Six Rivers Montessori
Newsletter
5-2-13
Dear Six Rivers Montessori Families,
Happy May Day! We had great celebrations here at school, dancing around
the maypole and dropping off little gifts around our neighborhood.
Also, we had a great field to NPA to take a walk upon the world on the
giant aeronautical maps. This year's display included Europe, Middle East
and North Africa. The children searched for prominent political and
physical features on the maps and then took a tour from Spain, across the
European continent, crossing the Bosporus into Asia. We went deep down
into the deserts of Saudi Arabia. After learning the story of the tribes
and their consolidation under Islam, we followed their conquest route
north and then west all the way back to Spain. We then said goodbye to
Arny King, NPA History teacher, and thanked him for having us. Thanks Arny
and NPA!!
As you will see in this newsletter, we have hired an Upper Elementary
teacher to start in the Fall. Before you read about our new teacher, I'd
like to recognize our Hiring Committee who worked tirelessly to make this
happen. As a committee we quickly learned that finding a trained
Montessori teacher interested in coming to our isolated area was going to
be a challenging task. We, of course, know what a blessing it is to live
in this area, and how awesome our school is. That's hard to convey in a
job announcement on a website!
There were some points over the past few months where we had no prospects
at all for this position. We kept the faith and kept working at it and
sure enough some interesting applicants came along. Among them, we found
someone who we feel fits in really well with our program.
It took several meetings, two Sundays and a last minute Thursday night of
interviews, a lot of searching, calling references, and staying focused on
the task.
So, a big thank you to our Heroic Hiring Committee - Michael Fratkin,
Debora Jacobsen, Ev Drakoulias, Mica Welch, Garrett Nada, Bridget McBride
and myself.
1. NEW TEACHER!
2. TUITION DUE - MONDAY, MAY 6th
3. PRIZES NEEDED FOR CARNIVAL & FUNDRAISING MEETING
4. SEEKING CRAFT PREPARATION HELP FOR SCHOOL CARNIVAL
5. SCHOOL PLAY ANNOUNCEMENT AND INFORMATION
6. SUNSCREEN
7. ONGOING ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. NEW TEACHER!
We are excited to announce that after an exhaustive search we have hired
an Upper Elementary teacher to start in the Fall.
Rebecca Brown has 8 years of Montessori teaching experience in Colorado
and more recently in New Zealand. She has both an AMI primary and
elementary credential that she received from the Montessori Training
Center of Minnesota. She has a Masters of Education from Loyola University
and a B.A. in Communications and Spanish from Southern Oregon University.
Rebecca also brings to us an extensive background and passion for outdoor
education. She has experience as a raft guide and environmental educator
in Hawaii and Minnesota.
Most importantly, Rebecca is a delightful and warm human being who shares
our vision of education and community. In a letter to us Rebecca wrote:
"If there was only one thing I could tell you about myself it is that I am
community-minded. Together, ambitions soar, confidence cements, strengths
are revealed, and friendships last. We are able to achieve our individual
and collective potential, leading to more harmonious communities."
Further, Rebecca will be arriving with her 10-year old son who will be
joining out 5th year class!
We are delighted to welcome Rebecca and her son into our community. She
will arrive at some point over the summer and we hope to have a welcoming
party of some kind.
If you have any questions about Rebecca or the configuration of our
program for next year feel free to be in touch.
2. TUITION DUE - MONDAY, MAY 6th
Please submit May tuition by Monday, May 6th. If you need alternative
arrangements, please be in contact with me before the due date.
3. PRIZES NEEDED FOR CARNIVAL & FUNDRAISING MEETING
The School Carnival is coming up on Saturday, May 18th noon to 4PM (full
announcement in Ongoing Announcements).
Please help fill our carnival prize box.
The fundraising committee is asking for small items (gently used is fine)
such as; stickers, stamps, pencils, bouncy balls, mini plastic animals,
hot wheels, or anything that might go in a prize chest.
Drop off your items in the box outside the door before or after school.
The next Fundraising Committee Meeting is next Wednesday, 5/8 @ 9AM at the
Country Store.
Thank You,
Hope Morello
Fundraising Committee Chair
4. SEEKING CRAFT PREPARATION HELP FOR OUR SCHOOL CARNIVAL
Can you and your family help cut out felt flowers for the upcoming
CARNIVAL on May 18th?
We are going to have a flower headband and bracelet craft table on the day
of the event.
If interested I will provide you with the felt and templates. You will
need sharp scissors.
Call or email Rachel
rsweiss@suddenlink.net
ph. 616.9079
5. SCHOOL PLAY ANNOUNCEMENT AND INFORMATION
Dear Families,
The students will be presenting a play, "What's The Matter!" on Thursday,
May 23rd @ 6:30PM.
The play has now been cast. And so the work and play begin. Attached, you
will find a PDF document of the script which you can print at home so
children can rehearse and memorize their parts. You can help by running
lines with them from the script. We also need to get a handle on costumes
so we know what we have from family resources and what we need to obtain
from outside sources. There are costume descriptions on the first page of
the script for everyone except the "Molecules". If your child is a
Molecule (Solid, Liquid, or Gas) they need black or navy solid color
leggings/sweatpants and a matching solid (no prints please) Tshirt. Sleeve
length does not matter. If your child has a part other than Molecule,
please check the script for costume needs. We would appreciate all
costume pieces arriving at school no later than May 15th. If you have any
questions or concerns please call Deb @ 845-3211 or Teresa @ 616-5012.
Thank you so much for your support. The children are getting excited to
put on their show!
Take Care,
Teresa
6. SUNSCREEN
Please remember to sunscreen your child on sunny days.
7. ONGOING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Spring Carnival, May 18th - Help Needed
The SRM Fundraising Committee is hosting a Spring Carnival event at the
SRM campus on Saturday, May 18th, 12-4PM. All profits go to SRM.
Volunteers are needed to:
Run game booths
Help with craft booths
Sell food and drinks
Set up and clean up
Make baked goods
Loan folding tables for the event
Donate rubber duckies
If you can volunteer your time or would like to contribute to the carnival
you can email me directly.
Thank You,
Hope Morello
Fundraising Committee Chair
Hopemorel@gmail.com
Interested Families Open House - May 11th
On Saturday, May 11th, from 2:00 - 3:30, we will be hosting an Interested
Families Open House at Six Rivers Montessori. This will be an opportunity
for potential future year families to visit our classroom and grounds, and
to meet some of our staff and parents.
It is a drop-in Open House with no formal presentations.
We are hoping that some of you will be able to attend and be available to
meet with these parents, share with them about our school, and answer
their questions. It would be great if you could let me know beforehand if
you think you can be here so I have a sense of who is coming.
This Open House is for parents only, please do not bring your children.
Education Quote of the week:
"Knowledge divorced from values can only serve to deepen the human
nightmare; a head without a heart is not humanity."
-Former President Bill Clinton speaking at the opening of the National
Holocaust Museum, April 22nd, 1993. The museum turned 20 years old last
week.
There will be no classroom notes this week
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