Monday Memo
Lake Air Montessori Magnet PDS
Week of January 16, 2018
Celebrate Your Uniqueness...Be Unique!
Our theme this year is "Celebrate your Uniqueness". We believe in cultivating children's intellectual abilities alongside their confidence and happiness. We seek to educate the "whole child", one that is beautifully, wonderfully, and uniquely made. We strive to create an environment that nurtures their young minds and inspires a spirit of personal excellence.
Embrace your uniqueness. Time is much too short to be living someone else's life. - Kobi Yamada
Weekly Montessori Moment
Grow the Core...
"The purpose of life is to obey the hidden command which ensures harmony among all and creates an ever better world. We are not created only to enjoy the world, we are created in order to evolve the cosmos."
-Maria Montessori
One of the hallmarks of Lake Air Montessori Magnet is embracing cultural diversity while learning acceptance and appreciation for the differences in people. Peace education is part of our character development curriculum.
Our approach to peace education and character development includes:
- Creating a loving, respectful environment that embraces our differences in nationalities, languages, food, dress, and customs. In our classrooms, we strive to keep children’s minds open to the wonders of our environment and to see the good in people.
- Nurturing compassion to build emotional intelligence. We help guide children to be understanding of other people’s feelings and thoughtful in getting along well socially and building trust. Being able to communicate and relate fairly and respectfully with others is an important skill that will benefit your child throughout their school years, careers, and family life.
- Helping children learn to take responsibility for their words and actions. With a focus on creating harmony, we help children understand and think about the impact of what they say and do has on others. Whether it’s learning to share or avoiding mean, hurtful behavior, children develop self-control and discipline which helps them to be caring and treat others with kindness and patience.
Dr. Maria Montessori, the founder of the Montessori philosophy of child development, believed that establishing peace is the work of education. From birth, a child’s absorbent mind is influenced by the behaviors and actions they see. That’s why creating peaceful, purposeful experiences is critical in the LAMM classroom environment.
Helpful Articles about Harmony in the Classroom and Home
Ten ways to promote peace in your classroom
http://www.blog.montessoriforeveryone.com/promoting-peace.html
5 Ways to Promote Sibling Harmony
Peace Corner creates harmony in classrooms and at home
http://www.montessoricircle.com/peace-corner-creates-harmony-in-classrooms-and-at-home/
As a Montessori school…
We follow the teachings of Dr. Maria Montessori, a medical doctor, teacher, philosopher and anthropologist. Her progressive view of children was way beyond her time.
We understand that children of different ages have different needs and abilities. We study child development theory and make sure our classrooms are developmentally appropriate.
We observe our children. By watching closely, we can modify our lessons and materials to best suit the child’s interests and growth.
We believe that the environment is the best teacher. We design the classroom to fit the needs of the child, rich experiences balanced with beauty and order. Each work contains a purposeful work that is designed to teach a specific concept.
We model grace and courtesy (good manners), treating each other as we wish ourselves to be treated. We use calm voices when teaching and speak with respect to children’s feelings. We carry ourselves with poise and handle objects with care.
We recognize that children are unique individuals who are not likely to master exact same concepts or have the same interests at the same time.
We do not use rewards and punishments to force children to comply with rules or to combat ill behavior. We believe that each child is on the way to developing self discipline and that rewards should be intrinsic.
We believe that children learn best when they are free to move their bodies throughout the day. We want to teach our children to respect their bodies and control their movements which helps the growing brain learn more effectively.
We believe that the materials a child works with should be carefully chosen to support the current developmental stage. Concrete experiences are always offered first and abstract thinking presented later. We call this work, not play.
Attention Waco ISD Parents!
The spring nomination window for gifted and talented testing is now open! Kindergarten nominations will be accepted through January 31, 2018, and 2nd -12th grade nominations will be accepted through February 28, 2018. Please visit the Waco ISD Advanced Academic's website at www.wacoisd.org/gt to download the nomination packet or, request a packet from your child's teacher. Remember, with parental consent, anyone can nominate a student for gifted and talented testing.
Elementary UIL January 20th
Montessori Showcase Postponed until February 19th!
Middle School History Fair Results
Congratulations to our students who will be advancing to the Regional History Fair!
Individual Exhibit:
1. Allen Rodriguez
2. Miriam Hinojosa
3. Ileana Rodriguez
Group Exhibit:
1. Katie Robinson, Meiah Garcia, Jordon London
2. Terrell Allen, Maximus Austin
3. Oscar Dominguez, Zane Arterburn, Helen Goodman
Individual Websites:
1. Ariyanna Sandoval-Priddy
2. Jonathan Dunham
3. Aiden Dean
Group Website:
1. Caleb Jaimes, Jonathan Campos, Noah Maddox
2. Gigi Tamimi, Lauren Blankinship
3. Kayli Ferdin, Adriana Melvin
Every child needs their own earbuds or Headphones!!!!
We just began a new reading computer program and every Primary student MUST have their own headphones in order to use the program!!
We are AVID!!
Please sign up for Parent Portal!!
We encourage all parents to sign up for Parent Portal. It is your one stop shop to know how your child is doing in school! Get notifications when your child has a grade below a certain score or when he has a missing assignment.
Parent Portal is an exciting opportunity for parents to become more involved in their child’s education through the convenience of the Internet. You will have access to your child’s:
- Grades (current progress report and 6-week report cards)
- Schedule
- Attendance
- Health Log
- Discipline Log
- Student Personal Information: address, phone, e-mail
- Plus, send an email to any of your child's teachers
Zero Hour for Middle School Students
We offer "Zero Hour" for Middle School students each day of the week from 7:15 - 7:55. Students must arrive in Lab 0 before 7:45 in order to be allowed to work. The computer lab is supervised by an adult during Zero Hour.
Zero Hour is not a requirement. It is simply an opportunity to have access to a computer for school work in the morning. If students have prior committments to fine arts during that time, they need to honor them.
Please encourage your Middle School student to take advantage of Zero Hour to catch up on work or get ahead.
Click below for our LAMM Campus calendar!
Mark your Calendars!!!
January 20th - Elementary UIL (grades 2-5)
January 29th - WHS Open House for incoming 9th graders
February 13th - Wall to Wall Art/Literacy Night
February 16th - Regional History Fair for qualifying students
February 17th - Destination Imagination Tournament
February 23rd - PTA Winter Festival
February 24th - Middle School UIL (grades 6-8)
Febryuary 27-28 - DBA tests for 4th-8th grade (mock STAAR)
March 2nd - Early Release
THIS WEEK...January 15th - 19th
No School
Tuesday January 16th
Snow Day!!
Wednesday January 17th
Rigby MOY conitnues
UIL Contests - Creative Writing, Ready Writing, Spelling on campus
12:50 - 1:50 MakerSpace for Cannon and Davis
Thursday January 18th
Rigby MOY continues
Parent Tours continue
PLCs during conference period for all teams
7:15 - 7:50 Jazz Combo Rehearsal
1:00 - 3:00 MakerSpace for Middle School
Friday January 19th
Rigby MOY
GT Enrichment for Lower El and Upper El students
7:00pm - 7:00am Middle School Lock In (by invitation only)
1:00 - 3:00 MakerSpace for Vaughn and Cambambia
College Fridays: Ohio State University (scarlet and gray)
Saturday January 20th
Elementary UIL
NEXT WEEK...January 22nd - 26th
Tarleton Clinical Teachers first day
Rigby MOY continues
8:30 Leadership Team Meeting
3:30 - 4:30 Destination Imagination Practice
Lesson Study Begins
Tuesday January 23rd
Rigby MOY continues
7:15 - 7:50 Jazz Rhythm Section
3:30 - 4:45 Varsity Brass and Woodwinds
5:30 - 6:30 CDMC Meeting
Wednesday January 24th
Rigby MOY continues
4:00 - 5:00 Faculty Meeting
Regional History Fair Websites due
Thursday January 25th
Rigby MOY continues
PLCs during conference period for all teams - RTI update
Parent Tours continue
7:15 - 7:50 Jazz Rhythm Section
3:30 - 4:30 Destination Imagination
Friday January 26th
Rigby MOY DUE
3:30 - 4:30 GT enrichment afterschool
6:00 - 9:00 Mini Lock In for 4th - 6th grade $10
College Friday: University of West Virginia (blue and gold)
Saturday January 27th
8:00 -4:00 Montessori Teacher Training
BOLETÍN DE NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL
Lake Air Montessori PDS
Principal: Stephanie Tankersley
Assistant Principal: Rachel Hannah
Assistant Principal: Dr. Mary Phillips
Email: stephanie.tankersley@wacoisd.org
Website: http://lakeair.wacoisd.org/home/
Location: 4601 Cobbs Drive, Waco, TX, United States
Phone: 254-772-1910
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LakeAirMontessori/
Twitter: @WISDmontessori