Sawubona! Jambo! As-Salaam-Alaikum! Bonjour! Hello! Did you know that there are an estimated 1500 – 2000 different languages spoken in Africa? This is just one of the amazing facts that Elementary students learned during our study of this diverse and fascinating continent. Each year, our students enjoy taking part in the school wide continent study, and this year was no exception. On Thursday, they hosted two African Street Fairs to share their learning: one for Primary students during the school day, and one for parents during the evening. Read more about the learning process students went through in preparation for this exciting event below. Elementary teachers collaboratively planned the

Parent-Teacher conferences are just around the corner! A frequently raised topic of conversation is toilet learning. Even before your child transitions to underpants, there are a number of practices you can implement in preparation for the process. These include: Changing your child while s/he is standing up Encouraging your child to sit on or stand at the toilet during diaper changes Encouraging your child to push down pants, remove the diaper, pull up pants Below are some tips to help you and your child along the way once s/he transitions to underpants: Be realistic in your expectations. It is likely that your child will wet or soil himself/herself many times initially. Dress your child fo

Learning is a complex process involving cognitive, physical, and emotional development. How do NMS teachers measure students’ progress and achievement, taking all of this into account? Observation and detailed record keeping are two crucial starting points. As teachers follow each child’s interests and needs in the classroom, they keep track of developmental norms and learning expectations. These notes and data enable teachers to guide children to appropriate works in the classroom, and to compile progress reports twice a year. The progress reports evaluate criteria in categories such as work habits, social and emotional skills, and each major area of academic curriculum. Evaluations are mar

Primary teacher Ashley McLean has been integrating labyrinth activities into the classroom to teach children mindfulness and self-calming strategies. On Saturday, she led a session on this topic at the Montessori Schools of Massachusetts conference. Here are some highlights from her talk. How is a labyrinth different from a maze? The words ‘labyrinth’ and ‘maze’ have a tendency to be used interchangeably, but they are actually quite different from one another. Labyrinths are made up of one path without obstacles whereas mazes are specifically designed to confuse anyone who enters one. The path of a labyrinth creates a calming sensation because you cannot get lost. A maze, however is stressfu

Have you seen special moments featured on the screen in our hallway? Maybe you've seen a student enjoying a book, a teacher giving a lesson, our beloved fish swimming around. That's all thanks to our Third Grade Internship program, and more specifically, my Photojournalist intern. Each week we meet for 30 minutes, and Calum begins by exploring our school to find what's interesting (he's an avid reader, so this often means books—but can also mean the structural integrity of a Pink Tower, or the way that fish transport pebbles from one area to another). He then reviews his photos and notes what's interesting about them: their angles, subjects, mirror reflections. The Third Grade Internship pro