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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The UE Poetry performance on Wednesday.
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Next Week
NO SCHOOL FEBRUARY 17-21
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Upcoming
Tuesday, February 25
- Students return to school
- ASEP sign-up forms due (see below)
Wednesday, February 26
- Children's House Work Share, 8:30-9:15 am
Thursday, February 27
- Mountain Days, 12pm - 3pm
Saturday, February 29
,
- Curriculum Morning, 9am-12pm. All parents please attend - sign up at the front desk!
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Montessori at the State House!
The PreK Partnership Program we currently participate in requires that we have a state licensed teacher engaged in our program. This is a challenge for us, as a Montessori school, because we need our teachers to be Montessori certified, and there are very few teachers who are both.
But there is new development!! A proposed PreK bill has language that adds the Montessori credential as a qualifier to participate in the program.
This would be
huge
. If this language passes, all of our Children’s House Montessori credentialed teachers would qualify to be the PreK partnership “teacher”.
“(B)(ii) employing or contracting for the services of at least one teacher to provide direct instruction to prekindergarten students who is either licensed and endorsed in early childhood education under chapter 51 of this title, licensed and endorsed in early childhood special education under chapter 51 of this title,
or has a Montessori early childhood teacher certification”.
I am preparing to “testify” in front of the House Education Committee in Montpellier next Wednesday (no week off for me). I’m working with people at the American Montessori Society and the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education to use materials that have been used to make a similar case for other states. We are putting together a presentation that talks about why the Montessori credential is equivalent to a teacher license -other states have done this. Wish me luck - I am accepting suggestions!
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Starting after February break, Hilltop is offering a new round of After School Enrichment Programs, including Knitting, Girls on the Run, Dungeons and Dragons, and Horseback Riding. Please click
here to view or print a PDF version of the sign up. Hard copies are also available at the front desk.
All forms are due back Tuesday, February 25th, so please take break to look over the options!
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The Timeline of Life has been unveiled and excitement is in full force. With a hunger to investigate the great diversity of prehistoric life, every answer seems to give rise to new questions. While some children are drawn to pondering powerful predators, others are discussing the 4.5 million years represented by an inch on the timeline. Another asks whether trilobites lived on land. And why are they called
"tri"
lobites? Were the nautiloids (also known in LE as "sea carrots") carnivorous?
We also had the opportunity to introduce a special "guest" this week: Braidy the story braid. Braidy helps us think about the narrative structure of stories. There is a head, then a star; a cleat, then several beads. A bow at the end ties everything up. Ask your child to help you learn about Braidy, and what each of the parts represents.
Have a wonderful break!
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Harper W. and Dylan work side by side on dinosaur reports and odd even work.
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Cooper gets to work on an ammonite report.
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Dylan engrossed in his reading.
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Students use the nesting boxes
to explore their place in the universe.
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This week, the students did a spectacular job of working together to put on our annual poetry performance, despite missing two entire days of rehearsal to snowdays! The class really pulled together, and for several days, throughout the elementary hallway, music room, theater, gym, and even the barn lobby, one could hear kids tinkering and experimenting with musical sounds to accompany their poetry. Thank you all for coming out Wednesday to support the students. Take a few moments after break to come view the poetry and artwork now on display in the main hallway of the school.
Have a wonderful February break!
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Our beautiful Takach combination press has been put through its paces in the Middle School the past few weeks. Students have been engaged in the creation of linocut relief prints and the results have been tremendous. The press and associated materials were part of a generous grant from The Kahn Mason foundation. Printmaking is a wonderful medium for Middle School students as it combines the need for planning and conceptual awareness with the tangible and precise skills of carving, inking, and building an edition. The process allows for revision and exploration, the possibility for complexity, and pleasure in the simplest of images. We will continue printmaking after winter break with an introduction to intaglio processes. Many linocuts are up in the Middle School lobby, so please stop by and take a look.
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The Brattleboro Women’s Chorus will begin their spring session with open rehearsals the first week of March. To celebrate the 100
th
anniversary of women’s right to vote, the theme of the songs will be of strength, solidary, and suffrage. Following the Chorus’s concerts in May, those who choose to can join a repeat performance of several songs at WomenSing100, a singing gathering in honor of women’s strength and voting rights to be held in Worcester, MA in August.
Open rehearsals are for any women or girls age 10 and older to check out with no obligation whether Chorus is right for them. The Chorus has been under the direction of Becky Graber since 1996 and is unique in that much of the music, even multiple and complicated parts, is taught by ear. Written music is available on occasion, but practice recordings and word sheets are always provided to help with learning.
Two rehearsal options are offered and will begin on Wednesday night, March 4 from 6:30-8:30 at All Souls Universalist Church in W. Brattleboro and on Thursday morning, March 5 from 10:00-noon at the Brattleboro Music School on Blanche Moyse Way across the Memorial Park. Can't make the first rehearsal? The rehearsals on March 11 & 12 are also open to new members.
The registration fee is $120 for individuals, $70 for students, and $190 for a family pair. Financial aid is available. Registration and more information can be found on our
website
or by
email
.
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