February 6, 2026

Dear families, 

Last Friday, some of our grade 3-5 students had the opportunity to participate in ASM Open Day by presenting and leading tours. They were eloquent, confident, and shared specific, meaningful pieces about their Lower School experience - from OPAL to Spanish, field trips, specialist classes, learning support, and fun classroom activities. They led parents on tours, answered questions, and offered thoughtful insights. The parents were so impressed and I was so proud of them! These moments reflect our commitment to developing confident, articulate leaders.

This week, we were fortunate to have Tania Lattanzio, an internationally renowned consultant specializing in inquiry-based learning and conceptual curriculum design on campus. Tania hosted a parent session and worked with teachers and students on our units of inquiry, supporting our continued development of powerful inquiry-based programs that put students at the center of their learning. Her expertise helped deepen our understanding of conceptual teaching and learning across grade levels.

Have a wonderful weekend. I know we are all ready for the rain to go away and the sun to return!

-Ms. Dani

Monthly Character Strength: Perseverance. For the month of February, our character strength focus is perseverance—the ability to keep trying even when something is challenging or doesn't work out the first time. We'll be highlighting perseverance in our classrooms and looking for opportunities to celebrate students who stick with difficult tasks, learn from mistakes, and show determination in their learning. Students who demonstrate this strength will have their names entered into a drawing at our next assembly for a chance to have lunch with Ms. Dani. We invite families to talk with their children at home about developing perseverance in everyday moments.

Parent Information Session

Navigating Daily Life with Nonviolent Communication Wednesday, February 11th from 9:00-10:00 AM

Join us for an interactive workshop with Carol Ruiz, an ASM parent, activist, and facilitator of Nonviolent Communication (NVC). Carol's approach aligns closely with ASM's core philosophy, bridging the gap between principles of nonviolence and the practical realities of modern parenting. This introductory session launches her initiative to share simple, effective strategies for navigating challenging moments with children. When traditional instructions or consequences fall short, NVC skills offer a way to strengthen communication, deepen the parent-child connection, teach values authentically, and support families as they navigate the complexities of a changing world.

We encourage all parents to join us for this insightful morning of learning and community growth. Register here

Upcoming Dates:

• Feb 9 - Makeup school photos

• Feb 11 - Nonviolent Communication Parent session.

• Feb 16-20 - Semana Blanca (no school)

• Feb 25 - Early Release Day

From Tania Lattanzio in the Parent Presentation about Inquiry. 

Here is a powerful clip about inquiry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akk5EvTMGKo

How to promote your children to be inquirers:

• Questioning them: What make you say that? How do you know? Why do you think?

• Valuing their questions: How can we find out?

• Not solving all their problems for them: Asking them how they can solve their own problems. What could you do about this What ideas do you have?

• Following your child’s interest and providing time to do this:

• Getting them books, videos and/or taking them places that they are interested in. Following their passions and interests.

• Giving them time to notice: Letting them take their time to look, question and be curious.

• Putting things in their way: As a way to promote curiosity or taking them places to promote curiosity.

Here is what I said inquiry was:

Inquiry Learning: Rigorous, Complex, Engaging

• exploring, wondering, questioning and being curious

• thinking, reasoning and making meaning

• taking and defending a position

• experimenting and playing with possibilities

• researching and investigating to seek information

• solving problems in a variety of ways

• making and testing theories

• collaborating to socially construct meaning

• collecting data, reporting and communicating findings