Did You Know … The Green Garden club focused on composting this week. With parents, Debbie McDowell and Dianne Soccio-Knapp, and staff supervisor, Amy Dwyer, the kids used a leaf blower to chop up some leaves to put in our compost tumbler, and turned the compost to get the process moving again. The club will meet again on Tuesday, October 21, 2008 after school.
The Silent Journey and the Discovery
Many of you have signed up for the Silent Journey and the Discovery. The Silent Journey will be held at 3:15 and again at 5:00 PM on Friday. Participants may choose either session to attend. On Saturday, we will all reconvene at 8:30 AM. Please be prompt.
Lunch Box Mail
Please remember to check your children’s lunch boxes each day after school. Teachers use this simple, but effective method to get important messages and children’s work home to you. Many lunch boxes today have extra compartments and pouches that work well for this mail system.
Assembly Line
Scott Vogel, outreach Director at the DE branch of the ASPCA, was our special guest at the Friday, October 10, 2008 assembly. He first captivated the kids in EC when he talked about pets and pet
care. Then he talked with the elementary kids about service animals and pets that have done extraordinary things.
Delaware’s Child Restraint Law
We are ever vigilant at EWMS in our quest to keep children healthy and safe. When we go our field trips, we are careful to collect car seats for the children for whom they are necessary. In an effort to put us all on the same page, here is the Delaware Child Restraint Law: All children must be properly restrained in a federally approved child safety seat appropriate for the child's age, weight and height up through 7 years of age or 65 lbs. Additionally, children 8 through 15 years old are required to be properly secured in a seatbelt. The fine for violating the law is $25.00. All children under 12 years old or 65 inches in height are still required to sit in the back seat if there are active airbags in the front passenger seating position.
Pennies for Peace The Elementary Workshop Montessori School will be participating in Pennies for Peace, a fundraising effort coordinated by the Central Asia Institute (CAI) and supported by the American Montessori Society (AMS). The CAI was formed to build schools, primarily for girls, in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and began because the founder, Greg Mortenson, made a promise to some remote villagers. Disoriented after an aborted attempt to climb K2, the world’s second highest mountain, inveterate mountain-climber Mortenson ended up in the village of Korphe, instead of at his base camp. The villagers, subsistence farmers, shared what they had with Mortenson until he was well enough to leave. Impetuously, Mortenson made them the promise that he would build them a school. He returned to Korphe several years later having single-handedly raised the money for the necessary materials. Since that time, close to a hundred schools have been built along the Afghan-Pakistani border. Pennies for Peace is an off-shoot of CAI and is designed to help children recognize the impact even a penny can have. In those parts of the world, “a penny buys a pencil and opens the door to literacy.” We will be collecting pennies until late-February. Greg Mortenson will be a keynote speaker at the AMS national conference in NOLA at the beginning of March. A check for the amount of money collected from students in participating Montessori schools will be presented to Mortenson at the conference. We have already started our collection!
Mortenson’s amazing story is chronicled in Three Cups of Tea co-written by David Oliver Relin, if you are interested in learning more.
Images from
Amy Dwyer
Animationfactory.com
Barrysclipart.com
Gifanimations.com Keenya Smallwood
Global Hand Washing Day
UNICEF, the CDC, the World Bank, and several other national and international organizations and companies have been promoting the practice of hand washing with soap to improve health around the world, especially among children. Today, Wednesday, October 15, 2008 is Global Handwashing Day.
In-Service
There will be an in-service day on Monday, October 20, 2008. If you will need care for your child(ren) on that day, please return the attached form to the office or the after school staff by Friday, October 20, 2008.
Hours Report
Attached here is the first hours report of the year. We know that a number of you have neglected to report your hours thus far: you have driven on field trips, attended the first parents’ meeting, and spent time at Ashland with Class 5. Please report your hours so they can be properly reflected on future reports. If you do have hours or a field trip reported here, please be sure that your entry is correct.
Calendar
Friday, 10/17
The Silent Journey, Free Child Care offered
Saturday, 10/18
The Discovery, Free Child Care offered
Monday, 10/20
In-service Day, no school, child care available
Friday, 10/31
Halloween Morning – dress up and bring the whole family!
Tuesday, 11/04
Youth CaN Café; Election Day – drop the kids off at school, have a cup of coffee, then go vote!
Wednesday, 11/05
Parents and Kids Working Together, 2:00 – 5:30 PM
Friday, 11/07 and Monday, 11/10
Conferences: Day Care Available
Thursday, 11/13
EI Overnight Field Trip to Ashland Nature Center
Saturday, 11/15
Maintenance Day, 8:00 AM – Noon
Wednesday, 11/26 – Friday, 11/28
Thanksgiving Break: No School
Maintenance Day Thank you, Elise, Jason, and Larry for all the fine work you completed for us on Saturday. We appreciate the repairs, the toting and lugging, and the painting you did!
Another Safety Note
It is crucial that you escort your children into the building and sign them in if they arrive for school before 8:20 or after 8:40 in the morning. Please do not drop you child off at the gate and let her/him walk into the building or Class 2 alone.
Fundraising
This year’s big fundraiser will be held on Saturday, February 21, 2009, which means it will coincide with Mardi Gras. We have a lead on a couple of sites on Market Street, which should make this event a lot of fun. You can help out now by gathering donations for the silent auction. It is this part of the fundraiser that can really earn the school money. Consider asking local vendors you frequent, such as a favorite pizzeria, hair salon, or auto mechanic. Gift certificates from businesses like those can be very popular items!
Box Tops and Labels for Education coordinator, Donna Thomas, sent off nearly $100.00 in box tops on Friday.
Thanks for clipping those labels for us!
Alumni Update
Ann Waring Faggard lives in Sandypoint, ID, in the Rockies, with her husband and two children.
Thanks
Thank you very much to Debbie McDowell, Barbara French, and Donna Thomas who filled in for Miss Emma on Monday and Tuesday.
In for a Treat?
The Wilmington Renaissance Corporation is sponsoring the Downtown Fall Festival (7 blocks of Family Fun on Market Street) on Saturday, November 1, 2008 from 11:00 AM until 4:00 PM. There will be lots of free, fun activities, rain or shine.
EWMS may have a booth at the event if we can find enough parent volunteers. If you’re available to help, please contact Victoria.
The Green Garden club focused on composting this week. With parents, Debbie McDowell and Dianne Soccio-Knapp, and staff supervisor, Amy Dwyer, the kids used a leaf blower to chop up some leaves to put in our compost tumbler, and turned the compost to get the process moving again. The club will meet again on Tuesday, October 21, 2008 after school.
The Elementary Workshop Montessori School will be participating in 
Calendar
Thank you, Elise, Jason, and Larry for all the fine work you completed for us on Saturday. We appreciate the repairs, the toting and lugging, and the painting you did!