Dear Great Horned Owls Families -
It seems like February just begun and now it is gone. Even though it is the shortest month of the year, the children had many lessons and many follow-ups. You probably noticed a lot of partner work on large rolled-up sheets going home all month. Some children have been putting a lot of effort into good paragraph writing for their five paragraph essays. Arithmetic skill practice has also exponentially grown. We also had a very nice hike and we look forward to our next one on March 28th.
This month we have been covering different types of poetry and some children want to enter the Arizona State Poetry Society contest for children from 1st to 12th grades. We have another 4-6 weeks before they need to submit their entry.
The children have picked out a play and will start practicing in earnest for their performance at the end of April. In the coming days we’ll be discussing costumes and props. Most have learned their lines already and we just need to work on blocking and projection.
The other exciting thing is we have four children who will be competing at the regional Odyssey of the Mind contest on March 2nd at Madison Meadows School. It is open to the public, so even if you don’t have a child participating, your child and you can go and cheer them on. Their performance will be at 10:40 am and the other Keystone team will perform at 1:20pm.
Hikes:
Our next hike will be on March 28th. An email will be sent out about a week before the hike.
Games:
Just in case you missed the last update, here is a list of games you might consider playing at home with your child:
Boggle, Scrabble, from the New York Times yearly game subscription - SpellingBee, Connections, Wordle, Crossword puzzle, etc., Rory’s Story Cubes, Headbanz, and Dixit.
Sequence, Yahtzee, MasterMind, chess, Rush Hour, backgammon, battleship, and card games.
Interpreting the large math sheets when they get home:
***If you missed this…
When your child has taken home math work they did with a partner, it’s important to look at it and ask them questions. To help you decipher some of the short hand symbols, the following will shed some light on what they mean:
When a pair of children have finished their math work, I will check it. If they made a mistake on a problem, I will make a little solid dark circle to indicate it needs to be corrected. If they bring it back for a second check and they still have not gotten the right answer, I’ll place a second round solid circle next to problem. Usually, errors occur if the two children are not paying attention to what their partner is doing and not that they are unable to do the math. If there is a “C” with a circled drawn around it, it means they forgot a comma. If there is an “S”, it means they forgot to show the operation sign. If there is a “L” they forgot the equals line. “C” is a missing comma. If there is a “DS” for fraction work, they forgot the division line. Hopefully this will help out.
Scholastic Books:
The next Scholastic Book order will be placed on Tuesday, March 19th.
Drama, music, and dance:
***This will also stay for all Web updates for your convenience:
An inexpensive way of exposing your child to the arts is through your local universities, junior colleges, and high schools. Below are links to venues you may want to explore:
Chandler Gilbert Community College -
https://www.cgc.edu/news/2023/fall-2023-performing-arts-events
Scottsdale Community College -
https://www.scottsdalecc.edu/calendars/fine-and-performing-arts-calendar
ASU
https://musicdancetheatre.asu.edu/ensembles/music-theatre-and-opera-program/season
https://herbergerinstitute.asu.edu/events#allevents
Phoenix in general free events:
https://www.visitphoenix.com/things-to-do/attractions/free-things-to-do/
Ms. Bahareh and Mr. Jess
February birthday we celebrated:
2nd- Levi
March Birthday:
26th - Indali
Important Upcoming events:
Saturday, March 2nd (7pm-11pm) - Casino Night
Sunday, March 3rd (11am-2pm)— Keystone Ballers Tourney
Friday, March 8th - Spring Pictures (no make-up)
Monday, March 11-15th - Spring Break/No School/Extended Care Provided
Tuesday, March 19th (6-7:30pm) - Community & Classroom Meeting
Wednesday, March 27th (6-7pm) - Board of Directors Meeting
Friendly Reminder:
Don’t forget to make your AZ School Tax Credit donation for Keystone Montessori- receive a dollar per dollar credit on your AZ tax return ($200 single or $400 for joint return on AZ form 321, please ask your tax advisor for details or https://azdor.gov/tax-credits/contributions-qcos-and-qfcos )
