Board President’s Welcome Message 2022-2023
Dear MA Families & Friends,
If you are new to our school community – ‘Welcome!’ We are so happy you are here. To our returning families – ‘Welcome Back!’
How wonderful and comforting to begin the school year embracing the normal we have all missed these past couple of years. Never have the words welcome back been so spot-on! For our newer parents who have never had the opportunity to experience the enriching Montessori learning environment from within the classroom, The Journey to Discovery will be hosted in November. This journey is a transformative, hands-on experience for our parents and friends to delight in the entire Montessori curriculum through the eyes of a child. A Montessori education is also enriched by coming together in community. There are many classroom-specific socials and school community events to take part in throughout the year – Outdoor Movie Night, Hallowe’en Boo-ling Party, our Family Gala celebrating Montessori Academy of London’s 55th Anniversary and my personal favourite, our May musical performance. Thank you to our teachers and administration for doing an incredible job each and every day. It is because of YOU fostering a love of learning and nurturing community among us all that makes our school such a wonderful place.
Welcome to our newest staff members, too! In Casa 1, Bethany Payne has transitioned to full-time and Monika Orr-Hanimann has joined Casa 2. Lisette St. Louis is our new Lower Elementary music teacher and Kristine Musgrove will assist in our Upper Elementary/Junior High music and band programs; Dominic Baldinelli joined our maintenance team this past August.
The Board of Governors held its annual retreat in August. We spent a dynamic and productive day further developing the strategic plan that will guide us through the next five years. Thank you to Andrea Dean for facilitating this important work with us. Over the next several weeks we will be finalizing our plan and we look forward to sharing it with you soon. Additionally, our retreat enables us to review the status of our current strategic objectives and develop our annual workplans to facilitate the ongoing work of the Board. At our August Board meeting we had a fulsome discussion regarding the Canada-Wide Early Learning Child Care Program, based on the information available at that time. With a new November 1 deadline and ever-changing criteria and processes, rest assured that the Board will review these revised program policies, guidelines and the formal agreement by the new deadline in order to make the best decision for our school.
Also, our annual report will be shared in early November. Please make a note to take a look through it for a snapshot of the Board’s and school’s activities over the past year, including our financial report for the 2021-2022 school year. It has been my privilege to serve as Board President supported by an amazing group of dedicated and caring volunteer board members. Learn more about our Board of Governors on the school’s website: https://montessori.on.ca/about/board-of-governors/
Although, due to the impacts of the pandemic, we were unable to complete the capital projects planned for this past summer, we are now full-steam ahead with tenders and commitments being secured to complete this work through the summer of 2023. We are grateful that our students were able to return to school and experience new library furnishings and other enhancements made possible through the generosity of our Montessori community! Thank you for your ongoing support through our annual fundraising campaign and events. Because of YOU we are able to make our school even better. Stay tuned for future communications from Tonya Dendrinos, our Development Director, to learn more about how you can support the school.
On behalf of the Board and school, I extend a huge thank you to all for putting your faith and trust in us and Montessori education. Our students shine, our teachers and staff shine, our community shines, our future is bright! Here’s to a brilliant year!
Sincerely,
Suzanne Fratschko Elliott
President, MA Board of Governors