The month of November will offer many opportunities for the community to come together. The week of the 14-18th we celebrate American Education Week. Families will be invited to observe in their child’s classroom, share in a Community Potluck, and finish out the week with a production of Maria Montessori the Musical. Students will look forward to participating in Spirit Week during this week, which is being organized by middle school students.
November will see the kick-off of High School Information Sessions. There will be virtual and in-person options to choose from, with the first sessions reserved for MVM and CCM families. The expanded high school committee will begin meeting monthly and continue sharing updates at GC and MMCI Board meetings. Finally, we have contracted with the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector to assist with the project as we dive into the implementation stages.
57 families provided excellent post-conference feedback. We will use this information to tailor Family Engagement Nights around topics such as “Montessori in the home environment,” “Montessori philosophy of conflict resolution,” “ADHD and sensory processing,” and “How to be consistent with school practices at home,” to name a few. Your feedback is invaluable in helping us to plan sessions that meet our community’s needs.
Families, please help us help your child get started on the right foot everyday by arriving at school on time (before 9:00 am). Each day at 9:00 we begin with morning announcements. Class begins at 9:00 with students in morning meeting, listening to announcements, and then beginning promptly with their daily check-ins/SEL lessons. Students feel better prepared when they have the time to unpack, be greeted at the door by their teacher, and join their peers for the start of the day.
Finally, in the spirit of Thanks Giving:
Thank you to the parent leadership at the Board and Governing Council levels who have gone well above and beyond the call of duty working tirelessly through hours and hours of research and negotiations to secure our new facility. Have you seen it? It’s worth having a look!
Thank you to all community members who give in countless ways to support our school. From feeding staff during conferences, to copying/ laminating/ cutting materials, to chaperoning field trips, to volunteering at drama and clubs, your support helps to make us a better school.
Thank you to the amazing staff who care for your children and keep coming back day after day, even when the days are long and they are worn-out and tired. They give so generously of their time and talents, and they make this school a very special place to be.
Thank you to Brooke DeSantis and the Love4Lochlin Foundation for hosting another successful vaccine clinic. Brooke has been a steadfast advocate for this preventive care, and many of our families benefited from her kind generosity. I hope November brings all MVM families many blessings and numerous opportunities for gratitude.
Attendance Please provide a note if your child is not able to attend school. Email your child's teacher as well as the MVMPCS Attendance email address MVMS.attendance@fcps.org.
School Cash Online (SCO) Thank you to all of the families have signed up and utilized SCO! This is MVM's preferred payment method for field trips, after-school clubs, and classroom materials. Please sign up for School Cash Online in advance of your child's next field trip or club activity. There is no service charge when paying through SCO. If paying with cash, we can only accept exact change.
Lost and Found Please find time to stop in and check the Lost and Found at the top of the ramp. It is overflowing and we would like to have all items returned to their rightful owner.
Breakfast & Lunch Menus and meal prices can be found here.
Primary students will be learning about the continent of North America. We will be studying animals of North America, trees of North America, and Flags of North America.
We will begin studying parts of a tree, parts of a leaf, and parts of a root.
In the month of November, students will also talk about what it means to be thankful and how to express gratitude.
Lower Elementary will be walking to the Weinberg Center to see the performance of “Grace For President”. With Election Day just around the corner we thought this was a nice way for our students to learn a little about the election process.
Students are settling into our routines and procedures. Our morning work time is quieting down while building more focus and concentration. Students are restoring the environment after work, lunch, and also at the end of the day.
The Third Great Lesson has been introduced and students will continue to learn about the timeline of life. The clock of Eras and The Long Blank Line, lessons will follow.
Students are working on fraction addition, subtraction, and multiplication. We are also introducing Math Stories where students follow multiple steps to determine the mathematical operation needed to write an equation and determine the answer.
Our focus of study in Earth’s history is on human origins. We are learning about primates and extinct human species.
In science we are learning about galaxies, celestial bodies and the solar system.
Every student receives mathematics and reading instruction at their individual levels. Ask your children about the math and reading that they do each day.
Fundraiser orders and money are due November 16.
Term 2 and Cycle 2 are underway. Cycle 2 is all about exploration. Students have begun reading their novels around this topic.
Students have been assigned their first long term research project in science. The topic is mitosis and meiosis. We are currently studying genetics.
In math, students are learning about squares, cubes, and Pythagorean Theorem, the real number system, and functions across levels. One way to support your child’s learning is by asking them to explain their Cycle Graph and Study Guides to you. This will help you to understand what they are working on and provide an opportunity to discuss how they are doing
PE
Art
Music
Students continue to work on individualized learning goals through their Learning Lab time. Students use tools such as Amplify and MAP Accelerator to practice skills that need to be reinforced.
Meerkat Camp and Power Hour have started. If you received an invitation and still want your child to attend, please email kimberly.cowles@fcps.org. We still have a few spots available. A new round of invitations will be sent out to parents in the next week.
October was a busy month for technology at MVMS. We welcomed a few new staff members and issued them devices. We also helped some students who got temporarily locked out of their FCPS accounts. This happens when a student tries to log in with an incorrect password three times. The number of lockouts was much less in October compared to August and September - way to go students!
On Oct. 5th, I attended the fall User Support Specialist meeting and learned a lot of useful tips and tricks to support MVMS.
We received a donation of charging carts from FCPS’s Department of Technology Infrastructure (DTI). Affectionately called Cow (large) and Calf (small) carts, they allow us to charge multiple Chromebooks at once. These will come in handy now (see the photo below) and in the new building.
We put these to use right away to charge student Chromebooks.
Coming this holiday to MET. The Junie B. Jones in jingle bells batman smells November 26- December 18. A Christmas Carol December 16-18. For more information about the shows click the link below. Maryland Ensemble Theatre
The Salvation Army of Frederick is now open for Angel Tree Applications. Use the links below to find out how the Angel Tree application will be accepted and the required documents needed for online or in person application. English Spanish
Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP) is an all-volunteer 501(C)(3) non-profit that builds twin beds, and delivers them, FREE of CHARGE, to families in Frederick Co Maryland whose kids, ages 4-17, are sleeping on the floor, a couch, or with their parents or siblings. See the flier for more information. Sleep in Heavenly Peace flier in English & Spanish
I am writing to you as the Governing Council Chair during very exciting times for our school community!
This school year marks the 20th anniversary since Monocacy Valley Montessori Public Charter School became Maryland's FIRST public charter school. I am always amazed to think of the beginning and the vision of a handful of parents who met in a coffee shop with an idea and figured out how to create a non-profit with bylaws and created a charter and got it approved. We have come so far in 20 years!
Here are a few of the exciting things going on:
Every month this year we plan to share information with our community to help celebrate where we have been, where we are, and where we are headed and have a celebration planned in the spring. Happy Birthday, MVM! I can't wait to see what's just around the corner for our growing school community.
Have a great day! Jen Kuhn Governing Council Chair
http://education.fcps.org/mvmpcs/ 217 Dill Avenue Frederick, MD 21701 240-236-6100 Fax: 240-236-6101 Principal: Amy Dorman