Message from the Head of School
The teacher must derive not only the capacity, but the desire, to observe natural phenomena. The teacher must understand and feel her position of observer: the activity must lie in the phenomenon.
~Mari Montessori
Dear RMS Parents,
We’re well on our way to Christmas, if you can believe it. Only a few weeks from Thanksgiving, and before we can blink we’ll be at Christmas break.
With that in mind, I wanted to encourage you to make time to come observe in your child’s classroom environment, if you haven’t already. It is the foundation of all of Dr. Montessori’s insights and her method, and there is no better way to grow in this work, and understand what your child is doing as they construct themselves. The quote above mentions “the teacher”, but as we say “Parents are the primary teachers of their children”, so that quote refers to all of us. The more we observe, the better we know how to serve the child as this miracle unfolds before us.
Thank you also to those of you who have already responded to our Mission Support appeal. Your support is irreplaceable and greatly appreciated. If you haven’t already responded, it’s not too late to do so. We’re aiming for 100% participation, so please do take a moment to prayerfully consider what you can do. Every gift helps.
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 Community we welcome Mrs. Claire Nguyen from Children's House! We have all loved Mrs Nguyen for many years at RMS and so blessed to have her with us! Many of our toddlers who have older siblings already know her warm smile and gentle spirit well.
Ms. Sloan is now serving in Children's House and will be a friendly and familiar face to your littles when the time comes for them to grow in the Children's House! We already miss her so much and want her to know, "We love you Ms Sloan!"
Message from the Children's House
In the Children's House this week, we welcomed Ms. Sloan as a full-time member of our community. She has been with us in the afternoons this year and will now be a second full-time assistant in our community. We look forward to getting to know her even better over the coming months. Our beloved Mrs. Nguyen will be spending her mornings with the toddlers but will visit us here whenever she can.
Message from Elementary
The sense of community and love of neighbor is alive and well this week in Elementary! Two Upper El girls offered a slideshow presentation to the community about their going-out to the African American History of Museum and Culture in DC. They showed photos they had taken of the exhibits and told stories about some of the things they had learned. Some of the content was difficult and required discretion, but the girls shared their experience with their peers with grace.
On November 6, the children heard the story of the history of voting. We identified who can vote and why it is important to do so. One of the Primary children listening to the presentation remarked, "We vote because we care about each other."
The younger students heard another of the Great Stories this week, called the Coming of Life, in which we revel together in the vast preparation God undertook when filling the earth with His varied creatures. We highlight the creation of human beings as the moment when, out of love, God created a being made in His very own image and likeness. One of the children remarked, "Almost every day, I think to myself: it is amazing just to be alive." Indeed!
Message from the Erdkinder
The language of Music is our second language in the Erdkinder environment. We study music and learn to sight sing (kind of like being in a band or symphony only our instrument is our voice.) We have been working on a three-part canon written by William Byrd called "Hey, Ho."
We are studying Byrd because he wrote music at the same time as Shakespeare was writing his plays and we are currently reading Richard III. Learning Elizabethan English and singing a song which would have been known and sung at that time is exciting and enjoyable!
Last month, while reading about Columbus, we learned the ancient version of the Salve Regina chant which would have been sung by Columbus and his crew on their voyages during their prayers. We also learned a three-part song about Columbus that describes how Our Lady assisted them. The community loves to sing both this song and the chant, and were very happy to sing it for our friends at the nursing home. We hope to sing our new piece for them this week.
Chick-fil-A Fundraiser Tonight!
Our next Chick-fil-a Spirit Night is tonight! This will be held at the same location as last time, the one off of Rt 28 near Super Target. 15% of the proceeds from RMS Families from 5-8 pm will go to RMS!
Come and grab some dinner or a snack and connect with other RMS families! Your children will come to the car wearing stickers to show at the counter so we get credit.
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.
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!
Upcoming Events
11/8/18 - Chick-fil-a Spirit Night Fundraiser 5 - 8 pm
11/14/18 - Parents Guild Meeting 8:30 am
11/19/18 - Montessori Mondays 8:30 am
11/20/18 - NO ATRIUM - Thanksgiving Break
11/21/18 - NO ATRIUM - Thanksgiving Break
11/21 - 23 - NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving Break
Reminders
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!
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.
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
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