Montessori Community School sponsors the above beautiful girls. These girls have been growing up right before our eyes! We are so proud of their accomplishments and continue to support and encourage their goals and dreams through the COEEF Program.
Our girls have written lovely letters we would love to share with you. COEEF-GIRLS-2014.pdf. Please watch for our fundraisers this spring to continue supporting these amazing girls.
There will not be any Winter Sports this Wednesday, February 25th. Instead, enjoy this video of the last 3 weeks of our Winter Sports Program.
Parent Teacher Conferences will be held on Friday, February 27th. There will be no school that day. Sign-up sheets for the conferences are on a table in the lobby, arranged by class, from Toddlers to Middle School (please check the top of each page for the name of the class). As we do every year, we ask that you observe the following requests:
· Please sign up for one meeting time per child.
· Please be on time for your conference.
· Please help the teachers to stay on time.
· Please arrange for childcare during Parent/Teacher conferences.
We have had parents make requests for child care during the conferences. Unfortunately, as our staff is busy meeting with parents and all of our classrooms, along with some other spaces in the school, are being used we have not been able to accommodate this request. Please note that our playgrounds and our Outdoor Classroom are closed during conferences for safety and liability reasons. In order to accommodate parents who arrange to exchange child care during conferences we will make our lobby available and will provide coloring pages for the children.
We have included some additional tips that might be useful in having a successful Parent Teacher Conference:
We thank you for utilizing this opportunity to learn more about your child’s experience here at school and appreciate your time. Please feel free to visit your Montessori Compass account prior to your visit so that you can see what your child has been up to!
With warm regards,
MCS Teachers and Administration
MCS Lower Elementary student Diego Reyes-Lisieski recently appeared on KSL’s Good Things Utah where he shared his talent and passion for cooking as a representative of the Salt Lake Culinary School which he attends. Diego has shared this talent with his classmates at school as well. He has been a student at Montessori Community School since 2010 and has enjoyed his cooking hobby since he was very young. Nice work, Diego!
Marcus tongs plastic cubes in the Toddler Suns classroom. This work develops small motor coordination, prepares the hand for writing, and encourages control of movement and independence.
Kenzee places pictures on the Timeline of Life in the Lower Elementary Oquirrh classroom.
Margaret presents the Checkerboard to Rebeka and Mary.
Bobbi engages with the Long Chains, used for skip counting, squaring and cubing work, in the Lower Elementary Oquirrh classroom.
Rebeka and Corey analyze a square in the Upper Elementary Uinta classroom.
Mindy gives husband, Aaron, a knitting lesson.
Melissa identifies and analyzes the Seven Triangles of Reality.
Jeff researches Land Forms as part of the Lower Elementary Geography curriculum.
Margaret shares a lovely extension of the Pink Tower, a very popular and well recognized piece of Sensorial material which refines visual discrimination, preparing the child for further reading and mathematical work while developing a sense of order, concentration, and control of movement.
Dear 2015 Silent Journey and Discovery Participants,
Our staff would like to express our deep appreciation for you taking the time to learn more about the Montessori curriculum and philosophy with us on Saturday. We hope that the experience was meaningful and that your understanding of our program was made more clear. We invite you to ask additional questions as you see fit and to share your experiences with us via email. This event is meant to give an overview of the entire Montessori curriculum but it would be impossible to share the entire curriculum in four short hours. We hope that your observations in the classroom, your participation at additional MCS Parent Education events, and the conversations you have with your child about school will also shed light on the experience we are working to offer our students.
Thank you for your time and efforts.
With gratitude,
MCS Administration and Staff
Please e-mail your experiences to britneypeterson@mcsslc.com.
Your child wants to do what is right, even at the youngest age. First of all, she wants to because she loves you and wants to be just like you. She also has a powerful inner drive to adapt to the world around her, the world of your home, and to do so she needs to know what the rules for life are. She looks to you to show her.
As parents, if you can keep that in mind, you can create an approach to discipline that is positive, less stressful on everyone and it will assist your child in developing into a competent, civilized, compassionate and joyful person.
So, what are some strategies that you might employ?
First of all, model the correct behavior for your child. For example, if you do not want your child to leave the dinner table in the middle of the meal, then don’t you leave the table to take a call or to check an e-mail. If you do not want your child to yell, then don’t yell.
Here’s another tip; your child is much more competent that we can even imagine. Even the youngest children can do chores around the house. In fact, so much of the trouble we have with our children at home stems from our children not feeling useful.
The younger the child, the less that verbal instruction alone works. Show him how to sweep the floor, giving him the tools that fit in his hand. Name the tools as you use them, “This chore is called sweeping the floor; I’m sweeping the floor with the broom, then into the dust pan and now I’m throwing it away in the trash.” “Now its your turn.” Do the task together for the first few times, so that you know she knows how to do it.
Also, remember that every activity has a beginning, middle and an end. Show your child how to go get the broom and dustpan, use it, and then put it away.
Cooperation and engaging in chores as well as the fun of family life is a sure wan to elicit the good will of your child. And remember that busy hands in purposeful activities calm your child and help her sort out her emotions. (Read remainder of article and find printable pdf version here…)
P. Donohue Shortridge, a Montessorian since 1980, speaks and writes about children and their families in the American culture. She conducts parent night talks, staff in-service sessions and workshop presentations. Visit her website at www.pdonohueshortridge.com
The first day of Winter Sports was a success! We would love to thank all those who chaperoned and made it possible for our students to enjoy and learn such great activities and develop their skills and talents.
MCS’ Ski and Snowboard lessons are taught at Brighton Resort. The first day of lessons can be a bit tricky as instructors adjust groups. Instructors will assess each student and figure out what level that student will enjoy and be able to continue to develop and enhance their skills.
Our chaperones were great in helping to keep spirits high, students organized, and feeling secure. This year we have 24 Kindergartners participating in the Winter Sports Program. It was awesome to see them hauling their gear by themselves to and from the school and also to observe the older students reassuring and comforting them.
Murray County Ice is providing ice-skating lessons to a portion of our students. Again, our parent chaperones were wonderful in providing support to our students and teachers.
Spirits were high as students finished their lesson and moved into the free-skate period to practice what they learned.
The Silent Journey and Discovery is coming up on February 7th from 9:00am – 1:00pm.
Sign up in the office, space is limited. Attendance is free of charge, brunch will be served & child care will be provided to those who sign up in advance.
The MCS Silent Journey and Discovery is an event dedicated to parents to provide the meaningful experience of visiting each of our programs, from Toddlers through Middle School, to experience for yourself the magic of the Montessori materials and discover how the lessons learned in our early programs set the tone and lay important foundations for later learning. This is a wonderful opportunity to gain a sense of how the Montessori Curriculum unfolds through the eyes of a child to guide and nurture the natural unfolding of the whole child to inspire a lifetime love of learning and peace.
Click on the following link to read about last year’s Silent Journey and Discovery and enjoy testimonials from parents who have participated in years past.
https://mcsslc.com/parent-center/blog/entry/silent-journey-discovery
