Calendar
9/27 – 9/29 School pictures – Schedule on p. 2
10/9 Indigenous People’s Day – School closed, no childcare
10/10 All school assembly – Birds of the World 10 am
10/14 Family Fun Day, Book Fair 10 – 2
10/23 Staff Inservice Day – School closed, no childcare

I hope you were all able to print up the flyer and post it or share it with friends regarding this Sunday's Church service and Civilian Search for Nina Reiser. If not, please let me know and I will try to forward on another one.
If you are able to help with the Civilian Search here is some more information:
There will be 2 meeting points for the Search.
1. The first will be the St. John's Church at 12:30 immediately following the service as it states on the flyer. The search will be led by Ellen Doren.
2. There will also be another meeting point for the Search at Montclair Park at 1:00. (this site is helpful for those that can not attend the service beforehand but still want to help). Led by Anthony Zografos
Pease be aware that the search is not to look for a body and hopefully we won't find a body but it is to look for clues/evidence that will bring us closer to finding Nina.
Anthony and Ellen will be passing out information about Nina before the search, i.e. descriptions of Nina's clothes and other articles she had on the day she disappeared, etc.
The groups will go out in teams to search different regional parks along Skyline Drive. Ellen's teams will start at Roberts Park and if there are enough people, teams will be dispersed to search Redwood Park as well. Anthony's teams will head to Sibley and then to Huckleberry if there are enough volunteers to do so. There will be a presentation before the searches begin giving guidance on what to look for and how to do it to insure that evidence is not damaged in the process. This is meant to help the police investigation and the safety of the volunteers and any evidence located/found will be protected to the best of everyone's ability.
Please plan to attend, bring a friend and help us find a friend. The weather will be warm so please bring liquids to keep you hydrated.
Thank you all for your help,
Marni Hunter

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. Next week’s sound is “C” as in Curl, Carton, Claw.

FAMILY FUN DAY & SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR
Saturday, October 14th, is a special day at GLM. This is the day that the campus is transformed into a circus/carnival, and we hold the Scholastic book fair. There will be games, face painting, circus performers, food, activities and books! Mark your calendar and bring the whole family! Don’t miss these fun events (from 10 am – 2 pm). Volunteers will be recruited to help with set-up, booths, food prep and clean-up. Watch for the sign-ups lists.

SCHOOL PICTURES
This year we are using Dennis Geaney School Photography for our school pictures. They will be here the last three days in September; schedule is below. We should have the pictures back before Thanksgiving. Mr. Geaney requests that parents NOT be present during the sessions.
9/ 27: 9:30 am - 10:30 am MULBERRY, 10:30 am - 11:30 am CAMELLIA

9/28: 9:15 am – 10 am ELEMENTARY, 10 am - 10:45am JACARANDA,
10:45 am – 11:30 am JUNIPER

9/29: 9:15 am – 10 am LIVE OAK, 10 am - 10:45 am GINKGO,
10:45 am – 11:30 am MAGNOLIA
Afternoon: Make-up shots

SEEKING NANNY
Two GLM families are seeking a part-time nanny to share for their two 10-month old girls. We are looking for a loving, caring person who has experience working with two infants at the same time. The hours would vary and are somewhat flexible, between 8am and 3pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday out of our Crocker Highlands/Glenview homes. Spanish speaking, CPR and first aid instruction would be great! Please contact Danielle at danielle.n.hayes@comcast.net or Meghan at meghan@meghanoleary.com

HOES DOWN HARVEST FESTIVAL
Come to the 19th annual Hoes Down Harvest Festival on Saturday, October 7th at Full Belly Farm (Capay Valley, Yolo county – north of Vacaville) where you can experience more than twenty workshops ranging from orchard pruning to egg laying (we'll teach you how!) with blacksmithing and engines chugging on the side. Learn how to felt and dye yarn, milk a goat or cow or just plain ol' relax under the blue October skies. There will be horse wagon rides giving short tours of the farm, a huge corn maize for adventurous kids and pumpkin carving contests for the young at heart. Great organic food and great music fill out the day, but wait! Don't forget the 19th annual Manure Pitch Off to test your fork flipping skills with the best of them! There will also be Sunday activities in the area and car camping is available. Please go to the website for more information: http://fullbellyfarm.com/hoesdown.html

BIRTHDAYS
Birthdays in the Montessori classroom are celebrations of the child’s birth. The child walks around a hand drawn sun with the months written on its twelve flames. Beginning on the month of birth, the child holds the globe and walks around the “sun” the number of years the child has lived on the earth, reinforcing how the earth orbits the sun. Parents are invited to join the ceremony with the children and teachers, and to bring a snack of fruit and healthy bread. If you would like to bring a gift for the class, the teachers are happy to give you some ideas of what the class can use.

CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR CHILD’S ASTHMA?
Children’s Hospital Asthma Clinic is presenting classes for parents and their children on how to manage asthma. Classes take place at BANANAS on Tuesdays, October 10 & 24, November 14 & 28, and December 12 & 19 from 4 to 6 pm. Contact Sara at Children’s Hospital to register, 510-428-3885 ext. 5663.

TUFF TUMBLERS
For children wanting to sign-up for Tuff Tumblers there is room available in both the Wednesday and Friday 4:10 class. Contact the office ASAP if you are interested.

SAFEWAY SHOPPERS
From 9/9 to 10/17 you can earn money for GLM by purchasing items at Safeway that carry the yellow school bus symbol! Ten percent of these purchases will be sent to the school of your choice. Simply bring the reward certificate to the GLM office and we’ll do the rest!
You can also earn money for the school by clipping out the Box Tops for Education symbol on General Mills’ products. Put the coupons in the Box Tops canisters around campus, and twice a year the BTE volunteer will mail them to General Mills. Then, we get paid 10 cents per coupon submitted!

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CLASS NEWS

REDWOOD (ELEMENTARY)
Our class enjoyed some wonderful vanilla muffins this week, made by Gabrielle and Zachary. Thank you!
The first years made a model creation of the earth using chocolate pudding which we cooked. We watched it heat up and expand, then shrink as it became cooler. Of course, our earth was very tasty as well.
The children also learned how to salsa dance this week with Mrs. Velasquez! It was so fun to watch them. All of the children enjoyed it. She taught them in small groups to make it easier for them to pick up the steps.
We began our Monday after school art class this week with Mr. Keating. The children had a great time working with the chalk. He makes it so easy for them to enjoy art. Thank you Mr. Keating!
Clare and Nacalah have been busy preparing for their going-out to the Oyster Farm next week in San Rafael. They are studying the harvesting of edible mollusks.
Our class has also begun the Second Step curriculum and we are learning to read people's body language to help us understand other’s emotions.

JACARANDA
Welcome to new families! The Jacaranda teachers hope that the Jacaranda Back to School night was informative and relaxed for everyone. Please do not hesitate to email the Jacaranda teachers at jacarandateacher@grandlakemontessori.com with any questions about your children or about the curriculum.
Remember to contact the volunteers who are coordinating the various activities in and around the classroom the 2006-07 school year.
Holiday/Parent Mentoring coordinator: Rachel Neumann (Luna)/Sharon Moliken (Dylan)
Material/supplies coordinator: Zayda Thiel (Logan)
Communication coordinator: Ariel Trost (Ruby)
The outside classroom offers works that are prepared with the same attention given to the indoor classroom works. Work is taken from a shelf and carried on their trays and returned to the shelves in the same condition that the child found the work, just as in the indoor classroom. Outside classroom activities include: scooping birdseed into the bird feeder, digging with hand trowels and shovels, raking, watering plants, table cleaning, eggshell composting, cloth washing with washboard, to name a few. Yesterday, children replanted mint from Caleb’s garden into the clay pots also from the Meyer’s family.
The younger children take a walk around the campus with a teacher in the mid morning. Destinations include the vegetable gardens, flower gardens, and a quiet walk through other classrooms. Children learn best when they can experience changes, through touch, sound and other senses. For example, to experience the seasons’ change, the children plant seeds, water and then harvest the flowers or fruits that have grown all summer.
This same philosophy is followed in the classroom, where the younger child carries the different sizes of pink cubes, all proportionally related to one another, or the older child “makes numbers” by assembling the correct number of thousand cubes, hundred squares, ten bars and units, and matches the corresponding symbols, or written numbers. In every area of the classroom, in every part of the curriculum, children are moving, manipulating and eagerly assembling works that help them learn.

JUNIPER
The Blue Line:
You may have noticed the blue line in Juniper and wondered what we use it for. Well, there are two main functions. The first is that it serves as a designated gathering point for Juniper children where we have circles, celebrate birthdays, etc. The second is for walking on the line, an activity that Juniper children have embraced enthusiastically this year, doing it once or twice each day. We play a CD by Sanford Jones (of Opera Camp notoriety) that has a variety of musical segments corresponding to different types of walking, such as simple walking, marching, tiptoeing, galloping, etc. This is a great exercise for the children to practice control of their bodies and often helps them move through an aspect of the morning work period often called "false fatigue," in which they appear to lose the ability to focus on their work.
Juniper continues to work on the Land and Water Forms. We started with lakes and islands and will soon proceed to others. We've also been studying parts of trees (roots, leaves, branches, etc.) and learning the names of the various trees on GLM's campus with activities such as bark and leaf rubbing.
As a class, Juniper has decided to learn three poems, the first of which is "Color."
Color
What is pink? A rose is pink by a fountain's brink.
What is red? A poppy's red in its barley bed.
What is blue? The sky is blue where the clouds float thro'.
What is white? A swan is white sailing in the light.
What is yellow? Pears are yellow rich and ripe and mellow.
What is green? The grass is green with small flowers in between.
What is violet? Clouds are violet in the summer twilight.
What is orange? Why an orange, just an orange!
*Remember!*
Please bring a magazine and a shoebox for upcoming Juniper projects. Also, we need one parent to bring in a large white poster board.
*Thanks...*
Goes out to all of the Juniper parents for their wonderful support of Juniper activities and the great birthday celebrations.
*Upcoming Event*
Family Fun Day/Book Fair is coming on October 14! Room Parents will be contacting you for help with the events. Juniper has volunteered to be in charge of the food booth and the cotton candy booth.

LIVE OAK
Busy, busy, busy! The outdoor environment is buzzing with French, painting, and cloth washing. Inside are lots of letter work and complex number work with the four year olds. Everyone is learning the continent song and using the map. Here are the words to the song so you can sing along at home:
North America, South America, Africa, Europe and Asia,
Don’t forget Antarctica, don’t forget Australia.
North America, South America, Africa, Europe and Asia.
The calendar is posted for classroom visits. We would love to have parents write dictated stories, listen to emergent readers, do an art project, or bake with the children. Every third Thursday we bake for afternoon snack!
Thank you for all you do!

GINKGO
The Ginkgo class has started studying the parts of a tree; branches, roots, leaves and bark. We will begin going outside and learning the names of the different trees on campus.
On Thursday, September 21, we had a birthday celebration for Paxton Grimmer. Her mom, Tana Johnson, came in and told the children the story of Paxton’s life. Paxton’s birthday is actually on September 22, which is the same day as Lou Whitaker’s! Paxton turns 3 years old and Lou turns 4 years old. It was pointed out to the children that banana begins with the “B” sound and so does bread. The children brought in a lot of Sound of the Week items that start with “B”. Some children even wore a Sound of the Week Bandage! The children are enjoying doing observations on the beginning sounds of words. We also want children to observe the ending sounds of words. So please feel free to send items with the ending sound “C” on next week.
The second-year children have received lesson plan folders. The folders list lesson choices for the children. Sometimes the children are unable to pre-plan what they what to do and the folders help and keep the children working with fun and challenging materials. It also works as a reminder for teachers what lessons we want to cover with an individual child in a weeks time.

MAGNOLIA
This week, with Mr. Hoffmann, the children practiced the Spanish version of "Magnolia Tree" accompanied by his guitar. We have been practicing the song every day. Mr. Moody (movement specialist) started this week. The children were all happy to see him. He played several partnering songs and dances with the children including "Bluebells and Cockle Shells", which the children loved!. In this dance the children practice swaying and spinning with their partner. We had several lovely snacks this week for Sound of the Week; Blueberries, Blueberry Bread, Bagels, and Banana chips.
Happy birthday to Theryn, Ori and Jude! They celebrated their birthdays with us this week.
Some dates to remember for next week: Rosh Hashanah celebration on Monday, picture day on Friday at 10:45
Please remember to bring in a family photo for our family tree, We will soon begin decorating our family ornaments to put on our tree.

MULBERRY
The children have been exploring more of the classroom and spending more time indoors. One of the children this week had a lesson on baby washing and when she washed the baby she took a bath, too! She had a soap beard and soap in the hair. We've had lots of children cutting apples then eating them. We added a bird matching work this week and a group of the children have been repeating the names of the birds. They might come home saying pelican, robin, sparrow, etc. A couple of the children have been setting the tables for lunch; putting out the placemats, plates, spoons, wash cloths and lunch boxes on the table. Children really do enjoy helping, and having their own “jobs” to do. We are definitely well on our way for a good school year.
On Wednesday we celebrate the Sound of the Week with the rest of the school. We ask that the children bring an item from home that starts with the sound of the week, preferably not a toy. Then we play language games with the items such as I spy with my little eye something in the basket that begins with "A" - apple. Next week the Sound of the Week is "C".
Congratulations to Ravi, Rupa and Milan. Rupa gave birth to a baby girl while in Chicago. The little girl weighs two pounds so they will be staying in Chicago for a couple of months. We will miss Milan and send best wishes to the family.
Song of the week:
What's the weather like today, like today, like today?
What's the weather like today? It is sunny (cloudy, rainy, foggy).

CAMELLIA
Thank you to all the parents who encourage their children to bring something in for the Sound of the Week. This week was "B". We had Beans, Book, and Bamboo. Everyone gets very excited about the items they bring in to share. “This is mine, this is mine!” one child said. Next week’s sound is "C", as in Cookies, Candy, Cake, Chips…mmmmm!
Mr. Moody, our movement specialist, came this week to do activities with the children. They jumped up and down, held hands and went around the circle, moved from left to right. They really enjoyed it.
Every morning we sing our hello song:
Hello, (child’s name)!
Hello, (child’s name)!
Hello and how you?
I'm good, I'm good,
And I hope you are too.
After the song there's always a child who goes around the circle and repeats all the other children’s names. It’s amazing that children this young age have such memories.
Please sign in/out, and check your Parent Pockets and your child’s cubby often.  ¶ 2:44 PM