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.
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 MCS 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.
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 MCS 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.
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.
MCS 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.
This school year we have had a total of 83 positive cases of COVID-19 occurring among MCS 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, MCS 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, MCS 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 MCS parents and staff. This has been a challenging year and we are so very grateful for the grace everyone has extended to the community.
Betty Jean Sawyers Lorenz was 94 years young when she died. She was Bob’s auntie and welcomed me into the family with open arms. Betty Jean was an incredible smart, generous, feisty woman. She was a ski instructor at Park City for years. She is remembered for all the baby showers she hosted for her many nieces and sharing her home at Bear Lake for our Sawyers family reunions. I loved her dearly and she will be missed so much by all of our Sawyers family and her many close friends.
One of her daughters is Julia Cook who is the author of 44 children’s books that are used extensively by Amanda (our Student Support Coordinator) and so many teachers around the world.
-Robyn
Betty Jean at her Bear Lake house
Rosaleen (Rosie) W. Fenn
Last week I said goodbye to my Aunt Rosie. She left us at the young age of 99 1/2 years old, just a few years shy of her goal of 102! My Aunt Rosie was a woman with a twinkle in her eye, who always made you feel that you were her “favorite”! This past March she continued to lead us each year, riding on the family float, for the St Patrick’s Day parade in Price Utah. She has brought lessons of joy, love and laughter that will stay with us forever. Memories of her will always bring a smile to my face.
– Nanette
This picture was on her final float in the St Patrick’s Day parade. She was the Grand Marshall in 2007.
What is it that every child needs that parents don’t seem to have? (Lifetime passes to Disney World and unlimited shoe budgets don’t count!) You can fill in your own blanks. It is something that a Montessori school can help offer. Of course a good education comes to mind but that is not even the greatest gift your Montessori school can offer.
What your child needs most is one of the attributes that makes a Montessori school so special. Yes, it is a safe place emotionally; a challenging place intellectually; and a caring place socially. It is designed for your child and populated with adults who care. These are all good things but not the greatest thing your child receives. And your final answer is?
Time! Time is our most treasured commodity – we always seem to be running out of it. We always seem to be talking about “making” time for things when in reality we need to “take” time – making it a priority. And to make it even more challenging for us, it is not just “time” but what you do with time that creates its value.
With time an acorn becomes an oak, a tadpole becomes a frog, a caterpillar becomes a butterfly and a child becomes — What? We are prone to say “an adult” but even that is not the ultimate destination of time. It is what you do with time!
If time were the only factor an acorn would become a bigger acorn, a tadpole a bigger tadpole etc. but it is time and attention (what you do with time) that begins this extraordinary transformation. Your child is already DNA’d with the marvelous characteristics of who they are to become – right-handed, left-handed, artist, musician, scientist, doctor or Indian chief. It takes time (and observation) for these unique character qualities to blossom and become apparent. And that is what your school does – is to take time to know your child, to take time to open the world of learning and to take time to watch your child grow and learn and to be transformed.
If your child doesn’t have time to develop and there is no one there to observe and encourage development then your child may miss the opportunity to create the person he or she was designed to be. A Montessori school gives children time to discover – not only the marvels outside of themselves but the marvels of their personality and passions within themselves. Montessori offers a child a window on the world and time to take it all in. It takes time to flourish.
There is no need to rush learning. The Montessori secret is that given enough time children will learn everything they need. And given enough time they will take joy in the discoveries because they will not be pressed for time and they will go on to master what they have learned.
So how do we deal with the pressure of time in regard to our children? Take a deep breath! In fact, you may need to take many of them as you set your clocks back figuratively and literally. Figuratively, scale back your time expectations for your child. Being the first to walk, the first to talk, the first to read or the first whatever has nothing to do with the marathon of life. It takes time to build a solid foundation. The gift of time doesn’t mean you lower your goals and expectations. It means you give them the gift of time to be children; the gift of time to explore and discover; the gift of time to make mistakes, to recover and to learn from those mistakes. Give them time to discover their strengths and passions. Give them time to build the adult they will become.
Take another deep breath and set your clocks back literally. You have a choice – you can do for your children (and make them dependent) or you can give them more time (more time than it certainly would take you) to get dressed, brush their teeth, eat breakfast, feed the dog, clean their room etc. Part of time is patience – or is that patience is a part of time
They want to do it for themselves. They want to become independent. Give them the time to achieve the ability to be independent (self-governing, self-ruling) and to do that you have to give them the gift of more time. The ability to do things for yourself, to accomplish, and to finish the task is what builds real confidence and real self-esteem.
A Montessori school is successful because it is governed by the observation of the child’s needs and not the pressure to achieve according to the clock or the calendar. When the teacher does not seem to share your concern over your child’s progress it is not from a lack of concern but out of experience and observation knowing that given the time your child will blossom and learn all that is needed.
I love what a Montessori education does for a child’s love of learning. I love the enthusiasm that it engenders. I love to watch the understanding that dawns on a child as a concept makes sense for the first time.
Montessori children learn to read – often very early. They learn their numbers – not just counting but understanding that seven is one more than six and not just because it follows six. They begin to add and subtract, even multiply and divide. They learn about leaves and leaf shapes. They learn about zoology, geometry and time. There seems to be almost no end of the surprises of what our children learn.
It is ironic, however, that the most important lesson does not appear on a progress report. Montessori is the only educational philosophy that builds its structure on the lessons of grace and courtesy. The individuality of the classroom can only succeed if each child exercises care and consideration for his or her classmates by taking turns, helping each other, encouraging each other and teaching each other. Grace and courtesy sets the tone for the classroom. The quietness and the serenity allow the concentration that precedes significant accomplishment. Learning well the lessons of grace and courtesy will make your child stand out for the rest of his or her life but even grace and courtesy are not the greatest lesson.
The great lesson is the ability to positively control yourself. Most of us grew up with “self-control” meaning to do exactly what someone else told you to do – “be quiet, don’t, stop, no, don’t move” etc. The great Montessori lesson (and the one that takes great effort and often a lifetime to master) is self-control. The mastery of self-control leads to making wise choices. Wise choices come from focus, determination, knowledge and controlling your self. The way you learn to make wise choices is to be allowed to make choices (and live with the consequences.) And then, to make a better choice –living with the consequences until you have practiced enough to begin to make wise choices the first time.
Traditional education does not afford a child the opportunity to exercise real self-control, make independent choices and work through them to a successful completion. Traditionally, if you fail a test you move on. In Montessori, you strive for mastery before you move on. In Montessori you progress from strength (mastery) and not weakness (failure.)
This same wisdom applies to the lessons of grace and courtesy – learning how to deal with people – and when you offend, learning how to make amends and not brush it off.
The lesson (and benefit) of self-control is that it concentrates your power and enhances your achievement. Self-control is essential to making wise choices. Without self-control the child is subject to every interior whim and outside influence. Self-control helps focus the child to be able to make wise choices.
The most important lesson in Montessori education is not an academic one but one of self-control and focus. Your child will gain many academic skills in Montessori but the greatest lesson is self-control and with it the ability to make wise choices.
At the beginning of our 37th year as a Montessori school, it is my great pleasure to welcome back our returning families and to welcome our new families who have chosen to join our community.
I want you all to know that I am committed to doing what is necessary to continue the Montessori Community School experience. This includes investing in retaining teachers and staff and increasing combined activities among smaller classes to help ensure there is a high level of social interaction.
We are able to do this because MCS has operated in a fiscally conservative manner for several years and is in a strong position to weather this storm.
We appreciate your loyalty and want you to know we are working diligently to recruit new students and are confident, with time, that we will be able to return to past enrollment numbers.
We care deeply about our students and their families and are committed to providing a safe, personal and enriching educational experience.
Talking about hard things is… hard! Sometimes we avoid for fear of saying or doing the wrong thing and making things worse. We are so very grateful to Cherie Mockli for helping us understand how we can offer support and provide comfort when needed. Cherie’s perspective is so very grounding. Her advice is practical. Thank you Cherie!
The recording of our conversation can be found below
