Cornerstone Montessori School Newsletter

Blue bird boxes/houses

2006-03-28T11:23:00.000-05:00

On Monday, March 13, 2006, Kyle Meadows and Marsha Nelson came in and helped the Upper Elementary class build blue bird boxes. A lot of people thought they looked weird, but they also thought it would be cool to look inside and see bird eggs. I think they will help endangered birds that live in our area. On Monday, March 15th, Kyle went to Emily Sherry's house and set the birdhouse up for her.

Marsha and Kyle say the birds will come in the middle of April. When the birds make a nest in the house and then leave it, we should throw the nest away. If it is not the end of the season then we should not throw the nest away. The end of the season is Thanksgiving.

The tools we used were a hammer, a drill, and glue. The materials we used were wood for the roof and the base, PVC plastic tubes for the main part of the house, a roof shingle for the roof of the birdhouse, nails, screws, and metal poles for standing up.

Lauren Bacho liked how we got to build the houses individually. Her favorite part was putting the roof on. She liked building it a lot. She thought the coolest part was using the drill. She said the green things on the nails look weird. Lauren thinks the houses will help the population of birds in our area. She liked building it because it was fun.

By
A.J. Atkinson

African Drummers Come to Cornerstone Montessori School

2006-03-23T09:55:00.000-05:00

When Travis Velkly got up to dance with everybody else, he didn’t know he was washing bad souls off and putting good souls on. “It looked like they were taking a shower and picking fruit,” Travis said.

Almost everybody was dancing when the African drummers came to play the drums at Cornerstone Montessori School. They played in the lower elementary classroom on Thursday, March 9 at 1:30 p.m.

Two members of the Bi-Okoto Drum & Dance Theatre showed the kids different dances from different places in Africa. Faithanne Dansberry liked the different languages they spoke and the dances they did. Bi-Okoto’s Web site says they perform dances and stories from Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Mali, Guinea, Senegal, Kenya, and South Africa.

When the woman danced, “She looked like a cloud that was moving,” said A.J. Atkinson. Stash Rolf and Douglas Meadows liked when the guy played the drums and sang.

Faithanne said the funniest part was what the boys were doing for the challenge dance. The challenge dance is a dance boys and girls do for fun. “We had a partner and if we had both hands up, our partner would have to have both hands down,” said Rachel Sherry. If a dancer’s hands are not opposite, their partner wins the challenge.

Anna Jowaisas said her favorite part was when the dancers picked their “people.” Anna liked when the woman dancer said her people (the upper elementary) were smart. The guy dancer said his people (the lower elementary) were talented.

Anna liked the dance about souls too. “You throw off the bad souls and were grabbing good ones,” she said.

By Lauren Leigh Bacho

2006-01-30T10:47:00.000-05:00

Cincinnati Art Museum
On Friday, January 13th, Cornerstone Montessori School went to the Cincinnati Art Museum. We saw many different kinds of interesting sculptures and paintings. Our art teacher, Miss Gretchen Bachman talked to us about sculptures and their negative space. Catherine Chow had an exhibit of dresses she made out of 1,000 one-dollar bills, zippers, bottles, washers, tissues, and many other things. We talked about lots of paintings with our tour guide. We also saw the Genius of Water, which is being displayed while Cincinnati renovates Fountain Square. It was fun and we think everyone had a great time.
By
Douglas Meadows
and Pauline Scott
Upper Elementary Classroom

A New Face in the Lower Elementary

2005-01-18T19:14:00.000-05:00

Parents of Lower Elementary (and full-day Kindergarten) Students may have heard about the new intern that joined us January 10! She is the fantastic Miss Nicki Bushway -- an enthusiastic, multi-faceted teacher-in-training who has tackled many areas of the curriculum and has instantly taken initiative in the classroom! She is doing Music lessons on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, opposite Drama and PE, and she has taken over French instruction for Lower Elementary, which will be taking place on Thursdays! Another special touch she'll be adding is lessons in "Peace Education" -- her favorite curriculum area!

Here she is with her cat, Merlin!

My name is Nicki Bushway, and I am a second semester intern from Xavier University. I am certified in Early Childhood Montessori. Last year I was an intern at Montessori Academy of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio. I am finishing up my Elementary certification through Xavier. I will be graduating in May of this year, and plan to move back to Lake Placid, New York during the summer. In a few years I plan to open my own school in Lake Placid. I live in Cincinnati with my cat named Merlin. I work part time at Domino’s Pizza in Fairfield as a delivery driver.

Preprimary Happenings

2005-01-15T13:56:00.000-05:00

It’s been hopping down in Preprimary! Since October, we have welcomed Faith Wilson and Collin Witte. Both of these new students are kindergarteners. We welcome Collin, Faith, and their families to our Cornerstone Family.

We have studied the continent of North America by learning how the Inuit people of Alaska live, and making flags of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. We have read about mammals of North America, customs of Mexico, and lifestyles, weather, etc. of the Canadians. Several children asked us to make sure to let their parents know about the book, The Inuit, which is by Ruth Thomson and is part of a series called “Footsteps in Time.” This is a simple account of how the Inuit people live now and lived long ago. After each topic (food, transportation, shelter, etc.) is a craft or activity.

In science, the mammal work on the shelf has included parts of the beaver and moose, parts of the human body (skeleton, circulatory system, organs), parts of the human face, bats!!, and an internal organ (heart, intestines, liver, lungs) coloring page. To accompany this work, we have been talking about the five senses.

Popular story time books have included Stella Luna, Seven Silly Eaters, and Stone Soup.
Our stone soup stew was quite a success with the teachers, but the children preferred the accompanying bread. Only two children were brave enough to actually taste the soup. We still enjoyed sitting down together for a Thanksgiving snack! (P.S. Don’t tell the kids, but we didn’t really use a stone for the soup!) Thanks to everyone for taking the time to prepare the ingredients. When asked why the boy in the story said that a stone was needed for the soup, one child replied, “Because it’s called ‘Stone Soup!’” Out of the mouths of babes….

At least three days a week, volunteers (Dina Velkly, Amy DesJardins, Kelly Curry, Cate Brown [Kirchhoff], Kathleen Hardy) have been listening to children read in the Art room. This is valuable time for each child to have one-on-one time to work on sounds/words. Many thanks to our listeners!

Kyle Meadows (his son is Douglas, grade 4) once again supplied us with two finches. The children have enjoyed drawing and observing the birds.

Seeking to avoid winter blues, we find it more important and enjoyable than ever to be outside at the end of each day. Most often we play on the blacktop, as the playground area is soggy due to rain. The children seem to enjoy running, chasing, and pretending with each other just as much in this area as on the playground proper.

We hope you had a joyful holiday season and we are proud to be beginning a new year with your children! ~Melody and Jenny

News from the Lower Elementary

2004-10-18T17:41:00.000-04:00

With all of the new students in the Lower Elementary classroom, we have certainly felt quite grateful to have Vickey, our beloved intern! With her assistance in the classroom, we are able to more effectively work with each of your students, one-on-one! We are also proud of our classroom and our students and we are confident that Vickey is acquiring a very enriching and enjoyable experience this semester!

A portion of the Cultural curriculum changes monthly. We began the year studying the Solar System and the Universe and its wonders. We examined the characteristics of each of the planets, including the best known moons of each, and we examined the "life" cycle of a star. We went on field trips to the Cincinnati Observatory Center and the Drake Planetarium. We have been working on the huge concept of our place in the Universe...from our Milky Way Galaxy, to our Solar System, to our Planet Earth, our continent of North America, our country of the United States of America, our state, our city...all the way to our home addresses! We have also moved into the study of North America, including its biomes, flora, fauna and cultures. Students and their families are researching various North American animals they have selected; the presentations are during the last week of October!

Many visitors to our classroom are attracted to the many and varied pets we have! Our classroom pets include representatives of the five major classes of vertebrates:

Fish -- betta
Amphibian -- mantellas (tiny, colorful frogs native only to Madagascar!)
Reptile -- Treeco, the female giant day gecko
Birds -- zebra finches, located in the Library/Office
Mammal -- Sydney, our sugar glider (a small, nocturnal marsupial native to Australia -- she hangs out in a little fabric pouch all day, around the neck of the child with the much-coveted job of "animal care"!)

We also have several invertebrates:

Myriapoda/Chilopoda -- Wiggly, our giant African millipede
Insecta -- Moja, Mmbili, Tatu, Nne, Tano, Sita & Saba, our giant Madagascan hissing cockroaches and our collections of feeder crickets and flightless fruit flies
Arachnids -- our newest addition, Rosa, the Chilean rose-hair tarantula, will be joining our classroom menagerie in a few weeks, when we begin studying South America!

October is National Fire Safety Month: We have visited the Greater Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky International Airport and its special fire department, and we visited our friendly, neighborhood fire department of Bellevue/Dayton and "Fireman Joe"! Please remember to take the time to discuss fire safety at home with your child(ren)! Establish and practice an escape plan with two ways out, review what to do if the smoke alarm goes off, and change your smoke alarm batteried when you set your clocks back on Oct. 31!

Reading Material Available

2004-10-18T17:30:00.000-04:00

Did you know that we have a shelf of Montessori and related books available in our school library? Additionally, the school receives a magazine, "Tomorrow's Child," specifically geared toward parents and families associated with Montessori education. Feel free to borrow these!

For your convenience, several issues of "Tomorrow's Child" are located in a white basket on the preprimary cubbies. Please return them when you are finished. Better yet, recommend them to others!

For further reading, below are some titles that are by and about Maria Montessori and/or the Montessori Method. Some of these books may be available in our library, to be checked out for you by Melissa or a teacher.

The Montessori Controversy by Chattin-McNichols c.1992

Montessori in Contemporary American Culture by Loeffler (ed.) c.1992

Maria Montessori: A Biography by Kramer c.1988

Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work by Standing c.1957

By Maria Montessori (older writings, despite copyright):

Education and Peace Clio Montessori Series c.1992

The Formation of Man c.1975

Education for a New World c.1974

What's Been Happening in the Preprimary?

2004-10-18T17:25:00.000-04:00

In the Preprimary classroom, the school year began with a week-long orientation to the classroom and classroom procedures. Daily activities include discussion of current events (e.g. cicadas, hurricanes, birthdays), the calendar (days of week, month, season), the silence game, a fiction/nonfiction book during story time, lessons, snack, and songs/movement games. Most recently, we have sung songs pertaining to fall, Johnny Appleseed, and Halloween.

One day the students spent part of the morning peeling and cutting apples. With these we made applesauce in a crock pot. On the following day we prepared applesauce pancakes (see recipe below).

On the science shelves, students were introduced to the concepts of plant/animal, nonliving/living, and air/land/water. Insect works have included parts of the honeybee, insects vs. arachnids, insect types, etc.

In addition to the air/land/water work, students were given lessons on the names of the planets and a general introduction to the solar system. One of the most popular works in this area (Geography) was the child-sized astronaut jump suit.

Since we are currently moving from the study of insects to that of the human body, "Stuffy," a 5' tall stuffed human, visited, along with Kevin, from the Cincinnati Museum Center. Kevin's program included a discussion of nutrition (junk food vs. nutritious food), the esophagus ("food tube"), large and small intestines, stomach, heart, etc., as well as lots of student interaction. Kevin does a fantastic job with our children.

Prior to Stuffy's visit, Kevin did a wonderful, informative, interactive insect program for the entire school. The teachers enjoy his programs just as much as the children!

Last week our class visited Fireman Joe at the Bellevue/Dayton Firehouse. There we learned about smoke detectors, 9-1-1, "stop, drop, cover, and roll," and safe meeting places in case of a fire. The children were allowed to climb into 2 fire trucks.

Recipe for Applesauce Pancakes
(makes about 25 apple cakes)
2 apples
2 cups pancake mix
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cooking oil
Optional: 1 cup chunky applesauce instead of apples
1. Wash apples. Leaving skins on, either grate them or chop them finely.
2. Mix all the ingredients except the oil. Mix until smooth.
3. Heat an electric skillet to 325F. Coat the cooking surface with about 1 teaspoon of the oil.
4. Drop 2 tablespoons of batter for each apples cake into the skillet. Fry 2 minutes on each side, or unit golden brown. Recoat surface with oil and make next batch.
5. Drain apple cakes on paper towels. Eat warm.
6. Serve with applesauce, if desired.

~ contributed by Miss Jenny

Volunteers Seldom Get Enough THANK YOUs!

2004-10-18T13:01:00.000-04:00

The teachers, staff and students wish to thank the parent volunteers who have already been quite busy helping us at Cornerstone!

Thanks to Karen Dansberry, our library more closely resembles a real library -- the books are once again organized and alphabetized, but Karen doesn't stop there! She does a great job of locating seasonal books or books applicable to what the classrooms are studying!
Thanks to Kathy Baur, we have a warm and friendly face to greet the children each morning and welcome them safely into the building!
Thanks to Brenda Brown, Miss Gretchen has help with the youngest Art class on many Friday afternoons!
The Sherrys provided great refreshments for the Open House and the Parent Meeting!
Barb Barth has kept busy most weekends with CMS laundry!
Trish Messman has been wonderful in the Art room in the mornings and very helpful in the Preprimary classroom as well!
Renee Marquette has been doing a great job shopping for materials Melody and Jenny have needed for the classroom!
Kyle Meadows helped the Upper Elementary with their fish tank, repaired a Lower Elementary shelf, welcomed the Upper Elementary on a field trip to his farm and acquired another computer desk for the library!
Cate Brown has been popping in to listen to readers and do file box with the children in the Lower Elementary!
Melissa has gone above and beyond her office job in the assistance she has provided to students, teachers and to the school at large!
Amy DesJardins has been doing a super job assisting Melody and Jenny with the Preprimary morning recess, AND she found time the first week of October to work on cleaning the classroom in preparation for the Open House!
Kelly Curry, too, put in time that first week of October, cleaning shelves and sanitizing materials!
Kathleen Hardy cleaned the floors in the Preprimary classroom on the afternoon of Friday, October 8!
Chris Bachman did windows in the Lower Elementary classroom that afternoon!

The following people joined in on the hard work and the fun at the cleaning night on Friday, October 8:

Sherri Smith
Donna Snyder
Suzanne Becker
Gail & Jim Bacho (accompanied by Andrea, grade 5, and Kaitlyn - a former student who came just to clean!)
Renee Marquette
Sue Witte
Dina Velkly
Kathy & Ron Baur
Joe Theis and Upper El student Alicia
Stephan Fedak
Jon Atkinson

THANKS to all of YOU, we certainly had a school environment to be proud of on Sunday, October 10!

CMS Night at the Observatory

2004-09-23T21:05:00.000-04:00

On the evening of Friday, September 17, elementary students and parents visited the Cincinnati Observatory Center. It looked as though Ivan was going to ruin our chances of observing the night sky with telescopes, but the weather turned in our favor and it turned out to be a wonderful night!

As we arrived, there were telescopes out on the lawn to view the waxing crescent moon. Inside the classroom, the phases of the moon and the "Earthshine" on the moon were demonstrated and explained. Due to the mysterious absence of a computer cable, we missed out on a slide show, but ...we all check out the latest Hubble images on our home computers, right? Our presenter, Mr. Paul Nohr, handled this unexpected situation well and took us outside to locate constellations, aided by his handy green laser pointer!
With the big telescope, everyone had a chance to see globular cluster M13; far fewer people viewed the next several objects, which included a binary star system, a double binary star system, a ring nebula and the Andromeda galaxy!

Meanwhile, out on the lawn.... (Anyone who was out there care to fill us in? See anything nifty with the lawn telescopes?)

The Cincinnati Observatory Center has Astronomy Nights nearly every Thursday and Friday night, but you must have reservations, and they tend to book up rather quickly! Also, this Satruday, September 25, is ScopeOut 2004! This annual event at the observatory will be from noon-10:30 p.m. -- it's a great event to keep abreast of astronomy news and to ask questions of astronomers...or to find out about telescopes! It's a family event, too! For more information, visit www.cincinnatiobservatory.org!

Preprimary Career Aspirations Revisited

2004-09-23T20:05:00.000-04:00

Below are preprimary career choices as of May 2004:

Grace H. - astronaut

Alexandra H. - "help sick people get better with a shot on their arm and take a telescope to check their back and tummy and give them shots on their legs"

Lillian D. - teacher

Teresa V. - ballerina

Lucy K. -mommy

George M. - "sweep all sorts of stuff using a vacuum cleaner"

Aubrey K. - mailperson

Aaliyah B. - singing, reading stories, and telling jokes

Cole I. - teach little people about sharks, and hunt and study sharks

Chas K. - undetermined

Savannah S. - dog walker

Katie S. - nurse

Lily H. - artist

Katie B. - work at Krogers putting food into bags

Sam C. - scientist, study in Antarctica

Savanna B. - Britney Spears, veterinarian

Anna J. - waitress at "the kind of restaurant where they are on roller skates"

Sarah K. - art teacher

Preprimary Update!

2004-04-27T16:52:00.000-04:00

Prepare a snack for yourself, because this is a long overdue update on the Preprimary Classroom!

Prior to recess, the class has been practicing "The Silent Game." This is an exercise in which every person in the classroom makes an attempt to sit, together, in silence for three minutes. The purpose of this activity is to center oneself and to practice listening. This is quite a feat for young children! It is amazing the sounds the children can pick up each day. An extension of this process will be an area of the room where individuals are free to attempt to sit silently for a specific amount of time. (We use an hour glass as a visual.) As the weather warms, we will move the Game outside.

On cold and rainy days, we have been learning simple folk dances, listening and dancing to other lively music, and completing an obstable course inside the classroom.

On April 1st, Miss Jenny and Miss Melody, with the assistance of Miss Mary and many parents, played an April Fool's joke on the classroom. Miss Mary brought the children into the classroom, while the teachers hid in the hall and in the teacher work area. After assuring the children that the teachers would return shortly, Miss Mary asked a kindergarten student (Anna J.) to lead the meeting. Your children were incredible!! Who would think that 18 children under the age of six could/would have the maturity to sit and participate in a 20 minute meeting without an "authority" figure present.
Anna followed the usual routine by leading the children in the days-of-the-week song, answering questions, and making decisions. Another child suggested that everyone share. When it was determined that the sharing ball could not be reached, someone else suggested that each child raise their hand. This course of action taken, sharing commenced. Melody and Jenny were so proud of the students!

As Miss Melody had to miss several days of work in April, Mr. Dan (Heidi's previous substitute) was gracious enough to fill her spot. Even though we all very much missed Melody ("She's the best!"--Savannah S.), it was enjoyable to have Mr. Dan read to us, give a lesson on birds and one on tools, and work with individual students. Thanks, Mr. Dan!

We have constructed our last Japanese flag and shifted our focus to Africa. Today the kindergarten students and Cole learned about the gazelle, hornbill, lion, African elephant, and camel.

Fish are out, birds are in. Visit the bird shelf to find out about bird beaks (seed-eaters, meat eaters), feet (perching, climbing, hunting), types of birds, etc. On the display shelf you will see a real nest and two types of bird eggs (sans hatchlings) brought in by students.

Miss Melody has worked VERY hard to brighten and freshen the everyday living shelves (EDL). Many of her wonderful ideas come directly from the conference attended by the staff in April. Your child might choose from soap grating, egg shell grinding, wood sanding, wood polishing, copper polishing, table cleaning, bubble blowing, etc. Remember, the primary purpose of these activities is to promote concentraton, coordination, and independence, NOT to learn to clean or polish. The latter are just icing on the cake.

Speaking of cake, aren't you glad I suggested that snack at the outset?

There have been a few new art activities as well. Tire track painting, dowel painting, bookmark construction, rubberband prints, purple collage work, spring-themed rubbing, cutting and stamping work, magnets......

Thank to Kyle Meadows for building ANOTHER aquarium stand for us. Kyle was the musician who played his dulcimer at the auction. He is a man of many gifts.

Miss Jenny brought in a furry visitor at the end of April: Spot. Spot is Miss Jenny's children's pet hamster. Just after spring break Lillian shared her bunny, Pixie, with the class. Ashley and Marella, both elementary students, brought a turtle to school and Ashley and her friend, Andrea, brought the turtle to visit our class one morning. Kyle (see above) is trying to borrow some chicks, as we are studying birds. Last year Kyle's son, Douglas, brought in 2 chickens and gave us a lesson on their habits and needs. We now know that 1) chickens don't use litter boxes, and 2) chickens can, indeed, fly.

Keep Flying,
Jenny

Winged Migration

2004-03-15T21:28:00.000-05:00

Last Friday the lower el. and pre-primary/k watched 20 minutes of a film entitled "Winged Migration." The non-fiction movie featured spectacular footage documenting the migration of birds across various continents.
Some children were very interested in seeing more, so we are providing the title through this format. Melody's copy came from the Cincinnati Public Library.

MANY THANKS!

2004-03-13T23:45:00.000-05:00

Many thanks to those who were able to participate in our fun-filled cleaning day! Among the luminaries.....

Alicia Kimball and Alexa Johnson.....cleaned in Miss Emily's room AND made a Starbuck's run

Diana Herrmann........shelved books, spruced up the library, and cleaned the lower elementary classroom

Annie, Ashley, and Marella Soldano.......scrubbed the lower elementary classroom shelves......Ashley had the unenviable task of cleaning the rabbit's cage........Marella helped Miss Kathleen with childcare

Lisa Schneider.........cleaned (and cleaned) the art room and mopped the steps, all while listening to Jenny and Melody exclaim, "Why are we keeping THIS!!?!" from the art room

Susanne Becker (Anna J.'s mom)........for single-handedly removing the accumulated grunge from the pre-primary sink, snack, art, everyday living, and sewing areas...... Anna cleaned the outside of the fish tank and the mirrors.....Susanne brought the first round of snacks, thus keeping Miss Jenny alive another hour, until....

Kathleen Hardy.......brought us pasta, bread, sweets......and took care of the children while we cleaned.......Alexandra helped put the sheets away

Barb Barth and Lucy Knapke.....showed up with a load of freshly laundered work rugs, rags, and art shirts

Jesse (Melody's son) for carrying, moving things, and helping maintain morale

Kyle Meadows.......cleaned, moved, measured, built, dragged, pushed, and dusted........After his 10th trip to the dumpster, Kyle expressed an intimate acquaintance with its complex workings.

Many, many thanks.
Mary, Heidi, Emily, Melody, and Jenny

Preprimary News

2004-03-07T21:38:00.000-05:00

contributed by Miss Jenny

The pre-primary classroom has been changing! In February we set up our annual post office in conjunction with Valentine's Day. Students from the lower elementary joined us in selling, posting, sorting, and delivering valentines. This project lasted about 3 weeks, and was a great source of fun and learning for us.
In January we, with the help of Katie's dad, Chris Bachman, set up and stocked our aquarium with blond tetra and white cloud fish. This has corresponded nicely with our study of fish, which began in February.
A continental shift has occurred, in that we have changed our cultural shelves to the study of the continent of Asia. The children spent 2 days drawing and decorating dragon scales, which were then hung from the ceiling. To date, the dragon is over 15 feet long. Side note: To date, Miss Jenny has banged her head on the dragon approximately five times.
Numerous parents continue to listen to the children read, clean rugs-n-rags, work in the office, and help us in so many ways. Thank you!!
Now that St. Patrick's Day is close at hand, much of the work on the shelves has a distinctly green hue. In math the younger children have been counting leprechauns and shamrocks, and the older children have been practicing subraction skills with shiny green coins. Later in the month, the art area will include theme-related masks and leprechaun assembly.
The sewing shelf has been beefed up with needle-threading, button sewing, and a card sewing project. New art activites include folded paper painting, green (of course) collage, and new cutting materials.
Does any of this sound mysterious? To find out more and to check out the shelves yourself, visit us next Saturday, March 13th---Parent/Teacher Cleaning Day---from 10a.m.-2p.m. We welcome any and all help you might be able to give.
Again, thank you for your support and involvement in our school.

Jenny and Melody

Parent Education Nights

2004-01-15T15:25:00.000-05:00

The teachers of CMS present curriculum to parents in the context of Parent Education Nights. These evenings are an opportunity for parents to broaden their understanding of Montessori curriculum and materials. What are these materials your children may have spoken of? Where did your children pick up that vocablulary? How was your child exposed to that concept? Indulge your curiosity and attend Parent Education Night: Jan. 21 at 6:30 for Lower Elementary parents and Jan. 26 at 6:30 for Preprimary and Upper Elementary parents!

Note to Lower Elementary parents: We have received 4 responses regarding the curriculum area to be presented; if you have not sent back your slip and you are planning to attend, please email Heidi at hhelenab@hotmail.com and indicate whether you would prefer to be enlightened in the subject area of Language Arts/Language Processing, Math/Geometry, Science or Cultural (Geography, History, study of other cultures). THANK YOU!

School Calendar Revision

2004-01-15T15:22:00.000-05:00

Typically, CMS teachers attend the national conference of the American Montessori Society each year; the school calendar for this academic year reflected this annual event – April 22 and 23, we were originally scheduled to be off school. Recently, the teachers became aware of a different national Montessori Conference that offered workshops some of the teachers found more attractive; thus, a unanimous decision was made to attend the conference for the National Center for Montessori Education this year. The effect of this decision upon CMS families is a change in the school calendar; please note that the two days off school for teachers to attend the Montessori conference have moved from April 22-23 to March 18-19!

Haiku

2004-01-14T16:01:00.000-05:00

The Lower Elementary class began studying Asia this week. For Writing Workshop today, exposure to haiku seemed the natural thing to do! The students listened to several haiku poems and practiced the syllable pattern as a group. When the group dispersed, some of the children chose to read the haiku of children around the world (check out Children’s Haiku Garden: www.tecnet.or.jp/~haiku/) while others went straight into composing haiku of their own! While many of the students were challenged a bit by the syllable pattern (traditionally 17 syllables, most often 5-7-5 pattern), the outcome was impressive! The following are some of their very first attempts at haiku (imagine how the watercolor illustrations will look!):

sand on the moist ground
bold butterflies in the air
they land in my hair
~ Lauren B.

frogs are so happy
they hop with their long, strong legs
they’re kind of slimy
~ Hannah

the rainbow is bright
so bright it is beautiful
it makes me happy
~ A.J.

the lake is so big
its as big as a river
it is colorful
~ A.J.

an awesome canyon
of beautiful animals
lone adventurer
~ Ron B. & Travis V.

rainforest precious
beautiful for eyes to see
disappearing fast
~ Douglas M.

black and white with socks
full of energy he runs
my dog barks a lot
~ Emma S.

"Frog"
bulging eyes webbed feet
hopping, leaping, fly eating
winter mud sleeping
~ Pauline S.

Counting Our Blessings

2004-01-11T20:58:00.000-05:00

~ contributed by Miss Melody

Kyle Meadows has once again wowed us with his woodworking skills by constructing a beautiful oak aquarium stand for the preprimary classroom.

Chris Bachman set up the aquarium for us and will guide us in fish farming. He also contributes his time and talents to working with lower elementary students, usually three mornings a week!

Many thanks to Douglas Davis for the snow/ice-free steps and walk at school. He has generously volunteered to clean them the entire winter season.

Thanks to Christie Bricking , there is now coffee in the teacher area of the office -a first for Cornerstone (not counting Susan's occasional runs to Starbucks!) Teachers, volunteers and visitors now can feel so grown up, not to mention
revived! Christie also donates her time on a weekly basis to the CMS office and will be helping to maintain CMS's library and get the Parent Lending Library up and running!

Lisa Schneider works in the office weekly, taking care of scrip orders and various other odd jobs -- essentially whatever the teachers need done!

Kathleen Hardy has also spent quality time in the office, handling the phone, listening to readers or whatever odd jobs remain at the end of a week.

Lora Davis continues to supply the preprimary class room with fruits and vegetables frequently enjoyed in South America. Mango chunks drizzled with lime juice was a hit, as well as pineapple ("is this the pinecone?" several asked
once it had been cut up). Loved or feared was the fried plantain. When ripe it looks like a huge black banana, but is never eaten raw. Many were reluctant to try it after it was fried to a light golden brown, drizzled with lime juice, sprinkled with salt and a TINY bit of brown sugar*, but those that did were hooked. Just ask Cole, Chas or Sarah. Next week we'll try pepitos and another
TBD fruit.
*I've discovered many children will try a new food if you appear to be putting
brown sugar on it.

Thanks to Dina Velkly and Kate Brown, the preprimary volunteers who come weekly
to listen to readers and Tom Schurter, Chas's grandfather, a new recruit who joined
this last Thursday.

In the upper elementary classroom, Mary Jo Theis is a regular volunteer!

Holiday Break

2003-12-18T14:17:00.000-05:00

Friday, December 19, is the last day of school before the Holidays -- it's not even a full school day, as dismissal is at 12:00 and we have all kinds of fun things to fill the morning hours! The morning will begin with an all-school sing-along in the Preprimary classroom, led by Miss Mary on the keyboards. The various classrooms then have their own activities planned -- all are sure to be busy! Please note that, due to the early dismissal, there is no aftercare tomorrow!

Upper Elementary News

2003-12-18T14:09:00.000-05:00

By: Shawna Jones

The Upper Elementary grades are working on a lot of things the rest of this year and will start new things next year. The 4th graders are working on their Map Skills and are learning Element Facts. The 5th graders are finishing their South America Book Reports and they are starting the study of Antarctica. They are also doing their math word problems. The 6th graders are starting their European River study and are working on their math word problems.

The class is reading a book called "Liberty". It is about all the events leading up to the Revolutionary War. We take turns reading the different stories, and we also have a book we read and then answer questions about the Revolutionary War.

Next year, the 4th grade will continue their Chemistry works, 5th grade will start their autobiographies and 6th grade will start Anatomy.

The Cornerstone Holiday Concert

2003-12-18T14:06:00.000-05:00

By: Jenna Sapsford

On December 10, Cornerstone had a Holiday concert. A magician came and after the concert he performed. We all dressed up in fancy clothes (except for the Pre primary -- they came in pajamas) and went to school. When everyone was there we all got quiet and sat down. The first through sixth grade all sat down in our corner of chairs and the preschoolers and kindergartners got up on stage and sang Simple Gifts and then White Christmas. While singing Simple Gifts, they kept the beat with wooden rods. While singing White Christmas, each child held a stuffed animal they brought from home. Then the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders sang Deck the Halls, Joy to the World, You’re a Grand Old Flag, and Silent Night with the bells. Then Kindergarten, First grade, and Second grade sang Yellow Submarine, Oh Christmas Tree, and Jingle Bells. Then, at the end, Kindergarten through sixth grade sang We Wish You a Merry Christmas together.

After the musical concert, the magician went on stage and explained who he was. His name was David Hennig, “The Magician with a Mission”. Mr. Hennig did tricks from a lot of different time periods and different places. The places were Ancient China, Ancient Egypt, historical France, and modern times. Emily Sherry, a third grader, said, “He was cool”. I think everyone enjoyed the show.

Baby Jesus

2003-12-17T13:12:00.000-05:00

by Alicia Theis

Baby Jesus, when I get presents on Christmas,
I think of you!
And when I get ready for Christmas,
I feel warmth and love from you.
My family does too!
When I put up the star and I stare at my Christmas tree,
I think of when you were born on Christmas Eve.
When I give my cousins their toys and gifts,
I think how you gave up your life for us on the cross.

On Christmas Eve, smile and think why Jesus was born and died for us.
Have a great Christmas Eve and a Happy Holiday!

Christmas

2003-12-17T13:09:00.000-05:00

by Kaitlyn Wharfield

People usually think Christmas is about presents. It's actually about Christ our Savior being born. We are supposed to give presents to each other because Christ was born. I've always thought the word Christmas came from the word ''Christ''. The word Christmas comes from the word ''Cristes maess'', an early English phrase that means ''mass of Christ''.
Religion is on every other Tuesday and our teacher is Miss Nancy Kenny. She teaches us about Christ, God and all the Saints.
I took a student vote about holidays, and most people said ''Christmas is my favorite holiday". Ashley Soldano, 5th grade, said, ''I like it when we celebrate Christmas because of Baby Jesus' birthday".
So, while you’re on Christmas Break, remember that Christmas is about Christ being born.

MORE Preprimary News!

2003-12-16T15:27:00.000-05:00

from Miss Jenny

The Cincinnati Museum Center has visited for the third time this year. In the first program, Kevin taught us about insects (see past entries). Later, Kevin came back with Ms. Brei (pronounced /bree/) and Stuffee. With the help of the largest stuffed person we've ever seen, Ms. Brei taught us about good food choices. Children took turns "feeding" Stuffee strawberries, milk, bananas, peppers, and other nutritious foods. Next, Stuffee revealed all by allowing Ms. Brei to show us his organs. We removed his lungs, liver, stomach, large intestines, and small intestines and learned about the job of each. Finally, Kevin passed around a stethoscope for each child, and we listened to our hearts and stomachs.
A few days ago Ms. Karen visited from the Cincinnati Museum Center. She took us on a wild animal safari, visiting animals in Africa (zebra), Antarctica (penguin), the jungle and ...lions and tigers and bears, oh my! (Ms. Jenny was not in attendence, but she heard it was another high quality program.)
Thanks to Dina Velkly and to "Ms. Janice" Etherton --the P.E. teacher and a Cornerstone friend---for filling in for Ms. Jenny while she took care of her own sick children.

Preprimary News

2003-12-16T15:23:00.000-05:00

From Miss Jenny

Thanks to all parents for attending conferences and sharing your thoughts of and ideas for our classroom. We always appreciate your input.

Before Thanksgiving break, each child was given an opportunity to peel and core an apple. The apples were then dried, over the next few days, in a food dehydrator. Of course, not everyone was brave enough to actually eat the dried apple. While the teachers told the Thanksgiving story, the entire class shared a loaf of homemade bread.

We are finishing our study of Antarctica. The next continent is TBD.
Although Mr. Bones (the skeleton) has returned to his home in the library upstairs, we continue to do works involving the parts of the skeleton, parts of the face/head, and internal organs. Our study of mammals has begun with bats and humans.

Seasonal work abounds.....punching snowmen and bells, rolling out cookies (pretend), making stars from a pentagon, counting Christmas objects (0-9, 1-5 and teens), cutting sets of Christmas trees, completing December calendars, practicing for the concert, and making surprises for moms and dads. Shhh!
Our Christmas wreath of outlines of the children's hands turned out to make a better rainbow. You'll find it on the wall near the computer. Speaking of which, we have a computer that is now in use by our children. Thus far, the children have used our fantastic Montessori program for reading (letter sounds, beginning and ending sounds, etc.) and writing work.
We have added rocks to the water table, watercolor paints to the art shelf, and a music work. If you were at the Christmas concert, you heard the upper elementary children play bells to accompany themselves while they sang "Silent Night." Two of these bells have been introduced as a work for our children.
Lunch update--Thank you for the nutritious lunches you pack for your children. There were lots of "battles" over sweets at the beginning of the year, but they have subsided.
During story time the teachers have been reading books on friendship, forgiveness, feelings, etc. The children have been very receptive.
It bears repeating.....thank you for all of the extra help you have offered to our classroom. The children benefit directly from your copying, office work, listening (to readers), cutting, special foods, photos or objects for sharing, etc.

Lower Elementary Update

2003-11-30T17:41:00.000-05:00

Difficult to believe, but another unit of study has come and gone! The students of the lower elementary class have just finished their study of South America and our study of Europe begins this week! The students have spent more than four weeks exploring the flora, fauna, geography and cultures of South America. They have explored the various biomes of the continent, focusing on the rain forest! Our exploration culminated in a visit on Friday, November 21, from world-traveler Jeff Kapella, in which he shared slides, artifacts and stories of his dozens of South American travels. Mr. Kapella, a retired horticulturist of the Krohn Conservatory, then treated us to a guided tour of the Krohn! On our last couple of days before Thanksgiving break, the students participated in comparative studies of the biomes of South America; on Monday we compared the plants and animals of each biome and on Tuesday we compared the cultures. Finally, on Tuesday afternoon, we feasted on numerous fruits, vegetables and other edible products that originated in the rain forests of Central and South America. The students were bold and sampled heart-of-palm, avocado raw and made into guacamole, papaya, sapote, guava, coconut milk (we ran out of time before we were able to eat the coconut), passion-fruit juice, papaya juice, guava juice, tapioca and gum made from chicle (the way chewing gum originally was made)! Bananas and baby pineapples were present at the feast, but not consumed due to time constraints and the assumption that these items are familiar to all of the children. Students who sampled nearly everything were rewarded with a favorite treat with origins in the rainforest – chocolate!

The CMS Annual Holiday Celebration!

2003-11-24T12:59:00.000-05:00

The CMS Annual Winter Holiday Celebration is to be held Wednesday, December 10, at 7:00 p.m. in the St. Bernard parish hall! Attendance is mandatory for all students; please notify your child's teachers in the event of any special circumstances that would prevent your child from attending (i.e. illness of the child, family emergency, out of town, etc.). The evening begins with musical performances by the students, followed by a special presentation for CMS families of Magic Around the World,with magician David Hennig! The evening will draw to a close with refreshments and family socialization. We would really appreciate a parent volunteer to coordinate the refreshments (who brings what, setting up, recruiting additional volunteers for set up and clean-up, etc.) -- please let us know if you may be able to help by calling 491-9960 or emailing cornerstonems@hotmail.com! Thank you!

Preprimary Update

2003-11-19T20:21:00.000-05:00

From Miss Jenny

This just in...Alex K. has decided on a career path. His chosen profession will be that of "skeleton."

Today Miss Cindy, from Kindermusik, spent 45 minutes singing and dancing with our class. Everyone enjoyed the rhythm games and chants. We hope to see more of Miss Cindy, as she may be teaching a morning music class at Cornerstone. The information on this extracurricular class was included in last week's home folder.

We are going to have an aquarium! A stand is being built (it's a large, heavy tank), and we hope to have it up and running before Christmas break.

2003-11-19T13:33:00.000-05:00

The Only Time My Family Gets Together Is
Thanksgiving Dinner…Here Is Why:
By: Kaitlyn Wharfield and Jenna S.

As we sat down to Thanksgiving dinner,
My mom said we should say grace,
But my little sister, she is so weird,
She threw apple pie in my father's face!
Grandma yelled, "FOOD FIGHT!"
Suddenly turkey was flying everywhere,
It flew out the door and got eaten by a bear!
So I guess we have no turkey but then my mother said
“'I guess we will have to eat your Aunt Sally's head instead.”
My brother flung mashed potatoes at my cousin's face.
Then we where all throwing food like it was a race.
We went to sleep all scrunched up on each other,
And my grandpa sighed, and hushed my brother.

Rainforest Adventures

2003-11-17T13:39:00.000-05:00

This Friday, November 21, the Lower Elementary class has a double treat in store for them! For starters, Jeff Kapella, world-traveling horticulturist recently retired from Krohn Conservatory, will be presenting a slide show featuring the best of his dozens of trips to South America. The presentation will have a rainforest theme and the children are sure to enjoy his stories of his travels! Immediately following this presentation, Mr. Kapella will be honoring us with a guided tour of the rainforest rooms at the Krohn Conservatory! This man is so knowledgeable; he has had UC professors in awe of his tours and presentations! Hopefully, one of the students will follow-up the presentation with an article, so that parents at home know how it went!

Note to ALL parents:

2003-11-16T16:56:00.000-05:00

from Miss Jenny

Cornerstone subscibes to Tomorrow's Child, which is the official magazine for The Montessori Foundation, a non-profit organization. Feel free to borrow any of the issues. The magazines can be found on the top shelf of the brown bookcase in the far corner of the library/office. Additionally, some issues will be kept in a basket on top of the pre-primary cubbies.

Here are some of the topics you may find in past issues:An Introduction to Montessori: Philosophy and Practice
Montessori Teachers
Specific Elements of the Montessori Approach
The Senses and Cooperative Games
10 Keys to Successful Parenting
Observing Your Child's Class at Work

What does the future hold for your children? They know!

2003-11-16T16:52:00.000-05:00

from Miss Jenny

The question posed to the Preprimary children was, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Sarah - an artist, painting like grandma

Anna - a veterinarian

Savanna B. - Britney Spears, because she sings and dances on the stage...and a veterinarian

Sam - a cowboy

Katie B. - "be a good mom"

Lily - a mommy

Katie S. - a nurse for soldiers

Savannah S. - a veterinarian

Chas - dinosaur scientist

Cole - doctor who helps people

Aaliyah - Little Mermaid because she sings and swims, or Cinderella -she dances

Aubrey - "mailman..mailperson...but I don't want to deliver the mail...I just want to be a mailperson"

George - train engineer

Mitchell - "a grown-up"...a floor cleaner...with a rag

Lucy - "big and strong"

Teresa - Snow White

Lillian - doctor [What kind?] "everybody's doctor"

Alexandra - "a ballet and a princess"

Alex – [to be determined]

The Upper El. Trip to Adams County

2003-11-11T11:53:00.000-05:00

By: Jenna Sapsford

From Sunday, October 26th, in the afternoon, to Tuesday, October 28th, around 1:15, the Upper Elementary class went to Adams County and stayed at a place known as "The Woods" to me (Jenna Sapsford).
On Sunday, the eight girls and their parents came to "The Woods". Two siblings came also. We explored a little and went up to the rope swing my grandpa made. Then, we all went up to talk with Dr. Helm, a neighbor (see the Dr. Helm/creeking article). With him and his wife, we went geode hunting. After that, we went back to the cabin to eat dinner. Everyone pitched in and brought food. The parents left, and we played some games and went to bed.
In the morning on Monday, the 27th, we went to Raber's Saddlery and shoe repair. We talked with Robert, the saddle maker (see “Raber's Saddlery”). After that, we went to the Amish school (see “Amish School”). Afterwards, we went to Miller's Bakery and Miller's Furniture stores. We also went to another store called Miller's Bulk foods (can you tell Miller is a popular name?). We got fudge, colorful popcorn, and peppermint sticks. At the Furniture store, we spoke to Roman Mast, a man who works there, and swung on some porch swings and swung on two swings facing each other, connected. That was cool. Then, we headed back to the cabin for lunch. After lunch, we read for a half an hour and went around the lake to Judd and Martha's house (see the Judd and Martha article). Then we went to the cabin and started dinner. After dinner we did an experiment on fats and oils and we did a craft.
On Tuesday, we made breakfast and packed up. We took a walk to a cave, came back, packed lunch and headed for the log cabin village. After the Log Cabins, we said goodbye to Adams county.

Food for Our Trip

2003-11-10T22:09:00.000-05:00

By Amanda Wharfield

The Upper Elementary class was in Adams County on October 26-28. While we were there, we cooked our own meals and cleaned up for ourselves. Before we left for the trip, we planned out all of our meals according to the food pyramid. We wrote out a cleaning schedule so that when we got there we would be organized. For each meal, four girls would cook and four girls would clean and we took turns with the jobs. Some of the foods we made were Walking Tacos, Fruit Pizza and Banana Boats. The food was very yummy and that’s the end.

Creeking with Dr. Helm

2003-11-10T22:08:00.000-05:00

By: Alexa Johnson

On October 26, 2003, the Upper Elementary went creeking with Dr. Helm (He's one of the neighbors). We were all trying to find geodes in the creek, but a lot of us didn't have any success finding any. It was so hard to find geodes in the creek because all of the leaves had fallen. All of the leaves were a bright red, yellow and orange. So that made it even harder to find the geodes. The next day, Dr. Helm had big and little geodes sitting on his front porch for us all.
The day before we left, some of us went creeking by ourselves and found some rocks. One was a geode and one looked like the state of Texas (ha ha)! We all had a great time.

Robert Raber's Saddlery Shop

2003-11-10T22:07:00.000-05:00

By: Shawna Jones

On October 27th, the Upper Elementary class went to the Raber's Saddlery Shop. Roy and Robert Raber are brothers. Roy has a shoe repair shop up front and Robert has a saddle shop in the back.
Robert Raber showed us how he makes saddles and how he puts the different designs on the leather. Each of us (and 3 adults) got keychains that he made individually for us. First he made his design on tracing paper. To put a print in the leather you wet it, and then you use a sharp knife to outline it. When you're finished with that you use a shaper knife to…as he says, "Make it come to life".
We asked him some questions about how long it takes to make a saddle and how much it costs and we got some surprising answers. He said it takes about 2 weeks to make just a simple saddle. He said the cost of 1 is usually $ 3,000. He is known all over the world and he takes orders for saddles without even meeting with them. He makes beautiful saddles and designs, and we were very impressed with his work.

The Amish School

2003-11-10T22:06:00.000-05:00

By Ashley Soldano

On Monday, October 27th, the Upper Elementary went to an Amish School in Adams County. It was awesome. The students were a lot different, too. They wore mostly black. Some had on light blue or purple shirts. All the girls wore long black dresses and black bonnets with their hair tucked in. Their school was one big room divided into two by a curtain. Amazingly, they had some of the same things as us in their room, such as an ABC chart in cursive and some of the same reading books.
They may ride scooters, bikes or buggies to school, but they mostly walk everywhere. The children were very gentle and well behaved. Visiting the Amish school was an amazing experience!

The Basket Maker

2003-11-10T22:05:00.000-05:00

By Alicia Theis

On the other side of the lake, there is a basket maker that Cornerstone Montessori Upper Elementary students went to see. The basket maker’s name is Martha. At her house, she taught all the Upper Elementary students how to weave baskets with pine needles from South Carolina. Then she showed us all the baskets she had made. Martha made baskets with a stone in the middle of it and she made two baskets that fit together. I liked when she gave us the black walnuts that were cut so you can see the shape of the inside. Andrea, one of the students, said “I liked making the baskets. I have never done it before”.

Cave & Hiking

2003-11-10T22:04:00.000-05:00

by Andrea Bacho

On Tuesday, October 28, the Upper Elementary class went to a cave in Adams County. We did a lot of hiking. There were sinkholes around the entrance so, we knew we were close. We found a hole that led to part of the cave, but it was too steep to go in. Amy Sapsford, Jenna’s Mom, found another sinkhole and another cave entrance. To get into the cave, we had to climb down a slippery hill. It was hard because the ground was muddy and covered with wet leaves.

We had to use our flashlights because it was dark. It looked like there was “fool’s gold” on the walls. We didn’t explore the other cave tunnels because we didn’t want to get lost. You should only explore caves with a professional. Ashley said “I liked it at first, but then I saw a snake hole and I got freaked out and I hit my head on a rock”. When we got back to the cabin, it was time to go home.

Log Cabin Village

2003-11-10T22:03:00.000-05:00

By Kaitlyn Wharfield

On October 28, 2003, the Upper Elementary class went to Mr. Brown’s cabins. His cabins are from 1803. The outside was made from wood and the inside was the same. He said, "It is very hard to heat the cabin in the wintertime”.

He told us he had owned another cabin. In a storm it tore apart, so he took the half that was left and put it onto the cabin he showed us. Inside the cabin, there were candles for light, a fireplace for heat and a bed made from wood and strings. The bed was signed by the man who made it. The cabin was full of antique tools. He said he had a flying squirrel living somewhere in the cabin. It eats from the deer heads and other animal skins. Mr. Brown also told us that if the outhouse had a moon on it, it was for women and a star for men.

I enjoyed visiting the log cabin village. I thought it was neat. Andrea Bacho said, ''It was my favorite part of the trip''.

Preprimary Happenings

2003-11-09T18:49:00.000-05:00

by Miss Jenny

Spiders rule! The insects have been put away, and we have been learning about the parts of the spider! The creep factor is very high. In Art, students can cut out bats or ooze shaving cream through their fingers. Of course, clean-up is a major part of the ooze experience!

New work on the Math shelves has included counting Halloween objects (0-9 and 1-5) and using a number line to count to 1000. The latter is a two-rug work -- serious stuff.

For writing practice, children have been eager to choose metal insets from the NEW metal inset stand. The new stand has opened up shelf space for new and interesting works. You might ask your child if they have used the "Stone Soup" or "Miss Spider's Tea Party" objects to act out the stories with a friend. Also from this area, many Kindergarteners have chosen the Antarctic animal bookmaking activity.

Kindergarteners continue to read daily with either a teacher or a parent volunteer.

Recently, Miss Yolanda, a Xavier student in the Montessori program, spent the morning observing and giving lessons. On the same day, while Miss Melody held down the fort, Miss Jenny took each child outside to trace his or her shadow. We talked about how the Earth moves around the Sun and how shadows are formed.

Our trip to Benton Farm was a huge success. Under blue skies, students, a few siblings, teachers, parents and two grandparents milked and petted a cow, learned about bee hives and honey, took a hay ride, picked a pumpkin from a pumpkin patch, learned about how milk is used to make butter and ice cream, learned about canning (the peaches weren't sweet this year!), petted a lamb and a sheep, saw chickens and turkeys, fed sheep and goats, and......wow! [Parents: If you have any pictures from this trip, especially digital, that you'd like to share on this site, please let us know or email them to cornerstonems@hotmail.com!]

If you haven't heard enough, read on!

The Meadows Family (Dad Kyle, Mom Marsha, Son Douglas-grade 3) have graciously donated 6 zebra finch birds to our classroom. We are thrilled. Finches are small birds that use their orange beaks to crush seeds. Hopefully, no small fingers will experience this sensation.

Attention Lands End Customers!

2003-11-05T18:20:00.000-05:00

If you are planning on making any of your Holiday purchases from Lands End, please keep in mind that Lands End will donate a percentage to the school when you place your order using the preferred customer number. The Lands End gift certificates you purchase through paper scrip yields a higher percentage of profit to the school, but, if you forget to purchase those and want to make a Lands End order, please remember to use the CMS preferred customer number when placing your order: 9000-9336-0. Unfortunately, you cannot use this number in combination with the paper gift certificates.

My Adventure at Tall Stacks

2003-10-28T15:13:00.000-05:00

By Pauline Scott, Gr. 3

The full day Kindergarten and all the Elementary went to Tall Stacks. We walked across the purple people bridge to get there. We got to go to a place called Traders Village. At Traders Village we got to see people make brooms. We got to talk to Abraham Lincoln. Next we went to Heritage House and Tom and Becky’s Playland. We got to wash clothes by scrubbing them on a board. We got to go through a hay maze. We got to make quilt squares with wallpaper scraps. We got to see people play music. My favorite part was seeing the boats. We saw all the boats and I think the best boat was the Celebration Belle. Here is a picture of the Celebration Belle. I like the Celebration Belle because it’s a really nice boat. My other favorite boat was the Mississippi Queen, but all the boats are cool!

In Case You Missed Catching the Zak Morgan Concert...

2003-10-24T09:57:00.000-04:00

Good news! If you missed catching the Zak Morgan children's concert Thursday evening at Lincoln Elementary...or if you just can't get enough of "Hungry Things", "When Bullfrogs Croak" or "Conniptions"... you can catch Zak Morgan this Saturday, October 25! He will be at Joseph Beth Bookstore at Rookwood Pavillion at 11:00! Hopefully, some of his Cornerstone fans will be there!

Our Trip to the Fire House

2003-10-23T14:14:00.000-04:00

By Lauren Bacho, Ron Baur, Emma Schneider & Hannah Vorst-Shaffer

The all-day Kindergarteners, First graders and Second graders went to visit the Fire Department of Bellevue-Dayton. We visited on Friday, October 10. Fireman Joe gave us a tour of the Fire House. We saw where the firemen sleep, the kitchen and the fire trucks. We got to go inside one of the fire trucks – this was Hannah and Emma’s favorite part of the trip! We got to see Fireman Joe’s office too! Fireman Joe told us that there are always seven firemen on duty at a time. We also got to see what the firemen looked like when they wear their special clothes and masks and stuff – this was Lauren’s favorite part! We got a lot of cool stuff – a firehat, a tattoo, a sticker and a coloring book! The firemen were all really nice and Ron liked the whole trip!

2003-10-22T15:51:00.000-04:00

DON'T FORGET to try to catch Zak Morgan's interactive children's performance Thursday evening, 6:30 at Lincoln Elementary (next to CMS)! Some of your friends (and teachers) are bound to be there!

2003-10-22T15:49:00.000-04:00

Carbohydrates
By Ashley Soldano

Carbohydrates are nutrients that give you energy to live, run, and play. But if you have too much, it will turn into fat. Carbohydrates are all sugars and starches. Starch has to be created or broken down into sugar in order for your body to use it. It starts in your mouth and then goes down. Carbohydrates serve as a main source of energy and power for any living thing. Good carbohydrates include bananas, rice and potatoes; bad carbohydrates include candies and soft drinks. I would prefer good carbohydrates -- what about you?

2003-10-22T15:44:00.000-04:00

Protein
By: Andrea Bacho

Protein contains a special kind of substance called nutrients. Nutrients keep your body healthy. Protein gives energy to your body. Proteins are found in cells and are important for life. Protein is found in milk, cheese, chicken, eggs, turkey, fish, beans, pork, beef, nuts and peanut butter. Kids need two servings of protein a day. Teen girls and women and most men need two servings of protein a day. Teen boys and some men need three servings a day.

2003-10-18T12:50:00.000-04:00

Vitamins
By Amanda C. Wharfield, Upper El. Class

Vitamins are nutrients that the body needs to help it use other nutrients. Vitamins are found in most foods and eating foods from the four basic food groups will give you all the necessary vitamins. Some of the main vitamins are A, D, E, K, C, B1, B2, B3, B6 and B12. The body uses Vitamin A for healthy skin, good vision and strong bones. The sources of Vitamin A are dark green and yellow vegetables, yellow fruit, butter, cheese, milk and liver. Wheat germ and vegetable oils contain Vitamin E , which helps blood carry oxygen; Vitamin K helps your blood clot and is found in broccoli, spinach, lettuce and cabbage. Vitamin D is found in milk, egg yolks, liver, fish oils and butter and is essential for calcium and phosphorus metabolism. Vitamin C helps your gums, protects your body against infection and helps your wounds heal; this vitamin is found in oranges, lemons, grapefruit, broccoli, green peppers, strawberries and potatoes. Vitamin B1 helps you get the energy from food, increases your appetite and keeps your nervous system healthy. Vitamin B1 is found in eggs, yeast, potatoes, pork and grains. Vitamin B2 is found in fish, eggs, liver, milk and other dairy products; it is needed for healthy skin and to help the body get energy from food. B3 is a vitamin that helps your nervous system and also helps you get energy from food. This vitamin is found in eggs, fish, wheat germ and liver. Vitamin B6 helps your body use proteins and is found in fish, liver, vegetables and grains. Vitamin B12 is found in liver, milk, eggs and meat. It helps you grow and produce red blood cells.

2003-10-18T12:41:00.000-04:00

MISSING : VEGETABLES
By: Jenna Sapsford

In the study we conducted, we found that vegetables were not in many CMS lunches. In four days, we found that only 39 vegetables came out of 32 student's lunches. Vegetables have important vitamins such as Vitamin A and Vitamin C. They are also a good source of fiber. Vegetables like kale, leaf lettuce, mustard greens, and spinach are high in Vitamin A. Some that have Vitamin C are broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and bell peppers. Some that are high in fiber are carrots, sweet potatoes, and black-eyed peas.
At our trip to the grocery store, I found some good vegetable items that kids can take into school. Kids could bring in vegetable soup from Campbells or Flavorite on a cold day and chips and salsa tastes great too!
Vegetables have many benefits such as: they reduce chances of cancer and they are high in fiber and vitamins. So, remember when you pack a lunch or eat a snack, a vegetable or two would be good.

2003-10-18T12:32:00.000-04:00

What is brought to Lunch at Cornerstone?
By: Shawna Jones, Upper El. Class

Nutrition is very important to any age, especially kids. The 4th through 6th grade class have been writing down how much vegetables, protein, dairy, fruit, grains and sweets the student at Cornerstone eat for lunch. We found out that grains are the most popular food group that everybody brings, and vegetables are the food group that everybody eats. We did a survey that said what stuff your child brings to school and how many sweets they bring. It was the week of September 22--26. That survey included Pre-primary, Kindergarten, Lower elementary {1st--3rd}, and Upper elementary {4th--6th} lunches. Then we added each amount of food into the 5 food groups on our graph {protein, grains, vegetables, fruit, and dairy}. We came up with 789 different lunch items and then did percentages of each of the food groups. 25% of the tally was grains, 23% was sweets, and 19% was fruit, 15% was dairy, protein 13%, and finally vegetables at a total of 5%.

2003-10-18T12:25:00.000-04:00

Preprimary News
from Miss Jenny

Do you think our winters are cold? You should see Antarctica. Brrrr. We're studying killer whales.... which eat penguins... which eat krill.... which eat algae and diatoms... which eat.....the stuff left behind by the whales. The Antarctic provides a simple and elegant demonstration of the "circle of life."

Our water table has real icebergs, macaroni penguins, and killer whales. In another part of the room, children find out how penguins stay warm in such a cold place by placing one bare hand and one hand protected by a glove and a plastic bag (representing the feathers and blubber) in ice water.

In music circle, we have been learning nursery rhymes such as "There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe," "There Was a Crooked Man," and "Peas Porridge Hot."

Mr. Kyle Meadows has been kind enough to provide our class with his CD of dulcimer music. We will make good use of this during the rainy days ahead when recesses will be held indoors.

We, Melody and Jenny, have a request. Unless your "business" with us is urgent, would you try to ask questions via an e-mail or a note? It's difficult for us to give you our full attention while working with or preparing for the children. As always, we welcome your suggestions, questions, comments, etc. Thanks for all you do!

2003-10-08T17:11:00.000-04:00

Don't Forget National Fire Prevention Week!

This year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Fire Administration are joining the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to announce and promote National Fire Prevention Week, October 5-11, 2003. The official theme for 2003 is, "When Fire Strikes - Get Out! Stay Out!" This year’s campaign urges everyone to install and maintain smoke alarms, develop and practice a home fire escape plan, and once out of a burning building, stay out.
Parents, check out this helpful web site from the United States Fire Administration for assistance in discussing fire safety with your child(ren):
http://www.usfa.fema.gov/kids/l.htm

At CMS, students in full-day Kindergarten and 1st and 2nd level elementary will be visiting the Fire Department of Bellevue-Dayton, while the Preprimary classroom will be having “Fireman Joe” as their special guest in order to cover some basic fire safety concepts.

2003-10-02T22:35:00.000-04:00

There is NO SCHOOL on Friday, October 17, due to the Open House from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 18. All families are invited and encouraged to attend the Open House!

Preparing for an Open House is a lot of work; please help us put our best foot forward by joining us on the evening of Thursday, October 16 (check with your child’s teachers to find out when they will be there) as we clean and straighten the classrooms, Art room and office/library. We will most likely begin after school and the duration of the evening will depend upon how many volunteers can be recruited! Volunteers can contribute as little or as much time as they are able – all help is greatly appreciated! In the past, we have been able to have a little fun on cleaning evenings, with pizza, beverages and plenty of socialization between teachers and parents!

On the evening of October 23, Zak Morgan is presenting a children’s concert at Lincoln Elementary, just a hop, skip and a jump from Cornerstone. The evening is hosted by the Campbell County Family Literacy Center, but they have been kind enough to invite Cornerstone families to attend! Zak puts on a great show and he has quite a fan base at Cornerstone (he’ll be at CMS Feb. 27!).

2003-10-02T21:54:00.000-04:00

Lower Elementary News:

The Lower Elementary students are now pretty well acclimated to their daily work cycle. We have just concluded our study of the Universe, including all kinds of neat information about the Solar System, stars and their “life” cycle, the moon and its phases and human discoveries in space. We visited Drake Planetarium and learned about sunrise and sunset, planetary motion and some of the constellations of the summer and autumn skies. We had a visit from “Miss Karen” from the Cincinnati Museum Center, who shared some awesome information and demonstrations about the planets! We have been transitioning this week into a study of North America. We have been examining our place in the Universe, from the vastness of the Universe, to our galaxy, to our Solar System, to our planet, to our continent, to our country, to our state, to each child’s city and finally to each child’s home address. Younger students are working with the Planisphere map, mastering the names of the continents and oceans, while older students are working with the map of North America, learning the countries and bordering oceans. We will also be working with the map of the United States. In our studies of North America, we will also be studying many of the plants and animals indigenous to our continent, including familiar trees. Parents are highly encouraged to try to take the time for a nature hike or two with your child(ren) – check out the trees and signs of changing seasons!

2003-10-02T21:25:00.000-04:00

Preprimary News
from Miss Jenny!

In the Preprimary classroom this past September, we have been learning about space, insects, the calendar, choosing work and getting along with others. We have had Kevin, of the Cincinnati Museum Center, come to tell us about insects. Ask your children about the egg...larva....pupa....butterfly sequence and the bumblebee dance. (And no, we don't mean the "Argh, there's a bee in my lunch!" dance!) There are three chrysalises in the aquarium that will join the monarchs and the painted ladies flocking around the butterfly bush outside.
Generous parents have been spending time listening to our Kindergarteners read from their word/sound boxes and/or books. The snack area has been a huge hit, as always. The children have enjoyed yogurt, goldfish, cheese, apples, grapes, etc.

On Thursday, October second we learned about "safe touching" from the Family Nurturing Center. The "Kids on the Block" presenters read two books to the Preprimary children. The titles were Hands are not for Hitting by Martine Agassi and Your Body Belongs to You by Cornelia Spelman. The teachers were very impressed with both books, the terminology used to explain inappropriate touch, and the presenters themselves.

2003-09-29T20:57:00.000-04:00

Meet the Kids on the Block

On Thursday, October 2, the Family Nurturing Center's Kids on the Block program will be visiting Cornerstone. This valuable program has come each year to present information to the children on recognizing and preventing child abuse through a puppet show. While the subject matter may be sensitive, the individuals presenting it are professionals and treat the information carefully and in an age-appropriate manner. Your child's classroom teachers will help ensure that information is not misunderstood or misconstrued following the presentation; you are encouraged to do the same and seize an opportunity to talk to your child about the subject after the presentation!

2003-09-29T20:50:00.000-04:00

ATTENTION PARENTS who use AfterCare:

AfterCare will be closing at 5:00 on Wednesday, October 1, so that Blanche and Rosalee are able to attend a workshop for continuing education in the child care field. Please be courteous and be on time to pick up your children, or make other arrangements for them for this evening, as such workshops are notorious for refusing to admit latecomers!

2003-09-14T14:10:00.000-04:00

The Lower Elementary Class, including the full-day Kindergarten students, are going to the Drake Planetarium this Wednesday afternoon! If you are one of the parents who volunteered to drive/chaperone for this trip, we'll se you at 12:30! Stay tuned to find out what this trip was like for the students!

2003-09-14T00:02:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the online newsletter for Cornerstone Montessori School! Check back often to find out what is happening in your child's school! Articles will be written by elementary students and occasionally by teachers.