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Montessori Buzz – April 28, 2020

A message from Tina Sartori, our Executive Director

Dear MA Families,

“How are you doing?” 

This common greeting has taken on a whole new meaning over these last several weeks and no longer seems to be a question that is swiftly answered. It depends not only who is asking, but also how vulnerable are you willing to be?  Personally, I am finding that the answer to this question can fluctuate not only from morning to afternoon, but literally by the hour. Recognizing that each of us are living our own experience, that is constantly shifting with the numerous variables coming at us, is no easy task. 

But guess what? You are doing it. I want to acknowledge the very difficult work every one of you, our children included, are doing every single day in every element of our lives. It looks and feels different for everyone, but you are doing it. We may be great at some things and terrible at others and that is ok. We are doing what we need to in order to get to tomorrow and what works for each of our families. 

So much of what we are dealing with is also happening while being constantly surrounded by uncertainty and sometimes confusion. As the school learns more details, we process them, analyze and share the impacts with you. I can share what we do know, but can’t surmise about the future – even if that future is only weeks away. 

We are aware of the recent announcement that public schools will be closed until May 29 and we will also follow this directive. This also means that our Finance Committee will meet in the coming days to review what options we have for providing refunds for the month May, while being fiscally responsible. We will take into consideration all of our students, beyond what has already been determined by the government for specific age groups as noted below. 

For our Toddler families, in April you received a 75% refund for 20 days, which was more than the regulatory order that mandated we provide you with 100% for 14 days. Moving into May, this 100% refund is directed by the “Emergency Order” that is currently in place until May 6. There was confusion surrounding the date of the “Declaration of Emergency” that ends May 12 versus the Emergency Order that ends May 6. The Emergency Order is a directive that falls under the Declaration of Emergency. We expect the Emergency Order to be extended and, if so, will continue to follow the 100% refund for these affected age groups. These refunds will be issued once this timeline is clear. 

For our first-year Casa families in this same situation, with your May refund, you will also receive the additional funds to meet the 100% refund for the 14 days from April, versus the 50% for 20 days you received. These refunds will also be issued when a timeline is clear. 

We are constantly plugging into numerous resources to stay as well informed as possible and will continue to share information when available. Until then, I leave you with a thought I contemplate everyday now, that was shared with me by Cathy Steen, who is one of our Casa teachers: “Each day we get through, is one step closer to the end.” 

Take care in your steps and take care of each other. 

Be well, 

Tina Sartori, Executive Director 

FYI: Social Media Comments Policy

We appreciate our families’ support of our social media channels as both a mode of communicating with families and promoting the benefits of Montessori to the public. Because we are using our social media accounts more regularly to communicate with both parents and the wider community, we have established a policy regarding commenting on MA’s social media posts. 

Two key points:

  • We reserve the right to remove any comments that do not reflect our commenting policy or our core values. 
  • If anyone has specific concerns or questions about the school’s operations and its governance, we invite them to contact the school directly via email or phone.

FYI: The policy/document resides in the MA Policies Resource Board on the Parent Portal, and on the website under the Our Families/Forms & Policies section. 

As always, thanks very much for your ongoing support of our school community – both online and off! 

#MAofLondonAtHome

Cameron upped the ante on his Phys Ed class’s “activity wheel” lesson. The idea is to create a wheel with various exercises, spin the wheel and do the activity the needle lands on. See how he re-invents the “wheel” in this Instagram video: https://www.instagram.com/p/B_P6yNAH3Iq/

Checkout more photos from the past week in our social media feeds using the hashtag: #MAofLondonAtHome

Show us your MA Spirit!

Wearing T-shirts and sweats all the time? Same here. Send us photos of you wearing your MA Gym Wear and Spirit Wear! 

Parent resources

In case you missed it on social media: Our friends at Montessori Jewish Day School shared the following article recently with CCMA schools… These are trying times. And it’s not just the cooped-up kids who are losing their cool. Here is a great article from the Child Mind Institute for parents who might be struggling with managing their own emotions during quarantine: 

Coronavirus Parenting: Managing Anger and Frustration

The Child Mind Institute has a LOT of fantastic content to support both children and parents – in general and about supporting families through trauma/Coronavirus — so you may want to give them a follow on their social media feeds or bookmark their website:

There are more articles of interest and other links to resources in the Learning At Home Resource Board on the Parent Portal, including:

From the community

Meals on Wheels – Letters for seniors 

Thank you to the parents and teachers who highlighted this very sweet initiative. Meals on Wheels London is gathering electronic greetings to send to the seniors they serve to help ease the stress of physical distancing. See details:

Western U Engineering K-8 STEM resources

Western Engineering is offering supplemental programming to support STEM learning among students from K-Grade 8… 

Engineering brings STEM studies home for kids
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