November 3rd - In-Service Day - We also have four In-Service Days during the school year. These days are important Professional Development days when we need to have ALL of our staff (including after care staff) available and, therefore, we are not able to provide childcare. We recognize the difficulty that this can cause for families with other regular commitments on those days. These days help us fulfill the mission of providing a quality education for your child. By recognizing ALL of our staff as professionals who benefit from, and deserve, professional development, we are able to provide continuing education and increased motivation for our staff resulting in unusual longevity. These In-Service Days are often tacked on to the end of vacation times and enable all the staff to meet and do classroom preparations in anticipation of children returning, and often starting new areas of study in the classroom. This year, we will be using  November 3rd to further our work of self-study as we work to gain accreditation from the American Montessori Society. 

The full school calendar is available on the  website  and in the front of the Student and Family Handbook.

A huge thanks to our alumni for coming back to share their reflections and experiences ​during the parent night, "Montessori Outcomes​". 

From right to left:  Leah Sutton-Smith, freshman at Northfield Mount Hermon, Nora Gordon, class of 2000 (and our own middle school Math and Science teacher), Sophie Lurz, junior at The Putney School, Darwin Holcombe, sophomore at Vermont Academy, Emmanuel Keppel, junior at The Putney School​ and Aidan Murphy, junior at BUHS. ​

We also want to thank the parents, from the Toddler Program through Middle School for attending and joining in the discussion. Your thoughtful questions sparked valuable responses.

Alumni shared memorable​ moments, struggles and success, the value of community and relationships with teachers at HMS, ​to words of wisdom ​to pass on to current students, "make learning yours, ​it may not always be fun but when you get through the hard stuff it gets good"​, "pursue your passion and take advantage of ​every ​opportunity to make learning fun","it's only as good as you make it"​ to name a few!​  ​

Students also noted areas where they felt especially prepared:

This past Tuesday, we had a visitor who is a founding board member of a Montessori school in Florida. She is visiting Vermont and currently homeschooling her 8th grade twins. She spent considerable time in our Upper Elementary and Middle School classrooms. She was quite taken by the experience, and I thought it might be interesting for newsletter readers to hear her impressions:

 

Thank you so much for welcoming me yesterday! I was even more impressed with Hilltop than I expected to be. The campus and facility are beautiful and it made me feel happy to see it used thoughtfully and respectively for learning and growing by both children and adults. What an ideal space for allowing maximum amount of freedom to foster responsibility!

 

The Hilltop teachers seemed amazing! I hope you are all proud and grateful for the culture and respect you have created. I observed teachers guiding children to find and voice their own ideas, reach their own conclusions, take responsibility for their work or lack of, and support classmates. You are fortunate to have enough teachers to allow the flexibility to meet the group needs as they fluctuate year to year. Each level had its own distinct feel that seemed to really reflect and support the children developmentally. This helped me remember to appreciate the dynamics at our St. Augustine school more and see ways to capitalize on the strengths of the differing planes rather than view them as irritating.  

 

I loved the felt work in the Lower Elementary classroom and the collection of mugs for each child at the sink. I noted the "past due," "due today," and "to do soon" categories on the wall . . . The LE room felt spacious, light, welcoming, happy, and productively busy. I observed classmates welcoming their friends returning from an outside group without distraction and with kindness and inclusion.  

 

I enjoyed observing the dynamics in UE when groups were convening. There was a miscommunication between students that was worked out with grace and respect and the normal challenges of guiding the students to dive deep into their topics were worked through so that by the time I left the room all groups were engrossed in their respective topics with everyone engaged. It was evident that the guides had created an expectation with this group that they will be there for support but that the true thinking and work will come from the students. I'm glad to have learned about the poor farms in Vermont and have added that to our family's topics to pursue. The UE classroom felt familiar and comfortable and a place I would be happy to spend my days learning. I appreciated the placement and availability of the microscopes and other accessible lab fundamentals. I noticed the arrangement of human skeleton and body work to the study of early humans making those connections clear.

 

And the Middle School - what an absolute dream! I was so enjoying listening to the Emerson discussion that I forgot to watch the clock and return to the office at 10. I observed the wide variety of student personalities and maturity levels all valued by the guides and classmates. The analysis of vocabulary in the reading did seem to be an unpressured way for even younger students with less initiative to share some thoughts and start an inclusive discussion. Thank you, Paul, for taking a minute to explain that approach. I noticed you and Finn providing historical, cultural or other context that enriched the discussion and student observations of the text. I also noticed that the students have learned to ask you for that context and have tremendous respect when it is given. I can guess that this is because you have waited until the students were ready and interested and have shown respect for each of their voices. As a parent I latched on to you encouraging some students to utilize their parents or their work as resources for projects. I suspect it helps when you say it. The short discussion about preparing for conferences showed me that the students take it seriously and see its value and I would like to guide our school's conferences in that direction. I so wish my two 8th graders had a community like Hilltop Middle School to participate in on a daily basis. Many of the valuable aspects of our homeschooling (self-directed long-term projects; integration of art, science and liturature into a bigger focus; freedom of creativity; responsibility of focusing and completing work; and responsibility to the community in practical ways) are all present but within a goup of supportive peers and guiding adults who know a lot of cool stuff and aren't the parents.  

 

Thank you again for allowing me to observe and sharing your incredible classrooms and ideas with me. I wish you a most enjoyable and productive rest of the school year!

 

Jean McDowell

Board of Trustees

St. Augustine Public Montessori School

Staugustinemontessori.com

We have occasionally been able to add activities (circus arts, Mad Science, environmental guided walks and activities, etc.) for children on the full day of conferences. We are able to offer a theater opportunity for the Friday in March! Your child (Olders in CH or in Lower Elementary) could attend a Sandglass Theater presentation of  “Everybody Loves Pirates!”  by Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers at the Latchis on  March 16th  with us on the day that there is no school. If you anticipate wanting to have your child join “aftercare” for this performance at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 16th, please sign up or email the front desk.

Have you ever noticed that the pictures taken in Montessori classrooms often show children quietly sitting or lying down while they work? Do you ever wonder how toddlers who are in near constant motion thrive in such environments? 

While the photographs might give the impression that the children are expected to be still while they work, this couldn't be further from the truth. We know that our young friends are right in the middle of a Sensitive Period for movement and they are driven to practice all kinds of movement and build their motor skills! So we give them lots of opportunities: they enjoy freedom of movement around the classroom, they carry heavy pitchers of water to fill dish washing tubs, they practice balancing materials on a tray after choosing works from the shelves, they use big arm circles while scrubbing tabletops, to name a few. And we play a game called "Bring Me."

"Bring Me" encourages lots of movement and is especially wonderful for toddlers who are also in a Sensitive Period for language. Here's how we play. 

Reviewing the picture names for "Bring Me"

A set of language cards or, in this case, magnets is chosen from the shelf (today, different kinds of vehicles). On one side of the room a group of children join me to review the names of all the pictures. 

Davis brings the magnets to the easel.

We warm up by naming the pictures on the magnets and then they are brought to the magnetic easel across the room.

Now it's time to play! (Usually, I just ask a child to bring me a certain vehicle magnet, but today that caused a stampede of exuberant participants so I modified our game a little - I whispered the direction to each child individually.) When it's Allie's turn, I whisper to her, "Allie, BRING ME the picture of the cement mixer." Allie darts across the room, confidently chooses the picture of the cement mixer from the easel and excitedly dashes back to the group. 

Zhong Yi brings back the picture and shows the group.

Several other children have a go at the game. When Zhong Yi returns to the group and shows the magnet, I ask, "What did Zhong Yi bring to us?" I cue, "It's a...," The children cheer, "A monster truck!"

Once the children have mastered the names of the pictures, I will give clues instead of asking for the vehicle by name. For example, "This vehicle is used to collect trash."

Movement, language, joy, and play. "Bring Me" offers endless fun!

Enjoy the weekend.

Ellie, Amanda & Marco

The Outside Classroom

The beautiful recent weather has given us a chance to spend a lot of time outside. Not only have we been able to run, climb, and swing as usual in our lovely playground, but we’ve had the opportunity for additional outdoor lessons as well. For example, the Olders had a lesson on painting landscapes, and had an opportunity to make water color paintings of the school campus. Many of the Middlers and Youngers played a letter hide and seek game outside, while all different aged children had the opportunity to play soccer together. Blocks, balls, and ramps were added to the playground to provide an opportunity to experiment with inclines, and the water table remained a popular place to explore. Next week also looks to be lovely and sunny, so keep sending those layered clothes for chilly mornings and warm afternoon lessons!

Have a great weekend,

Cheryl, Serina, and Mariam

A Friendly Reminder that all Children's House students should arrive to school by 8:30 in the morning . Having that outdoor time to run around and free play is a critical part of the morning and helps to prepare each student for the classroom morning work cycle.

The Olders begin to sketch out their landscapes.

Young tree hugger.

The Brattleboro Fire Department gives a presentation on fire safety.

Annabel push pins an apple, Sylvia works on apple number tree

and Amaya explores magnets.

On Tuesday we had an unexpected visit from a baby snake that was found on campus. The children had the opportunity to observe the snake and draw pictures of it. As you can imagine, it was very exciting!

Amaya and Patrick draw pictures of the snake.

On Wednesday, Firefighters came and did a presentation for the Children’s House. We learned about Fire Safety and the children got to see the Fire Truck and all of their gear. 

This week we added a new work to our Peace Curriculum; the Peace Chain. Children can choose this work when they notice something peaceful or kind that has happened in the classroom, or if they want to write or draw something that feels peaceful to them. It’s been getting longer each day, soon we will hang it up in the classroom.

A Friendly Reminder that all Children's House students should arrive to school by 8:30 in the morning . Having that outdoor time to run around and free play is a critical part of the morning and helps to prepare each student for the classroom morning work cycle.

We continued our outdoor explorations with a "fern walk" on Friday afternoon, as part of our botany study. No book or card layout, or teacher lesson for that matter, can equal going out and observing the actual object of our study. The lively nature of these walks is deceiving; while there are many bodies in motion, and a great deal of noise, earnest observations are being made.

Thank you to all of our Putney Mountain drivers: Kegan, Andrea, Allison, Emily, Jen, Katie, Kathryn, and Marta. 

A Friendly Reminder that students should be in their classroom by 8:30 each morning . The day starts off with our morning circle, so students who arrive late miss instructional time and the sharing of important information. Arriving on time helps students start their day off on the right foot.

Have a great weekend! 

Kerstin, Patrick, and Amelia

One highlight for the week was the sixth grade trip to Old Sturbridge Village as part of a study of Colonial America. In addition to watching an oak log get sawn on a water powered mill, and a blacksmith forge an iron hook, we asked the 'citizens' there how they felt about the prospect of the town-proposed purchase of a poor farm. This also led to a discussion of how the poor are supported today.

Students are finishing up the first round of literature books for the year. The older set recently finished  Seedfolk , then interviewed a peace-maker in the community. The students then wrote a piece in the voice of their peace-maker that was similar to the style presented in each of Seedfolk's chapters.

Other students finished  The One and Only Ivan , and  City of Ember . Both groups have used their expertise on these books to practice paragraph writing skills by spending time developing ideas in a graphic organizer, and then turning these into well-organized paragraphs. The City of Ember group cheered when they learned we now have a copy of the second book in the series. 

They have also done expository writing following their research on an early human species, which is culminating at this point in the semester. Depictions of the early humans under study are now appearing on a timeline in the elementary hallway, soon to be complete.

We recently moved from the cell study to our first foray into a body system: the skeletal system. Ask your child about the four functions of the skeletal system, for the class recorded notes on this using a traditional outline form. We also talked about how bones can be both lightweight and extremely strong, and hard as well as flexible. We held some honeycomb in our palms and compared it to the weight of a dense chunk of melted beeswax of similar dimensions, to consider the comb-like structure of spongy bone that lies beneath compact bone in our limbs.

We look forward to seeing all of you at conferences next week, where your student will present and discuss examples of their work.

A Friendly Reminder that students should be in their classroom by 8:30 each morning. We start lessons right away most mornings, so students may be missing instructional time. In addition, when students arrive late they miss the opportunity to check in with friends who have already settled into their morning work. Arriving on time helps students start their day off on the right foot.

Upcoming Dates:

Tuesday, October 24th: The fourth and fifth grade students will visit the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University. Students will need to  arrive to school by 7:50am  for an 8am departure. Students will return to Hilltop by  5:00pm. Thank you to all those who volunteered to drive!!

Friday, November 17: Author's Tea, 2pm

Last Sunday we once again sold soup at the Putney Harvest Festival as a fund-raiser for this year’s River of Spirit Odyssey. Despite a rainy beginning and above normal temperatures, the scrumptious homemade soups sold well and fun was had by all.

Our ‘Walk in the Woods’ study wraps up next week just in time for conferences. The completed classification projects are impressive and will be displayed in the middle school. The final project for this study is a research based collaborative presentation effort - the Naturalist Project. Pairs of students selected a naturalist of their choice, are researching their lives and writings, and are currently designing a creative presentation that they feel best represents the life, passions, and contributions to our understanding and appreciation of the natural world.

Today we ventured to the Harvard Forest, a 4,000 acre long term ecological research forest owned by Harvard University. It was a beautiful day in the woods. We met with David Orwig, the ecologist who is leading a long term study of the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, an invasive insect originally from Asia that is attacking and eventually killing eastern hemlock trees. It is hard to imagine Upland and our local forests without the ever present and beautiful hemlock but at this point it looks to be inevitable. We had a fascinating conversation about his work on this project, the prognosis for eastern hemlocks, and what happens next. 

For your calendars: The very popular and expressive annual Love Hate/Curriculum Vitae night of identity poems is taking place on Monday, November 6 at 7pm. The event will take place in the Arts Barn Theater and will end with a tasty reception. All are invited and we look forward to seeing you there.

Talking with Harvard Forest researcher about invasive insects and their effect on New England forests.

Fern Classification Project

Middle School Diversity Conference Opportunity

On November 3rd, teachers have an In-Service Day with no school AND there is a great opportunity for Middle School students and parents. We are looking for a Middle School parent to lead the effort to take any interested students to this conference on November 3. Please email Paul , if you are interested in going, and/or coordinating the effort.

We are excited to launch our 2017-18 Annual Appeal 

with a kick off cocktail party at Scott Farm in Dummerston.  

We will have lively conversation, 

hors d'oeuvres, beer & wine. 

A perfect opportunity to mingle 

with Hilltop families and friends. 

When: Friday, October 27, 2017

Time: 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Please RSVP to  [email protected]

by Friday, October 20th

LOCATION: SCOTT FARM, DUMMERSTON, VT 

DIRECTIONS:  CLICK HERE



For help with Child Care we will also be pairing the party 

with a Halloween themed  Kids Night Out

on our Hilltop campus from 5:30 - 9 p.m.! 

RSVP for Kids Night Out 

directly to  [email protected]

We are excited to see you!