News Archive

Montessori Buzz – Oct. 3, 2023

Dear MA Families & Friends,
PD Day and Thanksgiving
Our first PD Day of the school year is Friday; there is no school for the children. On Monday the school is closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Outdoor Movie night is Thursday: Encanto

We are excited about Thursday’s Outdoor Movie Night at our Oxford location. We’ve reached capacity for this event, however, if you’d like to be added to the wait list, please fill out this Google form.
  • WHEN: Thursday October 5 at 6:45PM – Movie starts at 7:00PM
  • WHERE: Oxford Casa Courtyard – 311 Oxford Street East
  • BYOS: Bring Your Own Snacks

Reminder: We are a nut-alert Environment

As noted in the Parent Handbook, the school is a “Nut Alert” environment. For the safety of our students who have food allergies, please be sure to adhere to this policy when preparing snacks. An abridged version of our Parent Handbook is available in the tabbed section of your printed Year at a Glance Calendar that you received during the first week of school.

Reminder: Picture Days for Casa and Toddler – Oct. 10-12

Picture Days will take place next week at our Toddler & Casa locations:
  • Tuesday, Oct 10 – Westmount Toddler & Casa
  • Wednesday, Oct 11 – Waterloo Toddler & Casa
  • Thursday, Oct 12 – Oxford Casa

Join us on The Journey to Discovery!

We’re breaking with tradition, and hosting the Journey to Discovery again this year. Usually offered every three years, the Journey to Discovery has been a transformative experience for our parents. This engaging hands-on activity presents the spectrum of traditional Montessori work to parents – taking you on an abbreviated version of your child’s Montessori journey from Toddler through Junior High.
  • Friday, Nov. 17, 6:30-8:30 p.m. and Saturday Nov. 18, 8:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
  • Junior High Building at 742 Waterloo St. & Central Locations
  • Attendance is required both days.
  • A light lunch will be served Saturday.
We invite families who have not gone on the Journey to join us this year for this two-day event in November.
Register through this form: https://forms.gle/KaVVfhontDqLLGP47
We had such a lively group of engaged parents last year, we’re excited to offer this again! Space is very limited. Registration through the Google form is on a first come, first served basis. Maximum of 2 people per family.

50/50 Raffle are tickets on sale!

Tickets are on Sale now until October 25! You can purchase tickets for yourself, coworkers, family and friends at 3 locations! Visit the Front Desk, Westmount or Oxford to get your tickets. Good luck!! www.montessori.on.ca/raffle

Halloween Boo-ling

A limited number of bowling tickets are still available for the 6:40pm bowling time! Over 150 people are attending. Don’t miss out! Get your tickets today before they are gone.  www.montessori.on.ca/halloween

October is 1000 Acts of Kindness Month

Watch for a letter from your classrooms about 1000 Acts of Kindness activities. We’ll share updates on social media and the Buzz.

Photos from the week

Toddlers gross- and fine-motor skills

Pinching, gripping, sorting! Toddler work is not just about keeping busy. There are tons of strength, cognitive, and skills being developed through the classroom activities.


Casa Courtesy

One of the hallmarks of traditional Montessori education is the three-year age groupings in our classrooms. This approach allows the younger students to learn from their older peers, and the older students to become leaders and learn empathy and responsibility. Earlier this week, one of our youngest Casa students wanted to be like his big Senior Casa friends, and hold the door open for all of his classmates! This is Montessori in action!

Toddler & Casa socials!

We were so happy to invite our Toddler & Casa parents to the school for socials recently. The children had fun preparing yummy snacks for the festivities.

Cross Country meet!

Congratulations to all the runners who participated in last week’s cross-country meet!

Orange Shirt Day

We observed Orange Shirt Day on Friday. Many of our classes took part in activities and lessons about indigenous culture and, as appropriate, had discussions on Residential Schools. In Junior High’s humanities class, the students studied the Understanding and Significance of Orange Shirt Day.

From the community

Middlesex-London Health Unit: immunizations letters

The Immunization of School Pupils Act requires children to be immunized against certain diseases to attend elementary or have a valid exemption on file with the Health Unit.
The Health Unit will soon be mailing letters to the parents and/or guardians of students who are overdue for required vaccines according to Health Unit records. Families who receive letters should follow-up with the Health Unit immediately. Students with missing vaccine information are at risk of being suspended from school and not being protected from these diseases.
To avoid receiving letters and possible suspension, the Health Unit is encouraging families to take the following actions:
1.     Review and update Health Unit immunization records for your child.
  • Review records online at https://www.healthunit.com/immunization-records or call the Health Unit (phone number below).
  • Compare Health Unit records with any records you have for your child (e.g. records from your doctor, your child’s yellow card, vaccine records from another province or country)
  • Add any vaccines that your child has received but are missing from Health Unit records. Vaccines can be added online or by calling, faxing, mailing, or dropping off records during Health Unit business hours (see below)
2.     If your child is missing vaccines, make sure they get caught up!
  • Schedule an appointment with your child’s doctor or nurse practitioner. Don’t forget to update the Health Unit once your child receives their vaccines.
  • Don’t have a doctor? Call the Health Unit or visit us online https://www.healthunit.com/immunization for information about vaccine clinics.
Contact the Middlesex-London Health Unit:
Phone: (519) 663-5317; Fax: (519) 663-0416
Administrative Offices for record mailing and drop-off 
*Monday-Friday 8:30a.m. – 4:30p.m. (*reception hours only, these are not clinic hours)
110-355 Wellington Street
London, ON N6A 3N7

Growing Chefs fundraising dinner on Oct 6.

Growing Chefs! Ontario’s Chef Matt is stepping into the ring for The Fight To End Homelessness in support of Youth Opportunities Unlimited. Growing Chefs! are very excited to be able to support Chef Matt in his fight by sponsoring a table at the event. In return, Chef Matt is hosting a fundraising dinner for Growing Chefs! on October 6th.  
Tickets are $65 pp for a four-course meal and it is sure to be a fabulous evening of food and community! Here’s a link to the event page with all the details.

Growing Chefs Newsletter

See the October GC newsletter here for more events and workshops: Growing Chefs! Ontario October 2023 Newsletter (mailchi.mp)

Halloween in the Village – Volunteers

Do you know a high-school student who needs volunteer hours? Wortley Village’s Halloween in the Village on Saturday, Oct. 28, is seeking volunteers to help with the day of festivities. Find details online: Volunteer! — Halloween In The Village (hitv.ca)
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