Reading Buddies - Upper el, PIII, and Kindergarten students work together!
Montessori Moments Events Calendar
Even though COVID may not continue to create significant disruptions to our school calendar events and dates, please know that all dates are tentative.
January 2024: Dr. Martin Luther King Day of Volunteerism
Conferences: Primary A, Primary B, Primary C, Lower El: Zoom, Phone, In-Person
Month of Giving to Free Little Library and Food Pantry: Upper Elementary
22-23 Primary C: Parent/Teacher Conferences (cont.) Sign-Up & Zoom Link
24 Lower Elementary Parent/Teacher Conferences Sign-Up & Zoom Link
25-26 Primary C: Parent/Teacher Conferences (cont.)
26 LAST FRIDAY 4:00 Closing: 3:00-4:00 Carpool: Whole Staff Meeting & PD No
(early or late) AMH services available today
29-31 Lower Elementary Parent/Teacher Conferences (cont.)
February 2024: Rosa Parks Parade: Day of Friendship: Parent Visitation Week!
Parent/Teacher Conferences: Lower El & Upper El: Zoom, Phone, In-Person
Month of Giving to Free Little Library and Food Pantry: Middle School
1- 2 Lower El: Parent/Teacher Conferences (cont.)
2 Infant & Toddler & Preprimary PIN: 6:30 Meet and Greet, 7-8 PIN Meeting
5 Elementary and Middle School: Rosa Parks Day Parade
5 Upper El: Code VA Eureka Workshop at Central
5-9 Parent's Visitation Days: Watch for Info
7 Middle School: CodeVA Eureka Workshop at CodeVA
12 Upper El: CodeVA Eureka Workshop at Central
12-16 Parent Visitation Days
14 Middle School: CodeVA Eureka Workshop at CodeVA
14 Day of Friendship (watch for information)
19 Presidents' Day: Staff Professional Development: School is closed to students
20-22 Upper El Conferences
20-23 Parent’s Visitation Days continued: Watch for Info
21 Middle School: Code VA Eureka Workshop at CodeVA
23 Lower El PIN
26 Upper El: Code VA Eureka Workshop
28 Middle School: Code VA Eureka Workshop at CodeVA
28 PIII & Lower El: Peter & The Wolf: Richmond Symphony: Watch for Info
29 PIII & Lower El: Peter & The Wolf: Richmond Symphony: Watch for Info
31 Last day to RSVP Alice in Wonderland Family Meetup March 7th * elementary- middle
What’s Happening?
Infant & Toddler
Wind has blown a small cottonwood leaf into the playground. A child spies it floating through the air and rushes over to try to catch it. Every time their little hand almost has it, the puffy leaf floats just beyond their reach. A guide intervenes after a few tries and catches the leaf. Curious children approach as the guide holds their hand out for the children to see. Taking turns one at a time, children touch the fluffy cottonwood leaf, practicing their gentlest one-finger touch. After all interested children have taken a turn, the guide gently blows the leaf into the air, and the children shout with delight, “I see it!” as it floats away.
Upper Elementary
Students reach a subphylum of the chordates in the Animal Kingdom, amphibians! They each choose an amphibian of South America to study. While drawing a golden poison dart frog, a student asks for a lesson on drawing an accurate scale of the frog. The student draws a 1’ x 1’ inch grid on top of their original photo, then draws the same grid on a blank paper. Each square of the scale is studied and copied to the blank paper. By the afternoon, a 1:1 scale drawing with great detail reveals a replica of the frog! One student moves on to a 1:2 scale drawing. Students truly enjoy this integrated study of the arts, math, and science! Students begin their first book club of 2024. They are reading Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome. It is about a boy in Chicago and his love for books, his new friends at the library, and the great Langston Hughes. Students will vote on which of Langston’s works to recite for Parent Visitation Week in February.
Primary B
One cold afternoon, a group of children sits at the edge of the group time rug for a movement lesson. They begin as sleeping rabbits with their hands stretched by their ears before moving through a series of animal poses. They become tall giraffes, flamingoes balancing on one foot, seals perched on a rock, and bats hanging upside down in a cave. At the end of the lesson, children lay resting like sloths in a tree. A bell rings over each child as they sit up and acknowledge a moment of stillness before sharing oranges prepared for daily soup.
Primary A
A child matches geometric puzzle pieces to the correlated insets. A beautiful book, still wearing its book jacket, rests in a child’s lap. Ten graduated pink cubes, and corresponding brown prisms are being used to construct a complicated design. Two friends are proudly managing their snacks all by themselves. A child has placed the different-sized jars with lids in a sequence from smallest to largest and is testing to see which of the small items will fit in which. There is also an animal lotto game in full swing. As the children match the cards, they call out the animals’ names. The room is humming with vocabulary words; the names of geometric shapes and animals, as well as descriptive words used by the children as they work.
Pre-Primary
A child selects a number puzzle from the work shelf. They remove each number from the puzzle before putting them all back in place. When they're finished, their hand rests on a number that has caught their attention. “Three.” They position their hand to hold up three fingers. “I'm gonna be three soon on my birthday!” They pause to figure out how to put one finger down. “Now I'm two.”
Lower Elementary
The children are gathered around the ‘sun’ (an illuminated, shining yellow glass globe) and listening to the story about The Life and Death of a Star. Several children have built a few of the elements on the Bohr Diagram board and contributed information about how stars create the elements that makeup everything. One child who recently learned to crochet states they will crochet the sun and maybe some of the elements and make puppets out of them. The children all agree that this is a very good idea, indeed..
Primary C
As a younger student enters the classroom, they report that they can smell snow. “I can smell the snow. It smells so yummy!” A third-year student is quietly reading a book about Easter Island. They say to themselves, “Wow, those statues are giants! How do you say giant in Spanish?” They are told the word is “Gigante!” The student quietly practices the word “Gigante.” A second-year student notices a change in the classroom. After they receive assurances that they can see if they like the change, the student takes a book that has been moved to a new location to the table and gives the group a smile and a thumbs up.
Middle School
Three students work together on a prokaryotic cell material. They are introduced to the idea of a single-celled organism and how all the organelles work together to create Life. When trying to distinguish between the purpose of the cell wall and cell membrane, one student suggests that the cell wall is similar to a physical boundary between countries, and the cell membrane is similar to the border where supplies come in and out because the cell membrane has protein channels that take nutrients in and out of the cell. The students then decide to write about the metaphor of a country to a cell and its organelles. The nucleus is the government, and the cytoplasm is the citizens….
PAC Corner!
Pancake+ Heaven is just around the corner on Saturday, March 2, 2024, from 9:30-11:00 a.m. There will be (even more!) pancakes, delicious treats made by CMS families, a raffle from items donated within our community, and loads of fun! More event info including the raffle sign-up sheet, ticket sale details, and potluck food and volunteer sign-ups coming soon to an inbox near you.
Speaking of Pancake+ Heaven, if you are interested in helping us manage the raffle (think managing collecting donations and making signs to post at the event for each item--all V-hour eligible), we would love to hear from you! Please email us at parentsassociationcentral@gmail.com to connect.
Our next outdoor work day of the year is Saturday, March 16, 2024, from 10:00-11:30 a.m. (come any time during that time and please feel welcome to stay as long as you can). ALL are welcome! No special experience needed! Reminder: Outdoor workdays are V-hour eligible AND super fun. Please meet at the main campus. (Child-sitting for parent volunteers available thanks to our lovely CMS teachers. If you plan to bring your child with you to the work day, pretty please include that information here!).
Our next PAC Meeting is Wednesday, March 20, 2024, from 5:30-7:00 p.m. at the main campus. We will focus on finalizing details for PAC's support of school's Continent Days and the end-of-the-year picnic, and all are welcome to attend (attendance is V-hour eligible). The first half hour will be catching up and mingling and the last hour will be pure PAC business. Please let us know at our email address below if you have any questions.
If you are interested in getting involved in PAC, please reach out to us at any time at parentsassociationcentral@gmail.com.
Reading Buddies - Upper el, PIII, and Kindergarten students work together!
Montessori Moments Events Calendar
Even though COVID may not continue to create significant disruptions to our school calendar events and dates, please know that all dates are tentative.
January 2024: Dr. Martin Luther King Day of Volunteerism
Conferences: Primary A, Primary B, Primary C, Lower El: Zoom, Phone, In-Person
Month of Giving to Free Little Library and Food Pantry: Upper Elementary
22-23 Primary C: Parent/Teacher Conferences (cont.) Sign-Up & Zoom Link
24 Lower Elementary Parent/Teacher Conferences Sign-Up & Zoom Link
25-26 Primary C: Parent/Teacher Conferences (cont.)
26 LAST FRIDAY 4:00 Closing: 3:00-4:00 Carpool: Whole Staff Meeting & PD No
(early or late) AMH services available today
29-31 Lower Elementary Parent/Teacher Conferences (cont.)
February 2024: Rosa Parks Parade: Day of Friendship: Parent Visitation Week!
Parent/Teacher Conferences: Lower El & Upper El: Zoom, Phone, In-Person
Month of Giving to Free Little Library and Food Pantry: Middle School
1- 2 Lower El: Parent/Teacher Conferences (cont.)
2 Infant & Toddler & Preprimary PIN: 6:30 Meet and Greet, 7-8 PIN Meeting
5 Elementary and Middle School: Rosa Parks Day Parade
5 Upper El: Code VA Eureka Workshop at Central
5-9 Parent's Visitation Days: Watch for Info
7 Middle School: CodeVA Eureka Workshop at CodeVA
12 Upper El: CodeVA Eureka Workshop at Central
12-16 Parent Visitation Days
14 Middle School: CodeVA Eureka Workshop at CodeVA
14 Day of Friendship (watch for information)
19 Presidents' Day: Staff Professional Development: School is closed to students
20-22 Upper El Conferences
20-23 Parent’s Visitation Days continued: Watch for Info
21 Middle School: Code VA Eureka Workshop at CodeVA
23 Lower El PIN
26 Upper El: Code VA Eureka Workshop
28 Middle School: Code VA Eureka Workshop at CodeVA
28 PIII & Lower El: Peter & The Wolf: Richmond Symphony: Watch for Info
29 PIII & Lower El: Peter & The Wolf: Richmond Symphony: Watch for Info
31 Last day to RSVP Alice in Wonderland Family Meetup March 7th * elementary- middle
What’s Happening?
Infant & Toddler
Wind has blown a small cottonwood leaf into the playground. A child spies it floating through the air and rushes over to try to catch it. Every time their little hand almost has it, the puffy leaf floats just beyond their reach. A guide intervenes after a few tries and catches the leaf. Curious children approach as the guide holds their hand out for the children to see. Taking turns one at a time, children touch the fluffy cottonwood leaf, practicing their gentlest one-finger touch. After all interested children have taken a turn, the guide gently blows the leaf into the air, and the children shout with delight, “I see it!” as it floats away.
Upper Elementary
Students reach a subphylum of the chordates in the Animal Kingdom, amphibians! They each choose an amphibian of South America to study. While drawing a golden poison dart frog, a student asks for a lesson on drawing an accurate scale of the frog. The student draws a 1’ x 1’ inch grid on top of their original photo, then draws the same grid on a blank paper. Each square of the scale is studied and copied to the blank paper. By the afternoon, a 1:1 scale drawing with great detail reveals a replica of the frog! One student moves on to a 1:2 scale drawing. Students truly enjoy this integrated study of the arts, math, and science! Students begin their first book club of 2024. They are reading Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome. It is about a boy in Chicago and his love for books, his new friends at the library, and the great Langston Hughes. Students will vote on which of Langston’s works to recite for Parent Visitation Week in February.
Primary B
One cold afternoon, a group of children sits at the edge of the group time rug for a movement lesson. They begin as sleeping rabbits with their hands stretched by their ears before moving through a series of animal poses. They become tall giraffes, flamingoes balancing on one foot, seals perched on a rock, and bats hanging upside down in a cave. At the end of the lesson, children lay resting like sloths in a tree. A bell rings over each child as they sit up and acknowledge a moment of stillness before sharing oranges prepared for daily soup.
Primary A
A child matches geometric puzzle pieces to the correlated insets. A beautiful book, still wearing its book jacket, rests in a child’s lap. Ten graduated pink cubes, and corresponding brown prisms are being used to construct a complicated design. Two friends are proudly managing their snacks all by themselves. A child has placed the different-sized jars with lids in a sequence from smallest to largest and is testing to see which of the small items will fit in which. There is also an animal lotto game in full swing. As the children match the cards, they call out the animals’ names. The room is humming with vocabulary words; the names of geometric shapes and animals, as well as descriptive words used by the children as they work.
Pre-Primary
A child selects a number puzzle from the work shelf. They remove each number from the puzzle before putting them all back in place. When they're finished, their hand rests on a number that has caught their attention. “Three.” They position their hand to hold up three fingers. “I'm gonna be three soon on my birthday!” They pause to figure out how to put one finger down. “Now I'm two.”
Lower Elementary
The children are gathered around the ‘sun’ (an illuminated, shining yellow glass globe) and listening to the story about The Life and Death of a Star. Several children have built a few of the elements on the Bohr Diagram board and contributed information about how stars create the elements that makeup everything. One child who recently learned to crochet states they will crochet the sun and maybe some of the elements and make puppets out of them. The children all agree that this is a very good idea, indeed..
Primary C
As a younger student enters the classroom, they report that they can smell snow. “I can smell the snow. It smells so yummy!” A third-year student is quietly reading a book about Easter Island. They say to themselves, “Wow, those statues are giants! How do you say giant in Spanish?” They are told the word is “Gigante!” The student quietly practices the word “Gigante.” A second-year student notices a change in the classroom. After they receive assurances that they can see if they like the change, the student takes a book that has been moved to a new location to the table and gives the group a smile and a thumbs up.
Middle School
Three students work together on a prokaryotic cell material. They are introduced to the idea of a single-celled organism and how all the organelles work together to create Life. When trying to distinguish between the purpose of the cell wall and cell membrane, one student suggests that the cell wall is similar to a physical boundary between countries, and the cell membrane is similar to the border where supplies come in and out because the cell membrane has protein channels that take nutrients in and out of the cell. The students then decide to write about the metaphor of a country to a cell and its organelles. The nucleus is the government, and the cytoplasm is the citizens….
PAC Corner!
Pancake+ Heaven is just around the corner on Saturday, March 2, 2024, from 9:30-11:00 a.m. There will be (even more!) pancakes, delicious treats made by CMS families, a raffle from items donated within our community, and loads of fun! More event info including the raffle sign-up sheet, ticket sale details, and potluck food and volunteer sign-ups coming soon to an inbox near you.
Speaking of Pancake+ Heaven, if you are interested in helping us manage the raffle (think managing collecting donations and making signs to post at the event for each item--all V-hour eligible), we would love to hear from you! Please email us at parentsassociationcentral@gmail.com to connect.
Our next outdoor work day of the year is Saturday, March 16, 2024, from 10:00-11:30 a.m. (come any time during that time and please feel welcome to stay as long as you can). ALL are welcome! No special experience needed! Reminder: Outdoor workdays are V-hour eligible AND super fun. Please meet at the main campus. (Child-sitting for parent volunteers available thanks to our lovely CMS teachers. If you plan to bring your child with you to the work day, pretty please include that information here!).
Our next PAC Meeting is Wednesday, March 20, 2024, from 5:30-7:00 p.m. at the main campus. We will focus on finalizing details for PAC's support of school's Continent Days and the end-of-the-year picnic, and all are welcome to attend (attendance is V-hour eligible). The first half hour will be catching up and mingling and the last hour will be pure PAC business. Please let us know at our email address below if you have any questions.
If you are interested in getting involved in PAC, please reach out to us at any time at parentsassociationcentral@gmail.com.
