Lincoln Elementary : Room 201- Victoria Abbott

On Wednesday, October 7^th, our class will be taking a walking field trip to the Steele Planetarium. Please remind your children on this day to wear comfortable walking shoes, and dress according to the weather. Here we will be enjoying a planetarium show and working with materials in the Exploratorium. We will leave right away at 9:15, and return back to Lincoln around 1:00. We will be having our lunch at Steele on this day. If your child usually receives a hot lunch from school, one will be provided for him or her from Lincoln. If your child normally brings a lunch from home, please pack the lunch in a paper or a plastic bag with your child’s name on the front that can easily be thrown away. Parent volunteers will be needed and greatly appreciated for this trip! Please let me know if you will be available.

As a result of my upcoming maternity leave, conferences will be held on Thursday, October 8^th, and Tuesday, October 13^th. On both evenings, conferences will be held from 4-8 P.M., and each conference will last 20 minutes. Please indicate on the form below which day and approximate time you would like to have a conference. I will send home a confirmation with your child with our conference time. If neither of these days work for your family, let me know as soon as possible for us to re-schedule.

Many parents have asked to be kept current on who will be taking over our class while I am on maternity leave. Since the recent resignation of our Montessori coordinator, my intern Erin Tenorio will be taking over as lead teacher of our class. Erin is lower elementary Montessori trained, and has been an amazing addition to our room this year. An additional paraprofessional will be hired to assist Erin in the class during this time.

Thank you, and as always pleases email or call with questions or concerns. I look forward to seeing you to discuss your child’s progress!

Dear Parents:

Our first 3 weeks of school went very smoothly, and we have had a great beginning! We have enjoyed getting back into the routine of our school days. Our beginning of the year lessons have included discussions on the birth of the universe and the Earth, as well as demonstrating various experiments on solids, liquids, and gases. We have also begun our library and computer classes on Fridays. Children may return their library books weekly on Friday in order to check out new books.

Please join us on Thursday, September 17th from 6-7:30 for a Montessori Parent Education night. The night will include discussions on language and writing in the Montessori classroom, and how the Montessori materials at the primary, lower elementary, and upper elementary level help to develop skills. There will be childcare provided.

Today your child will be bringing home a homework packet of spelling words, math, and writing. All children are given homework on Friday, which is then due the following Friday. Spelling tests are given on Fridays, except when there is no school on the last day of the week. Our first spelling test will be given on 9/17. The following steps may be used as study tips:

1.    LOOK at the word and say it.
2.    READ each letter in the word, or pronounce each sound.
3.    CLOSE your eyes and spell the word to yourself.
4.    LOOK at the word. Did you spell it correctly?
5.    COPY the word from your list.
6.    COVER the word and write it again.
7.    LOOK at the word. Did you write it correctly?
8.    If you made any mistakes, repeat the steps.

Other activities may include making flash cards with their words, or practice writing sentences to make sure the correct use of the word is understood. Suggested time children should spend on homework is about 10 minutes per night per grade level. If your child has worked hard for a period of time and is not finished, it is okay to stop rather than become frustrated.

In addition to homework, all children should be reading at home every day. If your child is not yet reading, please read to him or her. Please share reading with beginning readers and help good readers find the right book and right time to read. Before bedtime works well for most people.

Please let me know if there are any problems that can’t be resolved with this spelling program or homework in general. I am looking forward to working with you and your children. I have very much enjoyed the time we have spent so far getting to know each other, and getting re-acquainted!

Sincerely,

Vikki Abbott
Room 201
Victoria_abbott@dpsk12.org
303-744-1785

Dear Friends,

Hello! My name is Vikki Abbott and I will be your Montessori Lower Elementary teacher for this coming school year at Lincoln Elementary. I am excited to have this opportunity to be working with your children as well as eager to get started helping them to reach their full potential in a rich Montessori learning environment. I am also excited to once again work with the returning children who will be second graders this year.

Please plan on attending our Back to School Night on August 20th. On this night we can discuss Lincoln Elementary School policies and procedures. We can also discuss expectations of elementary students, and the differences from the primary Montessori classroom. This is also a chance to get to know each other better, so that questions you have about your child and the coming school year can be answered. Until this opportunity to talk, the following should address any questions or concerns.

On the first day of school, we will be meeting on the playground blacktop. There will be cones set up with the room number of your child’s class. This is where you and your child can meet your teacher to line up to go into the building. During the first few weeks of school we will meet at this place. Routines take about four weeks to feel normal, so for the first month I ask that no parents enter the classroom during the day. If you say goodbye to your child in the hallway, this will help them to enter the classroom quicker, and get settled into the classroom routine. This helps to benefit the entire classroom to acquire a calm working energy. If you are concerned about how your child is doing at school, you may contact me by phone or email.

Snack: There are many differences between the Montessori primary and elementary classroom. One of which will be the absence of a snack during the morning work time. Your child may notice this difference right away, and this will require some adjustment time. Please do make sure your child eats a healthy breakfast, either at home or at school so that upon entering the classroom he or she is ready to go right to work. If your child does not eat before school, feel free to send breakfast with him to school to eat in our classroom at the beginning of the morning.

Homework and Spelling: Part of being in the lower elementary classroom includes having spelling words which children are expected to study nightly. The new list of words will go home on Friday, and our test on those words will be on the following Friday. All children will receive spelling, math and writing work to complete and return to me by the following Friday. The Spelling words are expected to be studied nightly. More information about homework and spelling as well as spelling study tips will be sent home during the first weeks of school. Please look out for this information.

Belongings and Backpacks: Please do not allow your child to bring toys to school. The time the children spend in the classroom is best spent with the classroom materials. If you find any unknown items at home such as small beads, small cylinders, small cubes or labels, please be sure they are returned to the classroom as soon as possible. Any belongings your child does bring to school needs to have a name on them. This includes clothing, backpacks, and lunchboxes. If children do need to bring money to school please send it in a clearly marked, sealed envelope. This will cut down on any loss of bills or coins.

Notes: If you are sending a note to me with your child, please remind your child that they have a note for Vikki in their possession. If there is a change in your child’s dismissal routine, please put changes in writing.

Observations and Meetings: I invite all parents to observe in our classroom. The children appreciate your interest and so do I. This helps to understand your child’s portrayals of school as well as learn more about the Montessori experience. Observations will be scheduled throughout the month of October before Parent-Teacher conferences. There will also be additional Parent Education meetings to be announced later.

Water Bottles: Since our room is able to get quite warm, you child may bring in a water bottle to keep in our classroom. Please make sure your child’s name is printed clearly on the outside of the bottle. This will keep the kids hydrated, as well as cut down on trips to the water fountain.

Questions/Concerns: Please know that open communication between us is essential to a productive and happy school experience for your child. I am most available for communication in the morning

, during my lunch

, or after school

. I am also available other times by appointment. Kindly understand that during arrival and dismissal times my main concern is my students and their well-being, therefore I cannot get into lengthy discussions during those times. I am also available to communicate anytime by email.

It is my goal for you and your child to feel successful and positive about classroom learning and making friends, while building a caring and safe environment. I look forward to meeting you on August 20th, and working with all of you this coming school year. I am thrilled to be your child’s teacher, and I expect great things from our class this year!

Sincerely,

Victoria Abbott

Victoria_Abbott@dpsk12.org

Room 201

303-744-1785