The Quokka
New Morning School Week 8 10.24.22
A Note from the Heads
Dear Parents,
It's hard to believe that we are nearing the end of October already! We had a great week last week, despite the cold weather. The Elementary and Middle School kids enjoyed a fun day team building and learning about wildlife at the Howell Nature Center. We're glad the weather changed over the weekend as we plan to have another fire drill this week. We recommend that you talk about Fire Safety at home as well, making sure your kids know the plan in case of fire and where to meet up, if needed.
We have a slew of upcoming events and activities between now and Thanksgiving Break, so be sure to keep your calendar close and The Quokka handy for updates. For this week, we ask that you sign up for a Bylaws Engagement session (if you haven't already), RSVP to the Boowl-athon, and keep an eye out for Parent-Teacher Conference sign-ups from your child's teacher.
Also, don't forget picture day, which has changed to Wednesday, October 26. Details for ordering are in the News to Note section.
Thanks for taking the time to stay updated at New Morning School. We hope you have a wonderful week!
Warm regards,
Elaine Kennedy, Head of School & Pauline Nagle, Associate Head of School
Golden Nuggets
Respect and Brain Research
Our Values - Respect
Quote of the Week
When we show our respect for other living things, they respond with respect for us. ā Arapaho proverb
NMS Happenings
Upcoming Dates
Wed, 10/26: School Picture Day PreK-8, Piaget Night 6:30-8:30p (Kids Club is available)
Fri, 10/28: Spirit Day (Wear your UofM or MSU gear!) and Pizza Lunch
Mon, 10/31: Family FUNdraiser - Boowl-athon! No regular school, all family trip.
Tues, 11/01: No School - Records Day (Kids Club is available)
News to Note
School Auction Updates and News
Thank you to everyone who has been bringing in their merchandise for the Auction! Special thanks to the Alberts family who has secured our first 2 auction sponsors; SageView Advisory Group & Galvin Growth Group.
Our Raffle prizes have been firmed up. We are excited to offer our 1st prize: a Lake Michigan getaway in West Olive for up to 7 people (thank you, Alberts family). Travel dates are being confirmed with the home owners. 2nd prize: Blackstone flat top gas grill (thank you, Haas family).
A few things we need you to do TODAY:
1. Complete the NMS Auction Commitment Survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfroTd72LqBPgVZpK4Pn6QrUf03tBdG-r2ZPD7bVU1jzGqBGw/viewform
2. TODAY is the deadline to opt out of student signature ads. If you have not done so already, please fill out the attached auction commitment form. This is where you will opt out if you choose. If we do not receive your response today, we will proceed with adding your child to student signature ads.
We've also included the helpful information and support links below, that was emailed to you last week, for your convenience. Please reach out with any questions you might have as we work together to Go for the Gold!
Feel free to contact our Auction Co-Chairs with any questions or needs you might have. Thank you for your support!
Elizabeth Scero (co-chair): 734-637-3142
Jillian Beckley (co-chair): 734-751-1069
Auction Raffle: 1st Prize
Lake Michigan getaway in West Olive, MI
Auction Raffle: 1st Prize
Lake Michigan getaway in West Olive, MI
Auction Raffle: 1st Prize
Lake Michigan getaway in West Olive, MI
Bylaw Engagement Sessions: There are 7 small group discussion meeting times over the next two months. Please RSVP for one group meeting. We encourage every parent to participate. Click on the picture below to sign-up.
The BEST Night of the Year - Piaget Night!
Piaget Night is an evening where you participate in a hands-on learning experience about the developmental stages of development, authored by Jean Piaget. New Morning School's foundation of learning is built on Piaget's work. All new families are required to attend 1 of the two evenings offered. If you missed last week's event, please sign up below for this week! Kids Club is offered if needed. Sign Up in the front office for Kids Club.
Sign Up for Wed. October 26 https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f054eada72da7fe3-piaget6
BOOwl-a-thon is BACK for our family Fall Fundraiser!
On Monday, October 31st, we will enjoy spending time in community for our annual Family Fall-FUNdraiser. We will meet at Super Bowl Lanes in Canton (45100 Ford Rd) to enjoy a morning of bowling from 9am-11am. Bumpers are available for younger bowlers. There will be no school in the afternoon.
We are still collecting fun items for goody bags this week! You can drop off items near the mailboxes. Thank you, Alicia Stephens, for organzing our goody bag fun!
Please RSVP using the Sign-Up Genius link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F054EADA72DA7FE3-boowlathon
Order your LifeTouch School Pictures - Picture Day is WED OCT 26
This Wednesday, October 26, is Picture Day. All students and staff will have their picture taken on this day only. If you have a Preschooler who does not attend on Wednesday, you can bring them in on Wednesday morning. Their pictures will probably start around 10 AM. Please contact Joan to make arrangements.
Your order forms have been placed in your mailbox. We also have a digital copy of the order form attached. You may either include a check with the order form or you can order your pictures online prior to the pictures. Go to My Lifetouch to order your pictures using the code: EVTNNJD4C: https://mylifetouch.com/
Treats for Troops Program
We will have a drop-off box in the front office for all those extra Halloween sweets. So, please stop by the front office during school hours between Tuesday 11/1 through end of day Tuesday 11/8 and drop off those treats to sweeten a soldier's day!
Classroom Updates
Preschool Brainstormers
Preschool Teachers:
Marisa Downs marisa@newmorningschool.com
Danielle Provencher danielle@newmorningschool.com
Preschool Lead Aide: Crystal GerwatowskišHello Preschool families and friends,
Last week we had a dynamo time discovering pumpkins and the letter āDdā. This week we are going to have Halloween fun creating spiderwebs and spooktakular ghosts š», stacking spiders š·ļø, mummifying our friends mummy, along with a phatasmic ghost experiment. Rainbow rice & spiders and gooey slime fill our sensory bins this week.
Itās that time of year when our classes will be visited by āMagic Pumpkins." Our kiddos can draw and/or write notes to our magic classroom friend and get a magical response back!
Our Teachers of the Week, this week, for the the letter āGgā are Gavin and Esmeralda in Marisaās room and Charlie and Ruth in Danielleās room.
*A few important reminders for this week:
ā¢We are having a fire drill today, Monday 10/24 @ 11:15AM
ā¢Picture Day is this Wednesday, 10/26 ONLY! All of our classmates are invited for pictures on
this day.
ā¢Our Boowl-a-thon is Monday, 10/31 from 9-11AM. This is a family event with drop-off and pick-up at the Super Bowl in Canton. Please see address and sign up to RSVP above. This will be a fun time for your families and a great way to support New Morning School!
š»Hereās to a ghoulishly fun week aheadš¹
~Marisa & Danielle
Primary Explorers (Grades K-1)
Teacher: Lucy Bratt lucy@newmorningschool.com
K-1 Lead Aide: Shelley Blakeney
Dear Parents,
Thank you very much to everyone who donated empty boxes and recyclables last week; we now have plenty for our collaborative haunted house project!
Last week was an introduction to the project; we learned all about 2D and 3D shapes, we conducted a survey, we plotted graphs from the results and we researched haunted houses. This week we will examine further the properties of 3D shapes and use our 3D boxes and recyclables to construct our haunted house. We shall also be using spooky adjectives to write descriptions of our house.
In addition to the academics of this project, children will be improving their social and interpersonal skills by working collaboratively. Collaborative learning has been shown to not only develop higher-level thinking skills, but also to boost studentsā confidence and self-esteem through working together towards a shared goal and learning from each other in a fun and efficient way.
Running alongside our haunted house project, we shall continue with learning our phonics letter sounds (g, o, u, l), and with working with high frequency sight words. Children will still be completing their daily journal and will be enjoying their Specials classes as usual.
Please refer to the general news section of the Quokka for information on upcoming events such as the BOOwlathon, Picture Day, Records Day and of course Spiritwear and pizza lunch Fridays!
Have a wonderful week,
Ms. Lucy
Elementary Scholars (Grades 2-5)
Teachers:
Hannah Diaz hannah@newmorningschool.com
Christine Jansen christine@newmorningschool.com
Cynthia Weber cynthia@newmorningschool.com
EL Lead Aide: Karen Staples
Howell Nature Center
Thank you to all of our drivers! We really appreciate you taking the time to come with us! Everyone had a great time even in the rain!
Visitors This Week!?
We are eagerly hoping that the Magic Pumpkins will return to school sometime this week! The scholars write to the Magic Pumpkins and, somehow, they write them back. They have been known to leave a trinket as well!
Our Early Explorers "Trip" Simulation
We are working on learning knots, about life as a sailor and making rafts to get ready for our "trip". We will be going on the "trip" on Tuesday, November 15th. To help everyone get into their roles, dressing as a sailor would be great. We have ordered beards and we have tricorn hats for them to wear. Big shirts with a belt or any pirate-style outfit would work. Channel your inner Johnny Depp to create a costume with your child! If you need any ideas, let us know!
Boowl-a-thon
We are so excited that Boowl-a-thon is back! We will all meet at the Super Bowl in Canton at 9am in our Halloween costumes. We have explained to the scholars not to wear masks that cover their faces because it makes it hard to see. If they also have objects that go with their costumes, like a walking stick or wand, please leave those at home. We also explained not to bring or wear anything too violent.
Candy for the Troops
There is a box in the front office for everyone to put candy for our troops to enjoy. If you have extra candy after Halloween, please consider bring it in to make a soldier away from home smile!
Just a reminder:
Monday, October 31 is a half day at Super Bowl in Canton from 9am-11am.
Tuesday, November 1 is NO SCHOOL for Records Day
Friday, November 4 is everyone's favorite day - Pizza Day! Remember the pizza envelopes need to be turned in by Thursday!
Middle School Leaders (Grades 6th-8th)
Teachers:
Linda Hyde linda@newmorningschool.com
Nicole Matoian nicolem@newmorningschool.com
Hello Middle School Parents.
We hope you enjoyed this spectacular Fall weekend!
Just a reminder that Picture Day is Wednesday, so students should dress accordingly.
Thank you so much for those of you who drove and chaperoned our trip to the Howell
Nature Center last week, Wednesday. Despite the drizzle and the cold, students had
a great time navigating the high ropes course and learning about the rescued animals
in the center, all the while team-building and testing their own strength and endurance.
It was a wonderful adventure!
This week will be a busy week. In Language Arts, our study of poetry forms will be near
its end. Students will culminate their study of poetry writing through the composition of
a Free Verse poem and a Found Poem, then they will study poetry terms in preparation
for a final test next week Wednesday on what they've learned. They will put the final
touches on their poetry books and take them home to share with you. I know you will be
amazed at what they've written! On Monday, students will also take a vocabulary test
on 25 of the words they've encountered and worked with through their first weeks of
independent reading. Students will resume writing a vocabulary story for the words
they encountered in their reading last week. It will be due on Friday.
In Social Studies, students will learn about the influential Humanists of the Early
Renaissance and create a google slide presentation on one of seven Humanists. They
will make their presentations on Wednesday of this week.
In Math, Group A will continue their study of surface area of a variety of 3-dimensional
shapes and distinguish between surface area and volume by writing expressions with
exponents. Group B will take an assessment on Tuesday on scale drawings and then
begin a new unit on proportional relationships. Theyāll begin by using tables to
understand the proportional relationship and identify the constant of proportionality.
Group C will calculate angle measures using alternate interior, adjacent, vertical, and
supplementary angles to solve problems. They will also find the measure of an angle in
a triangle when given the angle measure of the other two angles.
Stay in touch, and look for a sign-up Genius for conferences by the end of the week.
Ms. Linda and Ms. Nicole
Helpful Links
Contact Us
School Contact Information
Office Phone: 734.420.3331
Email: nms@newmorningschool.com
Elaine Kennedy, Head of School elaine@newmorningschool.com
Pauline Nagle, Associate Head of School pauline@newmorningschool.com
Joan Barrett, Admissions Director joan@newmorningschool.com
Kit Zrull, Administrative Assistant nms@newmorningschool.com