Our school celebrated Day of the Dead, Día de los Muertos. Day of the Dead is a holiday celebrated in Mexico on November 1st and 2nd, which coincides with the Catholic holidays of All Saints' Day (November 1st) and All Souls Day (November 2nd). Traditions connected with the holiday include building private alters honoring the deceased. The altars are adorned with sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed. People often place the altars near graves of departed relatives. Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an aztec festival dedicated to a goddess called Mictecacihuatl. In Brazil, Día de Finados is a public holiday that many Brazilians celebrate by visiting cemeteries and churches. In Spain, there are festivals and parades, and at the end of the day, people gather at cemeteries and pray for their...

Montessori Community School's 2nd Annual Book Fair will begin next week: Monday, October 31st and run through Friday, November 4th. You will be able to browse various shelves stocked with books and other fun items in the MCS Lobby. This is a great opportunity to get a head start on gifts for the holiday season. The Fair offers an excellent selection with great prices. You are bound to find some fun items for your students, family, friends, and even yourself!  MCS' Teachers have also created a Wish List of books they would love to receive as Classroom/ Teacher gifts. Those lists can be found online or hard copies can be found on site by Wednesday, November 2nd.  You may also start shopping the Fair NOW! Scholastic Book Fairs offer the opportunity to shop the fair online as well- for added convenience, go to this link to browse and make purchases.    Online Book...

Montessori Community School presents MCS Spirit Gear. Zipped, hooded sweatshirts will be available to pre-order soon. Adult sizes will be $28 and youth sizes will be $25. Stay tuned for more information.

Toddler, Early Childhood, and Lower Elementary students received a For Small Hands catalog in their Take-Home Files. If your student did not receive a catalog, there are many copies in the lobby area for you to enjoy. Over the years, many of our families have purchased their holiday gifts from this catalog or have encouraged family members to purchase gifts from this catalog. If you do choose to place an order, our school will receive a percentage of the sales back as a credit for merchandise. The school customer number is 120274 and can also be found on a label on the catalog. For more information, check out their website: www.forsmallhands.com . We love to help provide you and your family further Montessori resources. Thank you for your support and work in sharing and being apart of the Montessori spirit.  

Today we had an All-School Fire Drill. We are proud to announce all went smoothly and everyone made it out in a timely manner demonstrating beautiful lines and calm bodies. Even our rambunctious Toddler friends were able to make it out onto our green space with little trouble and almost no tears.

Dear MCS Families, 

As many of you know, Montessori Community School partners with a ski resort each year to provide our students with a region specific experience of ski and snowboard lessons. This opportunity is open to all of our Kindergarten students and up. If you are unsure as to whether your student is signed up, please contact Ashlee Haslam, in the office. Please mark your calendars, as the Winter Sports Parent Meeting will take place Wednesday, November 16th from 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm. 

This year, our Winter Sports Program will take place at Snowbird. It is recommended that you start looking into and booking rentals, if needed, for your student.

We are accepting donations of used children’s clothing to be added to our “extras” in each of our programs. It is not uncommon for children’s clothes to become wet, soiled, outgrown or other and we like to keep a stash of extras around to ensure our student’s comfort. You are invited to bring children’s clothes to the bins in the lobby that you think might be of use here at school, particularly winter boots, hats, gloves, coats, and underwear.  Donations for all ages infant to size 14 accepted.  Any clothing not used to enrich our own “lockers of warmth” or extra clothes bins will be donated.

Hello Families, As the seasons change and the mornings grow cooler, we would like to remind everyone of Salt Lake City's Idle Free Ordinance. This ordinance prohibits unnecessary vehicle idling over 2 minutes. Every 2 minutes of idle time equals 1 mile of driving. As Montessori Community School works hard to be and encourage our students to be environmentally conscious, we ask that this ordinance be upheld during drop-off and pick-up times. Please click here  for more information on Salt Lake City's Idle Free Ordinance.  Thank  you so much for your support and help. "It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. you may never know what results come from your action. But if you do...

Attention Parents:   There will be a new Studio Class starting up this October. All Early Childhood students and Elementary students are welcome to sign up. Please find the registration forms in the MCS lobby. The classes will take place in the MCS Art Studio. The Early Childhood class will take place on Mondays and the Elementary class will take place on Wednesdays. Every session will be focused on a different form of art. Each week there will be warm-up project to take home and the students will also have the opportunity to work on a large project that will be completed at the end of the session.   The class will be taught by Ms. Ashley Brown. Ashley has four years of art teaching experience working with all different ages. She also has an associate degree in Illustration and Graphic Design. She is currently working toward her bachelor's degree in...

Montessori Community School will be holding speech, language, and hearing screenings on Wednesday, September 18th.

Today, August 31st marks the 146th birthday of Maria Montessori. Today, our students recognized her and the great work she accomplished. We are so grateful to have such a beautiful school, founded with Maria Montessori's love toward and focus on children and their natural development within a prepared environment.  Please learn more about Maria Montessori and her life  here or check out our small display this week in the MCS lobby. It is bound to inspire, enlighten, and teach you more about love, peace, and accomplishing goals you believe in.  An Early Childhood student mixes up a cake batter for Maria Montessori's birthday. Maria Montessori, we raise our hats to you. Cheers!

Trevor Eissler Montessori Madness Montessori elementary classrooms are fundamentally different from traditional elementary school rooms. In fact, they are so different that it can be hard to understand how they work, and why they are so great at helping children thrive. While it would be easy to write volumes about this topic (and some have: read Paula Polk Lillard’s book, Montessori Today, if you want a detailed description of the Montessori elementary classroom ), here are five key differences, and how they matter to your child’s success. Teachers are guides, not lecturers. They individualize instruction to keep each child optimally challenged. In traditional elementary education, much instruction happens at an all-class level; students generally move through the same curriculum at the same pace. This is more true now then ever, as mandatory standardized testing forces teachers to ensure that all students meet common minimum standards. This approach by definition fails to optimally...

Hello Parents,   This year's Summer  Adventure Camp has been a beautiful and sun-soaked adventure! We have had the pleasure of learning all about the culture, landscape, and traditions of India through each of our senses. The children have laughed and played on splash days, and carefully crafted each art project.                                                                     Noodle Mandalas                                                               Mango- Banana Smoothies                                                              Bounce...

Our Summer Camp students know how to stay cool! This last month, despite the heat, we have been able to enjoy various field trips and activities that have allowed us to have fun and cool off!

We hope everyone is enjoying their summer and finding their own creative ways to stay cool and spend fun time together. It is hard to believe the new school year will be starting soon!

Montessori education is unique, untraditional, and gaining popularity across not only the state of Utah but the entire country.  During parent interviews we often ask parents "What are your hopes and dreams for your child?" and the following is among the list of heartfelt responses that we often receive: To develop leadership skills To develop self-discipline To develop a sense of personal responsibility To develop independence To develop initiative To discover their passions To develop a lifetime love of learing To build a strong academic foundation Classrooms at Montessori Community School offer all that and more as we strive to follow each individual child, carefully prepare an environment that supports each of these goals, and work as a community in the best interest of each individual.        

Jane Nelsen, author the Positive Discipline books, will be speaking at our school on Thursday, May 5th, at 7:00 pm. The topic is "Raising Self-Reliant Children in a Self-Indulgent World", and Dr. Nelsen will be focusing on independence and the benefits of self-reliance for children. Her talk will include all age ranges through adolescence. Dr. Nelsen does charge a speaking fee, so we are charging just enough for tickets in order to pay her fee ($15 per ticket). We have already offered tickets to our parents and we still have some availability, so we would love to extend an invitation to any Montessorian that would like to attend. You can purchase tickets with a credit card by calling Ms. Terra in the front office at (801) 566-6962, or you can mail us a check, or call and reserve some tickets and then pay at the door. It seems that we all...

On Monday, May 16th, our students will be participating in our 9th annual Montessori Community School Fun Run! And this year, the run will be enhanced by a bouncy obstacle course!