Growing Together
Geist Montessori Academy@GeistAcademy
Volume 20: January 10, 2021
Happy New Year!
I hope your winter break was filled with love and laughter. We sure missed everyone, and it has been so wonderful seeing the students and staff online this week!
With the start of the New Year, it is exciting to reflect back on the goals and achievements from last year, proving that we are better together. Twenty twenty-one has only begun, and thanks to our amazing school family, it is truly remarkable in 2020 all that was done!
Please enjoy this week’s newsletter featuring a year to remember. We look forward to more learning fun in 2021!
Warm winter wishes,
Cindy Schuler
Executive Director
Geist Montessori Academy
(317) 813-4626
Of all things, love is the most potent.
-Maria Montessori
Dates to remember
Upcoming Events
1/11-1/22 Virtual Learning
1/18 No School/ Martin Luther King Day
1/19 School Board Meeting, 5:30 ZOOM
1/20 Grounds Committee, 7:00 p.m., Zoom
1/25 Onsite learning resumes
2/12 eLearning Day
2/15 No School/ President's Day
3/12 End of First Quarter
Academics
- Summer School Tutoring, May-August
- Learning Labs offered before and after school
- Created eLearning Platform and Continuum
- Robotics Team
- Junior Great Books program adopted, purchased K-8
- Math Curriculum purchased 7-8th grade
- Wordly Wise Vocabulary Program purchased
- Band program
Enhanced student-centered and engaged learning
- Book Buddy Program
- Title IV Social-emotional Learning grant
- Digital Learning Grant
- Systematic Behavior, RTI Reporting
- Project Lead the Way, STEM training
- Teacher Appreciation Grant
- New Teacher Mentor Program
- Waseco Montessori Materials
- Schoolwide Montessori Training for ALL staff members
- Formative Assessment Grant
- Engineering for Kids Club
- Online Resource Training
- Early Literacy Grant
- CPR and AED Training
- NESP Grant
- Professional Learning Community Time carved into weekly schedule
- Title II Grant
- Kasey the Fire Dog safety Program
- Student-Led Conferences
- Unified Absence Policy
- Leveled Literacy Intervention
- Calendar Collaborative Creation
- Books on the Beach, Kindergarten Literacy
- Uniform Progress Reports
- Weekly Nature Lessons
- Crisis Prevention Training
- Charter School Program Grant
- High Ability Grant
- Weekly social emotional and health lessons
- Math Problem solving Books
- Updated staff and student handbooks
All Staff Montessori Training
Drive Thru Ice Cream Social
Books on the Beach
School-wide Initiatives/Events
- Sweet Meet and Greet at New Campus, Cookies and Cocoa
- 500 participant Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, Opened New Campus
- Skating Party
- Family School’s Choice Award
- Parent Montessori Education Night
- Sock Hop
- Pancake Breakfast
- Created new Car Rider Line Procedures
- Virtual Ice Cream Social with supplies
- Fall and Winter Concerts
- Montessori’s 150th Birthday School-wide Celebration
- Superhero Run
- Dictionary Day, vocabulary enrichment
- Jolly and Joy Wishes granted
- Helping Hands Food Drive
- Dine to Donates
- Schuler Scoops
- Veteran’s Day Program
- Sunshine Spreaders Program, weekly character celebration
- Fishers Pediatric Dentistry Partnership
- Science Night
- Family Friendly Schools Designation
- Mobile Immunizations
- International Peace Day Celebration
- Virtual Talent Show
- GMA Staff Get to Know You Guide
Other Enhancements/Initiatives
- Recycling program
- Gym floor
- Teacher Closet Shelves and Set-up Crew
- Lockers, student PBL
- Basketball Goals
- New Logo, Students Painted on Wall
- Grounds Committee
- Morning Pledge/Announcements
- New iPads for kindergarten
- ELL Coordinator
- PowerSchool enrollment and LMS
- Health and Safety measures: plexi-glass shields, masks, cleaners
- STEM, Library, and lunch space established
- Ping Pong table
- Clinic Care Kits to all Classrooms
- GMA Advisory Council
- Outside art easels
- Parent Involvement Committees
- Playground Fence and nature items
- Outside learning space, 5 picnic tables by peace pole
Locker Problem Based learning
New Logo, New Building
Recycling Program
International Recognition: Children of the world
Enhanced Hands-on Learning
Authentic, research-based projects
Words from the Woods
Learning Labs
More Montessori Curriculum, Concentration, and Hands-on Learning!
enhanced student-centered and engaged learning!
Weekly Healthy Habits training
CPR Training
Kasey the Fire Dog Safety Training
Book Buddy Program
Counseling Curriculum Purchased
New gym space
Classroom Adopt-a-Parkway Program
Outdoor art easels
Science Night
Jolly and JOy Make a wish
sunshine spreading
Outdoor Learning space
Get to Know teacher guide
Sock Hop
Fishers Pediatrics Partnership
Opened our New Campus
Veterans Day Honorees
Helping Hands Food Drive
Classroom care kits
Peace Day celebration
Morning Words of Wisdom
Basketball News from Mr. Brian
Happy New Year from the PE department!
I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe and healthy. With the start of a new year. Students are going to be choosing their desired physical activities to get there heart pumping. Just have fun and stay fit. After school basketball will be offered in February so stay tuned for more information.
Thanks,
Brian Hole
thank you, School Board!
Our sincere appreciation is extended to our school board for their time and service to GMA!
President: Uriah Ellis
Secretary: Lacey Willard
Treasurer: Andrew Cavallaro
Members at Large: Karen Swan and Mark Clark
Meeting Dates: January 19, 2021, February 16, 2021, April 20, 2021, June 15, 2021
*All Meetings begin at 5:30 pm and are open to the public. Meetings are being held virtually.
We look forward to our continued partnership, as we grow together for the better!
FREE online resources
Here is a list of free education resources that you and your student can use to continue the learning journey. As long as you have an internet connection, you can use these online resources to unlock hours of learning:
At Home Activities:
Khan Academy (https://www.khanacademy.org/) – Khan Academy offers free courses of all grade levels to help students master subjects and accelerate their learning. Through these courses, Kahn Academy allows students to personalize their learning and learn at their own pace.
PBS LearningMedia (https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/) – PBS LearningMedia provides students with free lesson plans, videos, and games aligned with standards they are learning in the classroom.
TEDEd (https://ed.ted.com/) – TEDEd brings lessons to life for students through animation. TEDEd’s goal is to ignite curiosity among learners. To do this, TEDEd collects the best teacher lessons around the world. Then, it turns them into shareable animated videos for students.
PowerMyLearning Connect (https://powermylearning.org/learn/connect/) – PowerMyLearning Connect offers curated learning from a variety of online platforms. K-12 students can access free content in all core subjects and many electives, with the ability to choose standard aligned lessons.
BrainPOP (https://www.brainpop.com/) – BrainPOP provides animated interactive lessons, quizzes, and games for core subjects and a variety of electives.
Lumosity (https://www.lumosity.com/en/) – Lumosity offers free brain games to keep student minds actively engaged. For example, the games use problem solving, critical thinking, and memory to keep students on their toes and strengthen their skills.
Duolingo (https://www.duolingo.com/) – Duolingo helps students keep up with foreign language skills. Duolingo offers 30+ languages so students can start learning a variety of languages that interest them. Or, students can use Duolingo to practice the foreign languages they are already learning in the classroom.
EVERFI (https://everfi.com/partners/k-12-educators/) – EVERFI offers free supplemental lessons for the whole student in areas of Finance, SEL, Health, College/Career Readiness, and related topics.
The Smithsonian Learning Lab ( https://learninglab.si.edu/distancelearning)-offers teachers and parents access to millions of digital resources from across the Smithsonian's museums, research centers, libraries, archives, and more. Includes pre-packaged collections that contain lessons, activities, and recommended resources made by Smithsonian museum educators. Includes self-directed learning modules for teens and tweens.
Online courses and video lessons
- Crash Course, an online youtube channel started by Hoosier natives Hank and John Green, has 15 courses with up to 75 video lessons for each. Lessons are geared for the middle and high school student.
- Crash Course for Kids follows the same format as Crash Course but with elementary level content.
- TedED has engaging video series for all ages. Sign in with Google to create lessons.
Ranger Rick (https://rangerrick.org/)- The National Wildlife Federation has opened all articles behind its paywall through June 30. This includes Educator’s Guides and Ranger Rick, Jr. Parent Reading Guides in English and Spanish.
Stories Around the World (International Children's Digital Library) Explore tales, fables, and stories from around the world in over 59 languages.
Free tutoring with Rose-Hulman (AskRose) has extended their free tutoring service hours for middle and high school students.
The Encyclopedia of Life (http://eol.org/)- an online database of over one million species and counting, provides a platform for the scientist and citizen-scientist alike to collaborate on scientific information for every living thing on Earth. This “open-science” website aggregates information from over 180 scientific organizations and scientists and as a result, provides rich and detailed text descriptions, photos and video clips, sound files and links to research and associated research.
Department of Defense: Learn about careers in STEM fields
Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics: Kids' Zone
Department of Energy: Games and Activities; Virtual Field Trips to National Energy Labs
Environmental Protection Agency: Games, Quizzes, and Videos about the Environment
The Library of Congress: Presentations and Activities to Help Students Learn about History
NASA: Interactive Lessons about Space, Earth, Solar System and Universe; Lessons from Astronauts about Living in Space; STEM Activities for Students of All Ages
The Kennedy Center: Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems; Tour the Kennedy Center with The Pigeon
The Smithsonian: Free Smithsonian STEM Games and Simulations; Meet the Animals of the National Zoo; 3D Exhibits and Virtual Tours; Smithsonian Magazine Ten Museums You Can Virtually Visit; The Museum of Natural History Virtual Tour; Digital Smithsonian American Art Museum; Distance Learning Resources
NOAA: Use Real-Time Ocean Data to Explore the Environment
USGS: Learn from Home About Physical science, Geography and Maps
Social Emotional Resources:Social Emotional Learning Resources related to Covid-19
Resources to support you and your family:
- See this link for information on hospitals, Community Mental Health Centers, and other local supports: https://www.in.gov/issp/2422.htm
- Trauma and ACES: https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/aces-and-toxic-stress-frequently-asked-questions/
- Resources from Indiana Department of Education: https://www.doe.in.gov/elearning/2020-covid-19-remote-learning#family%20resources
- Resource from World Health Organization:https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/helping-children-cope-with-stress-print.pdf?sfvrsn=f3a063ff_2
- Parenting Tips and CIVID-19:https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/healthy-parenting?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_campaign=030096d2e1f0&utm_medium=page
- Intro to Seesaw video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzlrtDR84KY&feature=emb_logo
- Family guide to Google Classroom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Iowi-gmbys
- How to use Zoom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCjksPhTlyE
- Microsoft family guide: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/distance-learning-with-office-365-guidance-for-parents-and-guardians-89d514f9-bf5e-4374-a731-a75d38ddd588?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=U
Special Populations Resources
English Language Learner
- eLearning Resources - English Learners - This hub features resources for both teachers and families of English learner students. Included are links to other EL-specific resource hubs, such as WIDA’s, links for effectively connecting with multilingual families, and instructional programs and supports.
- eLearning Requirements and Supports for English Learners - IDOE’s guidance on the requirements for providing services, communicating with families, and assessing English learner students.
High Ability
Special Education
Meet Geist Montessori Academy's Executive Director: Cindy Schuler
Email: Cschuler@gma.k12.in.us
Website: gmacademy.org
Phone: (317)813-4626
Twitter: @GeistAcademy
GMA Contact iNformation
PHONE NUMBER:
(317) 813-4626
ADDRESS:
6058 W. 900 N.
McCordsville, IN 46055