Faces of wonder during Teaching Creatures
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Hilltop Montessori School's mission is for students to practice responsible independence in a caring community of curious, critical learners and thoughtful citizens.
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Next Week:
April 27
- Moving to music, stories, and inspiration. Sing along and story telling for young children! 10 - 10:45 am
May 1
- Elementary and MS Moving Up Night: Join the faculty in each program as they discuss the next year for your children. 6 - 7 pm
May 2
- All School Gathering, 8:45 am
May 4
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I
mportant Future Dates:
May 6
- Equity and Anti-Bias Work Group, 1:45 - 2:45 pm
May 8
- 6th Grade trip to Old Sturbridge Village, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
May 9
- Lower El Workshare, 3:00 - 4:00 pm
May 24
- Grandparent and Special Friend Day, 8:30 - 11:45 am
May 25
- Hilltop Community Tag Sale & Craft Fair, 7:30 - noon
May 29
- Children's House Moving Up Night: for parents of toddlers moving to Children's House next fall. All parents are welcome to hear about what lies ahead for next year. 4 - 5 pm
June 6
- Last Day of School / Field Day & Bead Ceremony (no After Care)
June 7
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Mister G Concert at Hilltop!
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The Mister G performance is only 1 week away!
Do not miss this special event, here at Hilltop.
Tickets will
not
be available at the door, so please be sure to purchase your tickets in advance.
Tickets are $10 and $25 for a family pack, available on Eventbrite:
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Join us for a morning of lively entertainment. This bilingual concert, featuring Mister G will incorporate musical styles from around the globe and engage audiences through movement. Children are encouraged to dance and sing along.
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2019 Parent Survey Results
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A huge thank you to all of you who took the time to respond to our survey!
In order to be responsive to the needs of our families and consider future plans, we sent the annual surveys via email a few weeks ago.
We were thrilled with the response rate and responses from our families. We received feedback from almost half of the families (46) and there was a nice distribution across programs: Toddler Program (TP), Children's House (CH), Lower Elementary (LE), Upper Elementary (UE) and Middle School (MS). Many families shared their appreciation for what Hilltop offers, and some had useful suggestions for how we could improve. Below is a summary of the responses along with additional information to share.
If there is anything you would like to discuss further, please contact me,
Tamara
.
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With the change of seasons comes so many wonderful things - sunshine, flowers, paths free of snow and ice, and a growing sense of independence and confidence in the children.
Many thanks to the toddler room parents for the short, sweet drop-offs and encouraging their children to walk into school. These simple things beautifully complement the independent work and confidence building the children have been practicing at school.
Enjoy the weekend!
Ellie, Marco, Sarah and Amanda
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Liam is excited to show Tamara his tool object and card matching work.
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Mason smiles as he waits for Jay to cue him to start drumming again.
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Harrison (wearing the classic toddler uniform - underwear without pants to aid in his toilet learning) and Amanda laugh during a music class with Jay.
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Josephine takes a moment to contemplate patterns in the sand she's made on the mud kitchen sink.
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Cyrus shows a strong drive (haha!) to push, push, push the truck around the playground path over and over and over.
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Jody and Natalia use their big muscles to shovel and rake the recently thawed sand.
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We are excited to announce that Jonathan Sellers (Willow Room teacher) and his wife Kate welcomed Coleman into the world over spring break, a couple of weeks early! Everyone is doing well! Rebecca and Françoise are covering the Willow Room in Jonathan’s absence until he returns after two weeks nesting at home.
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It was a busy week in the Children’s House. On Wednesday, Rae from Teaching Creatures visited with her “Animals of Spring.” The children learned about migration, camouflage, and nocturnal animals. They also had a chance to see and even touched some animals up close. Their excitement over this event was infectious! On Thursday, the Olders walked down to the Creating With Clay studio. There, they glazed the projects they’ve been working on with Bonnie Stearns for the past several weeks. The pieces will come home next week after they have been fired.
We also had a full playground spruce up on Wednesday afternoon. THANK YOU so much to the many families who came and contributed their time, tools, muscles, and expertise. The fresh wood chips, new stepping stumps, and repaired red playhouse are very much appreciated!
We hope to see you tomorrow morning from 10:00 am-10:45 am for “Moving to Music, Stories and Imagination” with Andy Davis! Have a great weekend!
-The Children’s House Teachers
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Getting the playground ready!
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Learning about spring animals:
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Pottery pieces by the Olders:
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The Lower El students have been working so hard on their non-fiction picture books. Thank you so much to everyone who attended Author's Tea and got to hear all of the amazing stories.
The non-fiction picture books will be on display in the front lobby and on the display shelf right outside of the corner room. We encourage you to come check out these amazing books and all the hard work the Lower El students have put into them!
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
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Another “elective” cycle has started in Upper Elementary! We are thrilled to have a couple of new adults using their expertise on topics new to the elective cycle. Amber Arnold (LE and CH parent) is using her knowledge and professional expertise in Ceremony and Ritual in African and Indigenous Farming practices to build a Medicinal Peace and Conflict Resolution Garden with the students. Justin Walker (TP and CH parent) is using his professional knowledge in using microscopes to explore with the students. This six week session of weekly classes includes:
- Further development of the Confidence and Foot Golf Course with Mace
- Ear Training with Jay
- Chinese Calligraphy with Jade
- Jewelry Making with Jen (starting up next week after one class continuing cribbage this week)
- Gardening with Kegan and Amber Arnold
- Batik with Jade
- Pewter with Ben Boyarko (UE and LE parent)
- Microscope use with Justin Walker
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Luke teaches cribbage to Kaiya.
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Iris applies glue (a substitute for wax) to her fabric in the batiking process.
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Ben supervises the creation of the wax figures that will form the body of the pewter mold.
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Jade has prepared the environment for the calligraphers.
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The calligraphers in action
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The gardening group meets to plan the garden-in-process.
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Finnegan peers through the microscope at some water drawn from our pond.
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Just as we left for April break, the students were asked to write a monologue that addressed the ways they felt they were changed by their experiences during the Alabama Odyssey. This complicated and challenging assignment was designed to help inspire the class in the writing of their performance piece. The monologues are moving, humorous, insightful, and deeply personal. The following are excerpts from two of them:
“You know, after Alabama, I’m starting to really hate the phrase,“Civil Rights Movement”. Not to say I don’t use it, but saying that is safety. That phrase is a safety for us to cling to. As if the movement ended, as if things are suddenly all right. I can’t help but imagine the way I would still be thinking if I hadn’t seen the South firsthand. What if our class had never dared to venture beyond the sheltered bubbles holding our minds hostage? We would learn the dates, we would hear the lessons, we would tolerate the teaching. We wouldn’t feel the intensity of pain….
I once thought that ignorance caused hate. I know now that ignorance can do enough damage on its own. That is why we went to Alabama. Because every minute hearing about the events that took place there, learning about the long dead “Civil Rights Movement” but not really caring, is a dividing moment. I wonder now if, after going to Alabama, I would be able to simply look away and crawl back into my bubble. I don’t think so. As soon as one immerses themselves in this kind of direct learning, there is no looking back. My eyes are too wide open now to fall back into sleeping.
”
~Siri
“Maybe it was the Legacy Museum, the Lynching Memorial. Maybe it was LaQuita’s poetry or Janice’s story. Maybe it was Joe Minter’s art or Charlie Lucas’s. I don’t know. All I know is that there is a giant weight dropped on this country that has been there for years. We have been chipping off the pieces since Slavery. Maybe someday we will have chipped off enough of the weight that it is light enough to lift. If we can ever get to that goal all of us need to help. Before the Odyssey I was not ready. Now I am. I want to do my part. I want to make a change. The way I can start is to talk more, for those who never could.”
~Ava
Back in Vermont, we are planting seeds, both in the garden and in our minds as we start our production that will explore and share our experiences over the past year.
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Writing begins for the performance.
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The online school store is open!!
A wonderful way to show your support of Hilltop!
This “Pop-up Shop” is only live from now through 5/15. Start shopping now!
Hilltop Montessori School themed items hats, sweatshirts, t-shirts, bags and more are available for purchase.
Check it out!
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THANK YOU
to
Hazel Pizza
for providing delicious pizzas for the students and staff every week! Sccccrrrrumptious! We still and always will ♡ 🍕!!
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Donations Wanted:
Hi our names are Ava and Annelise. We are students of the Middle School. We have been working on a school project to help homeless people in Brattleboro with Groundworks Collaborative, and specifically to help two homeless mothers with newborn babies. Thanks to Groundworks these two mothers are no longer homeless but they still need a lot of help getting the items they need to raise children. Please leave any of the following items in the box in the entryway near the front desk: diapers/wipes, baby clothes (new or in excellent used condition), nursing supplies, toiletries, gift cards to local businesses. We also have a list of other items that could be useful next to the box. If you would like any more information about Groundworks you can look them up yourself or go to this link:
groundworksvt.org
. If you have any questions for us feel free to contact us with either of these emails:
afedoruk@hilltopmontessori.org
or
adavidov@hilltopmontessori.org
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Hilltop Housemate Wanted:
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Hello Hilltop community! My name is Camille and I’m looking for a housemate to join me and my 2.5-yr-old cat, Frida, in the semi-furnished, two-bedroom apartment above the Middle School. The larger, south-facing bedroom is available through this summer, and possibly beyond. Frida and I have been living on campus for almost three years now, and it’s such a beautiful and special place to get to call home! Ideally our new housemate would be either already connected to the Hilltop community, or strongly interested in becoming friendly, familiar, and engaged upstairs neighbors. :) More details are listed in the online housemate ad:
Click Here
. Do you know someone who you think might be a good fit? Please help spread the word!
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Upcoming Performance: Out of the Lion's Mouth
Cast members include Hilltop Middle School students Marian Wojcik and Julian Siegel!
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Calling all Families...
Do you need to find a home for some gently used items in your home?
Perhaps you are inspired by Marie Kondo???
Join us for the 2019 Family Tag Sale!
Table reservations now accepted for the Hilltop Community Tag Sale.
This year will also include Crafters and a fabulous Plant Sale.
Email
Roselle
to reserve a table or stop by the front desk and grab a table reservation form. $20 per table. You sell and keep proceeds.
Take what doesn't sell home with you (or donate to your favorite charity).
Saturday, May 25th
7:30 a.m. - noon
In the Arts Barn & at the circle
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Circus Minimus:
The One-Man Circus in-a-Suitcase performance will be held on
Sunday, May 5 at 11:00am
at the Winston Prouty Center. The performance gives everyone an opportunity to participate in an enthralling, whimsical celebration of the imagination. This show has been performed over 500 times around the globe, for family theater audiences and school assemblies alike. From Kevin O’Keefe’s suitcase an entire circus emerges: tent, band, lights, the boisterous ringmaster Steve Fitzpatrick, the officious Mervin Merkle, the incredible Bumbilini Family, the Magician to the Stars Clyde Zerbini, and Keefer–an innocent trying to runaway and join the circus. However, the most important performers emerge from the audience. Each performance becomes a dialogue between the characters and the audience–a light-hearted collaboration. This event is by donation. All proceeds support the community-based programs of the Winston Prouty Center.
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SO MUCH CIRCUS!
The New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA) has lots happening this Spring and Summer. Enjoy activities, or just watch a show, there is something for everyone! Tickets and registration open now!
See a Show
Spring Programming includes:
•
May 4 & 5
FRACTURED
: ProTrack Year 3 Graduation Show Tour
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May 19
CircusNEXT
: We Will Rock You / Youth Troupe showcase
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June 7 - 9
AS ONE
: ProTrack Year 2 Showcase
Join Summer Camp
NECCA is recognized by the American Youth Circus Organization as an international leader in curriculum development. NECCA’s attention is on teaching to the heart and dreams of every student and meeting them at their own level of fitness and aspiration. Summer Camps include Trapeze, Juggling, trampoline, clowning, low wire, unicycling and more!
- Age 3 – 5 Half Day Camp / Age 5 – 17 Full Day Camp
- Camps run weekly June 24 – August 23
- Special Teen Camp and Advanced Camp, too!
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New England Youth Theatre
is celebrating its 20th year with lots of great summer programs for kids ages 6-19! From Shakespeare to Improv to Melodrama along with our Design and Technical program, we've got something for everyone, even those who prefer to remain behind the scenes! Visit
www.neyt.org
to learn more about all we have to offer to make this your Best Summer Ever!
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