Montessori Moments Newsletter, April/May/June 2015

When the children completed an absorbing
bit of work, they appeared rested and deeply
pleased. It almost seemed as if a road had
opened up within their souls that led
to all their latent powers, revealing the better
part of themselves. They exhibited a great
affability to everyone, put themselves out to
help others and seemed full of good will.
– Maria Montessori
|
April–June 2015
Montessori Moments
REFLECTIONS OF MY MONTESSORI EXPERIENCES by La Dene’ Conroy
Dear Montessori Teachers,
M y heart is bursting with admiration and
respect for each of our teachers. I am not
surprised to find teachers devoted at our five
Montessori schools past 5 o’clock who are
planning, reading and thinking about the
current and future lessons they will choose to
challenge each child individually as he/she moves
towards Mastery of the Shelf Lessons across each
content area and meeting the expected grade
level state standards. The softness and care you
offer and give each child shares your sensitivity,
love and compassion as you build the
community with your children whom you guide
with your gentle hands and open heart.
Where your pleasure is, there is your treasure; Where
your treasure is, there is your heart; Where your
heart is, there is your happiness . – A u g u s t i n e
Preserve Parent Partnerships
I want to publicly thank the Montessori
parents for their commitment and support;
their trust in the Montessori Program. The
work and support our parents offer will look
different from school to school: volunteering,
raising funds for a specific goal, helping a
teacher by cutting out materials, serving on a
Inside this issue
}
2
3
4
5
6
7
9
committee, providing gratitude for teacher
appreciation, and many more hours assisting.
I want to thank you for my special recognition
voted as one of the 50 Most Progressive in
Charleston for 2015. I was honored and
humbled by this acknowledgment.
http://readcharlie.com/2015/05/20/15446/#.VVyfLnD3arV
Writing and Art Go Hand in Hand
Ending the Year
Bridging Ceremonies
Memories Made Through Ceremonies and Artifacts
Focused Concentration
Professional Development and Training
Teacher Guides and Assistants
La Dene’ Conroy, CCSD
Montessori Specialist for Development,
Support and Expansion
Montessori Moments
|
April–June 2015
Writing and Art go Hand in Hand at Montessori Community School.
Writing and reading across the curriculum are easy to spot and read during visits to the school. MCS held
their Annual Art Show in late spring and was open all week to the families. Students’ written reflections
about their experiences with the art assignment, task, a work, a medium, research and/or artifacts are all
very important. Students make connections to academics while researching, reading and studying in specific
time periods and also examining perspectives such as culturally, politically, socially, historically, geographically,
scientifically, and/or environmentally.
La Dene’ Conroy, CCSD
Montessori Specialist for Development,
Support and Expansion
Page 2
Montessori Moments
|
April–June 2015
DURING THE LAST WEEKS OF SCHOOL MONTESSORI SCHOOLS ARE TAKING DAY TRIPS AND/OR OVERNIGHT
EXCURSIONS TO PROVIDE EXPERIENCES TO SUPPORT THE LEARNING THE STUDENTS HAVE ENCOUNTERED .
Pictured below are Upper El students from James Simons attending Caper’s Island and Charlestown Landing.
Reflection is an essential element in the Montessori Philosophy. We want the students to think
quietly and reflect on learning moments, have hands-on field experiences, observe quietly
capturing natural exposures to the environment and participate in interdependent relationships
in school and society. “The child can only develop fully by means of experience on his
environment. We call such experience ‘work’.” The Absorbent Mind by Dr. Maria Montessori
Ending theYear
As the year drew to a close we had many shining moments that were
monumental in the lives of our children and families. I want to celebrate
the year by speaking to the rituals and ceremonies that portray the efforts
and acknowledgment to the schools and Montessori children as well as
completion by “the elders” or the oldest level of each level in the Montessori
program. The teachers and teaching assistants also add another year of
service to their credential and certification for their guidance, teaching and
examples with our children in the Montessori environments.
La Dene’ Conroy, CCSD
Montessori Specialist for Development,
Support and Expansion
Page 3
Montessori Moments
|
April–June 2015
THE END OF THE YEAR BRIDGING CEREMONIES OR “STEPPING UP” CEREMONIES SIGNIFY OR
REPRESENT THE END OF THE YEAR RITUAL ACROSS THE COUNTY IN EACH MONTESSORI PROGRAM.
The ceremony signifies that a cycle is never ending, can grow and represents that the children are not leaving
but joining the next community of learners with several of their school friends and going to a new school
family. The children walk over or under a bridge after they receive their certificate of completion by their current
teacher with a hug and handshake and step into the next level by meeting and shaking the hand of their next
teacher as they pass to their new teacher a flower representing their greeting and hello as a sign of friendship.
Pictured below are several different ceremonies across the district. Hursey’s Program Primary to Lower El; to Upper EL and to the Middle School Montessori
MURRAY LASAINE ELEMENTARY’S MONTESSORI PROGRAM HELD A SUNSET CEREMONY FOR EACH RISING LEVEL.
The cafeteria was filled with families and friends to share in honoring the light of each child. The elders in
each level read essays written about the areas of the new community the rising elders from the previous level
would be entering as they travel to the next school year. Songs of Peace and Friendship were sung by the
students holding illuminated candles for the guests in honor of the children’s successful year of learning.
La Dene’ Conroy, CCSD
Montessori Specialist for Development,
Support and Expansion
Page 4
Montessori Moments
|
April–June 2015
THE CEREMONIES ARE ATTENDED BY MANY FAMILY AND FRIENDS. WELL WISHES AND
H U G S A R E G I V E N T O T H E R I S I N G E L D E R S B Y FA M I L I E S , R E L AT I V E S , A N D F R I E N D S .
Pictured below is James Simons Bridging Ceremony.
The Montessori adolescents or rising eighth
graders are traveling to ninth grade somewhere:
West Ashley HS, James Island Charter High School, School
of the Arts, Wando HS, Math and Science Magnet, Academic
Magnet or a private school. Each student’s journey will be
filled with new adventures ready to be tackled and
challenged by their thinking and questioning.
Congratulations to our 8th Grade Montessori Students!
Memories are made through ceremonies and artifacts.
Yearbooks, programs, a pressed
flower, and special symbol or object
acts as a metaphor to anchor the
memories of the past community
and offers the children and young
adolescents a sense of security and
confidence that they carry “like wind
beneath their wings” as they
continue to fly to their next learning
adventure. Below are objects given to
rising elders as they leave their family
of three years and begin their new
journey in the next Montessori level.
Pictured at left is Jessica Wislon, Lower El Guide at James
Simons, finishing the last touches on making individualized
photo albums of special memories collected from
photographs that were saved over the three year cycle for
each student. The Lower El Level guides made these for all
of the rising third years.
The rising third years leaving Primary were given a glass star
container filled with symbolic wishes from James Simons
Primary Guide, Rene Souther. Shells, rocks and sand
represented the world the children were exposed and immersed
through reading and writing as well as culturally. Words of
inspiration were delicately set in each container on small labels.
La Dene’ Conroy, CCSD
Montessori Specialist for Development,
Support and Expansion
Page 5
Montessori Moments
|
April–June 2015
BELOW ARE EXAMPLES OF FOCUSED CONCENTRATION
– a tenet of Montessori’s specially designed works if the work is presented at the right time during the plane of development. The material will
offer challenge and fulfillment through repetition of use called practice to mastery. These are pictures of Lower El class at Montessori Community.
THE JOY OF LEARNING IS SEEN IN THE
FACES AND EYES BY BOTH STUDENT
AND TEACHER IN THIS PICTURE . Students
love to research and role-play using simple props about the lives
of different people and their roles in their communities across
cultures over time. Teacher Guide, DD Crawford, East Cooper
Montessori Charter School studying the caste system.
La Dene’ Conroy, CCSD
Montessori Specialist for Development,
Support and Expansion
Page 6
Montessori Moments
|
April–June 2015
Professional Development and Training
Pictured above are the teaching assistants from James Simons Elementary School finishing their twenty hours of Montessori training.
They have worked hard reading two Montessori books, assimilating the information by constructing a book
or puzzle to help educate other assistants or parents who be unfamiliar with the Montessori Way of learning.
All teaching assistants this year earned 20 hours of credit and will take Part 2 next year. All teaching assistants
will have the required 40 hours as recommended by AMS.
Meet our first MEPI (Montessori Education Programs Internationale)/ MACTE (Montessori Accreditation
Council for Teacher Education) accredited Infant Toddler Training cohort provided through the Institute of
Guided Studies in Camden, South Carolina in collaboration with CCSD HeadStart Early Learning Programs.
Pictured is Director, Beth Langley, sharing with the newcomers about what to expect in terms of study and
understanding of the program expectations. We have ten teachers and two district administrators participating.
The training will take place this school year on weekends and finish next summer with hopes of CCSD Opening
the first Headstart Infant Toddler Montessori Program in one of the Early Learning Centers and Hursey.
La Dene’ Conroy, CCSD
Montessori Specialist for Development,
Support and Expansion
Page 7
Montessori Moments
|
April–June 2015
Pictured are returning and new cohorts with Seacoast Training Center who work with our Lower and Upper Elementary teacher guides.
This year we started a new Primary cohort through Seacoast in partnership with Northeast Montessori
Training center our of Boston. Gary Davidson, Director of Seacoast Training center is speaking to the adult
learners and standing to the right are instructors Cathy Beemer and Cindy Catignani. Summers are the
busiest training times for our Montessori teachers.
Pictured above are Montessori teachers Amy Pontiff, Primary Instructor and Lower El Teacher form Montessori Community School,
DD Crawford, Lower El credentialed teacher and Upper El Teacher at East Cooper Montessori Charter School, and Lynn Lovelace,
Montessori Adolescent Teacher from Montessori Community School.
All three teacher guides and district specialist presented at the Charleston Educator’s Symposium. Twenty
interested persons attended to find out more about Montessori Philosophy and Methodology.
La Dene’ Conroy, CCSD
Montessori Specialist for Development,
Support and Expansion
Page 8
Montessori Moments
|
April–June 2015
Teacher Guides and Assistants –
Y O U A R E A S T A R , A B E A C O N O F L I G H T, T O E V E R Y C H I L D .
If you are ever lying on the beach with 80 billion* grains of sand beneath you,
700 thousand* ocean waves before you,
60 million* stars stretched out above you…and you’re still not at all impressed.
I want you to think about this:
The light you see reflecting from the stars is over 100 million* years old. WOW!!!
But then, just before you start to feel like a mere blip in the gigantic scheme of things,
please remember this:
Yes, you are small, but you are irreplaceable, invaluable and miraculous.
Those stars don’t have anything on you.
*All numbers grossly underestimated
Please accept my gratitude for your love of the work, the energy that ignites your flame and the effort to create your
caring community and peaceful prepared environment. We are the CCSD Montessori Constellation.
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. – Anne Frank
At left are parents from Friends of Montessori, a Charleston County parent advocate group. They
meet once a month in a different public Montessori school from 6:30-7:30. Pictured are three parent
representatives with teacher, Cynthia Gately, Lower El teacher, (2nd on left) from Montessori
Community School, who provided a workshop on Jennifer Senior’s book, called All Joy and No Fun:
The Paradox of Modern Parenthood Catch Jennifer Senior’s TED Talks called “The crisis of modern
parenting: Jennifer Senior at TED2014”. If any parents are interested in participating with this group
please call La Dene’ Conroy at 402-7838 or email [email protected]
Pictured at right is Pamella Gibbs, teaching assistant and one of the garden
club teachers for the extended day after school program, seated with the
threes from James Simons Primary, studying “lady bugs” in depth. Ms.
Pamella is reading The Grouchy Ladybug to the children before they go out
of doors to release the lady bugs on the garden flowers. Teaching assistants
also help to bring Montessori understandings to the children and families in
the classroom by studying and reading about Montessori’s teachings.
Comments, suggestions, ideas or additions – please e-mail [email protected] or speak to me directly.
The newsletter will be posted on the CCSD web site and is based on my school service and visits.
La Dene’ Conroy, CCSD
Montessori Specialist for Development,
Support and Expansion
Page 9