Stoneridge Children's Montesori School

Our First Visit to the Harborlight Campus

by Cathy Palmisano, Merrill Hawkins, and Rick Boomer, Upper Elementary teachers

The Upper El fourth and fifth grade students had their first visit to the Harborlight campus the week before April Vacation. We hope to have several more visits (to and from Harborlight) in the coming months. This time, our objective was to see the Upper Elementary space and meet some of our new classmates. We only planned to go for an hour, so it would not be too overwhelming for anyone.

Some of the students were nervous, but overall everyone did a great job socializing with the HL students and staff. The feedback was positive. We know that there are so many parts of Stoneridge that we will all miss, many aspects of our school that will come with us to HL, and, as the kids realized, so many similarities between the two classrooms.

Here is what a few kids said about their visit:

“It was really awesome. We introduced ourselves, and what grade we are in. After that we paired up with a Harborlight kid and they were meant to show us around the classrooms. There were three rooms, E 1, E 2, and E3 that were all connected. There was a giant snack available, so we all had some bagels, fruitn and hot cocoa with our new friends. After that, we met in the circle again to begin the game “Snowball.” To play Snowball we had to write on a piece of colored paper 4 things that “made you you.” Stoneridge kids wrote on green paper and Harborlight on pink. We then crumpled the paper up and threw them in a pile out on the field. Then, each person had to pick up a opposite color paper and find out who you got by their characteristics. I learned the Victoria wants a pet snake and the best part was the food, and also getting to know the other kids. We made a lot of new friends.”

“It was fun. The kids were nice and they had good food there too! I was surprised at how big the classroom was and by the similarities: the work was the same, the tables and what they do is really similar to what we do.”

“The people were very nice at Harborlight. The room was nice too. I like how much space there was.”

“Did you know, they use the same exact work planners we use?”

“The teachers and kids were very welcoming, the food looked great too! I re-met an old friend from summer camp.”

“For me, I was really scared before we went. I didn’t want to go. I am still worried about the change, it will not be easy for me, but in the long term, I think it will be good.

“I was impressed that some people remembered me from when I went there. The others were so friendly, talkative, outgoing and casual – very easy to talk to.”

“I like the game we played. We learned we had a lot of things in common. Many of us play soccer and a lot of us love to read, especially Harry Potter.”

“My favorite part was the kids.”

“Everything was so clean and organized and nice and new looking!”

The next morning when we debriefed on the trip it was unanimously decided that another visit should be planned. Many students expressed interest in spending a full morning at HL, in bringing the rising 3rd graders with us, and wanting a tour of the entire HL campus, not just the Upper Elementary rooms.

We encourage you to keep talking with your children about the merger. We all have so many feelings and questions about the upcoming months and the exciting changes that await us. And as always, we are easger to hear about your and your child’s feelings.

 

Music in May!

by Hannah Mell, Music Director

May is an exciting month for music!

Toddlers are venturing into the music room on Wednesdays starting this month, and Children's House students are preparing for their Spring Teas on May 16, 17, and 18.

Important dates to watch for:

April 30, Musical Monday: Jade, Kathie, Margaret & Gina play flute music

May 7, Musical Monday: Zehava & Ben perform Elton John, Adele & more

May 10: Spring Concert at Endicott College (6:30 p.m.; stay tuned for e-mail reminders)

May 14, Musical Monday: Juliette sings and plays the drums

May 14: LE-MS performs for the Beverly Council on Aging (10:45 a.m.)

May 21, Musical Monday: Instrumentalists of UE

As always, e-mail Hannah at hmell@stoneridgecms.org if you have any questions!

 

Springing Forward in Upper El

by Rick Boomer, Cathy Palmisano, and Merrill Hawkins, UE Teachers

As we all come to terms in our own ways with the exciting news about the Upper Elementary Stoneridge-Harborlight merger, daily life in UE continues.  The children continue to find their voices by speaking up each morning as we start the day with circle.  After that, the mornings fly by productively with lessons and work.

Each student is reading an historical fiction novel with Martha Morgan, Cathy, Merrill or Rick.  The groups, respectively, are reading Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson; Fighting Ground by Avi; George Washington’s Socks by Robert Lawson; and Mr. Revere and I, also by Robert Lawson. We are looking forward to having the students compare their notes on the books as we continue to study the American Revolution in Cultural studies.

 

 

In Science, students have been discovering how work can be made easier by using simple machines.  Over the next few weeks, students will work in groups to present one machine--the wheel, lever, pulley, wedge, screw, or incline plane--to the rest of the class.  We are also excited to explore the changes that are happening at the vernal pond this month and next.

Math lessons continue at full speed!  Merrill’s groups are working on multiplication, division, and fractions. Cathy’s groups are working on decimals and data analysis.  Rick is working on Geometry with some students and decimal patterns and decimal/fraction conversions.

 

 

After completing an incredible unit on poetry in Writers Workshop (if your child has not shown you some of his/her poems yet, please ask!), Rick is now leading us in a workshop on how to organize and compose a persuasive essay.

Our first Health class with Nurse Nancy went very well.  The children were knowledgeable about which food they should be eating and also very honest about what they preferred to be eating.  We are looking forward to learning more about the importance of sleep patterns and exercise this week.

The fourth years have all started “The Great Fourth-Year Geography Project.” They are creating maps to compile into their own, personal atlases.  The sixth graders are all moving ahead with their Imaginary Island projects, both during work time and in art class with Liz. In preparation for their upcoming trip to Crawford Notch, NH, the sixth years also continue fundraising through their school store (open on Monday mornings) and through always popular Pizza Fridays.

 

 

Life in Upper El continues at an incredible pace.  While we are all looking forward to our April vacation, we are also very excited by all that this spring holds for us at Stoneridge. We encourage you to share with us your thoughts and concerns about your child’s experience as he/she continues to work through the upcoming changes in UE. 

 

More Than Coffee at the April 4 Coffee House!

If you haven't attended a Stoneridge Coffee House, now's the time! There's no event quite like it--you'll get to see performers of all ages share their talents in a relaxed, festive atmosphere. Join us in the multi-purpose room from 5:00-6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 4. (Students K-MS, please arrive at 4:45 for a warm-up.)

If you'd like to perform, be sure to e-mail Hannah at hmell@stoneridgecms.org with the title and length of your piece. Coffee House ends right at 6:30 p.m. so there will be a cut-off once we have enough acts. 

Pizza, snacks, and drinks will be available for a low cost; all proceeds benefit the music program. Donations of nut-free treats are much appreciated! If you'd like to help out, get in touch with Hannah.

“Electrified”

by Duncan Cox and Bruce Lewis, Stoneridge parents, and James, student

On Friday the 20th of January, the Upper Elementary class traveled in to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge.  The class will be learning about electricity in the classroom soon, and this trip served to give the students some hands-on experience in the subject. The lab we visited at M.I.T. was like a technician’s paradise! While we were there, we made quizboards out of cardboard boxes, paper, wires, solder, and batteries.

"Seven hundred degrees is hotter than your oven at home," the instructor cautioned. Upper Elementary students were about to solder electrical connections they had made after cutting wire, stripping insulation from the ends, and correctly connecting a resistor and an LED. This was part of the Quizboard activity at MIT. Consistent with Montessori (and perhaps MIT!) methodology, this activity was very hands-on; the entire group used wire cutters and strippers.  They all got a chance to solder in smaller, more closely supervised groups.  Soldering was the highlight for many.

Students built working circuit boards that they took home, to the delight and amazement of students and their families. Before the trip, each student drew up a list of multiple choice questions and answers.  At MIT, the students built an electronic circuit board designed to respond to their multiple choice quizzes. The students built their circuits by linking wires to 9-volt batteries.  The circuits included resistors and light bulbs.  Students saw that by closing the circuit, a light went on as electrons traveled from the negative to positive battery terminals across the wires. After some supervised soldering, their boards' pointers would light up when the users touched them to the metal buttons with the correct answers, but they would remain dark (open circuit) when the incorrect answer was selected.  For many students, this was their first venture onto a university campus.

To the uninitiated, these quizboards might seem like "smart" devices that know answers to questions.  But the students, having built them, know it's just circuits.  The activity will be complemented by classroom study of the science of electricity.

The MIT students and staff at the Edgarton Center were really nice to help us learn more about electricity.  We also want to thank all the parent chaperones and drivers who showed us around MIT. I hope that this is a field trip that Upper El will get to go on again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Camp? Sign up for Showtime!

Explore acting, singing, dancing, set-building, improvisation, and more. This dynamic three-week camp for new and experienced theatre students will be directed by David Draper and Hannah Mell. The fun-filled program will conclude with a performance of Once on This Island Jr. for families and friends. Showtime @ Stoneridge is open to students entering grades 3 to 10. Space is limited so sign up now!

July 2 to July 20
9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (No class on July 4)
Tuition: $750 per child.

To sign up, download the attached form, or contact Pat Tucker, our School Secretary at ptucker@stoneridgecms.org.

Summer2012_ShowtimeStoneridge

Learning to Dream, Inspirated by Dr. Martin Luther King

by Julia Lewis, Upper Elementary student

Last week in UE, we learned about Martin Luther King.   After making timelines about his life and listening to the fifth graders present in assembly (the script is attached below) we watched his powerful speech, I have a Dream.  We were asked to write a small speech or few sentences about what we believed in.  I wrote my own piece about what I thought was right and real.  Here is my speech: We Cannot Hide.

We Cannot Hide By Julia Lewis

I have a dream that we who have everything will be able to share with those who have nothing. 

I have a dream that the world will link together and realize that we are not alone, but that we must build our foundation on sturdy rock.

We today wallow in a comfort that only goes as far as our personal needs, but the comfort we cling to is a fake mirage.  There is a world just beside our doorstep that struggles with the small task of collecting a meal for their family, drinking a sip of safe water, building a small shelter from a cardboard box and living in the cruel clutches of debt. 

I have a dream that everyone will follow the simple rules we have learned in preschool, such as “share with others,” “use words, not fists,” “respect others” and best of all, “treat others the way you want to be treated.”  If you could use these simple rules, this world would be in a place where the mirage of comfort would be gone and a real life sanctuary would blanket us.

 

Timeline: Martin Luther King, Jr Assembly Presentation

Ethan:
Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15th, 1929 in Atlanta.  He was one of three children; his mother, Alberta, was a former schoolteacher and his father, Martin Luther King, Sr., was pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church. His grandfather was pastor of the Church before him.  In his adult life, Martin Luther was co-pastor with his father.

Nolan:
King attended segregated schools while growing up.  Segregated schools are when black students and white students are separated.  King graduated from high school at age 15 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1948 from Morehouse College. He then attended Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, PA.  King completed his PhD in theology from Boston University in 1955. He met and married his wife, Correta Scott, in Boston; they had four children.

Alexis:
King became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, AL in 1954. In Montgomery, he helped inspire the black community during a 382-day boycott of the city's bus system -- an outgrowth of the arrest of Rosa Parks. King's house was bombed, and he and other boycott leaders were convicted of conspiracy. But in December 1956, the Supreme Court declared Alabama's segregation laws -- and bus company practices -- unconstitutional.

Noah:
King was a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In 1957, he and other black ministers founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom -- August 28th 1963 -- saw more than 250,000 protesters; here King delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. In 1964, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act.

Will:
Many people disliked King's moderate and nonviolent techniques. Other black leaders were more militant, specifically Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael. His last speech, given during a sanitation worker strike in Memphis, acknowledged turbulent times but was titled "I've Been To The Mountaintop." He was assassinated the following day, April 4th  1968, by James Earl Ray.

James:
Congressman John Conyers of Michigan introduced legislation for a commemorative holiday in 1968. In 1973, Illinois became the first state to adopt MLK Day as a state holiday. It took 15 years for Congress to pass a bill marking the holiday. President Reagan signed it in 1983, and it became effective in 1986. Utah was the last state to recognize MLK Day by name, and South Carolina was the last state to make MLK Day a paid holiday for all state employees -- both happened in 2000.   If Dr. King was alive, he would be turning 83 next week.

Katie:
Today we remember MLK for many reasons; as the youngest man to win the Nobel Peace Prize, a follower of the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, King is one of the world's best-known modern advocates of nonviolent social change.  Dr. King inspires us not only to dream of a better world, but how to achieve it.  I am sure Dr. King would have agreed with Dr. Montessori: that “Establishing lasting peace is in the work of education.”  Not just in our school, but in our communities.

Like Martin Luther King Jr., We all have dreams for our future:

Noah: I have a dream that one day the rich will give to the poor.

Nolan: I have a dream that one day there will be no more homeless people, that everyone will have the money for what they need.

Alexis: I have a dream that one day physical and emotional abuse end – for people and animals.

Will: I have a dream that one day the world will have peace.  That the people of the earth will not fight, but be nice to each other

James: I have a dream that one day families in Cambodia will have the resources they need to survive: food, water, clothing, houses and schools.

Ethan: I have a dream that one day people will take each other for who they are, not who we want them to be.

Katie: I have a dream that one day there will be no more war or fighting.

Zee: I have a dream that one day all bullying will stop and everyone will be accepted for who they truly are.

Nora: I have a dream that one day the Earth will not be shaken by war, but that brothers and sisters will unite.

Ethan:  We hope you learned something about Dr. Martin Luther King today and that you, too, continue to dream.  If you are interested in Dr. King and his work, please ask any Upper El student, come see our timelines outside of the UE classrooms, or check out one of the several books Martha has in the Library.

All 5th graders: Thank you! And thank you Dr. King for all you have done for us. 

Curriculum Spotlights and Step-Ups in January

Please join us at the next Curriculum Spotlight on Wednesday, January 11, followed by a Step-Up Morning for Grade 6 parents.

8:30-9:00 a.m. Curriculum Spotlight: "The Plus of Being Negative: Mathematics in the MS," led by Victor Young, MS Coordinator and Math teacher

9:15-9:40 a.m. MS Classroom Observation  Parents are invited to observe in the Middle School classroom.

9:40-10:30 Discussion. Step-Up Morning concludes with an opportunity to discuss what you observed in the classroom and to ask questions about the MS program and curriculum. Alan will run this discussion, and one of the MS teachers and a current MS parent will be available to answer questions.

Next Curriculum Spotlight: Wednesday, January 25: "Ensuring that Our Students are Good Spellers,"  with Heather Carnevale and Cathy Palmisano, Lower and Upper El Head Teachers. This Curriculum Spotlight will be part of the Step-Up Morning for K and Grade 3.

As with all of our Curriculum Spotlights, all parents are welcome--stop by at 8:30 to get a cup of coffee, and then expand your thinking about how children learn at Stoneridge. We encourage parents at all levels to join us! We will finish by 9 am. Curriculum Spotlights are held in the Music Room, right off the lobby.

 

Walk the Talk: Second Step in Action

By Merril Hawkins, UE Head Teacher

The UE students have wrapped up the Second Step Social and Emotional Learning unit on empathy. The focal points in this unit were, first, identify and understand feelings, their own as well as others’. Second, recognize that people may have different feelings and understand that others may have different perspectives about similar situations.   Finally, learn how to express compassion for others.

As the unit is winding down we have seen evidence of these lessons being used by the children in and out of the classroom.  For example, during recess children are now more frequently inviting bystanders to join in on the fun. In addition, many children have been assertively asking to join in on an activity.  In the classroom children are relating what they have learned from these lessons to their literature circle discussions about characters in the book.

 We are now beginning the second unit: Emotion Management.  The goal of this unit is to develop students' ability to recognize and manage their own strong feelings before they escalate and result in negative consequences.  To do this, first the children will learn to recognize how strong feelings affect their brains and bodies.  Then, to use strategies to calm down and manage feelings by using centered breathing, positive self-talk, and communicating assertively before acting on their first impulse.  Teaching students these techniques provides them with coping skills and reduces aggression and other problem behaviors.  Those who use these essential life skills are more likely to get along with peers and make good choices.   Learning to cope with strong emotions and express them in socially acceptable ways leads to success in school – social as well as academic.

Thank you for your continue participation in helping to make sure important lessons are being heard both at home and at school through your modeling as well as using the weekly “homelinks” to start conversations with your child.

 

 

Giving Thanks and Helping Others

by Merril Hawkins, Rick Boomer, and Cathy Palmisano, UE Head Teachers

This is the time of year when each of us pause and reflect on the many ways in which we are so fortunate. We demonstrate our gratitude by giving thanks, providing help, and honoring those who provided essential services to others. The Upper Elementary students have been busy recently showing their appreciation to both the Stoneridge and Beverly communities.

During a recent assembly, UE students Ruby, Noah, Sam, and Nathan spoke to the Stoneridge community about the meaning of Veterans Day. They honored those who protect us and they reflected on those who gave their lives to ensure our well-being.
 

 

 

 

UE students have also been trying to help out within their own community. Each Wednesday, our community service volunteers, Noah and Nolan, read to the children in Kindergarten and help get them ready for lunch.

 

 

Since the beginning of the school-year, the entire Stoneridge community has participated in  supporting the Beverly Bootstraps Food Pantry by placing food donations in the basket located in the lobby. With the help of our tireless parent volunteers, the UE children have bagged, weighed, and delivered the donations each month. They are graphing the donations on a chart displayed in the lobby. So far the community has donated over 150 pounds of food! Thank you to all who have made donations and to our drivers!

This year, the Stoneridge community  donated seven complete turkey dinners to families of the Beverly Head Start Program.  The sixth graders, along with a parent volunteers, purchased the turkeys with the money raised from "turkey chores" which was earned and donated by all the children of Stoneridge.

Helping others is gratifying and rewarding, and gives children at Stoneridge the opportunity to practice this important life skill of giving back that hopefully will remain with them inside and outside of the classroom in the years to come.

Words in the Garden

by Rick Boomer, UE Head Teacher

WORMS WORDS IN THE GARDEN

Some people think worms are bad for the garden. They have seen damage created by pests. Cockroaches, termites, beetles, and silverfish love to eat paper and the binding of books. Bees and butterflies help pollinate flowers. Malaria is spread to thousands of people each year through mosquito bites. Fleas carry bacteria which can cause humans to get sick when bitten. Earthworms help improve our soil.

What? What are we talking about here? It’s kind of hard to know exactly, isn’t it? In Upper Elementary, we’ve decided that the “paragraph” above doesn’t work very well because it lacks critical elements that make paragraphs successful.

Let’s look back at the first sentence, for example. Some people think worms are bad for the garden. If this was the Topic Sentence, what would you expect the paragraph to be about? Malaria? Fleas? Bees and butterflies? No. You expect to read examples of worms somehow messing up people’s gardens. Instead, what should be supporting sentences  provide random details about various and sundry little beasties. For a reader, this is confusing. One of the main reasons we write is to communicate ideas to readers, so we need our ideas to make sense.

Writing a well-structured paragraph helps our ideas make sense, and for the past couple of weeks, we’ve been working on creating strong paragraphs in UE. First, a Topic Sentence that includes the main or guiding idea of the paragraph is essential. Next, in a simple paragraph, the topic sentence should be followed by no fewer than three supporting sentences that provide examples or details about the main idea. Finally, a paragraph should end with a concluding sentence that restates the main idea, gives an opinion, or makes an observation. The paragraph below appears to follow this pattern. Try to identify the aforementioned elements in it and decide whether it makes for improved understanding:

Earthworms move by contracting two kinds of muscles. Earthworms are divided into segments. Each segment contains a short muscle that encircles the segment. When the short muscle contracts the earhtworm gets thinner and longer. The earthworm also has long muscles that connect each segment. When the long muscles contract the earthworm becomes short and fat. By contracting each of the muscles in turn the worm is able to move along the surface of the ground or tunnel through the ground. Earthworms can move both forward and backward by conracting their muscles.

Topic Sentence? Check. Supporting sentences? Check. Concluding Sentence? Check. Easier to understand the main idea? Check.

Got it? Check. Our work continues to help children write and think in a more organized fashion in order to better communicate their ideas – to themselves and to others.

Myth and the Modern UE Child

by Rick Boomer and Cathy Palmisano, Upper El Head Teachers

“Let us give the child a vision of the whole universe. . . for all things are part of the universe, and are connected with each other to form one whole unity.”
– Maria Montessori

Try and think back to before the beginning. When there was no time, no space, no light nor dark. There was quite simply nothing. No thing. Then, for some reason still unknown, there was a speck of energy that contained everything in the Universe. This speck of energy weighed as much as all of the planets, moons, stars, and galaxies combined. It burned in the trillions of degrees. BANG!!!

Maria Montessori divided human development into four planes each about six years long from birth to age 24. She attributed prominent, even sometimes unique, characteristics to each specific age range and labeled that plane of development accordingly. With great, imaginative capacity, an abiding interest in the dramatic, a burgeoning understanding of abstract ideas, and an attention that focuses more and more keenly on one’s role in a group and in the world, it is no wonder that the plane for the Upper Elementary child is referred to as the Cosmic plane.

In Upper Elementary we are feeding this sensitivity towards the cosmic in a few different ways. At circle in the mornings, we have been reading and deconstructing creation myths from cultures as various as China and Romania, Egypt and the Hopi tribes, Japan and Norway, and even Greece, Australia, and the Blackfoot Indians. The children have tried to guess the origins of these myths using clues they heard about the setting (Eucalyptus trees for hair? Hmm, maybe Australia?) or the characters and their names (Ra? That sounds familiar…). Professional storyteller James McCarthy, a former elementary teacher, dropped in to perform with the students an ancient African creation myth. Ask your children about the frogs who ribbited, “We’ll try. We’ll try.”

We’ve also spent time identifying some of the elements that these myths have in common. Many start with Chaos or darkness or simply Nothing. Many include the gathering and molding of clay. Most mention vast expanses of water. Almost always there is a conflict between two opposing forces or gods. Animals often play a critical role in forming the Universe.

The students have now been asked to imagine and write a creation myth of their own. It is remarkable how astutely they are able to incorporate some of the same elements as myths from around the world, yet do it in a way that is truly unique. There have been Universes that begin from total blackness and then  founded upon a dog’s bone. Other worlds have been created from fingernails, fierce fire gods, and even expanding bowls of pasta!

Eventually, we culminate this study with a short exposition explaining what scientists believe to be true up to this point in our understanding. We discuss and illustrate the theory of the Big Bang, the creation of gases and stars, the vastness of the Universe, and then the origin of Earth. In science, we are  investigating the states and characterisitics of matter and will continue with the study of atoms and elements. Culturally, the students will move on to explore the emergence of humans and civilizations.

All of this is an effort, of course, to meet your children where their intelligence, curiosity, and sensitivities already lie, and to help them gain a greater understanding of themselves and their place in the unity of the Universe.

 

 

 

 

Success. It's Not Just Reading and Math.

by Rick Boomer, UE Head Teacher

Welcome back!

September is a very busy time. We’ve already spent a day bonding, huddled together in the pouring rain playing challenging games and climbing high elements at Project Adventure at Moraine Farm in Beverly. Soon, we’ll each pick a moment from that experience and try to detail it, or “explode” it, for a short writing exercise. We’re reading creation myths from around the world. Math and spelling assessments are in progress. And of course, there is the coming together of all the personalities; children getting to know one another all over again and also meeting each other for the first time. So many stories to tell each other from the summer time. This "social" work is some of the most important work we do in the early weeks of school.

We all want our children to be as successful as possible at school. But success is not just about reading and math. It is about knowing how to learn and how to get along with others. Children in this age range are particularly interested in their peers and the social interactions they experience with them. Because of this, the school has adopted a social/emotional curriculum called Second Step to help teach these critical skills.

Our goal for Second Step is to develop students’ skills in the following four areas:

1.  Skills for Learning: Students learn how to focus their attention, listen carefully, and be assertive when asking for help with school work. 
2. Empathy:  Students learn to identify and understand their own--and others’ feelings. Students also learn how to take another’s perspective and how to show compassion. 
3. Emotion Management: Students learn specific skills for calming down when experiencing strong feelings, such as anxiety or anger. 
4. Problem Solving: Students learn a process for solving problems with others in a positive way.

Your child will learn a lot this year and s/he will need your help. Throughout the year, in addition to academic homework, your child will also bring home social work, called Home Links, which corresonds with several of the Second Step lessons. These are simple, fun activities for you and your child to complete together. They are a great way for you to understand what your child is learning and for your child to show you what s/he knows.

If you have any questions about the Second Step program, please do not hesitate to contact us for more information. We look forward to another rich and exciting school-year!

RPM 9/28

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instrumental Music for UE students

by Hannah Mell, Music Teacher

This year, all Upper Elementary students will participate in small group instrument lessons on Tuesday afternoons. We're excited to welcome back teachers Gina (flute), Dan (guitar), and Andrew (drums). Please extend a special welcome to our new teachers Sarah (violin), Joe (trumpet), and Tai (percussion ensemble).

Please send students to school with their instruments on Tuesday, September 13. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact your child's instrument teacher, or Hannah (hmell@stoneridgecms.org).

Thank you for encouraging our Upper Elementary students to practice at home each day! Even 10-15 minutes makes a huge difference.