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W E D N E S D A Y W E E K L Y
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In this Issue
Upcoming Events
Winter vacation
*December 23-January 1
Winter vacation - school closed
Happy holidays!
*The building will be closed with no Saturday access during this time.
January 2
Teacher professional development day - no classes
Pre-registered child care available
January 3
Classes resume
January 5
January 10
4-8 p.m.
Panera Bread
(Market Square Shopping Center - near Trader Joe's)
January 11
9:30 a.m. & 5 p.m.
Tell a friend!
January 12
Deadline for WMS sibling applications
January 18
Parent Education - The Journey
8:30 a.m.
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Message from
Head of School Lisa Lalama
As we prepare for the winter break, everyone is anticipating a more relaxed schedule and a shift in daily routines. Parents are eager to spend more time with their children. Children yearn to spend more time outdoors and with family and friends, or to simply laze about the house. Teachers get a chance to think more about their families and friends, allowing their concerns about students or lessons to take a back seat for a few days. Everyone is ready.
During these next two weeks, we hope that you are able to take some time to let go of expectations and enjoy the friends and family who surround you. When we return, it will be a new calendar year. We will be refreshed and ready to come together again to serve the children and community that proudly calls itself WMS. We'll see you next year!
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News & Notes
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A Fond Farewell to Director of Extended Programs Cass Winner & Welcome Tracey Manerchia
The end of December will mark Cass Winner's official last day as director of extended programs. For almost 20 years, Cass has devoted herself to providing quality programming and care for students before and after school, on child-care days and throughout
the summer months.
WMS is pleased to welcome Tracey Manerchia, who many of you may know as 6-9 student Sophia Yovino's mother, as Director of Montessori Enrichment. She will assume Cass's responsibilities starting January 2. Cass will work closely with Tracey to ensure her transition is as smooth as possible.
Best wishes, Cass, and thank you for your many incredible years of service!
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Help Raise Funds for the 2018 Sixth-Grade Trip at Panera in January
On
Wednesday, January 10, from 4 to 8 p.m., Panera Bread at Market Square Shopping Center (near Trader Joe's) will
donate a percentage of its sales to support the annual sixth-grade class trip to New York City. Eat delicious soups, sandwiches, bread and more to help WMS's current fifth-graders meet their fundraising goal!
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Reminder: Financial Aid Deadline is January 5
The deadline to be considered for a first-round financial aid award is Friday, January 5, 2018. The financial aid committee reviews applications in the order they are completed (including the submission of tax returns).
Financial aid applications completed after January 5 will be considered as funds allow. Financial aid grants are made for one year only so you must re-apply each school year.
Please contact Business Manager
Nancy Oddo with any questions.
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Raise Funds for WMS When You Shop at Amazon.com
Did you know your Amazon.com purchases can help raise money for WMS? When you shop at Amazon through the
wmsde.org/amazon link,
at least 6% of your purchase will go to WMS. If you shop through this link, you will also have the option to designate WMS as your beneficiary for the AmazonSmile program (which provides the school with an additional 0.5% per purchase)! Thank you in advance for taking the time to use WMS's special URL to access Amazon.com!
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Today's Learners
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Celebrate Community by Celebrating Holidays
by Toddler Lead Teacher Leanne Callaway
Happy Mawlid an-Nabi! Hanukkah Sameach! Blessed Yule! Merry Christmas! Joyous Kwanzaa! Happy New Year!
 There are many holidays celebrated during the weeks leading up to the end of the calendar year. In a Montessori classroom, teachers strive to acknowledge each one so students can learn and experience their different cultures and traditions. By introducing various holidays to their students, Montessori teachers hope to spark children's curiosity and appreciation for traditions that are different from their own.
This month, classrooms across all levels feature shelf activities and books centered on Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and the winter solstice. Popular exercises include hanging ornaments on a tree or placing candles in a menorah. Art work might mimic stained glass, recreate the bark on a yule log or involve recreating a scene from a holiday tale. WMS's Lower Elementary students perform their holiday musical in December to a cheering audience, and our Upper Elementary singers raise their voices together for caroling at Ivy Gables in Arden each year.
Cooking projects will often feature seasonal foods like latkes, rice pudding or pizzelles. WMS teachers invite families into the classroom to share stories, foods, crafts and symbols of the holidays with students at all age levels. Every year for our holiday gathering, the Room 4 staff encourages parents to share a traditional dish that would be featured around their own family's table. It is a fantastic way to celebrate the diversity of the community.
Throughout the year, WMS classrooms embrace different holidays. Many classrooms celebrate the Lunar New Year with crafts featuring one of the animals in the Chinese Zodiac, and children greet one another with wishes for prosperity and happiness in Cantonese. During Diwali, students create their own lamps to add to the Hindu Festival of Lights.
For birthdays - a more personal type of holiday - celebrations vary from class to class. In Room 4, the birthday child helps to set up the sun on a work rug, and then is invited to walk around the sun once for each year, with his or her friends helping to count. We always end the circle by singing a special version of "Happy Birthday." For the Upper Elementary students, a birthday celebration may include parents sharing stories about their younger days, as well as the child's peers telling the child things that he or she appreciates about that child.
For each and every celebration at WMS, parent participation is integral, encouraged and welcomed. Without parents coming into the classroom to share culture, knowledge and time, our celebrations would be missing a vital element.
No matter the holiday, it is always a treat to learn more about how it is celebrated and to experience the culture that embraces it. Not only do we experience something new and gain understanding about others, we might even discover something about ourselves.
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 The Wednesday Weekly shares WMS news and events that are relevant to the families in our community.
Please send submissions to
wednesday-weekly@wmsde.org
by 4:30 p.m. on the Friday prior
to the issue in which you wish to include your information. Content may be edited for length
and style and may be held for a future issue due to space constraints.
For more information, contact Noel Dietrich, Director of Advancement & Communications.
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