Growing Together
Geist Montessori Academy@GeistAcademy
Volume 10: October 3, 2020
Dear GMA School Family,
We had such a SUPER week with all of our superheroes!
Refreshing, crisp air greeted our superheroes on their run, and everyone’s super powers and traits were shared this week. A special thank you to our amazing PTO for helping with this healthy choice fundraising event on Wednesday, September 30, and to each of you for your SUPER donations and support!
Each child, so special and unique, has been embracing his/her personal academic and social-emotional achievements and setting goals, accordingly. Teachers met individually with the children and discussed their NWEA data. Students set realistic goals, and most importantly, discussed the steps necessary to attain them. They focused on the importance of a growth mindset and the ability to create change. Growth mindset is the belief that intelligence can be developed. Students who possess a growth mindset focus on improvement rather than worrying about how smart they are or comparing themselves to others. They work hard to learn more and achieve their own personal success.
At GMS, we believe and support a growth mindset approach and encourage students to work hard, persevere when things get challenging, and believe that effort will enable them to improve and ultimately reach their goals. At home, you may hear your child talking about growth mindset, and you can support this idea through encouraging your child to work hard and persist when there are challenges. Students who adopt a growth mindset are enthusiastic and see obstacles as opportunities for growth rather than barriers; they invite change and challenge.
As Mother Nature continues to reveal her inspirational foliage, I encourage you and your loved ones to refuel on her vibrant beauty, noticing with delight the beauty of change.
As always, thank you for partnering with us in education!
Warmly,
Cindy Schuler
Executive Director
Geist Montessori Academy
(317) 813-4626 cschuler@gma.k12.in.us
Of all things, love is the most potent.
-Maria Montessori
Super FUN Superhero RUN
GMA's Super hero Run!
Thank you for promoting healthy choices and for donating to the PTO!
This will enable the PTO to provide financial support to our school and teachers for:
● Community events provided free or at-cost
● Field Trip support
● In-school enrichment opportunities (guest speakers/artists/scientists)
● Classroom and specials support
● Special fund for outdoor play equipment
Any questions please reach out to Jessica Gray (VP Fundraising): shika21@att.net
Cheers,
PTO
Superheroes at work
Dates to remember
Upcoming Events
10/7 FALL Concert ONLINE link released at 7 p.m.
10/9 End of Quarter
10/12 Picture Day, NEW quarter and classes begin
10/14-10/16 Parent-Teacher Conferences
10/15-10/16 Early Release at NOON
10/20 School Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m.; PTO 6:30 p.m.
10/22-23 Fall Break
10/30 Dictionary Day, Information coming soon
Carving out time to meet October 14-16
Your child's teacher should have sent out a sign-up sheet for you to select a convenient time to meet between October 14-16. We are eager to share information about whole child development: social-emotional, academic, and behavioral . Your student's NWEA progress report will be distributed, as well as his/her progress report to provide insight as to how s/he is progressing. Onsite students will have onsite conferences and virtual students will have virtual conferences. If you are coming onsite, please wear a mask and practice social distancing.
We look forward to meeting with you soon!
sunshine spreaders!
Spreading joy and kindness this week:
Alanna James
Emery Szczypiorski
Mason ASh
Braden Brown
Marlee Davis
Ethan Miller and Gabe Fluke, not pictured
Dictionary Day
Dictionary Day
Dictionary Day is held in honor of Noah Webster, the man who is considered to have fathered the American Dictionary. It is typically celebrated October 16, but GMA will be celebrating words on 10/30.
Dictionary Day encourages students to improve the way they speak and write by enhancing and expanding their vocabulary. Friday, October 30, vocabulary words will come alive, as students dress as a word. Each class will partner with another class to share their words, parts of speech, definitions, and the words used in a sentence. Teachers will be providing more details soon.
We can't wait to see what words will hatch!
Fall Concert Coming Soon
Counselor's Corner
Hello GMA Families!
October is National Bullying Prevention Month so this week's video is about bullying. In the video, I go over the different types of bullying and what bullying is. I also talk about the difference between tattling and telling. If you have any questions, please let me know!
Video 7 Link: https://youtu.be/p3B3Dp_We8U
Happy October!
Michael Skiles
Geist Montessori Academy
School Counselor
317-813-4626 EXT: 104
GMA Vision
GMA Vision: Geist Montessori Academy, guided by the educational philosophy of Dr. Maria Montessori, is a community of learners that awakens and discovers the wondrous spirit of the child. We believe that ALL children are innately curious and capable of high levels of learning. By attending to the whole child and providing an academically, socially, emotionally, and culturally rich educational environment, students experience the joy of learning and are able to maximize their potential and become the best that they can be.
Look what's buzzin' by the ditch!
Hi, it’s Miss Jeanie.
Last Wednesday, I came to water the new plants and see what is happening as it starts to get cooler in fall. My inventory of who I saw there includes:
A frog
House wren
Goldfinches
Song sparrow
Field sparrow
Monarch butterfly
Sulphur butterfly
grasshoppers
bumblebees
honey bees
Have you seen anything else?
Cold weather is coming and these animals will deal with the cold in different ways. The frog will hibernate underwater. Sorry, but he jumped into the water before I could get a picture or an ID.
house wren
The House wren will stay until the coldest part of winter, maybe December, then go south for rest of the winter. Right now,[JW1] he is busy hunting for insects. On Wednesday, he was under some roots at the edge of the water, in a place that was too dark for my camera. This picture is from Cornell University’s All About Birds website. (www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/House_Wren ) If you see him you will notice his perky tail that he flicks up and down. On the website you can listen to his song. Have you heard that song at the ditch?
goldfinch
The goldfinches will stay all winter. They eat seeds, lots of seeds, to add some body fat. The flowers on the ditch have plenty of seeds for them to eat. That’s why we won’t cut down the dead flowers. Each one is a personal sized bird feeder. When you look for the goldfinches, notice that they have lost their gold color for the winter, the better to be safely camouflaged from the hawk. You could find their song on the same website.
chikadee
The goldfinches have just grown new feathers, kind of like you putting on a winter coat. My daughter took this picture of a chickadee fluffing up his coat to deal with a really cold day.
bumblebees
Bumblebees take a different strategy. In fall, a newly hatched queen bee digs a small hole in the ground where she will hibernate alone. She will stay there until spring flowers bloom and start to make nectar again. Here are some bees on goldenrod. The black and yellow one is the bumblebee. Leave them alone. They have a job to do.
Ms. Jeanie
So, when you get out your jacket or coat this fall, think about the animals who live on the ditch.
Some of them will hibernate (the frog and ___________).
Others will migrate to warmer places (the wren and _____________).
Others will stay if they have plenty of food and a warm coat (__________).
Keep warm and keep safe!
Monarch
Monarch butterflies, freshly hatched, are busy gathering nectar from the last of the summer flowers. I saw one on the New England asters. Very soon they will fly south to Mexico where they and millions of other Monarchs will gather on trees for the winter. Some kids I knew from Mexico used to take school trips to go see trees full of Monarchs. Here’s a picture of the one I saw on Shultz’ ditch before he left.
WE hope to see you at the next PTO Meeting!
Time: Oct 20, 2020 06:30 PM Indiana (East)
Every month on the Third Tuesday, until Dec 15, 2020, 3 occurrence(s)
Oct 20, 2020 06:30 PM
Nov 17, 2020 06:30 PM
Dec 15, 2020 06:30 PM
Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Monthly: https://zoom.us/meeting/tJEpcOyqqTMjE9GXc85TFfOC08_I-ORU2A6M/ics?icsToken=98tyKuCtqjwvGNOduRCCRowMBo_CZ-rwtlxEj_p6pBy9VhR1ZCzVZrp9G_9QIu2C
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/95475278995?pwd=YkM3eXBjUW1yd3N3bkJCNmdvdC91dz09
Meeting ID: 954 7527 8995
Passcode: jXU4tX
GMA School Calendar
Virtual or LIve, GMA always thrives!
GMA's Sensational School Board!
Our sincere appreciation is extended to our amazing school board for their service to GMA!
President: Uriah Ellis
Secretary: Lacey Willard
Treasurer: Andrew Cavallaro
Members at Large: Karen Swan and Mark Clark
Meeting Dates: October 20, 2020 (*Pending Fall Break calendar), December 15, 2020, February 16, 2021, April 20, 2021, June 15, 2021
*All Meetings begin at 5:30 pm and are open to the public. Meetings will be held at the physical school location or virtually, as needed.
We look forward to our continued partnership, as we grow together for the better!
Children of the World, featuring GMA students!!!
Meet our incredible School Family staff members: Enjoy Photos and Letters
Meet our 2020.2021 Staff Members
We are so excited to grow together for the better!
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