Mountain West Montessori Newsletter

Editor-in-Chief: Ms. Angie, Director

Managing Editor: Ms. Sheri, Assistant Director

Author: Ms. Sheri, Assistant Director

The power of community to create health is far greater than any physician, clinic or hospital.

~ Dr. Mark Hyman

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-NO SCHOOL LABOR DAY: Monday, September 7th

-PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES: Wednesday & Thursday, September 23rd & 24th

-NO SCHOOL TEACHER COMP. DAY: Friday, September 25th

-TERM 2 BEGINS: Tuesday, October 13th

-NO SCHOOL FALL RECESS: Monday, October 19th - Friday, October 23rd

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ms. Sheri, Assistant Principal

I am excited to add a new section, "Did You Know" to the newsletter. Each month I'll highlight some of the unique components, strengths, academic rigor and positivity that make MWMA a wonderful school!

MWMA offers 9th graders classes that many students don’t get to take until 10th or 11th grade and most of our students do very well in these classes. If you have a 9th grader or are planning on having your student here through 9th grade here are some of the classes that they will have the opportunity to take. Hopefully there is something for everyone!

● AP Geography - If they pass the AP test at the end of the year they will receive college credit. 80% of our 9th graders pass the AP Human Geography exam which speaks to the quality of the instruction!

● US Government - This is a required course that many students don’t get to take until later in their high school experience, but students can get it out of the way early.

● Financial Literacy - This is another required course that many students don’t get to take until their 10th or 11th grade year, but we offer it here to our 9th graders.

● Fitness for Life - This is a PE credit that many students want to complete early. We offer it as part of our regular course work for 9th grade.

● Honors and Regular Biology - This course is not made available for many students in 9th grade, but we teach it here because it is a course that is required for the Regents scholarship.

It is our goal to offer rigorous courses for our 9th graders while helping them to be well-rounded and gain a better understanding of what their interests are. That is why in addition to regular and honors classes, we also encourage fine arts through our theater class, art class, ukulele class and after school orchestra. We also offer PE elective classes such as body conditioning and archery.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi MWMA Family,

Words can’t express how grateful I am to be back in the school building! And if I were standing in front of you right now, my face might also have a hard time expressing it—because of the masks that we are wearing.

One interesting aspect of the pandemic has been to emphasize just how much we humans are wired for non-verbal communication. We convey joy with a grin, sympathy with a downturned lip, surprise with an open mouth. In case you haven’t noticed, covering half of your face really changes your ability to transmit the emotion behind your words. If you currently wear a mask all day, you may come home completely exhausted with a bone-deep emotional tiredness beyond physical fatigue. It may be because you are working so hard to compensate and emote in your communication! (We also see this effect in video conferencing, where even without a mask, the slight digital delay forces us to “over emote” in order to express ourselves.)

How can we show our emotion and communicate well while wearing a mask and protecting ourselves from exhaustion? Here are some tips:

ADD YOUR VOICE/NAME YOUR EMOTIONS: It used to work to smile at someone as you pass them in the hall. Now it helps to use more words to express your emotions—“I’m smiling! Good morning”, “I’m surprised that you knew that!”, or “It makes me feel a little sad to think…” You can also increase the expression in your tone of voice to help people know how you are feeling.

ADD YOUR HANDS: There are substitutes for a handshake, and some of them are quite nice. Placing a flat hand on your upper chest, and maybe patting yourself, can convey that you hear and acknowledge, or feel for, someone. A nod or head dip while looking someone in the eyes can work, and the “namaste” gesture is a respectful greeting as well. Or try a thumbs up. Adding emphasis with your hands as you talk is also helpful.

FOCUS ON ARTICULATION: Without the ability to see people’s lips, it is vital to speak clearly and to articulate well. Masks can muffle sound, so practice projecting your voice like a Shakespearean actor!

TAKE A BREAK: Be mindful of whether your face, head, neck, or shoulders are tense from your efforts to communicate. Every so often, take 10 seconds to completely relax from the top of your head to your shoulders. And remember that sometimes in a meeting where you might be used to smiling the whole time, a mask leaves your free to completely relax your mouth and jaw (without looking like you are asleep).

Happy communicating! And may we take this time to remember that it is more important than ever to put down our devices, look our children in the eyes, and converse with them.

~Ms. Angie

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Ms. Marianne Noble

School is back in full-swing—bringing with it stress, homework, and finding clean masks before dropping the kids off. This month I would like to encourage both you and your student to put in some serious self-care time. We can’t take care of others and the responsibilities we all have, if we don’t take care of ourselves.

Self-care looks different to each of us. It may be a hot bath, movie night, lunch with a friend, or a taste of the “good” expensive chocolate. Whatever your form of self-care, please indulge.

Remember that even the best of us can’t run on an empty tank and all of us need to pamper ourselves a little. If you are interested in finding some new ways to take care of yourself, here are a few of my go-to websites.

https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/134-activities-to-add-to-your-self-care-plan/

https://www.kiddiematters.com/80-self-care-activities-teens/

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Ms. Melissa

Welcome back MWMA Students! Whether you're here all week, part of the week, or online-only, I'm excited to spend some time with you this school year. I've been getting a lot of questions from students and parents, and I'm going to try to answer your questions today.

Frequently Asked Student Questions:

Q. Where's Rosie? How old is Rosie? Can she talk yet?

A. For those of you who don't know Rosie, she is my daughter and came to school with me as a newborn last year. Rosie is at a friend's house being watched while we're at school. She misses going on walks with students and visiting your classrooms, but she eats way too much paper to be allowed in the library! Rosie just turned one year old and she can talk a little, but mostly makes funny sounds.

Q. Is the library closed? Can I get a book? Can I take the book home?

A. Right now, to limit the spread of Covid-19, instead of you coming to the library, the library is coming to YOU! We will have a short lesson and then you can look for a book to take home.

Q. Will I get Covid-19 from a library book?

A. Great question! It is very unlikely you will get Covid-19 from a library book. Have you ever heard of a fomite (sounds like foe-might)? A fomite is any non-living object that can transfer disease. If someone with Covid-19 was using a library book, that book would be considered infected. To keep books aseptic, free from disease, I put all returned books into quarantine for 2 days. This is what other local public libraries are doing, and it is working out very well for them.

Frequently Asked Parent Questions:

Q. Will there be a book fair this year? The spring book fair was the best ever!

A. I agree, that book fair was the BEST! We will be having book fairs around Parent Teacher Conferences this year. It will be an online book fair, and we're still discussing dates and how to get your book purchases to you affordably (hopefully free shipping) and quickly. Stay tuned!

Q. Is there anything you need for the library?

A. Yes! We are in need of replacements for popular titles (think Wimpy Kid, Dork Diaries, Elephant and Piggie...). Here is a link to an Amazon wish list https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1NVXR45YVZRR6?ref_=wl_share. I would be thrilled with anything off that list... you can buy new, used in good condition, or donate them from your own shelves in good condition if you are able.

I am also working on a grant application, soon to go up on Donor's Choose. The grant will focus on adding more diversity to our bookshelves, which I discussed in our August newsletter.

As always, I am available as a resource to students and parents, so please reach out if you are in need of resources for your student(s).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ms. Janelle is passionate about children feeling successful academically, socially, and emotionally. She believes that the Montessori philosophy and teaching is a useful tool for each of these aspects. Creating a room that invites each child to explore, question, and create is something that she finds necessary for each student to become a lifelong learner. Janelle has a degree in Psychology from Brigham Young University. She is a mom to four kids, a daughter, and three boys and was a stay at home mom for 13 years. Then she walked onto a Montessori campus and knew it was an education she would want for her own children. Janelle observed that young learners could move, cultivate independence, and that the teacher could guide and follow each child to where they were, and then foster their continuing growth. She began working as an assistant teacher and quickly began the process of her Montesorri training and earned her certification in Lower and Upper Elementary.

In her free time, Janelle enjoys hiking, kayaking, and anything that has to do with being outside. She loves introducing her children to museums of any kind, taking them on road trips, and venturing to outdoor concerts. She has hopes of becoming a master at gardening, cooking, and rock climbing. Janelle lived in North Carolina for 10 years sparking her love of good barbeque and bluegrass music.

Ms. Hannah is so excited to be teaching at MWMA and be a part of such a wonderful school community!

Hannah was born and raised in Arizona. In 2016, she moved to Hawaii to go to school and that’s where she received her Elementary Education degree with a minor in Psychology. Hannah started teaching 5th grade, then moved to kindergarten, and is now excited that she's made her way back to Upper Elementary. Hannah was lucky enough to be exposed to the Montessori method at her previous school and is excited to build on this knowledge at MWMA. She strives to give children a safe space to learn at their own pace in order to foster a love of learning.

Ms. Hannah loves finding new movies to watch, traveling, and spending time with friends and family. She has a passion for sports and loves to play pick up games of volleyball whenever she can. Hannah is an animal lover and has an adorable American Bulldog.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Email: admin@mwmacademy.org
Website: https://www.mwmacademy.org/
Location: 4125 Foxview Drive, South Jordan, UT, USA
Phone: 801-566-6962

_______________________________________________________________________________________