One question that was posed to me by parents recently was, “What are your legacy and succession plans? How can the school best live on in perpetuity no matter who is in leadership?”

Over the past few years I have had three different parties, associated with the school, plus an outside company, who have expressed a serious interest in purchasing the school, so I will consider those options for the future.

One important factor regarding the sale of the school, if that was to happen, would be based on my opinion as to whether or not I believed that the new owners had the same or a similar vision for the school. Another important factor would be the opinions of the staff regarding the potential buyer/s. I truly value their input.

If I was to die, or be incapacitated suddenly, my daughter, KereAna, who lives in New Zealand, and like all other members of our family has been involved with the school in so many ways since she was a child, and who has worked in the business sector for many years, has indicated that she would return to oversee the running of the school until it could be sold. At this point my four children will inherit the school business as well as the building in equal shares. It would not be sold until there was a buyer who met my criteria.

On the 15th I will be flying home to New Zealand. My high school is celebrating its 75th Jubilee – the last one held was the 50th which I was able to attend. I was not sure if this was the ideal time to leave but most of my best friends will be attending, and in addition over the past month I have found out that one of my closest friends has been moved to Hospice care and another with Lewy Body dementia that appears to be progressing very quickly. It is important that I spend some time with them so I have chosen to go. At this point I am planning to be gone for 2-3 weeks. I will be able to be reached by email.

Best wishes,

Robyn

We are delighted to introduce you to Jennifer Taylor who has joined MCS as our school nurse.  

Jennifer’s mother is a Montessori teacher, Jen was a Montessori student and her children also attended a Montessori school. She is a perfect fit for our school.

“I am a Louisiana native that has lived in Utah for 15 years. I am married with two children and three step children, four of which are all one year apart in age from each other. I’ve earned a double Bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Administration and in Nursing. I’ve known since a young age that my passion and purpose are with caring for others, and I have worked in multiple different aspects of health care from policy to bedside over the past 13 years. In my down time, I enjoy spending time with my family camping, hiking, and simply enjoying the beautiful outdoors.”

The school nurse position was made possible through a grant administered by the Utah Department of Health- To establish, expand, and sustain a public health workforce within K-12 Schools to support jurisdictional COVID-19 prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery initiatives.

The MCS Annual Staff Community Service project was started in 2021. On that first Professional Development day of the 2021-22 academic year, staff participated in beautifying the gardens of MCS by planting approximately 100 spring blooming bulbs throughout the grounds.

This year staff were offered a choice of projects to participate in.

Garden Makeover – Design and plan for a do-over of 1700 south entry and driveway gardens to provide year round color and form.

Garden Love – Weed, prune, and tidy the existing gardens.

Flower Power – Plant spring flowering bulbs.

Project Linus – Make no-sew fleece blankets for children in crisis.

Adopt a Native Elder (ANE)

Each year we hold fundraisers, such as the Fun Run, in which our students participate, in order to earn money to go towards our Giving Projects. The funds are donated to Montessori Educational Foundation (M.E.F ), the non-profit arm of the school that currently is used exclusively for charitable purposes.

For many years we have sponsored two or three Navajo grandmothers. Currently our grandmothers are – Grandmother Elvira Horseherder and Grandmother Anita Jackson. Throughout the year we provide food (which is taken to the reservations during the twice yearly food runs), food certificates, yarn for weaving that are then sold at the Deer Valley Rug Show, Firewood or payments towards electrical bills, Walmart certificates for them to buy clothing, gardening tools and other basic needs.

The support of the sponsors make it possible for the elders to remain on the reservations where they are most happy, can continue to live their traditional lives and to enrich the lives of their families.

Prior to Covid when our grandmothers come to Deer Valley to sell their rugs we are able to take some of our students to meet them and attend the education programs. It was a wonderful opportunity. There were evening events also that families could attend.  Over the last two years the Rug Sale has been virtual and this year it will be again. Perhaps next year there will be an in person event.

Best wishes,

Robyn Eriwata-Buchanan

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.

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.