A Note From Our Principal
Fall is in full swing and our students are enjoying the extra outdoor time, nature walks and seasonal curriculum activities. We are planning a few fun fall themed activities for our students this month and are excited to share photos with you all through Links 2 Home (Tadpoles).
Thank you for all keeping our children and staff safe during our current pandemic by keeping students’ home when ill and by following our health and safety policies.
As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
What Does Research Show about Montessori?
As Montessori Administrators and Teachers, we are asked all the time how our students compare to students in other private and public schools or how is the transition from Montessori to more traditional schools upon graduation from Montessori. We often host parent events to discuss curriculum and the importance of the third year in Montessori whether that is at Kindergarten, Third Grade, or Sixth grade. Outcomes for Montessori students that complete those third year cycles are higher than those students that leave prior to those pivotal years.
Since these evenings may occur virtually this year, we want to ensure parents are informed and have opportunities to understand, ask questions, and make informed decisions as you progress through our school.
Research on Montessori education like traditional education is ever evolving. Overtime, what is shown is that students that complete Montessori education PreK-6th are receiving an education that is more than academically based and most likely in areas not covered in traditional programs both public and private. These areas include (not limited to) executive functioning, prioritization of time, innovative thinking, ability to form teams, communicate with peers, and openness to continuous learning. Students in our school begin their journey with us with a foundation in each of these key 20th century skills as early as two and continually refined as they progress from PreK-Sixth grade. Think a moment about when you learned these skill sets if at all. Thank you for choosing Montessori education for your child. Please ensure you ask your teachers during conferences this month, what they are doing to address these equally important pieces on top of academic questions that are the norm discussions. Montessori is about the whole child, not just academics.
If you would like to read more, I have included below, one of many longitudinal research articles that discusses many of these points.
Lillard, A.S. & Else-Quest, N., “Evaluating Montessori Education,” Science 131: 1893-94 (Sept. 29, 2006).
Researchers compared Montessori students with students in other school programs, and found that 5-year-old children who completed the three-year cycle in the Montessori preschool program scored higher on both academic and behavioral tests than the control group. The study also found that 12-year-old Montessori students wrote more sophisticated and creative stories and showed a more highly developed sense of community and social skills than students in other programs.
Sincerely,
Kimberly Brooks
New Spirit Wear Coming Soon
Monday is school spirit/uniform day. Please have your children arrive in school colors or logo wear. Later this month we will be emailing you all with information on how to order our awesome new Montessori Academy themed school spirit wear. Our families and staff have supported each other and stuck together during this crazy time and we can’t wait to share our school pride with our community. Keep an eye on your inbox for more details!
Pumpkin Decorating Contest
Students and teachers are hard at work coming up with ideas to decorate their classroom pumpkins. The pumpkins will be on display during morning drop of from October 26th- 30th and families will have an opportunity to cast their vote for their creations in many categories. We will post which class received the most votes for each category!
Primary Halloween Parties/Costume Parade
Our classrooms will be celebrating Halloween by doing crafts and playing outdoor games with their classmates on October 30th. We know that families and staff typically look forward to class parties because they allow us to be together as a school community and give parents an opportunity to get to know their child’s classmates and parents. We are still not allowed to invite parents into our classrooms for celebrations and will be sharing extra photos with you all on Tadpoles. Thank you for your positivity and flexibility!
Please join us on Oct. 30 for a Primary Halloween parade in our parking lot. Parents that would like to join, please park in the Church parking lot, we will be blocking off our lot for parents to stand and watch/take pictures. Practice social distancing and wear a mask and cheer our classes on for their parade! Please see classroom newsletters for more details.
Elementary Wax Museum
All Parents Invited! We will be sending out zoom links on October 28th,29th, and 30th and hope you will join our virtual wax museum. Students will be working hard on their project-based learning about a historical character. This project will support cross-curricular learning with history, reading (think biographies), writing, creative thinking (they are making a poster presentation), and public speaking. Students will also be directing their learning. They will get out of it as much as they put into it. Finally, they will follow a rubric to determine their personal outcomes.
Important Dates
October 1st- Ms. Kristi Back to School Night at 5:30 pm
October 2nd-Show school spirit! Dress supporting your favorite team/sport.
October 5th—Ms. Maiya AND Ms. Ashley Back to School Night 5pm and 6pm respectively
October 6th—Ms. Aryn Back to School Night at 5:30 pm
October 7th—Ms. Maddie AND Ms. Judy Back to School night both at 6pm
SCHOOL PICTURES: October 7th (Ms. Laura, Ms. Ashley, Ms. Erin, and Ms. Kristi)
October 8th (Ms. Judy, Ms. Aryn, Ms. Maddie, and Ms. Maiya)
October 9th—Drawing for Free Spirit wear at Afternoon Pick up for all those who attended your Back to School Nights
October 22nd-23rd—Virtual Parent teacher conference (please look in your email for registration opportunities on Monday the 5th). NO SCHOOL
October 26th- 30th —Pumpkin decorating contest
October 28th-30th—Wax Museum
October 30th—Halloween celebrations
Ms. Laura October Newsletter
Ms. Ashley October Newsletter
Ms. Erin October Newsletter
Ms. Kristi October Newsletter
Ms. Judy October Newsletter
Ms. Aryn-Ms. Maddie October Newsletter
Ms. Maiya October Newsletter
October 2020
A Note From Our Principal
Fall is in full swing and our students are enjoying the extra outdoor time, nature walks and seasonal curriculum activities. We are planning a few fun fall themed activities for our students this month and are excited to share photos with you all through Links 2 Home (Tadpoles).
Thank you for all keeping our children and staff safe during our current pandemic by keeping students’ home when ill and by following our health and safety policies.
As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
What Does Research Show about Montessori?
As Montessori Administrators and Teachers, we are asked all the time how our students compare to students in other private and public schools or how is the transition from Montessori to more traditional schools upon graduation from Montessori. We often host parent events to discuss curriculum and the importance of the third year in Montessori whether that is at Kindergarten, Third Grade, or Sixth grade. Outcomes for Montessori students that complete those third year cycles are higher than those students that leave prior to those pivotal years.
Since these evenings may occur virtually this year, we want to ensure parents are informed and have opportunities to understand, ask questions, and make informed decisions as you progress through our school.
Research on Montessori education like traditional education is ever evolving. Overtime, what is shown is that students that complete Montessori education PreK-6th are receiving an education that is more than academically based and most likely in areas not covered in traditional programs both public and private. These areas include (not limited to) executive functioning, prioritization of time, innovative thinking, ability to form teams, communicate with peers, and openness to continuous learning. Students in our school begin their journey with us with a foundation in each of these key 20th century skills as early as two and continually refined as they progress from PreK-Sixth grade. Think a moment about when you learned these skill sets if at all. Thank you for choosing Montessori education for your child. Please ensure you ask your teachers during conferences this month, what they are doing to address these equally important pieces on top of academic questions that are the norm discussions. Montessori is about the whole child, not just academics.
If you would like to read more, I have included below, one of many longitudinal research articles that discusses many of these points.
Lillard, A.S. & Else-Quest, N., “Evaluating Montessori Education,” Science 131: 1893-94 (Sept. 29, 2006).
Researchers compared Montessori students with students in other school programs, and found that 5-year-old children who completed the three-year cycle in the Montessori preschool program scored higher on both academic and behavioral tests than the control group. The study also found that 12-year-old Montessori students wrote more sophisticated and creative stories and showed a more highly developed sense of community and social skills than students in other programs.
Sincerely,
Kimberly Brooks
New Spirit Wear Coming Soon
Monday is school spirit/uniform day. Please have your children arrive in school colors or logo wear. Later this month we will be emailing you all with information on how to order our awesome new Montessori Academy themed school spirit wear. Our families and staff have supported each other and stuck together during this crazy time and we can’t wait to share our school pride with our community. Keep an eye on your inbox for more details!
Pumpkin Decorating Contest
Students and teachers are hard at work coming up with ideas to decorate their classroom pumpkins. The pumpkins will be on display during morning drop of from October 26th- 30th and families will have an opportunity to cast their vote for their creations in many categories. We will post which class received the most votes for each category!
Primary Halloween Parties/Costume Parade
Our classrooms will be celebrating Halloween by doing crafts and playing outdoor games with their classmates on October 30th. We know that families and staff typically look forward to class parties because they allow us to be together as a school community and give parents an opportunity to get to know their child’s classmates and parents. We are still not allowed to invite parents into our classrooms for celebrations and will be sharing extra photos with you all on Tadpoles. Thank you for your positivity and flexibility!
Please join us on Oct. 30 for a Primary Halloween parade in our parking lot. Parents that would like to join, please park in the Church parking lot, we will be blocking off our lot for parents to stand and watch/take pictures. Practice social distancing and wear a mask and cheer our classes on for their parade! Please see classroom newsletters for more details.
Elementary Wax Museum
All Parents Invited! We will be sending out zoom links on October 28th,29th, and 30th and hope you will join our virtual wax museum. Students will be working hard on their project-based learning about a historical character. This project will support cross-curricular learning with history, reading (think biographies), writing, creative thinking (they are making a poster presentation), and public speaking. Students will also be directing their learning. They will get out of it as much as they put into it. Finally, they will follow a rubric to determine their personal outcomes.
Important Dates
October 1st- Ms. Kristi Back to School Night at 5:30 pm
October 2nd-Show school spirit! Dress supporting your favorite team/sport.
October 5th—Ms. Maiya AND Ms. Ashley Back to School Night 5pm and 6pm respectively
October 6th—Ms. Aryn Back to School Night at 5:30 pm
October 7th—Ms. Maddie AND Ms. Judy Back to School night both at 6pm
SCHOOL PICTURES: October 7th (Ms. Laura, Ms. Ashley, Ms. Erin, and Ms. Kristi)
October 8th (Ms. Judy, Ms. Aryn, Ms. Maddie, and Ms. Maiya)
October 9th—Drawing for Free Spirit wear at Afternoon Pick up for all those who attended your Back to School Nights
October 22nd-23rd—Virtual Parent teacher conference (please look in your email for registration opportunities on Monday the 5th). NO SCHOOL
October 26th- 30th —Pumpkin decorating contest
October 28th-30th—Wax Museum
October 30th—Halloween celebrations
Ms. Laura October Newsletter
Ms. Ashley October Newsletter
Ms. Erin October Newsletter
Ms. Kristi October Newsletter
Ms. Judy October Newsletter
Ms. Aryn-Ms. Maddie October Newsletter
Ms. Maiya October Newsletter