SWIMS December Newsletter
School Bulletin Board
Thank you for completing your student’s re-enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year. Please contact bruce@soaringings.org with questions about tuition. Enrollment is now open to outside students. If you have not yet done so, classes are nearly full, so please turn in your re-enrollment form and commitment fee right away!
In December our school transforms into the “Soaring Wings School of the Performing Arts” with music, singing, dancing and theater work coming from every class. All of this culminates in our annual Winter Celebration on December 15th at 11:00am at the Park City Community Church. Our theater unit evolved from backyard plays to full pageants over the 21 years our school occupied the Park City Education Center and the Jim Santy Auditorium was our own – most of the time. Moving into our own building was a dream come true, but our productions have scaled back with the major one in December now at the Park City Community Church. Ideas begin forming in September, scripts are being written through October and by mid-November we are entering into rehearsals at every level. Not many schools still do an all-school play, but we have so much fun and see the children gaining such confidence and independence that we look forward to this every year.
Between rehearsals the children are working on their lessons as well as creating gifts, enjoying songs, stories and foods of the holiday season. There are celebrations of Diwali, Hanukkah and Las Posadas as well as small, special holiday parties in each class. Students will present gifts to friends of the school such as the Sheriff’s Department, Mayor Nan, Carolina who keeps our school clean, and Augustine who delivers lunch every day.
We thank you in advance for help with costumes, sets, props and we look forward to seeing you at the play on the 15th!
Mark Your Calendar
December
1st … Deadline for enrollment for continuing students and siblings.
4th…Summer School enrollment opens for continuing students. You will receive a Summer School enrollment link once your 2024-2025 enrollment is confirmed. Summer School is 10 weeks, Monday – Thursdays only with limited availability and open only to continuing students.
4th…Happy Birthday, Leah!
5th, 6th, 12th & 13th…DV/SWIMS Ski School! If you have registered your student for ski school at Deer Valley, please plan to pick them up at school at 12:30. They will have had lunch and be ready to go for their 1:00pm lesson.
8th… Gift exchange deadline for ec, elementary and ms classes. See class emails for details. (Infants and toddlers do not participate in a gift exchange.)
8th-13th…Class holiday celebrations. Teachers set aside class time for a simple celebration of one another’s company and possibly a special snack or story. See class emails for details. Ec, elementary and ms hold their gift exchanges during this time.
11th… Angel Tree deadline! Please choose an angel or two from the tree in our lobby or from the one at the Summit County Library and return the new items, unwrapped to the tree by Monday, the 11th. If you’d like to help with transporting donations to Peace House, let Leah know at leah@soaringwings.org.
14th… Winter Celebration Rehearsal at Park City Community Church!
- Infants will enjoy a normal schedule at school on this day,
- Toddlers will be transported back to school at 11:00am for lunch and naps. Please let us know if you can help with this process. If you cannot, be sure to install you child’s car seat on the school bus at the church when you drop off in the morning.
- Early childhood students will have lunch at the church and return to school afterward. If you cannot help transport your child back to school, and if you prefer your child use a car seat for the ride to school on the school bus, please leave the car seat labelled with your child’s name at the front doors to the church. Car seats are optional on the school bus for children 3 years and up.
7:45am – Those enrolled in Breakfast Club are welcome to arrive at front doors of the church (immediately west of PC Gardens Nursery on Bear Hollow Drive).
8:30 – 9:00am – Early childhood, elementary, middle and high school students report to the front doors of the church (immediately west of PC Gardens Nursery on Bear Hollow Drive).
2:45 – 3:00pm – Pick up for elementary, ms and hs students at the front doors of the church.
2:30 – 3:00pm – Infants, toddlers and early childhood students will be picked up at school as usual.
We will need help transporting students back to school on this day – toddlers at 11:00 and ec students at 12:30pm. Please talk to any teacher or reply to duna@soaringwings.org if you can help.
15th… Winter Celebration!!!
8:30 – 9:00am – Early childhood, elementary, middle and high school students report to the PC Community Church in costume for dress rehearsal.
10:30-10:45am – Infants and toddlers report to the front doors of PC Community Church in costume.
11:00am SWIMS presents “The Winter Wonder Magical Snowflake Snow Pirate Carnival Quest”
Parking and seating are limited. We ask that you carpool and restrict guests to 4/student.
Students dismiss immediately after the play at approximately 12:00pm. There is no school on this day.
It takes a true community to make a project like this happen. If your child decides to enjoy the play from your lap rather than onstage, this is perfectly understandable. The shrinking violet of today is often the shining star of tomorrow. The growth in confidence, concentration, memorization, coordination and contributing to something larger than ourselves is remarkable. Thank you in advance for help with costumes, decor and shuttling students where they need to be. We couldn’t do this without you!
18th – January 1st…Have a warm and wonderful Winter Break!
January
1st…Happy New Year!
2nd… School resumes.
15th… No School, MLK, Jr. Day
Happy Birthday to Shayna!
26th…Half Day. SWIMS faculty hosts and attends the 21st Annual Conference of the Utah Montessori Council!
Lower School - Infant, Toddler and Early Childhood
Infant & Toddler Impressions – News from the El Nido, Bumblebees, Chickadees, Sunflowers & Tadpoles Classes
The last few weeks of the calendar year are full of excitement – rehearsals, celebrations, decorations, special foods and making, wrapping and giving gifts. At the infant and toddler level we keep things simple and at the child’s pace. Children take part in making decorations for their classrooms for our Winter Holidays curriculum unit including Diwali, Las Posadas, Hanukkah and Christmas. Each classroom has its own tree to decorate. And there is a song, story and food associated with each celebration.
We recommend keeping a normal routine for your infants and toddlers during the holidays. It’s okay to decline a few party invitations, consider how many house guests are necessary and put some of those sweets people keep giving you in the freezer. Make sure your child’s “bath- book-bed” routine happens at the same time each evening, even when traveling. Keep gifts simple and few so the holidays are not about material things, but about enjoying time with family. Keeping the holidays at your child’s pace may make it more fun for everyone!
Every Day in Early Childhood – Events in the Bluebirds, Ladybugs and Turquoise Classes
There are quiet work periods every morning and afternoon in early childhood classes. Students are getting more and more accomplished at academic tasks, like sorting out the physical components of the trinomial equation – blindfolded! The ec curriculum is designed for 3- to 6-year-olds, and when students progress at their own pace the “kindergarten” curriculum of traditional schools has often been far surpassed by the time the student is into their 2nd year of the ec program. The 3-year-olds are often doing kindergarten-level work while the 4- and 5-year-olds are moving on into 1st and 2nd grade level work at their own unique pace.
And at the same time, classrooms have become workshops for holiday decorations, gifts, songs, choreography, sets and props for the Winter Celebration play. We weave in the colors, tastes and traditions of our Winter Holidays curriculum unit including Diwali, Las Posadas and Hanukkah. Children take ownership of all of this as they master each task.
We recommend letting your students take ownership this holiday season. Involve them in the cooking, crafting and gift giving of the season. Allow them to maintain a consistent routine with “bath-book-bed” at the same time each night, even when traveling. Decline a few party invitations, rethink house guests and put some of those sweets people keep giving you in the freezer so your child will enjoy a child-paced routine that includes just enough of the holiday hoopla and not too much. Choose just one gift per child rather than a pile of gifts so the emphasis is not on the things, but on the people with whom they’re spending holiday time. Slowing down and celebrating at the pace of your youngest child may make the season more fun for everyone!
Upper School - Elementary, Middle and High School
Elements of Elementary & Middle School – News from the Wasatch & Evergreen Classes
The beauty of a Montessori classroom is that students can choose from a wide range of activities. One student may be practicing math while another is completing a science report and painting an illustration to go with it.
While keeping up with their academic studies, Wasatch Elementary Class got right to work on the play for our Winter Celebration and choreographed their dance, chose their costumes and are practicing as property masters.
Evergreen Middle School Class wrote several scripts from which the Winter Celebration play, “The Winter Wonder Magical Snowflake Snow Pirate Carnival Quest” was created. They are at work memorizing lines, practicing acting and creating sets. At the same time they have opened their online shop, Wild Pine Designs, and are stocking their shelves with merchandise for their winter sales.
Our first Bridgemont High School student is rocking this very rigorous and demanding program, having made high scores on her first set of tests. She works with students from around the world and an array of talented teachers online while staying involved with her friends and school events at SWIMS. The class is planning a field trip to the Cayman Islands in the spring. The world is your classroom at Bridgemont.
There’s lots going on upstairs these last few weeks of the year. We can’t wait to show you our play on December 15th – conceived, written and produced by students!
Soaring Wings Parent/Teacher/Student Organization
Grandma Frances, 97, at home with her son in northern Arizona, says “ahe’hee” – “thank you” for the contributions we sent through our SWPTSO Rainbow Giveaway toward keeping her warm and healthy this winter. When asked what she does at home she replies, “I raise sheep and grandchildren.” When asked what she works on through the winter she says, “Staying warm.” We love that her daughter thought to send us this picture of the view of the backyard. Evergreen Class is planning a trip to visit her and find out about raising sheep – and maybe grandchildren! Yah-aht-ey, SWIMS Families. It is good.