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Author: Joshi Haskell

2018 Early Childhood Performing Arts Showcases

Written by Joshi Haskell on . Posted in Blog.

In the month of February our Early Childhood students had the opportunity to perform on stage for their parents and teachers! It was a lovely experience for all.  The purpose of the showcases is to give parents a glimpse of what their students are working on in class.  Showcases also allow children the chance to learn what it is like to be on stage. Although this is the first time many of our students have been on stage, their enthusiasm for performing for loved ones was contagious! During each showcase the students smiled & waved at the sight of family and friends.

As a Montessori program, we take pride in our Specialty classes as an opportunity to offer students experience in a variety of classes and skills.  Their experience in each of these classes is somewhat limited but the opportunity to learn more about their interests, along with skills taught about how to find more information about something of interest, is an important element in children seeking further experience in areas of interest!

We thank Haley Dame, our Movement teacher for students aged 3 to 12, and Ana Bunce, the Music Specialist for students aged infant to 6 and 9 to 12 for their time and energy preparing the students for this evening event.  Also, our gratitude to the parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles and friends who came out to support our Early Childhood students.

The Willows class shows a portion of their movement work using props.

 

The Magnolias class show their parents & family the skills they are developing in reading music.

The Sequoias Class play a game with a parent on stage, singing forte when he walks closer to a hidden object.

Big smiles from the Aspens class as they show their newly developing instrument skills.

Teacher Work Day & Professional Development

Written by Joshi Haskell on . Posted in Blog.

Last Friday, October 5th, Montessori Community School had a Teacher Work and Professional Development Day. Feel free to scroll through some of the highlights from our training and meeting that took place Friday.

2018 – 2019 Continuing Enrollment Letter from Administration

Written by Joshi Haskell on . Posted in Blog.

Dear MCS Families,

This email contains the link to MCS Continuing Enrollment forms for the 2018 – 2019 Academic Year. Included with these forms, you will find the new tuition schedules.  The overall tuition increase this year is approximately 3.4%. The additional funds garnered by this increase will be earmarked in three different ways: paying the rising costs of ensuring health care coverage for our staff, providing modest raises for our teachers and staff, and covering general ongoing inflationary costs.

We will be offering our Tuition Assurance Policy again this year. This optional program is designed to provide a measure of protection for both our families and the school in the case of student withdrawals during the school year. You will find more information enclosed within your packet.

If you are considering the Extended Day option, we would encourage you to sign up sooner rather than later. We base our Extended Day staffing on those who have signed up from the beginning of the year and we cannot always guarantee space for later schedule changes. Due to the challenge of meeting our ratios with appropriate staffing when changes are requested after the school year has begun, the deadline for making schedule changes is July 20, 2018. After that date, schedule changes will require a fee of $75.00.

If your child is moving into a new program at MCS (Toddler to Early Childhood or Early Childhood to Lower Elementary, for example), and you have a request for a certain classroom, please let the MCS Office know. Classroom requests will be considered, along with a number of other factors affecting classroom placement. As much as we feel fortunate that so many of our teachers stay year after year, we cannot guarantee that a particular teaching team will remain the same from year to year and hope that families will recognize that each of our classrooms offers a rich and effective Montessori environment for its students.

We understand that educational choices are a very thoughtful process and if your child will not be returning for the 2018 – 2019 year, we would appreciate you noting that information on the continuing enrollment form where indicated so we may plan accordingly. Additionally, if your family has elected not to return to MCS next year, we would recommend that you not relay that information to your child until close to the end of the academic year. It has been our experience that children who are told in advance of such a change often lose their focus for the balance of the year, and begin the process of separation long before the change is imminent. For that reason, we advise parents to wait until much closer to the end of school to tell their child that such a change is forthcoming. It will help your child stay on task, and will allow him/her to get the most out of the remaining months at our school.

Please complete the Continuing Enrollment form and submit your form, along with the $600.00 commitment fee (if applicable) no later than February 15, 2018. MCS will begin admitting new students for the upcoming year after February 15, 2018 and we recommend securing your child’s spot prior to that time.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our administrative team. We are happy and honored that you have entrusted us with your child’s education.

Warm regards,

Robyn, Ramira, and Britney

2018 All School Assembly

Written by Joshi Haskell on . Posted in Blog.

Each year we attempt to come together as an entire school at least twice per year.  We begin each year with a gathering for International Day of Peace, where we meet on the green space to sing together before walking the campus to see the prayer flags made by each student at MCS.  Typically, our second gathering is in the gym and consists of some kind of science or cultural presentation. This year was especially enjoyable! This morning we had the pleasure of hosting Ballet Folklorico Quetzalcoatl, a local Mexican Folk Dance group, for our 2018 All School Assembly.  The group presented a variety of dances, music and costumes, all of which were delightful!

The first number was called Son Jarocho, is from Veracruz and is the main manifestation of the veracruzana party, whose origin is a mixture of Spanish airs influenced by African rhythms, executed with jarana, requinto and harp among others.  The typical attire, which we were able to see today, consists of wide and white skirt with lace, blouse with white tulle blanket, black apron decorated with flowers, necklaces, a laced fan, rebozo, white shoes and a red ribbon headdress with red and white flowers for women. The men wear trousers, guayabera, white hat and shoes, with a red scarf on the collar adjusted with a ring.

 

Among today’s numbers, several were from Nayarit, located on the coast line of the Pacific Ocean.  There are several types of Nayarit songs, all representing ancient native music, filled with theatrics in costumes and dance.  Impressively, the women danced with bottles atop their heads and the men with machetes!  The machetes were a crowd pleaser, to say the least.

Today’s dancers represented Jalisco, located in the western part of Mexico.  These songs are popular melodies that people can sing and dance to. Originating from the mix of Spaniard and Native music, the harmony is rhythmic, loud, and at contreremps, expressing the vitality that caracterizes the people from it’s region.

All in all, this cultural presentation was extremely satisfying, so much so that many of our toddlers found themselves off their seats and dancing to the beat.  While it can be a feat to gather our entire school in one place all at the same time (and even more of a challenge to find a presentation that satisfies children ages 1 to 12) we were overly pleased with today’s performance and the opportunity we had to gather together as a school.

A Sustainable Living Tip – Celebrating Trees

Written by Joshi Haskell on . Posted in Blog.

Last Wednesday, January 31 marked the ending of the Jewish holiday of Tu B’Shevat—the Jewish New Year for trees. Tu B’Shevat is a celebration of trees and all the resources trees provide. The celebration of this holiday serves as reinvigoration of appreciation for these amazing lifeforms. 

Trees provide a wonderful way to connect kids to their natural world. There are many ways to promote mindfulness about our environment by helping kids consider all the ways trees enrich our lives. Trees are important symbols of life and systems. 

One fun idea for appreciating and understanding the changes and lifecycles of trees is to “adopt a tree”. To do this, locate a beloved tree in area that is visited often. Draw the tree, measure the tree, name the tree, recognize all the wonderful things about that tree. Keep a tree journal where reflections, drawings and data about that tree are collected in different seasons throughout the year. Consider: How does the tree change? What habitats does the tree create for other living creatures? How is the tree unique? 

Trees are amazing.

When I Am Among the Trees
By Mary Oliver
When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.

Keeping Up to Date With Environmental Legislation – A Sustainable Living Tip

Written by Joshi Haskell on . Posted in Blog.

The 2018 Utah Legislative Session is underway! Need help following and better understanding some of the proposed legislation regarding environmental stewardship in Utah? Below are some links to helpful online bill trackers.

Sierra Club Priority Bills

*Provides an option to sign up for weekly 2018 Utah Legislative Updates

 

HEAL Utah Bill Tracker

*Provides an option to sign up for weekly 2018 Utah Legislative Updates

 

Action Utah Bill Tracker

*See the section on Environmental Stewardship

 

Sustainable Living Tip: Buying In Bulk

Written by Joshi Haskell on . Posted in Blog.

Dear MCS Families and Friends,

Happy New Year! The Sustainability Committee is excited to announce that each week we will be writing about a tip for sustainable living. This week’s tip will focus on buying foods from the bulk bin section at the grocery store. While shopping from the bulk bin section can take a bit more time, it does reduce packaging waste, save money, and provide many non-processed/minimally processed food options. Most major grocery stores have a bulk bin section. One way to make buying from the bulk bin section nearly waste free is to bring reusable sacks. Below is a list of links for retailers that sell bags especially made for bulk food shopping. These bags are virtually weightless, so won’t they won’t add to the cost of your purchase. I personally recommend the Kootsac bags sold on Etsy. The Kootsac bags are durable for heaving items like beans and grains and easy to wash.

ChicoBag Hemp-Cotton Bag

Kootsac

Earth Junky Eco Reusable Bag

Hands on Hemp Produce/Bulk Bags

Simple Ecology Organic Produce/Bulk Bags

At home, you can store your bulk food items in jars or other airtight containers.

We look forward to sharing more tips with you. Please let us know if you have any great ideas!