DHMC News & Notes November 2009 - Dearborn Heights ...

News&NotesNOVEMBER 2009

As we move into the winter months, weenter that time of year when it can be

a challenge to keep our children healthy. Afew proactive steps can help our DHMCstaff and parents work together to achieve ahealthy school environment.

Keeping germs at bayWe disinfect tables and play surfaces severaltimes daily. We always have the children washtheir hands before eating and after toileting.

The September 2008 issue of All Youmagazine offered two useful tips to help chil-dren avoid spreading germs: n Cleaning your hands for the rightamount of time—and in the right way—helps get rid of germs. Have your child rubhis or her hands together vigorously withsoap and warm water for 20 seconds (aboutthe time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday”).n Cover coughs. Because few people washtheir hands after they cough into them,many nurses suggest that children coughinto their inner elbow instead of their hands.

If your child is sickWhen your child goes home sick, you will beasked to sign our Sick Child Policy. As areminder, this policy states the following:n Each week, we must report all cases ofcontagious diseases to the county.n Children sent home with a fever, vomit-ing, and diarrhea may not return the nextday. They must be fever free and free fromthese symptoms for at least 24 hours.n We cannot accept a child for care if he orshe has recently vomited, or has a fever orprofuse nasal discharge. n We will not administer Tylenol or aspirinto treat a fever. This only masks the symp-toms of illness and contagion.

We require staff members to stay at homewhen they are ill. Please do the same for yourchild, not only to avoid the spread of conta-gious illness, but also to ensure a speedierrecovery for your young patient.

We appreciate your cooperation duringcold and flu season!

DEARBORN HEIGHTS MONTESSORI CENTER

Artwork by Owen Moline-Freeman, 4

Cold and flu season is at hand

Accredited by the National Association

for the Education of Young Children

Winter weather is right around the cor-ner, but we are still prepared to enjoy

outdoor play.State licensing rules require outdoor

playtime for children, and DHMC is com-mitted to making exercise and free move-ment available to our students. Studies haveindicated that children who play outdoors,even during cold weather for short periods of time, have fewer respiratory illnesses. The school staff will use reasonable discre-tion in deciding if weather conditions are

appropriate for children to be outdoors. Please remember to dress your child in

weather-appropriate clothing. As we movethrough fall and into winter, the childrenwill need heavier coats, hats, mittens, snowpants, boots, and other cold-weather gearevery day. Also, please clearly label all outer-wear so that the children (and teachers) caneasily find their belongings.

With your help, we are happy to providea wonderful outdoor experience for yourchild at DHMC!

Dress for success—during outdoor recess

We’re listeningWe encourage you to share your ideas

and comments with our DHMC staff,

either in person or through the sugges-

tion box in our lobby information center.

We will make every effort to resolve

issues and implement suggestions that

will benefit our school community.

2 NEWS & NOTES

FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Gifts for childrenA recycled article, by request.

The holidays are approaching,and parents will soon begin

asking school staff for gift sugges-tions. Children are already inun-dated with commercials pushingthis year’s “in” items—most ofwhich look wonderful on TV butdisappoint in reality—and theywant everything. You want yourchildren to be happy, and worryabout what to give them. I, too,have spent many Decembersthinking about appropriate gifts,and would like to share someideas with you.

Give by taking awayThere is a country song in whichthe singer says his gift to his wifewill be to take some things away.He is referring to things he doesthat cause her worry or pain. Ithink this same sentiment can beapplied to our children, and theseare the things I would take away:

1. Excessive TV, videos,video games, and computertime. In moderation, these arefine, and they can lead to somekinds of learning. But they alsoare primarily passive activities,and they eliminate children’s par-ticipation in real play. In order togrow up whole, children need lotsof social interaction, physicalplay, and creative play. Sitting infront of a flashing screen, with orwithout a mouse or controller,meets none of these needs.

2. Weapons and toys thatinvolve violence. This includesall those superhero characterswho fight the bad guys usingboth weapons and martial artsmoves. Young children naturallyuse this kind of play to deal with issues of power and control,good and evil. They will, how -ever, create their own props. Wedo not need to provide them

with scale models of things orcharacters that kill.

3. Exposure to gratuitousviolence and sex. This is diffi-cult to avoid if the television is on. Sat urday morning TV isviolence-laden, and, yes, kidsimitate what they see. Childrenare visually exposed to thousandsof acts of violence before theyreach adulthood, and we are see-ing the results of this in ourstreets. Always review moviesand videos intended for chil-dren; producers are concernedwith profits, not with appropri-ate content. Adult fare should be reserved for adults. I amshocked at the number of youngchildren who have seen PG-13or R-rated films, and doubt ifyou would want your children toimitate many of the people intoday’s popular movies.

4. Overscheduling. Manychildren live in a world in whichadult activities take priority, andlittle allowance has been made fortheir needs. Others have so manylessons and/or play on so manyteams that every minute is sched-uled. Think back to the way youspent your time when you were achild. I’ll bet most of you hadconsiderably more unstructuredtime than your children do.

Give the gift of timeWhat would I have you give yourchildren? The gift of time:

1. Free time—to think, cre-ate, play, read, relax.

2. Outdoor time—to run, toclimb, to ride, to explore. We areseeing more and more childrenwho do not know how to usetheir bodies, and who have neverexperienced woods or fields.

3. Time for reading. Exten -sive research has shown that thesingle most important determi-nant of good literacy skills isexperience with stories in thepreschool years and beyond.

Parents who read aloud to theirchildren and talk about what isbeing read are laying the founda-tion for a lifetime of reading andwriting competence.

4. Time for shared activities.Working together on a project orallowing children to participate inadult tasks builds skills, self-esteem, and relationships. Yourone-on-one time with a child is apriceless gift.

5. Time to give. Our childrenare often receivers, but seldomhave the opportunity to do thingsfor others. You will be establish-ing a positive model of caring andsharing if you find ways for themto join you in helping others.

Give to help them grow Of course, you’ll still be buying“regular” gifts, and the followingare some general suggestions.

The best toys and activities are:n Open-ended, allowing for the

child’s creativity and imagina-tion. Often one toy withmany accessories is better thanmany individual items withno opportunity for extensions.

n Age-variable, so they can beused in different ways as thechild grows.

n Success-oriented, allowingthe child to gain mastery, solvea problem, or develop a skill.

n Sturdy and safe.

General categories that arealmost always “winners” include:n Construction toys—blocks,

Tinkertoys, Lego or Duplo,K’Nex, etc. Starter sets can beexpanded as children becomemore sophisticated users.

n Props to be used alone or withblocks: animals, people, vehi-cles, buildings, scenery, andsigns.

n Art supplies.n Games and puzzles.

Thank you…To the Wepler family

(Carole, Ron, and alumnus

Chris), for donating a variety

of Halloween arts and crafts

to our latchkey program.

NEWS & NOTES 3

n Books, music CDs, andbook-CD combinations.

n Items to encourage role playing—puppets, dress-upclothes, hats and other occupa-tional items, dolls, child-sizedfurniture, kitchenware, etc.

n Play sets—wooden trains,doll houses, farms, Play -mobil, etc.

n Active/outdoor items—rid-ing toys, bikes, balls, sand -

boxes and accessories, sportsequipment.

Your child’s age and interestswill, of course, be your bestguide. The most wonderful toys,if bought too soon, lose theirappeal forever, and upper ele-mentary and middle school children will have already out-grown some of the items on thislist. Siblings seem to make a

point of enjoying different thingsjust to keep life interesting fortheir parents. And the young estrecipients often like the box bet-ter than its contents.

Buy less, do less, enjoy more.Children grow up very quickly. Ihope these ideas are helpful.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Why is PE so important? “Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body; it is the basis of dynamic and creativeintellectual activity.”—John F. Kennedy

Why is physical education soimportant for children?

Consider these 10 compelling reasons:

1. Reduced risk of heart disease 2. Improved physical fitness 3. Weight reduction 4. Good-health promotion 5. Self-discipline 6. Skill development 7. Improved self-confidence 8. Stress reduction 9. Increased academic per-formance and love of school 10. Development of lifetimeskills and activities

In the past, the focus of PEclasses was to train children toparticipate in competitive sports.More recently, the focus has shifted to developing healthyhabits and general fitness. Thehope is that children will adoptregular physical activity as a partof their lifestyle.

Here at DHMC, my aim isjust that—to teach children thatphysical activity can be fun whileattaining the goal of beinghealthy.

Extended Day students havebeen busy working on skills such as kicking, catching, drib-bling, and running. All skills aretaught at developmentally appro-priate stages. I am a firm believerthat it is never too early to learnthat physical education can bechallenging, rewarding, andenjoyable!

Lower and upper elementarystudents are introduced to sports

such as basketball, soccer, volley-ball, kickball, and floor hockey.Our focus is not competition but skill development. Each skillof a particular sport is brokendown into steps that make it easyfor students to practice. Lead-upgames play an important role bygiving students the opportunity to try out their new skills beforeplaying an official game. Throughlead-up and mini games, studentshave fun mastering sports skills ina modified environment.

Most important, students inour PE classes are working on thebasics of being healthy in bodyand mind, including cardiovascu-lar health, endurance, strength,and flexibility.

I am once again looking for-ward to a very fun and healthyschool year.

—Maggie Porada

4 NEWS & NOTES

PRESCHOOL & EXTENDED DAY CLASSROOM NOTES

The first few weeks of theschool year are always filled

with excitement and discovery forall. Learning new names, faces,and routines can be trying for thenewest members of our class, butthey have handled these tasks verywell, and we are very proud ofthem. We were pleased to wel-come the following new childrenand their families to our class-room in September:n Morning with Manel and

Beth: Divya Chigur upati,Joshua Cross, Leila Fakih,Victor Iyer, David Kibbey,Laya Mangipudi, OwenMoline-Freeman, JosephPersiconi, Alyssa Porter,Audrey Stocker, Zoe Velasco,Kyhla Walker, and JahiWilliams

n Afternoon with Beth andBetsy: Rogan Bernick, MalikMashlab, Katherine Pavlich,and Vanessa Rugiero, plus ourExtended Day students (seethe “Beth & Betsy Extend edDay Extras” article on page 6for details).

We were glad to see many ofour four- and five-year-oldsreturning for the second and thirdyear of our Montessori program.These older students becomegreat teachers and role models forthe new little ones and add stabil-ity to the classroom as well. Onereason a Montessori classroom is aspecial place is because it allowschildren of mixed ages to cometogether to work, learn, and get to know each other. There is anatmosphere of respect, friendship,and peace in the environment.

Ground rulesIn order to maintain a balancedstructure and order, the childrenwere also introduced to theground rules, which are an essen-

tial part of a Montessori envi -ronment. We began with basicactivities such as greeting andshaking hands, walking (ratherthan running) in class, rolling andunrol ling the rugs on which we doour work, carrying trays or rugswith both hands, taking turns,putting things away, and raisingour hands when we wish to speak.Other important ground rules arehow to choose work from ourclassroom shelves and how to putmaterials away so they are readyfor the next person. We’ve alsolearned how to put on, take off,and hang up our jackets. Thesetasks are real and meaningful, andthe children take pride in doingthese activities independently.

Parents often ask how they canincorporate Montessori learningat home. One task we highly rec-ommend is for each child to learnto carry his or her own backpack.It’s another important step towardindependence.

Prepared for learningDr. Maria Montessori called theclassroom “the prepared environ-ment,” and it is indeed preparedto allow for maximum learningexperiences for the children. The

main areas of learning in a Mon -tessori classroom are PracticalLife, Sensorial, mathematics, lan-guage, and cultural subjects,which include science, geography,history, music, and art. The chil-dren are introduced to activities in these areas progressively. Forexample, the younger ones maylearn to string beads, spoon beans,pour water, sort objects, draw pic-tures, or learn to do puzzles. Thepurpose of these and many othersimilar activities is to help thechildren develop basic skills suchas concentration, coordination,order, and indepen dence. Lateron the children work on learningletter sounds, building words,practicing handwriting skills, andreading. They also learn mathconcepts using concrete materialssuch as the number rods, teen andten boards, and the golden beadmaterial. The Sensorial materialsare designed to help the childrenunderstand their world more fullywith the help of their senses.

During the day the children goabout their work independently,choosing and practicing activitiesthey have been introduced to.Each day we have large- and

Artwork by Abigail Borieo, 4

The children go

about their work

independently,

choosing and prac-

ticing activities

they have been

introduced to.

MANEL & BETH

Our classroom is a special place

continued on page 6

NEWS & NOTES 5


Being in charge

of themselves is

a great confidence

builder and helps

the children gain a

strong sense of self.

BETSY

Busy with meaningful workOne of our goals in the

classroom is to foster anddevelop a strong sense of inde-pendence in each child. Theteachers set up the classroom (oras Dr. Maria Montessori put it,create a prepared environment) to help the children be successful,independent of adults. Childrenat each level in the class—first-, second-, and third-year stu-dents—progress at their own paceon this road to independence.

The journey begins in ourPractical Life area, which has fivedirect aims for the child’s aca-demic growth: concentration,confidence, coordination, senseof order, and independence. Asthe children learn to take care oftheir backpacks, coats, cubbies,and other belongings, they gainconfidence and feel grown up.After a Practical Life lesson fromthe teachers, the children areable to complete an entire workcycle independently of an adult.They can pour, spoon, sort, sew,and practice buttoning or zip-ping on their own.

Another way the childrenbuild independence is by learn-ing self-control during ourgroup lessons and accountabilityfor their actions. Being in chargeof themselves is a great confi-dence builder and helps the chil-dren gain a strong sense of self.Being able to choose their workand finish it successfully helpswith this process as well. When a lesson is given to a student, ateacher works with him or her to understand the concept. Weknow that the child has masteredthe new work when he or shecan complete it independentlyor has a solid understanding ofthe concept.

For our kindergarten chil-dren, an important step towardindependence is learning to use

goal sheets. We begin by meetingwith each child and talkingabout challenging work and thesequence of our classroom activ-ities. Together we set goals forthe future and create a plan forthe next two weeks, which is listed on the goal sheets. Thechildren use these goal sheets as aguide to their day and carrythem to their work. They get soexcited and feel a great sense ofaccomplishment and indepen -dence when they finish the goalsthey have set for themselves.

Our kindergarten studentshave been working with goalsheets for more than a monthand have seen progress in them-selves. Here are some commentsfrom them about their ownindependence. n Lily Ahari: “I like the chalkletter work.” (This is a workwhere the student practices trac-ing letters on a chalkboard.)n Benjamin Clifford: “I like totry the hundred board all bymyself to match the numbers.”n Jaad Darwich: “I like towork in Practical Life. I like tochoose what work I am going to do all by myself.”n Niya Hagood: “I like to readbooks because that’s one thingthat I always like to do. It makesme feel good.”n Anthony Martin: “I like toread by myself because it makesme feel really big.”n Benjamin Mathews: “I cando the hundred board all bymyself, and I’m really good at it.”n Brendan Mathews: “Lastyear I made a world map all bymyself out of paint, and I knewthe names for my labels.” n Ania Singh: “It makes mefeel good that I want to buildwords with the pink folder all bymyself and that I can finish allmy words.”

n Jad Younes: “I can readbooks all by myself, and myteacher helps me to figure all thesounds out.”

All areas of our classroom are filled with meaningful work.In our science area, children atall levels have been working onthe concept of living and non -living. Sorting activities and pic-tures of living and nonlivingthings have helped our youngscientists gain an understandingof life and growth in the thingsaround us.

We have also been learningthe parts of plants, including thetree, flower, and pumpkin inhonor of fall. An introduction tothe seasons started with thechanging leaves in our school’soutdoor environment. We havedone leaf rubbings, leaf and treestudies, and a fall walk that led usto make individual collages ofwhat we found. We have learnedwhy leaves change and havetalked about the changes in theweather. We also did a scienceexperiment with carnations andcolored water. We put threewhite carnations in blue, red, andyellow water (which was ourintroduction to these primarycolors) and watched the petals fillwith the colors over a week.

Our geography area is beingactively explored by all levels inthe classroom. With our land,air, and water lesson, the chil-dren are able to feel the differ-ence between land and water—giving them a concrete way tounderstand our Earth. The chil-dren have the opportunity tosort animals and vehicles thatwould be found on land, inwater, or in the air. From therewe introduced the continentsusing our globe and two hemi-

continued on page 7

6 NEWS & NOTES


small-group lessons as well asindividual lessons. Daily the children gather together on the“red line” where we take atten-dance, listen to the children sharenews, and present new lessons.The children enjoy singing songs,learning rhymes, and listening tostories as well. One of theirfavorite songs is called “We AreGoing on a Bear Hunt,” which is

a lot of fun because the childrenget to act it out as they sing.

Starting the first week ofOctober, we added “specials” toour class schedule. MadameBecky teaches French, Mrs. Patguides us in music, and Mrs.Lynn shares art history in a livelystory format. We also have gymtime. The children enjoy partici-pating in these classes very much.

We are looking forward to agreat and successful year! If youhave any questions or concerns,we encourage you to stop by our classroom on Mondaysbetween 3:30 and 5 p.m., or youmay call and leave a message atthe front desk.

—Manel Wickremasinghe,

Beth Newberg, Helen Hartline,

and Tanya Ellefson

MANEL & BETH, continued from page 4

Extended Day is a full-day academic kindergartenprogram in which the children attend for both

the morning and afternoon sessions. The students inManel and Beth’s classroom and Betsy’s classroomhave combined to create an engaging and produc-tive Extended Day group: Matthew Cadena,Benjamin Clifford, Jaad Darwich, Niya Hagood,Victor Iyer, Naya Kheirbeck, Karim Ladki, BlakeManwell, Anthony Martin, Maggie Meehan,Caitlyn Monkkonen, Alyssa Porter, Olwyn Reed,Ania Singh, Claire Stephens, Drew Thompson,and Jad Younes.

They enjoy being in class all day and tackling theactivities Extended Day has to offer.

Practical LifeAll of our Extended Day students are eating lunchtogether. We have set up a special room where thechildren meet. They are enjoying getting to knowthe Extended Day students in Mrs. Heidi’s classduring lunch. This experience enables them to prac-tice grace and courtesy skills, table manners, andcleanup tasks (see photo on facing page).

Each child makes a place mat to use every day. Welaminate the place mats so they can be reused. We aremaking an effort to conserve paper products by pro-viding reusable silverware and plates. Each child hasbeen asked to bring in five cloth napkins to useinstead of paper napkins.

LeadershipThe Extended Day program allows the children todevelop leadership and responsibility within theclassroom. These students are learning what it meansto be role models for the younger children by settinggood examples of behavior and work. They gain a

sense of accomplishment and self-confidence whenthey help the younger children with classroom rou-tines and lessons.

They are also learning to be more responsible—both in completing their own work and in maintain-ing the classroom environment. Each student has hisor her own cubby, where work to be completed iskept or new assignments are placed. The childrenalso help keep the environment clean and orderly bystraightening work on the shelves, making sure rugsare rolled neatly, and seeing that chairs are pushed in.

Study skillsChildren in Extended Day have more time to delvefurther into many areas of the curriculum. Manytimes “big” works that might have taken several classsessions to complete can be finished in one day.Extended Day students also have more time to develop and practice reading, writing, math, and cul-tural study skills. While doing longer and moredetailed work, the children are extending their peri-ods of concentration and continuing to developindependent learning skills.

ScienceWe began the school year by learning about livingand nonliving things. The students then moved onto botany, in which we studied plants. The childrenbegan by learning the parts of a tree and then thefunction of each part. They are making and labelingpictures and books of the parts of a tree. They havealso begun a study of a specific tree in our schoolyardhabitat and the changes the tree will undergothroughout the year. They will be observing the treeeach month and recording their observations bydrawing pictures of it.

BETH & BETSY EXTENDED DAY EXTRAS

A full day of learning and fun

NEWS & NOTES 7


sphere maps. Our first-level children are matching our conti-nents puzzle map. The second-levels are beginning to createmaps while identifying thenames of the continents. Thethird-level students are tracingthe two hemispheres with allseven continents. After paintingtheir maps, the studentsstrengthen their penmanship

skills by writing labels of thecontinent names. In November,we’re studying North America,and we’ll move on to SouthAmerica in December.

The students have also beenbusy in our art area. Here, thechildren are free to create any-thing their imaginations cancome up with using stamps, scis-sors, glue, foam, hole punchers,

and many more media. We havebeen painting on our easel usingwatercolors and tempera paints.

Thank you to all of the par-ents who have helped with theclassroom. Each student andfamily brings a light to our class-room community.

—Until next time,

Betsy Stoelt, Pam Everson,

and Laura Wildfong

BETSY, continued from page 5

GeographyMap studies help us explore the world outside ourschool. After reviewing the map of the world and thenames and locations of the continents, the childrenwill be doing a variety of extension works. Some willbe pin-punching continents, making continentbooks, or practicing naming, labeling, and writing

continent names. They will also be learning aboutthe animals that live on each continent.

The fall has already been a busy time for ourExtended Day students. We are looking forward tocontinuing with a great year!

—Beth Newberg, Betsy Stoelt, Helen Hartline,

and Tanya Ellefson

LUNCHTIME LESSONS: Extended Day students practice grace and courtesy lessons each daywhen they meet for lunch in their very own lunchroom in the preschool hallway. Students maketheir own place mats, and tables feature vases of fresh flowers donated weekly by The Flower Shopin Westland (brought in by preschool teacher Pam Everson). When lunch is over, all students partici-pate in cleanup. Teachers regularly mix up the lunch partners to allow everyone the opportunity toget to know each other. Clockwise from lower left are Jad Younes (Beth & Betsy’s class), AlyssaPorter (Beth & Betsy), Kadin Zeidieh (Heidi), and Karim Ladki (Beth & Betsy). The Extended Daylunchroom is a great place to have lunch every day!

8 NEWS & NOTES


Our school year is under way,and the children in both our

morning and afternoon classeshave been doing very well.Thanks to our parents for makingtime to come to the meetings andactivities of the beginning of theyear. We have enjoyed getting toknow our new families and seeingour returning families.

The children have adjustedwell to their classroom environ-ment. They continue to absorbthe all-important ground rules,which are the foundation forindependent function in theclass. For example, the rugs onwhich the children do their workare selected from a basket, rolledout, used, rolled up, and carriedback to the basket. They know towalk around, not on, the ruganother child is using. They raisetheir hands or patiently place ahand on a teacher’s shoulderrather than interrupting. Theground rules help the childrenfeel comfortable and confident.

In addition to our regularclassroom learning, the childrenhave added “special classes”—French, art appreciation, andmusic—to their routine. TheMon tessori classroom is comingto life!

The children look forward toeach day because they can dependon the consistency of their dailyroutine. They know that a teacherwill greet and help them at drop-off. They know they will be metin the hallway by the smilingfaces of other teachers and staff.They know that when they get totheir classroom door, their teach-ers will greet them with a smile, ahandshake, and a kind word.

In their classroom, the chil-dren know where to find their

own coat hook and where to puttheir things away. As they hangup their coats, they are alreadyconsidering which work they willchoose. Because they have prac-ticed the ground rules, and havehad presentations on the activitieson the shelves, they know how to proceed in doing whicheverspecial work they choose. Theymight stop at the sensory table tolook at the signs of fall or stop todo apple rubbing (rubbing a cray-on across the impression of anapple to see the design; this worksupports strength and precisionin hand movements). The self-confidence on their faces is gen-uine and heartfelt.

Soon the wood chimes sound,and it is time to put away themagnificent Montessori materialsand come to group time. Thechildren begin by greeting eachother with the same hearty hand-shake and warm smile with whichthe teacher greeted them. We

may read a story about fall or singa song (one of our favorites thisyear has been the “Light a Candlefor Peace” song the childrenlearned for the United NationsInter national Day of Peace cele-bration in which our school par-ticipated in September). Then itis time for presentations of newMontessori activities. The chil-dren control their bodies andvoices, and watch intently as theteacher concisely shows the stepsof the activity. Few words are spo-ken; there is a feeling of reverencefor the material and activity. If apiece of the new material ispassed around, such as the sphereof the geometric solids, it is donecarefully and respectfully. Chil -dren raise their hands to partici-pate. When the presentation iscomplete, the children sit backwith consideration, and plan totry the activity as soon as possible.

HEIDI

Daily routine builds knowledge

This pumpkin artwork by Rawan Farhat, 4, was the culminationof our class’s study of the perennial fall favorite. Teachers broughtin a real pumpkin and cut it in half so the children could see (andtouch) the inside. Some of the seeds became the centerpiece ofRawan’s artwork. In addition, as a class we planted a few seeds tosee if we can get a pumpkin or two to grow.

NEWS & NOTES 9


After group time, we may singanother song or have a snack.Then it’s time to don outdoorclothing and enjoy the fresh airfor a few minutes.

Outside, the children enjoythe grounds, playground equip-ment, sand areas, and each other.The older children help the

younger ones learn how to pumpon the swings. All are ever watch-ful for the teacher to raise herhand to signal that it is time toline up to return inside.

Back in the classroom, every-one gathers in a group, and thechildren may repeat a poem tohelp calm and focus. When classis over, the children wait for their

names to be called to go homewith a parent or to line up for thewalk to day care or latchkey.

It has been another day of discovery and learning in theMon tessori classroom!

—From our hands to yours,

Heidi Gauger, Colleen Kosior, and

Artur Chmura

Our Extended Day friends have adjusted to theschedule of their all-day classes. They are a

lovely group who came back this fall ready to do anoutstanding job.

One of the most interesting things to observe in the multi-age environment of our classroom ishow these young Montessorianslook forward to their third year inour program and how observantthey have been of the classes thatcame before them. Moving toExtended Day is a rite of passagefor these children, and they takethe responsibility of their positionin the classroom seriously.

Many of our Extended Daychildren looked forward to assum-ing the role of teacher and mentorto the younger students. KadinZeidieh told us he wanted theopportunity to help younger chil-dren and to show them how to dothe works that he had mastered.Faith Hall was eager to have newactivities introduced to the classand to have the skills to help others understand newwords and the precise body movement (such asholding a tray with two hands and using careful,quiet feet) to complete the work successfully.Solomon Draus was interested in meeting the newmembers of the class and helping them just as olderchildren had helped him when he was new to theenvironment.

Some Extended Day children anticipate doingwork that they observed last school year but had not

been ready for. Sara Isgro looked forward to beingable to do skip-counting activities with the beadcabinet. This motivated her to master the activitiesthat came before it in the sequence. EthanMincovsky couldn’t wait to have a goal sheet. Hewanted to be able to make his choices, have power

in choosing when to do things,and be able to look back on hisaccomplishments. Hannah Fakihwas very curious about theExtended Day art and physicaleducation classes, which she hadnot experienced as a younger stu-dent. By participating in theseclasses, she feels like she’s part ofan older group. Raiyan Berrywas looking forward to bringinghome the activities completed inart class and learning new gamesand skills in physical education.Ian Simmons said he is sure hewill enjoy leaving the building and going on the bus for fieldtrips. He remembers looking atfield trip pictures in our classroom

scrapbook and is ready for his opportunity to expe-rience these wonderful visits.

Whenever parents ask, “Why stay for the thirdyear?” I wish they could see the excitement and self-confidence of our Extended Day students. This yearis the culmination of their Montessori preschool-kindergarten experience, and they have much tolook forward to in the coming months.

—From our hands to yours,

Heidi Gauger, Colleen Kosior, and Artur Chmura

HEIDI EXTENDED DAY EXTRAS

Extended Day is a rite of passage

Whenever parents

ask, “Why stay for

the third year?”

I wish they could

see the excitement

and self-confidence

of our Extended

Day students.

10 NEWS & NOTES


PRESCHOOL ART

Getting a feel for artOur first art lesson in the 3-to-6 classes this year

was all about what gives a painting its speciallook. The differentiator is the medium we use to addthe color! We looked at crayons, pastels, and pencilsto see how the same shaped picture looked differentwhen the color was added by waxy crayon, soft pas-tel, or the silvery gray of a pencil. Next, we discov-ered that watercolor paints are always “see-through”;tempera paints make smooth, flat color; and oilpaints are thick like toothpaste or frosting. Differentbrushes are used for each type of paint. And some-times a palette knife is the tool of choice to spread oilpaint like frosting or to scrape paint off the canvas.We even passed around a small canvas so everyonecould feel the texture.

For our next lesson, we used our imaginations tobuild a time machine in our favorite shape and color.We pictured what it would look like inside, the shapeof its windows, the kind of steering wheel it has, andeven the type of snack food we would take for ourjourneys back in time. Each week we’ll be “ flying”our machines to different continents and countries.

So far, our time travel has been quite rewarding.

We discovered that the early humans created draw-ings on cave walls using berries or burnt woodcalled charcoal. The ancient Egyptians made gianttriangle-shaped buildings called pyramids. Theypainted the walls inside with the story of the kingwho is buried beneath the pyramid. These paint-ings, which include picture words called hiero-glyphics, tell about the good things the king didduring his lifetime. There was even a girl king(Hatshepsut) who dressed up like a boy and ruledfor a long time. The Egyptians also created beauti-ful gold furniture covered in jewels.

Our next adventure took us to Greece, wherepeople used white marble to make sculptures thatwere smooth and perfect. In Rome, sculptors wanted to show people’s real wounds, so the sculpture there was more rugged. In SouthAmerica, we found pottery and sculpture made of red clay dug from beneath the ground and dried in the hot sun.

We’re warming up our tiny time machines for our next voyage. Ten, nine, eight…blast off!

—Lynn Manwell

PRESCHOOL FRENCH

Colorful lessons in FrenchPreschool and kindergarten

French lessons began the firstfull week of October. Each classmeets twice a week for 25 min-utes. During these first monthsof school, we have been learninghow to greet each other inFrench: “Bonjour. Ça va?” (“Hi.How are you?”) Children will be able to say they feel great, feelso-so, are sick, have a headache,or have a sore throat.

Our lessons are taken fromfamiliar words and phrases usedin everyday life. For example, we will learn how to talk aboutthe weather: “Quel temps fait-il?”(“What’s the weather like?”)Soon we will be able to tell each other it is hot, cold, windy,

beautiful, snowing, or raining. The children see colors every-

where in their world. We havelearned the following:n Red rougen Blue bleun Yellow jaunen Green vertn Pink rosen Orange orangen Purple pourpren Brown brunn Gray grisn Black noirn White blanc

We use games and activities to enhance and reinforce thevocabulary. Ask your childrenabout the fun we’ve had withbuilding blocks, ice cream

scoops, and Bravo (like Bingo)and match/memory games whilelearning colors.

During the holidays, our les-sons will focus on familiar sea-sonal items and words, includingleaf, pumpkin, turkey, Novem -ber, feather, pie, reindeer, gift,ribbon, snow, and snowman.

Our preschool and kinder-garten French lessons are intended to be an introductionand exposure to another lan-guage. My hope is that the children will have fun and have acomfortable, successful experi-ence. Please feel free to contactme anytime.

—Merci, Becky Wattleworth

(aka Madame Becky)

NEWS & NOTES 11


PRESCHOOL MUSIC

Moving to the musicWe’ve got the beat! In

Novem ber, preschool andkindergarten children have beenlearning songs about turkeys—and having great fun keeping thebeat of the music with our feetwhile pretending to be turkeys inthe barnyard.

Preschool music classes beganin early October, and it waswonderful to hear such goodstrong voices from every class Imet on that first day. Each pre-school class comes to the music

room for 25 minutes on Mon -days and Fridays. The childrenstarted their musical year singingsongs with lots of movement: “IfYou’re Happy and You Know It,”“Did You Feed My Cow?” and“Put Your Finger in the Air.”

For some students, our Hal -lo ween songs—which included“Skin and Bones” and “JackO’Lantern”—were brand-new,and for others, a wonderfully funreview. In addition to the songswe introduce for each season,our music sessions will include

standards that we’ll use through-out the year.

As the year unfolds, preschooland kindergarten students willexperience playing rhythmsticks, maracas, triangles, jinglebells, and tone blocks, and theywill be introduced to reading the quarter note, eighth note,and quarter rest.

We look forward to manywonderful experiences in musicin the months ahead!

—Pat Tait

EXTENDED DAY ART

Artistic expressionsOne way to measure student development in

the concept of self is through self-portraits,and that was our first lesson in Extended Day artclass. Can the child draw a complete person withfingers, arms, legs, and torso? We looked at por-traits done by famous artists to see that there aredifferent ways to draw oneself. Another usefulmeasurement is to create a family portrait to see ifthe child understands concepts such as the size ofpeople. The backgrounds inside or outside areincluded to complete the portrait of the familydoing something they enjoy together. We read thebook How Artists See Families so that the childrencould observe that there are many types of familiesas well as ways to draw them.

Our Extended Day classes meet weekly in theart room for a 45-minute lesson. Our lessonsrevolve around the elements of art: line, shape,color, texture, and pattern. We’ve been introducedto the different kinds of lines we can make: straight,zigzag, curved, and dotted. We listened to a storyabout a boy who watched as a little green hum-mingbird flew and flew; the boy then designed apainting showing “Little Green’s” flying path. Ourwork was to trace our hand and use a fine-tip black

marker to fill the hand shape with all the differenttypes of lines, creating a pattern much like thehenna handprints of India.

For follow-up work, we made booklets in whichwe drew something using only straight lines, then apage using only zigzags, and so on. We also created apositive-negative work using black and white paperand cutting three of the four lines we studied. Weglued them onto paper and saw that sometimes oureyes play tricks on us and we think the lines arereversed. It’s an optical illusion! We also made linesculptures; using various sizes of paper strips to cre-ate curved, zigzag, and straight lines, we attachedthem in vertical patterns on a cardboard square. Italmost looked like a city of lines.

Our next lesson tied into a book called When aLine Bends, a Shape Begins. We took chenille stemsand bent them to create caterpillars. We’ll also becutting shapes that we trace from metal insets andgluing them down so they overlap to create a newshape or pattern. We’ll also be creating pottery by rolling long snake-like lines of clay and thencurling them around and around until we create a coiled pot. Lines bending into shapes!

—Lynn Manwell

12 NEWS & NOTES


DAY CARE

Day care routine falls into placeThe new school year has

brought many new faces today care and returning ones aswell. Our returning children havebeen wonderful teachers for ournew friends, eagerly showingthem around day care and helping

them adjust to our routines.With the children settled in,

we began our exploration of theworld through art! We madebeautiful fall trees by having thechildren trace their forearm and

hand, paint the cutout, and placecolored tissue paper around thetop for the leaves. We also tracedand cut leaves on constructionpaper and wove brightly coloredstrips of paper through them. Ourfall books have taught us all about

many different trees and whyleaves change color. The childrenwent on a nature walk throughour playground and collected col-ored leaves, which we used inanother of our fall art projects.

Day care children celebratedworld Peace Day on September

21 by tracing and cutting out a beautiful white dove (a symbolof peace) and placing it onto amosaic background. They alsotraced and colored their hands.We talked about listening to oneanother, treating each otherkindly, and peaceful ways toresolve conflict.

In keeping with the spirit ofOctober, we changed our Prac -tical Life area to fun holidaythemes. We rotate the materialsregularly in day care to keep thework, art projects, and readingfresh! Keep your eyes open for ourseasonal creations, which will beproudly displayed in the hall.

As a reminder, please be surethat your child has clothingappro priate for outdoor play.Weather permitting, we go outsideeach day to enjoy the fresh air.

We are looking forward to awonderful year and encourageyou to stop by day care to see ourart gallery in the hall and to getany questions you may haveanswered. We sincerely appreciateand enjoy having your children inour program.

—Lisa Kropodra, Flo Farkas,

Islam Habhab, Karen Leemaster,

Pat Pearce, Erica Wilson, and

Kerri Wright

Trees were among the fall artwork projects we created in day care. We traced our hands and forearms to create thetops and trunks, and used tissue paper to make leaves.

As a reminder, please be sure that

your child has clothing appropriate for outdoor play.

Weather permitting, we go outside each day

to enjoy the fresh air.

NEWS & NOTES 13

LOWER ELEMENTARY CLASSROOM NOTES

KAREN YAMIN

A game plan for personal goalsIt didn’t take long this school year

for our returning students to set-tle into their daily routine and forour first-graders to become com-fortable in their new environ-ment. The older students are greatrole models for the younger ones.

We are trying something newin our elementary classroom thisyear. The students have each comeup with a personal classroom goal.It could be something they wantto learn about or something theywould like to improve upon. Theyalso came up with a plan of actionto help them achieve that goal.The students were given sometime to think about their goalsand then wrote about them intheir journals. Here are a fewexamples from the older students:n Kassim Abdullah (thirdgrade): I want to learn how towrite cursive better. I do not knowevery letter by heart. I have tokeep practicing in my cursivebook. Prac tic ingmakes perfect. Iam going to prac-tice writing on thewhiteboard beforewriting on paper, soI don’t have to eraseso much.n Molly Byrne(second grade): Iwant to learn how tocount with moneybetter. To get better, Ican use the moneydrawers in the class-room. I can help mymom and dad at thestore too. I can helpcount their money. Ican help my momcount my money whenshe gives it to me for theCrunch Cart.

n Zachary Johnson (thirdgrade): I want to do better on mymultiplication tables. I can startpracticing and studying at home.My mom can time me to see howfast I can finish them. I can prac-tice my facts in the car too. Mymom or dad can quiz me in thecar. If I do this, then I will get bet-ter and better every math test. n Nadia Korovesis (secondgrade): I want to get better atusing the snake game for multipli-cation. It is a math material tohelp you learn how to do multi-plication. I can get better by prac-ticing and using the material. Thiswork will help me learn how tomultiply better. It is hard to do,and sometimes I forget toexchange. If I practice, I will startto remember more!n Chloe Rochefort (secondgrade): I want to work on myhandwriting. I have sloppy

handwriting and I want it to lookbetter! To make it better, I canpractice more. I need to stop writ-ing so fast and slow down so I canmake the letter the right way. n Serena Saad (second grade): Iwant to work on my reading.Reading books and using worksin the classroom will help me getbetter. The skyscrapers and SRAswill teach me how to read more. Iam not going to play during silentreading time because I need topractice reading a lot. I am read-ing 20 minutes every night. I willalso use a whiteboard to mapwords that I don’t know. n Elbert Yi (third grade): I wantto work on being a better rolemodel to the first- and second-graders because they need to learnhow to treat the materials andother people in the classroom. Ican do this by not talking when

I do my work. This showsthe first-graders how to gettheir work done better.

Although some of thegoals are specific to onearea of the classroom,many can transfer to allareas of the class. Eachstudent will be revisitinghis or her personal goalthroughout the year tosee if there has been anyimprovement. If not,we will look at the stu-dent’s plan of action tosee what changes canbe made. Setting smallpersonal goals allowseach student to strivefor something that isimportant to him orher as an individual.

—Karen Yamin

and Sabrina Borieo

Cursive writing sample by third-grader Arianna Hernandez

14 NEWS & NOTES


KAREN MCGRAW

Autumn accomplishments“No matter how short, no matterhow long, no matter how big, howsmart or how strong, all life has aplace, a purpose, and worth. All lifeis important on our planet Earth.” —David L. Rice, from his book Lifetimes

Community building and par-ticipation has been, and will

continue to be, a focus for ourclassroom. The emphasis is not onwinning, but on the enjoymentthat comes from participating.

Olympic spiritFor our first community-buildingactivity of the school year, we

held our own Olympic games.This event allowed us to get toknow one another while begin-ning our study of ancient Greece,which is the focus of this year’sschoolwide cultural festival. Ourstudents learned that the firstOlympic Games were held inAthens in 776 B.C. Athletescame from all over Greece to takepart in the events.

Our classroom formed fourteams of first-, second-, and third-level athletes: the Minoans, Spar -tans, Athenians, and Corin thians.Each team created a flag and slo-gan. Our games were held on theDHMC athletic field and encom-

passed four events: long jump,discus throw, relay race, and hulahoops. It was a great success!

Exploring wetlandsWe’ve been studying plants andanimals that make up wetlands inregions throughout the UnitedStates. Our October field trip toCrosswinds Marsh in New Bos -ton provided a direct connectionto this classroom learning. As weexplored the marsh, we madesome great observations. PanosPapadakos was fascinated by thewater scorpion caught at thewater’s edge in the net of MayseenMeroueh. On our walk, a cater-

LOWER ELEMENTARY ART

Mapping out the world of art“I just paint things I always thought were beautiful,things you use every day and never think about.”—Andy Warhol

Lower elementary students created a personalizedportfolio to hold their artwork. Each student

brought in a map of his or her home city, state, orcountry. A lesson was given on how to draw a face in the correct proportion, and afterlooking at famous portraits, thestudents drew their own on theirmap. They added color to hair,eyes, and clothes. Then they chosea com plementary colored paperand designed a colorful nameplateto attach to their portfolio.

We are studying the works of20th-century artists Andy Warholand Georgia O’Keeffe. Stu dentswere given a research work withfive questions about each artist.The third-levels do the researchand perform a puppet show usingvarious props (such as art prints, flowers, Campbell’sSoup cans) to share with the first- and second-levelstudents the information they learned. One activityrelated to the research is a print-shop work in whichstudents repeat the same animal print in various col-

ors, just as Andy Warhol did with Marilyn Monroe.For our Georgia O’Keeffe work, we cre ated giant tis-sue-paper poppies using liquid starch and warm col-ors of tissue paper.

Another art project involves creating trees withcollage materials, wallpaper, yarn, and scraps. We just use our imaginations! Other works available are crayon rubbings of famous art works; creating

an art work from one simple line;magnetic shape building; step-by-step drawing of animals, such as aspider, tadpole, frog, and pelican;and creating a scene where wewould find them all.

Our art class includes some funand educational computer work.One software program enables stu-dents to listen to a lesson about theelements of art—line, shape, color,and texture—and then choose afollow-up work using the informa-tion from the lesson, such asmatching the word plaid or stripe

with the pattern of an object on screen. Anothercomputer lesson asks the student to find the outlinedshapes within a famous painting and match it.

Art is elementary!—Lynn Manwell and Jamie Carlson

Map-based self-portrait byHayden Kibbey, third grade

NEWS & NOTES 15

pillar caught the eye of a numberof our students, who stopped towatch it make its way across the boardwalk. Julia Gershon,Sally Petrie, and Emma Habhablistened as Darren Bauer, our naturalist, explained that bandedwoolly bear moth caterpillars are quite abundant in the fall.Rory McMaster enjoyed a quiet,peaceful spot overlooking themarsh. “This spot was special,”Rory later told us, “because youcould see the eagle’s nest off in the distance.”

Our hands-on field trip was awonderful way to bring ourresearch into prospective. See thestudent research report in themargin at right.

Creative writingThe changing seasons offer stu-dents many opportunities toexplore and learn. For autumn,

reading poetry from the bookAutumnblings by Douglas Floriangave us a sense of the change fromsummer to fall. We focused onreasons why we love it or hate it.Two poems from the book,“What I Love About Autumn”and “What I Hate AboutAutumn,” piqued the children’sinterest and inspired them to dosome creative writing. It’s a greatway for us to express our feelingspoetically about the changesautumn brings.n Madeleine Hermann (secondgrade): What I love about fall—leaves are changing, Jack Frost iscoming, hot cocoa, flying kites,back to school, putting onsweaters, not to mention chang-ing weather, jeans and long sleeveshirts, leaf piles. That’s what I loveabout fall.n Hikaru Foley (third grade):Fall—It’s fall, you wake up and

feel the breeze coming throughthe window, apple cider, Hallo -ween, everybody is happy. Redroses, cold toes, it is going to befall soon. The leaves are differentcolors, orange, red, yellow. Youjump in the leaves and feel thetrue feeling of fall.n Siddhi Jadhav (third grade):The thing I hate about autumn isthe wind is cold and bold, thickclothes to wear. The thing I loveabout autumn is falling leaves,cool breeze in the air, costumes towear, treats to share. The end.

We will also continue to focuson classroom reading, research,drawing, and creative writing. Wehave many more great things tocome in our Montessori class-room this year, including ourstudy of the human body and thecontinent of Antarctica.

—Karen McGraw and Renu Lobo


Wetlands postcard by Mahmoud Hage, third grade: Dear Karl, I’ve got good news and bad newsabout the southeast wetlands. The good news is I’ve had a great time here, the water is fresh todrink, there is enough wood to make a fire and a cozy bed. The bad news is I’ve got chased by abear, an alligator almost bit off my leg, I don’t know how but I got a splinter on my foot by walkingin the sand. And I’ve experienced a lot of cool things here. Anyways I will talk to you later. Bye.

Wetlands research reportby Matthew Nowicki, third gradeWetlands—My biome is located in the southeast.Some of the states includeMississippi, Flor ida and Ala -bama. It is very hot, about 60 to 100 degrees, and it doesn’tsnow, it just frosts. It rains a lot.The plants in the biome are the pipewort, pitcher plant, titi,cinnamon fern, Spanish moss,pickerel weed, grass-pink. Theanimals that feed upon the veg-etation are the swamp rabbit,little blue heron, great blueheron, white ibis, great egret.The animals that feed uponother animals are American alli-gator, cotton mouth, fishingspider, crayfish, pond slider anda cooter (turtle). Farmers farmthis area. Millions of plants andanimals make wetlands their fulltime home. Wetland biomes arefound all over the world. Theyare often near lakes and rivers.Wetlands are very importantbut some humans are getting rid of some.

16 NEWS & NOTES

KARREN SPATZ

Charts and books track lessons learnedWe have been accomplish-

ing many new lessons thisautumn in Karren and Pat’sclass. Besides completing theirlanguage and math each day, stu-dents have been busy with ourclass cultural work.

We began the year with biol -ogy studies. First-level studentsdid an experiment and made achart showing the needs of plants,and third-level students beganbotany experiments, includingthe Demonstration of Chloro -phyll in Green Leaves, Directionof the Roots, Respiration of thePlant, and Ascent of Liquids inthe Plant.

All levels studied animals andplants in the wetlands. Second-level students and some first-levelstudents produced books abouteither the types of wetlands orthe plants and animals of thewetlands.

Universal discoveriesThird-level students began theyear with the Montessori key lessons on the sun and the Earth. So far, the lessons haveincluded presentations and chartsexplaining the Earth’s rotation,which results in day and night.Time zones and lines of latitudeand longitude have also beendiscussed. We will move on to discover the results of the tilt ofthe Earth and the Earth as asphere. Along the way, studentshave used Montessori workingcharts and have drawn some oftheir own to illustrate keyaspects of the lessons.

All three lower elementaryclasses gathered together for theteachers’ presentation of theMon tessori Great Lesson on theformation of the universe. The

story, which was told usingexperiments and charts, leads theway to studies of the Big Bangtheory, the formation of theEarth, and the coming of life.

We wrote the book on ground rulesAs a class, we read about and dis-cussed good manners and theground rules of the Montessoriclassroom. We even published aclass book on the ground rules.Each of the 25 students wroteabout and illustrated a ground

rule. We then bound all the pageswith a beautiful cover, title page,dedication page, and about-the-author page. We invited Beth andBetsy’s Extended Day class to ourroom to hear our ele mentary stu-dents read their completed work.

We look forward to sharingmore of our classroom studies in newsletters throughout theschool year!

—Karren Spatz and

Pat Schmidt

Geometry work by Jack Audi, third grade


Artwork by Alexis Burke, third grade

NEWS & NOTES 17

ELEMENTARY PROGRAMS

LATCHKEY

A welcoming atmosphere, every dayWe have some great new

games and activities inlatchkey this year, which willcontinue to create a welcomingatmosphere for the children. InSeptember, we placed the chil-dren’s pictures on a giant tree asour special “apples.” Our artprojects will be changing withthe seasons. Be sure to take awalk down to latchkey to seewhat’s new.

As you know, fall has alreadybrought changes in the weather.Please send warm clothes withyour child so that he or she canenjoy our outdoor activities evenin the colder weather. Latchkeywill go outside every day unlessit is raining.

Snack is always a fun topic.Healthy snacks are available tothe children every day. We planto start our baking projects soon.We will be making some greatsnacks from the recipe book SillySnacks. The children are alwayswelcome to share food ideas andrecipes with us.

We’re delighted to have all

your children in latchkey. If you have questions about ourprogram, please feel free to visit. We’re looking forward to a great school year!

—Pam Everson, Jason Bengel,

Taghrid Beydoun, Jamie Carlson,

Mona Filiak, Rhonda Holt,

Rhonda Myers, and Erica Wilson

Photos of latchkey children were the rosy apples on ourWelcome Back tree.

Healthy snacks are available to the children

every day. We will be making some great snacks

from the recipe book Silly Snacks.

18 NEWS & NOTES

ELEMENTARY PROGRAMS

ELEMENTARY MUSIC

Starting on a good noteThe world of music at DHMC got off to a great

start this school year. On September 21, DHMCparticipated in the United Nations InternationalDay of Peace. Students at all levels learned to sing“Light a Candle for Peace,” written by ShelleyMurley, a Montessori teacher in British Columbia.Ms. Murley invited Montessori schools all over theworld to sing this special song for Peace Day. Eachschool was given an assigned time to sing (ours was10:40 a.m.). The goal was to have the song begin inNew Zealand and be sung at five-minute intervals asit traveled around the globe, ending in Hawaii.

DHMC began our Peace Day celebration at 10 a.m. with a parade of upper and lower elementarystudents led by the Middle School. Studentsmarched through the hallways and out onto theschool track carrying dove banners and singing“Light a Candle for Peace.” We ended the parade

by gathering in the gym, where preschool andExtended Day students were assembled. Head ofSchool Kay Neff spoke about Maria Montessori andher advocacy for peace during World War II. Wewatched a brief video that traced how the song wastraveling around the world. We then sang at ourallotted time and ended our assembly by retracingthe parade route back to our classrooms. What a ter-rific way to begin a new school year!

Each class in the lower and upper elementarylevel meets for 40 minutes in the music room twicea week. Our music room features a giant staff on thefloor, a tool we use to learn and reinforce the namesof the lines and spaces on the music staff. At the ele-mentary level, emphasis is placed on learning toidentify and read rhythmic notation using quarternotes, eighth notes, half notes, and whole notes.

Musicians of the monthOur study of music includes highlighting a musician of the month. We began by going back to the early roots of Western music. In Septemberwe talked about the medieval musician Guidod’Arezzo (995–1050), an Italian monk who taughtmusic in the church. Among other things, Guidodeveloped a four-line staff and a clef that identifiedthe F line, which gave the capability of identifyingpitch—a quantum leap in music. He also wasresponsible for naming the first six tones in themajor mode—do, re, mi, fa, sol, and la—whichcame from the beginning phrases of the Gregorianchant “Ut queant laxis.”

Our musician for October was Josquin des Prez(1440–1521), a Frenchman who has been called thegreatest composer of the Renaissance period. He wasextremely prolific, writing 18 settings of the RomanCatholic mass, six settings of different sections of the mass, as well as 112 motets (vocal pieces for threeor four voices) and 70 chansons (songs with threevoices in which either one or two of the lower voicesare instruments.) We listened to one of his mass sec-tion settings, “Mille Regretz,” and one of his motetsabout a cricket called “El Grillo.”

In November, we will be studying GiovanniPierluigi da Palestrina. Ask your child to tell you allabout him.

Rhythm and danceDancing and rhythmic activities are always an enjoy-able part of the music curriculum. Lower elementarystudents have learned a line dance to the song“Pawpaw Patch.” They have also been working on

Halloween parodiesThere Once Was a Scary Pumpkin — first grade(to the tune of “Itsy Bitsy Spider”)There once was a scary pumpkinAnd a scary ghost.They lived down by the graveyardWhere there were more ghosts.Then they had a partyAnd roasted lots of toastAnd the ghost and the pumpkinAte up all the roast.

Witches on Broomsticks — second grade(to the tune of “London Bridge”)Witches on broomsticks flying around,Flying around, flying around,Throwing candy on the ground.What fun, Halloween!Halloween is just one night,Just one night, just one night.I hope we don’t get in a fight,What fun, Halloween!

I’m a Little Pumpkin — third grade(to the tune of “I’m a Little Teapot”)I’m a little pumpkin short and stout.I like to run and I like to shout.I scare kids on Halloween when they set out.Boo! Then they all run about.

ELEMENTARY TECHNOLOGY

Tools for today and tomorrowTechnology is an integral part

of our world, and DHMCstudents are learning to use toolsthat will help them with theirschoolwork and beyond. Stu -dents begin working with basicsoftware programs such as KidPix and Mavis Beacon TeachesTyping, and progress to moreadvanced programs such asMicrosoft Word and WindowsMovie Maker.

Kid Pix is used primarily atthe lower elementary level tointroduce students to the basicoperations of a computer pro-gram. The software is easy to use,giving students an opportunity topaint pictures and create slide -shows. While they are having funpainting on their computer

screens, students are learning howto start/exit a program, how tosave/open their work, computeretiquette, and many other impor-tant skills. Kid Pix is also a goodintroduction to more complexprograms such as Adobe Photo -shop and Microsoft PowerPoint.

Mavis Beacon Teaches Typingis introduced early and used quiteoften by all students to practicetheir keyboarding skills. Rightfrom the very beginning, studentsare shown proper keyboardingskills, which will aid themthrough out their education. Theprogram incorporates lessons andgames in a progressive manner sothat students can build upontheir skills over time.

As students progress with the

above software, they are intro-duced to other programs such asMicrosoft Word and WindowsMovie Maker. Using MicrosoftWord helps students master thisword processing program andmany of the features it offers.Movie Maker enables students tocreate their own movies usingvideo clips, pictures, and text.

In addition to these softwareprograms, students will use theInternet in their classrooms, especially at the upper elementaryand Middle School levels.Students will be introduced tomany web sites that will aid them in research, such as CoolMath, Google Earth, and TheWorld Factbook.

—Tony Lombardo

NEWS & NOTES 19

ELEMENTARY PROGRAMS

passing rhythm sticks to the beat of the song “AlCitròn.” It takes teamwork and a good feel for thebeat to be successful.

Upper elementary students are also working withsticks. They are playing a Maori stick game fromNew Zealand to the tune “Makuway.” Differentrhythmic patterns are played with the sticks whilekeeping the beat to the music in three-quarter time.Students have also been having fun reviewing arhythmic ball-passing game to the tune “MarieRichardson.”

Happy Halloween! Halloween repertoire was the order of the day for allof the classes in October. Lower elementary studentssang “There Once Was a Witch” and “The Ghost ofTom.” Upper elementary students sang “The BoogieWoogie Ghost” and the all-time favorite “WhenWitches Were Waltzing.” They also worked on “DryBones.” All levels sang two Halloween favorites,“Skin and Bones” and “Jack O’Lantern.”

Lower and upper elementary classes used theirimaginations to come up with parodies to familiartunes using Halloween as the subject. The lower el worked on the parodies as a class, and the upper elworked individually or with a partner. We sharedeveryone’s work when we finished (see lower el paro-

dies on facing page). Upper elementary students gotvery creative with a dramatic Halloween reading, inwhich each character in the story had its own specialinstrumental or vocal sound to introduce it.

The students and I are looking forward to hittingmore high notes during this exciting musical year.

—Pat Tait

Recorder classes tune upFourth-, fifth-, and sixth-level music studentshave the opportunity to learn the recorder and hone their note-reading abilities. The skillslearned in the recorder class are transferred tothe general music class and applied to thebarred instruments, just as the rhythmic read-ing and instruction from the general music class transfers to the recorder.

We have three levels of instruction forrecorder, and each meets once a week for 25minutes. Each level is progressively more chal-lenging so that by Recorder Level 3, studentsare working on pieces that can be very com-plex and use all ranges of the instrument.

20 NEWS & NOTES

ELEMENTARY PROGRAMS

ELEMENTARY FRENCH

French fun for everyoneBonjour! Nous parlons français

ici. (Hello! French is spokenhere.) All of the first- throughsixth-level students have foreignlanguage twice a week. Each stu-dent studies French for half theschool year and Spanish for theother half. In French, we havebeen reviewing last year’s wordsand expressions, and introducingour new students to French.

At the elementary level, for-eign language is presented bygrade level. Our classes meet inthe French room along the mainhallway, so please peek in any-time. I am in the building onTuesday, Wednesday, and Thurs -day. If you need to reach me,please call on those days or leavea message on any other day atthe school.

The lower elementary classeshave decorated their French folders with things having to dowith the language or French-

speaking countries. The studentsbring their folders with themwhen they come to the Frenchroom for our lessons.

The French materials are keptin a bin in the classroom and arealways accessible. We have beenworking on greetings, colors, daysof the week, months of the year,and the alphabet. Autumn hasprovided a wonderful backdropfor our color work. Students willlearn their birthday in French andhow to spell their name.

If you would like to see theprojects your child is working on,please ask him or her to bringhome the French folder. Studentswill benefit from practicing thewords often. So even if there is nospecific assignment, you couldmake at-home vocab ulary sessionsa fun, weekly activity. Practice andrepetition help students to com-plete the mem orization process,which is important at this stage oflearning a new language.

In the upper elementary classes,we have three levels: beginning,intermediate, and advanced. Allthree levels are working in dif -ferent parts of the book ExploringFrench. I sup plement the bookwith other materials to enrich ourareas of interest. Students have afolder and a French book that are kept in their lockers, readilyaccessible. We also have CDsavailable to borrow that go alongwith our book.

A homework assignment isusually given on Thursday, with adue date of the following Wed -nesday. If your student is absent,he or she needs to make everyeffort to find out what was missedbefore the next class time. Again,practicing with you at home isalways helpful even if there is noassignment, because the currentvocabulary needs to be memo-rized. Please encourage your childto bring home his or her folder.French dictionaries are available

Map-based self-portrait by Nick Dondero, sixth grade (see page 25 for details)

Botany report cover artwork byAndrew Angold-Stephens, third grade

NEWS & NOTES 21

ELEMENTARY PROGRAMS

The Spanish elementary classes meet twice aweek for 40 minutes. The Spanish program

not only teaches students a foreign language, it also aids in the development of valuable socialskills that the children will carry with them theirwhole lives.

Student achievement is developed in four areas: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. We also seek to increase knowledge of the cultureof the countries where the language is spoken, and support our school’s multicultural curriculum.Students learn through various media, includingmusic, dance, literature, art, videos, theater, andgames. The incorporation of these activities fostersa strong working vocabulary as well as under -standing and pro nunciation of Spanish. A low-stress learning environment is supported throughextensive use of positive reinforcement and emphasis on meaningful communication. Theactivities are respectful of each child’s learning style and incorporate visual, auditory, and kines-thetic components.

Using the popular series Families of the World, allof the elementary classes learned about the cultureand children of Costa Rica. Each level has been busywith different projects and activities.

First-grade students are learning the Spanishalphabet and are making a book about Spanishwords. They are also studying numbers.

Second-grade students are learning about the family. Students are making a family tree to

pre sent to the class. They also learned numbers and had fun playing games with them.

Third-grade students are learning about foodand money. We talked about the euro (Europeancurrency) and saw some of them. To bring theselessons to life, students are setting up a Europeanmarket in the classroom, where they will sell andbuy food.

Fourth-grade students learned about classroomobjects and commands. We use a lot of Spanish inthe classroom. Currently students are studying aboutclothes. At the end of the unit, students will be tak-ing an imaginary trip and will have to pack differentoutfits according to the activities they will be doing.

Fifth-grade students studied countries andnationalities, and are currently working on profes-sions. At the end of the unit, students will be playingcharades. Students also started with the reader seriesEnrique and Maria.

Sixth-grade students learned about the house,and made blueprints of their homes. In class, theyhad to explain to everyone where everything wasplaced in their houses and what each object is calledin Spanish. Currently students are learning abouthousehold chores, the parts of the day, and days ofthe week. Students are working on individual chartswhere they write the chores and activities that theydo each day of the week. They will be doing a shortpresentation at the end of the unit.

¡Hasta pronto! (See you soon!)—Eva Miciura

ELEMENTARY SPANISH

Spanish lessons come to life

for use in the classroom or to bor-row; I also have a few for sale($10 with my educator discount).

The beginning group (fourth-levels) has worked on greetingsand polite expressions, and evenpresented skits. Their Frenchman ners should be magnifique(magnificent)! They now are look-ing at classroom objects andreviewing directions used in aclassroom.

The intermediate group (fifth-levels) completed a unit on parts

of the body and has been studyingclothing. Those lessons will cul-minate in a fashion show. Thenon to food!

The advanced group (sixth-levels) started out the year withChapter 6, “Rooms of the Houseand Dwelling Names.” Theybecame familiar with the conceptof masculine and feminine nounsand how plurals are formed. Theirproject was to design a floor plan.I hope you saw their work dis-played outside of the French

room. They’ve moved on toChapter 12, “Clothing,” andplanned to wrap up this studywith a French fashion show dur-ing the first week of November.

In November, all elementaryforeign language students willview a French movie (to beannounced) with activities anddiscussion following. In thespring, we will all participate in aSpanish movie experience.

—Cordialement à vous,

Joy Coyle (aka Madame Joy)

Each student

studies French for

half the school year

and Spanish for the

other half. We’ll

experience a French

movie this fall and

a Spanish movie

in the spring.

22 NEWS & NOTES

UPPER ELEMENTARY CLASSROOM NOTES

UPPER ELEMENTARY

Camp helps students target goalsAbout one month into the

beginning of the school year,upper elementary students, staff,and parent chaperones go toYMCA Camp Eberhart in ThreeRivers, Michigan. We spend threedays and two nights learningmore about the world around usas well as ourselves. The timing ofthis trip is intentional. By lateSep tember, families new to ourupper el program have familiar-ized themselves with the com mu -nity, and students have establisheda routine in the classroom.

For many children, the trip toCamp Eberhart may be the firsttime they have stayed away fromhome overnight. It can be a chal-lenging experience for our stu-dents and their parents. Restassured that when we return fromcamp, the students are changedpeople. They are more indepen -dent; they have broadened thescope of their education byknocking down the walls of theirclassroom. The fourth-, fifth-, and

sixth-levels studied botany on anature hike. They experiencedfunctional geometry in topogra-phy class. They worked withangles and compasses in their orienteering class. They learnedabout basic needs for survival—lessons that were particularly rele-vant to the fourth-levels for theirclassroom study of early man, butto which all of the students wereable to make connections. Theyeven worked together as a team tofigure out the best way to build ashelter using sticks and leaves.

Building character An important facet of the campexperience is character education.Our students take part in thecamp’s Outdoor Education pro-gram, which emphasizes team-work and group dynamics. Thestudents represent different ages,abilities, and levels of experience.New campers are able to learnfrom the more experienced stu-dents, and those who have been to

camp before gain new strategiesand a fresh perspective from thenewcomers. The students arehoning valuable social skills thatwill serve them well in the class-room and the world beyond.

For some activities, the stu-dents are grouped by grade level.Ideally, the camp experience laysthe foundation for these groups to grow as teams through theremainder of their time in upperelementary. The fourth- and fifth-levels put their teamworkand communication skills—andpatience—to the test on severaloccasions. One exercise involvedthe entire group balancing on alarge platform perched atop a log.Together, the students had toposition themselves on the plat-form so that no corner of ittouched the ground during thetime it took for them to sing“Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”Another, more challenging activ -ity was the human knot. Studentsgathered in a circle, reached across

Fifth-level students Cole Stockinger (left) and Rashed Haimour take aim at something new:improving their skills in archery class at Camp Eberhart in October.

NEWS & NOTES 23


the circle to join hands, and thenhad to unravel themselves withoutletting go. In order to accomplishthese tasks, the students had tocommunicate with one anotherby sharing their ideas and listen-ing to those of others. They had toexercise leadership skills andrestrain tendencies to take over.

For sixth-levels, one of themost special experiences in char-acter education comes throughcompleting the high ropes course,a challenging undertaking inwhich students use a series ofropes to climb up to 30 feet inheight. This is an intimate activ -ity that takes courage, trust, andsupport, and is reserved exclu -sively for the sixth-levels, most of whom have spent three yearsgetting to know their classmatesand friends. They understandthat there is a level of fearinvolved, and they support andencourage one another throughthis rite of passage. Each studentmakes a personal leap by facingthis challenge, and each grows bydemonstrating the strength to dosomething he or she may nothave thought possible. Some stu-dents exhibited bravery by reveal-ing their vulnerability to theirpeers when they start the journey.And all students grow when they

show empathy, support, andencouragement for their fellowsixth-levels for whatever theyaccomplish on the high ropes.

For other activities, the stu-dents are divided into groups thatrepresent the mixed-age composi-tion of the Montessori classroom.For example, on the first night,students were divided into groupsto participate in an egg drop.Each group was given the same setof materials, such as plastic cups,deflated balloons, yarn, and tape.The object was dropping anegg—without breaking it, ofcourse—from the second floor ofthe main hall to the first floor.Again, this activity required com-munication, leadership, compro-mise, and cooperation. Personalitystrengths and challenges cameinto play, and students learnedhow to work with one another toaccomplish their goals and have agood time.

Independence empowers At this age, upper elementary stu-dents are ready to explore. It isimportant that they move out oftheir classroom for what Mon -tessori calls the “going out” expe-rience. Although the resources inthe classroom are appropriate formeeting the intellectual and socialneeds of the children, students

must have experiences beyond theclassroom. While the students areat camp, away from school andaway from their homes, they areallowed to exercise a certain levelof indepen dence that they maynot have known up to this point.They are responsible for gettingplaces on time, getting themselvesready for their day, and solvingproblems both socially and aca-demically on their own or withthe assistance of their peers. Howcan they not be changed after theyhave had this experience?

When they return to theirschool environment, students aremore empowered, and they haveadditional tools to use to buildmore personal successes through-out the school year. They con -tinue the friendships that theyformed at camp. Some havedeveloped unexpected relation-ships thanks to the differentgroup combinations that werenecessary to function at camp.

The upper elementary campexperience prepares each studentto succeed in the classroom and athome. We have so much to lookforward to!

—Mary Beth Haliburda and Erika

Daniels; Margherita Rodriguez,

Regina Dunn, and Kim Davidson;

Tony Iaquinta and Margo Wos

The trip to Camp Eberhart creates lasting mem -ories for everyone—particularly our sixth-levels,because this adventure marks their final campingexcursion in upper elementary. Here, these seniorcampers share their favorite experiences. Not sur-prisingly, the high ropes course—in which studentsuse a self-belay system involving two safety slinglines to scale 15- and 30-foot-high ropes—made a strong impression on many!

Aria AngelosThe high ropes were an amazing experience.When I first got on, I was scared I was going to fall, but I didn’t. Don’t be afraid about goingon the high ropes; it’s a lot of fun.

Sarah Angold-StephensAt camp I had achieved a lot of my goals andwish I could go again to achieve more goals.Some of the goals I achieved were going on the high ropes, seeing different sides of some of my friends, and not being afraid of ghost stories and walking in the forest at night.

Gabriel CurrieTrust me—doing the high ropes is harder than it looks. I was afraid at first, but then I got thehang of it. Now I’m not afraid to do most of the other things that are scary. It really helpedme to be brave.

Sixth-levels recount “amazing experiences” at camp

continued on next page

24 NEWS & NOTES


Nick DonderoAt first I was nervous, but when I was up in theair for a long time, it wasn’t scary anymore. Sowhen you’re in sixth grade, don’t be scaredwhen it’s your turn. It’s so fun!

Silan FadlallahHigh ropes was a very scary experience. Ittaught me that you have to face your fears. Iwas so scared, I only did one course. My lastwords were, “I’m never going to do this again.”Hopefully I will. Fortunately, I faced my fears.

Maurice HagoodThe high ropes were OK. I was pretty scared ofthe height, but I still went. I was thinking aboutgoing again, but I was too scared. My advice isthat you should go when you are in the sixthgrade, and if you don’t like it, come down.

Carlton HelwigMy favorite camp experience was when I wason the high ropes. I have been waiting threeyears to do them. At first, I felt pretty scaredsince I’m afraid of heights. I just said, “I’mgoing to do it” and I did it! I did the lower halffirst, so then I moved up to the higher part andmoved on and on. I was happy because I finallycured my fear of heights on the high ropes.

Jeremy JonesMy favorite camp memory is the “egg drop”because I got to feel accomplished.

Grace KowalskiI thought it was lots of fun to be able to be withmy friends on the high ropes. It was fun andscary at the same time.

Gavin LambertWhen I first saw the high ropes, I was afraid. Butonce you get up on the high ropes, it’s not thatbad. But the 30 feet is scary!

Keauna LentonWhen I got on the high ropes, I felt terrifiedbecause I thought that I was going to fall. It wasa really an extraordinary experience. Because ofcamp, I was able to achieve getting over myfear of heights and the dark.

Andrew LittletonMy favorite camp experience was going on thenight hike. It was fun seeing the moon, thestars, and all the firefly larvae (glowworms). Wealso learned a lot of stuff too. We learned howto use “deer ears,” and how our eyes adjustfrom light to dark.

Nick NunuWhen I first started the high ropes, it was a bitscary. However, after a while you feel challengedto do it, and then it is really, really fun. It was aonce-in-a-lifetime experience.

Lindsey SeashoreMy favorite experience was the high ropes.They were my favorite thing I did at camp. Itwas fun and scary at the same time. The highropes make you feel like you are about to fall,but you won’t because you’re harnessed onto ametal wire. I felt like I had been flying after Icame down.

Vishnu Venkatesan My favorite camp memory was the rock wall. I have waited three years for it, and it was awesome!

Andrew WardMy favorite camp experience was when I wenton the high ropes. I have been looking forwardto high ropes for the past three years. On thefirst part of the high ropes course, I was a littlescared, but after a while it turned out to be fun!

Sixth-level Carlton Helwig conquers his fearof heights on the high-ropes course.

continued from previous page

NEWS & NOTES 25


“I’ll paint what the flower meansto me, but I’ll paint it big and people will be surprised into takingtime to look at it.”—Georgia O’Keeffe

In upper elementary art class, ourmain focus has been creating our

personalized portfolio. This yearwe celebrated our multiculturalenvironment by using maps ofeach student’s home city, state, orcountry. These linear designs werethe basis for their self-portraits.Students used two-sided mirrorsto pay close attention to their ownunique facial characteristics. Theyused their personal sketchbook topractice the portrait lesson of cre-ating a face in the correct propor-tions: draw the facial oval anddivide it horizontally and verti -cally. The first horizontal line isthe eye line. Another horizontalline divides the oval in half again;this is the nostril line. The final

line divides the lower quarter inhalf, which is where the bottomlip rests. Color is added, personal-izing the portrait even more.

Students have been research-ing 20th-century artists AndyWarhol and Georgia O’Keeffe.They’ve also created a number ofworks in the style of these artists,such as a print work using foamtrays and tempera paint. Studentspress the ink images of a Warholwork (such as a Campbell’s Soupcan) onto the foam tray. Using afoam brush, they add the temperaink over the tray. They press a blank paper over the inkedimage and roll a brayer over thetop. The result is the image theypressed in the foam. The trays canbe reused. This work resemblesthe silk-screening methods usedby Warhol.

To create giant flower paint-ings in the style of GeorgiaO’Keeffe, students studied silk

flowers and enlarged them to filltheir paper. They are also workingon Sculpey clay models of peopleand animals that will be baked,painted, and glazed.

Also available is a still lifework featuring two simple fruitforms combined with a patternedbowl. They are arranged so thatsome objects are in front of oth-ers. Students study the arrange-ment before drawing and notehow each is on a different planein space. They use a ruler andlight pencil to gauge the height ofobjects from the tabletop and inrelationship to each other. Theyare learning techniques usingPrismacolor pencils to add colorin a way that the object still hasdimension and roundness, as wellas ways to create the textured pat-tern of the pottery. The result is astill life that comes alive!

—Lynn Manwell and

Jamie Carlson

UPPER ELEMENTARY ART

Where in the world art you from?

Students used maps of theirhome city, state, or countryas the basis for self-portraits.Shown here is the work ofAlissa Elanjian, fourth grade.

Still life artwork by Ian Kovach, fifth grade

26 NEWS & NOTES

Our school year began witheight days of orientation,

culminating in a cookout for families. In the classroom, wecompleted the first of six cur -riculum cycles, Structure, and areimmersed in Cycle Two–Forces.

The theme of each cycle per-meates all areas of our studies,from humanities to science. Ineach area students diligentlyresearch information and work ingroups to develop presentationsfor the rest of the class. CycleOne–Structure found us studyingthe structure of government invarious nations and its impact onsocial, economic, political, andreligious choices and practices. Inscience, we focused on the struc-ture of the atom.

In Cycle Two–Forces we areexperiencing forces on the struc-tures we studied. In humanities,we’re looking at revolution in gov-ernment. In science, we’re study-ing four universal natural forces

(gravity, electromagnetism, strongnuclear, and weak nuclear).

Our health curriculum coversimportant information for adoles-cents. In Personal Work, we’restudying The Six Most ImportantDecisions You’ll Ever Make by Sean Covey. In Health Risks for Adolescents, our work willaddress substance abuse andreproductive health.

Immersion WeekAt the end of each curriculumcycle, students experience Immer -sion Week, which gives them theopportunity to absorb and assim-ilate the work done during theprevious five weeks, and tostrengthen their sense of commu-nity. Immersion Week for CycleOne included visits to area highschools—a great opportunity togive seventh- and eighth-graders aglimpse of the academic worldthat lies ahead. The week wrappedup with our second trip to

Milford to canoe down theHuron River and hone our community-building skills.

At the end of Cycle Two,Immersion Week will find stu-dents making presentations abouttheir chosen electives. Optionsinclude yearbook production,media production, cooking,sewing, speech communication,Future City Competition (see fac-ing page), art studio (see facingpage), and radio broadcasting.Thank you to Gregg Ward(Emily’s dad) for volunteering toteach our speech communicationelective (this is a nearly all-yearcommitment).

Service with a smileAnother important part of theMiddle School curriculum iscommunity service, both insideand outside of school. Within theDHMC community, seventh-and eighth-graders hold doors foryoung children, place cones onthe sidewalk for the circle-drivevehicles during pick-up and drop-off, and operate the Hot Lunchprogram and the Middle Martsnack station. During Cycle Two,we plan to reach out to the localcommunity to help fulfill theneeds of others.

Please be sure to order hotlunch, stop by the Middle Mart,and listen for schoolwideannounce ments on the DHMCradio station, WDHM-FM 89.7.We appreciate your support ofour Middle School business ven-tures. These as well as many otherstudent-run efforts raise funds tocontribute to our end-of-the-school-year trip—this year it’swhite-water rafting in WestVirginia!

—Ann DeVore, John Bagley,

Sue Fitzpatrick, Eva Miciura, and

Anne Marie Miruzzi

ANN & JOHN

Middle School fosters growth

MIDDLE SCHOOL CLASSROOM NOTES

Cross country: A great runDHMC’s cross country runners and their coach ended the seasonin October with a strong finish.

On Saturday, October 17 the team took part in its secondcross country event. The run, hosted by Gabriel Richard HighSchool in Riverview and sponsored by the Times Herald, tookplace at Patriots Park in Riverview. “It was a great terrain for therunners,” says John Bagley, Middle School teacher and the team’scoach. “Each of our students ran their personal best!”

Eighth-grader Aaron Hernandez placed in the top 25 andearned a medal. His teammates at the event were eighth-gradersAnjali Alangaden, Maya Harb, and Jacob Yesh-Brochstein andseventh-graders Mila Resetar and Julianna Hager. The otherDHMC team members are eighth-graders Rupa Ramanathan andEmily Ward and seventh-graders Ritsuma Inaba and Kirby Rocha.

After a great day with his team, coach John geared up for arun of his own on Sunday, October 18: He participated in theDetroit Free Press/Flagstar Marathon. John completed the 26.2-mile race in 3 hours, 17 minutes, and 47 seconds—which quali-fied him for the Boston Marathon in April.

Congratulations to John and our team for going the distance!

An important

part of the Middle

School curriculum is

community service,

both inside and

outside of school.

NEWS & NOTES 27


A team of seven students is hard at work afterschool Monday through Wednesday puttingtogether DHMC’s entry for the National FutureCity Competition. Chelsea Allen, StevenArroyo, John Boyak, Elena Flores, Erik Kobel,Alex Lambert, and Kirby Rocha will build amodel of a city in the year 2160 that will sup-port people who have experienced a natural or financial disaster. The city must be “green”and self-sustaining. A computer model, a physi-cal model constructed from recycled materials,and an essay are required.

Students will present their work January 20,2010, in Novi at the Michigan Regional FutureCity Competition, sponsored by the EngineeringSociety of Detroit. Regional winners advance tothe national competition in Washington, D.C.

Our Future City team is happy to have JoanGauthier of OHM Engineering in Livonia returnthis year as our engineer mentor. Staff memberSue Fitzpatrick, who has joined the MiddleSchool on a half-day basis, is the Future CityCompetition project adviser and liaison betweenthe team and Ms. Gauthier.

MIDDLE SCHOOL ART STUDIO

Building connections through art“Color possesses me.… Color and I are one. I am a painter.”—Paul Klee

Middle School students tak-ing the Art Studio elective

have learned all about theBauhaus School (School of Build -ing), which existed in Germanyfrom 1913–33. The goal of theBauhaus movement was to bringart, sculpture, crafts, and architec-ture together in one entity: “totalart.” Artists created a modernisticdesign center for mass-producedproducts of all kinds. Everythingwas linear—right angles, rectan-gles, and squares.

Students incorporated thetheme of their classroom’s CycleOne curriculum—Structure—into our art lessons. They discov-ered how and why the politicaland governmental structures ofthe time affected the artists’ workor ability to work. We watched avideo on modernism, tracing art

from Paul Cézanne to Paul Klee,and another on acrylic-paintingtechniques.

Students researched artistsfrom the Bauhaus school; somewere printmakers, furnituredesigners, and abstract painters.Students were challenged to findan artist or style that meantsomething to them on a personallevel, so that when they workedin that style, they felt connectedto the artist.

Steven Arroyo chose LyonelFeininger because he likes theartist’s woodcut prints of churchesand especially toy trains (Fei nin -ger made a series of 100 or sowood-block prints in variousthemes). Steven knew that hewanted to do a printing workbecause he enjoyed what anotherstudent did last year with an AndyWarhol work.

Jade Barretto was immedi -ately drawn to painter Paul Klee:She likes his simple themes andloves his sea-themed works.

Rachel Robinson felt a con-nection to painter Franz Marcbecause she loves nature and horses, and that is a theme in his work. Rachel even went tothe DIA with her brotherMichael (a DHMC alumnusand graduate of the College forCreative Studies) to see one ofMarc’s works.

Ritsuma Inaba chose painterWassily Kandinsky because helikes the artist’s bold colors andexpressive lines and shapes.Ritsuma took a trip to Chicagorecently and found Bauhaus art-work from each artist he and hisclassmates have selected! He alsolearned that Kandinsky listened to music while he worked andthat the beat helped him toexpress himself.

Please watch our hallwayshowcase display as our studentstake a bow with their Bauhausworks of art.

—Lynn Manwell and Jamie Carlson

Students lay the foundation for their Future City

We discovered

how the political

structures of the

time affected the

Bauhaus artists’

work or ability

to work.

28 NEWS & NOTES

MIDDLE SCHOOL SPANISH

Putting Spanish into practiceThis year in Middle School

Spanish we are using theGente Joven series. It’s a task-basedmethod that allows students topractice the language they learnby doing meaningful projects. Italso gives students the confidenceto express themselves in Spanish.

Middle School students haveregular reading assignments thatbuild comprehension and writtencommunication. With every read-ing, the students are given a corre-sponding strategy to help themapproach the assignment confi-dently, as well as pre- and post-reading activities that help themmaster the task.

Students also have Taller delEscritor (writing workshop), inwhich they gradually build theirwriting skills in Spanish.

The National Standards ofWorld Language Education stressthe importance of cultural knowl-edge as an integral part of learninga language. During each cycle ofstudy, students learn about a newSpanish-speaking country, its peo-ple, and its traditions. This helpsstudents make connections withgeography, art, architecture, food,and celebrations. These interdisci-plinary activities increase culturalawareness and relate Spanish toother subject areas.

At the end of each cycle, stu-dents take a test to assess theirproficiency in the areas of listen-ing skills, reading comprehen-

sion, writing skills, and culturalknowledge. The test provides acomplete evaluation of each stu-dent’s performance in Spanish. Tohelp prepare the students for thetest, a study guide is given onweek four of each cycle, provid-ing ample opportunities for stu-dents to ask questions and clarifyproblem areas.

Tips to aid learningSpanishn Listen: Students should listencare fully in class and ask questionsif they don’t understand. They arenot expected to understand every-thing they hear at first, but theyare actually absorbing even whenthey don’t realize it. This is whenthey are given a lot of strategies tounderstand the language. n Visualize: It may help stu-dents to visualize the words theyare learning by associating eachword, sentence, or phrase with amental picture. For example, ifthey are learning words for food,they can picture the food in theirminds and think about the color,smell, and taste associated with it.If they are learning about weather,they can picture themselves stand-ing in the rain, or fighting astrong wind. n Practice: Short, daily practicesessions are more effective thanlong sessions. Students can prac-tice with friends, relatives, orclassmates. After all, language iscommunication, and it takes twoto communicate!

n Speak: Students should prac-tice speaking Spanish every week.Encourage them to experiment.Their mistakes will help them toidentify problems, and will showthem important differences in theway English and Spanish work asa language. n Explore: Students shouldincrease their contact with Span -ish outside the classroom as muchas possible. Maybe someone livingnear them speaks Spanish. Todayit’s easy to find Spanish-languageprograms on TV, on the radio, orsimply by changing the languagetrack on favorite DVDs. Manymagazines, books, and news -papers in Spanish are published orsold in the United States, and arealso available on the Internet.Students shouldn’t be afraid toread, watch, or listen, even if theydon’t understand every word. n Connect: Making connectionsbetween what they learn in othersubject areas and what they arelearning in Spanish class willincrease their understanding ofthe new material, help themretain it longer, and enrich theiroverall learning experience. n Have fun: Above all, studentsshould remember to have fun!The more they learn, the easier itwill be for them to relax; the morerelaxed they are, the easier andmore effective it is to learn.

¡Buena Suerte! (Good luck!)—Eva Miciura


In Taller del Escritor

(writing workshop),

students gradually

build their writing

skills in Spanish.

NEWS & NOTES 29

Imagination at work:Lower elementary art stu-dents designed fall collagesusing wallpaper, yarn, scraps,and other materials. Thecomposition shown here was put together by second-grader Nadia Korovesis.

What teachers wish parents knewThe following is a reprint of anarticle from KidsTalkNews.com.Kids Talk™ is a column dealingwith early childhood developmentissues written by Maren StarkSchmidt. Mrs. Schmidt founded a Montessori school and holds amaster’s degree in education fromLoyola College in Maryland. Shehas more than 25 years’ experienceworking with young children and holds teaching credentialsfrom the Association MontessoriInternationale. You can receive afree subscription by [email protected].

At a teachers conference a couple of years ago, we

broke into groups to answer thefollowing question: What are themost important ideas you’d liketo communicate to parents ofthe children you teach?

Here are the thoughts frommore than one hundred teachersand school administrators.n Respect the work of yourchild. Children are involved in ahuge task of trying to build anadult to live in a world that wecannot begin to imagine.n Be a help to life. When weassist children by creating a placewhere children can grow to beunique individuals, we not onlyhelp that particular child, but wehelp all life on our planet.n Any unnecessary help is ahindrance. Use it, or lose it.When we offer to do for ourchildren anything they can dofor themselves, we slow down

their progress of building strong,independent people.n You don’t have to react topopular culture. Step back, andthink about what your childreally needs. Does the pop worldof toys, movies, and teen celebri-ties support the developmentalneeds or personality of yourchild and your family? For exam-ple, are cartoons the best way tospend Saturday morning? Is acertain video game important toyour family’s long-term goals?n Parents need to be the adultin the relationship. Parenting isnot about being your child’s bestbuddy. It’s about leadership andguiding your child to adulthood.n Don’t be afraid to set bound-aries. Sometimes we have to bethe bad guy by calling our chil-dren back to a safe path. Settingfirm expectations for behaviorhelps our children learn to beresponsible and to understandthe relationship between freedomand responsibility.n Have children take respon-sibility. Our children are muchmore capable than we give themcredit for. Give your childrenresponsibility and the freedomto make mistakes within theboundaries that you’ve set.n Let kids be kids. On theother hand, children aren’t littleadults. Their needs are much dif-ferent. Understand developmen-tally what your child needs, andlet your children be kids, notminiature grown-ups.n Understand sleep and nutri-tion for children. Childrenneed more than eight hours of

sleep per night—more in therange of 10 to 14 hours. Chil -dren’s diets require complex car-bohydrates versus simple sugars.Invest some time to understanddietary and sleep needs of chil-dren and how they differ fromthe needs of adults.n Kids need quiet and trans -ition times. Modern-day chil-dren seem to have their days,weeks, months, and years pro-grammed from getting up tobedtime. “Do nothing” time and adequate time to move fromone activity to another helpsmake for a happier, healthierchild.n Give your child your qual -ity time. And lots of it. Chil -dren require one-on-one adulttime to thrive and survive. Todayour children have to competewith cell phones, computers,jobs, etc., for parental attention.Block off time each day to focusonly on your child’s and yourrelationship. Amazingly, 10 min-utes of focused time per day can make a huge difference inboth your lives.

Teachers have an outside win-dow into the parent-child rela-tionship. As parents, we shouldthink about these points andchange our thinking and behav-ior to help our children becomethe unique human beings theyare working hard to build,minute by minute, activity byactivity, day by day.

30 NEWS & NOTES

PARENTS ASSOCIATION

Literacy events spell success The Parents Association put on

two fantastic events inOctober to support literacy andDHMC.

Scholastic Book FairThe Scholastic Book Fair, chairedby Kirste Moline (Aliyah andOwen Moline-Freeman’s mom),was open 11 hours a day fromOctober 20 –23. During this four-day event, parents, grand -parents, and students helped raise$2,083.55 in cash (and $566.71in Schol astic dollars) for DHMCby purchasing books, software,school supplies, and gifts. Themoney raised is used to supportDHMC and to bring special pro-grams and activities to the school.

Teachers received more than100 books from their wish lists to add to their classroomlibraries. And the change donatedto our One for Books programenabled us to purchase 26 booksfor the Family Literacy Programin Detroit.

We are so grateful for yoursupport. We could not do it with-out you!

Family Literacy NightMore than 75 children, parents,grandparents, and other familymembers attended Family Lit er -acy Night on Octo ber 21—a cele -bration of reading, storytelling,and literacy.

Chil dren picked up a LiteracyPassport and received stamps forvisiting the eight literacy stations:bookmark making; button mak-ing; puppet theater; train table;book walk (similar to musicalchairs); Around the World in 80Books; tongue twisters; and storycompletion, where each visitorcontributed a sentence to a storyabout a princess in a castle.

Those who collected fivestamps in their passports earned a

ticket to the raffle. Prizes includedSchol as tic Book Fair gift certifi-cates, posters, DHMC apparel,and school picture gift certificates.

Middle School offered guests alight dinner, serving soup, bread,and apples from Panera Bread.

Ashara McKee-Williams(Jahi’s mom), Debbie Washing -ton (Gordon’s mom), and KirsteMoline chaired our Family Lit -eracy Night Committee. Thankyou for the hours of work!

Thank you, volunteersWe’re grateful to all the parentswho volunteered at the BookFair and Family Literacy Night.Sev eral parents worked manyshifts. Your hard work makesthese events possible! Manythanks go to:n Denise Abdullah

(Adam and Kassim’s mom)n Belize Afonso

(Arianna and Brian’s mom)n Inshad Beydoun

(Fatima Nassar’s mom)n Mark Boyak (John and

alumnus Mark’s dad)n Kim Cascardo

(Emilio’s mom)n Laxmi Chigurupati

(Divya and Ramya’s mom)

n Casey Szymanski (Harry Dembowski’s mom)

n Mirella Ducu (Frank’s mom)n Minna Fakih (Mayssa and

Hannah’s mom)n Susan Featheringill (Ian

Simmons’ grandmother)n Laura Fransen (Jack’s mom)n Yan Fu (Geoffrey Qin’s

mom)n Kelly Gallagher (Kelsea,

Evan, and alumnus KyleKernosek’s mom)

n Jack and Lisa Gershon(Julia’s dad and mom)

n Kathrine Horan(Sarah’s mom)

n Tamara Hunter(Zharia’s mom)

n DeVoughn Lenton(Keauna’s mom)

n Shereen Lind (Cecilia’s mom)

n Ashara McKee-Williamsn Mary McMaster

(Maeve and Rory’s mom)n Lucia Meehan

(Maggie and Robbie’s mom)n Kirste Moline and Lee

Freeman (Aliyah and OwenMoline-Freeman’s mom and dad)

David Rever (left, Vincent’s dad) and Jack Gershon (Julia’s dad) man the checkout table during a shift at the ScholasticBook Fair in late October.

NEWS & NOTES 31

DHMC spirit shines on Movie Night

When DHMC families gathered in our gymfor the Parents Association’s Movie Night in

early October, the evening was all about commu -nity—including helping those in need. Familiesdonated more than $200 worth of canned goods tosupport Gleaners Food Bank in Detroit. We thankfam ilies for their generosity, and for involving theirchildren in community giving.

Movie Night is one of sev eral community-building events hosted by our Parents Asso ciation.More than 120 people packed the gym to share apizza dinner and see Horton Hears a Who!

A great crew of parent volunteers worked hardto support Movie Night: n Laura Fransen (Jack’s mom) helped withsetup, popping popcorn, and cleanup.n Melissa Perkins (Ethan’s mom) took care ofpurchasing supplies for the evening. n Jack Gershon (Julia’s dad) picked up the pizzaand assisted with setup. n Claudia Iyer (Monica and Victor’s mom) andKathrine and Dave Horan (Sarah’s mom and

dad) helped with setup and also prepared a sampling station for the Parents Association fallcookie dough sale. n Kathy Reed (Olwyn’s mom) spent hours pop-ping and filling bags of popcorn. n Pam deVeer (Caroline and Libby’s mom) andKirste Moline and Lee Freeman (Aliyah and OwenMoline-Freeman’s mom and dad) took care of hap-penings in the kitchen. n Kelly Gallagher (Kelsea, Evan, and alumnusKyle Kerno sek’s mom), Villy and Ari Papadakos(Panos and Yianni’s mom and dad), DeanFransen (Jack’s dad), Kirste Moline and LeeFreeman, and Lucia and Robert Meehan (Maggieand Robbie’s mom and dad) helped with cleanup. n Lucia Meehan delivered the canned goods toGleaners Food Bank.

Special thanks go to Parents Association Presi -dent Kirste Moline for doing such an incredible job planning and coordinating this wonderful community-building evening!

Middle School students havebeen busy planning and

coordinating this year’s HotLunch program. Available for students in Extended Daythrough Middle School, hotlunch offerings range from pizza

and subs to soup and mostaccioli.Order forms are sent home

in children’s backpacks; simplyreturn the completed form by the deadline. Order due-datereminders will be e-mailed.

Wondering what’s on themenu? Check the Hot Lunch calendar on our web site,

www.dhmontessori.org, under“Parent Resources.”

The Middle School’s HotLunch mission is to ensure thateach child who orders a lunchreceives it in a timely and friendly manner.

n Martie Moline (Aliyah andOwen Moline-Freeman’sgrandmother)

n Tara Moline (Aliyah andOwen Moline-Freeman’saunt)

n Villy Papadakos(Panos and Yianni’s mom)

n Vikki Prince (Nole Ligon’s mom)

n Dave Reed (Olwyn’s dad)

n Roslyn Reeves (Sophia’s mom)

n Joan Remski (Sam and Ben Clifford’s mom)

n Dave Rever (Vincent’s dad)n Tina Rodriguez

(Angelo’s mom)n Scott and Tracey Stockinger

(Cole and Amber’s dad andmom)

n Aurora Utley (James’ mom)n Debbie Washington

Special thanks also go to ourstudent volunteers: n Evan and Kelsea Kernosekn Maeve McMastern Aliyah and Owen Moline-

Freemann Ethan Perkinsn Cole and Amber Stockinger

Hot lunch is now served

DATES TO REMEMBERNovember12 Thursday Parents Association meeting. 6 p.m. (Complimentary child care provided.)

16–18 Monday–Wednesday Vision and Hearing Testing (Vision: preschool, kindergarten,grades 1, 3, 5, 7. Hearing: preschool, kindergarten, grades 1, 2, 4)

19 Thursday Cookie Dough Delivery—Parents Association. 9 a.m.

19 Thursday Family Dance—Extended Day, Elementary, and Middle School. 6:30–8 p.m.

20 Friday Parent Perks. Morning parent discussion. All levels invited! 8:30 a.m.

23–24 Monday–Tuesday Thanksgiving Celebrations (during school hours).

25 Wednesday Staff Professional Development. NO SCHOOL. Day care and latchkey available.

26–27 Thursday–Friday Thanksgiving Holiday. NO SCHOOL. NO DAY CARE. NOLATCHKEY.

December2–3 Wednesday–Thursday Upper Elementary Barnes & Noble Fundraiser.

3 Thursday Preschool/Extended Day Family Activity Night. 6:30 p.m.

4 Friday Parent Perks. Morning parent discussion. All levels invited! 8:30 a.m.

8–10 Tuesday–Thursday Sixth-Grade Students Visit Middle School.

9 Wednesday Picture Retake Day.

11 Friday Upper Elementary Theatre Presentation. 6:30 p.m.

14–17 Monday–Thursday Upper Elementary Candy Cane Messages Fundraiser.

DEARBORN HEIGHTS MONTESSORI CENTER

466 N. John DalyDearborn Heights, MI 48127-3703

313-359-3000www.dhmontessori.org

DHMC sends schoolwide calendarannounce ments to our families via

e-mail. If you have not been receiving these e-mails, please contact Robb at the front deskto confirm your address.

Classroom communication is handled byyour child’s teacher. The information wesend via e-mail is based on the school calen-dar that was distributed to families earlierthis fall. Messages may include event flyers,reminders about schoolwide events, andother calendar announcements.

Our e-mail distribution lists are grouped

by classroom to enable us to send messagesnot only to the entire school but also to indi-vidual classrooms or levels as needed.DHMC families who have more than onechild may receive duplicate e-mails.

Using e-mail instead of paper noticesenables us to deliver information faster andmore efficiently to our families. And, ofcourse, communicating electronically helpsreduce the amount of paper we use.

Please watch your e-mail for DHMCannouncements!

Are you receiving our e-mail?

“The more the

capacity to concentrate is

developed, the more often

the profound tranquility

in work is achieved, and

then the clearer will be the

manifestation of discipline

within the child.”

—Dr. Maria Montessori

Our drop-off and pick-up procedureshave been running smoothly so far this

school year. Thank you to our parents forhelping us keep this process efficient and,even more important, safe for all children.The following are a few pertinent reminders: n Once your child has been dropped off orpicked up, please do not jump out of line. n Children must be unloaded on the right-

hand side of your vehicle. It is not safe forthe children to exit vehicles on the left.n Morning drop-off begins at 8:10 andends at 8:25, and teachers and staff are onhand to ensure that students get into thebuilding safely. If you arrive after 8:25 a.m.,for safety reasons, please walk your child intothe building.

Thank you for your cooperation!

Help keep drop-off/pick-up safe for all

Stay connectedWatch your child’s backpack

for “Home & School Con nection”

and “Early Years” flyers. These

useful resources provide

parenting information and

ideas for family fun.

DHMC News & Notes November 2009 - Dearborn Heights ...

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