From Cindy's Desk

"If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him...An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest."
- Ben Franklin


"Is Montessori so expensive because it came from Italy?" someone asked me once. "No," I replied. Quality education and care is unfortunately costly and yet underfunded, and the cost of materials and training in a Montessori environment is expensive. It is a challenge to explain the rationale for paying for education. Dr. Montessori certainly began her work in a cost-free program in the slums of Italy and was devoted to education for all children. Indeed, legislation continues to surface to incorporate ways to make learning available to all children from early education to adult education.

And so, it should. Equally and equitably. However, we are not there yet. Children learn differently, and equitable education models should be available to all children regardless of cost. The challenge in the Bay Area and especially in certain cities like Alameda, is that a family does not have to be at the national poverty level to experience the challenge of living and thriving with a family. The decision to pay for or to continue to pay for education is a difficult one. Traditional education is not always the most effective option for all children; nor is Montessori education. Our country still has a long way to go to provide no cost or scale-base, equally accessible differing models of education to match a child's learning style.
This leaves no-cost Montessori education only accessible via communities that allow for charter or magnet Montessori schools or county pilots that offer different educational models. So why struggle to pay for it?

New research on Montessori education provides insight that is helpful to reinforce the importance of Montessori education in the lives of children. Paula Lilliard, a researcher who began studies on the effectiveness of Montessori education, completed a recent in depth, longitudinal study of Montessori education among a large sample of students. "Children in two high-fidelity public Montessori magnet schools (11 classrooms) who had gained admission via a random computerized district-level lottery at 3 years old were compared to a group who had lost the lottery and attended other non-Montessori schools, over half of which were private schools. Children (N = 141) were tested over the fall semester when they were 3 years old, and then again at the end of the school year for three consecutive years. the final sample included 70 children in Montessori and 71 controls who were at other non-Montessori schools. Children were 41.15 months old on average at the first test point, and each sample was ethnically diverse and had slightly more males than females. Household income ranged widely (because the lottery was for a magnet school) as did parent education; the average parent had some college education, but the range was from 9th grade through post-graduate.The study measured social cognition/competence, executive functioning and academic achievement.

Forty-three control children attended the same schools for the duration of their time in the study; 26 made one school switch, and 1 switched schools twice. At the beginning of the study, the 71 control children were in 51 schools; most of those schools had 1 child, some had 2-3, and one had 4. Over the course of the entire study (6 school years), control children were at 71 different schools. (Children were tracked at the school, not the classroom level). Thirty of the 71 schools were publicly funded (15 magnet including for example Reggio, Arts, and Environmental Science schools; 8 conventional public schools; and 7 Head Start programs) and 41 were private schools. 

Although equal at the start of school, the Montessori group advanced at a higher rate across the study years. A second growth model was created controlling for gender, household income, and executive function. This confirmed that while both groups were equal at intercept in academic achievement, Montessori predicted a steeper slope of growth, whereas none of the control variables predicted a steeper slope in the overall sample.

Academic achievement across preschool is by school type. The figure shows significantly greater growth in academic achievement across preschool for children enrolled in Montessori preschool (dashed blue lines, n = 70) than wait-listed controls (dotted black lines, n = 71). Groups were statistically equivalent at Time 1 (the non-significant difference at Time 1 is likely due the Time 1 tests occurring into mid-December, thus school programs could already have made a difference) and Time 2 (late in the spring of their 1st year in preschool) and significantly different by the end of their 2nd and 3rd years in preschool (Times 3 and 4). Dashed/dotted lines represent actual data and solid lines represent fitted linear growth curves.

Importantly, the higher achievement in Montessori was not at the expense of social skills or of liking school. Children who had by lottery ended up in Montessori programs performed better on tests of social cognition, were more mastery oriented, and expressed more liking of academic tasks relative to how much they liked recreational tasks. All these variables have predicted better outcomes in other studies, cited earlier. Montessori children fared equally well on tests of social problem solving and creativity - and had better executive function at age 4.

Finally, many studies have shown better academic and life outcomes for children with higher executive function or self-control. While for the control children in this study as well, executive function predicted academic achievement, this was not the case for children in Montessori. In Montessori classrooms, having lower or higher executive function did not matter for achievement; children with lower executive function performed as well as children with higher executive function in Montessori on academic achievement, which is impressive given that academic achievement in the Montessori sample was higher overall."

Lilliard's preschool research confirms other research regarding the value of Montessori education for elementary and middle school. Until we are able to achieve equal and equitable, accessible education for all children, Montessori education needs to be perceived as one of the most important investments a parent can make. "If you think investing in education is expensive, "said Michael Gerber, "consider the cost of not investing."

Montessori believed that children in the second plane of development (ages 6-12 years) are at a sensitive period for moral reasoning. The elementary Montessori program integrates character development and family involvement throughout the curriculum and guides children as they examine world issues through a moral lens. By giving students the freedom and responsibility to direct their own learning through individual research, children gain a sense of dignity in the classroom and feel respected by their peers and teachers.

Additionally, the elementary curriculum has a decidedly global view. Students learn a foreign language, and world geography, international cultures, world history, and global economics are woven throughout the fabric of the curriculum. Students at MESA connect with students in other countries to complete their science assignments virtually alongside them (via internet). They work in the Montessori elementary classroom within a written study plan for week. This study plan includes the basic tasks they should complete but allows them the flexibility to decide what to complete within a certain timeframe. The study plan will also generally allow students to explore subjects that interest them. It makes for a rigorous study, as our students complete core subjects, the sciences, Arabic writing, ukulele, music theory, dance, specialized art and Spanish. Underpinning this work, is building character and love of learning in the child. This is an important piece for teachers for all children, toddlers through middle school.
Education is such a life-changing experience for children. I recall Mr. Waters, my favorite teacher, who ignited my interest in science at a time when girls were passed over as potential candidates in the science field. No doubt you have someone who inspired or discouraged your interest in learning. It can be difficult for parents to handle financial expenses, and hold in the midst of challenging times, that children are an expense and an investment. However, the educational experience that your child has is one predictor of their later resilience and success. Each day, life makes deposits in the memory banks of our children. It is important that what they experience now, is where we place our energies, while preparing for the future. "We worry about what a child will become tomorrow," said Tausher, "yet we forget that he is someone today."

How can we work toward making this investment possible? We need to make others aware of avenues to support education. There are a few programs such as:

Children's Scholarship Fund, https://scholarshipfund.org/ 

Jack Kent Cooke Fund http://www.jkcf.org/ 


Other resources:




And our own elementary partial scholarship program:
Email address: [email protected]
 
Best,
Cindy                       
Taylor Campus

Toddler 2

Dear Toddler 2 Parents, 

The continent we are studying this month is Europe. We discussed the cities of Paris and Rome and some animals found on the continent, such as the Eurasian wolf, badger, viper, and lynx. Children also looked at images of European currency.

Learning about the Season of Non-violence,the children learned the following words and phrases: commitment, leap of faith, patience, acknowledgement, love, understanding, mindfulness, graciousness, kindness, dialogue, unity, openness, accountability, uniqueness, c ooperation, mastery, compassion, and community. 

The students are working with the letter sounds of the month: b, l, u, v and enjoying the books of the month: "This is Not My Hat" by Jon Klassen, and "Kindness is Cooler" by Margery Cuyler. The c hildren are also learning how to build their names with the movable alphabets and read three letter words. They continue to trace their names and numbers. The students continue to learn to recognize numerical symbols and learning about quantity and measuring.

New scents were introduced this month: citrus and nutmeg. Yum! The teachers also new works using the color box 3 and the geometric tray. They are having so much fun creating  lots of art with flag making, self art and making flowers. They also enjoy  cutting fruit, dusting shelves, practicing grace and courtesy, and taking care of their environments. The  children helped prepare and devour sticky rice balls and a fruit salad and fruit stuffed pancakes.

We begin incorporating basic yoga moves with the children to get their bodies moving in a different way.

We would like to give a big "Thank you" to the Siv family for donating items from our wish list and the several families who cleaned our linens.

Thank you, 
Porshia, Johanny, Carolina and Jazmin

Pre-Primary 2

Dear Pre-Primary 2 Parents,

Happy Spring everyone! I hope all of you enjoyed the Spring Performance/Fundraiser. The kids did such a wonderful job performing for only the 2nd time ever! I know I was impressed.

For the month of April we will start our study of botany. We begin with the plant and it's needs. What makes it living thing. Then we will study the parts of various plants... fruits, flowers, roots, stem, and leaves. We may sometimes take our studies outside on a nature walk to collect and examine items that have fallen.

Now that the weather has gotten better, the outdoor classroom is open. This is where the large gross motor works will be.

Our peace shelf is doing well. Children are identifying and labeling emotions and using the tool kit that offers solutions. As with any work in the classroom, this technique takes mastery and the children are coming along nicely with it.

For Women's History Month our focus was mainly on Frida Kahlo and Rosa Parks, but the children learned about various other amazing women every week with the book "She Persisted," by Chelsea Clinton.

Our study of the mammal is going well. We will be introducing the amphibian next.

For Earth Day this month we will do a "Clean Up Walk." We will bring in something to share that is recycled. We will also be going to the Oakland Zoo. A field trip form will be going into your Parent Folders in the beginning of the month.

Best,
Tiffani & Danilo

Primary 3
 
Dear Primary 3 Families,

It's officially the season of Spring now and we've been having rainy days, which the children love, especially because they can jump in the puddles. The children are having fun and learning at the same time by having group discussions about the water cycle and rainbows. Reading the book, "What is a Rainbow?" by Chris Arvetis and Carole Palmer helps us understand more about rainbows. 

Students continue to learn about taking care of their environment by making sure the classroom is in order and all the works are ready for the next person to use. We are also continuing to learn and practice grace and courtesy lessons by doing role plays and putting what we learned into action. We are going to add new works on the practical life shelf like milk tie-dye and a hammering work. 

The students love the Sensorial works with different designs and extensions of brown prisms and pink cubes, colored cylinders and knob cylinders. Of course, they still enjoy making their own designs using the geometric cabinet with different kinds of shapes. They are so creative! 

The older children are continuing to learn about addition by working with 2-digit addition and dynamic addition using the colored beads, writing 1-100 on their own and learning the decimal system by using the decimal number layout and golden beads. Some children are continuing to master their teens and tens by using the teen board and ten board. They are improving their skills in how to tell time in hourly increments as we relay it's importance. We will soon discuss and learn about money. 

We have entered our European studies with the beginning of the Europe Cultural Unit. We talked about which countries some of our children or their families are from. We have families from the U.K., Poland, Russia, and Denmark. It gets interesting when they talk about how they perceive a place so far away. They share some stories of when they have visited and one child even brought in items from their homeland. We introduced animals found in Europe (the badger, lynx, brown bear, peregrine falcon, hedgehog, snowy owl, red deer and red squirrel) and we will show short clips in the afternoon about these animals living in their environment. Once all of these animals are introduced, the children can start the animal charades game during circle time. We will also introduce famous European people, including a review of Maria Montessori (the first Italian female doctor), Albert Einstein, Queen Elizabeth, as well as the artwork of Claude Monet. In addition, Agnieszka Krawczuk will be coming to our class to present on Poland and will show the children how to make a special doll called "Marzanna."

It is also Women's History Month so we will be discussing well known women inventors and public figures who have done big things for our world. Maria Montessori will be one of the women because she is the foundation of our educational philosophy here at The Child Unique. Ms. Tiffani's  grandmother was the first African American woman to work in the White House. She was the secretary for John F. Kennedy! And Ms. Dawn's great ancestor was the individual who designed and sewed the flag of the Philippines!

Upcoming events: 

Since it's the season of Spring, the children will have a simple introduction of botany by learning the different kinds of flowers like orchids, roses and daisies. Each child will plant a sunflower that they will need to be responsible for by watering them and making sure they get enough sunlight to survive. We are also looking forward to our field trip to the Oakland Zoo on  Thursday, April 26th. Please make sure you turn in a copy of your driver's license and car insurance on or before  Friday, April 20th.   

Thank you so much for coming to our Spring Performance! Everyone had a great time! 

Thank you ,
Nina, Nicole and Dawn
 
Elementary - MESA

Dear MESA Parents,

We ended last month with a wonderful and engaging cultural celebration for the continent of Africa. The students had a chance to play a few musical instruments originally from Africa and eat some traditional African food. We were also able to practice our knowledge of the Arabic language when a few of the elementary students helped write the names of the younger students in Arabic. It was a great opportunity for them to use a language that they only learn in class.

This month we are studying the continent of Europe. We're working on the pin maps to identify various European countries, capitals and flags. The students enjoy testing each other and memorizing them. They are working on individual country reports. Presentations will be at the end of the month. Earlier this month we visited Rhythmix Cultural Works where we were introduced to Ali Akbar's Indian music. Because of the student''s wonderful behavior, they were rewarded by meeting with the artists after the show. They asked many questions and tried to play the musical instruments. The older students were also able to attend the musical "Ragtime" at the Berkeley Playhouse. There was an engaging Q&A session after the show.

Practical Life activities take place in our class on a daily basis. The older students are engaged in carpentry work (building a bridge) where they use tools and make measurements. 

As a part of the larger community, the students felt the need to participate in the National Walkout in early March. They contacted other schools and Montessori organizations across the nation to invite them to make one thousand Origami Cranes as a statement of peace. With the help of teachers Nicole and Katsuko we were able to make over two hundred cranes and we will be mailing them to Washington and Florida.

This month, in art, students have been finishing up their studies in figure drawing and have shown great artistic ability and have refined their skills exponentially. They practiced every day for their Spring Performance drawing skit and did a wonderful job the day of the performance. Well done everyone! 
Yes, o ur Spring Performance was a great success and very rewarding show for teachers and parents. It was an amazing opportunity for the students to show their talent and skills to everyone. We would like to give our s pecial thank you to:
  • Esmeralda Arrizon for all her hard work and effort fundraising for MESA.
  • Yessica, Paula, Rocio and grandma Lulu for supporting the fundraiser.
  • All the elementary students for their hard work and perseverance.
  • Teachers Nicole and Katsuko for helping with the Origami Cranes.
  • Teacher Kwang for ordering the costumes from Thailand and for teaching the students.
  • Teacher Laurie for her enthusiasm and her willingness to try new ideas with the students.
  • Jeanne Skybrook for extra Ukulele practice with the students.
Classroom Needs: we  need your support to get our Montessori materials.  Please connect with Esmeralda, Marian or me to coordinate and get those essential materials.

Thank you,
Fatma, Kwang and Laurie

Pacific Campus

Toddler 1
 
Dear Toddler 1 Parents,
 
We have a several exciting projects in the works this month as we march into March. We are beginning to study the calendar, where we will talk about time, days of the week and seasons. We started singing the days of the week song as a fun way to learn the days of the week. Our group has gotten much better at getting out their own name cards before choosing an activity during "work time". Name recognition is not only good for them as a Montessori practice, but it also helps them gain self-confidence and pride in who they are. Our group had fun learning body movements for the "Walking Feet" song. I was so impressed and happy that they got on that big stage and sang the song and did all of the movements at the Spring Performance!

The students are also learning language through modeling from Nubia and I. We are also learning about "Europe" this month and all of the interesting cultures within the continent of Europe. The students really enjoyed looking at pictures from Italy and Paris and have been building towers with blocks after looking at pictures of the Eiffel Tower. We are so lucky to have a couple of families from Europe, so we will see if they can share there history and culture with us too.  Some of our children will begin potty training. We are encouraging them and very proud of this big step in their development.

We have been practicing how to use various Sensorial materials and some kids present what they have learned to their peers and role up their own job rugs. The class is becoming normalized as a group and enjoying the presentation of the materials. I have seen a large interest recently in the pink cubes work and the cooking and dinner set. I will extend student learning by bringing in more real food which will help develop fine motor skills. The students will enjoy it, especially those in the oral stage of development.

Best,
Annette and  Nubia 

Pre-Primary 1

Dear Pre-Primary 1 Parents,

Happy Spring!   We would like to thank Maggie Benedict-Montgomery for doing a wonderful book exchange!

Students are improving pre-language skills as we introduce go-togethers for opposites,  rhyming, and big and small. The children are also learning about  patterning through bead stringing, and picture sequencing to tell a  story from a series of images. 

The children are also practicing language as they continue working on letter names and letter sounds  through the use of the sandpaper letters and objects. Those who  are ready are practicing tracing their names. Everyone is encouraged  to utilize the metal insets daily.

The children continue to improve their current understanding of mathematical concepts with the use of the  number rods, the spindles, numerals and counters, the bead stair, the  teen beads and teen board. 

The Sensorial materials all seem new again, thanks to the  gift of a sensorial cabinet! This month, the children will move beyond  matching colors 1:1 and begin grading by shade, and we will continue
to learn the names of the geometric solids.

We are having discussions about Women's History  Month, European countries, the parts of the plant, and the life-cycle  of the bird. What a lot to learn!

Classroom Needs:
Plain wooden building blocks, i ndoor large motor activities, such as a hop-scotch carpet, and  carpeted or felt color discs to play "Color Hop."  More ideas are listed on our Wish List, across from the sign-in sheet.

Please be sure to s ign up for Parent/Teacher Conferences! Parent/Teacher Conferences - April 16 through 20 (during nap time or after school only).

Sincerely,
Steph & Cherefah
Encinal Campus

Primary 1

Dear Primary 1 Families,

We hope that you enjoyed our Spring performance, The children enjoyed practicing everyday for it and we hope that you had a wonderful time watching us on stage. We have been learning about the continent of Europe. On the practical life shelves you can find works such as sorting and transferring pasta. The children are working on their fine motor control as they lace pasta onto yarn. We are learning about Edgar Degas, a French artist most famous for his realism and depiction of dancers. 

We are preparing for the season of Spring and we will be doing some larger cleaning tasks and changing some things in our classroom. We will be focusing our practical life efforts around new kindness task charts and responsibilities within our classroom. 

The students have been reviewing the tens board and comparing it to the teen board. The children are using what they have learned with these two works and applying it to everyday things like the calendar and page numbers in books. They love being asked to read different numbers out loud from 1-9,999! Some children are working on perfecting their number writing. We will begin lessons on subtraction and four-digit addition.

Some children have begin reading the Bob books and chapters out of our reader, "A Pig Can Jig." We continue to work on making words with our movable alphabet. Some children enjoy using objects or pictures with the movable alphabet. The children are all working on their handwriting. This includes writing in grain, on the chalkboard and with paper and pencil. Metal insets are also a favorite in the language area.

A number of students have begun an exploration of the geometric cabinet and the polygon tray. We have been counting sides and points along with learning the names of different polygons. Some children have begun making their own polygon books. We are learning the names of the geometric solids and finding examples of those in our everyday life.  In our French circle time, we have been practicing the French song, "Pirouette Cacauete." We continue to work on learning the French words for the colors, days of the week, and numbers.

We are looking for families to take Anya, the turtle, home to care for over the weekends. Please see a teacher with any questions. 

Thank you,
Mari and Emma


Primary 2

Dear Primary 2 Parents,
 
Spring is finally here!! The arrival of Spring reminds us of the extent of fun we had during the Spring Performance. Thank you, to all of the parents, for attending and being there to encourage your children and for appreciating everyone's effort.

We bid goodbye to the African cultural unit with a little in-campus celebration. The children had a good time moving freely around the classrooms exploring the different stations with fun activities. We would like to thank Angele O Daniel for giving us such an informative presentation of African wild life and African music. Thank you! 

Currently, we are studying about the continent of Europe. We have already explored some European countries like France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain. We will continue to add more European countries to our journey of exploration.  Students have been doing Practical Life works with a European theme like sorting different kinds of pastas, painting the Eiffel Tower, cutting out the Eiffel Tower and making German hiking hats. The students did a puzzle map of Europe and explored the locations of the countries we learned. We also learned some basic words from the languages spoken in those countries. The children are also learning about parts of a horse and creating a horse booklet.

We continue exploring the Roman Arch, as part of Sensorial materials, and the children are quite fascinated with how the arch holds itself up without any support under it. We also learned an extension of the knobbed and knobbless cylinders when merged together, creating unique patterns.

Our exploration of letter sounds continues using a variety of materials, clipping the picture with the same sounds together, superimposing the correct sound the pictures on the mat, associating sounds with objects and also building an impression of the sounds in our mind by tracing with the sand paper letters. Some children are creating their own story books using the words they learned and some are practicing making a phonogram word list using the moveable alphabets.

The children are working with the square chain in mathematical depth. We counted and labelled the chains and then tried to find the even and odd numbered labels in all the square chains. We also continue to work on our multiplication and fraction booklets to hunt for the similar combinations. 

In circle time, we review our calendar, read books picked by the children and also sing songs. We are also excited to start the book bag program. Please note : we would   be very grateful if someone could volunteer to wash our classroom rugs on a weekly basis.

Thank you so much for your support.
Best Regards

Hurma & Katsuko

Laurie's Encinal Art Corner

This month, the students have been studying Pointillism and the artists George Seurat and as well as the contemporary Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama. Students have been having fun experimenting with different ways to create dots on a small scale painting and also how to create an installation of dots within the cultural room. We are also learning about Impressionism and one of its artist's, Vincent Van Gogh. The children are creating their own renditions of Van Gogh's famous paintings: Sunflowers and Starry Night. 

Music
With Steve Slater

Everyone did such great performances during the Spring Performance/Fundraiser!  It was really cool to see all the children performing on stage. The MESA class performed "Give Peace a Chance" and some of them wrote their own lyrics for the verses. It was an interesting exercise to have them write what was on their minds. The students are clearly thinking about social events and situations. Hopefully they are also finding the space to share their thoughts and feeling with the people they trust. Through music we can share all kinds of emotions and ideas. This may have been their first experience using music as a tool for expression. It would be great to continue this process in the future. 

The preschool music classes are also going very well. We are walking to the chant of "Mr. Steve, Mr. Steve..." and the students tell us things like, "We are going to play Jenn and Steve on the playground." We aren't exactly sure what that game would look like, but hopefully it involves singing. 

Have a great spring break!

Thank you,
Steve 

Announcements



Thank you! to the following wonderful volunteers for the   Spring Fundraiser:

We would like to thank Esmeralda Arrizon, Paula Hernandez and Yessica SiFuentes (and Ms. Lulu) for the delicious food and for organizing the event and to Amy Riker McGirl for an amazing job on seliing raffle ticket by the pack and to Oge Enyinwa for helping sell during the event and the rest of the Fundraising Committee. We would like to thank Sebastian Krawczuk for doing sound and to Tiffani Battle (parent and teacher for the staff dance) & Miesha Lampkins for creating another beautiful event and to all of the teachers and students for the great performances and hard work.


More Thank you!s:

Thank you to Balind & Nora Csorgo, Kaycee Sink, Esmeralda Arrizon, Steve Mize, Kristen Tanguay, Gabby Taylor, Braelan Murray, Anna Trave, J. Villegas, Marcela Ayala, Tara Kelly, Atila Pelit and Jamey Ewing for wonderful hard work during Community Building Day!

Thank you to  Porshia Lewis for the donation of a Keurig and coffee pods, to  Remi Tong's family for a wonderful custard fruit tart. to  Abigail Gardner for sharing multicultural children's dress, to the  Ewing family for fixing the trash can, orchids and lots of things and thank you to  Sharon Hu for being the snack support!  Thank you to Pola Ebrahimi for installing Office 2016 at on the Encinal office computer. 

Thank you to all the parents who are working on the Committees and doing amazing jobs! Thank you to anyone who we may not have mentioned but who put their time and effort and support into making our school the very best!

Committee News:
Construction: Next Community Building Day:  Sat,, April 28th,  Location: Pacific campus (2212 Pacific)
PLEASE RSVP if you are coming, so that we plan Community Building Day well
We will concentrate on the garden, fences, windows and organization.   NOTE: RAIN CANCELS

Cultural/Rm Parent): Artsy?  Please contact  Nina to offer help preparing portfolios for Closing Ceremony.  They take a while!

Fundraising: Please help us to plan our next year event, and let us know if you are interested in stepping up to chair the committee.

Garden: We need help/donations for Earth Day Spring Planting

Hospitality: We need a chair to help plan our end of the year picnic/camping trip
     We need refreshments for the April Community Building Day.

Grandparent Tea Subcommittee: There will be lots of volunteer opportunities on  May 10th,  May 11th, and some from home before and after those dates.  Please mark your calendars and keep an eye out for more information in April.

Library: Please email feedback about the first week of Raising Readers.

Painting: SPRING TOUCH UP: Please volunteer to touch up your child's classroom when it is convenient.  Speak with your chair or the office.

July Parade Subcommittee: Angele is organizing our part in the  July 4th parade. We need the theme by  April 15th - please email suggestions.
Do you have a car or truck to be in the parade?

Parent Council: Please follow up with teachers regarding science materials.

Snack SubCommittee: Sandra needs help to purchase and deliver snack. Please contact   Sandra Dorrance  
 
Technology: We have hired a Systems Manager who will need your support to install 8 tablets and sort out how to support the internet in the Taylor classrooms. Please let us know when you are available.
 
Unique Collective/All Parents:  
We can use help with Spring planting and Spring cleaning (windows, fine dusting of crevices, etc) and tortoise weekend adoption. 

Contact Leanna Sac to assist with the upcoming tea, storage room organization and putting up framed pictures at Encinal. 
 
Haven't heard from your Committee Chair? Let the office know.

KANGAROO TIME: OUR NEW ADMIN SYSTEM

We are excited to announce that our school will be transitioning to a new school management software program and parent connectivity tool called Kangarootime.  We have researched a number of software systems and with office feedback, this seems to be the closest to fit our needs.   Kangerootime promises to provide many benefits that will streamline our processes, improve security for the children, and provide an enhanced experience for families.
Some of the new features you may enjoy with Kangarootime:
  • Secure Child Check In and Out
  • Ability to view photos or notes of your child's day
  • Secure messaging with the school
  • View the calendar of events
  • Update your child's allergies, emergency contacts, and upload documents
This system is securely located in a "cloud" so it works with all computers, tablets, and smartphones, both iPhones and Android.   We will begin using Kangarootime in a limited manner beginning Wednesday, April 4th. If you are a family enrolled for summer or fall, one member of your family will have  received an invitation via e-mail today to register your family in the Kangarootime platform. Please review the following information and register your Kangarootime account as soon as you receive the email invitation.

Registration
1)    One person per family registers as the primary account holder, who will then invite others (indicated as guardians
2)    Update allergies and other information
3)    Upload recent photos of you and anyone who can pick up your child (faces)

Please be aware that soon, you will not be able to check in/out your child without a Kangarootime account.

Once you register, you will be able to download the Kangarootime App and enjoy mobile use.
Please be patient with us as we move ahead with this system. We will ask parents to give us feedback, so that we can attempt to make any corrections or consider any suggestions before fall.

RAISING READERS PROGRAM
Book bags went our last week.  Please remember how it works:

1.     Each student gets a bag filled with the two books placed in her/his property  space.  S/he will take them home for one week and read them with her/his family.
2.       The book bag with the same books should be returned the next week.
3.       Once students return the book bag, teachers will rotate the numbered bags to the next student on their roster.  They will record which bag number each student has now. Each student will go home with a new bag filled with two new books for the next week.

Book bags will go home on Wednesdays.
Bags need to be returned to school on Wednesdays.
If your child only attends  Thursday/Friday, their bag will go home  on Thursday, and should return the  next Thursday.
Please read with your child!
 
You can always check out more books from your campus' library whenever you want extra books to read at home.
 
Thank you to the Library Committee for making our dream come true!
Contact
The Child Unique Montessori School
& 
The Montessori Elementary School of Alameda (MESA)
2226 Encinal Ave./ 2212 Pacific Ave./ 1400 6th St.
Alameda, CA
510.521.9227  or 510.521.0595 

Stay Connected

"Instruction ends in the school-room, but education ends only with life."

- Frederick W. Robertson