An Important Announcement from RMS

Dear Parents,
 
As I am sure that you are all aware, no school is ever able to meet operating expenses with tuition alone. RMS keeps tuition as low as possible so that no child is ever turned away from the school because of financial ability. This means that fundraising is a part of the everyday life of our community.
 
Similar to other private schools, RMS asks that all parents in our community assist in fundraising. Over the last few years, we have done this through the Family SCRIP Contribution program where each family was asked to purchase SCRIP with a goal of $300 in profit or match the $300 in cash should they not want to participate in SCRIP.
 
Thank you to everyone who worked SCRIP into their monthly purchases; some of you even exceeded your $300 minimum. However, we believe that with the advent of Apple Pay, Venmo and the like, SCRIP is a less intuitive way for families to contribute to fundraising here at RMS. So, we have decided that beginning this year, the Family SCRIP Contribution will become a Family Mardi Gras Contribution. 
 
The program will work much the same as SCRIP did, but instead of earning down the fundraising goal with SCRIP, families can earn it down with Mardi Gras sponsorships or by selling Mardi Gras raffle tickets. We believe that this will help our community focus all our fundraising attention on the Mardi Gras, the amazing event that so many of our parents already spend so much time making a success. Here’s how it will work.
 

1. All families will have a $300 charge added to their June 2020.

2. This goal can be earned down or eliminated completely by:

   • Securing Sponsorships for Mardi Gras – Bring a filled out Sponsor form and payment to the school and we will credit your June invoice for the amount of the sponsorship.

   • Selling Mardi Gras Raffle tickets – Each ticket sold will credit your June invoice for the face value of the ticket.

3. Exceeding your $300 goal earns you tuition credits! We will credit your tuition bill 25% of every dollar earned over $300. That means, if you bring in one $500 sponsorship, you will not only meet your fundraising goal, but also have earned an extra $25 off your tuition!

4. As with last year, each Parent Workshop you attend will also credit your goal $10 for each parent that attends.

Look for more details as the Mardi Gras team rolls out its needs for the year. As always, please feel free to reach out with any and all questions.

God bless,
Kristina Fox
Principal
Renaissance Montessori School

Liturgy of the Light Details

Monday, April 29th, which is the first day back at school after Easter break, is our in-school celebration of Easter (Liturgy of the Light). It is the greatest celebration of the year with the children and so requires some special preparation, both at the school and at home.  This year as we do every year, drop off will start at 9:45 am, in order for the staff to prepare for this beautiful celebration.

As much as we would love to make this celebration a whole school event including parents, practically it is not possible, therefore the celebration must be limited to students and staff. There is no Parent-Infant class this day. Thank you for your help in making this celebration seamless and beautiful for the children.

Just as if they were going to an Easter vigil, the children will be walking into a darkened school building and we will begin our celebration immediately. As this celebration begins in silence, the ringer on the school phone will be turned off. Please make a special effort to arrive on time because if you are late, we will not hear you. We will be walking down to the auditorium to celebrate as a whole school. The doors will be closed and the phone will be turned off at 10.00 am sharp so that we can all participate in this special event. In the event of a late arrival, you will need to wait until we are finished as we will be in auditorium for our celebration this year. The celebration may take up to an hour or more. The school doors will open again at 11:30 AM; late arrivals may join us then.

Safety note: The children will be receiving individual candles as part of the celebration. Please have all long hair pulled back and do not wear loose clothing (Primary children) with flowy skirts, etc.

This celebration is made even more beautiful with lots of flowers. If you have cut branches, flowers from your garden, extra Easter lilies etc., please consider sending them in. The children love to process with flowers and to see the whole prayer table surrounded by flowers and flowering plants!

Faculty and Staff 2019-2020

Dear Parents,

As you know, this is the time of year when we begin planning for next year. I have been in conversation with each of the staff members, assessing and evaluating the projected needs of the community and the opportunities in which the adults can best serve the children. I would like to share with you the results of these discussions.

Primary: Through observation, Dr. Montessori recognized that self-construction happens before the age of six, so our Primary Program is the cornerstone upon which our school has been built. We have decided to use the gifts the Lord has given us, namely two AMI-trained Primary directresses, to make this community as strong as it can be. Miss Annie has been a constant guiding force in our Children’s House for several years, and she will be joined by Mrs. Jen Ashton full-time in that environment. Both women are also trained in the Catechesis of the Good Shephed, and we have every confidence that together they will lead the children closer to the Good Shepherd and to reaching each of their own full potentials.

Toddler: Mrs. Ashton’s service of the youngest members of our community has been an answer to prayers and is something for which we are truly grateful. This year, Mrs. Nguyen has been orienting to this work alongside Mrs. Ashton and has graciously agreed to continue on in this capacity in the fall, as the lead of our Young Children’s Community.  

Elementary: Mrs. Luetkemeyer and Miss Emilia Fusco will be returning as Guide and Assistant in Elementary, and Mrs. Miller will be returning as Catechist. The community has come a long way in terms of establishing the kind of culture we have hoped to create, and we see only good things in store for our second-plane students and the staff who work with them.

Erdkinder: After three years at RMS, Dr. Rubin will be moving on to other ventures. We owe her a debt of gratitude for founding our Adolescent Program, and we wish her all the best in her future work. We are very excited to announce that Mrs. Mary Pat Blanchette, our current school nurse, has agreed to take on the task of rebuilding this program to more fully meet the needs of our current families. The program will now be a middle school offering only, with a balance between the work of the hand and a classical approach to education. Mrs. Blanchette hopes to be a facilitator and liaison for the adolescents between the work they do on campus and what lies beyond: spiritually, socially, and academically. A registered nurse and former middle school teacher, Mrs. Blanchette will, through inspiring guest speakers and real-world experiences, support the children as they move toward taking their places in society as productive, thoughtful adults of virtue and integrity. Mrs. Kate Wolf will be returning to continue to guide the outdoor and animal work and as Catechist for the middle school children. (We will be holding a gathering, details to be announced, for prospective students and their families as soon as possible!)

Administration: Mr. Garvey will continue on as Head of School with myself as Principal. Miss Sophia Fusco will be getting married and moving out of state, so Miss Mary Arnold will work in the office as our floater assistant. We are grateful to Miss Sophia for her versatility and are sure that Miss Mary, with two years of experience in the Children’s House, will be able to function beautifully in this new role.

We are truly blessed each year to have an amazing community of families and staff, because relationship is what makes this school thrive and the longer we are in it together, the farther we can go to see this vision of Catholic Montessori realized. We are grateful for your trust in us and are looking with hopeful enthusiasm at the years ahead.

God bless,
Kristina