Weekly Update 11/2/17

Head of School's Message

"There is no description, no image in any book that is capable of replacing the sight of real trees, and all the life to be found around them, in a real forest. Something emanates from those trees which speaks to the soul, something no book, no museum is capable of giving." -    Maria Montessori Dear RMS Parents,

I hope you all had a Happy Halloween and blessed All Saints Day. The weather and the trees are cooperating this week to give us a beautiful show. As Montessori says above, nothing can replace this beauty. I hope you are all able to get out and enjoy them with your children.

Have a great week.

God bless,

Sean

Exclusive Shutterfly Discounts

Shutterfly and Tiny Prints has sent 50 one time use discount codes for our families to use while shopping on the websites. Shutterfly is offering $10 off a purchase of $50 plus free shipping. Tiny Prints is offering 40% off plus free shipping. Email rmsshutterfly@gmail.com and Alicia Rainville will send you a code. Codes will be first come first serve. Happy Shopping!

Save the Date for a Contra Dance

Back by popular demand, we will once again be hosting a family Contra dance. The date for this event is December 7 from 6:30-8:30. Mark your calendars now and stay tuned for more details.

Upcoming Events

  • 11/10/17 - Southern Cross Dads Event
  • 11/15/17 - Parents Guild Meeting
  • 11/15/17 - Chick-fl-a Spirit Night
  • 11/22-24/17 - Thanksgiving Break

Reminders

Referral Bonanza

Don't miss out on a chance to get $500 off your tuition! This is how it works:

  1. Any referred family that decides to apply after their observation and visit will have their application fee waived.
  2. If a referred family is admitted and decides to enroll, the referring family will get a $500 tuition discount.
    • If you feel you don’t need that discount but your referred friend does, you can gift it to them!

We’re ramping up our marketing effort, and anticipate getting close to full enrollment by next Fall, God willing. So now is the time to get your friends to come and see what Renaissance is all about. And don’t forget we have rolling admissions in Toddler, and the possibility of January starts for Primary. So don’t wait to encourage your friends to “come and see”.

Reminder About Early Pick Up Procedure

It is important for the progress of the child for them to be given consistency and the daily opportunity to complete a full work cycle in the environments prepared just for them here at school. It can be disruptive to both the work of the child and to the environment for a child to leave early. We recognize that this situation can sometimes be necessary, and if an unavoidable early departure is required, we have a procedure that allows us to work together to minimize disruption.

  1. Communicating your plans to your child(ren) in advance allows them to be prepared for a change in their routine. This is especially important for young children.
  2. Communicate to the office via email or phone, before 8:30 AM if at all possible, that the child will be picked up early.
  3. Plan to arrive about 10 minutes early to give your children time to put away their work and gather their things. A primary child might need even a bit more time.
  4. When you arrive at the school, ring the bell and come to the office. We will call your child(ren) from their environments when you arrive.
  5. Sign them out in the binder reserved for this.

Thanks for your help as we work to together to serve the needs and safety of the children entrusted to us.

New Pizza Lunch Order Form Available

The November - December pizza lunch order form is now available! Remember, you can order pizza for the whole month or you can order any week. Just make sure to hand in your form the Wednesday before the Friday of the week you want pizza. The form is HERE as well as always at the top of these weekly emails.

Help With Videos

Do you have equipment or skills to create and edit videos? We are looking to create some promotional materials and would love your help! Contact Kristina at kfox@rmsmail.org if you can help (or know someone that would be willing to donate their time.)

Classroom Wishlists Now Online

We've heard from parents that they would love to know what kinds of things could be donated to help enhance the work of their child's environment. We've created a section on the website to help you. You can find the RMS Wishlist under the Support Tab of the website or follow the link below. Thank you so much for your generosity!

RMS WISHLIST

Earn Money for RMS With Your Shutterfly Orders

Renaissance Montessori is thrilled to announce we are now participating with Shutterfly and Tiny Prints fundraising storefronts – both storefronts give the school 13% of your total purchase. For each purchase you make from either one of these brands, 13% will be donated to our school!

In need of Christmas cards, mailing labels, or personalized items (with or without pictures), shop through our site! Wedding or anniversary presents needed…shop through our site! Simply click the link renaissancemontessori.shutterflystorefront.com, click which brand you want to shop, and shop away. As soon as you make a purchase, the school’s revenue shows up on our fundraising page.

How To Support Us:

  1. Go to our storefront -  renaissancemontessori.shutterflystorefront.com (Also found under the Support tab on the RMS website.
  2. Click through to Shutterfly.com or Shutterfly.com/Tinyprints and start shopping
  3. Make a purchase

That’s it, it is that easy AND you can still use any discounts that are being advertised on the Shutterfly site. Feel free to share this email with all your friends and family, the more people who purchase, the more our school earns!

SCRIP Update

Don't forget to order scrip weekly at www.shopwithscrip.com and drop off your cash or checks by Tuesday. Mr Garvey will collect them curbside or you can put them directly into the SCRIP box in the office. If you haven't set up an account yet, our enrollment code is 8F91287E14129.

Remember that if you want to earn that $300 quickly, it is best to set up a PrestoPay account because you can purchase and use electronic SCRIP immediately from your handheld device or home computer, no more dealing with dropping off checks and waiting a week for your cards to arrive.

Forgot to place an order? No problem, there is a SCRIP binder in the office with an array of cards for purchase. Simply go into the office and Kristina will help you through the purchase process. Any questions or problems please contact Rosanne Garvey at rosanne505@verizon.net or 703-447-9229.

Weekly Update 10/26/17

Head of School's Message

“The hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence.” -    Maria Montessori Dear RMS Parents,   You should have received an email telling you about our “Referral Bonanza” (reminder below). I do hope you will each take a moment to tell your friends with young children about Renaissance, and encourage them to schedule a visit. Of all marketing tools, word of mouth is the most potent and important. Parents care what other parents think, and rightly so.

If you don’t have any friends with young children, take a moment and give us a review on Great Schools by clicking HERE.

Thank you and God bless,

Sean

Referral Bonanza

Don't miss out on a chance to get $500 off your tuition! This is how it works:

  1. Any referred family that decides to apply after their observation and visit will have their application fee waived.
  2. If a referred family is admitted and decides to enroll, the referring family will get a $500 tuition discount.
    • If you feel you don’t need that discount but your referred friend does, you can gift it to them!

We’re ramping up our marketing effort, and anticipate getting close to full enrollment by next Fall, God willing. So now is the time to get your friends to come and see what Renaissance is all about. And don’t forget we have rolling admissions in Toddler, and the possibility of January starts for Primary. So don’t wait to encourage your friends to “come and see”.

Reminder About Early Pick Up Procedure

It is important for the progress of the child for them to be given consistency and the daily opportunity to complete a full work cycle in the environments prepared just for them here at school. It can be disruptive to both the work of the child and to the environment for a child to leave early. We recognize that this situation can sometimes be necessary, and if an unavoidable early departure is required, we have a procedure that allows us to work together to minimize disruption.

  1. Communicating your plans to your child(ren) in advance allows them to be prepared for a change in their routine. This is especially important for young children.
  2. Communicate to the office via email or phone, before 8:30 AM if at all possible, that the child will be picked up early.
  3. Plan to arrive about 10 minutes early to give your children time to put away their work and gather their things. A primary child might need even a bit more time.
  4. When you arrive at the school, ring the bell and come to the office. We will call your child(ren) from their environments when you arrive.
  5. Sign them out in the binder reserved for this.

Thanks for your help as we work to together to serve the needs and safety of the children entrusted to us.

New Pizza Lunch Order Form Available

The November - December pizza lunch order form is now available! Remember, you can order pizza for the whole month or you can order any week. Just make sure to hand in your form the Wednesday before the Friday of the week you want pizza. The form is HERE as well as always at the top of these weekly emails.

Help With Videos

Do you have equipment or skills to create and edit videos? We are looking to create some promotional materials and would love your help! Contact Kristina at kfox@rmsmail.org if you can help (or know someone that would be willing to donate their time.)

Upcoming Events

  • 10/31/17- Elementary "Living Souls" Museum 9 - 11:30 AM
  • 11/1/17 - No School - All Saints Day
  • 11/2/17 - Picture Day

Reminders

Classroom Wishlists Now Online

We've heard from parents that they would love to know what kinds of things could be donated to help enhance the work of their child's environment. We've created a section on the website to help you. You can find the RMS Wishlist under the Support Tab of the website or follow the link below. Thank you so much for your generosity!

RMS WISHLIST

Earn Money for RMS With Your Shutterfly Orders

Renaissance Montessori is thrilled to announce we are now participating with Shutterfly and Tiny Prints fundraising storefronts – both storefronts give the school 13% of your total purchase. For each purchase you make from either one of these brands, 13% will be donated to our school!

In need of Christmas cards, mailing labels, or personalized items (with or without pictures), shop through our site! Wedding or anniversary presents needed…shop through our site! Simply click the link renaissancemontessori.shutterflystorefront.com, click which brand you want to shop, and shop away. As soon as you make a purchase, the school’s revenue shows up on our fundraising page.

How To Support Us:

  1. Go to our storefront -  renaissancemontessori.shutterflystorefront.com (Also found under the Support tab on the RMS website.
  2. Click through to Shutterfly.com or Shutterfly.com/Tinyprints and start shopping
  3. Make a purchase

That’s it, it is that easy AND you can still use any discounts that are being advertised on the Shutterfly site. Feel free to share this email with all your friends and family, the more people who purchase, the more our school earns!

Picture Day Details

This year's picture day is fast approaching. As a reminder, please make sure to have your children here by 8:30 AM on November 2nd as we will begin taking pictures immediately.

Below are more details ordering.

Photo Packages and Order Information FAQ

Living Souls Museum

Our Elementary community is hosting a "Living Souls" museum on October 31 from 9- 11:30 a.m. Children from Elementary will be dressed up and ready to tell you about the saint or soul whom they are portraying, ranging from Our Blessed Mother to Babe Ruth. We welcome parents, grandparents, and extended family to join us for this open house event.

SCRIP Update

Don't forget to order scrip weekly at www.shopwithscrip.com and drop off your cash or checks by Tuesday. Mr Garvey will collect them curbside or you can put them directly into the SCRIP box in the office. If you haven't set up an account yet, our enrollment code is 8F91287E14129.

Remember that if you want to earn that $300 quickly, it is best to set up a PrestoPay account because you can purchase and use electronic SCRIP immediately from your handheld device or home computer, no more dealing with dropping off checks and waiting a week for your cards to arrive.

Forgot to place an order? No problem, there is a SCRIP binder in the office with an array of cards for purchase. Simply go into the office and Kristina will help you through the purchase process. Any questions or problems please contact Rosanne Garvey at rosanne505@verizon.net or 703-447-9229.

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.

Elementary North Star Southern Cross Toddler

Erd Kinder Conferences Times - Contact Dr. Rubin directly to schedule. Monday 10/09  and 10/ 16 3:15 - 3:45 3:45 - 4:15 Wednesday 10/11 and 10/ 18 3:15 - 3:45 3:45 - 4:15

Weekly Update 10/19/17

Head of School's Message

“No adult can bear a child’s burden or grow up in his stead.” -    Maria Montessori

Dear RMS Parents,

We are very much looking forward to seeing you all tonight at the first Parent Night of the year. The topic is what I refer to as the “meta-curriculum” of Montessori, and we’ll be examining examples of what that work looks like, both at school and at home.

I know I say this a lot (incessantly?), but it’s almost impossible to overemphasize how important these Parent Nights are.  Not only are they a lot of fun, but they are a chance to reflect on and learn more about what we’re all really engaged in.  And don’t forget, this year you get a $10 credit toward your SCRIP contribution target for each parent that can attend!  As if the wine and good company weren’t enough!

See you tonight!

Sean

Parent Night Tonight - Win Harris Teeter Gift Certificates!

At tonight's parent night, the Parents Guild will hold a drawing for Harris Teeter Gift Certificates! Anyone who has registered their VIC card will be entered. It's not too late to get registered.

If you are a Harris Teeter shopper and signed up with their VIC program, please email Paula O'Keefe sokeefe407@aol.com your info and she will get you signed up. She simply needs your last name and the phone number associated with the card or the 9 digit VIC number and your last name.

If you prefer to sign yourself up when you are at Harris Teeter, our school number is 8616.

Thanks for helping our school!

Classroom Wishlists Now Online

We've heard from parents that they would love to know what kinds of things could be donated to help enhance the work of their child's environment. We've created a section on the website to help you. You can find the RMS Wishlist under the Support Tab of the website or follow the link below. Thank you so much for your generosity!

RMS WISHLIST

Late Drop Off Procedure Reminder

Late arrivals are extremely disruptive to the entire class, and they rob your child of his/her full morning work cycle and start their day on the “wrong foot”. It is crucial that your child have consistency and routine in their life and learn the importance of being on time. Therefore, we cannot stress enough the importance of helping your child to arrive at school on time.

If you arrive after 8:30, please:

  1. Park and bring your child(ren) to the office. Children should not go straight to their classrooms. Under no circumstances should your child be allowed to walk from the car into the school unaccompanied. 
  2. A staff member will ask you to sign your child in and will then safely escort them to their classroom or give them a tardy pass, depending on their age.

Thanks so much for your help in keeping the work of the classrooms protected.

Earn Money for RMS With Your Shutterfly Orders

Renaissance Montessori is thrilled to announce we are now participating with Shutterfly and Tiny Prints fundraising storefronts – both storefronts give the school 13% of your total purchase. For each purchase you make from either one of these brands, 13% will be donated to our school!

In need of Christmas cards, mailing labels, or personalized items (with or without pictures), shop through our site! Wedding or anniversary presents needed…shop through our site! Simply click the link renaissancemontessori.shutterflystorefront.com, click which brand you want to shop, and shop away. As soon as you make a purchase, the school’s revenue shows up on our fundraising page.

How To Support Us:

  1. Go to our storefront -  renaissancemontessori.shutterflystorefront.com (Also found under the Support tab on the RMS website.
  2. Click through to Shutterfly.com or Shutterfly.com/Tinyprints and start shopping
  3. Make a purchase

That’s it, it is that easy AND you can still use any discounts that are being advertised on the Shutterfly site. Feel free to share this email with all your friends and family, the more people who purchase, the more our school earns!

Picture Day Details

This year's picture day is fast approaching. As a reminder, please make sure to have your children here by 8:30 AM on November 2nd as we will begin taking pictures immediately.

Below are more details ordering.

Photo Packages and Order Information FAQ

Going Out Help

The Elementary has already had three going-outs so far this year: to the National Zoo, to the Baltimore Aquarium, and to the American History Museum.  Please consider chaperoning a going-out, as this aspect of our curriculum is what makes it possible for children to explore beyond the walls of the classroom and is not possible without parent support. All that is required is being available to drive a small group of children to a local source of information. This is usually done completely within the regular school hours. The elementary children do all of the planning and can work with your schedule!

If you can help with this important work, please contact Jenny Luetkemeyer at jluetkemeyer@rmsmail.org.

Living Souls Museum

Our Elementary community is hosting a "Living Souls" museum on October 31 from 9- 11:30 a.m. Children from Elementary will be dressed up and ready to tell you about the saint or soul whom they are portraying, ranging from Our Blessed Mother to Babe Ruth. We welcome parents, grandparents, and extended family to join us for this open house event.

Upcoming Events

  • 10/19/17 - Parent Night #1 (Revised Date)
  • 10/20/17 - No School - Teacher In-Service
  • 10/31/17- Elementary "Living Souls" Museum 9 - 11:30 AM
  • 11/1/17 - No School - All Saints Day
  • 11/2/17 - Picture Day

Reminders

Chick-fil-A

Save the Date!  Chick-fil-A in Bristow will host a Spirit Night for RMS on Wednesday, November 15th from 4-7 pm. Come and enjoy a meal at Chick-fil-A and a portion of the proceeds will be given to RMS! More details to come.

SCRIP Update

Don't forget to order scrip weekly at www.shopwithscrip.com and drop off your cash or checks by Tuesday. Mr Garvey will collect them curbside or you can put them directly into the SCRIP box in the office. If you haven't set up an account yet, our enrollment code is 8F91287E14129.

Remember that if you want to earn that $300 quickly, it is best to set up a PrestoPay account because you can purchase and use electronic SCRIP immediately from your handheld device or home computer, no more dealing with dropping off checks and waiting a week for your cards to arrive.

Forgot to place an order? No problem, there is a SCRIP binder in the office with an array of cards for purchase. Simply go into the office and Kristina will help you through the purchase process. Any questions or problems please contact Rosanne Garvey at rosanne505@verizon.net or 703-447-9229.

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.

Elementary North Star Southern Cross Toddler

Erd Kinder Conferences Times - Contact Dr. Rubin directly to schedule. Monday 10/09  and 10/ 16 3:15 - 3:45 3:45 - 4:15 Wednesday 10/11 and 10/ 18 3:15 - 3:45 3:45 - 4:15