Thursday, September 26, 2019

Thursday, September 26, 2019 Dear Parents, The Denali Open House is tonight! The choir, led by our wonderful Music teacher, Mr. Stafford, will start the evening on a positive note at 6:00 p.m. After a brief introduction of the staff, you will get a chance to visit your children's classrooms from 6:30-8:00. I hope to see you there tonight. Our first field trip of the year has been moved to Wednesday, October 16. We will be walking to the Apple Store in the 5th Avenue Mall to participate in "Coding with Sphero" We will leave the school at about 10:10 and should return about 12:30. I have sent new permission slips that are required by the district and the Apple Store in today's folder. I'm sorry for the inconvenience to those that have already returned a permission slip. This will be a fun learning experience and it's still free! I am very excited to announce an amazing opportunity for our Lower Elementary students here at Denali Montessori. Ms. Homan, one of the wonderful Lower Elementary teachers and field trip guru, has worked tirelessly putting together a glacier cruise out of Whittier for our entire wing! This will be an incredible opportunity to see our studies on Alaskan animals and glaciers first-hand in one of the most beautiful settings in the world, our home of Alaska. The trip does not have a date until we put down a deposit, but it will take place in May. The cost will be $60 for each student and chaperone that attends. We will be holding various fundraisers and asking for donations throughout the year to cover scholarships so that every student can attend. I have included a questionnaire at the end of this newsletter to see how many students and chaperones are interested in going. Please return this as soon as possible. Once we determine that there is enough interest, we will begin collecting funds so we can put down a deposit and confirm our date. Thank you very much to Ms. Homan for her expertise and the many hours she has put in planning this trip for our children! While we are on the topic of field trips, I want to let you know my expectations and the responsibilities of the students on our outings. Each child is responsible to follow the instructions of the chaperones and teacher on every field trip. It is my responsibility to keep the students safe. We walk, take buses, ride in boats or drive to all our field trips and it is vital that they are being safe in all those situations. It is also the responsibility of the child, to be respectful and kind on the field trip. When we go out in the public, we are representing Denali Montessori, Room 177, you, and myself. We need to show that Denali Montessori students are respectful and kind at all times on field trips. If the student isn't being safe, listening to the adults, or is not showing respect and kindness, the student will be required to have his or her parent attend the next field trip. If the parent can't attend, the child will have to stay in a classroom at Denali while we are on the trip. There has been a pleasant hum during our work sessions this week in Room 177. We have been working on our spelling words, money work, angles and triangles by sides in geometry, writing friendly letters, math facts and operations, penmanship, reading skills, comprehension, classification, rhyming words, the adjective in grammar and more! It's been a fun week for me to see the amazing growth the students have made in this short amount of time. If you have any questions or concerns, please email me at moyer_craig@asdk12.org or call or write me a note. Sincerely, Craig Moyer ________ I want my child to attend the field trip to Whittier and go on the glacier cruise. ________ I want to attend the field trip to Whittier and go on the glacier cruise. _______________________________. ____________________________ Printed Name Signaure

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Thursday, September 19, 2019 Dear Parents, Our first field trip of the year will be on Wednesday, October 9. We will be walking to the Apple Store in the 5th Avenue Mall to participate in "Coding with Sphero" We will leave the school at about 10:10 and should return about 12:30. This will be a fun learning experience and it's free! I have included permission slips in today's folder. Please mark your calendars for next Thursday, September 26 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. This is your chance to visit the classroom and find out more about the Montessori program at the Denali Open House. I look forward to seeing you then! It's been a busy week in Room 177. The students have been learning about the adjective, counting and identifying coins for 1st graders and counting money and putting it in decimal form for the 2nd and 3rd graders, writing friendly letters, reading, spelling, math facts and operations, penmanship, reading activities, math problem solving, creative writing and more! The students are getting more independent and creating a peaceful atmosphere to work. Your children are amazing to work with and continue to make me smile daily. One of the many "Montessori Moments" that happens in Room 177 warmed my heart the other day. One of the first graders was having trouble making friends at recess. I asked a couple of other first graders if they would like to include this student with them at recess. My normally quiet voice (Ha, Ha) was overheard by most of the class and everyone that heard my request said that this student could join them as well. The smile on this student's face was priceless! It reminded me of what a great job I have and what incredible people your children are! If you have any questions or concerns, please email me at moyer_craig@asdk12.org or call or write me a note. Sincerely, Craig Moyer

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Thursday, September 12, 2019 Dear Parents, We have had an incredible week learning about place value and playing math games, writing about what peace is to each of us, penmanship, even and odd numbers, spelling, reading activities, writing friendly letters, math facts and operations, geometry, writing our own creation stories, a lesson on friendship with our wonderful counselor, Ms. Banta and more! I've really enjoyed working with your children this week! Picture Day is Thursday, September 19! The first of many flyers went home today. You may order your pictures online or send in the order with your child. Please send your child with a smile on the 19th! Open House at Denali Montessori is Thursday, September 26 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. Please join us to see what we're doing in Room 177 and how the students use all the wonderful Montessori materials. I look forward to seeing you then. We do not have a snack calendar in Room 177. I ask that students that bring their own lunch pack a snack to eat during the morning, as they get hungry. We do have a snack cupboard for those that have hot lunch or forget their lunch. If you would like to help stock the snack cupboard with items such as goldfish, pretzels, string cheese or other nut-free items, it would be very much appreciated. If you have any questions or concerns please e-mail me at moyer_craig@asdk12.org or call or write me a note. Sincerely, Craig Moyer

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Thursday, September 5, 2019 Dear Parents, The students have been busy this week learning the golden beads, stamp game, and banker’s game to help them on their addition, subtraction, multiplication or division. The first graders have enjoyed playing “fetching games” in which they create numbers that I ask them to retrieve. We have also been studying the noun, classification, rhyming words, polygons, reading, quadrilaterals, fundamental geometric concepts, math operations and facts, letter writing, and penmanship. I will also be telling the students Marie Montessori’s Second Great Lesson, “The Formation of Earth”, next week. There are 5 Great Lessons, which I will be sharing in the next couple of weeks. They are the basis of all our learning and the class will revisit these topics throughout the year in our various studies. Picture Day is Thursday, September 19! The first of many flyers went home today. You may order your pictures online or send in the order with your child. Please send your child with a smile on the 19th! Open House at Denali Montessori is Thursday, September 26 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. Please join us to see what we’re doing in Room 177 and how the students use all the wonderful Montessori materials. I look forward to seeing you then. We do not have a snack calendar in Room 177. I ask that students that bring their own lunch pack a snack to eat during the morning, as they get hungry. We do have a snack cupboard for those that have hot lunch or forget their lunch. If you would like to help stock the snack cupboard with items such as goldfish, pretzels, string cheese or other nut-free items, it would be very much appreciated. If you have any questions or concerns please e-mail me at moyer_craig@asdk12.org or call or write me a note. Sincerely, Craig Moyer