesday is Ice Cream Day - costing $1. And, there are FOUR ice cream days left in the summer: July 18th & 25th, and August 1st & 8th.

~ Last Day of Classes: July 27th and there will no classes from August 1st to August 11th. A little bit of mind break for the teachers so they can prepare for the new school year.


~ First Day of School: August 14th. With that said, there are meet and greet and information dates for new students and those who would like to refresh and reconnect after the summer. (I have a sign-up sheet in the office - call and let me know if you are interested in attending).

As summer is the time of vacations - I have truly enjoyed listening to all the great adventures everyone has taken. Most of our students have gone and spent time at the beach. A few have ventured out to other states (Colorado, and Alaska) and one has gone as far as Costa Rica (slightly jealous). Ms. Mallika is off visiting Sri Lanka and Ms. Faria visited home. And we have a few others that have ventured to India and a few other places (again, slightly jealous).

I hope the rest of summer is good to everyone and those who are not returning - or moving on to other places - you will all be missed. Enjoy the rest of the summer - as it will be soon at an end.  

   

Summer Time News

Welcome to Summer from MSM! The month of June is packed full of fun!!

We hope everyone is having a good summer so far. I just wanted to give out a few reminders and shout outs.

First and foremost we are having Montessori classes for an hour and half Monday - Thursday.

AM Group is 8 – 9:30 am and PM and Ext day is 9:30 – 11.

~Our first Ice Cream Day was completely successful. Remember it is every Tuesday at 3pm. Cost: $1. There will be an (8) total ice cream days left, skipping the 4^th July, as we are CLOSED.

~Menus and schedules are complete for the month of June - available at the office if needed.

~Please bring a white t-shirt by June 16 or June 19 (the absolute latest) for t-shirt decoration week and to be worn for our 4th of July Parade held on June 30 at 9:30 am.

~Donuts for Dad - June 16th in the Main Building at 7am - 8:30 am.

~ We have two days of the summer set aside as sprinkler days – June 9 & June 23. Please bring your child(ren) dressed in their swimsuit and water shoes (if they have them) and bring a towel. After sprinkler time, we will change the children into their clothes and other shoes that have been brought from home.

~ PM and Ext. Day Groups have a Skate Day on June 16 12:30 – 2:30 and the cost is $4. Parents are welcome to join.

~Happy Father's Day to all of our amazing dads. And all other men who are an important part of our precious ones lives. And, to the ones who do double duty as both.

~We have two days set aside as Picnic Days. Please bring a packed lunch (no heat-able lunches) and a water bottle as well. June 16 and June 30.

~PM and Ext. Day Groups have their Pizza Party at Pizza Hut June 23 from 9 am – 11:30am and cost is $5 per child. Again, parents are welcome to join.

~For the summer the ASK will be going to the pool every Thursday from 1pm – 3pm. For a total of (9) Thursdays left. With that said, please bring your child dressed in their swimsuit and water shoes (if they have them) and bring a towel. On these pool days the ASK will be having their lunch time at 11:45  - 12:15, so there will be time to change if needed.

~Our 4^th July Parade will be June 30 at 9:30. Please remember the t-shirts that were decorated. Parents are welcome to join us and we would love to see a few decorated bikes and scooters.

With that said, look forward to Friday folders – as all the groups do have many fun-filled art projects planned as well. This is Fish week  in T2, and both AM and PM Groups. Next week the groups will be working on their Father’s Day art projects. The PM group will be working with paint – so perhaps send an old t-shirt for the 14 and 15 of June. If forgotten, we do have some extra t-shirts that can cover up their clothes from home.

And, I just wanted to say thank you to our teachers for an amazing year. I have only been here in SC and a part of MSM for a short time and I am truly honored for all of the wisdom I have learned from such amazing teachers and other staff. I have always wanted to be part of Montessori environment - as in Montana there is not a huge demand for Montessori learning or schools. Sad, I know. I hope all of the teachers safe travels as they go to visit family and friends and spend a few weeks relaxing. Our very own Ms. Singer is hanging out with the sting rays in the Cayman Islands. Ms. Faria is headed to Pakistan for a visit, and Ms. Mallika is planning her trip to Sri Lanka. Slightly jealous on all three accounts. Have fun ladies!!

Bergamo Spotlight

As we all know Bergamo had a wonderful May planned.

A quick recap - they had a garden going in, chickens that were coming, and would eventually be born, doing an art project as a class for the Art Show, caterpillars and the butterfly release, a play, and hoping for a chicken coop.

With that said, the chickens arrived after 21 days in the incubator to keep the eggs at the perfect temperature. Before the arrival, the Bergamo class was able to step into a dark room and see the embryos inside the eggs using a high powered flashlight to candle them. This is where we learned that we would hopefully have 11 out of 12. Within the last few days, we had eight baby chickens hatch their way into the world.  We have four types of chickens that made a showing. We have Welsummers, Rhode Island Reds, Single Comb White Leghorns, and Light Brahmas. 24 hours after birth the eight chickens were moved into a big plastic tub as a brooder and living happily at 100* degrees with food and water and filling the room with sweet sounds.  For the last few weeks, they have spent their time under the heat lamp and chirping and cheeping their way through lessons. Summer living arrangements have been made and about four chickens will return in the fall once the chicken coop is here. Thank you Gilbert Family for being their summer family!
 

I stopped by and checked in on the five caterpillars, and all of them are in the chrysalis stage of their lives. At the end of this stage - they will be butterflies. The butterflies were beautiful at final pic and were released at the end of last week. May their wings spread into this beautiful world.

In between watching the new aspects of life for the garden, the chickens, and butterflies, all of Bergamo has also been preparing for their play. At this point they are moving beyond the scripts and practicing without them. Costumes are in the process of being made and will be ready for the big production.

Bergamo Theater Presents: “Vacation on Mars”

I cannot wait to see what Vacation on Mars is going to be like.

The play was quite musical - a really fun way of learning about the Solar System. A few lessons I learned: The Moon loves his phases. The Sun can be a little gassy and often has hiccups from solar flares. Venus is hot and loves her place by the Sun. Earth is the best place to live.  Jupiter loves a crowd with her over 60 moons. Neptune is a great place to live; as long as you do not mind the windy atmosphere, negative temperatures ALL the time, and willingness to lose your asteroid belt. I also learned that Pluto is still sore about losing her planet status and would make a great vacation destination if just given the chance. Lastly, I learned I still have no idea what a vacation on Mars would be like, as we never actually made it there - due to the poorly chosen Travel Guides.

Thank you to all of the parents that helped with costumes, pictures, videos, and the cast party food!


            

Within their art unit - Bergamo took on the artist Van Gogh. Ms. Penny had a print of his most famous painting " A Starry Night"  cut into 24 squares.  The children then in turn recreated their own square with the use of pastels and blending techniques.
The question is - Van Gogh or Bergamo. You decide.

The original from the art show.

After the art show, Ms. Singer raffled the original art piece and was able to sell it for enough money to purchase a chicken coop. She took a picture of the original and made a poster sized print.  She can order a copy if you would like for $20 - that includes the 16 x 20 poster and a list map showing the location of each child's work. (If you would like one, please let Ms. Heather at the office or Ms. Singer know).

The replica - get your own copy.

And if all this was not enough, in the midst of preparing for the birth of chickens and butterflies - the Bergamo class was able to welcome the baby brother of Camryn - so precious. Congrats on being the "big sister", it is quite an honor! Plenty of love from all of us to the Goodwin family.

With that said, what a fun month Bergamo has had. Thank you, Ms. Singer and Mr. Chip. And, a quick shout out to Ms. Kelly and her artistic abilities; the backdrop for the play was amazing. 

I cannot wait to see what the next school year holds for Bergamo. Have a wonderful summer.  We are excited to see if you are spending it with us. If not, have a wonderful summer and we look forward to seeing you on the 14th of August - the FIRST day of school for MSM.

May Is Here!!

May is Here!!

May is going to be a busy month for MSM, so stay tuned for all of the details!

First and foremost: Class pictures are here and are $10 - payable at the office.

And, this is Teacher Appreciation Week. I have a list of our teacher's favorite things at the office. Please stop and get a copy for your teachers and important staff in your children's lives.

Secondly, we have the Annual Art Exhibition on the 7 May from 2 - 4 pm at Brennan Hall. All Primary and Elementary art projects will be on display.




Muffins for Mom - a chance to say thank you to all of our mother's!! May 12, from 7 - 8:30 in the main building.

Happy Mother's Day. 14 May. Thank you in advance to all of the mother's who love us, help us and do so many things. We truly appreciate all that you do for the precious ones, and all of MSM!!

Bergamo and Brennan Hall will be performing their theatrical performances - more details to come!!


Last day of School is 26 May!!  In honor of this day we are have a fun time planned. Join us for Splash Bash - Discovery Island from 5:45 - 7:45. Three different prices - details at the front office.



Memorial Day - a day to remember. We will be CLOSED.

First Day of Summer - 30 May. Summer Camps begin and there are a plethora of events for both Primary and Elementary students. Schedules will be available at the office. Any questions, comments, and/or concerns please contact me at the office.

And lastly, I have picked my Spotlight Class early - due to all of the wonderful things that are going on with this group!! Bergamo!! Ms. Penny, Mr. Chip and all of Bergamo has a fun-filled month planned and I am overly excited to see everything that is going to happen!!

Spring has Sprung in Bergamo: Info for Ms. Penny directly. Look at all the wonderful things happening.

Some of you may have already seen our new raised bed garden that is going in, if not stop by! It is so nice and we are looking forward to getting sweet potato slips in a few weeks to plant. The weather has not been cooperative with our installation, but Mr. Chip has been working hard with the children when it decides to cooperate! 

Our embryology unit is underway! We received a dozen fertilized chicken eggs on Tuesday and put them in the incubator.  We are studying daily about this process and have a large checkoff calendar counting down the 21 days until hatching with pictures of what the developing chicken embryo looks like. The kids have LOVED this. Some children have even started research on the many different chicken breeds.  For example, in our twelve we will be having Welsummers, Rhode Island Reds, Single Comb White Leghorns and Light Brahmas. 

Tying together both the garden and embryology units, in botany we dissected seeds this week to find that they too have embryos (little baby plants) just waiting to find the right conditions to begin to mature.  Many of you saw these in your Friday folders, and many will continue to come home as they were still a little wet to travel on Friday.  We also did an experiment to prove that plants have "mouths" called stomatas on the undersides of their leaves.  They not only take in carbon dioxide and hydrogen from the atmosphere, they expel not only oxygen but water!  We learned where much the humidity in our air comes from...leaves!

To top off the wonderful springtime season, we received five caterpillars this week that will become Painted Lady butterflies.  We will watch and learn from the whole process until we set five new butterflies free!  Can you tell this is my FAVORITE season??!! Pictures and updates to follow!!

With that said, May is going to be a fun and busy month!!