Awarded "Film Of The Year" at the 2014 International Freeski Film Festival, TGR's Almost Ablaze is a global odyssey combining state-of-the-art cinematography and the most progressive riding on The Planet. Experience a new level of sensory overload as each athlete is wired for sound, immersing the audience completely in the moment. Watch as athletes push the edge to realize a heightened state. Special screening at the Tower Theatre at 7:00pm on Wednesday - December 3, 2014. [ read more... ] Every ticket holder will receive a Powder Mountain 2-for-1 Day Pass at the event. Movie trailer here: www.tetongravity.com/films/almost-ablaze On October 10th, just before 9 PM, a 48" water main pipe broke on Foothill Blvd sending over 2.5 million gallons of water down 1700 South. The Montessori Community School was one of the unfortunate victims of the flood. The lower level classrooms, and the maintenance room were flooded and nearly 100...

The MCS Middle School's second cycle (6-week period) of the year focused on “Changes,” in literature, in the natural and physical world around us (fungi, protists, and matter), and how we can be catalysts for positive change in society. The immersion week offers students an opportunity to apply and integrate what they have learned throughout the previous five weeks. For Cycle 2 the immersion was a Career Investigations week. Leading up to the immersion, students utilized expository writing methods to research possible careers. During the immersion week, they investigated different professions through interviews, field trips and job shadowing. The first professional to visit was a local paramedic and firefighter. He brought his fire gear along, which weighed about 30 pounds, not including an oxygen tank. Nearly everyone in the class took the opportunity to try it on. He also brought his medical supplies and allowed the students to experience the...

  Thank you to all who have purchased tickets for our upcoming Flood Relief Fundraiser event, screening of the movie  "ALMOST ABLAZE."  We have some exciting updates to announce about the event!   Todd Ligare & Johnny Collinson,  athletes from the TGR film, will attend the show!   Welcome to our latest local sponsor, Discrete !     RAFFLE : Purchase your $5 raffle tickets in the office.  Tickets can also be purchased the night of the show or online.  These prizes will BLOW YOUR MIND!   Raffle will start at 7pm. Must be present to win! (We recommend you bring cash for the raffle tix if you plan to purchase them at the show.) View some of the prizes below:       SKI PASSES: Receive a Powder Mountain 2-for-1 day pass for EVERY MOVIE TICKET PURCHASED Passes will be handed out at the show. Don't worry, if you have...

                                                  Intermountain LiVe Well Assembly                                                  The 8 Health Habits—The Musical! MCS Kindergarteners, Elementary, and Middle School students attended Intermountain’s LiVe Well assembly. The assembly was a fun-filled 45-minute health education show called LiVe—The 8 Healthy Habits Musical!   The Grand Theatre and Corporate Staging Resources brought the excitement of live theater to MCS in hopes to encourage students to adopt healthy eating and exercise habits. In a mix of drama and humor, performers spoke to our students hoping to empower them with the skills they need to critically evaluate media messages and peer group pressures in order to make healthy choices from...

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...

What is it that every child needs that parents don’t seem to have? (Life time 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...

“Weaving all begins with a string, and the string tells a story. For the base of the loom is the earth, and the crest of the loom is the Sky; and there is rain, sunlight, thunder, lightening and roots in between. With weaving, and with everything in our culture, there is a purpose.” ---Native Elder, Julius Chavez Each year we have the opportunity to take a field trip to the Navajo Rug Show and visit with our Grandmother Elvira and other Native Elders. It is our tradition to invite our 3rd year students in Early Childhood and Lower Elementary to join us on this occasion in honoring these special women and men. This is a wonderful event and tradition, hosted by the Deer Valley Resort in support of the “Adopt-A-Native-Elder” non-profit organization. The purpose of this yearly event is to observe the traditions of our Native Elders, and to show...

    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...

  Margaret and Laura trying to keep more mess out of their beloved Uinta classroom!       Ruby has been a most wonderful photographer and documenter!       Brandi feeling overjoyed about the set up of the temporary Lower El classroom at the church.     Laura in the new Uinta and Arches space.                         Joshi displays some of the Arches work that survived the flood.         Look at the beautiful mural in the background! Bonnie has been hard at work.          An energetic and helpful MCS student cheers for the churches offer of space.          Kay and Lorena setting up the Magnolias temporary classroom in the Toddler Moons space.         Kate and Cinthya hard at working helping their fellow teachers set up and clean...

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...

On the evening of October 10, 2014 a 42 inch City water main burst at the intersection of Foothill Drive and 1700 South. Water rushed down 1700 South and came into the school and flooded the entire lower level of the building. Salt Lake City has been very supportive in arranging for services to clean the building and to dispose of rugs, carpets and damaged furniture. We have been told that their insurance will cover some of the general repairs. However, many of our teaching materials and other specialty items from the classrooms that were damaged will likely have to be replaced by the school. If you would like to assist us financially, you can contribute by clicking here to help pay for items and renovations that are not covered by the city or insurance.   As we recieve more information about what the city will not pay to replace and...

Dear MCS Parents, Thank you all for your ongoing support. We are grateful for all of the offers of help and assistance. The cleaning crew is still here and they are asking that we stay out of their way while they clean, sanitize and move furniture in preparation for the building repairs. We appreciate everyone's willingness and ask for your continued patience as we determine our needs. If/when we determine that there is a way for parents to assist us we will let you know. At this time we have been told that it will take possibly up to 8 weeks for the Lower Level to be repaired and able to accommodate the children. We have been most fortunate to secure temporary classroom space for the Lower and Upper Elementary students and the Middle School students at the All Saints Episcopal Church with whom we share a parking lot. Staff...

  Early Childhood kicks off the Fall season with one of the most beloved field trips of the year: Wheeler Farm! Students learn about Blacksmithing while watching a presentation on a chain being made.     Students learn how to churn cream to butter, how cows are milked, and how to care for different farm animals. Students also got to enjoy each other during a wagon ride. Thank you to the wonderful parent volunteers! The Early Childhood Aspens class posing for a picture after they picked their pumpkins.   Picking Pumpkins! Each student was able to pick and bring home their own pumpkin. It is so fun to see the different shapes and sizes of the pumpkins each child chooses!  

Hello MCS Parents, It’s that time of year again, yes, already! Giving season! We are already being solicited to make year-end donations to various nationwide and local charities, as well as to volunteer our time and various skills. Every year we are compelled to give our support to those less fortunate than us or to causes that we feel passionate about. One of the goals of the MCS teachers is to instill in our children a sense of responsibility to give back and support causes that are meaningful to us as a group and individually. One of my goals, as PSA President, is to help us, as parents, understand where our donations through school supported organizations are going as well as to make sure we understand who and what our donations/fundraising efforts are supporting. I also want to work with you to combine our giving efforts in the hope of...

Parent Education Night is coming up next Thursday, October 2nd from 6:30-8:00pm.  Toddler, Early Childhood and Elementary parents are invited.  Child care is provided, free of charge, but must be signed up for in advance in the office.   Scroll down for more information about each programs presentation details for the evening.   This is a great way to earn Parent Participation Hours AND stay in touch with your child's Montessori experience!    TODDLER PARENT EDUCATION NIGHT           EARLY CHILDHOOD PARENT EDUCATION NIGHT           ELEMENTARY PARENT EDUCATION NIGHT  

Early Childhood students receive their first lesson of the 2014 - 2015 school year in the Outdoor Classroom. They had the opportunity to explore our Outdoor Classroom area, located on near the northeast corner of our school building.  Nature plays an important role in the development of the whole child. Works of gardening, raking, weed pulling, and other outdoor tasks assist in this development. The Outdoor Classroom is rich in science lessons, such as bird watching and naming, insect and leaf investigations, and rock classification.   Early Childhood students explore the basic nature of land, air, water, and the creatures that inhabit those spaces.They also learn about the needs of plants and animals and creating homes for these creatures. 

  Montessori parents have often voiced concerns about creativity in a Montessori classroom. They just don’t see it. The concern is very similar to the fact that they also see few “academic” papers coming home. They don’t receive many brightly painted pictures to adorn their refrigerators. And so naturally wonder if a Montessori classroom is giving their child an opportunity to express their creative side.   As concrete and hands on as a Montessori classroom and a Montessori learning experience are it requires a good measure of faith to await the outcome of a Montessori experience. Every Montessori teacher (and parents too) for the last one hundred years have often held their breath waiting to see the fulfillment of this amazing process. And then they exhale with great relief and satisfaction. After a while you no longer hold your breath because you know it is going to work – and...

Montessori Children Handle Big Words and Big Ideas As a parent I was surprised about the words my children knew and used correctly (no, not the bad ones.) We’ve experienced them going from crying to making sounds, from sounds to their first words (mama, dada), from words to phrases (me go) to sentences – “I want candy.” It seems like a long (and sometimes frustrating) process for both children and adults to begin to communicate. We can’t wait for them to start talking and then ironically, we spend a lot of time telling them to be quiet. The beginning formation of their language skills is “ice bergian.” Ninety percent of what they know supports the ten percent that is audible. The structure of their language has been constructed by and large with little direct input. They have been sorting out the complexity of words and phrases. They don’t yet possess...

Montessori Community School is offering speech, language and hearing screenings on Tuesday, September 9th.  The screenings will be a brief measure of your child’s speech and language skills in order to determine if further speech and language, or hearing evaluations are needed. The speech and language screening will take approximately 10-20 minutes to complete.  After the completion of the screening, we will identify if there are concerns regarding your child’s speech and language skills or hearing.  A note will be sent home with your child regarding the results of the screening and if further assessment is warranted. You might consider having your child’s speech, language and hearing screened if your child shows one or more of the following: Your child has a difficult time learning and using new concepts and vocabulary Your child has had chronic ear infections You and others have a hard time understanding your child’s speech.  Your...