Montessori Messenger April 2023

montessori MESSENGER

Dear Woodland Hill Community,

Spring is always an exciting time at Woodland Hill! We enter into Spring Break shaking off the last dark and cold days of winter and return full of energy and enthusiasm to carry us through the final weeks of school.

As you will see in this edition of the Messenger, our school community has many special events that celebrate some of the learning that has occurred this year. The Middle School’s incredible Civil Rights Journey, Upper Elementary’s adventure at the Ashokan Center, the Lower Elementary rehearsing for class plays, Primary’s preparation for the upcoming classroom gatherings, and Toddler’s comingof-age transition to the “Big Kids’ Playground”, all illuminate the growth and transformation we witness in the children each day.

This season also brings many opportunities for our Woodland Hill families to come together. It brought me such joy to see the line of parents and children excitedly waiting to participate in Parent-Child Night on Wednesday. The students were so proud to show their parents the inner workings of their classrooms. Whether it’s for a class play, capstone presentation, or pinning ceremony, I look forward to seeing you soon!

In partnership,

Michelle

UPPER ELEMENTARY FUN NIGHT

On Thursday, April 20 we hosted the first Fun Night in three years and it was a blast! With a space theme, DJ, pizza, photobooth, snacks, and games - it was an evening full of pure joy! The students were talking about it all day Friday and had a great time.

There is something special about Woodland Hill after hours!

Upper Elementary Immersion

Ashokan Center

In this plane of development, the children begin to see themselves as individual members of their community and the world beyond. The opportunity to experience a time away in nature with guided challenges and the help of their peers is an essential step on their path towards independence.

At the Ashokan Center, the Upper Elementary went on guided hikes, learned trade skills, saw a bird show before bedtime, and so much more. Here are some quotes from the students reflecting on their time there:

"My favorite parts of the trip were broom making and the bird show. I always love going on these fun overnight trips every year!" Rona

"I really enjoyed the fun games we played in the main hall and the bird show was so cool. I loved broom making and the wiggly bridge was awesome." Gus

"I learned a lot, like how the trees know that we are here and how they help us. I can't wait for next year's trip." Jack

"Thank you for helping schools and teaching people how to respect nature. Thank you for showing what this place once was. I enjoyed broom making very much and the teachers did the best job. I liked hiking and really enjoyed seeing the bald eagle. " Christopher

Middle School Immersion Days 4 - 5

Civil Rights Journey

Day 4: Memphis | By Nick and Izzy

After a little bit of a late start, we head off for Memphis Tennessee! We drove down the infamous Beale Street, and visited the famous Peabody Hotel. Why is this hotel so famous? Well, because of the ducks! Such ducks walk down a red carpet to the fountain in the middle. Along with that, there were adorable gift shops selling unique duck-themed items.

After that, we traveled down to the Mississippi river boat tour! It was beautiful. So many sights to see and lots of history to learn about. The wind was blowing, the waves churning, and everything was so peaceful and pretty! We also boated underneath a large bridge! It felt unreal…

After all of that, we headed back to Beale street to do some shopping! We walked around until the end of the day, and then we went to the hotel for a good night’s rest. We had dinner at the Hard Rock café on the corner of Beale Street. It was pretty good!

Day 5: Memphis | By: Izzy

Friday! Today was a bit… turbulent. Quite literally! Our flight back home was cancelled due to a tornado in the area! We got at least five tornado warnings throughout the day, and had to spend most of our time in the lobby of the hotel we were staying in. Though the tornado warnings blared on our TVs, the tornado stayed 20 minutes north of us. We never got touched except for a bit of wind and a little rain. We’re all good!

Earlier in the day, we went to the National Civil Right Museum at the Lorraine Motel and visited the place where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. The museum showed us the history of slavery and the lasting consequences of white supremacy, and how the civil rights movement of the 60s changed things for the better. It was very interesting indeed.

After that, we headed over to the Rock and Soul museum. We watched a little introductory film at the beginning and used headphones and music players provided by the museum to learn more about the topics we were reading about! It was a very cool system. Through these devices, we were able to listen in on the past, and hear the beginnings of the rock genre. There was also cool dresses and suits from that era as well. They looked so fun to wear!

Olympics of the Visual Arts

OVA is a Winter Extracurricular at Woodland Hill among many other schools throughout New York, organized by the New York State Art Teachers Association. The organization annually hosts a creative problem-solving event in which student teams of one or more enter a long-term design solution in one of eight categories and participate in an on-demand design prompt. Teams present a portfolio along with their entry to showcase the research, planning and iterations that led to the final design. This friendly and spirited competition among students across the state is a wonderful way for students to interact with other student artists and together celebrate creativity.

Our students and art staff headed to the event on Thursday, April 27 with their projects ready and creative minds on for the spontaneous challenge. Our team placed in 6 categories of their own division. We are so proud of the students hard work over these past few months!

G R A N D P A R E N T S A N D S P E C I A L F R I E N D S D A Y

F r i d a y , M a y 1 2 , 2 0 2 3

W o o d l a n d H i l l M o n t e s s o r i S c h o o l

T o u r s i n t h e c l a s s r o o m

F r e e s n a c k s a n d r e f r e s h m e n t s

S m a l l p r o j e c t s

Join the WHMS community for this beautiful event at the Albany Shaker Heritage Barn. Tickets still available.

MS students are studying color theory and painting uniquely shaped color wheels.

UE art students studied the macro photographer Levon Biss and then used magnifying glasses to make large bug drawings from tiny specimens.

LE

students constructed cardboard robots using plastic screws, saws

Inspired by the contemporary artist Jen Stark, UE Art students made paper collage "drips."

Primary art students practiced their scissor cutting skills while making shape pizzas.

LE art students learned about the artist Michelangelo and his amazing paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Then they experimented with making drawings while lying under the art room tables and drawing above their heads.

UE Makerspace students have (noisy) fun building wood bird feeder.

The MS Curator Club hosted an opening for students from other schools to celebrate the MS Regional Art show in the FLOCKart gallery.

Makerspace

and screwdrivers.

From the Diversity Committee

On Saturday April 22, WHMS community members from all levels, their parents, friends, and family joined the Diversity Committee for a night out at The Egg.

Our group of 40+ enjoyed an evening with Savion Glover and ORCHeST’DaNCE RA, where we were treated to the premier of a brand-new piece. With both scripted word and improvisational dance and music, we were taken on a journey through Savion’s career. We were given a peek inside Harlem’s famous Hoofers Club, the importance of it, and the incredibly talented Black tappers who supported, inspired and challenged each other there. The piece was meant to not only engage the audience, and highlight the incredible talent of the performers, but also to raise awareness about mental health.

A great time was had by all - “So good!!!” “Such an incredible experience!” “Our kids are young but they were standing and moving to the performance!” “Stunning evening” “Wow, that was amazing!!!”

As if the evening wasn’t exciting enough, Micah, from Stephanie and Naomi’s class was called on stage for a chat with Savion, during the post-performance talk.

We have heard African drums used in many of our WHMS performances. The drum typically used is Tjembe. But have you wondered what other types of drums are commonly used in Africa and what they sound like?

On this website, you can see and hear the sounds of some of the most popular African drums: Djembe, Udu, Bowl (Kettle), Bata, Log, Ewe, Atsimevu, Kids, and Talking Drums.

Brief descriptions on their origins accompany each instrument.

May is the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.

It is an annual event that celebrates the histories of Americans of Asian continent and Pacific Islands. This event was originally started by a Capitol Hill staffer. It was introduced as a resolution to the Congress in 1977, and became a law in 1992.

Did you know, May is chosen as the AAPI month, because it commemorates the immigration of the first Japanese people to the United States on May 7, 1843? And, on May 10, 1869, the transcontinental railroad that was built with significant contributions from Chinese workers was completed?

To learn more on AAPI month visit The Asian Pacific Heritage Month here to see scheduled online events including works of Lao and Hmong American authors, Ukulele performance, and more.

To celebrate the AAPI month, here are two shows, performed and produced by the Polynesian Cultural Center’ of Hawaii. Both are about 2 hours long each, and include singing and dancing by Polynesian performers. The first is from one of the regular evening performances; the second is that performed by the former performers ('60s through '80s). Look for a lot of Hula dances, chants, and even comical fire dances. There is even one of the most authentic Maori Haka.

LOOKING AHEAD

Sixth Grade Capstone Presentations

Wednesday, May 10 | 6 pm

Sports Banquet

Thursday, May 11 | 6 pm

Grandparents and Special Friends Day

Friday, May 12 | 1 - 3 pm

FLOCKart Opening for Victoria Van der Laan

Open Mic in the WHMS parking lot!

Tuesday, May 16 | 6 pm

Muffins with Michelle

Hear all about the Civil Rights Journey from the perspective of the Middle School!

Thursday, May 18 | 8:15 am

A Starry Night Soiree

Saturday, May 20 | 7 pm

Upper Elementary and Shakespeare Performances

Tuesday - Thursday, May 20-23