Lower School Learning Program - September 11, 2026

Dear Families,

We are wrapping up our first full, five day week. Our classrooms have been busy building routines, co-creating norms and agreements, working through transitions, and diving into investigations in science, math, and writing.

This Wednesday we held our first all-school assembly. We welcomed new students, introduced our monthly character strength of Inclusion, kicked off our OPAL program, celebrated September birthdays, and even had a special visitor, our mascot Roci!

I hope to see many of you at our Open House next Tuesday evening from 6-8pm! It's a chance for our whole school community to come together to learn more about our programs, and to spend time in classrooms meeting teachers and hearing about the year ahead.

Next week also brings our Family Coffee and Connection, hosted by our counselors, assistant principals, and myself. It's another great way to build community across your children's grades and learn more about their developmental stages. Details below.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Ms. Dani

Open House Details -We look forward to hosting you next Tuesday, Sept 15th for our Lower School Open House! 6:00 to 8:00 P.M.

This is an adult only event for all families, Early Childhood through Grade 5. We will begin in the auditorium promptly at 6pm followed by two rounds of grade level presentations in the classrooms for families who have more than one child in different grades. Schedule is below:

6:00pm - Our program starts promptly in the Auditorium. Please arrive a few minutes early
6:20 Parents move to classrooms
- 6:30 - 7:00 - Round 1 in classrooms
- 7:10 - 7:40 - Round 2 in classrooms (same presentation ad Round 1)
- Specials/Spanish teachers will have a table outside the front entryway to meet and connect with families
- Our EC-12 Curriculum Coordinator will be at a table upstairs available for questions about MAP testing, technology and our digital wellness progression.
8:00 P.M. Departure

Presentation Locations

G5 - B210

G4 - B225

G3 - B230

G2 - B231

G1 - B138

EC5 - Individual classrooms

EC34 - Individual classrooms

Specialists/Spanish - Table outside front of Lower School

Learning Support teachers in classrooms

What Else is Coming Up?

Grade-Level Coffee & Connections

Whether you're new to ASM or have been here a long time, each year brings new growth for your child and new families to connect with. To that end, we will host Family Coffee & Connections for each grade level, welcoming families, building connections across the cohort, and discussing Yardsticks, a resource that explains what to expect developmentally at each age level. This event is facilitated by the Lower School Director, Assistant Principals and Counselors. We hope to see you there!

Coffee & Connections will take place on the Middle School Steps, 9:00-10:00 AM. See dates and grade groupings below.

Tuesday, Sept 15th- G4 and G5 Coffee & Connections 9-10 A.M.
Wednesday, Sept 16th- G2 and G3 Coffee & Connections 9-10 A.M.
Thursday, Sept 17th- ECC-G1 Coffee & Connections 9-10 A.M.

Math Competition Sign-Up!

Is your child excited about math and ready for a challenge? We are looking for enthusiastic, hard-working math students to represent our school in upcoming Noetics Learning Math Contest. These contests are designed for students who love problem-solving and want to stretch their mathematical thinking. Please fill out this form if you would like to participate in the contest but will not participate in the Math League ASA. Practice materials will be provided to prepare at home.

Contest date: After school 4:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M.

Grades 2 and 3: Thursday, November 19th
Grades 4 and 5: Thursday, November 12th

*This is for students who are not in the ASA

*Math League will follow a similar model as last year. We will have an after school group (no need to fill out the form) and then any other students who would like to participate will need to fill out the form above. Students will take the test after school on their assigned day. Please feel free to contact Arista Barragan (G4 and G5) aristabarragan@asmadrid.es and Jeff Keller (G2 and G3) jeffreykeller@asmadrid.es with any questions or concerns.

Phone Free Lower School

Friendly reminder: No devices are allowed in the Lower School except school provided laptops or iPads. Lower School students should not bring smartphones, smartwatches, or other connected devices, and this includes ASAs, sports, and other after school campus activities. If a Lower School student does have a smartwatch or a phone for any reason, it should stay in their backpack while on campus. Thank you!

Lost and Found Items

If your child is missing an item, please check the LS Lost and Found to the right of the gym. We will make every effort to return items to children (provided your child's name is in their clothing). If there isn’t a name, the item will be in our Lost and Found until the end of each month. At that time, we will donate unclaimed items.

Requesting Loose Parts!

If you would like to contribute to our Loose Parts Donation, please feel free to drop off your items anytime.

You can leave your donations at the main entrance of the school, on the left-hand side, inside or next to the wooden box. If you have any questions, please feel free to email mariocrespo@asmadrid.es

Thank you so much for your support and generosity!

The OPAL Team

OPAL Student Council

Roci, our mascot, joins our LS Assembly to lead the Lancer Way Cheer

Student visual on our September character trait of Inclusion

September Birthdays

Reviewing the concept of inclusion

Our own student beatbox!

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