Next year's Upper Elementary class hikes the Pinnacle!
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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:
May 20
May 23
- NO All School Gathering
- UE Museum, 2:00-3:00 pm
- Golf Program, 3:30-5 pm
May 24
- Grandparent and Special Friend Day, 8:30-11:45 am
- UE Museum, 10:00-10:45 am
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Important Future Dates:
May 27
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
May 29-31
- UE 3-day trip to DAR State Park
June 3-5
- Middle School Upland Odyssey
June 6
- Field Day & Bead Ceremony
- Last Day of School (TP,CH,LE,UE)
June 7
- Last day of school (MS)
- Middle School Graduation, 5:30-8pm
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Grandparents & Special Friends Day!
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Invitations have been sent out. If you plan on attending please RSVP using the link below.
We look forward to seeing you!
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Anti-Bias Work Group Meeting Tonight!
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Interested in connecting deeper within the Hilltop Community?
Join our
Equity & Anti-bias Work Group
tonight
and be part of creating safer spaces and inclusive opportunities for all of the beautiful people who make up our community!
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The
Equity & Anti-bias Work Group
is having its second meeting
tonight
during
Kids Night Out
starting at 5:30pm
. We hope to enable the participation of more parents due to the timing of the evening and the availability of childcare.
If you want to sign up for childcare, please see the
Kids Night Out
notice and link below to sign up:
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Kids Night Out
TONIGHT!, May 17th
Do you want to have a fun night out on the town? Are you having a hard time finding a babysitter? Do you want your children to have just as much fun as you do while you’re out? Drop your children off at our arts barn anywhere between 5:00-9:00 pm on Friday, May 17th to have a night of fun and games with our responsible middle school babysitters.
There will be fun, games, crafts, and tons more! At least one adult and lots of fun middle schoolers will be there. We will provide snacks, and pizza is available! If you don’t want pizza, please pack a nutritious dinner or feed your child before you come.
To attend KNO, your child must be in children's house or above and be able to use the bathroom independently.
This fun night for you and your kids costs only
$7.00 an hour and $5.00 for each additional child
.
Pizza is $5.00 more for two slices
.
All proceeds from Kids Night Out go to the Hilltop Montessori Middle School Odyssey fund. Our businesses are an important part of our fundraising, so your support really helps!
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A Note from Serina Keppel
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After five years of assisting Hilltop’s amazing Children’s House teachers both in the classroom and in administration, I’ve decided it’s time for a change. This fall I will be moving into a new, full-time lead teaching position at Horizon Early Learning Program, and I’m excited to bring everything I’ve learned in my experience at Hilltop to my new children and families. With our daughter Magdalena’s graduation from the middle school in June, our family will conclude 13 wonderful years at Hilltop! We will miss you all! Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful children with me!
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From the School:
We are very sad to have Serina transitioning from our school. Serina and her family have been stalwart members of our school for many, many years. Serina has brought so much love, care, expertise, and dedication to our Early Childhood programs and we wish her well as she takes on this exciting opportunity as a lead teacher.
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Notes from the Head of School
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With Serina moving on, we are now looking for someone to help us fulfill our PreK Partnership Program requirements for a "Vermont educator license with an endorsement in either early childhood education or early childhood special education”. This position is a minimum of 10 hours per week during the morning hours.
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We regret to inform you that this year’s
Community Tag Sale and Craft Sale
on Saturday, May 25th has been
canceled
.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and look forward to greeting you, with new and exciting ideas for a more exciting event, next year.
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Tremendous growth occurs during the time a child is in the Toddler Room. From 18 months to 3 years, a child's:
- Language
- Motor skills
- Cognition
- and social skills
(just to name a few) grow exponentially.
This time of year, the wide range of development and the hallmarks of each age are especially noticeable. The oldest children, getting ready to move up to Children's House, are eager to work with friends and often play elaborate imaginary games. They are also eager to help younger children.
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Natalia and Zander collaborate on cleaning a table after they've had snack.
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Liam helps Harrison get buckled before taking him for a ride in the wagon.
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The children play outdoor cafe on the Children's House playground.
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Cyrus engages fully while spraying the window he's about to clean.
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Younger children often prefer to work independently and delight in challenging their muscles with heavy pushing and lifting.
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Regardless of how old toddlers are or what focus they have, they all feel a sense of belonging and love to have fun!
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Enjoy the weekend!
The Toddler Team
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"Solicitous care for living things affords satisfaction to one of the most lively instincts of the child's mind. Nothing is better calculated than this to awaken an attitude of foresight."
- Maria Montessori
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In the
CH curriculum
instilling an atmosphere of love and respect for living things is present from the very basic
Care of the Environment
lessons that are presented and then modeled consistently throughout the year. We begin with plant watering and flower arranging earlier in the year and now are deep into our gardening unit.
We know that:
"lessons that make a deep impression come from first hand experiences of plants; nothing can substitute for seeing, and smelling flowers in the home, and watching the daily growth of a flower or vegetable in the garden."
-M. Olaf
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IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
Please keep ALL toys and chachkies at home!
Spring is here and so are the ticks - please remember to check for ticks every day!
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Our last Moving Up day was a great opportunity for everyone to get a sense of next year's Lower El class, and what a wonderful class it will be!
We always miss our Olders when they leave us to hike the Pinnacle, but we know Jen and Tom take good care of them.
Our visitors attended two lessons, engaged in some follow-up works, shared snack time with us, and walked the boundaries of Haytown. The highlight for everyone, it seemed, was recess! We will meet them again, when the leaves begin to turn color and the pumpkins are growing large.
Have a fantastic weekend!
Kerstin, Patrick, and Amelia
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Elementary teaches Children’s House about 4 square during after care.
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Next year’s
Upper El group
- this year’s 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders- spend an overcast morning hiking up at the
Pinnacle
in Westminster West.
The trip was important for a number of reasons:
- 3rd graders get to see first hand where we all will be spending the night on the overnight next September.
- Everyone gets to ‘try on’ their role as they will be next year.
- We get to enjoy our time together getting to know each other in our beautiful Vermont woods.
Thanks to all of our parent drivers/hikers who make it all possible!
The sixth graders are wrapping up their ‘sixth grade teaching’, an opportunity for them not only to share a skill, but to work on planning and reflecting on how their lesson went. They get to teach their lesson twice to half the group a week apart and to fine tune their work in between.
For the last two weeks we enjoyed :
- Making slime with Shoshona
- Meditating with Finnegan.
This week and next:
- Davey will teach us all a card trick
- Parker will show us how to make ice cream.
Who knows - maybe they will also learn that teaching is not always as easy as it looks!
Everyone is gearing up for the
last museum of the year
:
May 23rd: 2-3pm
May 24th: 10-10:45am
(during Grandparents’ Day, just before we all gather as a school in the theater.)
We also will send home a packing list for the 3 day trip to the
Lake Champlain area
,
May 29-31
. We will be sleeping in lean-to’s at DAR State Park in Addison, VT.
Please, if your family does not have one of the items on our list and you are not interested in actually owning it either, ask us.
We have a lot of gear in this community and are happy to share.
If your child takes any medications or has any other needs, please speak directly to us about instructions and the like.
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Cousins at the top of the mountain.
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A well deserved rest at the top.
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Kids enjoying the loft on the pinnacle.
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Tess enjoying the view atop the mountain!
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Mark and Talia dig out a fire pit in the middle of the Wheel of the Year garden during their elective with Amber and Kegan.
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Kegan teaches Kiersten and James how to start a fire with a fire starter and twine.
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Pizza lunch back at school.
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Luci and Iris doing some decimal work.
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Luci looking through the microscope during an elective with Children's House parent Justinn Walker.
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The eighth grade class began their apprenticeships yesterday. The apprenticeship program takes place over six mornings that our students spend with a local business, social service, or a non-profit agency. Students search out their choices, make the arrangements, and submit a resume and cover letter.
There are a wide array of businesses and non-profits who welcomed our students this year:
- The Brattleboro Commons
- BCTV
- Doug Richmond Auto
- West Bee Nursery
- Little Red House
- The Whetstone
- Up the Road Farm
- Strolling of the Heifers
The community of Brattleboro has always been very supportive and generous to our students.
Now that our performance,
The Dreamer,
is over the Middle School has jumped into graduation preparation. The eighth graders are drafting their speeches and the seventh grade is composing a lovely new song as I write. The seventh grade is also planning their annual
Math Bash for May 28
. The Math Bash is a celebration of all things math through student designed games. In years past the backyard has been transformed into a carnival arcade full of colorful participatory games complete with barkers and rubes.
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In the Booth - Making magic.
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Images from - The Dreamer - Middle School Performance.
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Wiffleball is back - and it’s serious!
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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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In search of:
Allison Korn is looking for a 24” wheel bike for Lucas (10 years old- it’s the size just below an adult sized bike). If anyone has one to pass on or for sale, please contact Allison!
allisonkorn123@yahoo.com
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Children's House + Summer Fun supplies needed:
We Just received our new sewing machine and we are so excited to start sewing projects with the kids!
- We are looking for sewing items you don't need anymore such as scissors, fabric, fabric markers, buttons, etc.
- We are also looking for camera donations so the children can photo document their process and create photo journals and scrapbooks.
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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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On Friday, we'll be playing in support of an amazing event to raise awareness of homelessness in our community. Join us for music, food and an optional overnight campout on the Brattleboro Common - support the non-profit Groundworks Collaborative's efforts to house our neighbors.
Saturday night, come boogie at the Big House in Windham! Always a great party - contact me for directions.
Afrobeat and Funk! Jay (keys, vocals), Josh Francis (drums), Scott Griswold (bass), Evan Lincoln (guitar), Wendell Rheinheimer (guitar), Anders Burrows (trumpet, percussion, vocals), Julian Gerstin (congas) and Jim Heffron (bari and tenor sax).
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"Attention is the Beginning of Devotion"
-Mary Oliver
POETRY, BOOKMAKING AND ART WORKSHOP:
Once again a summer workshop combining poetry, bookmaking and art, will be held at
Ann Gengarelly’s Poetry Studio
. As always, young people will have the opportunity to write and draw in a natural setting with woodlands and beautiful gardens.
Workshops are divided into two groups; a younger group and and an older group. Each student participates in a poetry and bookmaking/art class each day.
Classes are kept small in order to create an individualized and intimate setting where creativity flourishes.
Poetry classes will be taught by Ann Gengarelly who has been a poet-in -the-schools for over twenty-five years. Bookmaking and Art Design will be led by Tony Gengarelly who teaches Art History at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
ONE WEEK INTENSIVE:
AUGUST 19, 20, 22, 23
Students will be accepted on a “first-come, first-serve” basis. If interested call Ann at
802-257-8972
or contact us at
agengar@sover.net
or
a.gengarelly@mcla.edu
.
We welcome students between the age of 7 and 17.
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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 19
CircusNEXT
: We Will Rock You / Youth Troupe showcase
•
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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