Author: Foothill Montessori

International Day of Peace 2022

Written by Foothill Montessori on September 21, 2022. Posted in Blog.

We are honored to continue Dr. Montessori’s work to teach peace to children around the world. We invite you to take the time to walk to the 1700 side of the school with your children and view up close the peace work the students have done in preparation for International Day of Peace.

Amanda was our guest speaker.

She shared the poem that she compiled based on our responses to the question of what peace means to us.

Peace to Me Is… a collaborative poem

Students and staff made Peace Rocks for the community to admire and take.

6th year students proudly carried the Peace Dove.

Approximately 10 years ago this Peace Dove was created by the then 6th year students at FMSL. Since then, it has led the way in each year’s Peace walk and has been carried by 6th year students. This year this dove will be retired and a new one will be created to take its place

Staff and students decorated Peace Flags

Peaceful moments from our year so far

Hiking in our glorious mountains

Playing in the rain.

Helping with yard work.

Walking the labyrinth.

“Averting war is the work of politicians; establishing peace is the work of education.”
– Maria Montessori

Introducing our Early Childhood Staff

Written by Foothill Montessori on September 20, 2022. Posted in Blog.

Early Childhood (EC) teachers are trained to encourage self-directed learning that promotes self-confidence, independent thought and action, and critical thinking, while fostering social-emotional and intellectual growth. That’s no small feat! We are so very grateful to have such talented and beautiful individuals on staff to support the children in this important work.

Magnolias, Dual Language

Andrea, Kayla & Kendalyn

Sequoias, Dual Language

Ruth, Cathie & Cynthia

Aspens

Tori S. & Ruby

Willows

Karey & Tori C.

Click here to watch a short video from the American Montessori society about the importance of the capstone year (year 3) in the Early Childhood classroom.

Committee Participation

Written by Foothill Montessori on September 20, 2022. Posted in Blog.

Parent participation is a key component of a thriving Montessori community. Parent involvement in school life reassures your child of the strong connection between the home and the school. Volunteering on a committee is great way to fulfill the 10 hours of parent involvement we suggest for each parent each academic year. If you missed out on registration or need to change your mind, please contact us at info@mcsslc.com with your request.

Parent School Alliance (PSA)

The Parent School Alliance coordinates fundraising events, community building activities and school-wide annual traditions. The PSA meets monthly.

Health & Safety Advisory Committee (HSC)

The Health and Safety Committee collaborates with administration to determine appropriate measures to safeguard our community when health and safety issues arise. Members of the committee are also consulted with specific questions or requests to help inform and guide decision making. This committee is scheduled to meet virtually on Tuesdays 1-2pm, 6 times during the academic year.

Strategic Planning Committee

The Strategic Planning Committee assists school administration in realizing the school’s mission and vision. This includes helping determine, set and obtain measurable goals for our continuous improvement. The schedule for this committee is TBD.

Please note, committee membership is a year long commitment. From our experience, regular attendance and consistent participation/support is most helpful to the collaborative work of each committee and proves to be the most rewarding for individuals.

The Labyrinth

Written by Foothill Montessori on September 13, 2022. Posted in Blog.

A labyrinth can be used for walking meditation. The one built by the Uinta students and staff is a single winding path from the outer edge in a circuitous way to the center and out again.

Labyrinths are used world-wide as a way to quiet the mind, calm anxieties, recover balance in life, enhance creativity and encourage meditation, insight, self-reflection and stress reduction.

Let the walking begin.

Introducing our Infant &Toddler Staff

Written by Foothill Montessori on September 13, 2022. Posted in Blog.

It takes a special kind of person to be an educator. It takes an extraordinary person to be the guide of a classroom full of infant or toddler aged children! We are so very proud to present our 2022-23 Infant & Toddler staff.

Sego Lily Class (Infants)

Alisalee & Candace

Stars Class (Toddlers)

Brooklyn, Nozomi and Daniela

Moons Class (Toddlers)

Fernanda, Alyssa & Madison

Are you curious about what these extraordinary people do day in and day out? Please watch this short video from the American Montessori Society to learn about their important work.

All About Me

Written by Foothill Montessori on September 7, 2022. Posted in Blog.

Uinta (Upper Elementary, Grades 4-6)

With the start of a fresh new school year, Uinta students and teachers set out on our very first Writing Workshop. The assignment culminated in a foldable book called “All About Me!”. Students made use of creative writing, self reflection, and the writing process.

Assembly begins

There was anticipation as we translated our names into the runic alphabet, and laughter as we created our “codenames” (i.e. iridescent jumping spider)! And, a poem was carefully crafted by each student wherein they decided how they would run things, if they were in charge of the world.

Nearing completion

To close out the assignment, everyone revisited their work, spent time proofreading and editing their text, as well developing the phrasing and organization of their writing. In the coming weeks, a self evaluation will be completed to identify what went well, and how we can all improve in the future.

Introducing Cathy Bachman

Written by Foothill Montessori on August 30, 2022. Posted in Blog.

Welcome to FMSL Cathy

Cathy Bachman has joined our staff as our new Office Manager. She has spent the past several weeks learning the ropes and is now settling into her groove. Already she has streamlined several systems and we are happy to report that the day to day office life is running smoothly.

Cathy is a twice-over Montessori parent and now a Montessori grandma!. Her daughters, Stephanie and Elizabeth, attended FMSL throughout the 1990s and her grandson Roary is now in Sego Lily.

She was educated as an accountant, but her career was in programming, team management and project management. She loves spending time with her family, gardening and exploring different crafts.

We are delighted to have Cathy back in the Montessori community.

Welcome to 2022-23

Written by Foothill Montessori on August 24, 2022. Posted in Blog, Community News.

Dear FMSL community,

Brandi and I are delighted to welcome you to the 2022-23 academic year. We want to extend our gratitude to our community for the many ways you have helped us prepare for this new school year:

Students- thank you for bringing joy, curiosity and exuberance to our school life. You are a constant encouragement to us to be our best selves and be fully present in each precious moment of the day.

Parents- thank you for your support, encouragement, and honesty. Your focus on addressing the pressing needs within our community as well as looking ahead to the future is so very necessary.

Teachers and staff- thank you for the care and attention you have put into making FMSL a warm, beautiful, and safe space for all. We are so very appreciative of your dedication to our community

Each year our staff has a theme that helps provide focus for our individual effort and our collaborative work. This year’s theme is Breathe. Taking time for restful breathing and deliberate breath can help us maintain the calm needed for clear thinking. It provides us a way to manage situations that may be stressful, people who are anxious, or things that may be challenging.

A new year brings new opportunities and we are feeling optimistic about the future. Please don’t hesitate to reach out should you have questions.

With gratitude,

Brandi & Margaret

Our Sympathy to the Community of Uvalde, Texas

Written by Foothill Montessori on May 25, 2022. Posted in Blog.

Dear FMSL families and staff,

Our deepest sympathy goes out to the students, parents, staff and the community of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. This tragedy is so very senseless. Gun violence against children needs to stop.

We are heartbroken and recognize this tragic event may cause anxiety and concern to many in our community. It can be very challenging to talk about such things with our children. Here are some tips from the National Association of School Psychologists that may help you.

FMSL takes our responsibility to safeguard our community very seriously. In light of this recent instance of violence in a school setting we will make time to review school safety procedures.

Lastly, we ask everyone to practice compassion, love and kindness in your interactions with each other; you may never know who is hurting. You can make a difference.

With love,

Robyn, Margaret & Brandi

2021-22 COVID Data

Written by Foothill Montessori on May 23, 2022. Posted in Blog.

This school year we have had a total of 83 positive cases of COVID-19 occurring among FMSL students and staff. (5/23/22)

Figure 1. Count of student & staff cases to date

Figure 2. Positive cases by setting

Figure 3. Positive cases by month

Similar to the greater Salt Lake community, FMSL experienced a major spike in positive cases during the month of January 2022. At that time, MCS had 36 cases reported over 24 consecutive days.

In April 2022, following modified guidelines from the CDC and the Utah Health Department and improved community transmission numbers, FMSL moved to making masking indoors optional. Within 2 weeks positive cases occurred across 9 separate school settings. Masking indoors was reinstated and, fortunately, community spread was able to be contained to one early childhood classroom.

Gratitude

Public safety measures and guidance shifted and changed frequently this year. We are grateful to the Health and Safety Committee for their advice and support as we navigated these changes.We would also like to express our gratitude to FMSL parents and staff. This has been a challenging year and we are so very grateful for the grace everyone has extended to the community.