November 25-27: No School - Thanksgiving Break
December 21-January 1: No School - Winter Break
January 4: Remote Learning Resumes
January 14: Pre-K Return In-Person Instruction
February 1: K-8 Return In-Person Instruction
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We are stronger together than we are alone. -- Walter Payton
While the approaching holiday season is typically full of hustle and bustle, this year, celebrations may be unusual or difficult because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The coronavirus is keeping families apart, and people are feeling stressed and frightened. That’s why it’s perhaps more important than ever to focus on gratitude — the practice of noticing and being thankful for the many things and people that contribute to making our lives happier, better, and easier.
Gratitude is beneficial to our mental and physical health, it can help us relax, and its effects can help us stay well through the coronavirus pandemic and beyond. The health benefits of practicing gratitude are wide-ranging — and maybe even a bit surprising. In times of crisis, it’s important to stay connected to others, and among its many other benefits, gratitude can help with this. Showing gratitude strengthens our relationships and our connection to our community.
In the Montessori environment, gratitude is a critical component of peace education, grace and courtesy exercises, and the concept of cosmic education. Gratitude is a quality that needs cultivating over time but encouraging children to be grateful and modeling its importance is well worth the effort. It lays the foundation for children to develop a positive, optimistic outlook on life.
Here are some simple ways to practice gratitude with your family:
- Make sharing the things each person is grateful for a daily, family activity. Sharing a few things they are thankful for can be an excellent way to boost spirits and stay grounded in the things that bring us joy.
- Count your blessings.
- Make it a habit to say “thank you” or, better yet, write thank-you letters. Hand-written cards still make a significant impact on people’s lives, and the practice teaches kids how to express themselves and show gratitude to others.
We, at Suder, appreciate you being a part of our parent community, and we wish you and your family a happy, healthy, and safe holiday. As you go into this week, into this season of modified gatherings and festivities, be sure to celebrate your 2020 bright spots - it’s been a rough year and naming highlights builds resilience! You may be grieving how you usually spend Thanksgiving or what you usually do when you have a break from work. Grieve. And then celebrate anything you can from 2020. And then see what you can look forward to in 2021.
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Assistance & Donations for the Holidays |
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Suder Montessori understands that these times can be challenging for some of our families. We want to ensure that all Suder students have a happy holiday this winter. We know that COVID has made money tight for many families this year. If your family needs help with holiday gifts for your kids, please complete the survey below and we will do our best to help your family this holiday season.
Also, we created a Suder Holiday Help Wish List where families can donate gifts to other Suder families! Any gift donations would be greatly appreciated!
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Suder Montessori Reopening Update |
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On Tuesday, November 17th, Chicago Public Schools announced the return of in-person learning for kindergarten through eighth grade students. This is in addition to the return of Early Childhood and Cluster programs. As a reminder, Pre-K students will return to in-person instruction on January 11, 2021. K-8 students will return February 1, 2021.
In order to comply with ISBE, IDPH, and CDC guidelines, our Early Childhood Program (PreK3, PreK4 and K) will be returning in a Hybrid Model. To maintain the integrity of our Montessori program in alignment with health and safety guidelines, our in-person model is different from the initial five day plan and other traditional Early Childhood programs within the district.
Yesterday, November 23, 2020, opt-in forms were sent to all families of students in Pre-K-8 and cluster programs. Please note that if you have a Pre-K student and you already completed the survey in October, you do not need to re-submit if your preference has not changed. The deadline to update or submit your opt-in form is December 7, 2020.
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Suder Montessori Student Council |
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We are very excited to be launching the School Year 2020-21 Suder Montessori Student Council! This year, your involvement in Student Council is more important than ever as we work together to make our school year great. We will be holding elections on Friday, December 11th for the following positions:
- President (Must be in Middle School)
- Vice President (Can be in Middle School or E2)
- Secretary (Can be in Middle School or E2)
- Director of Communications (Can be in Middle School or E2)
- Classroom Rep (One rep will be chosen per classroom E1 - Middle School. E1 reps must be in third grade.)
Please see the information packet below to learn more!
Applications are due TODAY, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24th!
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Suder State of the School Address |
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On Wednesday, November 18, 2020, Ms. Bada delivered the Suder State of the School Address. The State of the School Address is important as it offers a common lens for conversations on the progress and priorities at our school. We hope that families that were not able to join us for this session can review the information in the presentation below. |
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Suder Parent Champion - Chamika Jones |
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Greetings Suder Family,
Chamika here. I don't know many of you, but I hope to know more soon. As you know, Suder has a strong Social-Emotional Support Team between a Dean of Students & Community, a School Counselor, a School Social Worker, and a School Psychologist. This year, the role of a Parent Champion is being introduced for a new social-emotional learning experience for the parent community. I am honored to fill that role and given the current climate of the school year, relieved to share with other parents.
As Montessori parents, my family and I are constantly looking for ways to enhance our girls' learning experience while also giving them the room to figure some things out and intervene when needed. Well this year, I'm needed a lot and I'm sure everyone else does too. Social and emotional Learning has become more important than ever right now. Luckily, Suder already had a very strong support system with lots of SEL resources and an amazing parent community. As Parent Champion, I will share everything I've learned through formal training with Clever Characters on SEL mentoring methods with other parents. These discussions will help us as parents implement and advocate SEL Mentoring Methods within our community (especially schools) and streamline what's being introduced at school at home. It gives us parents an additional way to support each other and strengthen our school community while simultaneously strengthening our kids along with ourselves.
As an introductory to some of the training topics, below is a registration link to attend an information session with Dr. Lori Desautels covering the topic of self regulation.This interview, conducted by Clever Characters, will discuss how the knowledge of how your brain works allows you to self-regulate and is directed towards parents and educators. I know everyone has a busy schedule right now and I can only imagine the magic tricks people are doing but if you have time, this is a good one. If not, there will be more and a follow up meeting after within the Suder community. In the meantime, If anyone has any additional questions, feel free to reach out at chamika.jones@gmail.com.
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PAC Meeting Notice & Agenda |
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The next PAC Meeting is at 5:00pm on December 1, 2020. The meeting link and agenda can be found here: December 2020 PAC Meeting.
Suder PAC Officers
- Chairperson: Serena Sumrell
- Vice-Chairperson: Cheryl Curtis
- Outreach Coordinator: Helen Ho-Supanich
- Secretary: Charles Alley
PAC Meeting Dates
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Charleston Wrap Fundraiser |
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Our Fundraising Goal: $3000
Helping us reach our goal is QUICK, EASY, and only takes about 5 minutes. We have partnered with Charleston Wrap® to make it happen! With over 2,500 gift ideas, including UltraHeavy™ gift wrap, gourmet kitchen essentials, personalized gifts & more, friends and family can help us reach our goal by checking off their holiday shopping list! But first, you'll need to invite them to support our fundraiser - and we have a special gift for you, too! Complete the three (3) steps below and you'll receive a FREE ROLL of Charleston Wrap®’s UltraHeavy™ gift wrap when you make a purchase!
Here's how to help and receive your FREE UltraHeavy™ roll of gift wrap:
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Please visit charlestonwrapstore.com/non-school-registration.php to register today! Use our ORGANIZATION ID 21041 to register!
- Send 10 unique and valid shopping email invites to your friends & family using our invite tool at registration.
- Once you've sent 10 emails, a gift card will be emailed to you for your FREE roll of Charleston Wrap®’s UltraHeavy™ gift wrap with the purchase of any item.
In addition to awarding the FREE roll of wrap, we will also award a Charleston Wrap® Gift Card to parents who have rallied others to support the fundraiser! We'll award these Gift Cards on the last day of our sale (12/7/2020) for Parent Appreciation Day. We will automatically email you a gift card for the highest level achieved!
- Any Parent with 5 supporters will receive a gift card for $10 off any purchase of $50 or more.
- Any Parent with 10 supporters will receive a gift card for $25 off any purchase of $50 or more.
- Any Parent with 20 supporters will receive a gift card for $50 off! Your $50 order is FREE!
- Gift Cards expire in April of next year and cannot be combined with any other offer. Orders may be subject to shipping and tax.
PRO TIP: The more email invites you send, the more supporters we'll get! So, break out your email contact list, share on social media, and help spread the word!
Thank you so much for your support!
Questions about registration? Call CW Customer Support at 1-866-395-2926
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COMIC: A Kids' Guide To Coping With The Pandemic |
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Kids, this comic is for you!
You've been living through this pandemic for months, and you might be feeling sad, frustrated or upset. But there are lots of different ways to deal with your worries – and make yourself feel better. Here are some tips and advice to help you through. Check out the comic below!
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ComEd Financial Assistance Program |
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For a limited time, this financial-assistance program provides an additional one-time grant of up to $300 to help low- income residential customers, and those who express financial hardship, reduce past-due balances. Assistance through the Helping Hand program will be administered directly through ComEd. Residential customers can apply for Helping Hand grants at www.ComEd.com/PaymentAssistance or call 1-800-334-7661.
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The Kingdom Baptist Church Food Pantry may be a very good resource for families during this time. The foods donated are fresh and of high quality. Please feel free to visit the food pantry for feed. Distribution is planned to follow safety and sanitary guidelines. They are hopeful that the food does not go to waste.
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If you have not already done so, be sure to visit the Suder website and sign up to receive the Suder Newsletter! |
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