October Newsletter
Quality Interactive Montessori @ Spur Cross
38424 N Spur Cross, Cave Creek, AZ 85331
www.qimontessori.com www.facebook.com/QIMontessori
T: 480-595-5280
Upcoming Events
October 3rd & 4th: NO SCHOOL (Fall
Break)
October 7th: “Art in the Heart”
Dear Parents,
October 13th: Student Art Reception
Can you believe it? It’s already October, and the fall season is in full swing here at QI.
October is an exciting month for QI. On Saturday, October 29th we will be hosting
our annual Fall Festival! There will be a Chili Cook-off, Cake Walk, face painting,
petting zoo, raffle baskets and MUCH MORE! The festival will be held here, at Spur
Cross, and will run from 9 – 11 a.m. Please check with your teachers for specific
information on donating items for raffle baskets, or for signing up for the Chili Cookoff and/or Cake Walk. We look forward to seeing all of our QI families there.
October 19th: Picture Day (Spur Cross
only)
October 25th: Raffle Tickets go on Sale
October 29th: Fall Festival
Parent/Teacher Conferences:
Oct. 10 – 14: Ms. Sigrid
Fall Festival Saturday, Oct. 29th: 9 – 11 a.m. Fall Festival is our biggest fundraiser of the
year. All of the money raised will go back to the classrooms for updated materials and
supplies. Each class has created a theme for their basket. Please see you child’s teacher for
the theme, as well as the sign-up sheet for bringing in items. Raffle Baskets will be displayed
at both Spur Cross and 56th Street. Tickets will be on sale from October 25th – 29th.
$1/ticket or $5/6 tickets. We also need volunteers for the chili cook-off (the winner gets a
prize!), as well as baked goods donations for the Cake Walk.
Fall Break – No School on Monday, October 3rd or Tuesday, October 4th
“Art in the Heart” Fundraiser, Friday, Oct. 7th: 6 – 8 p.m. at QI @ Spur Cross. Help
raise money for our students to complete a mural on a large wall in Cave Creek. Montessori
beliefs align with not only finding beauty in nature, but adding beauty to our surrounding
world through community works. There is a $15 minimum suggested donation per person,
which includes a wine and cheese reception, dinner, and a silent auction.
Art Reception, Thursday, Oct. 13th: The Gallery at El Pedregal (next to the Spotted
Donkey Cantina); 4 – 6 p.m. Our fabulous art teacher Ms. Betty Jo has made it possible
for our Monday students’ art work to be featured at this gallery. The work will be up from
mid-September through December. Only students who attend on Mondays will have
art work posted, as that is when Ms. Betty Jo is at QI.
Picture Day - Wednesday, Oct. 19th is school picture day. We have our school photos
taken by local photographer Jerri Parness. This day is for all students that wish to have their
picture taken and be in the class photo. If it is not your child’s scheduled day, you must
stay until your child is done with pictures and take them home. If your child is scheduled
for Wednesdays, you may drop them off at your regular time and they will be called to have
their picture taken by class. Children will not be allowed on the playground until AFTER
their photo has been taken to ensure that they stay clean!
Oct. 17 – 21: Ms. Vanessa & Ms. Doris
Oct. 24 – 28: Ms. Erika/Ms. Andrea &
Ms. Sarah
Ms. Pam’s Corner
First, a quick thank you to all of you
who attended the percentage night at
Bryan’s BBQ. We were able to raise
$500 that will go toward re-invigorating
our garden and adding supplies. We
really appreciate the great turn out and
school support.
Next, I’d like to invite you to attend our
two art events, in partnership with the
Sonoran Arts League and Hidden in the
Hills. The fundraiser on the 7th will
make it possible for our students to
complete a mural in Cave Creek. The
reception at The Gallery will feature our
students’ art work, and is free to attend!
Finally, be sure to attend our Fall
Festival! It is a great fundraiser for our
school, and a lot of fun for our families.
- Ms. Pam
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October 2016
As you will see from the previous page October is
going to be an extremely busy month. In between
everything else we will look at elections. The children
are going to learn more about their geography, land and
water; choose a topic to vote on, make voter
registration cards and buttons and even go to vote. As
we work our way through the month, and the weather
gets cooler…. hopefully, we will go to work in our
outdoor environment and get our garden under way.
The month will finish out with a Halloween party for
those students who attend on Mondays.
Cooler Weather
We are already seeing a small change in
the weather. The temperatures at our
school are always that little bit colder in
the mornings due to shade so please make
sure that your child has a jacket with
them…. just in case. Thank you.
Fall Festival Gift Basket
Each year at our Fall Festival the
classes raffle off gift baskets to raise
funds for the school. These are
created using donations from us, as
parents, and from local businesses
alike. This year our class theme is
rest and relaxation. It leaves it open
for so much interpretation. How do
you rest? Maybe it is a good book or
a drink or a soak in the bath. Most of
us would enjoy any or all of these. I
personally love to read a book on my
kindle, curled up under a blanket,
and drink a hot cup of English tea.
There are so many ideas. Do you
make something? We would love to
have examples of what you make
(with your tags) included in our
basket.
Items for our basket must be dropped
off by Friday 14 October. Do I have
an artistic parent who would be
willing to take on the role of pulling
this all together for me? If you are,
come and see me, or email me.
Thank you very much.
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Volunteers
This month I am looking for many volunteers as follows:
October 25th: Pumpkin Carving (9:30 – 11:00) – 1 volunteer
October 26th: Pumpkin Carving (9:30 – 11:00) – 1 volunteer
To pull together basket for Fall Festival – 1 volunteer
October 31st: Class Halloween Party (9:00 – 11:00) – 3 volunteers
If you can help on any of these dates, with any of these activities we would be truly grateful. We will also need
pumpkins for carving. Everyone is artistic. If you enjoy carving pumpkins then we would love to have you.
Coming Up…. Postcards!
At the end of last school year I set a challenge to my students and their families:
“Your mission this summer…. should you choose to accept it….
… Is to find a postcard that clearly defines a place that you have visited. It does not have to be an exotic place outside of the
country or even outside of this State or City of Phoenix. Take a trip to a museum and learn about an animal that we have in
this state etc. This collection will be continued with friends and families of students for the next year too. I want the children
to see how exciting sending and receiving postcards can be, and also for others to learn how different the environment/
surroundings can be from one city to the next; one state to the next; one country to the next or even one continent to the next.
Have your child even send a postcard to themselves and it will arrive after they return home. It is still exciting to receive mail.
Pull your extended families in and join us in this collection.”
You may have noticed that the main board in the classroom has a felt continent map on it. The pins have
been ordered and starting in October we will go through the postcards that have already been received, read
them out, talk about where they are from and add a pin to our map to show we have received a card from
that location. I am laminating the cards, punching holes and placing on our geography shelves so that the
students can look at again, and again. As the collection grows these cards will be broken down, by state,
country, continent etc. The more cards, the better. The children will get visuals of the world, plus the
excitement of waiting for the mailman here at school.
Send to:
Ms. Sigrid’s Class
C/o Quality Interactive Montessori
38424 N. Spur Cross Road
Cave Creek, AZ 85331
USA
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Parent/Teacher Conferences
Where has time gone? We have already made it through the first school quarter and it is time for our
first parent/teacher conference of the year. For those of you who are new, a sign-up sheet will be
placed out on top of the daily student sign-in sheet for you to select a 15-minute window to meet with
me. This will not go out until the week before conferences. I will be holding conferences the week of
October 10th. Please be aware that these time slots must be remembered and I must keep to schedule in
order to maintain staffing ratios. If you book a slot and then forget, and do not show up, unless you can
find another slot later that week it will be extremely difficult for me to make-up. As always, if you have
any questions please do not hesitate to email me at [email protected].
Let’s Get Planting
The weather is
opportunity to
garden areas.
on and look at
or vegetable!
finally cooling down and we now have the
extend the children’s learning to our
We are going to get our gardening gloves
where food comes from whether it is animal
To share this experience we would love it if you could
send your child in with an herb that they can plant out
and tend to in our garden/patio area. There is so much
they can learn from these herbs and their senses work on
overtime too from picking up the wonderful smells that
they have. If you have any large garden pots, that have
space for multiple plants, that you are looking to pass
on, we will gladly accept them.
Wooden Spoons
For your child to recognize the herb that they bring in to plant they will also decorate a
wooden spoon. This has been very popular with the children for the last few years, hence it is
also the reason we will be repeating it.
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