Montessori Buzz – Sept. 27, 2022
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Dear MA Families & Friends,
Message from Kristen
Piccadilly Park protocolsOver the past year, there has been more of the homeless population spending time in Piccadilly Park. Since our Elementary and Junior High students use the park at playtime Tina, Rob (our Yard Staff Supervisor) and I met with an officer from the London Police Community Services in August for some suggestions because we are aware that many of our families were feeling uncomfortable with our students being in the park. The officer gave us a number of great ideas, which included reaching out to the City to trim many of the bushes so there are more sight lines and less areas to nestle into. In the past, our yard staff would call the Police Non-Emergency Line when needed, however, by the time the police came to the school it was at the end of the day. Realizing we may need immediate attention, the officer told us that depending on the situation, we should call either the London Police Service’s Foot Patrol or an organization called London Cares that works directly with the homeless population. This has been working very well in calling these numbers and getting very quick responses.
Over the summer we developed a response procedure to a variety of situations, from low risk to high risk that could occur at the park. This then allows all of our faculty, students and yard staff to have a consistent protocol in place. Faculty and yard staff will continue to sweep the park prior to the students going out, and our students have been instructed on what to do if they find any hazardous items outside.
If you are interested in seeing the Response Procedure Document, a PDF of it can be found on the MA Parent Portal under Resources / MA Policies: https://montessori.myschoolapp.com/app/parent#resourceboarddetail/22905.
Parking remindersPlease review your location’s parking processes to ensure a smooth and safe drop-off and pick-up. They can be found on the Parent Portal under Resources: https://montessori.myschoolapp.com/app/parent#resourceboarddetail/25158 We ask you to share this information with anyone who may be responsible for picking up or dropping off your child at school, including family members and friends.
Two key concerns that have been brought to our attention at our downtown locations:
Thank you for helping us demonstrate the qualities of grace and courtesy for our students and for the benefit of our neighbours.
Board of Governors updates
Orange Shirt Day is FridayOn September 30th our school will recognize Orange Shirt Day as a community by wearing orange shirts. By wearing the orange shirts we are actively recognizing the Indigenous community and the tragedies which occured in Residential Schools.
During the day the Junior High students will be leading age-appropriate lessons for the students to participate in. The Casa students will have a picture book read to them called “On the Trapline” by the Junior High students that educates them about Indigenous culture and traditions. They will also be participating in a “Every Child Matters” colouring activity.
Elementary and Junior High students will gather in the Elementary Courtyard at 1:45 pm and some of the students will be giving a short acknowledgement on why we are wearing the orange shirts and then we will participate in a moment of silence to remember all the children who lost their lives to residential schools.
Please remind your child to wear an orange shirt in support of the Indigenous Children who suffered through Residential Schools.
Thank you for supporting the Indigenous communities.
Sincerely,
The Junior High Orange Shirt Day Committee
Boo-ling tickets: 60% sold out Halloween Boo-Ling tickets are selling fast – almost 60% sold out! Get your tickets online soon before they are gone https://montessori.on.ca/halloween/
For more information contact Tonya at tdendrinos@montessori.on.ca
Updated: Terry Fox Run ScheduleSlight change to the Terry Fox Run schedule for tomorrow in bold. Come out tomorrow to cheer on our runners!
PhotosPeace Day photos from Toddler/CasaSeptember 21 was a special day as a class and school as we celebrated International Peace Day. We enjoyed reading relevant books and talking about what it means to be peaceful at the individual, community, and global levels. After each friend created their dove necklace, we gathered with our fellow friends at Oxford Casa to sing the special song “Light a Candle For Peace”. What a touching moment it was for us all.
 Waterloo Toddlers’ practical life activitiesMaking apple muffins and cleaning Archie’s cage: We baked apple spice muffins. We have been learning about apples all week and loved using applesauce and apple chunks to make a delicious snack. Archie is our favourite pet. All 10 of the students can say his name and love feeding him his special food. Today we washed his crate bin and filled it with fresh paper. It is big work for small hands!
 Westmount Casa: Everything Apples!!Westmount Casa spent time last week getting ready to visit Apple Land Station. Our classroom has been an apple wonderland for the last two weeks! We couldn’t wait to get on the train and explore the orchard looking for the sweetest and juiciest apples!
Casa’s Appleland AdventuresAs we are quickly approaching the end of the month, we have been reflecting on what a great three weeks it has been as a class family. All of our children have settled in beautifully and many lovely bonds have formed. Our friends had a delightful time on their first field trip of the year on Friday. They enjoyed picking apples using the process of “eye to the sky”. The children have been learning about the parts of the apple and the lifecycle of the apple. In keeping with our studies on health and nutrition, we have also been learning about how apples are a healthy snack. We look forward to making homemade applesauce together next week.
A big thank you to Casa 4 teacher Darlene for organizing the trip to Appleland, and to our parent volunteers who came with us. We had tons of fun. (More photos are in the Portal Photo Album linked below… keep scrolling.)
 Lower Elementary celebrated community!Both Lower El 1 and 2 celebrated their classroom communities this week with collaborative activities – including making delicious cookies. 🙂
 But wait, there’s MUCH more…See more photos from the grand adventure to Appleland Station are in this Photo Album on the MA Parent Portal: https://montessori.myschoolapp.com/app/detail/album/photo/1690691
More photos from the week at school can be found in this Portal Photo Album: https://montessori.myschoolapp.com/app/detail/album/photo/1690920
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PD Day Camps – Oct. 7Circle R RanchA PD Day Camp is being offered at Circle R Ranch for campers in SK-Grade 8 on Friday, October 7th, 2022. Register on our website: https://circlerranch.ca/camp/pa-day-camp/
The day’s program runs 9:00am – 4:30pm. Activities planned for the day include horses, campfire, arts and crafts, hay ride, outdoor games, hiking, nature connections (some programs are weather dependent). Join us for some fall season fun!
School of Hip HopHip Hop 101 Day Camp – try your hands at a little bit of DJing/beat making, graffiti, poetry & dance!
Registration: https://forms.gle/64zPuvWQcbibMhn49
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