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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Jade's at-home art room set up for Live Art with UE.
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Next Week:
Thursday, May 7
- All School Gathering, 9-9:30am
- HMS Parent Connections: Moving-Up Night, 7-8pm
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Upcoming:
Thursday, May 14
- All School Gathering, 9-9:30am
- HMS Parent Connections, 7-8pm
Friday, May 15
- Abenaki Storytelling, 10-10:45am
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Balancing
- Our current situation has brought “balance” to the forefront in several areas at our school:
Social/emotional connection and support
balanced
with academic needs -
Teachers and staff have been giving lots of thought to the importance of supporting the emotional and social needs of our students and families during this time. Helping us all get through this with the least amount of trauma is clearly a priority. Yet, we do have attendance requirements (state mandated), academic obligations, and need to track and measure how students are doing. We are sending an envelope of assessment material (by US Postal Service) to Elementary and Middle School families. Please read through it and let us know if you have any questions.
Planning for the future
balanced
with knowing that options and plans will change -
- End of Year Ceremonies - We are working to make plans for end of year ceremonies that bring community, celebration, and closure. That being said, we know that restrictions will be changing and options might open or close. Flexibility is key.
- SummerFun - We do not know if we will be permitted to be together in person during the weeks scheduled for CH and TP SummerFun, or during other weeks this summer. We’ve gotten an early start on playground re-grading and fence repair that needed to happen. We are working to remain flexible to provide our prepared Montessori environment for when we are able to meet.
- Next Year - We are considering the many possible scenarios (early start, late start, more distance learning, meeting in person but limited class size, staggered attendance days, preschool versus school age options) and how these might influence teacher contracts and addendums that might be appropriate for student contracts and financial obligations.
Limiting screen time
balanced
with providing connection and direct engagement -
We’ve all experienced
‘Zoom Fatigue’
and yet that is the best available venue for “direct” teacher contact with students.
Providing meaningful, program-level appropriate content and structure
balanced
with each family’s flow, connectivity, and ability to be present -
Some families thrive in this setting while others are really struggling to make it work. We keep working to better define and communicate what should be our expectations at each program level and how we can best serve individual students/families and the whole community of students/families.
As we work to strike a balance in all of these areas, and more, your feedback and engagement is critical. Many of you have been communicating directly to the teachers and many of you responded to our survey (more than 50 so far!). Today is the final day to submit a
survey response
. These responses and the analysis provided by Resonance Insights will be critical to us better addressing our families' needs at this time, and in finding the balance between expectations and delivery of what we can do for remote learning and for families’ considerations for the next academic year.
Stay well,
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We want to thank everybody who showed up for the Open Board meeting last night. The lucky pie winners were: Nestor Beckwith, Marta Bernbaum, and Shelley Lockyear! Beyond pies, though, we enjoyed the opportunity to share the work the Board does with the rest of the community, and we hope some of you were inspired towards Board service.
We greatly appreciate everyone’s understanding that we had no way of knowing that we’d need to be isolated for these many weeks in the spring. Please know that most of us are parents of children at Hilltop as well, and the consideration of different families’ needs are forefront in our minds when we are having discussions about different financial scenarios.
Needless to say, this is an exciting time to be a Trustee, as the school is grappling with enormous issues related to the sustainability of our community. While things are still in too much of a state of flux to state specific plans and changes to structures based on scenarios for the coming year, please know that we are working to support families, students, staff, and the long-term stability of the school. As we move closer to the next academic year, keep in mind that Board membership regularly evolves, and that we need inspired leaders now more than ever! If you are interested in having a direct impact on the direction of the school in the next 3-6 years or beyond, please consider board service. Check out the materials provided on the
Board page of the Hilltop website
, or reach out directly to the Committee on Trustees by contacting
Vanessa Long
.
We take into deep consideration every suggestion from families and every piece of feedback that we receive, because we are all learning how to move through this situation together, and because we value all members of our community. Please keep sending us thoughts, ideas, suggestions - what is working or not working for your family? When you think about the next academic year, or the years beyond, what considerations are most important for you? Thanks in advance for your ideas, and stay in touch.
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Transition in the Business Office
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We are very sad to announce that Deb Lagoy is leaving her position as our Business Manager. She has done a great job continuing the transition of our Business Office operations to QuickBooks Online, our financial aid program to Indexed Tuition, and our tuition billing system to TADS. Deb has been a wonderful addition to our Administrative Team and will be greatly missed. She is moving to a position with more direct accounting work and a shorter commute, once we move to working in person.
We are therefore looking for a full-time person, or two part-time people, to fill the Business Office responsibilities.
The Business Manager:
- Reports to and works as a strategic partner to the Head of School and is a member of the Administrative Team.
- Is a member of the Finance Committee and Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees.
- Provides leadership and management of the School’s finances and is responsible for the supervision, coordination, and administration of all aspects of the Business Office, Building and Grounds expenses, Human Resources, and financial policy management.
- Maintains relationships with all families, vendors, banks, professional accountants, and insurance companies in partnership with the Head of School.
If you or anyone you know has a solid knowledge of QuickBooks and an interest in working with our enthusiastic and collaborative team, please send them our way! This position would start immediately in order to overlap with Deb for training. Anyone interested in this position is invited to contact
Tamara Mount
, Head of School, as soon as possible with a resume and letter of interest.
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Moving Up Night for Parents
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May 7 at 7pm
Parents of students new to the Lower and Upper Elementary, and Middle School Programs
Faculty will present a program overview and details for the coming year, outline expectations, and answer questions from parents about the new program level and what lies ahead for their student.
Invitations will be emailed to families of students moving up.
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Hello!
Toddlers have been planting (and eating!) lots of things: beans, microgreens, nasturtiums, and more! Children have delighted in sharing their plants with friends in our weekly circle time. This week we even had a special guest: Baba Jay!
The signs of spring are all around us. As the weather warms up, we hope that everyone is looking forward to getting outside and enjoying nature with children a bit more. Try going for a walk and pointing out some early signs of spring to your child: green grass, lots of rainy days, daffodils and dandelions. Children will love the simple act of naming all the lovely things around them.
Here is an article
from Simone Davies, on how to give a Montessori-style three period language lesson. Using real objects, such as the plants emerging around us, is a great way to help children create lasting language connections.
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Olive E. kneads dough to make bread.
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We look forward to seeing you all again for circle time and individual meetings next week.
Have a great weekend,
The Toddler Team
“A child, more than anyone else, is a spontaneous observer of nature”
- Maria Montessori
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It has been so nice to reconnect with everyone this week after our “Screen Break”. We know it has been an adjustment doing distance learning, and are so appreciative of all the effort you put in to supporting your child to continue to stay connected to our community. Each week we look forward to our Zoom circle time and our individual check-ins. Seeing the children’s smiling faces is such a bright light and brings us so much joy.
As we continue with our learning, we will be providing a few more bags until the end of the school year. Here is a schedule of when they will be available for pick up.
- Friday, May 8
- Friday, May 22
- Friday, June 5
**Please note that all bags will be in the greenhouse for pick up
.
Have a great weekend!
The Children’s House Teachers
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Leo is learning all about roots.
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Athena with her birdhouse and plant from the last CH Goodie Bag!
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Josephine waters her sprouts.
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We spent some time on Thursday morning with the rising Ks, during our Moving Up ZOOM gathering. With the help of our LE hosts, we answered questions about what a typical day in Lower Elementary looks like, and what kind of works are done in our classroom. Our hosts shared their memories of being new students in the class, and how their perspective has changed, now that they are experienced Lower Elers. We look forward to welcoming our new students when the 2020-2021 school year begins!
As part of our Botany study, we are excited to welcome Rich Enuol next Monday at 8:30, as our guest at Morning Meeting! With conversation and colorful slides, he is going to present ways we can grow and “re-grow” a variety of vegetables, using the contents of our refrigerators. We have included his list on the Google Classroom stream, for those of you who would like to prepare ahead of time. Whether or not you have materials on hand, we encourage you to attend and add to your store of plant knowledge!
Finally, we want to give you all a heads-up about assessment materials that will be arriving in your mailboxes early next week. These end-of-year benchmark assessments for math and spelling are just one of the ways we’ll be measuring student progress this term. Read the instructions carefully. Your child may not know how to complete all of the problems and tasks.
This assessment is meant to measure progress over time, so you should assure them that this is okay, and please refrain from helping and coaching them. Once finished (by the end of next week), send them back to Wendy in the enclosed pre-addressed and stamped envelope. Thank you for your partnership in this, and please be in touch with any questions!
Enjoy the sun this weekend!
Your LE Teachers
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Our new virtual reality, encapsulated in a poem by Eleanor.
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Amir and Leo hard at work on math.
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Charlotte measures her trapeze for math!
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Cooper, a budding electronics expert, shares his circuit board with us
at our Wednesday virtual sharing.
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On Wednesday at morning meeting we wrapped up recent work on Westward Migration by reviewing questions about an excellent Khan Academy recap video, and also reviewing the context of Chief Joseph’s “fight no more forever” words, which we listened to. On Friday we reviewed the week’s short videos on vascular vs. nonvascular plants, and a comparison of mosses and ferns. The current bird study work is a two-week project, and we are hoping for fewer rainy days next week.
The UE has begun one last round of Literature and Seminar. While the sixth grade takes on
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
by Mildred Taylor, the story of the Logan family’s trials to maintain their dignity in 1930’s Jim Crow Mississippi, the fourth and fifths are split between
A Long Way from Chicago
, by Richard Peck, and
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
, by E.L. Konigsburg.
Chicago
follows 2 children’s annual week-long trip to visit their eccentric grandmother in 1930’s down-state small-town Illinois, while
Basil
tracks to adventures of two kids who run away to secretly live in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The bin outside the front door of the school was a busy spot for a few days, with the new Literature and Seminar books being picked up, or batches of work turned in. Thank you to all for observing critical sanitation guidelines when accessing the box!
The highlight of our week was hosting our visitors from third grade on Thursday at Morning Meeting. We played a “three-clues-who-am-I” game (who knew that 4 generations of Dylan’s family have lived in his house, or that Layla broke her wrist when she was 6, or that Claire has already named the cat she hopes to get? Students in the present fourth or fifth grade described some of the favorite annual events and trips in Upper Elementary - from the Pinnacle trip to the poetry performance to the play. We realized that next year, for the first time ever, the UE spring play and 3-day trip will be a first for students in grades four and five, together! The impacts of this COVID period will be with us for a long time, no doubt, and it was uplifting to see our life together moving forward with a new ‘generation’ of Upper Ellers joining us in the fall. We can’t wait!
Have a wonderful weekend,
UE Team
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'Prepared environment' in GC? A short video introducing the basic division of plants into vascular and non-vascular.
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Kaiya's letter in the voice of Uriah Oblinger, who migrated from Ohio, to Idaho, to Kansas as a farmer in the 1800s.
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Comparing vascular and
non-vascular plants.
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Lucas's report on Pap Singleton.
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Our traditional water science study has morphed into “Science in Your Kitchen,” an exploration of the physical and chemical properties of water and how it mixes with everyday household substances. Before break, the students were invited to make four different mixtures with water representing a suspension (flour and water), an emulsion (oil and water), a solution (salt and water), and a colloid (milk). Then, they were challenged to “unmix” these mixtures using materials readily available to them. Pictures of a few of their efforts are pictured below, and the full video on this topic that appeared at All School Gathering this week can be found
here.
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Nora measures pH with red cabbage water.
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Ellie skims oil off the top of an emulsion.
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Ilona lets her suspension
of flour and water settle.
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This week, we investigated the pH of various substances found around the house using red cabbage liquid. If you want to try this at home, simply steep chopped red cabbage in boiling water for ten minutes, then drain out the liquid to use as a pH indicator. A few drops of this purple liquid added to a jar of a clear substance, such as vinegar, laundry detergent, or a baking soda solution give interesting results. The pigments in cabbage are pH sensitive and turn various colors in acidic and alkaline environments. The students were particularly surprised by the results of seltzer water and cream of tartar.
Next week, students will be sharing the results of their home water use labs. We are very grateful to all the parents and siblings who assisted with (or at least tolerated) this rather invasive data collection process.
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Free breakfast sandwiches are available to kids
on Saturdays and Sundays starting in May
Just come down to the
Retreat Farm in Brattleboro between 9 am - 12 pm
for sausage and cheese egg sandwiches made fresh with local eggs and sausage. To honor the social distancing details you'll place your order at the drive up order area and then drive up to the pick up station. Socially distanced walk ups are welcome also.
Sausage donation and catering by CherryRail Farm with additional donations and support from Pete and Gerry's Eggs, Against the Grain, Brown and Roberts, Leader Home Center, and Wendy's.
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Saturday, May 16th
Virtual Tour of Abbe Museum 2-8pm
and
Film Screening of
Dear Gorgina
8-9pm
Join the Emmy winning team behind DAWNLAND
We are extremely excited abo
ut
Digital AMIM
. The Abbe Museum's mission is ‘Inspiring new learning about the Wabanaki Nations with every visit.’ The health crisis created a situation where the public can't come to visit us, so with Digital AMIM we're bringing our mission into your homes. We invite you to join us throughout the event both to support the AMIM artists and engage in the opportunity to learn about Native arts from the artists themselves.
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Relief Funds for Undocumented Immigrants in NYC
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Dear Hilltop families,
COVID-19 is affecting everyone, but I have been really feeling the injustice and unfairness of the fact that because I have a social security number I will get a stimulus check, while so many undocumented immigrants, many of whom are considered essential workers and who are in extremely vulnerable situations, will not get a penny of help. Many of them have families in their home countries that depend on their income and they do not have savings to fall back on. They cannot apply for unemployment and often have landlords that are not flexible with payments. We have decided to send part of our stimulus check to undocumented loved ones in New York. A lot of us really need this check right now, and if you do, please don't feel pressure. This message is not for you. Please keep your check and know that there are other ways you can help. But, if you are in a position that you can share some or all of your check, please contribute to this campaign and share it. We will be sending all of the money contributed to undocumented folks we know in NYC who are needing help right now and not getting it because their immigration status. If you are able to contribute, thank you. And if you know people who might be able, please share this with them. ❤️
Thanks so much,
Allison and Marco
Here is the link:
Relief funds for Undocumented Immigrants in NYC organized by Allison Korn
We have already sent money to 25 undocumented immigrants in NYC who are in financial need and who are not receiving any relief funding from the government. We could not have done this without your generosity. We know more people who are in need and would gratefully accept financial assistance.
We also know not everyone has received their stimulus check yet and we wanted to assure folks that we will keep this campaign open to receiving donations as long as people are still receiving their stimulus checks. If you haven't yet received your check and would like to donate some or all of it when you do receive it, you will still be able to. Thanks so much! Please share this fundraiser with those you know and if you are able to do so, consider donating some or all of your stimulus check. Thank you!!!
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This is a living document with mutual aid resource signups in response to COVID-19 impacts for the rural New England Region maintained by Out in the Open. If you have mutual aid resources to add, please
email
to get them added.
The Farmer Emergency Fund
provides farmers with the needed cash flow in times of an emergency, to help them recover and ultimately become more resilient farmers. Currently, we are planning to use the fund to support farms with challenges related to the COVID-19 crisis.
Fortunately, many local, regional, and statewide networks for mutual aid have been taking shape and we encourage accessing or contributing to networks in your local communities whenever possible. With that being said, to the best of our knowledge, we are currently one of the only mutual aid networks that have centered the needs, resources, abilities, and work of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) in Vermont. As we know, these are (and have historically been) the most negatively impacted members of our society; supporting this population is critical.
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Hilltop family-owned business still open!
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