December 2020 Newsletter – Montessori Academy

A Note From Our Principal

We hope that you all had a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving with loved ones.

I would like to acknowledge the contribution of staff, parents and students to Montessori Academy in 2020.

Walt Disney once said, “You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful ideas in the world, but it requires people to make the dream a reality”. This is certainly the case as a principal. The reality is that the learning experiences and projects that have taken place this year could not have happened without a great deal of commitment and support from the staff, parents and students.

This year, as a school we opened with a commitment to in person learning. To providing a rich and robust curriculum factoring in the break in learning when we were asked to close in April and May. To continue to reach our students in personal and creative ways and support their personal interests when we can do so. The staff is to be applauded for the way in which they have embraced the rewards and challenges of our curriculum/educational setting and implemented it with positivity and enthusiasm. I am privileged to be a part of a school with highly capable and committed teachers and support staff. One of the critical factors of any successful school is the staff. There has never been a time when being a teacher has been more demanding or challenging. To our teachers and support staff, thank-you for your energy, passion and enthusiasm. What a privilege to be able to witness the joy that comes with the understanding or satisfaction of a problem solved, or the wonder of living new adventures.

Our teachers are privileged each day to participate in their student’s academic journey. They recognize and applaud just how hard their students try. They celebrate their students’ achievements whether they be great or small and they share with pride the progress their students make with their learning.

When I reflect on my time as principal of what I consider to be an awesome school, I have many fond memories. The road has had bumps and many challenges along the way. The rewards have far outweighed the challenges. All the experiences of this year have contributed in some way to ensuring we offer our students the best education. I believe we have a unique place for students to learn through loving and living. Thank-you to all our Montessori Academy families who continue to promote Montessori Academy in a positive manner.

Merry Christmas to all and have a safe, happy and holy holiday season.

Warmly,

Kim

School Closure Reminders

As a reminder, we do not always follow the closure schedule of the local public schools. Our goal is to be open as many days as possible to support our working parents. If we must close for any reason, you will receive a notification via Links 2 Home/Tadpoles as soon as the closure is announced. We also post notifications on our website.

Winter Clothing Reminder

If you’ve not already done so, please ensure your children have an extra set of weather appropriate clothes. Students also need to come to school each day with a jacket and dressed warmly enough to play outside for part of the day. We want everyone to be able to participate!

Health Policy Reminder: As our temperatures drop please support your students as they dress to wear winter appropriate clothing. The temperature in which someone develops frostbite or hypothermia differs based on many personal factors. Students that enjoy wearing shorts/skirts/dresses year-round are encouraged to wear sport leggings or tights underneath to keep the entire body covered. Our students are outside daily especially now to get fresh air, physical activity, and take mask breaks.

Holiday Closures

Our school is closed December 21st’ thru January 1st for Winter Break. Please note that December 18th is a half day, with school ending at 12:30 pm.

Winter Break Camp

We will be holding Winter Break Camp December 21st -22nd and 28th – 31st. Registration has closed however, if you need care, we are happy to put you on our waiting list.

Classroom Holiday Celebrations—Varies depends on classroom

We will miss having parents attend this year’s holiday celebrations! Each classroom will offer classroom specific celebrations for your children and on some level allow you a glimpse on what this will look like. This may be arts and crafts, recorded holiday songs, or Zoom in options. Please review the classroom specific newsletter for this piece.

Please stop by the patio on the morning December 18th and enjoy some hot cider and a grab snack for parents from the Administration! We would love to see you and chat for a few moments if you have time.

Holiday Giving Project

Book it Forward! Idaho, a joint initiative of Idaho Voices for Children and The Cabin, is dedicated to increasing access to books for children. They collect new and gently used books and get them to kids who have little to no access to books at home.

Kids are learning to read up through third grade, and after that, they are reading to learn. Reading proficiently at the end of third grade is the single most important factor for success in school and in life. Having too few books for kids in low-income homes, is a barrier to developing their reading proficiency.

Please help us support them by dropping off new and gently used books for all ages! We have a drop off can in our foyer.

Thanks to those that participated in our online book fair which will support us in purchasing new books for them and our library.

Love Our School? Review Us!

In today’s connected world, many families turn to online reviews to learn more about the reputation of schools. Just a reminder that you can find our school on Facebook, Google, Yelp and other online directories. We’d love more families like yours, so please consider spreading the word about our school.