As I reflect on our first school year at Montessori Seeds of Education I can't help but think to myself what a difference a year makes.  If someone told me this time last year that I would be sitting here writing in my final issue of our first school year's newsletter, I don't think I would have believed them.  Overall, it went very smoothly and a lot has been accomplished.  We have been welcomed with open arms and settled into our community in Merchantville.  The students have enjoyed almost daily trips to have recess at two different parks.  Art, music, gym, and drama have been permanently incorporated into the curriculum.  Ms. Brin created an intimate and close knit primary community, which will be more than double for the 2015-2016 school year.  
 

Thanks to Ms. Brin, in the spring, we also started gardening/farming with our new plot at the Merchantville Community Center.  The whole school will benefit from this educational experience.  Throughout the year there have been additions and there will be even more students in the elementary programs for the 2015-2016 school year. The upper elementary initiated a weekly newsletter called the Seedling. There was also the successful participation of the Montessori Model United Nations conference in New York City.  Additionally, the whole school went camping in May.  We successfully ended the school year with the MSOE Seedling Spectacular at Ms. Nicole's studio.  It was there that we exhibited the children's art work, sang, and celebrated the year, as well as the children transitioning from elementary to adolescence.  There are more exciting things to announce for this next school year as well.

Academically speaking, Ms. Patty will be incorporating Spanish for the toddlers through adolescents.  The elementary will have a typing tutor program for the upper elementary.  We plan on incorporating more cooking experiences for the different programs.  Two of our students are planning on participating in the International Youth Earth Summit, a new program initiated by Judith Cunningham, which will take place in November.  We will also be participating in the MMUN again.  As there is more to share, I am excited to do so with our continually growing community.  In the meantime, I'd like to ask all of you to keep the following in mind.
 

We would like to incorporate a social night, either once a month or once every two months.  It can be bowling, or we are open to other suggestions.  Also, it might be nice to begin a book club with the topic relating to Montessori.  Additionally, we would like to include educational community nights.  The idea for this is to give lessons and or have discussions relating to education and or learning both at home and at school.  My goal here is to have fun and to help bridge any gaps between home and school.  One way we will start to do this is by sending a questionnaire home in August.  We are asking the parents to fill it out.  Then we will compile a database strictly for the parents.  This database will show each other what strengths, jobs and or hobbies each of us has.  The goal here is to open up an opportunity for parents to reach out to each other based on common interests and or strengths.
 

In conclusion, this year went by very fast, was very exciting and I am very much looking forward to next school year.  We have a great opportunity to grow together and expand, to share what great experiences we have at Montessori Seeds of Education.  Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm.  As always, I am available if you have any questions or suggestions.  We hope you have a safe, exciting, and relaxing summer.