November is a really busy month here at CCM! There are three HUGE happenings that are vital to our school. Tours and observations have already begun and more and more families request tours as we are drawing nearer to the lottery opening in January. Our non-profit annual meeting will be held November 30th. New members to both MMCI and our GC will be elected—this is truly crucial to the functioning of our school. Please plan to attend if at all possible. The most important activity is Parent/Teacher conferences. Although we send out newsletters and lots of emails, this is when families can truly get first hand information about their child’s progress. Our upper elementary and middle school students will be leading their conferences and should attend with their parents. It may be more efficient if younger children do not attend their conferences. We will be hosting our first “Montessori Journey” December 3rd. There will be limited availability for participants (30 with no more than one per family) due to our wanting to make this a truly meaningful experience for all in attendance. You might wonder what a Montessori Journey is. This is an exploration of Montessori materials and since we have multiple levels at CCM, parents will work with a representation of materials from primary to middle school. We will be focusing on math materials for this inaugural event which will be held Saturday, December 3rd from 9:00-12:00. Information will be sent home this week in Thursday folders. If we receive more reservations than we have capacity for, there will be a drawing held December 18th to allow families time to plan. We are excited to be able to offer this Montessori parent education opportunity to our families! Please take the time to vote for school board candidates. Your vote makes a difference. As a charter school in the state of Maryland, local school board candidates are crucial to our existence. The ability to vote for the leadership of our country, state, county and school system is a gift many before us and many currently have fought for or are fighting for. Our middle school students have been dissecting the Presidential De-bates this fall and I am sure have formed very strong opinions through their critical observations and discussions. They have been learning that citizenship comes with re-sponsibilities. There is no better way to reinforce this than for them to observe adults modeling voting on election day.

CCMPCS's mission is to build a community in which students, parents and staff work together

to educate the "whole child," the sum of the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual parts.

We will implement a Montessori based curriculum to give students the hands-on tools they

need to be active learners both in and outside the classroom. By offering English with Spanish

enrichment or dual-language Spanish instruction to all students, we will provide a unique

opportunity for students to learn a second language at an early age and develop multicultural

awareness.

10-31-16 Volume 3 Issue 3

Carroll Creek Communicator

10-31 No School—Teacher Work Day

11-3 Maryland State Montessori Meet-ing (Loyola)

11-5 Greater Washing-ton Montessori Conference

11-7 7:00 Governing Council Meeting

11-8 No School—Election Day

11-9/10

1:00 Start time for students (No PreK)—regular dismissal (Parent/Teacher conf.)

11-11 11:15 Dismissal—(No PreK) Lunch will be served (Parent/Teacher Conf.)

11-14 Dr. Alban Visiting

11-21 Hearing and Vision Screening

11-23/24/25

Thanksgiving Break

11-30 MMCI Annual Meeting @ MVM

12-1 Chorus Performance

12-3 9:00-12:00 Montessori Journey

12-14 CCM Annual Re-port Presentation @ FCPS BOE mtg.

Carroll Creek Montessori Public Charter School Mission

Representation and Learning

Let’s be honest, our kids aren’t perfect- and neither are we! The big question is how do we handle their misbehavior? Children don’t misbehave because they want to; in part, they misbehave because they are lacking the skills to do better. When a child is lacking the skills to improve in math or reading, we provide academic intervention. The same needs to be true with behavior. Responding with logical consequences stops the behavior and is respectful to children. Perhaps even more importantly, logical consequences help children take responsibility. The Responsive Classroom has several great articles about logical consequences. One article that I particularly enjoy explains the difference between punishment and logical consequences. Much of what’s written is applicable in the classroom as well as the home. “The goal of punishment is to enforce compliance with the rules by using external controls or authoritarian

discipline.” Although punishment does stop the behavior for the moment, it does little to increase responsibility. Also, it often leads to an increase in deception and evasion, as well as feelings of anger and discouragement.

“The goal of logical consequences is to help children develop internal understanding, self-control, and a

desire to follow the rules.” Punishment has a shaming component; whereas logical consequences help children look more closely at their behaviors and consider the results of their choices and then learn from their mistakes in a supportive atmosphere.

“Logical consequences are respectful of the child’s dignity while punishment often calls upon an element of

shame.” Logical consequences sends the message that the behavior is a problem, not that the child is a problem. Tone of voice is extremely important differentiation. If the tone used is angry or punitive, it’s no longer a logical consequence. Additionally, consequences for one situation aren’t necessarily appropriate in others. For example, “mopping the floor is a respectful consequence for the child who chooses to have a water fight at the drinking fountain, but not for the child who fails to complete his work.”

“Logical consequences are related to the child’s behavior; punishment usually is not.” The adult must

gather more information, sometimes with child input, before reacting. The consequence is something that will help fix the problem.

“The belief underlying the use of logical consequences is that with reflection and practice children will want

to do better, whereas the belief behind punishment is that children will do better only because they fear punishment and will seek to avoid it.” Every child is a learner, struggling to establish meaningful relationships. We expect that a child will occasionally make mistakes and lose control. One piece of advice I was given when I became a parent is that “everyone, even children, are entitled to have a bad day every once in a while.”

Logical consequences help children learn what to do the next time the situation arises and empowers them to know how to fix the mistake. Parenting is challenging and some children make it more so! Keeping our cool and remembering to use the misbehavior as a teachable moment can be a challenge. If we are expecting our children to learn from their mistakes, then we can too! Keep trying. If you’d like more information on logical consequences, please let me know! https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/punishment-vs-logical-consequences/ http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/charney/charney007.shtml Mandi Kearney,

School Counselor Carroll Creek Montessori Public Charter School

301-663-7710

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Carroll Creek Communicator

Counselor’s Corner

Kindergarten music classes have been excited to explore various music classroom percussion instruments with the rhythm rhyme “Five Little Pumpkins.” Students have played sandblocks, claves, tambourines, guiros, suspended cymbal, maracas, bongos, and tubanos to provide sound effects for the rhyme. Classes have also enjoyed “walking rhythms” as they make their feet match the beat while walking in a circle. Our dances this month have been “Elephants Have Wrinkles” and the “Tree Song” moving through the seasons in the life of an apple tree. Lower Elementary students are practicing their use of solfeggio hand signs as both a warm up and for songs they are learning, and many are eager to perform the entire scale for their class. We are doing a rhythm review of quarter and eighth note patterns with third graders leading the way in class demonstra-tions. Our study of African music continues as students explored the “talking drum” and the Swahili farewell song “Kwaheri.” Upper Elementary music students have continued studying the many parts of “Banuwa” by practicing the complimentary drum parts while others sing and dance. They have also explored the talking drum through drum conversation activities and call and response lessons. Music analyzation of meter, tempo, dynamics, and form has begun with our first focus on ABA form and “Sabre Dance” by Khachaturian. Middle school music class students are continuing their music analyzation with pieces that can have differing forms depending on how the listener views each section. Students are asked to provide evidence and highlight specific attributes of the music that supports their interpretation and how they categorize the form. African percussion study has begun with the gankogui, atoke, shekere, adenkum, and talking drum. Performing Ensembles: We have only a few rehearsals left before our December 1 concert here at CCM. On November 29th and 30th the rehearsals will each be one hour long to prepare after returning from

Thanksgiving Break. Ensemble rehearsals will take a break after the concert and resume at the end of January. Page 3

Volume 3 Issue 3

From the Art Room

Music Notes

Mrs. Reynolds

Beginning-of-the-Year Self-Portraits Every year, in art, each student creates a beginning-of-the-year and an end-of-the-year

self-portrait. Creating their self-portraits allows the children to document themselves and re-flect on their own growth and changes.

This year, because our Montessori continent study takes us to Africa in this first semester, the children learned about the woven Kente cloth of the Ashanti people of West Africa. Students were then invited to share their own traditions of sacred clothing. Inspired by the geometric designs of the Kente cloth and the colors of their own birthday, picture day, family celebration clothes, the

children created beautifully patterned, colorful frames for their self-portraits. Next, we compared and contrasted portraits by a variety of artists including Leger, Kollwitz, Heckel, and Mills. These works were created in a range of styles including realistic, expressionistic, and abstract and each portrait included the sitter's hands. Students then practiced drawing realistically as they created thumbnail sketches of classmates and themselves. Finally, students were invited to create their beginning-of-the-year self-portraits. The children chose a realistic, expressionistic, or abstract approach and were challenged to include their hands and their special clothes in their drawings. The works posted on our art blog include finished self-portraits and portraits in progress by children in kindergarten-seventh grade. Gratefully, Lisa Reed

"Beauty both promotes concentration of thought and offers refreshment to the tired spirit" Maria Montessori

Hello Parents!

Here in Physical Education we have started our hockey unit. Students have learned the two shots used in hockey called the sweep pass and push pass to effectively strike a hockey ball. We spent the first day talking about the importance of safety and how to properly grip the hockey stick. Students

then participated in group passing and dribbling activities as we worked our way into small group games. Students have been playing hockey bowling which teaches them both offensive and defensive strategies. Students are placed into two teams and placed on opposite sides of the gym. The objective of the game is to knock down the other teams pins by

using the two strikes learned earlier in the unit mentioned above. Students may also choose to defend their pins as they must react quickly as multiple hockey balls are in play. Some of our upper elementary classes and middle school classes have moved their way up to playing full class hockey games combining all the skills learned in the unit to

Things parents raising bilingual children need to know

On this occasion I would like to share part of an article with everyone that I read a few weeks ago. The following article talks about the things that you as a parent need to know when you want to have bilingual children. We can see a clearer idea of how to develop the acquisition of another language of our children. I will share the online address in future edition’s where the child can practice Spanish through games, writing, reading and puzzles. Señorita Rodriguez (Ms. Ñ) It doesn’t happen by magic Children do not become bilingual “by magic”. There is a persistent myth claiming that “children are like sponges when it comes to language” and that they will learn all languages they hear regularly – this is simply not true. Yes, in the right circumstances children will naturally grow up to acquire the family languages, but this cannot be taken for granted. You need a plan To be in with the best chance of succeeding in br inging up bilingual children, you need to plan ahead. How fluent do you want your children to be? What about reading and writing? Who speaks what and when? Discuss this in the family and agree on the goals. Consistency is crucial Once you have your plan, you need to commit to it as a family and stay consistent in your language use. Yes, children can certainly become bilingual if parents mix their languages with them, but the risk that they will at some point prefer to stick to the majority language is far greater if they have become used to the minority language parent easily switching to the majority language. You will have to pay attention to exposure times Once you have your plan, you need to look into how much exposure your children get to each language. There is a general recommendation (there is, however, no scientific proof for this) that children should be exposed to a language at least thirty percent of their waking time to naturally become bilingual. This should however only be taken as a guidance – depending on the type of exposure, children might need more or less time to acquire a language. You will have to invest some extra time (and sometimes maybe a bit of money) You will need to find the time talk a lot, to do the reading and to find resources to help your children learn the language. You might find that you need to use your holidays to make a trip to boost your children’s motivation to speak the language. Your children will gain an array of benefits by becoming bilingual If you are still in doubt about whether to bring up your children to become bilinguals or not, read about all the great benefits your children will gain if you do decide to do it. We all want what is best for our children, so why wouldn’t you support yours to have the wonderful gift of speaking more than one language? For more information please see the following link.:

© Rita Rosenback 2016. http://multilingualparenting.com/2014/02/26/12-things-parents-raising-bilingual-children-need-to-know/

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Volume 3 Issue 3

Physical Education

Spanish Spoken Here

be

successful. Lower elementary classes are working their way towards playing zone hockey as it will allow them to learn the rules of hockey as well as continue practicing offensive and defensive strategies while moving safely in open space.

Mr. Dixon

CCMPCS GC News

Tidbits from our GC

MMCI Elections November 30, 2016

Greetings and happy Autumn, fellow MMCI members. This is such an exciting time for CCM and MMCI and we have a lot to be thankful for. As you know, this school year is CCM’s probationary year of our new Charter Agreement (July 1, 2016-June 30, 2020) with the FCPS Board of Education (BOE). Your school leadership has been working tirelessly to meet and document the benchmarks set in conjunction with the BOE for us to pass this probationary year. I am so happy to report that CCM has met or exceeded all of the benchmarks on our Annual Report that will be submitted to the BOE for discussion at their December 14, 2016 meeting. What does all of this have to do

with the MMCI election, you ask? The truly amazing part of these very positive results is that parents just like you are working to make these things happen. Your CCM Governing Council. Your MMCI Board of Trustees. Both of these elected bodies are made up of parents just like you. And just like you, many of the parents who are currently putting in the long hours and hard work were once hearing about the election and wondering, “How could I possibly make a difference?” The answer to that question is by jumping in, by putting your life skills to work for the benefit of your child’s school, and by sacrificing some of your personal time to help our schools thrive long into the future. What Positions are open for election on November 30th? *MMCI BOT President *MMCI BOT Secretary

Page 5

*MMCI BOT Treasurer *MMCI BOT Assistant Treasurer *MMCI BOT Parent Trustee for CCM *MMCI BOT Friend of Education *CCM GC Parent Representative - 3 Positions *CCM GC Friend of Education As you can see there are plenty of spots that need to be filled. If you think you can help and would like to find out more information or fill out a nomination form please contact secre-tary@mmcimd.org for more information. All nomina-tion forms are due back by November 7th. Thank you for your consid-eration and all that parents like you do to contribute to this amazing community. Liz Seal MMCI Vice-President for CCM Attendance

As you can see from the graph to the left, our attendance rate is headed in the wrong direction. We are now behind were we where at this time last year (only by .06%, but we have to have a higher rate this year than last to provide an acceptable report for the BOE). September saw a 96.48% attendance but October dropped almost a whole percentage to 95.69%. EVERY attendance day is important. Please do not send your child to school if they are ill, but please do schedule appointments and vacations outside school hours.

96.4

95.69

96.48

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Overall

October

September

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2016-2017 % Attendance

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Climate Curriculum & Instruction Engagement &Communication

Safety, Health & Wellness Leadership Professional Development

FCPS 2015 Climate Survey

CCM Parents FCPS Parents CCM Staff FCPS Staff

The chart above is a representation of the survey responses from last year’s FCPS Climate Survey. This data will be shared with the FCPS BOE at their December meeting. Please take the time to complete the survey for us. The link is:

https://surveys.panoramaed.com/frederick Access Code: 0228family

BE AN INFORMED PARENT!!! Don’t Miss…..

“Innocence Stolen: Protecting Our Children and Teens On-Line”

Parent Learning Opportunity

Monday, November 14, 20 Catoctin High School

Featuring: Vince DeVivo, U.S. Attorney’s Office 5:30-6:00 PM- Refreshments & Resource Fair

Learn about social networking/media, cyber bullying, sexting, internet predators, and local community resources. The program will provide helpful prevention and intervention strategies and internet safety resources for parents and other adults.

RSVP: Sherry Bueso- 240-236-5107 Sponsored By: The Catoctin Community School Counselors

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Scantron (formally Global Scholar)Reading 2016 Fall Results by Grade

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Scntron (formally Global Scholar)Math 2016 Fall Results by Grade

Above Ave Average Below Ave

The two graphs on this page represent student achievement on the fall Scantron assessment. We will be looking for growth throughout the year. Targeted interventions have been put in place for students who are in

the red for each area.