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Welcome to the Turquesa School at Home Information Page

Learning is experiential and social for children in their Elementary years, as they develop their independence and autonomy. As we prepare to complete the academic year in this School at Home format, we are deeply committed to meeting each child’s developmental and learning needs to the best of our ability. It is important to us that the children’s activities and work during this time be enjoyable, thoughtful, challenging, and rewarding. Our goal is to partner closely with families in order to create opportunities for that to happen, and we encourage parents to stay in close contact with their child’s teachers as we navigate this experience together. ​
turquesa daily schedule
Maintaining a regular routine and schedule is important for a child’s wellbeing during this time. We've created the following schedule to help students and families to stay in sync with their community. We also recognize that every family is experiencing this time differently, and this schedule should be seen as flexible.

9:00-9:30 Preparing for the Day
  • During this window of time, students, with the help of their parents, should log onto Teams, check for scheduled lessons, connect with their teachers in their individual Chat groups, and plan their days.
  • Students also go to the Attendance Channel and post a “good morning” to Mr. Shawn as a way of signaling their arrival at school for the day.
​
9:30-10:00 Daily Community Gathering on Zoom

10:00-12:00 Open class time
• This is individual and collaborative work time. Students will be invited to lessons through the Turquesa Teams site. Live lessons will be offered through Zoom.

12:00-1:00 
Lunch and outdoor break time.

***Please note that on Wednesdays, this in the end of the School at Home day.


1:00-3:00 
Open class time and lessons continue

​3:00-3:30 
End of day jobs, including clean up from the day, pack work away, tidy learning spaces so that everything is ready for tomorrow.
Turquesa program expectations
          Students are expected to:
  • Plan and organize work as independently as possible.
  • Follow teachers’ guidelines and academic expectations.
  • Be own advocate when assistance or further clarification is required.

    ​Parents are invited to:

  • Guide your child to set up a prepared environment at home.
  • Establish a consistent routine and work schedule.
  • Follow along with the teacher’s suggested activities to maintain skills and concepts.
  • Meet and review your child’s assignments; provide opportunities at home for work presentations.
  • Communicate regularly with teachers to create a partnership that support the child’s education.

    Upper Elementary Teachers will:

  • Prepare a variety of lessons, appropriate tasks, projects, and activities for children to complete at home in order to maintain and move their learning forward.
  • Give lessons to individuals, small and large groups in a wide variety of ways that are designed to meet the social, emotional, and learning needs of every student.
  • Communicate regularly and frequently with parents, including frequent video calls, Teams chat check ins and quick responses to parents concerns that are communicated via emails or Team (within one school day).
  • Maintain a collaborative, responsive, flexible approach to helping each family navigate the digital learning environment according to individual needs and interests.
program specific needs and characteristics
Respect the stage of development - some students may still be at a “concrete level” and require the Montessori materials to complete certain tasks. Avoid “teaching” shortcuts for subjects such as Mathematics.

Develop ideas that allow the opportunity for Upper Elementary students to build from their interests, passions and strengths. Examples may include projects, journals, creative writing, geometry constructions, Practical Life at home.
​

Upper Elementary students are extremely social. At this time, not being able to be directly with their friends can feel challenging. We strongly encourage parent monitoring of texts, emails, and group chats to ensure that the students are using grace and courtesy towards themselves and others.

This Week's Lessons! 
​

Click on the current week to access all class events, curriculum plans, and ongoing work suggestions provided by your child's teachers. 
week 6: April 20-24, 2020
 Hello Turquesa families, 
 
“No matter where you are, you can make a difference. And you’re not alone, because together, we can save the Earth.” (from earthday.org.)  
 
This Wednesday marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and we want to be sure to celebrate in traditional MCH fashion: outside!  
 
We encourage families to take a break from Teams for the day and take a moment to connect with the natural world. There truly doesn’t seem to be any time like the present to slow down and remember how much our planet needs our support. We will post a variety of suggestions for things to do outside. On Wednesday, teachers will still be available on Teams for individual support and conversations, so please reach out any time! 
 
This week’s study guide focused on Geometry as we dive into the world of shapes, area, perimeter, volume, lines, points, symmetry, and more!  
 
The study of Geometry allows students to explore mathematical concepts in a visual and artistic way, and we worked hard find many opportunities for students to create this week.   

We have a fun lesson called Geometrocity where students can create mini cities, tiny homes, or treehouses, and measure the area and perimeters of them. We have a lesson introducing types of symmetry and some fun ideas to explore symmetry including nature walks and creating symmetry art like Mandalas. We also have a lesson on volume and 3D shapes as students can use small cubes (or LEGO blocks) to recreate a 2D imagine.  
 
You may also notice on the study guide that there are some materials listed as optional as we recognize not every family may have these, so for each lesson there is flexibility. There is no need to buy supplies; as always, we encourage families to be creative!  
 
All our best, 
The Turquesa Teaching Team  
Ms. Jessie, Ms. Alyx, Mr. Shawn, Ms. Nicole 
 
 
This Week’s All-Class Events: 
 
Daily Community Gathering (link posted on Turquesa Team in Announcements) at 9:30 will follow this schedule:  
 
Monday: Journaling and Sharing  
Tuesday: Class Meeting 
Wednesday:  Earth Day – 50th Anniversary! There is no Community Gathering today. Instead, unplug and get outside!   At the bottom of this post, check out the video your teachers put together for Earth Day inspiration, and a video menu of ideas.
  • At 4pm, there will be a live stream concert from our nature trail, streamed through the MCH Facebook page, featuring local celebrated author, storyteller and children’s musician Eric Ode.  The concert will also be filmed for those that can’t make it live or if you don't have a Facebook account, and will be posted on the MCH School at Home webpage. ​
Thursday:  Social Justice  
Friday:  Joie De Livre Fete (and don’t forget Yoga with Ms. Angela at 1pm) 
 
 
See You There! – Please accept our posted invitations in Teams  for this week’s lessons!     
  • Geometry Stars (lines, points, patterns) 
  • Geometrocity (area and perimeter)  
  • The Art of Symmetry  
  • LEGO up! (volume and 3D prisms) 
   
 
Watch It and Do It – Extend your geometry fun at home by exploring some of these options:  
  • Geoboard Challenge - Name and record as many shapes you can make on a Geoboard.  
  • Make your own or click here: https://apps.mathlearningcenter.org/geoboard/  
  • Geometry Geography Pin Quiz - Challenge yourself in a Geography Quiz about famous Geometers!  
  • Link will be posted to Geometry Channel  
  • Euclidean Geometry Origami – Use Origami to explore Euclidean Geometry shapes.  
  • https://mathigon.org/course/euclidean-geometry/origami  
  • Volume – Want to learn about or review the concept of Volume?  
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z26nb9q/revision/1  
  • Geometry Owl – Art project using polygon shapes.  
  • Geometry Music Video - Make a music video exploring a Geometry concept.  
  • Check out They Might Be Giant’s song Nonagon for inspiration!  https://edpuzzle.com/assignments/5e9a1a3d0be0383e86368a1d/watch 
 
Get Outside! - Grab your pencil, notebook and take science outdoors!   
 
  • Wednesday is Earth Day! Find the Earth Day Menu of Options on the Teams site. Unplug and try to spend all morning outside or even spend the whole day outside! 
  • Symmetry in Nature – Look for signs of Symmetry in nature. Draw or take photos of natural objects you find.  
  • Photo Scavenger Hunt – Grab a camera and the Scavenger Hunt document and go for a walk.  
  • http://annex.exploratorium.edu/geometryplayground/Activities/GeometricShapesChart.pdf  
  • Cube Me! – Head outside and measure the cubic volume of… YOU!  How-to Video will be posted in the Geometry channel.  
  
Word Bank 
Explore the word bank in a variety of ways. See study guide for words and activities.  
 
Ongoing Work  
Students are welcome to continue working on previous weeks’ Study Guides 
Individual Math Lessons – can be scheduled directly with Math Point Teachers  
Drafting History Biography – History Point Teachers will be reaching out directly to students  
Spelling City  
Wordly Wise  
Rosetta Stone 
Joie des Livre: Reading and Activer 
Lit Circle Reading and Bingo  
Odyssey Radio Drama song practice, practice using Soundtrap and rehearsals for Episode 1 (Act 1, Scenes 1-6). 
 
Upcoming Events 
Lit Circle meeting will resume the following week. 
Next week’s study guide theme: The Art of Language 
Biography Drafts Due Friday, April 24 
 
Supplementary Options that are Available:  
  • Rocket Math (*ask your teachers if you are unsure of login information) 
  • Typesy (*ask your teachers if you are unsure of login information) 
 ​
Week 7: April 27- May 1, 2020

Printable Schedule

turquesa_week_of_april_27.docx
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Hello Turquesa families,


This past week was full of fun Geometry explorations and students bursting with creativity. Students had fun exploring lines, triangles, and patterns by creating colorful Geometry Stars and explored Geometric shapes by planning a city layout full of area and perimeter. There were a lot of fun Geometry concepts practiced, and students are welcome to continue exploring these concepts over coming weeks. Here's a lovely example that Nina made to share, as well as the pdf for written instructions and the video that Ms. Alyx made. 
 
This upcoming week will be all about The Art of Words. We are exploring poetry, figurative language, Greek & Latin roots, creative word play, and other writing activities. On Monday we will post a PowerPoint on the types of poetry and will be sharing some of our favorite types of Poetry. We encourage families to find some of their favorite poems and share them with your child this week! On Friday we will have a collective Greek & Latin roots Bingo game and are encouraging students to print out the Greek and Latin roots resources we will post Monday to review this week in order to prepare for the Bingo game Friday.
 
Students have been hard at work choosing and researching their subject for our Ancient Greek biography project. Last week, they began the rough draft writing process and will work on editing this week. Student will also work on writing a short speech based on their subject’s life. These biography projects have been a nice way to connect with your student one-on-one, and that is a much needed piece of school-at-home for both teachers and students! We continue to appreciate the partnership we get from you as parents, and we hope this week feels fun and productive! 
 
All our best,
The Turquesa Teaching Team 
Ms. Jessie, Ms. Alyx, Mr. Shawn, Ms. Nicole
 
 


This Week’s All-Class Events:

Daily Community Gathering (link posted on Turquesa Team in Announcements) at 9:30 follows this schedule: 

Monday: Journaling and Sharing 
Tuesday: Green Team
Wednesday: Class Meeting 
Thursday: Social Justice 
Friday: Lit Circle (and don’t forget Yoga with Ms. Angela at 1pm)


See You There! – Please accept our Calendar invitations in Teams for this week’s lessons!    
  • Types of Poetry
  • Water Words
  • Fancily Finding Figurative Fun (Figurative Language Lesson)
  • Greek & Latin Roots Bingo
  

Watch It and Do It – Word fun at home!
  • Greek and Latin Roots – Check out the Greek and Latin Roots to prepare for Friday’s Bingo game!
  • Lunch Doodles with author Mo Willems – Practice drawing your favorite characters 
    • https://www.kennedy-center.org/mowillems
  • Poetry Collection – Explore poetry, discover new authors and more.
    • https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/children
  • A Light in the Attic - Have fun with Shel and his poetry! 
    • http://www.shelsilverstein.com/
  • Cursive Quotes – Practicing beautiful handwriting by writing beautiful quotes.
  • Snail Mail Pen Pals – It always feels nice to send and receive handwritten letters by classmates. Opt-in (with parents’ permission) to exchange letters with a classmate via “Snail Mail”.
 
Get Outside! - Grab your pencil, notebook and take science outdoors!  
 
  • Nature Poem – Observe something in nature, write a poem about the item, and create a visual to go with it.
  • ABCs of Nature Book – Create a simple ABC book for a baby or toddler of the ABC’s of Nature.
  • Inference Riddles – Can you stump a friend with riddle about a stump (or anything else in nature)?
  • Figurative Language Nature Booklet – Create examples of the types of Figurative Language using nature.
  • Start a Gardening Journal – Start a Gardening Journal for the 2020 Growing season!
 
Word Bank
Explore the word bank in a variety of ways. See study guide for words and activities. 


Ongoing Work 
  • Students are welcome to continue working on previous weeks’ Study Guides
  • Individual Math Lessons – to be scheduled directly with Math Point Teachers 
  • Biography Draft Editing and Speech Writing  
  • Spelling City 
  • Wordly Wise 
  • Rosetta Stone
  • Joie des Livre: Reading and Activer
  • Lit Circle Reading and Bingo 
 
Odyssey Radio Drama Song Recording:
  • 6th Graders: Add vocals to your songs from Episode 1 directly into Soundtrap.
  • 4th-5th Graders: Look for scheduled Calendar appointments
  • Monday: Chorus “Come On & Watch Along With Us”
  • Tuesday: Ithaca People (not Invaders) “We Know They’re Coming Home”
  • Thursday:  Companions “Ithaca”
  • Friday: Companions “More”
 
 
Upcoming Events
Next week’s study guide theme: Measurement and Graphing
Lit Circle meeting on Friday, May 1st: students are reading a book of their choice and looking for Literary Elements on their Literary Bingo card while they read
Biography Editing and Speech Writing 
 
 
Supplementary Options that are Available: 
·       Rocket Math (*ask your teachers if you are unsure of login information)
·       Typesy (*ask your teachers if you are unsure of login information)
 
Week 8: May 4-8, 2020

Printable Schedule:

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Hello Turquesa families,

We hope students were able to have fun this week with our lessons and experiences focused on the magic of language and words. Students wrapped up Poetry Month by exploring different types of poetry and using nature as inspiration for writing their own poems. We ended the week with a fun and lively Greek and Latin Roots Bingo game, which was a fun challenge for everyone.  

Next week, our Study Guide focuses on Measurement and Graphing. Students will learn about a variety of graphs and create their own using original data. Live lessons will include the metric system, types of graphs, and creating charts and graphs using the computer. There will also be posted lessons introducing coordinate planes and Mr. Shawn will be showing everyone how to get creative in the kitchen with measurement practice! 

We are excited to be creating a student newspaper, with teams of students to manage the publication, do the design work, submit original content and much more. More information will be coming your way soon about this new project! 

We will also be reaching to families and scheduling a virtual goal setting meeting. We would love to sit down with you and your child and spend some time checking in, hearing the ups and downs as of lately, and strategize as a team. We want to keep this experience feeling positive and moving in the right direction. Stay tuned for an invitation to schedule one with your child’s point teacher.   

All our best,
The Turquesa Teaching Team 
Ms. Jessie, Ms. Alyx, Mr. Shawn, Ms. Nicole
 
 

This Week’s All-Class Events: 
 
Daily Community Gathering (link posted on Turquesa Team in Announcements) at 9:30 follows this schedule:  
 
Monday: Journaling and Sharing  
Tuesday: Green Team 
Wednesday: Class Meeting  
Thursday: Social Justice  
Friday: Lit Circle (and don’t forget Yoga with Ms. Angela at 1pm) 
 
 
See You There! – Please accept our Calendar invitations in Teams for this week’s lessons!     
  • Welcome to Coordinate Planes Neighborhood 
  • Metric System  
  • Baking Conversion  
  • Types of Graphs  
  • Graphing Data using Computers  
   
Explore It and Do It – Graphing and Measurement Fun at Home!  
  • Coordinate Pictures– Like connect-the-dots, but it is missing the dots! Can you find the missing picture? 
  • Math Snacks “Number Rights” – Animation and game for number lines 
  • https://mathsnacks.com/pearl-diver.html 
  • https://mathsnacks.com/numberrights.html 
  • CODAP Graphing Software – Explore how different ways to graph data tables 
  • https://codap.concord.org/releases/latest/static/dg/en/cert/index.html 
  • Metric Conversion Color By Number Sheet– The answers to these problems lie hidden in the pattern. Can you solve it? 
  • Graph a Polly Poll – Create a Poll in Teams to collect data, then graph the results. 
  • Convert Measurements – All around you are items you can measure. Record measurements of various items then convert them into other measurements using conversion charts. 
  •  Graph Paper-A resource for choosing and printing all kinds of graph paper. 
  •    https://www.printablepaper.net/category/graph 
  •  Scale of the Universe – Explore the scale of everything in the universe. Notice the Metric measurements! 
  •   https://scaleofuniverse.com/ 
 
 
Get Outside! - Grab your pencil, notebook and take graphing and measurement outdoors!  
 

•    Coordinate Challenge – Make a large coordinate plane using chalk or tape. Use coordinate point command cards (posted in Math channel) to challenge yourself to move fast. 
•    Measurement Scavenger Hunt–grab your ruler and tape measurer and head out.  
•    Graphing Nature – Collect up observational data and create a graph to show your finding. 
•    I Spy- Use descriptive adjectives and various lengths to give clues.   For example, “I spy a green plant that is about three inches tall.”  
 
  
Word Bank 
Explore the word bank in a variety of ways. See study guide for words and activities.  
 
 
Ongoing Work  
Unfinished Study Guide work from previous weeks 
Individual Math Lessons – to be scheduled directly with Math Point Teachers  
Biography Final Revisions, Speech Writing and Practice, Costume Design   
Spelling City  
Wordly Wise  
Rosetta Stone 
Joie des Livre: Reading and Activer 
Lit Circle Reading and Bingo  
 
Odyssey Radio Drama Song Recording: 
Episode 2 Recording! Check the Odyssey Teams site for details and schedule information. 
 
 
Upcoming Events 
Next week’s study guide theme: Review Week, no new study guide  
Lit Circle meeting on Friday, May 8: students are reading a book of their choice and looking for Literary Elements on their Literary Bingo card while they read 
Individual Family Goal-Setting Meetings  
Biography Project Finishing Touches and Speech Performances  
 
Supplementary Options that are Available:  

  • Rocket Math (*ask your teachers if you are unsure of login information) 
  • Typesy (*ask your teachers if you are unsure of login information) 
 ​
Week 9: May 11-15, 2020

Printable Schedule

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Hello Turquesa families,

We hope this week’s triumphs and challenges were filled with new learning, memories made to last, and the continual love for the weekend! We had fun diving into measurement and data lessons that explored Coordinate Planes, the prefixes of the Metric System and where it’s found in our everyday lives, baking in the kitchen and learning more about a variety of graphs. However, we know there are always things that your student may have missed or is hoping to go back to, and that’s why we want to pause and have a review week. There will be no new study guide introduced and instead we encourage students to schedule check-ins with teachers and use this time to revisit previous study guides. We want to make sure school at home has a pace that is manageable for everyone and we think a review week will feel like a sigh of relief for many! Ms. Alyx has created a document that spreads out each study guide so students can print each previous week out and see where they may want to dedicate their focus.
 We hope to see you all at the Car Parade Island Project Celebration next Wednesday at 4pm! Our sixth graders are ready to share their hard work with their community! This will be this week’s MCH Connects series and you can also view it live via our MCH Facebook page. 
We will continue to have our regular community gatherings, and on Thursday, May 14 the 6th Graders will be presenting their Island Projects in a live Zoom session with all of the Upper School!
Thank you to the families we have already met with for goal-setting conferences, and if we haven’t yet we will forward to meeting with you soon! Checking in with families has and will continue to be an important part of our school at home model and we appreciate your partnership. We hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and enjoys the sunshine. Happy Mother’s Day! 
 
All our best,
The Turquesa Teaching Team 
Ms. Jessie, Ms. Alyx, Mr. Shawn, Ms. Nicole
 
 

This Week’s All-Class Events:

Daily Community Gathering (link posted on Turquesa Team in Announcements) at 9:30 follows this schedule: 

Monday: Journaling and Sharing 
Tuesday: Green Team
Wednesday: Class Meeting 
Thursday: Social Justice 
Friday: Lit Circle (and don’t forget Yoga with Ms. Angela at 1pm)


See You There! – Please accept our Calendar invitations in Teams for this week’s meetings!
  • Car Parade Celebration for Island Project on Wednesday at 4:00 (see MCH newsletter for details)
  • Island Projects Presentations on Thursday at 11:00 (Zoom invite)
  • Possible Birthday Circles (TBD)
  

Explore It and Do It – Review Week! 


Ongoing Work 
Unfinished Study Guide work from previous weeks
Individual Math Lessons – to be scheduled directly with Math Point Teachers 
Biography Final Revisions, Speech Writing, Costume Design 
Spelling City 
Wordly Wise 
Rosetta Stone
Joie des Livre Reading and Activer
Lit Circle Reading and Bingo 
 
Odyssey Radio Drama Song Recording:
Episode 2 Recording! Check the Odyssey Teams site for details and schedule information.
 
 
Upcoming Events
Next week’s study guide theme: History 
Island Project Car Parade: Wednesday, May 13 at 4pm 
Ancient Greek Biography Project Celebration and Speech Sharing: Tuesday, May 19 at 11 am 
 
Supplementary Options that are Available: 
·       Rocket Math (*ask your teachers if you are unsure of login information)
·       Typesy (*ask your teachers if you are unsure of login information)
 

Week 10: May 18-20, 2020 
Hi Families,  
 
We hope this week’s review week was used to take a breathe, catch up and check in. We got a lot of great feedback about the study guide recordkeeping and we are glad to hear that was a useful tool. Your student should continue to use them to track their progress and manage their task. We’ll have a new one to accompany the study guides each week.  
 
We had a lot of fun, social events this week that brought a lot of wonderful energy to our community. Celebrating our sixth graders with a car parade, reading poems and sharing stories at birthday circles and having a listening party for Episode 1 of our Odyssey radio drama were just some of the highlights!  
 
This week we are jumping back in time again to Ancient Greece and will be taking a look at topics like democracy, philosophy and culture. Students will finish up their biography projects this week and get a closer look at the clothing worn by the Ancient Greeks.  
 
We’ll be meeting together for a shorter amount of time this week and school will be on Monday, Tuesday and our usual half-day Wednesday. Our Memorial Day weekend will be five days and we’ll get back together on Tuesday, May 26. We hope everyone takes the time to relax and rejuvenate!   
 
 
All our best, 
The Turquesa Teaching Team  
Ms. Jessie, Ms. Alyx, Mr. Shawn, Ms. Nicole 
 
 
 
 
This Week’s All-Class Events: 
 
Daily Community Gathering (link posted on Turquesa Team in Announcements) at 9:30 follows this schedule:  
 
Monday: Journaling and Sharing, Greta’s Birthday Circle  
Tuesday: Green Team 
Wednesday: Class Meeting  
 
 
 
See You There! – Please accept our Calendar invitations in Teams for this week’s meetings! 
  • What is Philosophy 
  • Ancient Greece Biography Presentations  
  • Socrates, Plato, Aristotle Video Lesson  
  • The Peloponnesian War 
 
Explore It and Do It –  
  • Democracy in Athens 
  • The Battle of Greek Tragedies 
  • Greek History Quizlet 
  • Ancient Greece Clothing and Paper Dolls 
  • The Met’s collection of Ancient Greek Art 
 
Ongoing Work  
Unfinished Study Guide work from previous weeks 
Individual Math Lessons – to be scheduled directly with Math Point Teachers  
Biography Speech Celebration   
Spelling City  
Wordly Wise  
Rosetta Stone 
Joie des Livre Reading and Activer 
Lit Circle Reading and Bingo  
 
Odyssey Radio Drama Song Recording: 
Episode 3 Recording! Check the Odyssey Teams site for details and schedule information. Download the Episode 3 script by Sunday morning. 
 
 
Upcoming Events 
Next week’s study guide theme: Tree of Life  
Memorial Day 5-Day Weekend  
Ancient Greek Biography Project Celebration and Speech Sharing: Tuesday Afternoon  
Joie Des Livre Friendship Fete on May 29  
 
Supplementary Options that are Available:  
  • Rocket Math (*ask your teachers if you are unsure of login information) 
  • Typesy (*ask your teachers if you are unsure of login information) 
 ​
Week 11: May 26-29, 2020 

Hi Turquesa Families, 
 
Welcome back! We hope you were all able to take the long weekend to rest and spend some quality time offline with each other. We hope that no matter how you spent your time, you were able to find some peaceful moments.  
This week, we are revisiting the natural world and building our lessons around the Tree of Life. From the smallest bacteria to the biggest mammal, students will learn about classification, and choose their own living organism to study more carefully.  
We have kept the online resources to a minimum this week, to help encourage students to spend time choosing the options that get them outside amongst the living things they are studying. Bird walks, up-close sketching of plants and taking journals and books outside are some of our goals this week!  
We hope that spending this week appreciating and engaging with nature will keep us all going with a breath of fresh air and a strong balance between online lessons and engagement with the natural world.  
 
All our best, 
The Turquesa Teaching Team  
Ms. Jessie, Ms. Alyx, Mr. Shawn, Ms. Nicole 
 

 
This Week’s All-Class Events: 
 
Daily Community Gathering (link posted on Turquesa Team in Announcements) at 9:30 follows this schedule:  
 
 
Tuesday: Green Team 
Wednesday: Class Meeting 
Thursday: Social Justice 
Friday: Joie des Livre Friendship Fete   
 
 
 
See You There! – Please accept our Calendar invitations in Teams for this week’s meetings! 
  • The Tree of Life Intro* (2PM Tuesday) 
  • OneZoom Tree of Life P 
  • 1 Small Group lesson with your chosen group (to be schedule with group’s point teacher)* 
  • The Tree of Life End-of-Week Presentation* (2 PM Friday) 
 
Explore It and Do It –  
  • Cellmates – Listen to the first 22 Minutes of this Radiolab Podcast about cells with your family! 
  • From Tree to Shining Tree – Listen with your family to this Radiolab Podcast about how trees communicate, adapt, and survive using fungi! 
  • PBS Nova Evolution Lab 
 
Get Outside – Please see the Study Guide for more details 
  • Color Wheel in Nature 
  • Bird-Watching 
  • Mushroom Hunt 
  • Tree of Life Walk 
Ongoing Work  
Unfinished Study Guide work from previous weeks 
Individual Math Lessons – to be scheduled directly with Math Point Teachers  
 Spelling City  
Wordly Wise  
Rosetta Stone 
Joie des Livre Reading and Activer 
Lit Circle Reading and Bingo  
 
Odyssey Radio Drama Song Recording: 
Episode 3 Recording! Check the Odyssey Teams site for details and schedule information. Download the Episode 3 script by Sunday morning. 
 
Upcoming Events 
Next week’s study guide theme: Geometry 
MCH Connections: Episode 1 & 2 listening party, FB live at 4pm  
 
Supplementary Options that are Available:  
  • Rocket Math (*ask your teachers if you are unsure of login information) 
  • Typesy (*ask your teachers if you are unsure of login information) 
 ​
week 12: june 1-5, 2020
Hi Turquesa Families, 
 
This week’s weather was inspiring for our subject this past week, the Tree of Life! Our goal was to encourage students to explore the natural world using research, real-life experiences in nature and small group lessons. Being teachers at a school that values outdoor education as much as MCH, you can bet that we were excited to share our passion for life science with students! Having small group lessons that kept teachers in close contact with students also felt really positive, and we are hoping for more connections like this as our year wraps up.  
For our social justice lesson this past week, we read aloud the story Old Turtle and the Broken Truth by Douglas Wood. A story that he describes as being about love, acceptance and the nature of truth. Our lessons each week have been focused on looking inside to build a self-identity, using compassion and understanding into difficult conversations, and learning how to question and provoke change when truths feel broken. The book is a wonderful story for families looking to initiate conversations at home surrounding social justice topics.  
Finally, we want to say congratulations to all the cast and crew members who have finished Episode 1 and 2 of our radio production of The Odyssey! It was fun to see the story reach its halfway point, and we are excited to have the production as a whole in just a few weeks' time. We still need your help and support checking in on the recording schedule and making sure it is on your student’s calendar. You can find the schedule here as well as the The Odyssey Channel in Teams. Ms. Nicole is always here to answer questions and clarify schedules if needed, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to her directly. It will be wonderful to have this unique format to commemorate the time we had to think on our feet and work together as a community.  
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!  
 
All our best, 
The Turquesa Teaching Team  
Ms. Jessie, Ms. Alyx, Mr. Shawn, Ms. Nicole 
 

This Week’s All-Class Events: 
 
Game Day! We would love to end the week with a fun afternoon of game play. Join us Friday, June 5 from 1:30-3:00  

 Daily Community Gathering (link posted on Turquesa Team in Announcements) at 9:30 follows this schedule:  
 
Monday: Sharing and Collin’s birthday circle  
Tuesday: Green Team 
Wednesday: Class Meeting 

Thursday: Social Justice 
Friday: Literature Circle, Afternoon Yoga, Game Day! 
 
 
See You There! – Please accept our Calendar invitations in Teams for this week’s meetings! 

*Live Zoom Lesson                P- Posted Lesson 
  • Geometry Word Bank Community PowerPoint P 
  • Lines, Lines, and More Lines! P 
  • Pythagoras’ Theorem* (optional for 4th & 5th Years) 
  • Home, Sweet, Home: Area and Perimeter P 
  • Relationship between Angles * 
 
Explore It and Do It –  
  • Build A Tiny House – A Mini-Project exploring Area and Perimeter will be available to explore in the Geometry Channel. (This can also be an alternative follow-up to the Area and Perimeter lesson) 
  • Geometry Zentangles – Explore lines and angles using… Zentangles! 
  • https://zentangle.com/pages/get-started 
  • Fibonacci Numbers Explained 
  • https://www.ted.com/talks/arthur_benjamin_the_magic_of_fibonacci_numbers?language=en#t-4082 
  • How many ways are there to prove the Pythagorean theorem? – TEDEd lesson 
  • https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-many-ways-are-there-to-prove-the-pythagorean-theorem-betty-fei 
 
Get Outside – Please see the Study Guide for more details 
  • Fibonacci Scavenger Hunt – See where Fibonacci numbers exist in nature 
  • Build Your Own Sundial 
  • https://learning-center.homesciencetools.com/article/how-to-make-a-sundial-science-project/ 
  • Lines and Angles in Nature Exploration – Take photos or draw pictures of lines and angles in nature. Label them with as many terminology as you can! 
Ongoing Work  

  • Unfinished Study Guide work from previous weeks 
  • Individual Math Lessons – to be scheduled directly with Math Point Teachers  
  • Spelling City  
  • Wordly Wise  
  • Rosetta Stone 
  • Joie des Livre Reading and Activer 
  • Lit Circle Reading and Bingo  
 
Odyssey Radio Drama Song Recording: 
Episode 3 Recording! Check the Odyssey Teams site for details and schedule information. Download the Episode 3 script by Sunday morning. 
 
Upcoming Events 

Special MCH Wednesday Connection Series- 4pm
  • A Special Family Concert is coming your way!  Local Musician Jonny Gold is covering classics both past and present for a fun and engaging evening of music for the whole family!  Jonny has performed on stages across America, and is both a parent in our Community as well as Ms. Sarah’s partner.  We are super excited to welcome Jonny to our MCH Connection Series! It will be a livestream through MCH's Facebook page. 
​

Next week’s study guide theme: Begin end-of-year wrap-up   
Friday, June 5 from 1-3 pm game day!   
 
Supplementary Options that are Available:  
  • Rocket Math (*ask your teachers if you are unsure of login information) 
  • Typesy  (*ask your teachers if you are unsure of login information) 
 
week 13: june 8-12, 2020
Hi Turquesa Families, 
 
Our conversations in our community gatherings this week were simultaneously heavy and hopeful. Students used our Social Justice channel to create polls, share artwork and write opinion pieces on the protests happening nationwide. Teachers and students alike were asked to examine their social identities and to expand vocabulary to understand identity groups, intersectionality and bias. There is real work happening, now more than ever, to elevate the voices that have been silenced for too long, and Turquesa students are showing up the conversation with real empathy and willingness to learn and be part of the solution. We hope you’ll join us.  

In our academic world, we finished our last study guide for the year! It’s been a lot of fun putting together activities and lessons and interacting as much as we could with students. We know there were bumps in the road and moments of frustration. We feel appreciative of all of you for hanging in there with us, giving us feedback and supporting your child at home. This has truly been a shared effort, so thank you! We will spend the rest of the year connecting with students one-on-one to help them finish work and collect a record so we can tell their story of School at Home using progress reports. An updated Record Keeping document will be uploaded to Teams . 

Our Upper School virtual Town Hall event will be on Wednesday, June 10 from 4-6 pm. This is a forum for parents to come together to ask any questions they have with regards to reopening our campus. There will also be few different “experts” to join us- a parent that can help moderate a group conversation and a medical professional that can support answering any relevant medical questions. Staff will be there to listen and support. See you there! Have a peaceful weekend, everyone.  
 
All our best, 
The Turquesa Teaching Team  
Ms. Jessie, Ms. Alyx, Mr. Shawn, Ms. Nicole 
 
 
 
This Week’s All-Class Events: 
 
Game Day! We would love to end the week with a fun afternoon of game play. Join us Friday, June 12 1:30-3:00  

 
Daily Community Gathering (link posted on Turquesa Team in Announcements) at 9:30 follows this schedule:  
 
Monday: Sharing and Journaling  
Tuesday: Social Justice  
Wednesday: Class Meeting 

Thursday: Social Justice 
Friday: Literature Circle, Afternoon Yoga, Game Day! 
 
 
See You There!  

* students and teachers will connect this week to create plans for finishing end of year work* 
 
 
Ongoing Work  
Unfinished Study Guide work from previous weeks 

Individual Math Lessons – to be scheduled directly with Math Point Teachers  
 Spelling City  
Wordly Wise  

Rosetta Stone 
Lit Circle Reading and Bingo  

 
Odyssey Radio Drama Song Recording: 
Episode 4 Recording! Check the Odyssey Teams site for details and schedule information. Download the Episode 4 script. 
 
Upcoming Events 
Last Day of School is Wednesday, June 17 
 
Supplementary Options that are Available:  
  • Rocket Math (*ask your teachers if you are unsure of login information) 
  • Typesy (*ask your teachers if you are unsure of login information) 
 
week 14: June 15-19, 2020 
Hi Turquesa Families, 
 
We made it! Through Teams mazes, trying times, hard work and commitment, our community has reached the end of our 2019-2020 school year! It was great to see so many familiar faces at our town hall on Wednesday. We hope it was informative and gave you a clearer picture of next school year and the plans we have for re-opening campus. If you were unable to attend, the meeting notes will be transcribed soon!  
We have scheduled a Student Town Hall for Tuesday, June 16 at 11 am. The entire teaching team will be there to answer questions and discuss plans for the fall. Students can submit questions ahead of time using the form posted in the General Channel. If that seems hard to find, we understand! One of our goals for this summer is to strategize and streamline the way Teams will function for us.  
We will be dismantling the current Turquesa Teams site and putting a special summer Teams up for students to stay connected. Photos of summer activities, book clubs, social justice conversations, and game days are just some of the ideas we have for keeping our community in touch with one another. Please keep an eye out for more information to be sent to you soon.  
As a reminder, second semester progress reports will be published through Transparent Classroom by June 30, 2020, in order to give the teachers a chance to reflect on each student, collect information, and write the narrative pieces for the report. 
We’ve really enjoyed staying connected and involved throughout this whole time and we are so proud of our MCH students and families for coming together like we did. We are amazed at the work and sacrifices we’ve seen, and we can’t wait to see everyone as soon as it’s safe to do so. We hope to continue to stay connected and hear from everyone throughout the summer.  
 
All our best, 
The Turquesa Teaching Team  
Ms. Jessie, Ms. Alyx, Mr. Shawn, Ms. Nicole 
 
 
 
 
This Week’s All-Class Events: 
 
Passion Project Presentations via Zoom: Monday at 10 am 

Student Town Hall and Tribute to 6th years: Tuesday at 11 am  
Final Odyssey Listening Party via Zoom: Wednesday at 11:30 am  
 
Daily Community Gathering (link posted on Turquesa Team in Announcements) at 9:30 follows this schedule:  
 
Monday: Sharing and Morado Passion Projects  
Tuesday: Social Justice  
Wednesday: Virtual "Field Day” Hangout  

 
 
 
 
See You There!  

* students and teachers will continue to connect this week to help manage end of year work* 
 
 
 
Ongoing Work  
Unfinished Study Guide work from previous weeks 

Individual Math Lessons – to be scheduled directly with Math Point Teachers  
 Spelling City  
Wordly Wise  

Rosetta Stone 
Lit Circle Reading and Bingo  

 
 
Upcoming Events 
Look for our summer Teams channel coming soon!  
 
Supplementary Options that are Available:  
  • Rocket Math (*ask your teachers if you are unsure of login information) 
  • Typesy (*ask your teachers if you are unsure of login information) 
 

Montessori Children's House
5003 218th Ave. NE
Redmond, WA 98053
425-868-7805 phone
​425-516-7188 fax
office@mchkids.com 
Founded in 1987 
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  • Home
  • The School
    • What we stand for
    • History
    • Accreditations
    • Awards and Affiliations
    • Faculty & Staff
    • Press
    • Contact
  • Programs
    • Infant/Toddler
    • Early Childhood
    • Kindergarten
    • Elementary
    • Middle School
    • MCH Green Team
    • Enrichment Programs
    • Extended Care
  • Campus
    • Virtual Tours
    • Outdoor Environments >
      • Nature Trail
    • School Growth
  • Admissions
    • Why Montessori?
    • How to Apply
    • Tuition & Fees
    • Campus Tours
    • Virtual Tour of our spaces
  • Open House
  • Current Families
    • Parent Orientation 2022-23
    • Calendars
    • MCH Parent Association
  • Job Opportunities
  • COVID-19 Policy
  • Summer Program 2023