Talent Show Reminder and Parent Appreciation Day Tomorrow!

Dear LEW families,

Please be sure to remind your child to bring their materials for their talent show tomorrow and to take some time to practice their talent this evening.

We hope that all of you can make it to Parent Appreciation Day tomorrow. The festivities begin at 1:30 and the LEW talent show will start at 2:15 (LEE talent show will begin at 1:30).

Have a fine evening!

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

Newsletter: Please Read! Important changes & Information about next week

Good Morning, LEW families!

Thanks to all of you that were able to help out with the first graders' trip to the zoo and for making it to the Museum Project yesterday. I've never seen so many people in the classroom before and the students were just beaming with pride. Check out the pictures below (I wasn't able to get pictures of each group. If you have more photos, I would love to have them.)

NEXT WEEK'S SCHEDULE

MONDAY, JUNE 6: Change from Como Pool to Highland Pool

We will be going to Highland Pool on Monday.  Como Pool needed repairs and was unavailable.  

We will travel by bus, leaving at 9:15 am. We will return by approximately 2:15pm. The pool has a variety of features for children of different abilities and ages.  There are also bathrooms and changing rooms on site.  Please note that the concession stand will NOT be open, so please plan to pack a lunch and snack for your child.  Lifeguards will be on duty, and we are happy to help your child put on a life vest if you request this ahead of time. These are available at the pool.  

Please also remember to apply sunscreen and send a hat (if needed).

Please send along the following in a backpack:

• lunch
  
• snack
  
• water bottle
  
• towel
  
• swimwear (as needed)
  
• NO toys please

Thanks so much.  We are very excited for a fabulous day at the pool.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8: PARENT APPRECIATION DAY at 1:30

We will host you for an event that is all about You, and how wonderful you are to and for all of us.  Come and let us shower you with gifts!  Let us show you our talents in the LEW 2016 Talent Show!  The classroom opens at 1:30, and the talent show begins at 2:15.  (The LEE talent show begins at 1:30 if you have children in both classrooms.)

FRIDAY, JUNE 10: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL: HALF DAY

After an official goodbye to the third years, and a final all-school ceremony, the year will be over.  Please pick up your child before 11:30 that day.  Also, please note that your child will not need to bring anything to school that day since we will only be doing end-of-the-year ceremonies and an ice cream social.  Please do not send lunches or backpacks with your child on the last day.  This will help the day run more smoothly. It's almost here!

All the best and more, 

Jessy & Erik

Gex Summer Care 2016 - Invitation to edit

Jessy Fabel has invited you to edit the following spreadsheet:

Gex Summer Care 2016

Hello LEW Parents! One of you brilliantly suggested making a google spread sheet to see what kind of availability everyone has. If you could please right your name, availability this summer and your contact information, Gex would really appreciate it :)

Open in Sheets

This email grants access to this item. Only forward it to people you trust.

Google Sheets: Create and edit spreadsheets online.

Requests and Reminders

Hello everyone!

Hope all of you are getting some quality outside time on this gorgeous weekend. I have one request and one reminder that I forgot to add to the newsletter.

1. Gex needs a home for the summer: We are looking for volunteers to help take care of Gex this summer. You could sign up for part or all of the summer. Gex is incredibly low maintenance and an incredible chill fellow. Let me know if you're interested.  

2. All-School Potluck Picnic Thursday, May 26, 5-8 pm

Join the entire school community for an end-of-year potluck picnic. Let's celebrate together!

Where: Como Park South Pavilion at 1199 Midway Parkway

What to bring:

• A dish to pass--if your last name begins with : please bring

A-H: Main dish
I-P: Side dish or salad
R-S-T: Veggies or fruit
U-Z: Dessert

• Your own plates, utensils, and water bottles.
• Frisbees or other outdoor play equipment

Parent and students: We need setup and cleanup help! Please click here to sign up.

Questions? Please contact picnic coordinators Heather Thomas or Heather O'Brien.

That's all for now. Enjoy the rest of your weekend

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

LEW Newsletter 5-20-2016

Happy Friday, Everyone!

Well we just got back from our adventure to the farm. We tended to the new animals, we"medicined" the soil, we hiked to Buttermilk Falls, and we gathered pieces plants, sticks, and bones to create a mandala.  Thanks to all the chaperones for all of your support - it was a busy day and you stuck with it! Check out some of the pictures from the day.

Speaking of pictures, I've also attached pictures of the third grade field trip to the Science Museum. We took public transit downtown and everyone had a chance to complete the scavenger hunt. Very proud of this group and all of the work they've done with their Study of the Mississippi River.

Currently, the entire lower elementary is working on their Museum projects and after three sessions I can honestly say that the groups have worked very well to create their exhibits. Ask your child what their exhibit is about and what their display will look like.  

In addition to the museum work, first years did a water pollution experiment and learned how to be stewards of the earth by picking up trash around the campus.  They also learned about adverbs and are polishing up the stamp game skills in math.

Second years learned about water filtration and run off. We ended our work with grammar for the year with some fun mad libs and they were captivated by a ancient civilization lesson that Erik gave earlier in the week.

Third years are wrapping up their history project visual aids and will begin their essays soon. They are also completing a parts of speech final and mastering fractions with some challenging fraction work.  On Wednesday they had the chance to go out to the garden with Tami, the A2 science teacher, to learn about different types of roots.

Important Dates

June 3, afternoon: Museum Exhibit, all Lower Elementary.  This culminates a month-long project that small groups from both rooms will be doing together.  Each group will have a display to show in the "museum."  More information to come! 

June 6: Trip to Como Pool!  (Already a hot topic of conversation...)

June 8: Parent Appreciation Day, afternoon: Come and feel the appreciation!  It's a party just for you, with a talent show to boot!

June 10: Last day of school, early dismissal

TBD - make up date for first grade como zoo trip. Stay tuned!

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

LEW Newsletter 4-30-2016

Greetings Lower Elementary West Families!

We hope this letter finds you all in good health.  Big thanks to all of you that had conversations about peacemaking with your children.  The students were willing to accept redirection from topics of war and have found other avenues to explore their interests. It takes a village :)

We have multiple events coming up that we wanted to make sure that you could mark in your calendars. We're coming in on our last weeks of school, which completely baffles me, and the end of the year typically brings lots of celebrations and trips that you should all be aware of. First, let's start with what we did this last week:  

What we've been working on...

All of the students in lower elementary had the chance to work with the adolescents in planting different seeds in the milk jugs all of you donated. They work as a type of miniature green house for the seedling.  You'll notice the jugs are "planted" near the pickup area. Big thanks to Tami Limberg, one of the adolescent science teachers, for bringing our 2 communities together! 

This week, first years were introduced to the history of measurement and used the length of their feet to measure different distances in the classroom. Some really want to measure the entire perimeter of the school! We have also been working on math facts, long division with the stamp game and they began a science experiment with Erik to study and observe the process from seed to plant.  

Second years learned to build and classify the 7 triangles of reality, using the geometry sticks material.  They also worked on their math facts and got the chance to teach stamp game division to one another and the first graders.  They are also continuing their work with the Timeline of Life and excited to compile all of their cards and booklets and make shrinky dinks (ask them to explain what these are). 

Third years finished writing riddles about different place values in the hierarchical material. They also worked on their math facts.  Erik created an engaging lesson on how to write a paragraph (he's that good, folks) that the kids absolutely enjoyed. The third years are also wrapping up their study of the Mississippi River study in preparation for their field trip to the Mississippi River Exhibit at the Science Museum in 2 weeks. Their history projects are taking shape and we're hoping to see the fruits of all their labor very soon - ask your child what more they to need to accomplish this big work.  

Important Dates and Volunteer Opportunities

Friday, May 13th - Third Grade Field Trip to the Science Museum

This is the capstone to all of the studies that the third years have done on the Mississippi River. We still need two chaperones for this event to come join us for this trip.  We will need you from about 8:45 to 12:30.  

Friday, May 20th - Lower Elementary Field Trip to Buttermilk Farms

This will be our second trip to this farm this year and we're looking forward to seeing the differences between the farm in fall versus spring. Thanks to all of you that volunteered to chaperone! We will send you details soon.

Friday, May 27th - First Grade Field Trip to Como Zoo

This will be a culminating project for the first years and all of the animal studies they've done over the course of the year.  Erik will need 4-5 chaperones for this trip. Please let us know if you're interested. 

Friday, June 3rd - Lower Elementary Museum Project 1:30 - 3:00

This will be our 3rd annual Museum Project in lower elementary.  Students from LEE and LEW will mix into small groups of 5-6 and develop a little museum exhibit based on the group's interests. In the past, groups have developed displays based on dinosaurs, medieval times, greek mythology, inventions, and more.  This will be the last big project of the year and it's a very fun and busy event. Be sure to come and check it out!

Monday, June 6th - All Elementary Field Trip to Como Pool

On June 6th, all elementary students will trek over to Como Pool from 10:00-1:30 to celebrate and have a good old time.  I've attached the permission slip to this trip since we will be needed some contributions to cover the cost of this trip. We will also send the form in next week's Thursday just in case. We still need at least 1 more chaperone for this trip. 

Wednesday, June 8th - Parent Appreciation Day 1:30-3:00

This is a day to celebrate and appreciate... YOU! We are incredibly grateful for all of the love and support you've provided this year. Please come and let the children pamper you with love and gifts. We truly enjoy this day. 

Flowers for May and June

We've grown used to having fresh flowers in the room. If you're interested in bringing in flowers once a week or once every two weeks until the end of the year, please let me know.  

Wish List Items

With many big projects approaching, expect some odd requests for crafty materials. Currently we need:

- Modge podge

- Ticonderoga pencils 

- Shoe boxes

- Stay tuned...

Looks like it's truly time to celebrate the closing of this school year. Hope many you will get the chance to join us!

Happy May Day everyone!

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

LEW Newsletter 4/1/2016

Happy Spring Break!

We hope that all of you get some much-deserved downtime this week as well as some outdoor fun :)

This past week was a whirlwind. iRACE was a huge success (check out the pictures attached to this newsletter). The adolescents did a great job teaching their lessons on fairness and the students really enjoyed the activities they planned. Ask your child about the animal game they had to play out - the point of the game was to get what you needed and to give what you could through communicating as a certain animal. Though it was a blast to watch the students communicate like ducks and cats and cows, they understood how communication is so important in getting what you need, but you can still listen and help one another even if you don't speak the same language.  Thank you to all of you for your delicious dishes and your support in helping this iRACE so wonderful (you can still get your tupperware and dishes, if you haven't had the chance to get them back yet). 

Work this week

First years reviewed and classified all five vertebrates. They also worked on their addition math facts and reviewed the following parts of speech: articles, adjectives, nouns, verbs, and prepositions.  They created some fun sentences! The students also did very exciting science experiments that Erik presented. Practically the entire classroom was circled around the platform, watching the reaction of different beans, raisins, and grains and how they react in a jar of club soda.  We ended the week with lessons in symmetry and the students painted pictures, created symmetrical dances and found lines of symmetry in different shapes. 

Second years painted beautiful pictures of different types of wild flowers - a perfect spring project. They also reviewed their addition and subtraction facts.  The second years also did a fun science experiment and learned about different liquids and which can mix and which cannot.  We also ended the week with lessons in symmetry and the students painted pictures, created symmetrical dances and found lines of symmetry in different shapes. 

Third years are creating flower field guides and are discovering the relationship between multiplication and division. Erik also gathered the third years and allowed the students to choose history topics that they will eventually use to generate research papers. We have students studying Jupiter's moons, prehistoric animals, WWI, the importance of clean water, and more.  This has already generated a ton of interest.  We also ended the week with lessons in symmetry and the students painted pictures, created symmetrical dances and found lines of symmetry in different shapes. 

Upcoming dates and volunteer opportunities

MCA for Mathematics - Tuesday, April 12th

Third years will be taking their final MCA test the Tuesday after break (not very kind, we know). The students have been troopers for these exams and we are very proud of their progress.  

Field Trip - The Taiko Project at the Ordway - Friday, April 22 @ 10:00

We're looking forward to this trip. Taiko drumming is a mesmerizing art to watch. We're looking for chaperones - 2 to be exact! The trip will start at about 9:50 and we'll return at 12:00. Let us know if you're interested. 

Big Thanks!

This past month has been an incredible month for volunteers. Thank you so much to...

- Joanna Chao for donating delicious snacks, for bringing in beautiful flowers, and for chaperoning an event for the second graders.

- Jessica Coburn for contributing her time and expertise in helping the kids cook treats on Tuesdays and for keeping our laundry clean.

- Heather Thomas for coming in and helping out in the classroom, for being a reading buddy, for being our PEG parent and for helping out during IRACE. 

- Holly Hugart for joining the reading buddy team!

- Mari Roberts for continuing her work with reading buddies every Friday.

- Courtney Tchida for chaperoning a field trip and for coming in to do some one-on-one work in the classroom.

- Jason Wagner for coming in and being a stellar work buddy.

- Sarah Walker for helping her child bake delicious quiche for her Europe study.

- To so many of you for all of the donations of pencils, kleenex, soap, and more!

To all of you for your unending support and care.  We are eternally grateful.

I mean... look at that list! 

Have a fantastic spring break.

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori