Montessori Moments = Events Calendar + What’s Happening: 1/31/25
Winter is still here. While we may all yearn for warmer temps, we can still enjoy the season. Please enjoy Lyra’s beautiful poem. It will warm your heart during the final days of winter with hopefully No. More. Snow.
Calendar of Events: Check Central’s website calendar for planned school closings
February 2025: Rosa Parks Parade: Day of Friendship: Parent Visitation Week!
Middle School Business: Bumble Bee Snacks will officially open! Watch for Details!
Parent/Teacher Conferences: Lower El
PIN: Primary
Month of Giving to Free Little Library and Food Pantry: Primary C
3 Lower El: Science Fair: Watch for Info (rescheduled date)
4 Elementary & Middle School: Rosa Parks Day Parade of Gratitude
7 Primary PIN Event: V Hour
11-13 Lower El Parent/Teacher Conferences:
14 Day of Friendship: Watch for Info
17 Presidents' Day: Central is open to all today. Staff development has been rescheduled.
18-21 Parent Visitation Days: Watch for Info & V Link
I&T RSVP, Preprimary RSVP, Primary B RSVP, Primary C RSVP, Lower El. RSVP
24-28 Parent Visitation Days (cont.) Watch for Info & V Link
Primary A RSVP, Lower El. RSVP, Upper El. RSVP, Middle School RSVP
March 2025: Spring Break Begins, Science Parade, Opt. Standardized Testing,
Four Minute Plays, Field Day
Parent/Teacher Conferences: Upper El, Middle School, Infant & Toddler
PIN: Infant /Toddler & PrePrimary PAC: Pancake Heaven!
Month of Giving to Free Little Library and Food Pantry: Primary B
1 PAC: Pancake Heaven! Watch for Info & V Link
5 3rd Grade Parent Meeting: Standardized Test Discussion for 1st Time Testing Students’
Parents: Watch for Info
6 Elementary & Middle School: Annual Science Parade to Jefferson Park: Watch for Info
7 Infant/Toddler & Preprimary PIN: Watch for V hour
11 Primary A: Four Minute Play! 3:30-4:00: Watch for Info
11-12 Upper El. Parent/Teacher Conferences: Watch for Link
12 Primary B: Four Minute Play! 3:30-4:00: Watch for Info
13-14 School Closed to Students: AMS Professional Staff Development Days
17 Primary C: Four Minute Play! 3:30-4:00 Watch for Info
17-21 Lower El (3rd grade), Upper El, Middle School Optional Standardized Testing: Watch for
Info
21 Infant & Toddler Parent/Teacher Conferences: Watch for Link
24 Middle School Parent/Teacher Conferences: Watch for Link
25 Infant & Toddler Parent/Teacher Conferences (cont): Watch for Link
26 PAC Meeting: 5:30-7:00: Event Room: Plans for End of the Year Festivities.
27 Primary & Older: Field Day
28-31 Spring Break: School Closed to All (continues April 1-5)
What’s Happening?
2001 Cultural Enrichment
Upper Elementary students continue to create narrative art for an Indigenous story they find interesting. Students pair together to decide which story will guide their art and figure out how many characters they need and the different scenery they should develop. They also consider the challenges their characters will face and the moral of their story. Most students decide to represent their story with a stick-puppet show and excitedly begin constructing the scenes, people, animals, and spirits for their stories.
Upper Elementary
After celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. last week and creating peaceful posters celebrating his work, students began to imagine other civil rights activists who also worked hard and may not have been given enough recognition for their contributions. They turn their attention to Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin and take turns reading the stories of these two amazing people out loud. December 1, 1955, was the day that Rosa Parks was arrested, and Claudette Colvin was arrested on March 2, 1955. They wonder if Claudette’s actions inspired Rosa. They will perform a skit and participate in a Rosa Parks Parade next Tuesday at Jefferson Park.
Primary A
A group of four students are preparing rice! Three of them are cutting peppers, celery, and carrots. Meanwhile, the last student is measuring two cups of rice. They wash the rice and start cooking it. The whole classroom gets involved! They add oil, veggies, water, and salt. They mix it and wait until it is ready! After 20 minutes, the rice is ready to eat!
Infant/Toddler
Quiet music plays throughout the classroom as children sleep soundly. One child stirs in their sleep and rolls over to get comfortable again. The child rolls over once, then again, and then a few more times until they’re fully snuggled up against the child sleeping next to them. The sleepy snuggler, finally having found their comfortable spot, puts their thumb into their mouth and falls back into a deep sleep before being gently moved back to their mat.
Middle School
The Middle School book club is reading I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World. Students lead the weekly discussion, choosing questions about topics and themes presented in the book. They consider the importance of education, family, and peace. As they read Malala’s story and learn more about the impact of war and discrimination against girls, they reflect on their childhood memories. They talk about the games they played as children, and the discussion moves into how children’s games reflect time and place. The discussion moves on to the idea of home and its safety and normalcy. They end the meeting by choosing a quote or passage from the text that was impactful to them and share it with the group.
Lower El
A child is sharing the poem she has written today. It is about a Winter, and she is very proud of it. She asks if she can make forty copies so everyone can have a copy. She seems satisfied when she learns it will be included in this week’s Montessori Moment. A younger child is observing two older friends dividing decimals. He asks for, and receives, a beautiful lesson on dividing these really small numbers. A child extends her one-hour Spanish lesson to over an hour and a half for a second time in less than a week. Bien!
Primary B
Children gather at the group time rug to unpack a box containing the box of their Daily Soup groceries that the middle school students just delivered. They take out apples, carrots, sweet potatoes, and many other kinds of fruits and vegetables and lay them on the rug. “I have an apple. Is an apple a fruit or a vegetable?” A child places all of the apples under the fruit label. The class continues sorting and learning about the names of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and grains. A child responds with “Pepino” when asked what the cucumber is called in Spanish.
Pre-Primary
A child sits at a table with an ocean animal puzzle. They remove each adult animal piece one by one to reveal a baby animal underneath. “There's the daddy seahorse… and the baby seahorse! Daddy crab… and the baby crab! Mama Orca whale… and a baby orca whale!” After identifying all of the animals, they work on placing the pieces back on the puzzle.
Primary C
Two Early Riser students are counting golden beads amounts that correspond with the numerals cards on their trays. One card reads 4,320 and the second card reads 1,433. They carry their trays of beads to a rug where they find a long red ribbon ‘equal’ line and a red ribbon addition sign. They put their beads into a scarf and gently shake them representing the addition operation. They open the scarf and count all of the beads together. They ADD them! They happily discover that when you put two small numbers together, they make a bigger number. (It seems almost like magic!)
Special V Opportunity & Community Support Opportunities
Central’s Little Free Library and Pantry
Thanks for helping us give back to our neighbors. A neighbor who depends on this pantry asked that food donations include food in containers that someone without a home, kitchen, or can opener can manage. We ask that donations contain only foods within the expiration date. All foods should be as healthy as possible. We can do this!
Month of Giving
Books for Little Free Library & Food for Little Free Pantry
Winter is still here. While we may all yearn for warmer temps, we can still enjoy the season. Please enjoy Lyra’s beautiful poem. It will warm your heart during the final days of winter with hopefully No. More. Snow.
Calendar of Events: Check Central’s website calendar for planned school closings
February 2025: Rosa Parks Parade: Day of Friendship: Parent Visitation Week!
Middle School Business: Bumble Bee Snacks will officially open! Watch for Details!
Parent/Teacher Conferences: Lower El
PIN: Primary
Month of Giving to Free Little Library and Food Pantry: Primary C
3 Lower El: Science Fair: Watch for Info (rescheduled date)
4 Elementary & Middle School: Rosa Parks Day Parade of Gratitude
7 Primary PIN Event: V Hour
11-13 Lower El Parent/Teacher Conferences:
14 Day of Friendship: Watch for Info
17 Presidents' Day: Central is open to all today. Staff development has been rescheduled.
18-21 Parent Visitation Days: Watch for Info & V Link
I&T RSVP, Preprimary RSVP, Primary B RSVP, Primary C RSVP, Lower El. RSVP
24-28 Parent Visitation Days (cont.) Watch for Info & V Link
Primary A RSVP, Lower El. RSVP, Upper El. RSVP, Middle School RSVP
March 2025: Spring Break Begins, Science Parade, Opt. Standardized Testing,
Four Minute Plays, Field Day
Parent/Teacher Conferences: Upper El, Middle School, Infant & Toddler
PIN: Infant /Toddler & PrePrimary PAC: Pancake Heaven!
Month of Giving to Free Little Library and Food Pantry: Primary B
1 PAC: Pancake Heaven! Watch for Info & V Link
5 3rd Grade Parent Meeting: Standardized Test Discussion for 1st Time Testing Students’
Parents: Watch for Info
6 Elementary & Middle School: Annual Science Parade to Jefferson Park: Watch for Info
7 Infant/Toddler & Preprimary PIN: Watch for V hour
11 Primary A: Four Minute Play! 3:30-4:00: Watch for Info
11-12 Upper El. Parent/Teacher Conferences: Watch for Link
12 Primary B: Four Minute Play! 3:30-4:00: Watch for Info
13-14 School Closed to Students: AMS Professional Staff Development Days
17 Primary C: Four Minute Play! 3:30-4:00 Watch for Info
17-21 Lower El (3rd grade), Upper El, Middle School Optional Standardized Testing: Watch for
Info
21 Infant & Toddler Parent/Teacher Conferences: Watch for Link
24 Middle School Parent/Teacher Conferences: Watch for Link
25 Infant & Toddler Parent/Teacher Conferences (cont): Watch for Link
26 PAC Meeting: 5:30-7:00: Event Room: Plans for End of the Year Festivities.
27 Primary & Older: Field Day
28-31 Spring Break: School Closed to All (continues April 1-5)
What’s Happening?
2001 Cultural Enrichment
Upper Elementary students continue to create narrative art for an Indigenous story they find interesting. Students pair together to decide which story will guide their art and figure out how many characters they need and the different scenery they should develop. They also consider the challenges their characters will face and the moral of their story. Most students decide to represent their story with a stick-puppet show and excitedly begin constructing the scenes, people, animals, and spirits for their stories.
Upper Elementary
After celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. last week and creating peaceful posters celebrating his work, students began to imagine other civil rights activists who also worked hard and may not have been given enough recognition for their contributions. They turn their attention to Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin and take turns reading the stories of these two amazing people out loud. December 1, 1955, was the day that Rosa Parks was arrested, and Claudette Colvin was arrested on March 2, 1955. They wonder if Claudette’s actions inspired Rosa. They will perform a skit and participate in a Rosa Parks Parade next Tuesday at Jefferson Park.
Primary A
A group of four students are preparing rice! Three of them are cutting peppers, celery, and carrots. Meanwhile, the last student is measuring two cups of rice. They wash the rice and start cooking it. The whole classroom gets involved! They add oil, veggies, water, and salt. They mix it and wait until it is ready! After 20 minutes, the rice is ready to eat!
Infant/Toddler
Quiet music plays throughout the classroom as children sleep soundly. One child stirs in their sleep and rolls over to get comfortable again. The child rolls over once, then again, and then a few more times until they’re fully snuggled up against the child sleeping next to them. The sleepy snuggler, finally having found their comfortable spot, puts their thumb into their mouth and falls back into a deep sleep before being gently moved back to their mat.
Middle School
The Middle School book club is reading I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World. Students lead the weekly discussion, choosing questions about topics and themes presented in the book. They consider the importance of education, family, and peace. As they read Malala’s story and learn more about the impact of war and discrimination against girls, they reflect on their childhood memories. They talk about the games they played as children, and the discussion moves into how children’s games reflect time and place. The discussion moves on to the idea of home and its safety and normalcy. They end the meeting by choosing a quote or passage from the text that was impactful to them and share it with the group.
Lower El
A child is sharing the poem she has written today. It is about a Winter, and she is very proud of it. She asks if she can make forty copies so everyone can have a copy. She seems satisfied when she learns it will be included in this week’s Montessori Moment. A younger child is observing two older friends dividing decimals. He asks for, and receives, a beautiful lesson on dividing these really small numbers. A child extends her one-hour Spanish lesson to over an hour and a half for a second time in less than a week. Bien!
Primary B
Children gather at the group time rug to unpack a box containing the box of their Daily Soup groceries that the middle school students just delivered. They take out apples, carrots, sweet potatoes, and many other kinds of fruits and vegetables and lay them on the rug. “I have an apple. Is an apple a fruit or a vegetable?” A child places all of the apples under the fruit label. The class continues sorting and learning about the names of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and grains. A child responds with “Pepino” when asked what the cucumber is called in Spanish.
Pre-Primary
A child sits at a table with an ocean animal puzzle. They remove each adult animal piece one by one to reveal a baby animal underneath. “There's the daddy seahorse… and the baby seahorse! Daddy crab… and the baby crab! Mama Orca whale… and a baby orca whale!” After identifying all of the animals, they work on placing the pieces back on the puzzle.
Primary C
Two Early Riser students are counting golden beads amounts that correspond with the numerals cards on their trays. One card reads 4,320 and the second card reads 1,433. They carry their trays of beads to a rug where they find a long red ribbon ‘equal’ line and a red ribbon addition sign. They put their beads into a scarf and gently shake them representing the addition operation. They open the scarf and count all of the beads together. They ADD them! They happily discover that when you put two small numbers together, they make a bigger number. (It seems almost like magic!)
Special V Opportunity & Community Support Opportunities
Central’s Little Free Library and Pantry
Thanks for helping us give back to our neighbors. A neighbor who depends on this pantry asked that food donations include food in containers that someone without a home, kitchen, or can opener can manage. We ask that donations contain only foods within the expiration date. All foods should be as healthy as possible. We can do this!
Month of Giving
Books for Little Free Library & Food for Little Free Pantry
