Maple Tree Montessori Academy is very excited to welcome author Chick Mooman to our school. We will be hosting a Chick Moorman Workshop on Saturday, February 6th from 1:00 to 4:00, “The 5 Voices of Enlightened Parenting”. Chick is a wonderful, funny and insightful speaker and we are very pleased that he makes time in his busy schedule for our school. The usual fee for a Chick Moorman workshop is $60.00, we are happy to offer this event free of charge to our community. All parents,teachers and caregivers are invited to attend and bring friends! This event opens our 2010 Summer Camp and Fall enrollment to the public. We hope you will make this workshop a priority, the practical suggestions and humorous insight make this an excellent opportunity for all interested in improving their child interaction skills.

On Saturday, January 16th from 1:00 to 4:00 Maple Tree Montessori is pleased to kick off our Early Enrollment for current parents with a interactive diversity workshop. “Embracing Humankind” hosted by Julie Harrison of “One World Mind” is an engaging experience in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We invite all interested parents, teachers and community members to attend. There is no charge for this event.

Dr. Maria Montessori, over 100 years ago, opened a Children’s House in a poverty stricken area of Rome. In this lab school, she observed children and documented their developmental needs. Dr. Montessori was a biologist and so she saw children as the young of our species, she later expanded on her discoveries toward a lofty purpose, Peace through Education. She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize after addressing the world in the late 1930′s. This was a time of turmoil and pending disaster, she was pleading for a new perception, a shift of purpose. Maria Montessori’s hope was that we could experience a new perception of children, of the world and even of the concept of Peace. We are proud to continue her work and to carry Dr. Montessori’s message of hope to a tired world, a world in need of Peace. And so, we wish, hope and work toward a Peace filled Holiday Season for all, a season that extends into a true shift of perception, bright and shining into the New Year and far beyond. Happy Holidays.

Maple Tree Montessori’s 2nd annual Celebration of the Performing Arts was a wonderful event. The Violin students are doing very well and their performance was very inspiring. The Drama class was great!! Funny and entertaining. Thank you to Ms. Sherri Magno and Mr. Aric Liljegren for all their hard work. We also had many parent volunteers, Cassandra, Mindi, Jennifer, Natalie, and Shari. Our “film crew” also deserves a thank you, Rick, Josh, Tim and Anthony. Thanks to all the parents that came, brought cookies and supported our studnets in this wonderful experience.

We would like to thank all the parents who have been so supportive and helpful in getting our school year off to a great start! Our Habitat work day was very productive, thanks to our volunteers. Rick (who is a great leader), Vivian, Malcom, Kimmer, Sandi, Josh, Jake, Joel, Cassandra, Dean, Helena,  Claudia, Aaron, Joey, Maya, Julia and Deb all contributed lots manpower, time and effort to restore the use of our trails, gardens, temperate forest and prairie. Thank you!!

We also have volunteers helping with our Suzuki Violin program…our thanks to you, Mindi and Nadia for helping us keep the flow of our classrooms intact during violin lessons. Thank you again, Cassandra…this time for offering to assist Aric with the Drama Program.  Danielle, thank you for offering to help with the distribution of our Equal Exchange Fundraiser and thanks to all of the parents and grandparents who supported our fundraising effort with your orders. Robin, how can we ever thank you for all of your support…we can’t even list all the ways you give to our community.It really does take a group effort to maintain a consistently excellent and cosmic curriculum for our students…we all appreciate your support and we will continue to provide opportunities for everyone to participate and to share in this experience, our school.

Maple Tree Montessori Academy will be hosting a Music Night for parents on Wednesday, September 9th at 6:30 p.m. We are happy to announce that we will be offering Suzuki Violin and Folk Guitar lessons for students this year. Brant Losinski, our new guitar instructor, will discuss the importance of Folk Music and Sherri Mango will outline our Suzuki Violin program. Julie Harrison will also be on hand to answer questions about our Montessori Music program which incorporates vocal music, Orff music, ear training and composition. All parents are invited to this event, which is sure to be interesting and inspiring.

Just a reminder, tonight is our annual Parent Orientation Night starting at 7:00 pm. This is a great chance to meet the teachers, parents, review and see what’s new! This evening is appropriate for all parents from preschool through elementary. We are excited to start our 2009/ 2010 school year and hope to see all of you tonight!

The Upper Elementary “Save the Gorillas Gang” is proud to say that we have finished our mountain gorilla project and it was a big success. Through all of our efforts (and with your support) we were able to raise $1,051.88 for the mountain gorillas. All of the funds raised will go to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (www.gorillafund.org)

We have received such a good response to the shirts we have put them up for sale online on t-shirts as well as other products like coffe mugs, a water bottle, tote bag, and a poster. A portion of the sale price will be donated to the DFGFI. We encourage you to check out our offerings online at www.cafepress.com/jivotica and share them with friends, family and anyone else who cares about animals.

On behalf of the entire Save the Gorillas Gang, thank you so much for helping us help the gorillas. Each of us in our own way has made a big difference.

Peace,

Julia Liljegren

Nature Education Instructor

     Friday May 29th was our last “Pizza Friday.” This upper elementary fundraiser was a great success. We are able to purchase all items on our technical wish list.

  Thank you for all your support,

  Upper El Class

Deciding whether to enroll or continue enrollment in a private Kindergarten and Elementary school is a difficult decision many parents are facing under the added weight of uncertain economic times.

Public school systems and charter schools offer tuition free programs, but because they rely on state funding, many are struggling to maintain current levels of quality programs for students. Some schools are facing drastic deficits and unknown budget cuts are imminent, important factors for parents to consider.

Private parochial schools are subsidized by sponsoring churches, reducing tuition expenses and are often excellent choices for families seeking private school quality in combination with and under the guiding hand of religious education.

Maple Tree Montessori Academy as a private, non parochial school offers Pre school, Kindergarten and Elementary programs. We stand proudly as Brighton’s…in fact, Livingston County’s only private, non parochial elementary school. Maple Tree Montessori is a Michigan State registered private school, meeting all of the state requirements for a private school, as well as being licensed by the Michigan Department of Child and Daycare Licensing.

As you consider your child’s future, consider this…

Recent studies have shown Montessori educated elementary students were much more likely :

1. to show intrinsic motivation.

2. to engage in periods of deep concentration.

3. to identify their teachers as supportive, fair and interested in them as people.

4. to identify their classmates as friends.

In addition to being academically advanced, Montessori adolescents reported a deep and satisfying community life that increases as they get older. They feel a strong sense of community that begins in the classroom, the school and then extends outward in an inclusive and enriching manner. They also felt safe, emotionally as well as physically and this stability allows for expansive development in many other areas.

Montessori, long thought of as a private education that results in academically advanced students, is finally being understood and appreciated for the depth of nurturing it provides, the social foundation that is crucially necessary in the world today. Dr. Maria Montessori was a visionary, she saw children as the hope for the future. Dr. Montessori’s vision earned her several Nobel Peace Prize nominations, not for education…but for Peace and Education. She saw that the holistic development of the child was of primary importance to our world and that this child, the hope for the future, is worth our investment.

We invite inquires, visits and hope to educate parents about the importance of Montessori. Maple Tree Montessori proudly offers this option to parents and children of Brighton, Hartland, Howell, Livingston County and surrounding areas. Our programs include an amazing, private and authentic Montessori Pre school, Kindergarten and Elementary curriculum that embraces the challenge of Dr. Maria Montessori…”to educate the human potential.”

Helpful links:

http://www.montessoritraining.blogspot.com/2007/07/why-montessori-part-iii-educating-human.html

http://www.montessori-science.org/