November 16-20
2020 #WMSbettertogether Annual Fund Drive
Join our community of giving!
November 17
Lunch & Learn for Parents of Rising Kindergartners & 7th Graders
Prepare for the next program level!
Noon (Zoom link to be sent to registrants)
Sign up by Monday, 11/16
Elementary & Middle School Parent Q&A
6 p.m., Zoom (Use the school's regular password)
Toddler & Primary Parent Q&A
7 p.m., Zoom (Use the school's regular password)
November 18
Virtual Admissions Open House
Noon
November 23 & 24
Lead Teacher Professional Days
No school - child care available.
November 25
Child Care Day
No school - child care available.
November 26 & 27
No school or child care
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2020-21 Annual Fund Drive - #WMSbettertogether |
Dear Families,
Last night, you should have received an email from WMS dad and 2020-21 Annual Fund Chair David Kubacki. In the message, he shares his family's experiences at WMS over the past five years and his gratitude for the ways in which WMS has adapted to the global pandemic and continued to educate children safely on campus and through virtual learning. David explained that even when we've had to connect virtually and stay physically distant, we have worked together to support our children - with this in mind, our theme for these year's Annual Fund Drive is #WMSbettertogether.
Last year, the annual fund totaled more than $85,000 in gifts from current parents, grandparents, staff, board members and other generous friends of WMS. Both our staff and board of directors achieved 100% participation, a testament to their deep commitment to our school.
Your annual fund gifts in the past have made a difference in countless ways, including:
- Providing financial assistance to families who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford a WMS education.
- Supporting our teachers’ quests for lifelong learning.
- Allowing us to maintain our beautiful 25-acre campus and facilities, which are now being used in ways we never could have imagined!
In 2020, your gifts will help to achieve all of those wonderful outcomes, in addition to helping provide the additional resources WMS needs to provide for the safety and well-being of our families, faculty and staff.
Those of you who are returning families will remember that our Annual Fund Drive is typically a weeklong celebration of giving that takes place in our lobby and includes games, prizes, and opportunities for students, staff, and families to share why they love WMS. This year, because we are unable to connect in person, we are offering a challenge to bring our community together AND opportunities to win prizes:
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Submit photos and videos expressing your gratitude for our WMS community on social media using our #WMSbettertogether hashtag! If your family makes a donation of $10 or more by November 20 AND shares a post with our hashtag, you will be eligible for some special prizes, including spirit wear, Beanie Baby baskets, custom-made WMS masks and more! To enter the drawing, please be sure to tag us on Facebook, Instagram (@WilmingtonMontessori) or Twitter (@wmsde) so we see your post!
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Donate at least $5 before the end of the drive (Friday, November 20) and receive a limited addition "WMS Better Together" car magnet!
As always, we thank you for all of your support and the hard work you do help keep our community safe and our children learning. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!
Noel Dietrich
Director of Advancement & Communications
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Thanksgiving Week Child Care - Registration Deadline - Monday, November 16
With the coming of the Thanksgiving holiday, we have three child-care days on the horizon - November 23-25. The deadline for registration is November 16 so that we are able to staff appropriately per licensing and CDC guidelines for social distancing. No drop-ins will be accepted.
Note: If you are enrolled in a 12-month program, please confirm with Tracey that your children will be attending on these child-care days so that we can plan accordingly.
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Use of Outdoor Spaces During After-School Hours - After-Care Only
We know all of our families love our outdoor spaces, and we look forward to the days when we can once again gather and enjoy our campus safely.
As we continue to focus on outdoor learning, each of our outdoor areas is used by a specific class each week, and during after-school hours, the Peace Park and area with pine trees near the entrance are used by our after-care groups. Shared surfaces are cleaned regularly to avoid the spread of illness.
For the safety of our community, at this time, we are reserving our outdoor spaces for classroom and after-care groups only.
We thank you for your cooperation and help keeping our community safe!
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Important Reminders
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Car Line Safety - A few reminders to keep all of us safe during drop-off and pick-up:
- Please follow the posted speed limit (8 1/3 mph) when on campus.
- Please drive around the parking lot rather than cutting across the gravel, even when dropping off and picking up elementary/middle school students at the side entrance.
- All children should exit from the passenger's side of the vehicle.
- During pick-up, please remain in your vehicle until you see your child approaching. Do not wait outside of your car or approach students or staff in their outdoor play areas.
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Drop-off Timing - Please do your best to drop your children during our designated drop-off windows. If you are late, please drive to your regular drop-off location, call 302-475-0555 and remain in your vehicle until a staff member comes to screen your child. Please know that if you arrive after our drop-off windows, you will likely have to wait several minutes for your child to be screened, as staff will have moved on with their daily schedules.
Morning Drop-off Schedule:
Primary, Elementary, Middle School Before-Care - 7-8:40 a.m. - Great Room
Toddlers (including before-care) - 7-9 a.m. - Toddler Playground
Primary - Main Entrance - 8:30-8:45 a.m.
Elementary - Side Door - 8:20-8:35 a.m.
Middle School - Side Door - 7:50-8:05 a.m.
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WMS is strongly recommends that students are tested for COVID-19 regularly. Results should be sent to Nurse Kathy for your child's health records.
Upcoming Events
Thursday, November 12, 2-7 p.m.
- Seeds of Greatness Church
Friday, November 13, 2-7 p.m.
Saturday, November 14 - Times TBA
- University of Delaware - STAR Campus
Monday, November 16, 2-6 p.m. (walk-up)
(Please visit this page to confirm that there have been no changes to the schedule above before going to your testing location. Weather-related cancellations are possible.)
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In order to keep our classroom cohorts separate and limit our students' contact with additional adults, we have changed the format of our specials/enrichment programs this year. Instead of having each specialist meet with each class weekly, most of our specialists are working with elementary and middle-school students in six-week blocks, with multiple sessions each week. Spanish and physical education continue to happen on a weekly basis as before.
In accordance with early childhood licensing guidelines, in our Toddler and Primary groups, classroom teachers are leading the enrichment classes under the guidance of our specialists.
This week, we will be sharing highlights from our first six-week rotation of specials!
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BrendaRose, our new music teacher, has quickly become an active part of our community, bringing music to the Lower Elementary Program during our first six-week session of specials.
This fall, instead of singing, the 6-9 students focused on instrumental music, dancing and chanting. Using the Orff approach, students translated speech into rhythms, in the chant “I Like Pie.” For the U.N. International Day of Peace, students explored pitch by playing glockenspiels, xylophones and bells to accompany “Light a Candle for Peace.”
At Rosh Hashana, the classes compared and contrasted six different recordings of “Bashana Haba’a” in terms of tempo, dynamics, instrumentation and articulation. For Latinx Heritage Month, they learned dances from Puerto Rico and Mexico and listened to the form (sections A, B, and C) to know what steps to perform. In honor of Indigenous People’s Day, they listened to music that combined ancient chants from the Cree Nation with modern techno accompaniment and followed the steady beat on drums. Finally, they learned about unusual meters (5/8, 7/8, etc.) in the song “Turn The World Around” by Harry Belafonte. Virtual 6-9 students also participated in these sessions and are learning to play the recorder via Zoom.
Check out the video above to see one 6-9 group's fall showcase performance at the end of the first six weeks!
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Art teacher Laurie Muhlbauer kicked off the school year with a special Peace Day project that involved all of our elementary and middle school students. On September 21, she spent a socially distanced hour with each class, teaching the students how to fold an origami paper crane. Along with celebrating peace, the goal became to see how large of a paper crane the students could make. The 9-12 students, Laurie's art group for the first six weeks of school, embraced the challenge, working as pairs to fold 5 by 5-foot squares of paper into origami cranes! You may have noticed them hanging from trees in front of the school in September, and they now can be seen hanging from the Learning Commons windows.
In addition to their Peace Day project, the 9-12s worked on the concept of balanced composition during their first term. They began by creating a graphite line drawing of a mandala. The students then painted dot mandalas on rocks. (The rock painting is part of a school-wide installation that will be installed in the spring. Stay tuned for more info.) Their third project focused on the three forms of balanced composition: symmetrical, asymmetrical and radial, as well as balancing black and white. Upon completing this drawing, the children went back into their mandala drawings. They inked them with felt-tip pens and then used techniques for pen drawing to create balance between the black and white areas of their mandalas. You may have noticed some of these pieces in our "outdoor art show" last month!
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Our Middle School students started their year with a technology unit focused on diversity in various technology fields.
The students looked at articles, podcasts, videos, interviews with school administrators of districts who lack access to Internet and technology, and the demographics of different companies.
They ended their studies by creating a program on the ARIS platform that focused on access to technology around the world. They also created their own technology companies and stated their plans for diversity.
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Lower Elementary - In the 6-9 Program, students started the year by learning the Spanish words for various colors, focusing on the colors they observed in their outdoor spaces. For Hispanic Heritage Month, the students spent time learning about Mexico, creating piñatas and coloring their own Mexican flags. Check out a photo of one of our virtual 6-9 students sharing her piñata (bottom right).
Upper Elementary - In the 9-12 Program, students also celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month. In pairs, the students selected Spanish-speaking countries to research and shared what they learned through posters and presentations to their class (pictured on the top photo).
Middle School - Our oldest students kicked off the year by learning to converse about a very practical topic - shopping for clothes. They examined the similarities and differences between shopping experiences in the United States and Spanish-speaking countries and practiced virtual shopping an Argentine website. They learned that "bargaining" is a way of life in many countries and shared in groups what they would buy if they had to travel to the beach or to a ski resort.
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Physical Education - Elementary & Middle School |
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Elementary and middle school students spent their first term staying active and participating in cooperative games while social distancing. Setting the tone for the school year, these activities promote problem solving, clear communication, mutual respect and trust. |
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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.
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WILMINGTON MONTESSORI SCHOOL
WWW.WMSDE.ORG
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Copyright © 2020, All Rights Reserved. |
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