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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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Newsletter / Tuesday, November 20th, 2018
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Upcoming Important Dates:
Wednesday, November 21 - Friday, November 23
- No School, Thanksgiving Break
Tuesday, November 27
- After School Enrichment Programs start: Language Pilot and Baking
Thursday, November 29
- After School Enrichment Programs start: Art and Nature
Friday, November 30
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Notes from the Head of School
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Hilltop’s AMS Accreditation Self-Study Approved!
It was very gratifying to hear back from the AMS Accreditation Department that our 200 page self-study was approved with flying colors! They gave specific comments on many aspects of our program and of how we presented our material, concluding with:
“I feel the Hilltop self-study document is a model of thoroughness and clarity. I applaud the effort they put into embracing the spirit of AMS School Accreditation.”
We are very grateful to the staff, parents, board members, and friends who contributed in so many ways to pull together this extensive self-study process and product. The next step in the accreditation process is to host a Team Visit on March 3-6th for a group of 3-4 Montessorians to see our school and confirm that we are doing what we say we do. It will be fun to share our pride in our programs and students!
If anyone is interested in reviewing the whole report, please feel free to stop in to the front office where it is available for your viewing pleasure. Also, if anyone has any questions about this process, please feel free to email
me
or stop by.
Diversity/Equity Focus Group
If you would be interested in being part of a Diversity/Equity Focus Group, please let me know! We are reconvening a group, that was part of our
Strategic Plan
process back in 2016, to help us work more on serving diversity and promoting equity at our school. Our school administration and board has moved forward on reframing our “Financial Aid” program to be “Indexed Tuition”. We feel this name better reflects the goals and sentiment of how we support economically diverse families to be part of our school community. We will have our first meeting in December to review and give feedback on a draft format for our “Indexed Tuition” materials. As we move forward on this and other initiatives, we will continue to consult this group. If you would like to be a part of this process please let
me
know!
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Most of our After School Programs begin next week! We still have open enrollment for all offerings. After strong initial interest in the
Language Pilot we currently have low enrollment, sign up now by emailing us at frontdesk@hilltopmontessori.org!
- Baking (CH and LE)
- Basketball (K-MS)
- Art and Nature (6-9 year olds)
- Language Pilot (UE and MS)
Forms are available at the front desk!
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Hello!
Our Winter Sports program is fast approaching, and we wanted you all to start talking to your students about what we offer here at Hilltop during your Thanksgiving Break! Here is a brief description as to what the choices are for our Winter Sports Program:
- Learn to Skate Program- Ice skating at the ice rink at Living Memorial Park (K-8th Grade)
- Cross Country Skiing with the Brattleboro Outing Club at the Brattleboro Country Club (1st-8th Grade)
- Downhill Skiing/Snowboarding at Mt. Snow (Downhill: 2nd-8th Grade, Snowboarding: 4th-8th Grade)
Winter Sports runs for 6 consecutive Thursdays, beginning 1/10/19. Parent volunteers are necessary for ALL programs to run. This year we will have a school bus transporting most of the Mt. Snow students and chaperones. While this reduces our reliance on chaperones a bit, additional chaperones/drivers will still be needed!
Winter Sports Forms will be coming out soon in the lobby! We will let you know when sign-up time is here. Please note that the Learn to Skate and Cross Country Ski Program fees are covered by your Hilltop tuition. The Mt. Snow Program has additional fees to cover the lift ticket, bus expense, and rental of equipment.
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“He does it with his hands, by experience, first in play and then through work. The hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence.” (Dr. M. Montessori,
The Absorbent Mind
)
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"The child has a mind able to absorb knowledge. [S]he has the power to teach [her]self.” (Dr. M. Montessori,
The Absorbent Mind
)
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"The development of language is part of the development of the personality, for words are the natural means of expressing thoughts and establishing understanding between people." (Dr. M. Montessori)
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Part of our work as teachers includes continuously training in order to keep up-to-date on the latest educational research and practice. The last few weeks have been an especially busy time for trainings, with CH teachers putting in a combined 60 hours of professional development on topics such as supporting executive functioning, managing challenging behaviors, planning for sensory needs, and additional anti-bias curriculum pieces. We are now working to integrate some of this training into our Montessori practice, including the additional use of some visual supports and sensory activities.
Some of the trainings that we attend are also available to parents, free of charge. We wanted to let you know of some upcoming opportunities in our community which provide not only great information, but are free and provide child care and a light supper.
Beyond Bossing, Begging, and Bribing
workshop presenter- Jeanine Fitzgerald
Monday, December 10, 6:30pm-8:30pm
Brattleboro Retreat Education Conference Room
Have you ever heard someone say, ”What part of no don’t you understand?” or “Because I said so, that’s why!” Or maybe you have thought there has to be a better way to get children to listen and respond to our directions. This session explores the choices we have as we parent, teach, and discipline children. When you leave this session, you will have a deeper understanding of the strategies that balance structure and support in a child’s life.
Raising Children in a Violent Society
workshop presenter – Scott Noyes
Thursday, November 29, 6:00pm-8:00pm
Brattleboro Retreat Education Conference Room
This workshop investigates where children are being exposed to violence and what we can do about it. From developing strategies for handling children’s aggression to working toward using respectful language, this program puts adults in the driver’s seat when helping children with violence and its effects. Appropriate for teachers and parents who care for children of all ages!
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Thank you to all who attended our first work share of the year! Our next one will be on
Tuesday, January 15th at 3:00.
Before that, however, the Lower El students will be sharing their original poetry at our
Author's Tea on Thursday, December 20th, at 8:45.
This will be followed by a potluck brunch.
Here is what we have been busy doing this week:
- Writing diamanté poems: Ask your Middler or Older about this. Where does it get its name?
- What is an example of alliteration?
- Fractions: There's something smaller than a whole! This week we have been naming them, adding them, finding equivalents for them, and playing games featuring them.
- The work of water and rivers: One job water performs is the work of erosion, as students observed in a presentation featuring a mound of soil and a spray bottle. Everyone learned about the parts of a river, and is involved in making posters, doing the parts of a river layout, or labeling the rivers of Europe or the United States of America.
Have a wonderful week.
Kerstin, Patrick, and Amelia
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Thank you to all of our author's and audience for participating in Author's Tea!
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Last Friday the Middle School began the elderly companion/younger mentoring program. The eighth graders are paired with a resident in one of the assisted living or nursing home facilities in Brattleboro and the seventh graders are paired with the toddler, children’s house, or lower el classrooms. This is a project of connection and relationship. For five Friday mornings, the eighth graders are building a relationship with someone who is nearing the end of their life journey and the sevenths, by observing and helping students younger than themselves, are in many ways revisiting their former selves.
Every week students practice the art of self-reflection by writing about their experience. Here are a few excerpts from their first visits:
“Most of the time I was observing how the kids reacted to each other. They seemed to resolve arguments and disagreements with each other better than people in our class. They seem to understand if someone is sad or if they need affection, when someone needs space, or if they need to smile. They are surprisingly independent individuals. They seem to truly care about people’s feelings.” ~Ilona
“My first day with my elderly companion was relaxed, but tiring. I never experienced that hearing so many of someone’s life stories all in one morning was so draining and thrilling. In the most positive way, it was like conversing with a toddler…when my elderly companion gets excited about stories, these tend to be the stories she’s told at least two times in the last hour. It is admirable that she is so fluid with her stories. It’s like older people and toddlers say things that other people would be apprehensive to say. They don’t overthink. They don’t think to overthink.” ~Hazel
“My elderly companion and I look very different. She has lived eighty more years than me, but when one strips away those years and looks past our external differences, it can be found that we are two very similar humans. Regardless of age, we were able to learn from one another and discuss our passions much like two people who have known each other for a very long time.” ~Siri
“For the rest of the time I was there, I was part of their little community, reading them stories, listening to their stories, playing soccer with them, and having the same amount of fun as they were. I walked into the Toddler Room thinking I was going to mentor, and I left having learned.” ~Django
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Thank you to everyone who helped make this a wonderful celebration!
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Cookie Swap and Raffle Donations
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Save the date!
Friday, December 21st
Our Annual Ginormous Cookie Swap and Snowflake Tricky Tray Raffle!
For our new families, the day before winter holiday break we ask families to bring in a batch of their favorite (nut free) cookies. We lay them all out on a line of tables. Then, we sell empty boxes and customers get to select a fabulous array of cookies that are sure to impress.
Short on time? Cookies freeze well! Feel free to drop off your cookie batches early & we can keep them in the freezer until the swap! Or host a cookie party...Friends + Cookies + Party = FUN!
Hang out with friends as you get your holiday baking done!
We also collect small items from friends, merchants and crafters, like gift certificates etc. for a modest "tricky tray" raffle. We sell raffle tickets and you choose the item you'd like to win and place your ticket in that item's jar.
If you are interested in helping to organize this year's event, decorating the morning of Friday, 12/21 or would like to donate something to the tricky tray raffle, please email
Roselle
.
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Executive Function Speaker in the Snow!
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We were thrilled to have so many staff and parents brave the pending snow storm and join us last Thursday night for Debbie Tracht’s talk on Executive Function.
It was a wonderfully engaged group with lively interactive discussions throughout the evening.
Debbie made clear what EF is and its relationship to ADHD, what else impacts EF and how parents and teachers can support and help students succeed who struggle with EF.
She highlighted several points that confirmed what our Montessori approach brings to the learning environment. Firstly, she noted that addressing Executive Function challenges (often as a component of ADHD) can be summarized as “Accepting, Accommodating, and Advocating”. We work with all students to accept where they are,
accommodate their needs and advocate for themselves.
She also noted that, “Anxiety has increased because children are no longer able to move at their natural pace.” We, as a school, work at all ages to "respect a child’s unique voice, learning style, rhythm and pace . . .”
To learn more Debbie recommended the following
books on the topic:
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some interesting youtube videos…
Bright Kids Who Can’t Keep Up
Emotional Regulation
Celebrate their Uniqueness
and links to several experts who discuss more recent understandings about executive function issues:
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Kids' Night Out - Friday, November 30
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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, November 30th 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!
To sign up or learn more, visit our
website
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Thank you to
Ben Boyarko for tackling the dishes from our Stone Soup Celebration today, it was a big job! Thanks, Ben!
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Circus Schools Offers New Thanksgiving Break Camp
The New England Center for Circus Arts is offering a new Holiday Break Camp during the three days leading up to Thanksgiving when area schools are closed.
Thanksgiving Break Camp will be offered Monday, November 19, Tuesday, November 20 &/or Wednesday, November 21. Sign up can be for one, two or three days - each day will include a new and fun experience for each student. Also, camp is being offered for 3 – 5 year olds in a separate half day options alongside the full day camp for age 5 – 17 year.
Half Day Camp 8:30 am-12:30 pm(age 3 - 5 yrs): $50
Full Day Camp 8:30am-3:30pm (age 5 - 17 yrs): $85
Discount: 5% off for all 3 days
NECCA will also offer a December Break Camp on two days, December 27 and/or December 28 for ages 3 – 17.
NECCA’s circus skills camps offer your child top-notch instruction in a noncompetitive environment that teaches confidence, communication skills, perseverance, and pride, as well as how to be a fabulous acrobat, aerialist, juggler, or clown. Students will work in groups by age and ability for the best learning experience. Registration at
www.necenterforcircusarts.org
or call (802) 254-9780 for more information.
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