2013
September
NEWS
Then...
..Now
In our first official full month of school of our 45th anniversary, I’d like to share a little of St. James’ history with you. Many of you know that Father Fleener and Marie Mosely co-founded St. James Montessori School, which was later changed to St. James Episcopal School of Dallas. Father Fleener had become aquainted with Montessori philosophy and method through Sister Monica Marie’s Montessori Pre-School classroom at the Ursuline Academy where his youngest son was attending. Mrs. Marie Mosely was his older son’s kindergarten teacher at St. John’s Parish Day School. Marie had been studying Montessori philosophy and was eager to learn more. One thing lead to another and Father Fleener and Mrs. Mosely went to the Vestry in 1967. *Father Fleener relates how the financial problem of opening a new school was resolved: “Following the Vestry meeting during which the financial difficulties of the Parish’s supporting the pre-school were discussed, Eugene Barnett, a vestryman, called the Rector and asked to meet him. At that historic meeting, he offered the Rector and Mrs. Mosely an alternative to Vestry support for the Montessori School. His offer was in form of some stock of the
Brown Shoe Company of St. Louis , Missourri, for whom he had worked for many years, to be used as collateral for the bank loan necessary to set up the school, buy the materials, and pay the staff for the first school year. Hi effort included the premise that the collateral would be returned to him at the end of the second year, and that he would pay whatever losses were at that time.The St. James Episcopal School of Dallas owes its existence to Mr. amd Mrs. Gene Barnett and his faith in the principles of Montessori and in the abilities of Marie Mosely. That his faith was well-grounded is shown by the fact that the collateral was returned to him in May 1970, when it was obvious that not only could the school function debt-free, but it could also pay it’s share of the rent, utitilites, etc; meaning that the Parish’s gift of the use of the facilities would not cost the Parish financially.” *Excerpts from the 20th anniversary document compiled by Mary Jane Lang I am so proud to be woven into the history of this school. I will be sharing more fun blasts from the past in our future newsletters. Mrs. Loree
Left Photo of Marie Mosely assisting with carpool. This was her daily uniform she always wore.
MDO
Happy fall everyone!!!!!! We love this time of year!!!! Is time for our pumpkin patch to return. The children love going to see the pumpkins.
The children have been doing so great in the classroom. They have normalized and love coming in getting right to work. Some of their favorite works are sorting leaves by size and gluing them to paper. We have our fall painting as well. Their very favorite thing is independent snack though! The children do apple coring, peanut butter spreading, banana peeling and slicing, and sugar snap pea shelling.
Since fall is here already, we love doing fall type snacks. Anything with pumpkin butter is always great. We would even love to make our own. The children have loved being able to make snack everyday. It's one of their most favorite things to do in our classroom. So, be looking for my emails with our fall snacks. We hope everyone is enjoying this school year as much as we are. Thanks, Your MDO Teachers
Toddler
Our toddler environment has turned red, orange and yellow! Fall colors are all around. In our environment we have apple counting, apple gluing, and apple stickers. We are also becoming more independent, dressing ourselves, shoes on and off and learning how to wash our own hands. The restroom gets a little crowded, but there is a lot of learning going on in there. We are also learning the full work cycle. Getting our rugs/mats and rolling them out. Choosing our own works and putting them away when we are finished with them. Then our rug/ mat is rolled up and put back in the correct spot. Wow! We are learning to take turns and learning to tell others with our big toddler voice “that’s my work”. So much to learn ~ our family style lunch has been a success! We are sitting in our chairs and very little food is being dropped or spilt. Happy Fall Apples, Ms. Anna and Ms. Bea
We are off to a great start this year! The children have settled into the toddler environment comfortably. The cycle of activity is one of the first lessons the children learn. Choosing a space by placing a rug or mat down, independently choosing a work, working on the task to their satisfaction and then placing it back where they got it from. This is modeled for the children in the beginning. Little by little they embrace the order of the new environment. Before the children can progress to more challenging work they must master the ability to work through the cycle of activity. It is so exciting to see the children working with purpose and self discipline. They take pride in the community and thrive on order Mrs. April, Mrs. Lilly, Ms. Eliane
It has been six weeks since some of us came back into our Montessori Toddler Community and we welcomed our new children into our loving and caring environment. In this brief period of time our younger children have been catching on to the modeling of the second year children. (Carter observing the fish tank)
Snack is one of the most popular works in our community! We have a wide variety of healthy choice snacks that are available to the children throughout the morning which includes: self serve snack, snack work (spreading cream cheese, peeling a clementine, slicing a banana, and punching apple slices from a apple slicer), and group snack. Group snack is a time where the children get to work as a group to prepare the snack for the day. They enjoy contributing and learning about the food. Snack preparation is also an excellent time for a rich vocabulary and sensory lesson. (Jackson scrubbing broccoli and carrots for snack preparation)
Observing as a first year student is almost as important as knowing how to use the work itself; they are transfixed on the way the older children use the work in a way they may have never seen before. Maria Montessori stated that “children’s mind are like sponges” which refers to the sensitive period of observation. The children love to sing songs in circle time! Circle time is another time for observation for the children and also time to learn the foundation of the world we live in (I.e. Walking in line, counting, learning ABC’s, the days of the week, months of the year, the weather, as well as singing silly songs, doing finger plays, practicing yoga, and just moving our bodies). The children love to be models and helpers! There is an opportunity for language around every corner in our toddler community. When the weather is nice we often like to take the children outside to water plants, sweep the porch, climb the climbing structure and sometimes go for garden walks to learn the specific names of the plants in our beautiful garden. Happy Fall! Ms. Coral, Martha, Jana
Primary T
he children in primary one have started back to school with an eagerness to learn and become more
independent in our class. They are incredibly
thoughtful of one another showing care and compassion in all things. They are teachers, helpers, students and friends. The multi-level ages allow for leaders to grow, nurturers to foster their younger peers, and the youngest students to learn from careful observation of others.
Group lessons and circle time create a platform for interaction between age groups. The children have enjoyed garden walks together, chapel time and mealtimes. One of the lessons the children have most enjoyed is creating extensions of sensorial work with the broad stair and the pink tower. After demonstrating a couple of extensions at circle time the children worked enthusiastically in groups and independently to push the boundaries with this work.
The children have also really honed in on their love of math and language. The kindergartners are really excited about spelling practice, math and all the privileges and responsibilities bestowed on them.
Care of the environment is also a fundamental part of the children’s daily experience. The children each have jobs to perform through the week and they do them with pride. The children are proud of their classroom and all enjoy pitching in to keep things clean and tidy. As we enter into Indian summer, we are thankful for the new school year and are looking forward to all the good things to come! Ms. Charlotte & Ms. Kalindi
The class is settling into a routine we will keep throughout the school year. The use of materials in a Montessori classroom involves many motions : walking, carrying, pouring, speaking, and the constant use of the hands One of the most basic lessons a child learns in a Montessori classroom is to choose a work, do the work properly and quietly, when finished with a work put it away and choose another work. When the student stands up to return the work, they must remember to push their chair in (so no one trips over it and so that the room stays neat). We have been working on this most basic lesson since school started and will continue to do so the entire year. In addition, our focus has been on establishing some habits of our daily routine: sitting quietly around the rug, working quietly, using an indoor voice in the classroom, and staying in line as we travel as a class around school.
Please allow your child to independently put lunch boxes, sweaters, etc. in their cubbies and also independently retrieve those items at the end of the day. One of the goals of the Montessori classroom is to lead the child to independence. If your child comes home with a small object of some sort in his/ her pocket that you do not recognize as coming from your home, suggest to your child that the object might possibly belong in their classroom and have them return it to a teacher. Please label your child’s clothing; sweaters, sweatshirts, ties (boys), etc. Mrs. Barrineau & Ms. Ana
F
or the past month, the botany theme in P3 has been the lifecycle of the sunflower. Our classroom has a small garden that grows outside the back windows and the children enjoyed watching the last of this year’s sunflowers blos-
som and then fade away. Once
the biggest blossoms had finished growing, we brought them into the classroom to explore with the children. The children noticed that the sunflower seeds were loose and ready to come out of the blossoms, so we created a work to harvest the seeds. The children worked on this project for several days until all the seeds were gathered. Then, we placed the raw seeds in a bowl to dry out.
At circle, we had a big group lesson about the life cycle of the sunflower in all its stages: 1. The seed that has sprouted a root 2. The seedling 3. The seedling with leaves 4. The blossoming sunflower 5. The wilting sunflower that drops its seeds
The children matched a series of nomenclature cards that demonstrated the life cycle of the sunflower and then we tasted some delicious roasted sunflower seeds together. They were a big hit! Several of the children enjoyed the roasted sunflower seeds so much that they pocketed some to bring home and share with family members!
On September 24th, each child received a sunflower seed pouch in his or her cubby. These pouches contain the sunflower seeds that the children harvested from our back garden. As the attached note explained, please store the seed in a safe place until spring (March). Then, help your child plant the seed in a sunny spot so that you can experience the full lifecycle of the sunflower at home. The children thoroughly enjoyed our end-of summer sunflower projects and we look forward to future botany works now that autumn has arrived. Ms. Tamara and Ms. Julia
The school year has gotten off to a great start! The children are settling in and beginning to normalize. In Montessori education, the term “normalization” has an interesting meaning. Normailzation does not refer to what is considered to be normal or typical. It does not refer to a process of being forced to conform to certain standards. Instead, Maria Montessori used “normalization” to describe a unique process she observed in child development.
Montessori observed that when children are allowed freedom within limits in an environment suited to their needs, they blossom. After a period of intense concentration, working with materials that fully engage their interest and needs, children are refreshed and happy. Through continued concentrated work of their own choice, children feel content. She called this process “normalization” and believed it was “the most important single result of the child’s work.”
The carefully prepared environment of the Montessori classroom allows this to process to take place. The younger children have begun to select work materials on their own, complete the work, and return it to the proper place on the shelf when they are finished. The older children have been enjoying becoming leaders within the classroom and giving lessons to their younger friends. Ms. Elizabeth and Mrs. Ashley
our watermelon vine... each blossom could grow into a watermelon
here’s the watermelon sweeping sidewalks in our garden
buckets and buckets full of weeds!
tumbling the compost
In the Children’s Garden Did you know we have our very own watermelon vine growing in our Children’s garden? Today we had the lesson on the “Parts of the Watermelon”. Many of the children memorized the parts from last year. Did you know that the watermelon is in the gourd family, and is considered to be a vegetable? Did you know you can cook its seeds, much like pumpkin seeds? Some of the other plants growing in our garden that the children know the names of: Rosemary, Fennel, Lamb’s Ear, Lavender, Zinnia’s, Tomatillo, Marigolds, and Peanuts. Happy Gardening!
watermelon nomenclature work
our watermelon!
Art with Ms. Judi
“Every Child is an artist..” - Pablo Picasso The children were able to get in touch with their inner Picasso this month. Picasso and Paul Klee were our focus artists for the 4’s and Kindergartners. The kindergartners are drawing their version of a Picasso inspired portrait and the 4’s are drawing their own rendition of Paul Klee’s Cat and Bird.
Technology with Ms. Judi
T
echnology Fun! The children have been so excited to learn about the computers. We
started off learning the parts of the computer. The children were able to touch and feel the different type of pieces that make a desktop PC/ laptopgo round! We also practiced using the mouse and opening/closing programs on the computer. They were even doing some typing too with a fun basic computer program. This year we will have more in store such as learning about QR codes and lego robotics.
We have settled into a nice routine in our ASC program. Ms. Kim, Ms. Shannon and Ms. Lindsey continue to work with your toddlers. Each day they have snack ready for them when they arrive at 3:30. The next hour is spent eating snack, changing diapers/ potty time, playing, singing songs and reading stories until 4:30 when the toddlers go out to play until 5:30. The primary are busy as usual, they also arrive in the lunch room at 3:30 and are served snack, have a quick bathroom break and go out to play. Ms. Elizabeth continues to help me and Ms. Annabel has joined the ASC staff. We all are enjoying getting to know your children. The primary children are enjoying lots of crafts and puzzles this year, while the toddlers love singing songs and playing with blocks during their free playtime.
Tip!
Tip!
You may have noticed that we changed our pickup system a little this year. Thank you for waiting for your child at the sign-out table. This enables the staff to keep their focus on the children and not be distracted with extra adults in the room, we appreciate you helping us to keep everyone safe. Please remember that pick up time is 6:00 p.m. If you will be late, please call the school with an estimated time of arrival. Just a reminder, after 6:00 p.m. there is a charge of $1 per minute for late pick up. Lisa Wilson and the ASC Staff
October is just around the corner and it feels as though we’ve just had our first day of school! We started Chapel just a few weeks ago by first training all of our wonderful Kindergarten children in their Chapel jobs. It has been lovely to watch each child take on the leadership roles. This is such a special time for the Kindergarten children and they would love to have each of you there for support on their job day. In Chapel, each school year we start at the beginning. In the beginning, there was nothing. (Genesis 1:2) But then, God created the Heavens and the Earth and all that was in it. The children love this story because it is the foundation of purpose for our lives. When God created Adam and Eve, He gave them a very important job! To name all the animals and take care of the earth. This was a big under taking but God knew that the earth needed us and we in turn need the earth. This partnership didn’t end in the days of Adam and Eve. It lives on today as one our most important jobs. It is still our job to take care of the animals and the earth. The Montessori classrooms involve this philosophy by; care of environment, plant care, animal care, zoology, the leaf cabinet, natural sciences and cultural studies. A great way to help your child practice this important lesson is by allowing them to help with yard work or walk the dog. On Monday October 7th we will be celebrating St.Francis by having our traditional pet blessing at 8:30am on the grass around the flag pole. Please feel free to bring your pets, pictures of pets or stuffed animals to receive a blessing from Father Gardner. After the Pet Blessing, all pets return home and pictures go in cubbies for safe keeping. Hope to see you all there! And remember: He’s got the whole world in His hands. And so do we. Blessings, Ashley Woodruff Christian Education Director
October
Upcoming Events
October 3rd- NO SCHOOL: Conference Day October 4th-NO SCHOOL: Fall Break October 7th & 8th- Park Cities Speech, Hearing and Vision Testing October 12th- School Picnic October 14th- Monday Morning Montessori Discussion with Loree October 15th- PTO Meeting October 18th- Donuts with Dad October 22nd- Take a Tour of Your Child’s Classroom October 28th- Kindergarten Parent Meeting October 29th- Uniform Resale October 31st- Halloween Parties- Noon Dismissal - NO ASC