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Thursday, January 22, 2004
Thursday, January 22, 2004
Calendar
Feb. 6 Silent Journey, 6 pm
Feb. 16 President’s Day – no school or childcare
Feb. 17-Feb. 20 Winter break – school closed, childcare by sign-up
CHILDCARE FORMS DUE
The February Childcare forms are due next Monday, Jan. 26. The Winter Break (Feb. 17 – Feb. 20) forms are due Friday, January 30. Please make a note on your calendars that GLM will be closed for President’s Day, Feb. 16, and for the Winter Break Feb. 17-20. There will be childcare during the break, and as noted above the forms are due by Jan. 30.
WELCOME TO OUR NEW TODDLER TEACHERS
Liza Ruan began working for GLM through our substitute serve, Childcare Careers. Ms. Aima was so impressed with her that we hired her last week to work with the Mulberry children. Liz has her AA Degree in Child Development from Merritt College. She worked with young children at the College of Alameda and Merritt College Children Centers. In China she taught elementary children for 21 years.
The Camellia class welcomes Gloria Grimm as a new assistant. Ms. Grimm was also a substitute teacher for the school. She hails from the Alamo Montessori and Virgin Islands Montessori schools, as well as having been a “resort” nanny at the hotels!
SOUND OF THE WEEK Each Wednesday your child is encouraged, with your help, to find an object at home (preferably not a toy) that begins with the sound of the week. Put it in a labeled bag to share with your child’s class. The sound of the week next week is “S”, as in Soap, Spider, and Silence.
PENNIES FOR PATIENTS
The GLM elementary class is participating in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Pennies for Patients program this year. The program starts on February 2, 2004 and runs through the month of February. During this time the elementary children will ask you to help your child collect pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and even dollars to assist their class in the fundraising. All funds raised will go to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s mission: to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, myeloma and to improve the quality of life for patients and their families.
Get everyone involved: your neighbors, coworkers, friends and family. Consider donating that jar of pennies that sits on a shelf collecting dust! Dig under your couch cushions, in bottom drawers, the floor of your car! Elementary students had their own suggestions; Jessica said, “We’ll take money that doesn’t make any noise”, and Crystal reminded, “you can write a check”! Thank you for your support. For more information contact the GLM elementary class or the Leukemia Society at 415-625-1100.
PARENTS NIGHT OUT
Ms. Leck is hosting a Parents Night Out on Friday, January 23, from 6-11 pm. Children should come to the Jacaranda classroom in their pajamas, and bring their sleeping bag. A snack, crafts, and movie will be provided. The cost is $35.00 for one child, $55.00 for two. Children must be at least 2.5 years old. Please call Ms. Leck at 510-663-8770, or email her at sidleck@earthlink.net. Advance payment reserves your spot! This service is not affiliated with Grand Lake Montessori.
FINANCIAL AID
Financial Aid information and procedures have been passed out to all families. For re-enrolling families the deadline for submitting a Parent’s Financial Statement (PFS - obtainable from the Business Office) to retain your child’s space in the school is 2/2/04 – no exceptions. The original PFS is to be mailed to the School and Student Service for Financial Aid, and a copy of the PFS must be delivered to Nancy Haskins, Director of Financial Aid at GLM by 2/2/04. If you need the procedures/info, please contact either of the school’s offices.
ELEMENTARY ACTIVITIES
The following is a partial list of activities the elementary students will be participating in:
~ Baseball season begins!
~ Trip to General Vallejo’s Fort
~ Continued library trips
~ Cents For A Cure (Leukemia fundraiser) in February
~ Spring dance performance
~ Attend Theatre Works USA production of Ramona Quimby
MISSING COAT
Angela Harris is missing her Mickey Mouse jacket. It is black and gray. Please return it to the office or the Live Oak class if you find it. Thank you in advance!
HOUSE FOR RENT
Small 2 bdrm house for rent behind ours (shared yard) in Laurel District between 35th & High. Contact Alice, Julia’s mom, at the above numbers/e-mail.
BABYSITTER AVAILABLE
One of our weekend babysitters, Ying Saechow, is looking for nanny work on Mondays and/or Thursdays. Ying is very responsible and CPR trained. You can contact her directly at 510-437-9750, or call Arlene Rosen or David Cohen at 510-465-7296.
CLASS News
LIVE OAK - MS. CHURCH
Amy, Sam and Gus Marcus visited our class Thursday to share their experiences and stories about the Yucatan Peninsula. They took lots of photos on their trip; some of them were of wild flamingos playing on the shore! Gus taught us some words in Spanish (luna and gracias), and Sam carried a huge board covered with photos around the class and described them to the children. Thank you for sharing your wonderful vacation with the Live Oak class!
Our three mice are doing well in their new, expanded home. The Jacaranda class loaned us a larger terrarium to house the babies until they returned to “Lucky Goldfish”, and the three lady mice decided they liked the larger terrarium for a permanent residence! Thank you, Jacaranda class!
Live Oak is on the look-out for classical CDs and stories on tape. If your family has any unwanted music that you would care to donate, we’d love to have them.
Valentine’s Day is coming. This is a holiday that we celebrate by exchanging cards between those who wish to do so. If your child wants to share Valentines PLEASE DO NOT LABEL THE ENVELOPES and provide an envelope for each child in the class. We will celebrate Valentine’s Day four days early, on Tuesday, Feb. 10, due to Ms. Church’s vacation Feb. 11-13.
GINKGO – MS. NITONDE
Thursday, Jan. 15 was Olivia’s birthday! We talked with the children about the fact that Jan. 15 is also Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday! Ms. Mc Clindon explained who Dr. King was and how he used his words to communicate. The children looked at pictures of Dr. King, his family, and photos of the peace marches he organized. One child raised his hand and commented, “When I look at his picture I see a peaceful man”. The entire class agreed.
Thank you to Finnegan’s mom for coming to school and teaching an art project. Each child enjoyed the activity, and produced very artistic work!
Chinese New Year is coming this Thursday. Ms. Yang shared the story of the Spring Festival and introduced how people celebrate the event. Red couplets, lanterns and other traditional decorations were shown during Circle time. The children also had the opportunity to make their own red couplets.
MAGNOLIA – MS. OLIVARES
The children have begun to learn new Spanish songs, including El Boton and La Gallina. The words to El Boton follow:
Debjo del botón, tón, tón Underneath the button, button,
(make lifting gesture) button
Que encontró Martin, tín, tín That Martin found, found, found
(finding gesture, surprised)
Estba un ratón, tón, tón Was a little mouse, mouse, mouse,
(indicate long tail)
¡ Ay, que chiquitín, tín, tín Oh, how tiny, tiny, tiny!
(thumb & forefinger indicate tiny)
¡ Ay! que chiquitín, tín, tín Oh, how tiny, tiny, tiny!
Estba un ratón, tón, tón Was a little mouse, mouse, mouse,
Que encontró Martin, tín, tín That Martin found, found, found
Debjo del botón, tón, tón. Underneath the button, button,
button.
Your child can teach you the tune and when you clap or stamp during the song!
We are in need of volunteers for our upcoming Valentine Day projects. Some projects include heart shape pouches, heart mobiles, and festive collages.
We have a special movement class Wednesday afternoons for the children who do not nap. The class is from 2:35 – 3:00 pm, so don’t feel you have to pick your child up right at 2:45.
CAMELLIA – MS. ALLEN
During the past week Ms. Lau has hung up beautiful, brightly-colored lanterns throughout the classroom in anticipation of Chinese New Year. All the children have been practicing saying “Gung Hay Fat Choy” (Happy New Year)! Many of the children are suddenly interested in using the bathroom! Please send at least three sets (underwear,
pants, socks) of extra clothing in the event of accidents, and replenish as needed.
Thank you to Nancy Appel, Sadie’s mom, for the class donation of puzzles and the play microwave oven!
We wish to welcome a new member to our class family, Vikram Branch! Be sure to say hello to his parents Glenn and Sujatha Branch!
The Camellia class is recruiting new Room Parents for the remainder of the school year, due to students transitioning into the primary classes. We need parents who can actively participate in the monthly Core meetings, inform other parents of upcoming events and help organize class/school activities. Please contact Ms. Allen if you think you’d like the job!
MULBERRY - MS. AIMA
We would like to welcome Lisa Ruan as our new assistant in the classroom! Ms. Ruan subbed with us for two weeks before joining our team and had an opportunity to get to know the children and the teachers.
Thank you to Elizabeth Becker’s family for giving the class a “lock box”. The various locks and latches are manipulated in order to open a small window to view an illustration! The children are very excited to use the box, and it is fast becoming the classroom favorite!
The toddler sandbox is in need of replacement sand. If you are able to pick some up, please let Ms. Aima know.
We began decorating our classroom for Lunar New Year, Jan. 22, with lanterns and a paper dragon! Diana Fong, Claudia’s mom, will be joining us on Friday to help us celebrate the new year! Thank you, Diana!
JUNIPER - MS. KOERBER
We hope everyone had a wonderful and informative Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday celebration day!
We are continuing our study of insects. Please help your child in obtaining something about insects to share with our class.
If you have any old dolls, of all cultures, and clothes, please feel free to donate them to the Juniper class. We promise them a good home!
Thank you to the Fernandez-Melone family for sharing their Filipino culture. They treated us to banana bread and apple juice while telling the story entitled “Sibuya’s Legend of the Onion“ (story by Augie Rivera and illustrations by Jason Moss). In the story a strange child named Sibuyan, who is no longer a baby and able to express her needs and feeling, insists on crying. Are her tears real? Or is she just deceiving her parents? It is an old-fashioned Philippine folk-tale that can be read as a lesson in developing one’s emotional intelligence. Crying is not bad, but children must also recognize that there are better ways of handling difficult feelings and situations. We also want them to learn to express their needs and feelings clearly and in a positive way.
We have been enjoying all the family cultures that you have shared with us. Thank you for opening our eyes and minds! If you’d like to share your family background with the class, please let us know!
JACARANDA – MS. LECK
Gung Hay Fat Choy! Mr. Tien joined our class this week to share his family’s traditions for the Chinese New Year on Thursday. He talked about how it is “Spring Cleaning” time, especially where the ancestor’s altars are concerned. Homes are decorated, sweet treats are in abundance, and Lucky Money is passed to children and unmarried people. Thank you Mr. Tien!
Last Friday, during a school-wide teacher prep workday, GLM was provided with diversity training by Marion Cowee of the Parent Services Project. As a group, we gathered to look at our assumptions and attitudes, and remembered to “acknowledge, ask and adapt” in our everyday interactions.
Also last week, Mr. Keating attended a Second Step music class and learned even more pro-social, positive lyrics to use during empathy awareness training and other times in the classroom.
New works in the Jacaranda classroom include, in the Practical Life shelves, locks and keys, where four keys match four separate locks; a tea work for pouring and serving the class during work-time; and coffee grinding, The ground coffee will be going home. Note: it is CAFFEINATED! In the Science area, magnetic and non-magnetic and connecting light bulb to battery work are exciting and challenging the children.
Following some confusion from the holidays, we have determined that “S” is the Sound of the Week next week. Please assist your child in finding an “S” item to bring to Circle next Wednesday.
Welcome back to Gabriel and his family, and Megan and her family from their holiday vacations. Let the new year begin with parents, teacher and children working together for the children’s independence.
REDWOOD – MS. RANKINS
We hope everyone had a great 4-day weekend!
The class was really looking forward to our library trip; however, it rained AGAIN! Hopefully we will have the cooperation of the weather for the next trip.
Thank you to all of the parents who remembered the baseball mitts! The younger children practiced hitting the softball, and the older ones practiced throwing and catching with one another. They are all learning to watch the ball as it is being pitched to them. I don’t think the new baseball tee will be getting much use this year! The children are doing very well, and extremely excited about playing!
Some parents bought their children a mitt for the hand they write with. I should have mentioned that a baseball mitt goes on the less dominant hand. If your child has the wrong mitt, please exchange it in time for next week’s practice.
The second years are studying the various functions of leaves. If you have any interesting household plants to share, please let Ms. Rankins know.
We are in need of empty house-hold containers. They could be gallon, 2 gallon, liter, quart, pint containers, etc. We are going to use these for converting measurements. Please save any type of container for us over the next week.
We have begun our Pennies for Patients fundraiser! Be sure to help us out by donating any excess change you have!
Calendar
Feb. 6 Silent Journey, 6 pm
Feb. 16 President’s Day – no school or childcare
Feb. 17-Feb. 20 Winter break – school closed, childcare by sign-up
CHILDCARE FORMS DUE
The February Childcare forms are due next Monday, Jan. 26. The Winter Break (Feb. 17 – Feb. 20) forms are due Friday, January 30. Please make a note on your calendars that GLM will be closed for President’s Day, Feb. 16, and for the Winter Break Feb. 17-20. There will be childcare during the break, and as noted above the forms are due by Jan. 30.
WELCOME TO OUR NEW TODDLER TEACHERS
Liza Ruan began working for GLM through our substitute serve, Childcare Careers. Ms. Aima was so impressed with her that we hired her last week to work with the Mulberry children. Liz has her AA Degree in Child Development from Merritt College. She worked with young children at the College of Alameda and Merritt College Children Centers. In China she taught elementary children for 21 years.
The Camellia class welcomes Gloria Grimm as a new assistant. Ms. Grimm was also a substitute teacher for the school. She hails from the Alamo Montessori and Virgin Islands Montessori schools, as well as having been a “resort” nanny at the hotels!
SOUND OF THE WEEK Each Wednesday your child is encouraged, with your help, to find an object at home (preferably not a toy) that begins with the sound of the week. Put it in a labeled bag to share with your child’s class. The sound of the week next week is “S”, as in Soap, Spider, and Silence.
PENNIES FOR PATIENTS
The GLM elementary class is participating in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Pennies for Patients program this year. The program starts on February 2, 2004 and runs through the month of February. During this time the elementary children will ask you to help your child collect pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and even dollars to assist their class in the fundraising. All funds raised will go to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s mission: to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, myeloma and to improve the quality of life for patients and their families.
Get everyone involved: your neighbors, coworkers, friends and family. Consider donating that jar of pennies that sits on a shelf collecting dust! Dig under your couch cushions, in bottom drawers, the floor of your car! Elementary students had their own suggestions; Jessica said, “We’ll take money that doesn’t make any noise”, and Crystal reminded, “you can write a check”! Thank you for your support. For more information contact the GLM elementary class or the Leukemia Society at 415-625-1100.
PARENTS NIGHT OUT
Ms. Leck is hosting a Parents Night Out on Friday, January 23, from 6-11 pm. Children should come to the Jacaranda classroom in their pajamas, and bring their sleeping bag. A snack, crafts, and movie will be provided. The cost is $35.00 for one child, $55.00 for two. Children must be at least 2.5 years old. Please call Ms. Leck at 510-663-8770, or email her at sidleck@earthlink.net. Advance payment reserves your spot! This service is not affiliated with Grand Lake Montessori.
FINANCIAL AID
Financial Aid information and procedures have been passed out to all families. For re-enrolling families the deadline for submitting a Parent’s Financial Statement (PFS - obtainable from the Business Office) to retain your child’s space in the school is 2/2/04 – no exceptions. The original PFS is to be mailed to the School and Student Service for Financial Aid, and a copy of the PFS must be delivered to Nancy Haskins, Director of Financial Aid at GLM by 2/2/04. If you need the procedures/info, please contact either of the school’s offices.
ELEMENTARY ACTIVITIES
The following is a partial list of activities the elementary students will be participating in:
~ Baseball season begins!
~ Trip to General Vallejo’s Fort
~ Continued library trips
~ Cents For A Cure (Leukemia fundraiser) in February
~ Spring dance performance
~ Attend Theatre Works USA production of Ramona Quimby
MISSING COAT
Angela Harris is missing her Mickey Mouse jacket. It is black and gray. Please return it to the office or the Live Oak class if you find it. Thank you in advance!
HOUSE FOR RENT
Small 2 bdrm house for rent behind ours (shared yard) in Laurel District between 35th & High. Contact Alice, Julia’s mom, at the above numbers/e-mail.
BABYSITTER AVAILABLE
One of our weekend babysitters, Ying Saechow, is looking for nanny work on Mondays and/or Thursdays. Ying is very responsible and CPR trained. You can contact her directly at 510-437-9750, or call Arlene Rosen or David Cohen at 510-465-7296.
CLASS News
LIVE OAK - MS. CHURCH
Amy, Sam and Gus Marcus visited our class Thursday to share their experiences and stories about the Yucatan Peninsula. They took lots of photos on their trip; some of them were of wild flamingos playing on the shore! Gus taught us some words in Spanish (luna and gracias), and Sam carried a huge board covered with photos around the class and described them to the children. Thank you for sharing your wonderful vacation with the Live Oak class!
Our three mice are doing well in their new, expanded home. The Jacaranda class loaned us a larger terrarium to house the babies until they returned to “Lucky Goldfish”, and the three lady mice decided they liked the larger terrarium for a permanent residence! Thank you, Jacaranda class!
Live Oak is on the look-out for classical CDs and stories on tape. If your family has any unwanted music that you would care to donate, we’d love to have them.
Valentine’s Day is coming. This is a holiday that we celebrate by exchanging cards between those who wish to do so. If your child wants to share Valentines PLEASE DO NOT LABEL THE ENVELOPES and provide an envelope for each child in the class. We will celebrate Valentine’s Day four days early, on Tuesday, Feb. 10, due to Ms. Church’s vacation Feb. 11-13.
GINKGO – MS. NITONDE
Thursday, Jan. 15 was Olivia’s birthday! We talked with the children about the fact that Jan. 15 is also Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday! Ms. Mc Clindon explained who Dr. King was and how he used his words to communicate. The children looked at pictures of Dr. King, his family, and photos of the peace marches he organized. One child raised his hand and commented, “When I look at his picture I see a peaceful man”. The entire class agreed.
Thank you to Finnegan’s mom for coming to school and teaching an art project. Each child enjoyed the activity, and produced very artistic work!
Chinese New Year is coming this Thursday. Ms. Yang shared the story of the Spring Festival and introduced how people celebrate the event. Red couplets, lanterns and other traditional decorations were shown during Circle time. The children also had the opportunity to make their own red couplets.
MAGNOLIA – MS. OLIVARES
The children have begun to learn new Spanish songs, including El Boton and La Gallina. The words to El Boton follow:
Debjo del botón, tón, tón Underneath the button, button,
(make lifting gesture) button
Que encontró Martin, tín, tín That Martin found, found, found
(finding gesture, surprised)
Estba un ratón, tón, tón Was a little mouse, mouse, mouse,
(indicate long tail)
¡ Ay, que chiquitín, tín, tín Oh, how tiny, tiny, tiny!
(thumb & forefinger indicate tiny)
¡ Ay! que chiquitín, tín, tín Oh, how tiny, tiny, tiny!
Estba un ratón, tón, tón Was a little mouse, mouse, mouse,
Que encontró Martin, tín, tín That Martin found, found, found
Debjo del botón, tón, tón. Underneath the button, button,
button.
Your child can teach you the tune and when you clap or stamp during the song!
We are in need of volunteers for our upcoming Valentine Day projects. Some projects include heart shape pouches, heart mobiles, and festive collages.
We have a special movement class Wednesday afternoons for the children who do not nap. The class is from 2:35 – 3:00 pm, so don’t feel you have to pick your child up right at 2:45.
CAMELLIA – MS. ALLEN
During the past week Ms. Lau has hung up beautiful, brightly-colored lanterns throughout the classroom in anticipation of Chinese New Year. All the children have been practicing saying “Gung Hay Fat Choy” (Happy New Year)! Many of the children are suddenly interested in using the bathroom! Please send at least three sets (underwear,
pants, socks) of extra clothing in the event of accidents, and replenish as needed.
Thank you to Nancy Appel, Sadie’s mom, for the class donation of puzzles and the play microwave oven!
We wish to welcome a new member to our class family, Vikram Branch! Be sure to say hello to his parents Glenn and Sujatha Branch!
The Camellia class is recruiting new Room Parents for the remainder of the school year, due to students transitioning into the primary classes. We need parents who can actively participate in the monthly Core meetings, inform other parents of upcoming events and help organize class/school activities. Please contact Ms. Allen if you think you’d like the job!
MULBERRY - MS. AIMA
We would like to welcome Lisa Ruan as our new assistant in the classroom! Ms. Ruan subbed with us for two weeks before joining our team and had an opportunity to get to know the children and the teachers.
Thank you to Elizabeth Becker’s family for giving the class a “lock box”. The various locks and latches are manipulated in order to open a small window to view an illustration! The children are very excited to use the box, and it is fast becoming the classroom favorite!
The toddler sandbox is in need of replacement sand. If you are able to pick some up, please let Ms. Aima know.
We began decorating our classroom for Lunar New Year, Jan. 22, with lanterns and a paper dragon! Diana Fong, Claudia’s mom, will be joining us on Friday to help us celebrate the new year! Thank you, Diana!
JUNIPER - MS. KOERBER
We hope everyone had a wonderful and informative Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday celebration day!
We are continuing our study of insects. Please help your child in obtaining something about insects to share with our class.
If you have any old dolls, of all cultures, and clothes, please feel free to donate them to the Juniper class. We promise them a good home!
Thank you to the Fernandez-Melone family for sharing their Filipino culture. They treated us to banana bread and apple juice while telling the story entitled “Sibuya’s Legend of the Onion“ (story by Augie Rivera and illustrations by Jason Moss). In the story a strange child named Sibuyan, who is no longer a baby and able to express her needs and feeling, insists on crying. Are her tears real? Or is she just deceiving her parents? It is an old-fashioned Philippine folk-tale that can be read as a lesson in developing one’s emotional intelligence. Crying is not bad, but children must also recognize that there are better ways of handling difficult feelings and situations. We also want them to learn to express their needs and feelings clearly and in a positive way.
We have been enjoying all the family cultures that you have shared with us. Thank you for opening our eyes and minds! If you’d like to share your family background with the class, please let us know!
JACARANDA – MS. LECK
Gung Hay Fat Choy! Mr. Tien joined our class this week to share his family’s traditions for the Chinese New Year on Thursday. He talked about how it is “Spring Cleaning” time, especially where the ancestor’s altars are concerned. Homes are decorated, sweet treats are in abundance, and Lucky Money is passed to children and unmarried people. Thank you Mr. Tien!
Last Friday, during a school-wide teacher prep workday, GLM was provided with diversity training by Marion Cowee of the Parent Services Project. As a group, we gathered to look at our assumptions and attitudes, and remembered to “acknowledge, ask and adapt” in our everyday interactions.
Also last week, Mr. Keating attended a Second Step music class and learned even more pro-social, positive lyrics to use during empathy awareness training and other times in the classroom.
New works in the Jacaranda classroom include, in the Practical Life shelves, locks and keys, where four keys match four separate locks; a tea work for pouring and serving the class during work-time; and coffee grinding, The ground coffee will be going home. Note: it is CAFFEINATED! In the Science area, magnetic and non-magnetic and connecting light bulb to battery work are exciting and challenging the children.
Following some confusion from the holidays, we have determined that “S” is the Sound of the Week next week. Please assist your child in finding an “S” item to bring to Circle next Wednesday.
Welcome back to Gabriel and his family, and Megan and her family from their holiday vacations. Let the new year begin with parents, teacher and children working together for the children’s independence.
REDWOOD – MS. RANKINS
We hope everyone had a great 4-day weekend!
The class was really looking forward to our library trip; however, it rained AGAIN! Hopefully we will have the cooperation of the weather for the next trip.
Thank you to all of the parents who remembered the baseball mitts! The younger children practiced hitting the softball, and the older ones practiced throwing and catching with one another. They are all learning to watch the ball as it is being pitched to them. I don’t think the new baseball tee will be getting much use this year! The children are doing very well, and extremely excited about playing!
Some parents bought their children a mitt for the hand they write with. I should have mentioned that a baseball mitt goes on the less dominant hand. If your child has the wrong mitt, please exchange it in time for next week’s practice.
The second years are studying the various functions of leaves. If you have any interesting household plants to share, please let Ms. Rankins know.
We are in need of empty house-hold containers. They could be gallon, 2 gallon, liter, quart, pint containers, etc. We are going to use these for converting measurements. Please save any type of container for us over the next week.
We have begun our Pennies for Patients fundraiser! Be sure to help us out by donating any excess change you have!
