🐠 Field Trip Fun

Our field trip to the aquarium was a great success! The children enjoyed spotting many fish from Australia and were especially excited about the touch tank. Petting the starfish was a favorite activity for many, and everyone had a wonderful time exploring.

🚒 Safety Week

Safety Week was also a big hit. The students participated in several emergency preparedness drills and approached them with enthusiasm. The "person on fire" drill was especially memorable, with students practicing stop, drop, and roll (including rolling down the hill!). The earthquake drill was another favorite. At one point, they managed to fit five children under a single table! 

🐸 In the Classroom

We are currently learning about different classes of animals and how they have adapted to their environments. This week, we are focusing on amphibians and exploring their unique characteristics.

On Monday, the class will learn about Día de los Muertos and make sugar skulls as part of our cultural studies.

Our garden has also been thriving with all the recent rain. The children have been excited to see some of the seeds already beginning to sprout.

🌏 Continent Study

Hopefully everyone is making good progress on the Continent Study! If you haven't already, please sign up for a presentation slot that you will be able to attend with your child.

Lisa also sent out the sign-up for the Museum Walk and Luncheon, which will be held on Friday, November 20 at 11:30 a.m. Please sign up to bring an Australian-themed dish for the potluck lunch.

For our first-year families, this is always a special event. The students display their poster boards and 3D models throughout the room, and families have the opportunity to walk from exhibit to exhibit, hear brief presentations from each child, and celebrate everyone's hard work together over lunch.

For first-year parents who are feeling a little overwhelmed by the Continent Study or would simply like additional guidance, Lisa is open to hosting a Zoom session to answer questions and offer support. If you're interested, please let Lisa know.

☎️ Parent Contact List

With all the interest in landlines and tin-can telephones lately, one parent suggested adding landline numbers to our class contact list so children can call their friends.

I've reopened the Google Sheet and added a column for landline numbers. The updated sheet is attached to the email. If you would like your family's landline number included, please add it to the sheet.

School-wide Reminders

• Book fair starts this week. Create your eWallet for cash-free shopping and start exploring the books: https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/villamontessori
• Veteran's Day is November 11 and the school is closed.
• Ruby Bridges Walk: Save the Date for our annual Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day, which will take place this year on Friday, November 13, 2026. All Villa families are invited! The PTO provides bagels, hot chocolate, and coffee. 

Important Dates:

• November 2 - Picture Day Makeups
• November 2-6 - Scholastic Book Fair!
• November 9 - Picture Day Makeups
• November 11 - All School Closed for Veterans Day
• November 13 - Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day
• November 17 - Mendocino Farms Dine Out
• November 19 - Intro to E2 Night
• November 20 - Lisa's class Museum Walk and Potluck Lunch
• November 25, 26 & 27- All School Closed for Thanksgiving
• December 4 - All-School Half-Day
• December 5 - PTO Movie Night
• December 21-23 - All school closed except for Infants and All-Day Contracts
• December 24-25 - All school closed
• December 28-30 - All school closed except for Infants and All-Day Contracts
• December 31-January 1 - All School Closed

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• October 27 - Family Engagement Session at 5:30pm
• October 28 - Lisa Class Field Trip
• October 29 - Dine out at Peter Piper Pizza
• November 2 - Picture Day Makeups
• November 2-6 - Scholastic Book Fair!
• November 9 - Picture Day Makeups
• November 11 - All School Closed for Veterans Day
• November 13 - Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day
• November 17 - Mendocino Farms Dine Out
• November 19 - Intro to E2 Night
• November 25, 26 & 27- All School Closed for Thanksgiving

 

Reminder and thanks to Reed Johnson for picking up pizza this week, and to Katie Leduc for doing the class laundry this week and next week! Thanks in advance to Brie Smith for picking up pizza next week, Oct. 9. (I'll be in Europe next week so there will be no class email!)

 

Continent Study

• This semester, the kids will be studying the continent of Australia. They are picking topics a little differently this time - the kids have already given their top choices, and packets will go home on Friday.

• On last week's International Day of Peace, the students gathered to dedicate the new Peace Pole and Lisa wanted you to know how proud she was of the children. They did a perfect job signing 'Light a Candle for Peace.'

• Our first field trip of the year is coming up on October 28. Permission slips will go home about a week beforehand. The kids will be going to SEA LIFE Arizona Aquarium in Tempe.

• On Monday, the class had their first Bridges & Perspectives Peace Program this Monday. A big thank‑you to Nicole (Scout’s mom) for taking the lead on that.

• Goal‑Setting Conferences and Child as Teacher are officially wrapped up. Lisa shared how much fun it was watching the kids give lessons with such confidence.

 

Just a few notes for this week! Thanks to last week's laundry helper Katie Leduc, and last week's pizza pick-up volunteer Natalie Simon. Reminder that there is no Pizza Friday for the rest of the month because of Friday half-days.

 

You’ll notice a new Volunteer Information menu on the website. We’re specifically looking for Garden Volunteers and Social Coordinators. And don’t forget—fingerprint clearance cards are due September 21.

 

 

The contact list will be attached to the email and removed from the website. It will remain open for families to add their information until Friday. After that, editing will close and the document will be view‑only.

 

If you haven’t signed up yet, please do so here

 

The class is trying out a new computer program for spelling. The spelling list itself hasn’t changed, but it’s now in a new Google‑based format created specifically for the class. Lisa asks for everyone’s patience as she works through any small bugs that come with new tools. 

 

• There will be a Villa Parents Happy Hour on Thursday, 9/17 from 4-7pm at Hearsay. This is a great chance to meet other Villa families and expand your Villa community. This event is for 21+ only. See the Villa Voice for more info. 
• This year’s Trunk or Treat is scheduled for Saturday, October 24. Want to volunteer? Check the options out here

 

• September 7 - All School Closed for Labor Day
• September 11 - All School Half-Day
• September 13 - Diamondbacks vs Texas Rangers - Discounted Tickets
• September 17 - Villa Parent Happy Hour at Hearsay from 4-7pm
• September 18 - Half-Day for Primary, E1, and E2 for Conferences (does not include infants, toddlers, middle school, and Circle)
• September 25 - Half-Day for Primary, E1, and E2 for Conferences (does not include infants, toddlers, middle school, and Circle)
• September 30 - Dine Out at The Vig Ends at 10pm
• October 6 - Vision and Hearing Screening
• October 12-16 - School Closed for Fall Break 
• October 20 - Picture Day (E1 and E2)
• October 23 - All School Half-Day, early release at 11:30
• October 24 - Trunk or Treat!
• October 27 - Family Engagement Session at 5:30pm
• October 29 - Dine out at Peter Piper Pizza

 

 

Classroom Learning 

The kids wrapped up another great week in the classroom. The class finished the first two 'great lessons' - exploring how life first came to Earth, and have now begun studying the Coming of Man. With most beginning‑of‑year assessments complete, the class will transition into their regular year‑long work cycle this week.

 

Fingerprint Clearance Cards

Thank you to all parents who have already submitted their cards. If you haven’t yet, please send yours in when you can. Your proactive support makes planning much easier.

 

Pizza Friday

Everything continues to run smoothly. Thank you to everyone who signed up for pizza pickup. Extra thanks to our pizza shopping chaperones.

 

Sign Ups

Please check our Sign Up page for Conferences, Laundry Helper, and Pizza Pickup.

 

Opt-In Class Contact List

If you plan to join, please sign up now.

 

Class Get-Together

We’d love to organize a class gathering. If one or two parents are willing to coordinate, please let us know.

 

School-Wide Reminders

PTO Back-to-School Luncheon for Teachers

The PTO is hosting lunch for our teachers on Monday, August 31st. This event is made possible by donations and help from our Villa families. Signups to help can be found here. Elementary: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B084FA5A929A1FF2-65172814-202627#/

 

• Monday Classes: September 14th
• Tuesday Classes: September 8th
• Wednesday Classes: September 9th
• Thursday Classes: September 10th
• Friday Classes: No classes will be held in September due to Half Days; Friday classes will start on October 3rd.
• Sports of All Sorts: Starts next week! 

 

Important Dates to Mark on Your Calendar:

• August 31 - Diamondbacks vs Phillies - Discounted Tickets
• September 7 - All School Closed for Labor Day
• September 11 - All School Half-Day
• September 13 - Diamondbacks vs Texas Rangers - Discounted Tickets
• September 18 - Half-Day for Primary, E1, and E2 for Conferences (does not include infants, toddlers, middle school, and Circle)
• September 25 - Half-Day for Primary, E1, and E2 for Conferences (does not include infants, toddlers, middle school, and Circle)
• September 30 - Dine Out at The Vig Ends at 10pm

 

 

Hi everyone,

We made it through the first week of school! Be sure to read Margo’s Villa Voice sent on Friday — it includes several important updates.

• Parent Orientation
  • If you weren’t able to attend Parent Orientation, the attached PowerPoint slides Lisa prepared are included for you. They cover key reminders, procedures, and helpful information, so please take a moment to review them.

• Pizza Friday:
  • Just a reminder that it does not begin until August 21. However, if your child will participate this year, please go ahead and send payment to Lisa via Venmo. Her payment information is included in the attached slides.
  • The Pizza Pick-up Sign Up has also been sent out for those who’d like to help with weekly pickup.

• Volunteer:
  • Please submit your volunteer paperwork to the office as soon as possible so Lisa can begin planning for field trips. More details are in the slides.

• Parent Contact Sheet
  • I’ve created a Google doc for our opt-in class contact list. This is a great way to find/share info for meet-ups, birthday parties, etc. Please know this is completely optional. 
  • Need to find someone from a different class? Did you know you can contact other families via the Villa app? Look for the plus button at the bottom of the screen within the chat window. Then search for the name of the person you’d like to contact. They’ll receive a message just like a text. It’s great way to find friends from other classes or reach out to teachers.