It feels like adequate sleep is increasingly becoming more difficult to achieve. Two working parents in most homes, after school activities, more screen options, and a number of other factors can make it difficult to ensure our kids are getting enough sleep.  At school, we know that students learn better, experience more positive peer relationships, and enjoy school more when they are getting enough sleep. The APA recommendations for sleep can be found here and we also recommend listening to your child’s needs and adjusting schedules accordingly. Experts say that the specific time a child goes to bed isn’t as much a contributor to good sleep as a consistent bedtime routine. Be sure to follow those consistent and comforting bedtime routines to help your child achieve the best night's sleep possible. Happy Resting! 

Dear MCS Community,We have spent the past several months gathering information on how adjustments to our policy would impact our school community from both practical and legal perspectives. The details of our new policy are outlined here and the new policy will be written and added to our Parent and Staff Handbooks for implementation with 2020-2021 Enrollment. Our new policy will require current immunization records to be in each student’s file before they begin school. The policy will require that all students in the Toddler program and those in their first and second year of Early Childhood be fully immunized unless their parents have obtained a medical exemption. The policy will accept medical, personal and religious exemptions for elementary aged students, including kindergarten through sixth grade. We have adopted a commitment to herd immunity wherein the total number of our student body will be considered when accepting exemptions of any nature. Lastly,...

Have you ever told your child the riveting and powerful story of their entrance into this great life? This is one of my favorite aspects of parenthood. Instilling wonder and thoughtfulness about your child’s emergence to earth is truly awe inspiring for them. Hearing the story of their own birth can calm a child’s fears, can build a child who feels down or sad and can bring great joy to any child. Understanding not only the emergence itself, but the powerful emotions tied to their anticipated arrival and their delivery give a child perspective into their powers as a human. Understanding their place in a family, their most important community of all, is hugely rewarding for a child. Children deeply appreciate learning how their own birth made a marked difference in the history of the universe. A child will love this story at any point in their life, but the most crucial...

As a staff we are always trying to maintain a comfortable balance between sun safety and the immense need to get our children outside for play and movement.  As you well know, our children are not always easily convinced of the critical need to cover adequately. It is essential that we continue this important practice even during the cold months, when the UV rays are equally impactful.  We go to great effort to teach our children the importance of full coverage and how to apply sunscreen thoroughly (while offering assistance to children as needed).  We encourage our families to advise their children of the importance of sun safety and appreciate the following tips provided by one of our MCS parents.  Utah has the highest melanoma (the most deadly skin cancer) rates in the United States (read detailed article here). Given our altitude, a large number of sunny days, great outdoor activities, and a...

Thank you to those who participated in our Health and Safety Committee Meetings last Friday.  Many good ideas came from those meetings, which will be communicated at our upcoming Town Hall on Tuesday, October 15th.  You can expect to learn more about a possible adjustment to our vaccination policy (of which we will be seeking parent input), the implementation of a new extraordinary measures policy in regards to preventable diseases, the  implementation of a Parent Advisory Committee upon whom we can call for guidance in best health and safety practices, and updates about our accreditation process.  Please watch for an evite with details and to RSVP for this event. Note that there will be child care available for this event and thank you for signing up in advance in the office for child care. 

Our Emergency Preparedness Committee would like to invite interested parents to join in creating action plans around the items listed below.  We would be happy to share our preliminary plans of action with you; if interested please contact Britney or Brandi. We will be hosting committee meetings during the following times: September 20 @ 10:30am: Vaccination Policy Review Committee (contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) September 20 @ 1:00pm: Infectious Disease Action Plan Committee (contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)September 20 @ 3:00pm: Educating the Community on Best Practices for Health & Safety Measures (contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) If you are unable to attend these meetings and are interested in being part of the committee or have contributions for this discussion, please contact Britney, Brandi or Margaret. A Town Hall where we will apprise the community of work to date is scheduled for Tuesday, October 15 at 6:00pm (childcare provided). More info to come. 

Last night's forecast promised rain (and snow!) for the weekend.  Today, I have noticed the forecast has shifted from snow to rain and back to snow in just a few short hours.  Ahhhh, Utah! While I love the weather and all it has to offer and am particularly pleased by how Utah weather can change on a dime, I feel fiercely protective of our children and their preparation for the weather.  Nature is a beautiful gift that is best enjoyed when it is respected.  Parents, please help your students develop a healthy respect for nature by encouraging them to be prepared for whatever Mother Nature has to offer on any given day, especially here at school!  Children should come prepared to go outside in any circumstances.  Layers, good shoes, water resistant outer clothing, and extra options are a great start. Montessori Community School has always made it a priority to integrate nature...

 “Find a time and place of solitude.Look into the distance and into the future.Visualize the tomorrow you are going to build;and begin to build that tomorrow, today.”Jonathan Lockwood HuieAs part of our Peace Curriculum that is incorporated into our monthly studies at MCS, this month each of the classes is engaged in a study of creating space for Peace as we prepare to celebrate International Peace Day on September 21st and in honor of Maria Montessori’s extensive work in the field of Peace Education. Studies show that a preventative curriculum that promotes communication, community and self-advocacy is more effective than a punishing approach to bullying in schools. Ours is a program that we expect will follow our students far beyond their structured educational experience. We hope for and assist children in the development of skills of peaceful conflict resolution, gaining respect for peers and incorporating communal advocacy, taking in to account...

In our last note, the MCS Green Committee discussed the importance of minimizing packaging in the lunches/snacks we send with our students to school. There are many alternative lunch packaging options that help reduce waste and provide a cost effective way to give kiddos an awesome meal. Many of you already use reusable lunch packaging. However, listed below are some websites for possible eco-friendly lunch packaging/meal service products. We are certainly not pushing these items, but offering ideas (they might also be great holiday gifts). Let us know your thoughts on any of these products, or if you have other great ideas. Likewise, a bulk order discount option might be possible if there is enough interest. Any parents interested in the bulk order, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.,MCS Green Committeehttps://bentgo.com/https://www.yumboxlunch.com/https://www.planetbox.com/https://www.bamboozlehome.com/tinyfootprint-productshttps://avanchy.comhttps://www.shopbamboostudio.comhttps://www.bambuhome.com

PSA MissionThe Montessori Community School Parent School Alliance (PSA) works in partnership with the MCS Administration and Staff to help strengthen, support, and empower our community of students, teachers, staff and families. We achieve this by executing the following pillars:Collaboration: We work together with the mission to offer support to the school, which allows our children to get the most out of their education. We work in partnership with a wide array of individuals and organizations to accomplish our defined goals of community building.Commitment: We are dedicated to promoting children’s educational success, health and well-being through strong parent, family, and community involvement.Respect: We value our children and ourselves. We expect the same high quality of effort and thought from ourselves as we do from others.

Enjoy this beautiful timeline of Maria Montessori.The History of Montessori Education by Giraffe Childcare

Parent Teacher Conferences will be held on Friday, February 27th. There will be no school that day. Sign-up sheets for the conferences are on a table in the lobby, arranged by class, from Toddlers to Middle School (please check the top of each page for the name of the class). As we do every year, we ask that you observe the following requests:· Please sign up for one meeting time per child.· Please be on time for your conference.· Please help the teachers to stay on time.· Please arrange for childcare during Parent/Teacher conferences.We have had parents make requests for child care during the conferences.  Unfortunately, as our staff is busy meeting with parents and all of our classrooms, along with some other spaces in the school, are being used we have not been able to accommodate this request.  Please note that our playgrounds and our Outdoor Classroom are closed during...

MCS Lower Elementary student Diego Reyes-Lisieski recently appeared on KSL's Good Things Utah where he shared his talent and passion for cooking as a representative of the Salt Lake Culinary School which he attends.  Diego has shared this talent with his classmates at school as well.  He has been a student at Montessori Community School since 2010 and has enjoyed his cooking hobby since he was very young. Nice work, Diego! 

 The Silent Journey and Discovery is coming up on February 7th from 9:00am - 1:00pm. Sign up in the office, space is limited. Attendance is free of charge, brunch will be served & child care will be provided to those who sign up in advance.The MCS Silent Journey and Discovery is an event dedicated to parents to provide the meaningful experience of visiting each of our programs, from Toddlers through Middle School, to experience for yourself the magic of the Montessori materials and discover how the lessons learned in our early programs set the tone and lay important foundations for later learning. This is a wonderful opportunity to gain a sense of how the Montessori Curriculum unfolds through the eyes of a child to guide and nurture the natural unfolding of the whole child to inspire a lifetime love of learning and peace.Click on the following link to read about last...

What: Admissions Information MeetingWhen: Thursday, January 15th from 6:30 - 8:00pmWhere: Montessori Community SchoolWho: Parents interested in learning more about Montessori Community School.Open to the public. Sorry, adults only - no childcare provided.The teachers and administration of Montessori Community School would like to invite you to learn more about our program. During this hour and a half long presentation we will introduce our programs, administration and staff. And, you will have the opportunity to visit each of our classrooms and meet and greet with the teachers. We look forward to sharing our approach to education and the Montessori method.Montessori Community School serves children aged 18 months through 8th grade and we offer an extended day program, 7:30am - 6:00pm.Montessori Community School's mission is to provide a rich, individualized educational experience, which guides and nurtures the natural unfolding of the whole individual and inspires a lifetime love of learning and peace. 

SAVE THE DATE for MCS MOVIE NIGHT!Flood Relief Fundraiser WHERE: The Tower Theatre                          < 876 East 900 South – Salt Lake City, UT 84105 >WHEN: Wednesday, December 3, 2014                          < 7PM - 9PM >DETAILS: In an effort to help raise funds for MCS to replace some of the materials lost during the flood, we are excited to announce a special screening of the film Almost Ablaze. Awarded "Film Of The Year" at the 2014 International Freeski Film Festival, Almost Ablaze is a global odyssey combining state-of-the-art cinematography and the most progressive riding on earth.TICKET SALES: Ticket sales will begin the week of November 10th and an email and flyer will go out to all MCS families with details on how to purchase seats for this special screening. Additionally, raffle tickets will be for sale...

An MCS family recently shared their story about their new baby who was diagnosed with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID). Their story is unique as Calla is the first of the approximately 61,000 newborns screened for SCID so far in Utah to have a positive test result. Calla, sister to Tatum, has been in isolation at Primary Children’s Hospital since a few days after her birth and is awaiting a bone marrow transplant. Logan and Jody, parents to Calla and Tatum, have been advocates and supporters of MCS even while their sweet new baby is staying the the hospital. They even recently spent the evening volunteering at the Halloween Carnival. We want to offer our love and support to Tatum, Logan, Jody and especially Calla. Their story is touching...Read more here, here  and here about SCID and about Calla's upcoming transplant. We hope that the surgery goes smoothly and that Calla is able to come home to her family soon....

  Montessori Community School has been raising money for the COEEF and have supported several girls in the program for over 10 years.  We are currently supporting seven young girls.  It is a pleasure to share this opportunity to further support the COEEF program with our MCS community.

Hello MCS Families,Things are coming together nicely here at the school. We are still working out some details but are really looking forward to the students return on Monday. Again, we can not express enough our appreciation for all of the offers to assist. And, we want you to know that the teachers at the school have worked tirelessly to prepare temporary classrooms, to support one another, and to keep the energy positive and uplifting. Our teachers are amazing!We are looking for an old washer and dryer that can be used to clean our mops and some carpets that were submerged in water. Please contact the office if you are getting rid of any old machines that the school could use temporarily.Thank you to all who attended Parent Teacher Conference last week. We were so excited to launch our online record keeping system, Compass, which will allow you to get activity...

Dear MCS Parents, We wanted to share a quick update about how things are progressing here at the school.  Most of the staff have been here cleaning, taking inventory of damaged or ruined materials, and moving materials in preparation for Monday.  There is a lot of cleaning to do still before the materials can be taken to the church (our official temporary location) and the classrooms there prepared.   Thank you again to all who have offered to come to the school to help.  There are already a lot of staff who are here trying to work around the cleaning staff so we do not feel we can direct many more hands.  Thank you for the kind offers. We have been informed that there are families who are still looking for child care for their children.  If you are willing to help in this capacity please let us know and we will try...