News Archive

Montessori Buzz – Aug. 30, 2022

Dear MA Families & Friends,

Message from Tina Sartori, Executive Director

Welcome back to the best school community in the city! We can’t wait to see our returning families and establish connections with those parents and students who are new to MA on the first day of school, Tuesday, September 6. The fall is filled with many opportunities to engage as a community at the classroom and program level, so you are comfortable and ready for the larger school-wide events that unfold during the year.
This communication, The Buzz, is your golden ticket, the main and most important channel of communication we use at the school. It comes to your inbox every Tuesday afternoon, so set a reminder in your calendars now to read it each week!
Here are some updates I wanted to share with everyone:

Canada-Wide Early Learning Child Care (CWELCC) Program

The deadline for enrolment to this program has now changed from September 1 to November 1, as uptake has been very slow for organizations to apply, for various and numerous reasons. For this reason, a number of changes to the program were announced last week by the provincial government and as such, the city has a number of documents to update and send out for all organizations to review. The process and details are complex, with no information available about the program beyond January 2023. The impact is also different for schools versus daycares. The school will review the program policies, guidelines and the formal agreement by the deadline in order to make an informed decision.

COVID protocols

The start of the year will look very similar to what it did in June. The Middlesex-London Health Unit is in alignment with the guidelines that have been put into place and do not have any further enhanced recommendations at this time:
  • Masking is optional – based on guidance from the health unit, we are a mask-friendly environment, but understand that families make decisions about mask-wearing based on their own circumstances.
  • Daily screening is still encouraged using the screening tool; if your child is unwell, please use the screening tool for guidance as to what next steps should be. This can be different for one particular symptom versus a set of symptoms. We also recognize many “usual” illnesses are making a comeback and ask you to refer to our illness chart in the Year at a Glance Calendar (PDF) or the website for when children are symptomatic. Regardless of what is keeping your child home, we are grateful for your support in keeping ill children at home to prevent the spread to other students and staff members.
  • Hand hygiene will continue to be a priority.
  • Cleaning of high-touch surfaces will continue.
  • Air Sniper units will continue to run in all our classrooms and common areas of the school.
We are still strongly encouraging vaccination, and are thrilled this is now available to our youngest students. It is important for parents of students in the Elementary and Junior High programs to know that some of our partners and organizations we work with, still have vaccine requirements in place. If there is a school field trip where this is required, you will be notified.
We would also like to assure parents that as the landscape shifts with all things COVID, so do we. We have the ability to adapt quickly and make changes as required, once we are clear with the new guidance we are given.

Say hello to our new MA staff members

Casa

Bethany Payne joins Tara Protopapas in Casa 1 this year. Bethany spent last year as a part-time intern with Tara and Deborah Carver (recently retired) while she completed her Montessori teacher training. Therefore, she is very familiar with the students, parents and routines of the class. Prior to starting her Montessori training, Bethany worked as supply and yard staff at different locations at our school. Bethany was also the Director of our Camp Discovery Adventurers (ages 4-6) this summer.
Monika Orr-Hanimann will join Basia Szmit in September in Casa 2. Monika is just completing her Montessori Casa training with the Montessori Teachers College in Toronto. Monika is from Switzerland and holds her Elementary Teacher Degree from there. Upon moving to Canada with her husband and children, she worked in a Montessori school in Chatham; and realizing her love of Montessori, she started her training. Monika brings over 22 years in education to our team.

Music

Lisette St. Louis will be stepping into our Lower Elementary music teacher role! Lisette worked at the school last year as a supply staff in Toddler and Casa as well as for the Elementary Specialty staff. She has had many years of experience working as a music educator in the classroom setting and has also worked as a Children’s Entertainer, Musician and Voice actor. Lisette is also in an ensemble called The Bettys, who perform at a variety of venues and locations.
We are excited to welcome Kristine Musgrove to our music teaching team to assist in our Upper Elementary music programs. Kristine has a Ph.D. in Music Education from Western, as well as a Master of Science in Music Education from Florida International University in Miami. Kristine brings to us her vast experience teaching band, as well as a specialty in Percussion. We look forward to her supporting our students as we transition back to our band program this year!

Maintenance

Please also welcome Dominic Baldinelli to our Maintenance Team! Dom joined the maintenance team on August 22, so he could get a lay of the land before the new school year started! Dom comes to us after a strong career at the Stoney Creek / North London YMCA as a lead on their facilities team. He truly lights up the room with his welcoming presence – be sure to say hi when you see him around the school locations.
Our staff and faculty are buzzing with activity this week getting our environments ready for you! Some of our new Elementary library furniture arrived yesterday and it will be a work in progress for the next two weeks as we wait for the final back-ordered items to arrive.
In the words from our staff at a meeting yesterday, our hope is to empower students through a love of learning to ignite their passion, embrace their failures and honour their individuality, to prepare them for life.
Here’s to a great year in guiding them along their journey!
Be well,

Tina Sartori
Executive Director

Reminders from Admin

Activity Fees due September 1

Activity Fees for Lower Elementary ($150), Upper Elementary ($600) and Junior High ($1,350) are due this Thursday, September 1. Payment is accepted at the Main Office by cheque, debit, or credit card.

Early/Extended Hours Reminder

Families requiring Early or Extended Hours on an annual or monthly basis; please complete your registration prior to the first day of school. https://montessoriacademy.campbrainregistration.com/
We continue to appreciate 24 hours notice to your child’s teachers for those using the program on an occasional basis. As a reminder, invoices for occasional use will be sent at the end of each month and can be paid through the Early/Extended Hours website.

Elementary Hot lunch Registration for September-January available Online!

This is a reminder to order any hot lunches for your child. After September 16, the orders will be closed, and we will not be able to accept anymore. If you need assistance with ordering, please contact the Main Office before the deadline.
Please NOTE: Some items require you to select different options for the meal, so please read each item carefully, as the order will not be able to be adjusted after submission.
IMPORTANT: Please review your complete balance when you place your orders online at https://mahotlunch.campbrainregistration.com/ to ensure that everything is paid in full. Payments can be made online (after you submit, go to Home and click View Details to pay). Or, you can drop into the Main Office to pay by cash, cheque, Visa, MasterCard, Amex or Apple Pay.

Office closed on Friday

The Main Office will be closed on Friday. We’ll see everyone on Tuesday for the first day of school!

Western Fair tickets discount code

MA parents can save up to 33% on Western Fair tickets AND support Montessori Academy of London! Buy your Advanced Tickets Online before September 8 here:
Thank you to MA mom Jennifer Ting-A-Kee for bringing this deal to our attention!

SAVE THE DATES

Picture Days
Photos begin at 9:00 a.m. We hope to see some great big smiles!
  • Tuesday, September 13 – Lower Elementary
  • Wednesday, September 14 – Upper Elementary & Junior High
  • Tuesday, October 11 – Westmount Toddler & Casa
  • Wednesday, October 12 – Waterloo Toddler & Casa
  • Thursday, October 13 – Picture Day Oxford Casa
Other upcoming events
Watch the Buzz for more details…
  • October 13: New Families Movie Night ‘Inside Montessori’ Junior High at 6:30pm
  • October 27: Halloween Boo-Ling Party at Palasad South from 4-8pm
News Archive