The Brickton Weekly, April 19, 2012

Creating a Culture of Curiosity at Brickton Montessori School
Each month, Brickton has asked 25 people the same question and shown you their answers here in the Weekly. This month, we switched it up and decided to highlight some of the amazing questions our students ask. Curious children are learners. They explore their environment and are motivated to discover new information. What questions does your child ask?

Upcoming Open House
Tell your friends, family, and neighbors. Brickton will be hosting an Open House for prospective families Sunday, April 22nd, from 12:30 – 3:00 pm. It’s a chance to tour the school, talk with directresses, and learn more about the Montessori philosophy and our school.

Please join us…
You are invited to participate in a roundtable discussion with Principal Debbie Kelley and Dr. Sharon Damore, Montessori Educator and Curriculum & Instructional Specialist. You will gain a better understanding of:

• the student assessments we use and what the scores mean.

• how we, as a school, look at tests and what are we doing with the information.

• how we are working to improve the educational experience for your child and for our programs overall.

• Standardized Test Scores - - what does it all mean? Learn how to decipher your child's scores.

• how adults in the community can work together on behalf of your child.

When: Wednesday, May 2nd, 4:30-5:45 p.m. 
Care will be available at no charge .

Please RSVP to sara.gregory@brickton.org

Do you have related questions that you would like addressed at this meeting? Please send them to molly.arnoldt@brickton.org

We hope to see you there!

Invite Your Friends to Brickton
Grandparents and Special Friends weekend is coming up quickly! Last week you should have received two invitations (per family) in your parent folder to invite some special friends or grandparents to the school. In fact, we have a whole weekend of activities planned.
Thursday, May 10th, Band and Choir Concert, 7:00 – 8:30 pm (at the Salvation Army Building)
Friday, May 11th, Grandparents and Special Friends Day
Saturday, May 12th, Art Expo, 10:00 – 12:00 pm

Reading for Information
The students in Lower Elementary are doing some exciting things with the books they are reading. Reading a book is more than just saying the words on the page. Sometimes we read to explore new worlds, sometimes we read to meet new kinds of people, and sometimes we read to learn new information. Some students in Lower Elementary have been reading for information and organizing what they learn in various ways. When students are asked to compare and contrast information, they are using higher level thinking skills and make connections between the information they are learning and their everyday lives. Here are two examples of superior student thinking:

After reading the first chapter of Fantastic Mr. Fox and filling out a Venn Diagram about the three mean farmers (Boggis, Bunce, and Bean), Jolena, Frankie, and Cian decided to create their own Venn Diagram about themselves, filling in what they had in common and what was unique to each student.

Owen and Emmett read a book called Bizarre Dinosaurs and decided to organize some of the facts they learned about each one. They created a timeline from 161 million to 50 million years ago, drew pictures of some of the dinosaurs highlighting their unique features, and measured out the height of each dinosaur. The information was put together on the long paper you see here and is displayed on the wall outside Room 102. Check it out!

Brickton’s Authors
First graders Jackie, Charlie, and Gillian wrote and illustrated their very own story and published it this week. They have given the book to the Lower Elementary Classroom for the students to enjoy, but YOU can read it online here. (You will have to sign in to the family site.) Enjoy!