See Shaw Shine
Shaw Montessori Newsletter / Week of January 15th, 2023
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Message From Principal Engdall
Greetings Shaw Montessori,
With an eager return we are settling into a great 9 weeks of uninterrupted learning before spring break. A lot of children remarked that this break felt particularly long and that they were ready to return!
With a new year come new changes. Our office manager, Christina Girard resigned her position this week. We appreciate Christina’s work in this role. She will be greatly missed in our community, but we look forward to having her in the seat of “parent”. We are actively working to fill her shoes. I will keep you informed as soon as her replacement has been found.
We are also looking for an additional Instructional Assistant for a primary classroom. If you know anyone that enjoys working with a group of amazing children, please share my email address with them. Susan.engdall@phxschools.org
This week we look forward to our Site Council/PTA meeting on Wednesday evening 1/18, our district spelling bee on Wednesday at 9 AM, go Declan and Jackson, and our Prospective Parent Meeting on Thursday at 10 AM in the cafeteria.
On Tuesday, January 24 we will hold our Transition Tour from 5:30-6:30. This is an evening for parents of children transitioning to a new level: from kindergarten to 1st grade, from 3rd grade to 4th grade and from 6th grade to 7th grade. You may visit the environments and chat with the teachers. Please know this is not a limited event, even if you do not have a transitioning child and wish to attend, you may. See flyer below.
Do not forget to sign up for afterschool enrichment classes. Registration ends on Friday, 1/20, classes begin the week of 1/23.
Wishing you the best,
Principal Engdall
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Shaw After-School Classes
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Site Council - Focus On Literacy Night
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Shaw Transition Tour Open House
Have a student transitioning to a new level next school year?
Primary to Lower Elementary (1st grade)
3rd grade to Upper Elementary (4th grade)
6th grade to Middle School (7th grade)
Join us for an evening open house…..the perfect opportunity to view classrooms and chat with teachers if your child is moving up to a new level next year.
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Our class had our Class Science Fair this week. We all took turns presenting our Science Fair tripods, experiments, and explaining the science. It was a lot of fun and we thought you would want to hear about it.
4th Grade: There were a lot of interesting projects and experiments. Bryan’s experiment was very interesting, he made a better light bulb. Zander Gootee’s experiment was about different types of C02. It blew our minds! He had an adult help him as an assistant to make sure we all stayed safe. Other 4th graders did projects on topics such as the Greenhouse Effect, gray water, making a flashlight with household items, and dog spit.
5th grade: There were a lot of good 5th grade science projects to watch and learn from like one where we learned about lungs. That went well with some of the things we did at the Mini Medical School at Creighton University where we learned how to give CPR. Quentin’s project was also really cool. He did it on Ohm’s Law. No spoilers. You have to see it at the School Science Fair in February. We also learned a lot about global warming and had good discussions on how to stop negative climate change.
6th grade: The sixth grade science projects were very interesting and exciting. Two out of three of the experiments where on DNA! Matilda's project was on DNA bracelets that shows what type of traits you get from your parents. Logan's project was about extracting DNA from fruits. Isabella was the only sixth grader that did not do an experiment on DNA. Her experiment was on batteries moving through wire!
A 4th Graders Perspective: I'm a 4th grader and this was my first time doing a big Science Fair Project. It was a fun experience to see the presentation that the 5th graders and 6th graders made. My experiement was a light bulb creation. My classmates gave me good feedback on how to make it even better for our School Science Fair. My favorite was Zander’s. He did the phases of C02 and it involved test tubes.
We invite you to come to our school Science Fair on the evening of February 28th (more details on this event coming soon). You will get to see all of the cool projects Shaw students created in person.
Mila, Jazmin, Marisol, Quentin, Liam, and Bryan
Mrs. Wheelington’s Class
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Greetings!
What a week! So many things happened, and I don’t know where to start! We began a new curriculum block – COMPOSTING. We learned an overview of composting last year. This year we are integrating more science into the lesson. This includes SURFACE AREA, MICROBES (bacteria, fungi, nematodes & protozoa) and MESOPHYLLIC BUGS. Compost is probably the most important part of gardening. The organic matter from compost brings fresh nutrients to the soil. This gives you larger yields and helps combat topsoil erosion. As I tell the students, “It’s like steroids for plants!” BIG THANKS TO HAROLD FOR DONATING THE DUAL-COMPOST TUMBLER! The kids love it!
Some stray dogs showed up on campus on Tuesday and caused quite the stir. They were super friendly, and the students enjoyed giving them water and good boi pets. District took them off campus then they returned about an hour later. We spent most of our day chasing them around and showing them love. Eventually, district came back and took them to the Humane Society. One of them has already been adopted! What a fun and random day.
THE GOATS HAVE FINALLY ARRIVED!!! They are being housed with the chickens in an adjacent paddock. Go say hello and give them some love! Please, do not feed them anything. They are on a strict diet.
We have scheduled a parent workday for February 11th from 8AM until 1PM. Please see the attached flyer above. I will have a virtual signup link for you by the next newsletter. Everyone is welcome! We will be working in the field garden again. Snacks and water will be available. I NEED MORE FLAGSTONE DONATIONS. Please email me if you have any stones you would like to donate.
Here is my email in case you need to reach me: james.obrien-moench@phxschools.org
Home Depot gift cards are always appreciated. Continue bringing your aluminum cans, coffee grounds, eggshells, and bottle caps. You can leave them on the table outside the front office, except for the bottle caps. Have your child drop them in their classroom bottle cap bin. We will also accept any tool donations for the field garden and/or ODE.
Thank you, Matt, for the pumpkins!
Enjoy your three-day weekend!
Mr. Moench
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We look forward to seeing everyone at the first PTA Meeting of 2023!
Come hear about upcoming school events and enjoy pizza provided by the PTA.
Childcare and Interpreters (ASL & Spanish) are available at all PTA meetings.
Attendance sign-up: https://signup.com/go/PyaqPxr
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Contact Info:
Shaw Montessori School
