Message from the Head of School

“None of us,… ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.”
~St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa)

Dear Parents,

Throughout my life and career, it’s always astounded me at what God makes happen through people working together. In the Gospels, all the most astounding miracles involve very ordinary people doing very ordinary things . . . very ordinary, very small, very simple acts. But they are radically faith-filled. Professional fishermen, casting their nets again after a day of failure, on the advice of a carpenter . . . Waiters filling stone jars with water, and then bringing a glass of it to the head sommelier to taste . . . A boy giving some Rabbi’s disciples his entire lunch . . . All simple, every day acts, radically inadequate to the miraculous outcome, but requiring a great leap of faith. This is how God works, and how we are blessed to participate.

This week we launched our Mission Support drive, so please keep a look out for a letter from me. I want to thank you all for prayerfully considering how you can participate, and help us continue and extend this beautiful work. You can also give through this link:DONATE HERE.

God bless,

Sean P. Garvey
Head of School
Renaissance Montessori School

Messages from the Environments

Message from the Young Children's Community

This week in the Young Children's House we have enjoyed opening our community to observers from our families and Elementary students. Our beautiful space is set up in such a way to invite the young child to have as much freedom and movement as possible. At the same time, we are daily introducing limits and helping our children practice taking responsibility for their actions and choices with clear language and kind follow through. We acknowledge their feelings, keep them company through tantrums, reconnect when they are calm and start again. This friendliness with error and beginning again is important work that our children will experience all the way through their Montessori experience in the RMS community.

Message from the Children's House

We are so blessed to receive left over flowers from Trader Joe's, picked up and delivered by many of you parents. We received many mum plants this week and decided to plan them. We were able to designate a space for a flower garden, mark it with a border, dig holes and plant the flowers. We are enjoying the fruits of our labors and the beautiful fall colors.

Message from Elementary

The Elementary children are finding ways to live out their faith, and not keep it confined to the atrium. The Elementary class now offers a prayer service with the Children’s House at the end of every school day, assisting the whole community to complete the day together in the auditorium.

The Upper Elementary are also helping the community on Thursday afternoons at St. Lucy’s Warehouse, which is Catholic Charities’ distribution center for local food pantries in this area. Last week was the boys’ first turn to help. The highlight of this week was to tour and use the new walk-in refrigerator and freezer at the warehouse. The boys had so much energy and enthusiasm, staying positive during all their tasks, from hauling trash, folding bags, to sorting and packing food. The girls are looking forward to their turn this upcoming Thursday.

Message from the Erdkinder

Our environment is very excited to be reading Shakespeare’s Tragic History of Richard III — The Villain King. We are learning to read fluently with expression and preparing a recitation of some of the more beautiful soliloquies once we finish reading the play together. We have many budding thespians! 🎭

Living Souls Museum

Next Wednesday, October 31st, the Elementary will be offering a Living Souls Museum for all the members of our community. We invite parents, grandparents, and extended family to join us for an open house from 9 - 11 am.

November/December Pizza Form Available

We ask that you please hand these in, with payment included, no later than the Wednesday before each Friday. You can order for the full two months or any week at a time.

PIZZA FRIDAY ORDER FORM

RMS Students Invited to Play Basketball with HFA

All RMS students in grades 6-12 are invited to join the Holy Family Academy basketball teams. They will have the following teams: MSG, MSB, HSG, HSB. Parents should contact Patrick Storey at athleticdirector@holyfamilyacademy.net to sign up or ask any questions. They will send out more details very soon about upcoming practices and the game schedule. Most practices will be in the RMS gym.

Don't Throw Away Your Jack-o-Lanterns

If you have any left over pumpkins with or with out seeds please bring them in. The Erdkinder would love to have them for our chickens as they are very good for them. If you could please drop them off either in front of the Erdkinder door or the bench by door 3. Thank you so much!

Upcoming Events

10/29/18 - Picture Day
10/28/18 - Parents Guild Farm Brew Live 5-7 PM
10/30/18 - First Holy Communion Parent Meeting
10/31/18 - Elementary Living Souls Museum 9 - 11 AM
11/1/18 - NO SCHOOL - All Saints Day
11/2/18 - NO SCHOOL - Teacher In-Service Day
11/2/18 - Parents Guild Ticonderoga Farms Outing

Reminders

Volunteer Hours and Tracking

Once again this year we are using Track it Forward to help parents easily find opportunities to volunteer and track hours. Returning families can continue to use the same account they had last year. New families will receive an invitation from the Track it Forward system. The email will contain instructions on how to log in and change your password. The email will be sent to only one parent and be a family account for both parents and any caregivers to log in to. If you don't receive this email (one per family), please let Kristina know!

In addition to being able to see volunteer needs and track hours on the Track it Forward website, you can also do both in the "Volunteering" drop down of the parents section of the RMS website HERE. There is also a link to this page at the top of each weekly update for easy access.

As always, we are here to help so let us know if you have any questions at all!

New Family Directory Available

The 2018-2019 RMS Family Directory is now available. It can be downloaded below and is always available on the RMS Parents Page of our website.

RMS Family Directory 2018-2019

Parents Guild Upcoming Events

The Parents Guild has been planning some fun outings for both parents and kids.

Farm Brew Live

On October 28, 2018 from 5-7 we invite you to join other RMS parents (and kids if you would like) at 2 Silos/Farm Brew Live in Manassas. Come enjoy the evening with us--Two Silos features an outdoor fireplace, a Peterson's ice cream truck with specialty ice cream and drinks, a playground, corn hole, fire pits and several different food options. They do ask that you do not bring in outside food and children must be with their parents the entire time. We will try to meet in the area near the fireplace. Check it out: http://farmbrewlive.com

Ticonderoga Farms

On November 2, a day off of school, we will head to Ticonderoga Farms for a fun and exciting day outside with family and friends. Beginning around noon we will gather (bring or buy lunch) at the farm and everyone can stay as long as they would like. Ticonderoga has goats, rolling tunnels and big slides, hayrides, giant jumping pillow, and all the usual farm festival fun. The cost is 10.95 for everyone 2 and older. No need to RSVP; just show up and bring a friend!
http://www.ticonderoga.com/

Fall Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent-Teacher conferences occur twice a year; once in the fall and once in the spring. The conferences provide parents with one-on-one time with the teacher, to share our joint observations of the child, so we can best acknowledge who they are and what they need next. Conferences can be scheduled during “office hours”, which are unique to the environment and directress.

In order to make these as fruitful as possible, parents need to have observed at least once in the environment before their conference.

Use the links below to schedule a conference. If there is an emergency and you are not able to make your scheduled time, please contact the office to let us know. Then reschedule through the sign up below for an available time. Thank you in advance for your prompt arrival.

Toddler
Primary
Elementary
Erdkinder

Open for Observations

Observation is the foundation of this entire way, i.e. the Montessori Method, and observation of the child is essential for everyone in the child’s life. This is the way we discover who the child is, where they are in their journey and what they need next. All staff members participate in daily observations in the classrooms. We cannot stress enough how important it is for parents to observe their child both in the home and in the classroom.

All of our environments are now open for parent observation. We schedule observations for all environments at 8:50 AM and encourage you to plan to stay about 30 minutes.

SCHEDULE A CLASSROOM OBSERVATION

It's Time for Box Tops

Please collect any Box Tops you may have and submit them to anyone at drop off or pick up or put in the box in the office for collection. Deadline for submission is Monday, October 22nd. Please contact Michelle Clune at michelleclune@yahoo.com if you have any questions. Thank you!

If you'd like to catch up on what we covered at the last meeting, you can find the minutes HERE.

RMS Absentee Line for Late Arrivals and Early Pick-Ups

The new RMS Absentee Line has been working great for when children will be out. Thanks so much to all the parents who have already used it!

We are asking that parents also begin to use this line to let the office know if you plan to be late or to pick up your children early. This notifies several us in the office so we can make sure to receive your message in time.