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Dear MA Families & Friends,
FYI: New naming conventions for our Lower El classrooms
Lower Elementary parents and senior Casa parents may notice something’s different in their class placement letters for the 2019-2020 school year. We’ll now officially use new names for our Lower Elementary classrooms to be consistent with Upper Elementary.
- Junior 1 classroom will be referred to as Lower Elementary 1/ Lower El 1/ LE 1
- Junior 2 = Lower Elementary 2/ Lower El 2/ LE 2
- Junior 3 = Lower Elementary 3/ Lower El 3/ LE 3
Families with children in Lower Elementary will start to see this change in our communications starting in May.
Parent engagement survey
Ninety-five respondents completed this year’s Parent Engagement Survey! Thank you for taking the time to complete this questionnaire; we truly appreciate your input. We’ll take a look through the feedback and provide an update in June.
FYI: Front Desk update
Tameka will be heading back for her final semester at Fanshawe College beginning Monday, May 6, until mid-August! In the interim, Sara will cover the Front Desk. You will still see Tameka periodically when her class schedule allows. Best wishes, Tameka!
In Bloom Challenge – last day!
Today is your last day to make your contribution to Montessori Academy have DOUBLE the impact! Our Matching Gift campaign ends today. We are truly grateful to our supporters who have donated so far — we are just $550 short of our goal of $6,000!
Funds raised will support our Junior High kitchen updates, including new floors, paint, islands, cupboards, appliances — the whole nine yards! Your contributions will enable our Junior High students to make the best of their education for many years to come!
Securely donate through this link: https://schoolforms.montessori.on.ca/sslpage.aspx?pid=298
You can still make a contribution to our campaign up until June 30.
FIVE upcoming Teacher Parties!
The teachers of MA donate their time and expertise to these fun and memorable parties. All funds raised support MA’s fundraising initiatives for the year! You don’t want to miss these:
Toddler Keepsake Gardening Party – Only 2 Spots Left, Open to ALL Toddler students!
- When: Saturday, May 4
- Time: 11:00AM-1:00PM
- Location: Waterloo Toddlers (718 Waterloo Street)
- Cost: $30.00
Mother’s Day Flower Bouquet – Registration Deadline is tomorrow at noon!
- When: Friday, May 10
- Time: 4:00-6:00PM
- Ages: Upper Elementary students
- Location: Junior High Art Room
- Cost: $30.00
MA Bike Scavenger Hunt – Now Open to Year 5 students too!
- When: Wednesday, May 22
- Time: 4:00-6:30PM
- Ages: Elementary, Years 5-8
- Cost: $45.00
Casa & Year 1 Nature Walk
- When: Saturday, June 1
- Time: 10:00AM-2:00PM
- Location: Coldstream Conservation Area, Quaker Ln, Middlesex Centre (20 min from London)
- Cost: $30.00
Girls Just Want to Have Fun – *NEW DATE*
- When: Tuesday, June 11
- Time: 4:00-7:00PM
- Ages: Elementary, Years 3-6
- Location: Upper Elementary Classroom
- Cost: $30.00
For more details, please download or view a PDF of our Teacher Parties booklet or take a look through the booklet at the Front Desk. To register your child for a party, please contact the Main Office by e-mail (reception@montessori.on.ca ) or phone 519-433-9121.
SUMMER ART CAMP REGISTRATION OPEN!
MA’s art teacher Jenn Neron is co-hosting two weeklong Summer Art Day Camps with David Moynihan’s Cottage Pottery Studio!
Week 1 – July 2 to 5 – for current LE students in Years 1-3 this school year. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScBMN0N-JWwpgMRz16pGdYowQr4XDTR55_-AjmFcwK2QtsmbA/viewform — Camp fee for four days: $240.
Week 2 – July 8-12 – for current UE students in Years 4-6 this school year.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScnDaQjMzTg3c_MEBhl-yHHWSRssCR44QXY5OIokKJJU2YUXw/viewform — Camp fee for five days: $300.
- Morning sessions are from 9 a.m.-noon at the Cottage Pottery Studio – 253 Hyman St.
- 12:00-1:00 p.m. students will walk to MA with David for lunch and outside playtime at our Elementary location
- Children need to bring a packed, nut-free lunch
- Afternoon sessions are from 1-4 p.m. at the MA Art studio
- Dropoff at Cottage Pottery Studio on Hyman and Pickup at JH Art Studio – 742 Waterloo St.
- There are no Extended Hours — either before or after the program.
Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis, and will be made available to the public. So if you’re interested, make sure to register soon. Payment due upon registration; please make payment to Montessori Academy of London.
If you have any questions, please call Jenn in the Art Studio 519-433-9121 ext 404.
May 16 is Grandparents’ & Special Friends’ Day
Montessori Academy of London cordially invites all grandparents to attend their grandchild’s classroom to meet teachers, view work and enjoy some refreshments. A letter with an RSVP tear-off form went home last Friday; each classroom has a designated visiting time, so please refer to the letter for details and times. Please return the RSVP tear-offs regarding the number of grandparents attending by Friday, May 10.
Phys Ed updates
Basketball
The Senior Girls qualified to play in the C final today at St Marguerite d’Youville after a BIG win last week against St Jude in Ingersoll. Good luck, ladies!
Floor Hockey Intramurals
Last week, students from Upper Elementary and Junior High competed in a floor hockey tournament at Stronach Arena. All the teams did exceptionally well, with our senior teams winning their divisions. The Junior High girls won in the finals in a shootout! The boys team made it through the day by working together and only giving up 3 goals over 6 games. Congratulations to all who participated!
Track and Field
Over the next few weeks, students will be learning and practising various track and field events in gym class in order to take part in our Year 4-8 Track and Field meet at Piccadilly Park on Friday, May 10. This meet allows the students to experience what competition may feel like at the BIG meet at Western on Tuesday, May 28. During these practices, students will be placed in events for the track meet at Western.
Helpful hands in Casa
In the Casa community, opportunities for the awareness of one’s needs and the needs of others are supported through the lessons in Grace & Courtesy, and Peace Education. Children become profoundly aware of the importance of noticing and acknowledging the needs of others while also honouring their own needs through discussions, modelling behaviour, and dramatization of feelings, positive socialization and conflict resolution. In their final year of this plane of development (age 6), children have moved from “parallel play” to more collaborative interactions with their peers.
Items of interest about Montessori
Public Montessori in the U.S. – Edutopia article with video
Sometimes when we exist so close to something, we stop seeing the benefits or what’s so very special about it. This can be the case in Montessori. How refreshing to see a source like Edutopia, the George Lucas Education Foundation, cast its lens on Montessori education. Here’s a link to a recent Edutopia piece on Montessori — the five-minute video is about halfway down the page; the teachers at a Title 1/Federally funded public school talk about the benefits of Montessori and the transition from conventional education model to a Montessori program.
A Public School Makes the Case for ‘Montessori for All’: https://www.edutopia.org/article/public-school-makes-case-montessori-all
What is resilience? – An AMI AGM podcast with Laura Flores Shaw
What does resilience really mean and why is this topic so important for modern education?
In the first episode of 2019 AMI AGM Podcasts, Laura Shaw discusses the resilience research and examines how the qualities of responsibility and resourcefulness contribute to developing resilience in children.
https://www.facebook.com/AMIAssociationMontessoriInternationale/posts/2257270317651862
Do you want to listen to more 2019 AMI AGM presentations? Then follow them on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-ami
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