From the Principal………..

We are creeping towards half way through Term 2 and so much has been happening!

There is a lot of activity happening around the grounds. We have completed the Ball Wall with basketball hoops, a larger cement ball area and textured bricks for ricocheting balls off. There is currently a Gazebo being constructed at the back of Dryandra.

This will provide further shade area for play and a wonderful space for the children to use. The Fitness track is on its way. You may notice a dirt pathway being developed over the next week or so. We are also about to place some further shade sails in the play area once the locations are confirmed. Thank you to Hollie Baker and James Boljkovac for your work on the Keyhole garden which will be a sensory garden. The alterations will enable the children to access the garden easily. How wonderful that the gardens are being developed and that the children will be able to enjoy not only the sensory garden but also the use of an edible garden.

There is a Working Bee this Saturday. This is a great time to meet other parents and to help the school out with some jobs around the school. Working Bees are a wonderful community building experience and it’s great to feel that some contributions are being made for the benefit of the children. The staff do really appreciate the little jobs that they are just not able to get around to and for the improvements being made that help the learning environment. Please sign up on the Working Bee roster if you are able to help this weekend – the more hands the merrier (and quicker!).

This Friday we have a Trainer of Montessori teachers coming to visit the school. Her name is Jean Miller and she is Sharmini and Zoe’s Trainer. Jean K. Miller, Ph.D. received her Doctorate of Education from Case Western University in 1981. Her Doctorate dissertation is titled “The Montessori Music Curriculum for Children Up to the Age of Six.” Trained at the Centro Internazionale Studi Montessorianni in Bergamo, Italy, she holds a Primary (6-12) Diploma from the Association Montessori Internationale. She received an AMI Early Childhood (3-6) Diploma from the Montessori Institute in Cleveland. Dr Miller has over 40 years of experience working with children in both private and public Montessori schools. She has given lectures and workshops to colleges and Montessori groups throughout the world. Dr Miller is an AMI certified consultant, examiner, and Primary (6-12) teacher trainer.

Open Sessions started this week in some of the classes. We hope the visits have been as enjoyed by you as much as they were by the children. Some of the comments we have received have been ‘How amazing that the children go from once activity to another without adult direction’, ‘It was lovely to see my child enjoying what they were learning’. ‘ I really liked the way the environment was respected by the children’, ‘I could see my child interested in what she we doing’. These sessions are a great opportunity for you to see a little of what happens in your child’s day and the children just burst with excitement knowing that you are visiting.

Tina Forsyth - Principal

Upcoming Dates

TERM 2 2009

May 22        Montessori Trainer visiting
May 23        Working Bee
May 27        C3 excursion – Science Festival
May 28        Parent Information Evening 7pm
May 31        Working Bee
June 5         Pupil Free – AMI Refresher Course
June 8         Public Holiday Queen’s Birthday
June 15-26   AEDI Collection Dates
June 20       Red Hill Open Day
June 23       Parent Information Evening 7pm
June 27       TRIVIA NIGHT
July 1          Canteen

Please see School Calendar for events during Terms 2-4 and check Bulletin regularly for changes to published events.

Term Dates for 2009

Term 1:       4 February – 9 April
Term 2:       28 April – 3 July
Term 3:       21 July – 25 September
Term 4:       12 October – 16 December

Public Holidays 2009

Monday 8 June       Queen's Birthday Holiday
Monday 5 Oct         Labour Day
Tuesday 3 Nov        Family & Community Day (to be confirmed)

Term Dates for 2010

Term 1:         3 February – 9 April
Term 2:         27 April – 2 July
Term 3:         21 July – 24 September
Term 4:         11 October – 15 December

A “Green” Bulletin

In an effort to assist with our environmental sustainability drive, we send out the Bulletin to families by email. If you are one of the few families who do not have email, we will have a couple of Bulletins available for pick up at the office it is also located on our school Website www.canberramontessori.com. Let’s save a few trees and print cartridges!

Naplan

Naplan testing is now over and the children conducted the tests very well. Thank you to the staff in assisting the students with the concept of testing and focusing on the important Montessori message of ‘working to the best of your abilities’.

WINTER REMINDER

We are coming into colder weather which means the onset of colds and illnesses. Please remember that the best remedy for illness is rest and the best remedy to prevent the spread of infection is to ask that any child who is ill to stay at home until they are well enough to return to school. Montessori is a hands-on environment, especially in the 3-6 classrooms. Please look out for coughs and runny noses (especially of the greenish variety!). Thank you.

AFTERNOON PROGRAMME GUMNUT

Afternoon Program

The afternoon program is available from 12pm-5.30pm. Please make bookings via the Office.
Parents picking up students from Gumnut are reminded that parking is available only in the
car park area – please do not drive down to the classroom area. Thank you.

MONTESSORI QUOTES:

• ‘Children are human beings to whom respect is due, superior to us by reason of their innocence and of the greater possibilities of their future’.

• ‘He who is served is limited in his independence’.

• ‘An adult who does not understand that a child needs to use his hands and does not recognise this as the first manifestation of an instinct for work can be an obstacle to the child’s development.’

Dr Maria Montessori

101 Things Parents Can Do To Help Children

By Barbara Hacker

Continued…..
43. Help your child to learn to like healthy foods. Never force a child to eat something he/she does not like, but also don't offer unlimited alternatives! Make trying new things fun. Talk about foods and how they look or describe the taste. Introduce the word "savour" and teach how to do it. Engage children in food preparation.

44. When food shopping, talk to your child about what you see -- from kumquats to lobsters. Talk about where food items come from. Talk about the people who help us by growing, picking, transporting, and displaying food.

45. Provide your child with appropriate sized furniture: his/her own table and chair to work at; perhaps a rocker in the living room to be with you; a bed that can easily be made by a child; a stool for climbing up to sink or counter.

46. While driving, point things out and discuss -- construction work, interesting buildings, vehicles, bridges, animals.

47. Teach the language of courtesy. Don't let your child interrupt. Teach how to wait after saying, "Excuse me, please."

48. Analyze any annoying behaviour of your child and teach from the positive. For example: door slamming -- teach how to close a door; running in the house -- teach how to walk; runny nose -- teach how to use a tissue.

49. Spend quality time with people of different ages. 50. Teach your child about your religion (if you have one) and make them feel a part of it.

Practical Life in a Montessori Setting

The children at Canberra Montessori School will have access to knives, glass, graters and other practical life activities in accordance to the Montessori Method of Education.
All use of these materials is presented with Safety Lessons and is monitored in each classroom.

Supervision Reminder

Please remember that once you have picked up your child/ren supervision is the parents’/carers’ responsibility. The Montessori environment promotes peaceful play – please discourage aggressive behaviour or play. Please monitor your child/ren if you are engaged with another parent. Children are asked not to play on the equipment or sandpits at pickup or drop off times. Confusion arises if some children do and others do not. Please assist us with this by reminding your child of this rule. Thank you.

Montessori Questions & Answers

Why Do Most Montessori Schools Ask Young Children to Attend Five Days a Week?
Two and three day programs are often attractive to parents who do not need full-time care; however, five day programs create the consistency that is so important to young children and which is essential in developing strong Montessori programs. Since the primary goal of Montessori involves creating a culture of consistency, order and empowerment, most Montessori schools will expect children to attend five days a week.

Rhee Taekwondo classes come to the Canberra Montessori School

If you pass by the Jacaranda Room on a Wednesday or a Friday after school you will see excited children getting ready for a class in Rhee Taekwondo.

We teach students not only a great form of self defence but a way of improving their mental and physical well being. It has been tested by time and history. There is no competition, we provide a safe training environment for the whole family
Everyone, adult or child, can learn Rhee Taekwondo. Students are taught to be focussed, disciplined and confident. Everyone starts as a beginner, some pace themselves to the black belt level and above while others start by setting their sights on a fitter and healthier lifestyle. Many parents have started training with their children and are amazed at how much fun they have.
Junior Classes are at 3:25-4:25pm and senior classes are 4:30-5:30pm on Wednesday and Fridays during school term. Just come along in comfy clothes to get started.

Instructor Catherine McMaster has been personally appointed by Master Chong Chul Rhee and despite her youth and gentle nature has had many years of experience.

Contact Instructor Catherine if you have any questions on 0415 628 951.

Come and join us.

BENEFITS OF A MONTESSORI EDUCATION

• Emphasis on Cognitive and Social Development
• Teacher has guiding role
• Environment and method encourage self-discipline
• Mainly individual instruction
• Mixed age groups
• Grouping encourages children to teach and collaborate
• Child chooses own work
• Child discovers own concepts from self-teaching materials
• Child is allocated time to work on and complete lesson
• Child sets own learning pace
• Child spots own errors from feedback of material
• Child reinforces own learning by repetition of work and internal feelings of success
• Child can work where he chooses, move about and talk at will (yet not disturb work of others), group work voluntary
• Multi-sensory materials for physical exploration organizes program for learning care of self and environment