Thank you Tricia, for sending a reminder to our parents about A.M. drop off. I do regret that in my excitement over all our new programs for 2008, I did not cover this well at Parent Night. I thought it was included in our August Newsletter, but I was mistaken, it was in September’s. Many of you may remember this drop off process from past years, it has worked very well.

When you pull in to drop off, pull up as far as you can. Along the fence and in the north parking spaces, form 2 lines. Then blend into one line near the door by alternating cars. Always pull up as far as possible and when in doubt, be kind. Of. course there is not room for a double line between the island and U.S. 23 since we need to allow room for parents to safely leave after they have dropped off their child.

Ms Sherry will be out directing traffic this coming week, to help parents to learn this pattern. We will also have a Lower Elementary staff member out to work our drop off and several volunteer parents. I am sure that we can all work together to resolve our concerns and keep everyone safe. Thanks for your help, patience and cooperation.

We are planning several events for parents to attend during this coming school year. Please mark your calendars for the following events:

October 7th…6:00 – 8:00 p.m. – Savor the Season will be presenting an informational evening about Nutrition and Organic Foods. Leza will be hosting this event which will also include an optional $7.00 dinner fundraiser for the Children’s Habitat. Reservations for the dinner plate are recommended! Also, Jackie Adams has arranged for samples of an upcoming fundraiser  of Certified Fair Trade chocolates, coffees and teas to be available at this event. Sounds too good to miss!

January 17th…1:00 – 4:00 p.m. – “Embracing Humankind”, a diversity workshop with Julie Harrison Sporer of “One World Mind” will be our keynote event to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We will celebrate our diversity through this interactive and engaging workshop! www.oneworldmind.net

February 28th…1:00 – 4:00 p.m. – Wonderful author and parent educator, Chick Moorman will be kicking off our Open Enrollment with “Parent Talk: Words that Empower, Words that Wound”. Chick is a lively, funny, calming and engaging speaker. We enjoy him every year and are grateful to have him returning to present such helpful and inspiring practices to our parents. www.chickmoorman.com

April 21st…6:00 – 8:00 p.m. – Please join us for our celebration of Earth Day with a special presentation by our Outdoor Education and Children’s Habitat instructor, Julia Liljegren. Julia has extensive “Earth” experience and will surely inspire us to a better appreciation of our home, our habitat.

Please mark your calendar for these outstanding presentations and workshops. They are designed especially for our parents, but the public is also welcome so please share this information with friends and family!! We hope to see you soon!!

We are all happy and excited to be back at school. The students are all full of enthusiam and eager to learn, glad to see their friends and teachers. The Upper Elementary class is off to a great start and they are all working together to develop their classroom and to balance their daily schedule. The new materials in the Upper Elementary are very compelling and the students are looking forward to using these “new works”.

Lower Elementary students are enjoying the new layout of the classroom and are busy welcoming their new classmates. They are also engaged in establishing the functioning structure of their classroom and their daily activities.

Primary classes are off to a wonderful start! The students have been in orientation week and they have been learning and practicing the ground rules. All classes have had their first work time and will be fully engaged this coming week.

We will be incorporating our special instruction areas of Spanish, Music, Outdoor Education, Locomotion, Yoga and Culinary Arts over the next couple of weeks. Suzuki Violin and Drama sign ups will begin on Monday! Maple Tree Montessori Academy is proud to be the only public or private elementary school in Brighton, in fact, in Livingston County to offer such diverse experiences to students. Suzuki Violin is known worldwide as a thoughtful and amazing method of music education and early drama experiences allow for a wonderful, creative process to emerge within the child. We are grateful to bring this holistic quality of education to the families of the Brighton area.

We are glad to have such supportive families, dedicated staff and interested, engaged students. We have an amazing community and we are off to a great start for 2008/2009!!!