Dear CMS families,

You may have noticed a group of official looking visitors around the school during week 5 of third term. The extra visitors were members of a registration panel, inspecting our school on behalf of the Department of Education. The panel spent the better part of 3 days at Holder and Red Hill, preparing a report for the Minister, which will recommend the Canberra Montessori School for registration as an Independent School in the ACT, for the period of 2012 through to the end of 2016.

From an Administrative standpoint the process can be somewhat daunting. Demonstrating compliance in every area of financial reporting, facility and grounds maintenance, curriculum and assessment, governance and policy, and pastoral care requires a huge number of hours preparing documents and articulating how our school meets and exceeds all compliance areas and provides an education worthy of Commonwealth funding. Though the inspections occur over a 3 day period, the project itself is a year-long odyssey, and for a small school like ours the task of demonstrating compliance falls upon a much smaller administrative team than at larger schools.

I am very happy to report that our school was recommended for the maximum registration period but I was also proud of the many commendations conveyed to the school on behalf of the registration panel. The peaceful nature of our school and the uncompromising manner in which our school strives to live our values was observed by the panel. Respect, Independence and Individuality were noted by the panel throughout their presentation to me, and the caring manner in which we build and foster our community was evidenced. I left the week a little exhausted but also filled with pride on how we are perceived by people from outside our school. Sometimes it takes a third party view to make you realize how privileged you are to work at a Montessori school and be part of this special community. I know sometimes we dwell on the issues that we face, as we continue to seek improvements, communicate better and manage change, but a reflective week helps you realise that the children who run down the Casuarina Grove every morning and leave filled with ideas and enthusiasm are telling us how much they love being here and how much they are getting out of the experience. Now I don’t mean to suggest that we got everything perfect and the panel, who together brought with them over 100 years of experience in school management, had some excellent suggestions for improvement which we are happy to take on board. The full report should be available to the school in late October. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all staff for their efforts in preparing for registration and in particular I make mention of the outstanding contributions made by Felicity Young and Judy McGowan in preparing for the panel.

This term I am particularly looking forward to September 21 when we will be recognizing International Day of Peace. I’m sure the classes will be celebrating appropriately and we will make sure and have a little gathering around the peace pole as a community in the morning. I understand that the school will also be recognized that morning for its Biodiversity Accreditation which should tie in well with the event.

Finally, I am pleased to note that the school is tracking well on implementing a 3^rd Cycle 2 classroom for 2012. I anticipate a staffing announcement in the coming weeks and full communication to all Cycle 2 families, including room assignments for graduating extended day students before the end of term 3. Current extended day students moving up to Cycle 2 will begin visiting their new classrooms during fourth term and I hope that students transitioning to the new classroom will be able to meet their teacher and gather as a group before the end of the year. More to follow.

Peace

Jack Rice

Principal, CMS

There will be only one or two casual places reserved so if you think you may need a casual booking on a Wednesday please be sure to check well in advance to ensure a place is available.

Montessori Education Works!

We have been sent the link to a wonderful article by Dr Adele Diamond recently published in the journal Science on "Interventions Shown to Aid Executive Function Development in Children 4 to 12 Years Old." The article shows that Montessori education significantly aids this development.

Here is the article on the author’s website: http://devcogneuro.com/Publications/science_interventions_shown_to_aid.pdf

Here is a link to the "supporting online materials:" http://www.sciencemag.org/content/333/6045/959/suppl/DC1

We also have a copy of the article in our Parent Library.

Thank you!

CMS would like to thank all those families who, week after week, consistently get their children to school by 8.45am.  We know that it is not easy to get anywhere on time with small children but the reward is that they are all receiving the full benefit of a Montessori education with its important morning three hour work cycle.