On Thursday September 28th, MCS students will be participating in our 11th annual Montessori Community School Fun Run! Our bouncy house obstacle course is becoming a fun tradition and we are excited to be bringing it back for this year’s Fun Run! Our returning families may notice the Fun Run is much earlier this year than in year’s past. Our PSA and administration agreed on an earlier date to help us ensure agreeable weather (spring time usually finds us considering alternative plans in case of rain) and because the Navajo Rug Show is coming up in early November! The Fun Run will coincide with a drive for supplies so keep checking back for more info about our drive and stay tuned to see how our fundraising efforts turn out! We look forward to sharing this fun opportunity with you.
What is the Fun Run and how can your family participate?
Each year our students have the opportunity to raise pledges for our two Service Learning Projects:
1) The Children of Ethiopia Education Fund (COEEF)
Specifically, the COEEF program will give vital financial support so the six girls our MCS students sponsor can attend school in Ethiopia. The Children of Ethiopia who are living in impoverished circumstances to have a quality, private education through generous sponsors and donors. Without this assistance many of these girls would not have the opportunity to attend any school. We feel that supporting girls in this way will have such a far reaching effect: “To educate a girl is to educate a village (nation).”
Check out this video from Bethlehem Eyob, one of the girls sponsored by MCS.
2) For more than 20 years our school has been involved in the Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program. The Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program exists to create a bridge of hope between Native Americans and other cultures. It allows us to reach out to one another, share our gifts, and mend the broken circle of our relationship with the Land and the Native Americans who hold it in sacred trust.
We originally adopted three grandmothers- Grandmother Roseline Jackson who died two years ago, Grandmother Emma Bahe who died this year, and Grandmother Elvira Horseherder to whom we are still committed. Recently we chose to adopt another grandmother whose name is Grandmother Anita Jackson, a relative of Grandmother Roseline. We are delighted to have this opportunity to become part of the life of Grandmother Anita. We anticipate having regular communication with her as we do with Grandmother Elvira.
The money raised by our students will be used to support our girls in Ethiopia and to provide our adopted Navajo Grandmothers with much-needed items such as food, firewood, clothing, and gardening tools as well as yarn to weave the beautiful rugs they sell to earn a living.
Service Learning is an important component of our Montessori program. It teaches students about the joy and value of contributing to their community, society, and world. We encourage you to join with us in supporting your child in service learning. You can do this by:
- Helping your child to set a goal to raise a certain amount.
- Helping your child talk to family and friends about the Fun Run. You would be surprised how many friends, neighbors, and grandparents are eager to support such a worthwhile event.
- Attending the event and join with them as they run their laps or cheer them on from the sidelines.
- Volunteering to help at the event. Please sign up in the lobby or email psa@mcsslc.com for details.
A YouCaring website will be established and emailed to families next week and donations can be made there or checks delivered to the MCS office. Please write all donations to MEF (Montessori Education Foundation.)
Our goal this year is to raise at least $7,000.00 total, with 80% family participation.
We look forward to this exciting Service Learning experience and hope all of our families will participate with enthusiasm.
Sincerely,
MCS Parent School Alliance