Welcome to the Fox/Bear Learning Community

A NOTE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

“We see the figure of the child who stands before us with his arms held open beckoning humanity to follow” Dr. Maria Montessori  Education and Peace

Dear Charles Ellis Montessori Academy families, 

I am excited to begin a new school year with all of our children, families and staff. 

Dr. Montessori always directed Montessori guides to “Follow the Child” and that is what I encourage you to do as we travel these byways and highways of learning. At times we may feel that we are on a high speed autobahn, but as we start our travels I think it is critical to begin with a stroll, hand in hand, down a quiet country lane. As we take this slow walk, it is important that we take time to stop and truly observe the developing child and young adult. Can you see the “wheels turning”? All learning begins with the curiosity of the mind, and it is our job as adults to introduce our children to the wonders of our world.  

On a logistical note, it is our intention to slowly integrate itsLearning over the course of the next several weeks and we will be here to take this journey with you, hand in hand and step by step.  We feel that by doing so it will make our back to school experience more pleasant and instill confidence in our children and community stakeholders. We are excited to transition into full integration of the Learning Management System as we work together to learn the powerful features and supports/resources in the itsLearning platform. Please see below the letter from your teacher with instructions on how to connect to your learning community on the first day of school. 

I am grateful for your continued support of our staff as we work to serve our children. Together we must maintain faith in the child to guide us towards a peaceful tomorrow.

Peace,

Ms. Tanya

 Hello Fox and Bear families!

We are so excited to start this new school year.   We will be starting out virtually and will hopefully get into our school building soon.   As many of you know,  the students in our two classes will be combining for this school year.   At times, the students will need to identify themselves by individual teacher rosters.  If you are in Ms. Jess' class, you are a fox.   Bears are in Ms. Kirsten's class.   Together we will make an amazing learning community. 

     Our new learning platform is called ITS Learning.   From what we've seen so far it's full of amazing possibilities and it will provide great communication between students, teachers, and parents.   It is quite user friendly and we will also be working with all of you on becoming apt at its uses.   Your child will have expectations set and he/she will need to attend meetings and complete work that is assigned through ITS Learning. 

     Below you will find our tentative schedule for the day, however, our first week will be a bit different as we work on community building and accessibility.  Please follow this zoom link for our first meeting at 8:30 on the 19th. In the schedule, you will be able to see what both the students are going to do as well as what the teachers routine will be.   We will be meeting twice each day as a group and the rest of the day the students will be meeting with teachers for individual and small group lessons as well as independent work.   
     

     Virtual learning is new to all involved.  We will need to have patience with each other as we learn to navigate this new educational experience.   All teachers will have office hours each day when we can be reached for questions and concerns.  We are here to work through this new adventure together!

 Student Schedule                          Teacher Schedule 

7:50 -8:00	Scheduling Your Day	7:15-8:00	Office Hours
8:00-8:15	Morning Meeting	8:00-8:15	Morning Meeting
8:15-10:45	Montessori Morning Work Period (lessons and practice)	8:15-9:15 9:15-10:45 9:15-11:15	Open Meetings for instructional support/feedback  Para small groups EIP follow up/lessons Checking work/feedback. Assigning work, creating lessons, etc.
10:45-11:15	Explorations
11:15- 12:15	Recess and Lunch	11:15-11:45	Lunch
12:15-1:45	Small Group Instruction (as scheduled) 12:15 - 1:00  GEP Block 1  1:00-1:45 GEP Block 2	11:45- 3:15                                   12:15- 1:45	Instructional Flex Block Checking work/giving feedback, filming lessons, planning Small groups (EIP, RTI, and other small groups as needed)
1:45- 2:50	Closeout Your Day Clean Up Movement/Dance/Play Mindfulness- Peace Out! Independent Reading