Progress Reports are Ready – December 2022
Dear MA Families,
Thank you for your continued support as we traverse through yet another interesting year! I really hope I can stop saying this in the near future…. no one expected the end of fall to be filled with so much illness, of all different kinds. We can appreciate the pressure and exhaustion it has put on parents when children are ill, as we also scramble to care for our own staff who are unwell and continue the level of support required in the classrooms. The last few weeks have not been easy for anyone.
We are grateful, though, that a feeling of community is starting to fill the school once again, as we find opportunities to open our doors to all of you with events. Class visits this past semester and the Journey to Discovery were wonderful opportunities to allow our families to be in classrooms and see what Montessori is really all about – experiential learning with the materials. We look forward to expanding this further during Parent Observation Week at the end of January. Stay tuned for more details on signing up for this event, where you can peek through the window of your child’s world, by having the opportunity to observe a classroom for a set amount of time. Observation is a key tool for our teachers to get a full understanding of your child – did you know that during training to become a Montessori teacher, more than 100 hours of observation is required?!
Observation is one form of assessment our teachers use and today you will be seeing another one – Progress Reports are ready to be viewed in the Parent Portal. There is also an option to print the report if you wish to share it with your child. This is the first opportunity for you to review a written report on your child’s areas of development. As such, when you review the information in the reports, keep in mind a few key things:
- Before you jump to the report, start a conversation with your child about how they are feeling with their progress to date and ask about their experiences in learning so far. Many lessons at the Elementary level begin with a story – what has been their favourite or most memorable lesson so far? What was it about the lesson that sparked their interest?
- The students have had a solid start to the school year at a more usual pace, which is new (for the first time in three years!), so for some it can be overwhelming and some jump right in. Have patience and understanding where your child is currently at in their experience.
- The Montessori curriculum is broad in its depth and scope, and for this reason many concepts are in progress or still to come within the remainder of the year or your child’s three-year cycle. For this reason, there may be blank spots in some listed areas of the progress report.
- Junior High students have a different timeline to reports – today these parents will receive an Interim Report, and in February a full Progress Report will be shared. This is due to the flow of their curriculum and marking schemes that occur at this level.
- Take the time to read your child’s report for what it is: a snapshot of their progress on a continuum that is dynamic every day.
- If you have any questions or comments about the report, please contact your child’s teacher directly by calling the school.
Our colleagues at the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector recently shared this quote: “Our work is grounded in the premise that human flourishing, rather than achievements defined by standardized tests, should be the goal of education. By human flourishing we mean the capacity to thrive socially, emotionally, intellectually, and economically; to participate meaningfully in family, community and civic life; and to live a life of curiosity, agency and satisfaction.”
We couldn’t agree more. We are grateful to have the opportunity to watch your children flourish here at MA. Thank you for trusting us to guide your child each and every day.
Be well,
Tina Sartori,
Executive Director
How to access your child’s December Progress Report:
- Login to the MA Parent Portal using your email address.
- Select your child’s name in the top left corner.
- Under the Progress tab, click the Report Card link and select “December Progress Report.”
The report will open as a PDF in a new window. Please note, any pop-up blockers may need to be disabled for the Progress Report to open.