Once again, Maple Tree Montessori welcomes author Chick Moorman to kick off our open enrollment season. “Parent Talk” will be held on Saturday, February 28th from 1:00 – 4:00 in the afternoon. Chick is a funny, insightful and inspiring speaker who engages his audience in an experience of parenting that is both practical and thought provoking. We are delighted that he is able to come and speak at our school. Although his workshops are often priced above $50.00 per person, we are offering this event free of charge. Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity…and invite your friends and family to attend!

Dr. Maria Montessori’s work with children, although centered through observation and education transcended both these forms to a level of content that resulted in her nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. Montessori Philosophy is not just a method of education, but it is a broad reaching, indeed worldwide, social movement. It is an inspiration of the spirit of humankind, this idea that the child is to be revered as the hope for mankind and that within the child is the potential for a lasting peace, a “peace through education”. This inspiration of thought was radical 100 years ago and is importantly and hopefully as relevant and needed today.

Maria Montessori envisioned peace as much more than the cessation of war, in her understanding, peace was a positive state. Peace is not merely the absence of conflict, it is a whole state that is naturally present and attained within the hearts of humankind through an amazing new definition of education. She was a visionary who had an incredible ability to take abstract conceptions and offer them to the world in a practical, effective manner that redefines all of our previous notions of peace and education. We proudly and humbly carry on her legacy to a hopeful future.

During this time of year, as we offer our wishes to all for a Peaceful Holiday Season, we also offer the hope that this is a lasting Peace, a true Peace that flourishes within all hearts this New Year. We also offer for reflection and consideration, Dr. Montessori’s hope and insight…

“Times have changed, and science has made great progress, and so has our work; but our principles have only been confirmed, and along with them our conviction that mankind can hope for a solution to it’s problems, among the most urgent are those of peace and unity, only by turning it’s attention and energies to the discovery of the child and to the development of the great potentialities of the human personality in the course of it’s formation.”

Dr. Maria Montessori    1948

Maple Tree Montessori’s first ever Celebration of the Performing Arts was a wonderful sharing of joyful, funny, relaxed and confident performances. Our goal was to provide a low stress and fun experience for our performers and their parents. A first time for most of our students, we wanted to build confidence and excitement about their abilities and about sharing their emerging talents with an audience.

The skits that were done by the Drama class were very well chosen and presented with talent, humor and focus. The students were confident and enjoyed their first stage experience. Thank you to Aric and Nicole for all their hard work and encouragement…these students loved being on the stage!

 The Suzuki Violin students were also very focused and played their violin’s with confidence. They showed us all how well they have been attending and practicing with their new insturments. The notes and postures were done very well, especially considering that they have been so recently introduced to the violin. The students were very proud of their abilitiy and we thank Jessica for her gifted teaching and Jackie for all her support during lessons and during the performance.

Lower and Upper Elementary Montessori Music students shared the joy of singing and dance. They were delighted to perform and showed ability and confidence as well as demonstrating just how much they enjoy music. Julie works with them every week and they are also developing a strong base in rhythm, notation, and an appreciation of music on many levels. Thanks, Julie!

Thanks also to all the parents who support us in this expansion of our curriculm to include these important expereinces for our children. Practicing, costumes, cookies, as welll as attending and ejoying our wonderful performers on the stage…all of these are important contributions to a succesful show! Thank you!

Maple Tree Montessori Academy is pleased to invite you to attend our first ever Celebration of Performing Arts. This exciting event will be held at the Hartland Music Hall on Tuesday, December 9th at 7:00 pm and will feature performances by our Suzuki Violin students, Music and Dance by our elementary students and skits performed by our Drama Class. All families and friends a welcome and performing students should arrive a just little early.This is a celebration of our expanded programs, giving our students a slightly formal opportunity, a beginning experience of performing on a real stage. There will be no formal dress rehersal and the show itself will be conducted in a relaxed manner appropriate to the experience of young children and first time performers. We are looking forward to sharing their progress with our entire school community.

THANKSGIVING FEAST

Wednesday, November 26th…Primary Class Thanksgiving Feast Day. All family and friends are welcome to attend. Morning Class Feast is 10:00 – 11:30. Afternoon  Class Feast is 2:00 - 3:30. There is NO regular Primary Class and NO Day Care on the Feast Day! Elementary students will be having class at their normal class times. The Primary Class children having been working hard to prepare the food for this event and we all look forward to sharing it with the people that we are most grateful for…such as you!!

The snowflakes and the tempatures are falling and winter is on the way! A good time it seems for a few seasonal reminders. We will still be going outside on a daily basis unless the wind chill is below 20 or it is raining, please send clearly labeled winter clothing for your child. Snow pants, boots, mittens and hats should be all marked with your child’s name and these items may be left in a bag at school instead of transported daily. Also, many students wear slippers during the winter months. The slippers should be non-distracting, labeled and can also be left at school.

If Maple Tree Montessori Academy is closed for the day, this will be announced at WHMI FM 93.5 and posted on this blog as soon as possible. If Brighton Area Schools close, due to poor weather conditions, we will be closed. However, since they take more days off during the year, you should always check the radio or the blog for current closings.

We had a beautiful day on Saturday and we all enjoyed the opportunity to work on our Children’s Habitat Project. A split rail fence now defines our Prairie which was dug and planted with native grasses and wildflowers. The Prairie will be reclaimed in stages throughout the next year, but we are already seeing animals and children enjoying our efforts. Trails in the woods were cleared and the debris from deeper areas removed to allow the children to explore our habitat safely. Thank you to all the hard workers; 

Rick, Naomi, Vivian, Malcom, Uncle Joe, Jackie, Jay, Caden, Petra, Katharina, Franziska, Mitch, Mindy, Canyon, Colbie, Breck, Robin, Favrile, Aaron, Joey, Logan, Deb and Steve…on behalf of all the children, I thank you!

I would like to invite all families to watch for our next work day, sharing a feeling of purposeful community and contribution makes the work a delight…the more the merrier!!!

Sue

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!!!

We would like to thank you for the wonderful attendance and support on Parent Night. We are so pleased with your response to the many exciting new ventures for the 2008/2009 school year. If you were unable to attend, here are some highlights:

• Savor the Season, our new hot lunch provider, presented a wonderful tasting selection of their very high quality, home cooked lunches. The food, focused on natural, local and organic ingredients, was beautifully prepared and delicious. Their presentation was highly successful and we are looking forward to many tasty meals.
• Chef Leslie Owens was on hand to discuss her plans for Culinary projects for the Elementary students, including menu planning that ties the cooking to our cultural studies and the development of culinary skills and experiences.
• Debra Babiarz talked and answered questions about the structure and curriculum for the Upper Elementary class including Community Service projects and her plans for the development of our new class on a holistic level.
• Our new music teacher, Julie Harrison Sporer, comes to us with both a music background and 15 years experience as a Montessori teacher. She recently attend an amazing Montessori Music Curriculum program and plans to incorporate ear training, music appreciation, note reading and composition as well as dance into all of our classrooms. She spoke of her love of music and Montessori and of her commitment to the child’s complete experience of both.
• Julia Liljegren comes to us with much experience in wilderness education and preservation, including children’s education at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. Julia spoke enthusiastcally about her plans for incoporating our Children’s Habitat, outdoor education and new Biome materials into a comprehensive program for connecting our children to their natural environment through both education and abundant outdoor experience.
• Aric Liljegren  was very successfully in conveying both his dramatic talent and excitement about the prospect of offering after school Drama Class to our elementary students. Aric has most recently been working with children through the drama program at The Marquis Theatre in Northville. We are all excited about this upcoming opportunity and will be finalizing the dates, times and costs very soon.
• We will also be updating our information about our Suzuki Violin classes. The classes will be held during school hours and the children will have the opportunity to lease a size fitted violin, stand and Suzuki book. The final cost of lessons is currently under review and we will notify parents very soon of the program details. If you are interested in receiving this information please email us at info@mapletreemontessori.com as soon as possible.

All of the staff are very excited about the new offerings for your children and we are looking forward to a wonderful school year. I want to also thank all of our parents for their support and especially the fundraising efforts that have allowed us to pursue some of these changes in our curriculum, Thank you!!

P.S. Our email difficulties are resolved!!