August & September 2019 Newsletter | Back to School & More | Carmel, Indiana Montessori Preschool
New school Year
Welcome to the new school year at Clay Montessori! The staff & I are very excited about our brand new year with all the children. We start our year off in Culture, learning about The World’s continents and oceans. First and foremost we will begin with ground rules, grace and courtesy, making new friends, weather and seasons.
SUBJECTS
Language: Assessing your child’s knowledge
Math: Number recognition and counting
Sensorial: Largest to smallest, shapes and colors
Practical Life: Skills for everyday life
Culture: World map, oceans and Indiana
Science: Land, water and air, life stages of an apple, signs of fall, living or nonliving
Returning students will be continuing where they left off last year while also revisiting areas already known to them. New students will be receiving an introduction to the classroom as well as a walk through on classroom rules and expected behavior.
“The most important period of life is not the age of university studies but the period from birth to the age of six....for that is the time when intelligence itself, (a child’s) great implement is being formed...”
-Dr. Maria Montessori
What to bring
Parent & Child “Hopes and Dreams” project handed out at Parent Night
Medical Forms & Field Trip Permission Forms
3 Pictures of child for the folder/train/chart (this stays in class all year and is so important to have right away!)
Large backpack and at least one change of clothes/shoes and wipes if needed
A Sharing (show and tell) item selected by your child (NO TOYS—books, trophies, special pictures, science related items, etc are all great options)
classroom Supplies needed
Elmer’s Glue Sticks & Liquid Glue
Watercolor Paints
Alcohol-Free Hand Sanitizer
Colored Pencils (especially PINK)
Lysol Wet Wipes & Spray
Stamp Pads (any color)
Foaming Hand Soap
Thank you for contributing!
A Note from Mrs. King
Hello, everyone! Now that we have kicked off our new year, we wanted to remind you of a few things. Please be sure to keep an eye on the weather for cooler mornings and warmer temperatures around our noon pickup. It is almost that time for wearing layers! Please watch the news for cancellations or delays each morning due to fog, ice or snow. For delays and closures, please watch the local news for Carmel Clay Schools. When CCS is running a two hour delay, ours will be a one hour delay (starting class at 9:30am).
When driving in the parking lot, please watch your speed since many high school students are walking around and through this area. The parking lot gets congested and care is needed to maneuver around parked cars. Please remember to pull up to drop off your child at 8:30 a.m. Please NO PARKING in the drop off lane or outside the main entrance to the school. If you must park, go to the overflow lot away from the building where parking is open. The church’s parking lot is rented out to CHS students so those spots are not open for parking. If your child is having a tough morning, please park in the overflow lot and walk in and soon all problems disappear within 5 minutes of school time (and your departure). Your child must be ready to jump out of the car so make sure they are unbuckled before pulling into the drop off line. Pick up time is 12:15 p.m. to 12:30pm. Late pickups result in a $10 late fee charge that will be applied to the upcoming monthly tuition invoice. Please be on time and remember your child is waiting and watching for you, not working in the classroom. Most children get very anxious if they are the last to leave the school.
Throughout their time in our class, each child learns grace and courtesy. This is a long process that we hope will be educated at home as well to show consistency. I will also be evaluating children as time allows since many need extra lessons on how to use materials they have never seen.
Walking field trip permission slips to the Carmel Clay Public Library and “Hopes and Dreams” papers need to be returned to school as soon as you can. If the class is going to go to the library, parent volunteers would be greatly appreciated and notice of this event would be given to parents at least 48 hours in advance. The Hopes and Dreams paper is for you to communicate what you would like for your child to accomplish this year (academically, socially) and for the parents to let us know habit’s the child may have that would help in their learning process. Remember, every child is different and each one learns at their own pace.
Snack ideas could be: veggies and dip, fruit, cheese, yogurt, fruit cups, cheese and crackers, veggie sticks, muffins, bagels and cream cheese, chips and dip, frozen Gogurt just to name a few. We have nuts, bananas and gluten allergies this year so keep that in mind when bringing in snack for your child. Pack items your child loves to eat. If you have any questions on what to bring, please let me know and I will be happy to help. Please remember to pack spoons or forks in children’s snacks for any item that requires utensils. Birthday Snack should be enough to feed 20 children. Keeping foods simple, colorful and healthy will ensure better responses to new and exciting choices for children to try.
The class contact list will be out later this month. We will be listing the parent and child names as well as emails to reach each family. Phone numbers and addresses will not be listed. If for some reason you would not like to be on the class list, let me know and I will remove you. This list is so parents can plan play dates to help foster the budding friendships here at CMS. There will be one field trip planned for Conner Prairie on December 19 at 1:45pm, The Gingerbread Jamboree. More information will be sent our closer to the time of the trip.
The school year will launch like a rocket and we know all the players in the group are all stars. In advance, thank you for everything YOU do to make our school complete!
Thank you,
Robin