Message from the Head of School
“To let the child do as he likes when he has not yet developed any powers of control is to betray the idea of freedom.”
- Maria Montessori
Dear Parents,
Winter is upon us, and no mistake. Bundle up! We are in the final planning stages for our HVAC replacement; please keep it in your prayers!
We’re very excited to be hosting our next Parent ‘Night’ this Friday, and hope to see you all there. The topic is “Freedom & Discipline” as requested by you on our last survey, hence the quote above. The paradox that is ‘freedom’ is widely misunderstood in our culture these days, and it is the very heart of what we are endeavoring to do, as families and a school. So there really is no more important topic we could be covering.
We’re also experimenting with shifting the day (Friday instead of Tuesday) and time (directly after school) of this Parent ‘Night’, and offering child care as well based on your feedback. The RSVP response has been very positive so far, and we’re hopeful we’ll break all kinds of attendance records on this one. Looking forward to seeing you there!
God bless,
Sean P. Garvey
Head of School
Renaissance Montessori School
Messages from the Environments
Message from the Young Children's Community
In the Young Children's Community mealtime is a special opportunity for connection as well as nourishment. The children set a beautiful table with seasonal flowers and wait behind their chair for everyone to be ready so we sit down together. This week we have been cutting into a butternut squash, chopping apples and baking them to serve with our daily bread. Yum!
Message from the Children's House
The children planned, prepared and served food for our Thanksgiving lunch. Along with their lunch, they enjoyed fresh cut salad, homemade bread and fruit salad.
Message from Elementary
We talked this week in Elementary about what it means to "hit your stride" in a run. At the beginning, your muscles might cramp, or you might struggle to regulate your breathing. After a few minutes, however, you will settle into a rhythm and begin to enjoy the work. This is the point at which we find ourselves in our school year, and it is truly wonderful! The children know how to be here, what it means to generate productive work, and how to respond appropriately to presentations given. We are seeing the fruits of a community of experienced Montessori children, working in harmony, and it is a gift to simply step back and watch it all unfold! Please come and observe when you can!
Message from the Erdkinder
We have been very busy with our chickens in the Erdkinder. Mrs. Wolf helped us build new roosts for them as well as showed us how to clip the wing of a chicken in order to avoid their escaping over our fence. She also taught us how to carry chickens in the way that allows them to stay calm.
Parent Night THIS FRIDAY - Please RSVP
Thank you to all who participated in our latest survey on Parent Night; it was our highest interest survey to date!
The results of the survey are in and you overwhelmingly indicated that an earlier time with childcare available would help you attend these important collaborative sessions. So, we'd like to try it and our next Parent Night will become a Parent Afternoon.
Details:
Friday, November 30th, 3:30 - 5 pm
Later Pick-up will be extended until 5.
Charge for Later Pick-up will be the usual $5 per child or $15 for a family of 3 or more.
RVSP required. Please reply to this email to RSVP to attend this earlier session and indicate the number of children you will be putting in Later Pick-up.
Un-Trim a Tree
This year we are beginning a new tradition of Un-Trim a Tree to provide families with an opportunity to help enrich their child's environment. Here's how it works:
Choose a tag from the tree outside the Parent Lounge any time between now and Christmas break.
Purchase the item for the environment listed.
Wrap and label the gift and return it to under the tree.
The gifts will be opened by the children in the environments after Epiphany.
SCRIP for Gift Giving
Find gifts for everyone on your list while earning down your $300 SCRIP minimum with the holiday gift guide. Shop gift cards from over 750 top brands and restaurants, including Panera, Chipotle, Starbucks, Best Buy, Amazon, Nordstrom, The Home Depot, Gap, Lands End and more. Whether you buy the gift cards to give as presents to family and friends, or to use them to buy your gifts—RMS earns with every gift card purchased. It’s simple, it’s thoughtful and it’s truly the gift that keeps on giving.
Shop the gift guide at ShopWithScrip.com/GiftGuide
Nokesville Christmas Parade - Come Walk with Us!
We are excited about participating in the local parade this year, and the Nokesville Community is equally excited that we will be joining in. Let's make a great showing! Please click on the Evite below and let us know how many of you can walk with us. Alannah Sweeney, mom of Johnny in Primary, has loads of parade experience with the Boyle School of Irish Dance, and has graciously agreed to organize us. The Erdkinder will lead us in singing, and it will be a lot of fun for all.
The parade is at 4 pm on Saturday, Dec. 8 and we need to meet at Brentsville High School at 3PM. It isn't a long parade so we hope you can fit it into your day.
Let us know! http://evite.me/w7N5euUbhQ. The invite also has more information for you if you click on the "message from the organizer" tab.
From the Guild
For Small Hands
Want to mix some fun educational gifts in to your Christmas list this year? There are For Small Hands catalogs available in the Parent Lounge and the Office or you can shop online at www.forsmallhands.com/. Don't forget, if you order from For Small Hands, use code #169697 and RMS will get credit towards items for our environments!
Meeting Minutes
Our next meeting is December 5th at 8:30 AM. If you'd like to catch up on what we covered at the last meeting, you can find the minutes HERE.
New Montessori Association to be Housed at RMS
We are very excited to begin a partnership with the newly created Cultural and Catechetical Montessori Association. The mission of CCMA is to empower cultural renewal by promoting the work of Maria Montessori and Sofia Cavaletti in revealing the truth about the human person. CCMA will be opening a Cultural and Catechetical Center in the annex space here at RMS (where Elementary was the last two years).
We will be working closely with CCMA both in furthering its mission and also opening the center here on our campus. You may have noticed that we have begun to pull the gate between the spaces to get the children used to remaining on this side of the building. CCMA will have its own entrance on that side of the building.
Stay tuned for all the exciting details on programming offered by CCMA!
Upcoming Events
11/30/18 - Parent Night 3:30 - 5:00 PM
12/03/18 - Montessori Mondays - 8:30 AM
12/05/18 - Parent Guild Meeting - 8:30 AM
12/08/18 - RMS Participating in Nokesville Christmas Parade 3:00 PM
12/17/18 - Montessori Mondays - 8:30 AM
12/20/18 - Last day of school in 2018
12/20/18 - Elementary Movie Night Fundraiser
Reminders
Students Invited to Swim with Seton
Any student 7th grade or older at RMS is invited to join the RMS Swim team. They will be practicing and going to meets with the Seton Swim team. Register at www.setonswimming.org.
Seton purposely tries to keep their fees low so these fees don’t quite cover practice lane rental. The rest (meets, pizza, uniforms, swim bags, houses for states, buses to Richmond, officials training, coach and officials uniforms, computer and sound equipment, etc.) all come from donations. Parents will be asked to help where they can, at least committing to helping with timing at meets. They can also always use people who are willing to be trained as a stroke and turn judge.
RMS Students Invited to Join HFA Baksetball Teams
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.
Save the Date - Community Movie Night
On December 20th, the Elementary class is hosting a Movie Night! All proceeds will go to the Elementary spring production. The movies will be: “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” from 5:30 – 6:00 PM “Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown” from 6:10 – 6:40 PM and “It’s a Wonderful Life” from 6:50-9:05. More details to follow!
Volunteer Hours Opportunity
We are looking for some volunteers to give some of their time to an exterior campus clean up for Fall. The work would include weeding, clearing debris and trash, and some raking. This could be done on your own time whenever available. Please contact Kristina if you are available to help!