Classroom News
January 16, 2026
Hello Families,
Here’s the weekly update from the MSBG Adolescent Classroom! Below you’ll find important upcoming dates, followed by highlights from our work together this week.
Mark Your Calendars
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January 19 – Dr. MLK, Jr. Day [no school]
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January 20 – Extracurricular Activities begin again!
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First Week of February (TBD) – My Own Museum presentations during the school day
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February 11 – Winging It! Fundraiser @ Brewing Green (see attachment)
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February 12-13 – Winter Conferences (Forms have gone out. Please return them to the classroom for scheduling.)
In the Classroom
History
This week was all about the Ninja Turtles…
Or the renaissance artists who share names with them. We looked at the lives of four major Renaissance artists and some of their notable works, and discussed the types of things we could see in all of them: themes, styles, influence, etc. We will continue to look into Renaissance and Enlightenment artwork for one more week, before discussing the Reformation.
We also played a team-based Geography challenge, inspired by Carmen Sandiego. It was fun.
Literature
Students should be 50% of the way through their books, working on their plot outlines, and beginning to accomplish the activities in their packet. Ask them about how they like what they are reading! It is quite a spectrum of material in the group: from young adult fantasy to military autobiography.
Science
We have discussed and named all the major bones and bone groups of the human skeleton. This upcoming week, we will finish up with joints and connective tissue, then play a review game. Next week we will start our discussion on muscles.
Writing
We are shifting our focus from the writing of a paper to the presentation of the information found inside the papers. These presentations will be organized for viewing by our Lower Elementary students, and parents of our adolescents will be invited to participate. The My Own Museum pieces will be presented visually on a tri-fold presentation board and will contain an interactive component.
Microeconomy & Fundraising.
A Quality Dozen: The gals have started to lay! The cold snap is keeping them from being prolific producers, but we are seeing some eggs. Within the next week or so, we will be practicing some recipes for pickling and looking at how to sell the product.
Shirts?: Our first prints will be available for sale VERY SOON! We are getting the hang of using the press with large prints, and our limited edition, first-run shirts will be on display at the Mustang Cafe on Wednesday.
Student-Run Extracurricular Activities: We will start the next wave of these activities on January 20, 2026. The forms have gone out to all families this week, and we are seeing a stellar turnout. The students are in the throes of planning for the numbers we have and working out the weekly lessons/activities.
Fundraising Event: Winging It! is officially off the ground. On Wednesday, February 11th, the Adolescent Class will hold an event at Brewing Green/Jack & Do’s, 211 N. Grove St, Bowling Green, Ohio. The Winging It! Form explains it in more detail, but the gist is this:
Participating students will collect pledges from friends, family members, neighbors, etc. to support their journey through the hot sauce gauntlet. The pledges can be simple, flat donation amounts or can be per-level donations. At the event, the participants will see how far they can get through the gauntlet before needing to tap out. Simple!
In addition, the first 15 people to sign up can pay a fee and participate in the gauntlet alongside the adolescents. We just need the Participation Agreement for ALL participants.
That’s it for this week! As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Jeremy or Kayla at middle@montessorischoolbg.org. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Stay tuned for next week’s update, titled: “All Heat, No Chill,” or “Ketchup With Yourself.”
Chaos with Purpose,
Jeremy & Kayla
