Monday Update - October 24
Last week was an exciting and busy one at Summit. Upper Elementary students headed off to Nature's Classroom on Wednesday morning, and kept in touch with us by pictures and text updates. Hopefully you saw these - we shared them on Facebook and our Blog. They returned to a special greeting from Lower El, which was also shared on Facebook. This morning at Monday Morning Meeting, the students shared more information from their stay at Nature's Classroom. They started by explaining about ORT (the food left over after a meal). They showed us a chart that had been kept during the time away that showed how much food was left by all three schools after each meal (it did go down from a high point at the first meal). The "waitrons" who served the food and helped make sure the students had what they needed, did a musical ORT Report after each meal, and Summit's "waitrons" , Alice and Amanda demonstrated that musical report. Miss Liz reported that Summit's students had less than 1/4 cup ORT in total from their entire stay. They did this by taking appropriate portions and by eating what they took. This was unusual enough that the counselors at Nature's Classroom noted it and commented on it.
Anya showed the students a discovery poster that the students were encouraged to write on every time they learned something new. Anya said one thing she had learned was that plankton don't move around on their own, they are at the mercy of the wind to determine their location.
Stephanie showed us an IALAC (I am lovable and capable) poster that the students kept. Each student was given a bead on a string when they arrived and encouraged to give that bead to someone they saw who did some act of kindness for someone else. The beads had just "one hour of power" so there was no reason to collect or keep them, but it was a way to encourage the students both to notice the many kind things others did and to do them as well. When students no longer had a bead to give, they wrote the kind deed they had witnessed on the poster.
It clearly had been a time of learning and growth for the Upper El students who shared other stories from Nature's Classroom. There will be an update on the Upper El website as well as some of the many photos they took - please be sure to watch for this.
Saturday was the reception for the Summit students' art exhibit currently at Amazing Things, 160 Hollis Street in Framingham. The work looks amazing in a formal gallery setting and it was fun for students and parents to see it there. Students also sang a song that they had been learning - Peace on Earth.
Sunday was Miss Siobhan's first Admissions Event of the year, and many of our current families joined us for a performance by Ed the Wizard. Ed's subject was reading. He performed many tricks for the students that left them asking "how DID you do THAT?" Wizard Ed told the students that he loved to read and had been very interested in magic as a young person so he used books to teach himself magic. He was influenced by the Harry Potter books, and his costume reminded us of Dumbledore. After getting help from all the students in the audience, Ed gave Summit a book called "Hocus Pocus" which is a history of many different magicians and the magic feats they were known for. Miss Siobhan promised to catalog it quickly so that students could borrow it right away.
Mystery History Day is fast approaching and the students are putting finishing touches on their costumes for Monday, October 31. This year, since Mystery History Day falls on Monday, the elementary students will present their clues to everyone at Monday Morning Meeting. We'll all have fun hearing the clues and having a chance to guess. After Monday Morning Meeting, students, teachers and some chaperones will walk to Framingham Green to provide clues for the senior residents there. We hope the residents of Framingham Green will enjoy this Summit tradition as much as we all do.
SMPA (Summit Montessori Parents’ Association) thanks everyone who attended our very productive SMPA meeting on Friday, it was great to see everyone there. Have you ever heard of the Heifer Foundation or used a Math Whiz? The parent-to-parent discussion of holiday toys/gifts in particular was fantastic – be sure to check the meeting minutes (to be posted soon) for some great ideas! In addition, the Mackenzies were in attendance and were looking forward to their future visit to Summit for discussions on child development. Suggestions for discussion topics are encouraged and may be left in the SMPA box on the front office or send to the SMPA co-president, Sue Savage at susav60@yahoo.com.
Mark your calendars and tell your friends! Plan to join us on Thursday, November 3rd, for Summit’s annual Uno’s Night at Uno’s restaurant in Framingham on Route 9 (70 Worcester Road). This is a SMPA fundraiser and always lots of fun. Join your fellow past and present Summit families for dinner and invite your friends and family. A percentage of all sales will be donated to Summit when you simply present the Summit ticket to your server. Tickets will be sent home in the green folders and posted on the school website. Lunch, afternoon snacks, dinner, dine-in or take out – all sales on November 3rd count toward our total. The more the merrier and the more money we will raise for Summit. Uno’s is open at 11:30 until after midnight. Hope to see you there!
Don’t forget that SMPA has working group meetings every Wednesday after drop off to plan all of our upcoming events. These fun events do take a lot of work and preparation – if you can spare a few minutes on any Wednesday morning, please drop by.
The 2011/2012 Parent Student Directory and Handbook went home with the students last week. Please note that Page 40 of the book is an Acknowledgement that should be signed and returned. Pages 57 and 58 are the Acceptable Use Policy Acknowledgement which also should be signed and returned. Thank you.
For an on-going look at classroom activities, we invite you to check out our Blog.