Message from the Head of School
“The hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence.” -Mara Montessori
Dear Parents,
Winter is most definitely here! I hope you are all staying warm, and enjoying the family time.
The quote above is one of Dr. Montessori’s most amazing insights. Amazingly, 100 years before the advent of brain scans, and pediatric neuro-psychology, she discovered that the brain is quite literally built by the hands. And as our technology has improved, we’ve learned more and more just how far ahead of her time she was.
If you haven’t already seen it, I highly recommend watching Pediatric Neurologist Dr. Steven Hughes’ movie “Good at Doing Things”. We have a copy of it in the Parent Lending library, if you’re interested. I’ve also included a short snippet of him being interviewed below. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcNvTPX4Q08
See you at the Parent Night next week!
Sean
Sean P. Garvey
Head of School
Renaissance Montessori School
Messages from the Environments
MESSAGE FROM THE YOUNG CHILDREN'S COMMUNITY
Scooping, pouring, spreading and spooning are a few ways the children in the YCC are refining their small motor movements during snack time. They are very food motivated! Each child has a small pitcher of water at their place setting and they pour their own water into their glass. Additionally, they have been serving themselves from a community serving bowl and this gives them an opportunity to ask a friend to "pass the _____, please!" With a sweet "thank you!" to follow. This week we introduced kiwi fruit at snack. One of our young friends cut them in half for serving, and the children scooped the tangy, sweet fruit right out of it's skin! So fun!
MESSAGE FROM THE CHILDREN'S HOUSE
Last week, we were delighted to attend a tea party hosted by a few of the older children in the Children’s House! We were served berry tea, cucumber sandwiches on homemade biscuits and peaches with cream cheese. The children prepared the food, laid the table and served the guests.
MESSAGE FROM ELEMENTARY
In Elementary, we are celebrating National Catholic Schools Week with fun activities each day! Yesterday, we dressed in comfy clothes and enjoyed "Mary Poppins" as a community. Today was Tacky Tuesday, and the children were so creative in expressing themselves, even in uniform. We are looking forward to the next few days and our continued festivities.
MESSAGE FROM ERDKINDER
Our work together continues! We are finishing our Nativity set. St. Joseph is almost complete. We installed a gate in our electric fence, so we won’t risk damaging the fence by climbing over it. Thank you Mrs. Wolf for her help on that. Our new mobile chicken roost is almost ready. Our community went out for laser tag last weekend. It was a lot of fun!
Six Going on Seven Parent Night - February 5
Our next Parent Night is scheduled for February 5th. The social time begins at 6:30 with the talk beginning promptly at 7:00. This evening will cover the child's transition from the first plane of development to the second and applies specifically to children moving from Primary to Elementary. If you have a Primary or early Elementary child, this is a can't miss informational evening. Come with your questions!
Parent - Child Nights Rescheduled
The children were disappointed to not be able to show their parents their environments when the Parent - Child Night was cancelled due to weather. We have rescheduled the event as follows:
Primary
The Primary Parent-Child night will now beFriday, February 22 from 6:30 - 8:00 PMand will follow the same format as previously announced. You can see more details and sign up for a slot to attend at: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508094EA8AE2CA13-primary
Elementary
The Elementary would like to offer a parentOpen House on Friday, February 8th during school hours. You can see more details and sign up for a slot to attend at:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508094EA8AE2CA13-elementary3
Parents Guild Outing February 15th
Feb. 15 is a day off of schooland the Guild is planning an outing for the kids! We are thinking of meeting atUptown Alley in the Manassas Mall. http://www.uptownalleymanassas.com If we get a group of 10 we can reserve our place. For 13.99, each person gets 1 game of bowling with shoes, and a $10 game voucher or a game of laser tag, two slices of pizza, cookie and a drink. There is also a package without food for 11.99. We have to reserve and pre-pay. If you would like to participate, please contact Tyra Nuar with names and ages. tajm2211@gmail.com
Upcoming Events
2/1/19 - Financial Aid Application Deadline
2/4/19 - Montessori Mondays 8:30 AM
2/5/19 - Six Going on Seven 6:30 PM
2/8/19 - Elementary Open House
2/15/19 - NO SCHOOL Teacher In Service
2/18/19 - NO SCHOOL Teacher In Service
Reminders
Financial Aid Application Deadline Approaching
In order to be considered for Financial Aid for the 2019 - 2020 Academic Year,all currently enrollment families must complete the Financial Aid Application before February 1st.This includes families who have filled out applications in the past, as parents must reapply for tuition assistance each year. For more information and a link to the application, clickHERE.
Calendar Change Due to HVAC
As announced via email this week, we are excited to announce that RMS will be getting a new HVAC system. Not only will this help us better regulate the temperature in our environments, but it will save us money in the short and long term.
As you might imagine, in a campus our size, replacing the HVAC is a large project. We have been informed by the contractor that they need two weeks with no children in the environments to complete the work. In order to keep the impact of this time as minimal as possible, we have scheduled the work to be done around Easter, when we are already out of session for 10 days. We do, however, need to add days to this break to give the contractors the time we need.
So, please note the following calendar changes!
Teacher In-Service Day scheduled for March 15th will now take place on Monday, April 15th.
April 16th and 17th there will be NO SCHOOL but to use these days productively, they will now be Parent-Teacher Conferences.
Please reach out with any questions you may have!