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Nightingale Notes April 2016
May 2 Eagle Farm Day 2 Sub Sale Starts (Fundraiser for Owl/Falcon/Wing Class Trips) 5 Owl/Falcon Farm Day 3 Owls to Air Force Museum 9 Eagle Farm Day 10 Owls to Rock Quarry 11 School Picture Day Wear Your NM Shirt! 12 Owl/Falcon Farm Day 16 Eagle Farm Day 16 Sub Sale Ends Forms Due 19 Owl/Falcon Farm Day 20 Falcons/Wings to Math and Science Day at King’s Island 23 Eagle Farm Day 24 Subs Delivered to Students 26 Falcon Farm Day 2627 Owl Class Trip: Indianapolis 30 No School Memorial Day 31 Falcon/Wing Class Trip Destination: Philadelphia
June
3 Last Day of School 6-8 Teacher In-Service Days
August
1517 Teacher InService Days 1617 Chickadee Orientations 15 Eagle Parent Night (Parents only) 16 Owl Parent Night (Parents and Student) 17 Falcon/Wing Parent Night (Parents & Student) 18 First Day of School 20162017
What If? An Interactive Math Lecture Wing, Kyle Taylor, an Ambassador for The Johns Hopkins Engineering Innovation Program, introduced visiting professor, Dr. Edward Scheinerman from The Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering for the What if? An Interactive Math Lecture on April 14th. Falcons, Zachary Weaver, Rodnesha
Thompson, Xavier Pearson, Nathan Schindler and Logan Thurman participated in the Interactive Math Lecture. This summer, The Johns Hopkins University at Clark State Community College, is offering the program Phone & Games for students in 6th8th grade. If interested, please visit http://www.clarkstate.edu/aboutclarkstate/youthoutreachprograms/johnshopkinssummerprograms/
Congratulations to Falcon, Zachary Weaver! He was the First Place Winner of American Math Competition 8 (8th Grade Level) of Clark County. Zach will receive a full scholarship to The Johns Hopkins "Phone & Games" summer camp. As the youngest student (only 6th grade), he will join other high-performing middle schoolers for a week long camp to create a mobile app.
Neil and Swisher Support Students
Owl, Emily works with Swisher. Neil reminds students as they visit, to look at Swisher to see what she is thinking and feeling. “If she is scared, make a change.” It's a good practice for attention span and
responsibility. When a student is too energetic for Swisher, Neil points out that Swisher is scared and they acknowledge this and adjust.
Neil and Swisher visited the Chickadee circle and Falcon, Gabriel, shared that "Swisher and I have been friends for a long time." Swisher avoided facing the Chickadees, although she did carefully go around the wonderful circle of kids to receive kind pets from the very respectful Chickadees.
Nightingale Montessori Alumna, Alexis Gibson, received a research grant in the amount of $3000.00 . The Wittenberg University Student Development Board awarded Alexis the grant to work on her senior thesis, concentrating on ceramics. She will spend the summer experimenting on different throwing, glazing and decorating techniques. Alexis was honored by the Wittenberg University Art Department on April 9th for demonstrating exceptional promise in art. Alexis Graduated from NM in 2013.
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Farm Days
We started the day with chores (milking the goats). We don't usually actually get to keep the milk from farm school milkers, they just aren't quick enough and the doe gets way too antsy, but you have to learn somehow. We finished getting the
last bit of manure into the trailer which didn't take long at all with so many helpers. Many students need work like this, you can sense the tension they are under and see them feel it dissipate as they engage in purposeful physical activity. When we were done with manure we decided to keep the goats in as it looked like rain, took care of the chickens and headed for the creek. Some students are awesome wood splitters. Ethan picked a really hard crooked log with lots of knots and 3 wedges and 45 minutes later, success! Zachary finally split a log by himself! After witnessing many previous tries, I shared with him that in splitting wood sometimes intelligence is a better asset than brawn and once he realized that, he was sure he could master it.
Those who weren't splitting were either on the tree swings, playing with the baby goats or checking for eggs.
After a while some of us went back to the creek and some stayed in the barn. The creek goers found a frog and were quite pleased though no one was fast enough to catch it. We headed back for lunch at about 11:30. People get hungry early when they're working outside. After lunch we got out the wagon and did rides for a while; some started building bee boxes and some returned to the baby goats.
The goats (just mom's and babies, not Bob) escaped and many were chasing them. This wasn't too big of a problem because they had followed the direction of having the front door closed when they went in the stall so the goats couldn't get out of the barn.
Since they didn't know I knew about their problem, I decided to stand outside the door where I could watch and listen to be sure they and the goats weren't getting into too much trouble (like the feed bin). Ethan's Grandpa stood there with me and it was pretty entertaining. Finally, things got quiet so I peeked and they had somehow caught them all. That was pretty impressive!
The students at the creek seemed blissful. Sarah commented on how nice it was to be there and I think they enjoyed the peace.
Zane in the Chicken Coop
Carson, Dustin and Aaron in hollow tree
Janiya and Niara help feed the animals
Colten and River watch!
Chickadees Waiting to Perform.
Owl, Falcon and Wing Choir.
I Can Do Anything You Can Do Better!
The Chinese Dragon. The Masala Bhangra.
Chickadee and Eagle Choir Signing and Singing.
Zachary and Kyle get
ready for Tinikling.
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The Ribbon Dance.
The Bucket
Band.
Kalib helps Aidan balance.
Logan helps Evan zip.
Zachary helps Jace learn to tie.
Owls help Chicks plant seeds.
Co
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Grace helps Kylie.
Congratulations to our Science and Culinary Team. Jayne and Jared Martin, and Stephanie Woodward received scholarships to attend this bi-annual conference. They will be attending workshops ranging from Aquaponics to Starting Successful Food Co-ops! __________________________________________ Owls and Wings participated on April 27 in this event. It was such a success! We plan on scheduling more opportunities on a regular basis. We collected 10 bags of trash and discovered a dump of 27 tires that we promptly reported! __________________________________________ Thank you, Bonnie Plants, for your gift of cabbage plants. We are proud participants of Bonnie’s 3rd Grade Cabbage Program.
Getting the garden ready.
Kateri and Brandon work in the garden.
Kalib assists Jared to build the Herb Spiral Garden
Absorbent Mind
Montessori believed that from birth to six is the time of the absorbent mind, when a child’s mind is like a sponge soaking up information. At perhaps no other stage of life is the joy of learning so evident. In Montessori’s view, children given opportunities to grow and develop through experience, training and practice at this time can learn more thoroughly, quickly and efficiently than at any other time of life. Once a child learns something in one activity, he/she often applies the learning to another activity, and another and another. Montessori developed her theory of the absorbent mind through many years of observing and working with young children. According to Montessori, during the first three years of life, most children move from the unconscious absorbent mind, where the child attends to and is attracted to everything, to the conscious absorbent mind, where the child can focus on and choose a specific object or task. Most infants and toddlers are in the unconscious absorbent mind stage - they wander, are easily distracted, and can move quickly from one thing to another. This does not mean that the children at this stage have a short attention span, but that they pay attention to everything all at once. North American Montessori Center
Sevynn works in the
Practical Life Room.
Jovie helps Kylie.
Ella having a great day!
Lucy washes dishes.
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Jayden plants seeds for Earth Day
Science Chickadees have explored the nature of sound this month. We started by discussing how all sound is made through some kind of vibration. By placing our hands by our throats while humming, we felt the vibrations in our vocal cords. We observed how a tuning fork can cause a big splash in water due to its soundwaves. Once we learned the ways sound can be made, we found ways we could manipulate sound. Using small cylinders and water we made simple flutes and we discovered the water levels affected the pitch. To close out our section on sound, we are also learning some ear anatomy (ear canal, eardrum, and cochlea).
Gia reads to her friends. River and Rylee mop to
keep floor shiny.
Isaiah builds a word.
Jayla helps with the dishes.
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Jaden works on his number roll.
Earth Day Seeds
The Chickadees enjoyed celebrating Earth Day by collaborating with the Owls who came to plant seeds with us. The Owls shared with us information about how plants grow and then assisted us in choosing a seed to plant. The planters used our recycled milk cartons we have been saving for several weeks. We are checking on our seeds daily in great anticipation of the sprouts to come! ___________________________________________
The 19th Annual Wax Museum: The Time Line of Life The Eagles research and prepare a presentation of the Timeline of Life on Earth. Gathering information, writing and rewriting about all kinds of interesting forms of life on our great planet have truly captured the entire Eagle class. Although each student had chosen only one organism to research, interdependencies and many fascinating facts were discovered daily and shared with individually and the class as a whole.
This year’s presentation is the first of a three year cycle of Wax Museum presentations. Next year we will continue with the Timeline of Humans and the following year we will study the Communication of Humans throughout History.
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GeMiah, the Jellyfish.
Thaila, the Cricket Aaron, the King Cobra Damirah, the Cardinal and Aoiklin,
the Giant Sequoia Tree
Chickadee and Eagle Choir Signing and Singing. Chickadee and Eagle Choir Signing and Singing.
Lola, the Red Cap Mush
room. Iris, the Dodo Bird
Niara, the Sea Horse Eleni, the Red Admiral Butterfly and Pagan, the
Butterfly Bush
Audrey, the Sea Star
Jazlyn, the Pink River Dolphin.
Tucker, the Flying Lizard and Sasha, the Sea Turtle
James, the Wolf Spider
Charley, the Coral
Indianapolis, Here We Come!
Our Owl class trip takes us to the great city of Indianapolis, Indiana. Excursions this year will include the Children's Museum of Indianapolis as well as the Indianapolis Zoo. In preparation for our trip, the Owls traveled a little closer to home to practice how to experience, appreciate and enjoy the museum culture at the Springfield Museum of Art. Our friend and former Nightingale Montessori writing teacher, Amy Korpieski, provided a taste of just how exciting museum culture can be. We learned how to appreciate art through acting, creating geometric tessellations and exploring spatial relationships that require use of multiple senses. __________________________________________
Owl Science
An introduction of the Carbon Cycle is providing the scaffolding for Owls to build their knowledge of the interdependence of all life. The Carbon Cycle introduces ideas such as matter, elements, and molecular bonding. As carbon changes form in Earth’s systems it can be utilized by different forms of life. Seeing our earth as a closed system helps develop an ecological mindset.
Earth Day, Friday, April 22, is preceded by Green Week. Students did activities that included planting seeds and vegetable starts, clean up and pulling weeds, identifying insects, birds, trees and plants. This focus on organisms and our environment will also enable the study of adaptations in animals. We will also be traveling to the Springfield Nature Park in the Buck Creek Corridor to examine how animals have adapted to live in different environmental conditions.
Visiting the Nature Park, an outdoor learning lab, enables students to develop appreciation for the natural world that is all around us and to demonstrate the essential skills they will need to go on larger explorations. Respect for themselves, NM guides and the natural world all go hand in hand.
Brandon researches to
identify a bird.
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Emma and Braylin discuss their findings.
Natalie, Jayla and Silas identify flora.
Josh and Serena look for
the answer.
Career Exploration: Personality, Learning Style, Career Types, Motivation, Time
Management and Budgeting.
The Falcons have been energetically engaging in their fourth quarter work revolving around career exploration. Following the design of previous sessions, the teaching team integrated the curriculum to include all subject areas in the student’s weekly work. In book club the class started with the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teenagers. The habits line up nicely with both our Habits of Mind and the work habits that best serve successful students and also deal with peer interactions. We have actually used the lessons, at suggestions from the class, during circle to discuss interpersonal issues that occurred during class time. In order to expand our problem solving in imaginative ways we are also reading Divergent. The story revolves around a dystopian world separated by aptitudes and personal traits (factions) to plan their adult lives as contributing members of their closed, very interdependent society. The students have taken tests to determine which faction they personally relate to. The students have enjoyed doing this and have also been having lively discussions about the advantages and disadvantages of the society. The main focus of session 4 has been personal development and career exploration. The class, teachers included, have taken several quizzes and tests to open discussions about traits and habits of mind as well as what motivates us to succeed. We have taken personality tests, learning style tests, career aptitude tests and written paragraphs as to whether we agree with the results, feel they should lead our decisions and how we can use the results to better consider our future choices. We have also watched several Ted Talks about related subjects and RSA short films. Now that we have a better idea of our interests and where our talents lie we are planning our budgets
and assessing our time management skills. This helps to incorporate our math and life skills.
Javion and Todd discuss
a Project.
Robotics
The Falcons have started a Robotics group, which meets everyday at 2 pm to work on independent projects. The students built a hammer car that was fully programmable. The school has a wonderful set of Lego-brand robotic kits and there are dozens of
possible robots that can be built. This is a great opportunity for group collaboration and fine motor skill development. ____________________________________________
Time Capsule Project
The Falcon class is heading up a time capsule project. This started last month when a group of students led by Aidan Riley started to dig a hole in the yard. After the hole was wide and deep enough to fit a dune buggy, we started trying to think of things we could do in the hole that were not dangerous or that would not be a breeding ground for mosquitos. We decided to make a time capsule. Groups were formed to divide up the work of involving the whole school in the project. Each class will be adding things to the
time capsule and we will register its location with the International Time Capsule Society. We will set a pop-up on the Nightingale Montessori website (http://nightingalemontessori.org/) to pop up in twenty years. Lastly, we will bury the capsule and leave it for future NM students to find.
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Falcons dig a hole for the time capsule.
Austin researches.
Wing Science
Science and technology are changing the world faster than our culture and society can catch up. This session our class will be exposed to perspectives from the social science and humanities on the social, political and ethical aspects of modern science. We will exam these modern issues with a base of knowledge about early American Scientist focusing on Benjamin Franklin. Comparing scientific practices from the 1700’s to the exponential growth of the 21st century will improve our scientific perspective. Benjamin Franklin was an avid reader and book collector. He “formed most of my ingenious acquaintance into a club for mutual improvement which we called the Junto” (The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, 1771) This club met every Friday night following the rules that “required that every member in his turn should produce one or more queries on any point of moral, politics or natural philosophy (or natural science)” We are forming our own Junto and discussing the issues and topics brought by the members in company.
Delving into the inventions and studious habits of Benjamin Franklin provides background information for students that might be traveling to Philadelphia. Franklin was a great innovator that created organized systems meant to serve his communities. He opened the first public lending library, organized the first free militia, founded Philadelphia and the nation's first hospital, the first non-religious college and organized a volunteer firefighting force including a bucket brigade and equipment shipped from England. Wings will learn about Franklin's experiments with electricity, meteorology, ecology, music with and interest in light and sound. W
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New
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Several Wing students have decided to host a garage sale to raise money to offset student costs for the Falcon/Wing trip to Philadelphia. The sale will be hosted by Jenny Hillard and her family at:
Hillard Auto Sales, 5 E. Main St., Donnelsville, Ohio 45319.
The sale will be on Saturday, May 7th- 9:00-3:30. If you would like to donate any items for the fundraising sale the wings have requested: furniture, lawn care items, power tools, sports equipment, bikes, electronics, household items, jewelry, books, etc.Items can be sent to school.
burg battlefield to tour the sites and spend time at the location of one of the most important battles of the Civil War. On the way home we will spend the night in Pittsburgh. The Falcon and Wing programs will only consist of the trip during the last week of school. There will be no on-site Falcon and Wing programs or classes on May 31- June 3. __________________________________________
Chad works on Algebra.
Alyna watches a history video.
Falcon-Wing Trip to Philadelphia
May 31st - June 3rd, 2016
This year the Falcons and Wings have decided to take their class trip to Philadelphia. Students proposed a variety of trips but the vote was nearly unanimous across both classes for Philadelphia. The trip will be focused on American History because of the rich colonial and revolutionary history that is found throughout Philadelphia. During our time in the city we will visit Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were signed. Within a few blocks of Independence Hall there is the site of the Liberty Bell, the Betsy Ross House, and Benjamin Franklin’s gravesite (and sites from his life). A few blocks east is the waterfront of the Delaware River and Penn’s landing that commemorates the place where WIlliam Penn first came ashore to found Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania colony. Of course Philadelphia as a city is only a couple of centuries old. Before William Penn landed, there was a vibrant presence of Swedish and Dutch colonists who set up settlements from Philadelphia north to Manhattan Island. The hotel we will be staying in is very close to the site of the first European settlement in the area; a Dutch fort meant to foster trade in furs with the indigenous people of the region. Even though Philadelphia is rich in colonial American history it is important to spend time learning about the first people who lived in the region, which for hundreds of years before the Dutch and Swedish arrived, were the Lenni-Lenape. They were known by other groups of natives as “the grandfather” tribe because they had been a steady presence in the region for so long. Many of us have learned of the Lenni-Lenape as the Delaware Indians. In order to break up the long drive to Philadelphia, we will stop on the first day of our trip at the Gettys
