NEWS February 2

014

St James Episcopal School Annual Auction

2013-2014

Dear Jamie,

Thank you for another wonderful Auction. The Sapphire Auction was definitely a night of fun and fantasy! I have to say, what a great looking group of parents, faculty and staff we have! Thank you for creating an event where we got to dress to the nines. The décor and food were divine. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves!

I really appreciate the sacrifices you made in your home and work life to make this event possible. I, like many, are in awe of all you were able to accomplish. You’re a joy to work with…you’re creative, thorough and cool as a cucumber.

I know there were a host of volunteers whose contributions put the icing on the cake. The classroom baskets and art projects were some of the best I’ve ever seen. All of these things along with your support team lead to this event being the success it was.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your service to the children, parents and staff of St. James Episcopal School.

Loree Birkenback

hallway conversations with the children at St James...

David Waterman asks ..

“What kind of room has no windows or walls?”

“A mushroom!”

Charles Dohm is learning a new friend’s name when he states

“I also have a middle name when I’m in trouble.”

We are so excited that spring is just around the corner. The children have really enjoyed their nice warm days outside lately.

Thank you to all of our volunteer parents who have helped make our parties agreat success this year. We appreciate all of the extra time you have donated to us.

The children have been enjoying new art works, our farm, and our dressingframes. The children are doing really well in the classroom and we are sopleased with all the progress they have all made this year.

A special thank you to our MWF group who threw Ms. Lindsey a surprise bridal shower. We are so thankful for the love and care you all show us.

Love,

Your MDO teachers

MDO

Madeleine is decorating her valentines bag. She loves art works.

Joshua is working on a valentine art proj-ect. He started with stamping and then

added some stickers

Top Left: Chloe is washing our dirty wash cloths. She enjoys using this work very often.

Top Right: Brock and Jasper love working together on the barn. This is one of their favorite works.

Bottom Right: The children are enjoying a nice snack during their valentines party. This is our TuesdayThursday group.

Toddler

In the toddler class we incorporate language in all parts of the classroom. This also includes circle time and especially

what we call chapel time and or prayer time. We bring out the felt board and felt pieces and the Bible. The stories in the bible are very important in our every day lives, so it is only natural that we have the children learn major scared

stories and even some of the parables. "What would Jesus do?" "Treat others as you want to

be treated." "God created all the world." These are just a few of phrases we try to bring to the classroom. Which also helps in learning "peace" in the classroom with our friends.

The friends in our class are very important in learning relationships and practicing our social skills, social skills that

we will carry on in the future.

Namaste, Mrs. Anna and Miss Bea

February was an excited month for us to learn about winter. We are always talking about the seasons and reading books. We don't usually

get snow, so we took full advantage! The kids enjoyed watching the snow fall; it was so beautiful! Ms. Eliane went outside and brought snow

inside so we could make tiny snowballs. During our walk through the garden the children tired to catch snowflakes on their tongues. We had so

much fun and were sad when it all melted away.

Mrs. April, Mrs. Lily and Ms. Eliane

The children in the classroom as well as the playground have the opportunity to use their energy and convert it into positive gross motor activity. This is an

important part of our everyday learning activities. We provide the children with many opportunities to use the muscles in their legs and arms. In the

classroom We have a red rocker, a balance board, a sit and spin, and yoga mats and poses available for the children as well as a climbing structure on

on our deck for the children who really need to move their bodies!

Ms. Coral, Ms. Martha, and Ms. Jana

Allison riding the tiger carAnna and Jane working side by side on their yoga

Olivia practicing yoga positions.

The children engaging in different gross mo-tor activities at the playground

Truitt practicing balance on the rope. Porter

in the back walking straight and tall

Primary

Dear families of P1,

We are ready for spring! The weather is beginning to improve, as is the depth of concentration and focus. The children are such enthusiastic and creative learners. In math and language we have been revisiting the basics of counting and hand-writing to reinforce existing knowledge and lay the foundation for future learning. The children have been exploring new interests and bringing excellent books from

home to support class work.

We have so many emergent readers and are thrilled that the children have the op-portunity to read more frequently with our new reading parent volunteers!

Language is exploding in the classroom. We have labels for everything and the children are thrilled to learn new words. One of our most popular works right now is the tea serving work. Children make tea in a small pot and serve it to an adult

after allowing it to steep for three minutes. What fun!!

We have also been enjoying the improved weather and have had a lot of fun play-ing outside in the afternoons. It is the season for flower chains, sand castles and rolling down hills. Carefree afternoons on the playground have been tempered by quiet afternoon reading time. We recently finished our first chapter book, Char-lotte’s Web, which the K students will see performed live later in the year. We are now onto Mr.Poppers Penguin’s and the children have been so delighted by the antics of the Antarctic creature, they have all but forgotten to inquire about pic-

tures!

All the best, Ms. Charlotte and Ms. Kalindi

It is so nice to watch students grow and learn and mature. The third

level students have been doing their regular “folder work” which

consists of different language and math works. We rotate the works so

they have a variety of language and math. We are diligently working on

handwriting and CONSISTENTLY turning in neat work. The second

level students are working with the moveable alphabet at least two times

a week. This, many times, is teacher requested. Most days we have two

moveable alphabets out and we rotate the students through them. There has

been some major improvement in putting the sounds together into words.

Phonetically, of course, but this is the beginning of learning to spell and

read words. When the students reach Kindergarten,they begin taking

weekly spelling tests. The first level students have been working on ba-

sic phonics. The entire class has been independently choosing works from

every area of the classroom. We have Practical Life, Sensorial, Art, Math,

and Language works that are independently chosen. We do stay busy!

The students are also doing a great job of cleaning their tables and dishes

after lunch. The full day students must clean and straighten the class-

room every afternoon. This involves the students independently looking

around the classroom and discerning what needs to be done. Following

the Montessori philosophy we do not direct their every move.

Mrs. Barrineau/Ms. Ana

In honor of February’s themes of love and relationships, we have chosen friendship as the theme for this month’s newsletter. Friendships are an important part of childhood, as they provide companionship, affection, stimulation, and ego-support to the child. Parents of-ten worry about their child’s friendships and wonder if their child has friends, if the friends treat their child kindly, etc. It is helpful to understand to consider developmental factors when addressing these concerns. Dr. Paul Schwartz, a child psychologist and professor at Mount Saint Mary College, wrote a wonderful article about friendship according to its de-velopmental stages. Dr. Schwartz categorizes childhood friendships into two stages: the Handy Playmate and the Friendship as Mutual Trust stage. Children 7 years and younger are in the Handy Playmate stage of friendship. These friend-ships are largely based on physical/geographical considerations (the child’s neighbors, classmates, sports teammates, etc.). Dr. Schwartz states that friendships begin as concrete relationships based on pleasurable experiences and that the young child’s understanding of friendship is largely self-centered. Primary-aged children are becoming aware of their own feelings, desires, and ideas but are not yet aware of the feelings and goals of others. A child in the Handy Playmate stage desires his friend to conform to his own ideas. It is common for early friendships to go through cycles of falling out (“he’s not my friend anymore!”) and reestablishment. This occurs as children learn to communicate with each other and regain their common ground.

Maria Montessori understood this and developed the Grace and Courtesy curriculum to help nurture the early stages of empathy and socialization in young children. As the adults in a young child’s life, it is our job to model compassion and empathy. It is important that we listen to the concerns and fears of the child and to demonstrate with our words and ac-tions how to make peace with others. Dr. Schwartz found that children ages 7-9 begin to understand reciprocity and develop an awareness of the feelings of others. He termed this “Friendship as Assistance and Mutual Trust,” signifying that this is the age when mature friendships with real give-and-take begin to form. Friendships contribute significantly to a child’s socialization and development of empathy. They are key to a child’s understanding of himself. Yet it is important to remember that individual children do not always follow the standard developmental sequence. Regard-ing friendships, this means that some children seek mature friendships ahead of the curve while others develop empathy at a later age. Other children prefer to play in solitude. Each child develops according to his/her own sensitive periods and internal timeline. Every child is unique and this is reflected in the development of each early friendship. We highly recommend Dr. Schwartz’s full article, at http://www.hvparent.com/articlepost.aspx?id=24&c=4&t=ARTICLE Ms. Julia and Ms. Tamara

Our children have really enjoyed the month of February! Everyone had so much fun celebrating the 100th day of school, playing in the snow, and prepar-ing for Valentine’s Day. Each child had the opportunity to decorate their own Valentine’s bag. It was a great opportunity for everyone to have an individual art les-son on how to cut, use paste, and then how to clean up their work area. The children were also very excited about all the special Valentine’s work in the classroom!

There were pink blocks on the language shelf that the children could use to spell out the words love, hugs, and kisses. Older children had fun using small pink and purple counting hearts to complete simple addition and subtraction facts. The kindergarten children wrote sweet stories about their friends and families using the moveable alphabet. We also made red salt dough for the practical life shelf complete with heart cookie cutters. More works for the month of February included Valentine sorting, heart punching and pasting, and opening and closing hearts. Seasonal work adds interest to the classroom, but it is also a great way to help the children understand the passage of time, seasons, and when special holidays occur throughout the year. Our classroom Valentine’s Day party was a huge success! Each child had the opportunity to pass out Valentines to their friends and they all enjoyed having lunch together and making Valentine crafts! Thanks to all of our wonderful parent volunteers; we appreci-ate all you do!

Ms. Elizabeth and Mrs. Ashley

February in the Children’s Garden…most of our plants are dormant or dead because of the nasty weather we’ve encountered, but we feel hints of spring all around us! We’ve noticed more birds, so we constantly fill the feeders and have even put out some nest building materials.

In the Garden with Ms. Loree

We’ve got big plans for the spring! We are re-working our compost system to be more effective, and we’re building a potato tower!

Keep your eyes peeled for some exciting things in our garden!

Art in February was super fun because the children were able to have fun with valentine related projects. The sec-ond year started some fun Valentine’s cards after finish-ing up the tropical seascapes. The Kindergarteners fin-ished their still lifes and worked on chalk pastel flowers. Each child was able to learn how to draw a daisy, tulip, and rose. So proud of these young artists! We will be starting a 3D sculpture and can’t wait to see these little critters come to life!

Artwith Ms. Judi

Technology

We have continued to work through the different educational websites, so

the children can get more familiar with the mouse and typing. Recently,

we are able to access abcmouse.com and it’s been great. They earn tickets

through learning and completing the website lessons or games and can “buy”

items for their own person/avatar such as pets, toys, clothes, and etc. Since

introducing them to the different types of technology, I have the children

choose what they want to work with for the day such as choosing between the

laptops or desktops, lego robotics, or different activities within each website.

with Ms. Judi

Tip!

Hopefully we are seeing the last of the cold weather, we are all ready for extended times on the playground. Please continue to send a jacket with your child if they are in ASC, often times it might warm up during the day but in the eve-ning it is chilly.

I enjoy my time in ASC, your children are the highlight of my afternoon. When I take the toddler attendance, I receive a

warm greeting of 20 plus “Hi, Ms. Lisa”. They all want to make sure that I know that they are in ASC. The toddlers have enjoyed coloring and playing with play dough, it has been a nice distraction for them with the colder temperatures not allowing as much outside time. We still enjoy the Imagination Blocks in the Parish Hall. I think the blocks will always be the favorite activity for both Primary and Toddler children.

Just a reminder if your child is in a toddler class-room, Mrs. Barrineau’s Primary Classroom or Ms. Charlotte’s Classroom, their jacket will be in a basket in the ASC room. Please be sure to take their jacket when you pick them up.

As always, if you need to reach me after 4:00 p.m., please call the school phone 214-348-1349.

Happy Spring (fingers crossed),

Lisa

As February has quickly come and gone we have been very busy in Chapel. We’ve had lessons on; Jesus calling the Disciples, David and Goliath and a special story about a man who couldn’t walk. “The Lame Man” from Luke 5:17-26 is a story that illustrates true companionship, love, and perse-verance. This particular story describes a man whose friends were willing to go the “mile”, or most likely the miles, to see their friend cometo full recovery. We can only imagine what their journey looked like. Rain, heat, snow, up hill both ways, and through the roof of a house, all because they had faith that a man named Jesus could heal their friend. I hope we can all take a lesson of friendship from this story to help when needed, Keep going when it gets tough, and love always.

This month we were able to introduce the liturgi-cal season of Lent. Lent is a time to reflect and

prepare ourselves for the Easter season. The children discussed that many of their families have different ways of observing Lent. Some families give some-thing up during this time to practice penitence and self control. Some families take on something such as reading their Bibles everyday to obtain a new dis-cipline. While others simply inwardly reflect on their lives and relationships with God during the Lenten season. Did you know the forty days of Lent are representative of the time Jesus spent in the desert fasting and praying? Tak-ing time to center our lives and become closer to God is important at any age. I encourage you each to take time during Lent to reflect and prepare for the great celebration of Easter! Lent begins March 5- April 17th.

Wishing you all a quiet and reflective season of Lent.

Blessings,Ashley Woodruff Christian Education Director

Toddler Montessori Education Class: Mrs. Anna, Mrs. April, Ms. Coral and I discussed some of the works in the young learners environment. We chatted about the impor-tance of gross motor, care of self, care of environment and connecting with nature. We also shared what every parent needs to know about transitioning into a Toddler

Montessori classroom.

February Parent Montessori Education Event

Sensitve Periods Time Framesfrom The Secret Life of Childhood

by Maria Montessori

Movement- birth to 11/2 years oldLanguage- birth to 3 years old, peaking at 11/2 years old

Small objects- 11/2 - 4 years oldOrder- 2-4 years oldMusic- 2 years on

Good Manners- 21/2 years onRefinement of the senses- 21/2- 6 years old

Writing-3- 41/2 years old Reading - 41/2- 5

1/2 years old

Primary Montessori Education Classes:

Mrs. Julia shared the foundation that Practical Life exercises play in the

development of the child. Do you recognize any of

these works?

Ms. Elizabeth showed us just a portion of the beautiful cultural materials the chil-dren experience in Primary. This area of

the curriculum was designed to educate the “whole child”. Mrs. Ashley shared

some of our peace works and explained the window for spirituality that St. James fills. The Christian emphasis directly con-

nects to our inner and outer peace!

Mrs. Tamara sparked a love for the sensorial works Maria Montessori developed and reminded us of Aristotle’s words “Nothing enters the mind before first entering through

the senses”.

Mrs. Charlotte shared a brief synapsis of the Montessori scope and sequence for the mathematics materials. She re-iterated the importance of the sensorial materi-als in preparing the child for this work. These pictures show some of the children’s

favorites…sandpaper numerals, the chains, and a beginning fraction work that the kindergarten children enjoy.

Mrs. Barrineau spoke about the Montessori lan-guage curriculum. She began with a three year old’s experience of learning letter sounds and finished with what an older child will do. These

pictures show the end of the three year cycle in language…great control of the pencil for their

metal insets, and a love for journal writing.

Upcoming Events

MarchMarch 10-14 Spring Break (No School)

March 17th- School resumes