Dear Parents and Staff,

As we tumble through May, I'm looking forward to a great weather week. Could spring have come?

Last week you received a SignUp Genius to RSVP for the picnic, sign up to help, and choose the food you'd like to bring to the picnic. Please take a few minutes to tell us how you would like to help. The picnic is on Saturday, May 21, 1:00 - 4:00 pm.

Also, does someone have a microphone and amplifier that would work in the gym when we want to have everyone's attention?

This week you'll receive a SignUp Genius for the golf outing. If you want to sign up for golf or to sponsor, look for the link later in this newsletter. If you want to sign up to help at the golf outing, we appreciate your efforts! Not a golfer? You can sign up just for dinner or to help. Thank you!

Enjoy this beautiful week!

Warm regards,

Elaine Kennedy, Head of School & Pauline Nagle, Associate Head of School

Thurs May 11: Chess Club - Multi-Purpose Room 3:30-4:30 pm

Sat May 20: Golf Outing, Shotgun start 1:30pm

Sun May 21: School Picnic, 1:00-4:00 pm

Tues May 23: Oregon Trail event for Grades 2-5

Thurs May 25 & Fri May 26: Records Day - No school all levels; full-day Kids' Club Thurs May 25, May 26-No Kid's Club

Mon May 29: Memorial Day - No school all levels

Tues June 6: Toledo Zoo trip K-5

Wed June 7: Performance- PS, K/1, EL, MS, Graduation 6:30pm at the PARC

Thurs June 8: Field Day & Last day of school - Dismissal 11:30am, Kids' Club all levels 11:30am-6pm

Don't forget to sign up with SignUp Genius for picnic potluck food and ways to help.

The picnic is just for family fun. There will be a bounce house, Kona Ice truck, and a "dunk" tank. Please bring a dish to share.

Summer Science Camps are back at New Morning School for 2023! 4 weeks available for ages 3 through entering 5th graders. Ages 3-5 are half-days and those entering Kindergarten through 5th grade can enjoy full days. Before and After care also available!

Many New Morning School staff will be working during Summer Camp including Ms. Danielle, Mr. Russell and Ms. Lisa. You can have the confidence that your child will be in good care over the summer.

Check out the details in our brochure. Contact us with any questions you may have! Registration is open now. Space is limited, so sign up early!

Register at: https://www.newmorningschool.org/summer-science-camp

NMS families scheduled to clean the school this weekend are the Corliss, Akinbosede, Opara, Drake and Blomberg/Moss families. Cleaning checklists will be available on the counter at the front desk Friday afternoon. Thank you for keeping our school sparkling clean!

Grab some friends and join us as we continue to celebrate New Morning School's 50th anniversary. Join our scramble-format Golf Outing on May 20th! Shotgun start is at 1:30 pm. Reserve your team today. Space is limited, so sign up online today.

This week we will be wrapping up our pottery unit thanks to the generous partnership with the Plymouth Potters Guild and made possible by our grant from the Michigan Arts and Culture Council.

Our artists have made stoneware fish and cups, utilizing the Elements of Art (color, texture, line, shape, form,value and space) that have been the basis for our instruction this school year. Understanding and experimenting with these elements is a way to elevate any art project our kids choose to undertake and talking to your child about them while enjoying their art together will reinforce their use. This week we will be painting our pieces which will then go to the Guild to be fired.

Can’t wait to see the final products!

Ms. Andrea

Teachers:

Marisa Downs marisa@newmorningschool.com

Danielle Provencher daniellenewmorning school.com

Preschool News

We hope everyone had a good time at the field trip to the Ann Arbor Hands on Museum. Thank you for taking the time to share this experience with your children and their friends. A set of keys was found at the bottom of our coat bin. If they belonged to you, they were turned in at the museum’s desk.

This week we are thinking about our moms and working on surprise gifts for them. Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 14th. All moms (or special guests if Mom can’t make it) are invited to join us on Friday 5/12 from 10 to 11 for Muffins with Mom. Even if it’s not your child’s scheduled day, you are welcome to join if you’d like. We’ll push, pull, and poke play dough at our sensory tables.

Our teachers for the letter X are Mabel and Eliza in Danielle’s room and Isaac and Esmeralda in Marisa’s.

Mark your calendars for our end of the year variety show and 8th grade graduation on June 7th! We have begun to practice our three songs and are looking forward to entertaining the entire theater with our lively performance.

Oreo and Snickers are still looking for a summer vacation home. If you are interested and able to take the girls for all/part of the summer, please reach out to Marisa marisa@newmorningschool.com.

~Danielle and Marisa

Teacher: Russell Lightfoot russell@newmorningschool.com

We finally said goodbye to our salmon. The Middle School students have done a fantastic job looking after them since November. We released 97 salmon into the Lower Rouge River on Wednesday which was a great experience! We will be participating in the salmon in the classroom program again next year!

Take a look at a few other things that have been going on in Science!

Gym Teacher: Jason Bengel jpbengel@yahoo.com

We are very excited about the school-wide field day that will take place on Thursday, June 8th! This event will be a wonderful opportunity for the entire school to come together and experience some high energy and exciting activities! Please read the following information carefully as some of the traditional field day details have changed.

Important note: Since this is a school-wide event and will require a lot of parent volunteers to make the day a success, we are expecting a parking lot filled to capacity.

8:00 - 8:45am Set Up. (4 Volunteers)
9:00 - 11:30am Morning Rotations: Students will visit 13 activity stations. All will be outside. In the event of rain or severe weather field day will be canceled. (13 Volunteers)
11:30-12:30pm Clean up

We are asking that all students wear their NMS gear to help show their spirit throughout the day.

For Thursday, June 8th please encourage your students to:

• Wear gym shoes or other shoes suitable running and playing. Sandals are not a good idea.
• Bring a water bottle, labeled clearly with their name.
• Put sunscreen on them before they come to school.
• Each class will rotate through all events staying 10 minutes at each station.
• Bring a change of clothes... Just in case

Teacher: Pauline Nagle pauline@newmorningschool.com

Lead Aide: Shelley Blakeney

Dear Parents,

We are pleased to announce that Shelley Blakeney has accepted the role of Primary Teacher for the 23-24 school year. Shelley will begin transitioning to the Lead Teacher role as early as next week. Shelley has experience as an early childhood educator and is trained in Orton Gillingham, a systematic reading approach that will support our young readers. Having the privilege of working by her side this year, I can attest that her combination of knowledge, skills and caring heart will be a great addition to our New Morning School staff and community. Please officially welcome Shelley to her teaching role when you see her!

Ocean Book Writing: Everyone worked really hard last week on their Ocean writing. We have some coloring to finish and then they will be off to the printer! We are so excited. Order forms for a hard-cover copy of our class book were sent home in Friday folders. Please return orders tomorrow, Tuesday, so that they can be sent with our items for publishing.

Math: This week we focused on constructing and deconstructing numbers. We use number bonds as one way to understand parts and wholes. We also are learning how to write number sentences for addition and subtraction, and the recipricol nature of these properties. For our early mathematicians, we re focusing on numbers from 20-100, counting by 10s and understanding the tens and ones place value.

SEL: We have been discussing how to show care or act in a caring way. We are often noticing when our friends choose to voice concerns with a soft tone or pose a question kindly. We noticed some friends apologizing without prompting, when needed. We notice inclusion of others. We are talking about the "language of care" so that our friends know what words may be helpful when trying to show care and kindess. "Do you want to play with us?" "Is there anything I can do to help?" We are also talking about how helping each other focus and listen can show care of our teachers and whole class community. We are connected to one another and practicing care matters.

We are planning a field trip to the Toledo Zoo with the Elementary Class on June 6th. We need 2 more drivers/chaperones that can drive 3 children. This will be a full day field trip. Please send me an email if you would like to drive and chaperone. You must have a driver's release form filled out (from enrollment). Permission slips were sent home in Friday folders.

Have a wonderful week!

Best,

Ms. Pauline

Teachers:

Hannah Diaz hannah@newmorningschool.com

Christine Jansen christine@newmorningschool.com
Cynthia Weber cynthia@newmorningschool.com

EL Lead Aide: Karen Staples

Oregon Trail

We are moving forward preparing for our “journey”. The scholars “hired” wagon masters after a discussion of the importance of this person for the survival for all in the wagon train. In a tie vote, Landon and Daniel were named the Wagon Masters. Congratulations!

The families are working on what supplies they needed to take to survive the 6 month journey. With only enough room for a 1000 pounds, they have to be selective. Many have started to play the classic Oregon Trail game and are learning more about the challenges of life long ago.

They also sewed their own buckskin pouches to take on the journey. This week they will learn some of the games they would play on the trail: marbles, buzzsaw, and checkers, make some items to trade at the forts along the way. We will also continue learning how to square dance. It is going to be a fun and busy week!

Last week we sent home the permission slips for the Oregon Trail journey on Tuesday, May 23. We are still in need of a few more drivers that can transport students and the “covered” wagons! Just a reminder, everyone going on the Oregon Trail needs to be dressed as a pioneer. If you are in need of suggestions on what to wear, please ask a teacher. Thanks for your support.

Moving Up Day

We are planning on having the first graders that are moving up to second grade here to visit for lunch and quiet reading on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. Our registered fifth graders have been invited to spend lunch with the middle schoolers on that day as well.

Fifth Grade Farewell Lunch

We started a tradition with Sofia and Scarlett a few years ago that we would like to continue. The teachers are hosting a lunch for all of them on Thursday, June 1. They haven’t decided where to go yet, but we will let you know. We will order lunch and eat in the pavilion next door. If you have any questions, let us know.

Auditions

The auditions for our end of the year performance will be held on Wednesday, May 16. Anyone interested in performing needs to be prepared to do so on that day. They will be given the final approval at that time.

Reading Groups

Many of the groups are finishing their books this week. I think the students really enjoyed their reading. They will finish up their reading packets, and take a quiz on their books. They will get to use their notes. We will review before they take it. They will also write a review about the book they read.

Writing Groups

We worked hard to wrap up our persuasive writing essays and paragraphs. A few are still in need of some refining, but we are making progress. We had some amazing journals this week. We wrote about what we would do if we found old airplanes, designing secret rooms, and having an adventure in space.

Math Groups

Symmetry, angles and averages, of my. Last week we covered a lot of information. This week the groups will continue working on measuring! They will be measuring arms, circles and angles! We will also be incorporating weaving into our group time since it involves planning and logic to help us prepare for our “trip” west!

Have a great week,

Hannah, Christine and Cynthia

Teachers:

Linda Hyde linda@newmorningschool.com

Nicole Matoian nicolem@newmorningschool.com

Greetings Middle School Parents!

April showers have surely brought May flowers! Hope you were able to enjoy some of the fabulous weather this weekend. Let's hope it continues!

Last Wednesday we experienced a successful release of 97 salmon into a tributary of the Rouge River System in Canton, Michigan. Thanks to all who were able to drive! Students enjoyed gently guiding the salmon to their new home and completing some STEM activities as well. It was an exciting, educational, and fun morning!

This will be a busy week for Middle School.

Students have finished their big novel studies and will end the school year reading some fun, but provocative science fiction stories. This week Language Arts Group A will read the Classic Ray Bradbury story “There Will Come Soft Rains,” while Language Arts Groups B and C will read the classic story “Flowers for Algernon” written by Daniel Keyes. All groups have been assigned vocabulary from the stories to study on VocabClass.com., and will take tests over the vocabulary words on Friday.

In Social Studies, we will begin an investigation into the Transatlantic Slave Trade which was a consequence of the European Age of Exploration during the Renaissance Period. Students will watch a video on the topic on Monday and then begin a webquest on the topic that will take them until the end of the week.

In Math, Group A will determine whether two exponential expressions are equivalent. We will then review what we’ve learned about expressions and equations for the remainder of the week and take a short assessment on Thursday. The final unit of the year will cover rational numbers.

Group B will find solutions to inequalities in real-world contexts and then review for a unit assessment on Thursday. The final unit for Group B will cover angles, triangles, and prisms.

Group C will take a unit assessment on exponents and scientific notation on Tuesday, and then begin their final unit on the Pythagorean Theorem and irrational numbers. Students will begin by investigating squares and use methods like decomposing and rearranging to find the area of a tilted square on a grid. Students will also determine the exact side length of a square and express it using square root notation.

Important Dates to Remember:

Monday, May 22: 8th Grade Vision Boards due for review

Thursday, June 1: 8th Grade Presentation of Museum, Portfolios, and Career Exploration

Wednesday, June 7: End of Year Performance, 8th Gr. Graduation, & 8th Gr. Retrospective

Finally, please let us know if you would like to schedule a year-end Conference for your child. We are available either before or after school during the days of June 1, 2, 5, 6, or 7. The mornings of June 1st and 5th have already been scheduled.

Enjoy your week!

Ms. Linda and Ms. Nicole

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