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 Hello! My name is Teresa Ripple, and I am the new Program Director of the Advanced Montessori Programs at St. Catherine University. I am honored and humbled to be serving you all in this new capacity. For those of you who don't know me, I've been at St. Kate's for four years as an assistant professor. During that time, I taught for the AM2 Master's program, the elementary licensure program, and professional development workshops. Prior to that, I served as a Director at a Montessori school, and prior to that, taught for about 11 years at Jonathan Montessori in Chaska. I am early childhood trained, and just finished up the coursework for my Doctorate in Higher Education Leadership, which should come in handy in my new role--now to finish that dissertation! My colleagues and I are excited to have also just launched a new Baccalaureate completer program for Montessorians, with a strong thread of anti-bias, anti-racist content. Liv Christensen (Assistant Professor) and I both have research interests in the area of anti-bias, anti-racist teaching, and helping teachers enact those practices in their environments is incredibly important to us. I would be remiss if I didn't thank Syneva Barrett for leaving us a well-organized and strong program, along with Carol Sicard, who is the glue who holds it all together. We will miss Syneva greatly and wish her all the best in her new endeavors.
I hope to see many of at the Montessori for Social Justice Conference this week. For those of you who are interested, you can find more information at
http://montessoriforsocialjustice.org. I agree with Maria Montessori when she wrote, "Times have changed, and science has made great progress, and so has our work; but our principles have only been confirmed, and along with them our conviction that mankind can hope for a solution to its problems, among which the most urgent are those of peace and unity, only by turning its attention and energies to the discovery of the child and to the development of the great potentialities of the human personality in the course of its formation." (From the foreword to "The Discovery of the Child", Poona 1948). Truly, we will continue to work for peace and unity through our work with you and your work with the child.
I wish you all a happy and productive summer!
Sincerely,
Teresa Ripple
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New Workshops for Summer!
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Explore Montessori developmental theory and educational practices from birth to age three. Discover how the roles of parents, guides and assistants shift, evolve and develop through collaboration to best support the needs of the developing child. Learn the characteristics and tendencies of the first-plane child, methods of effective parent-teacher communication, and attributes of a supportive home environment.
Instructor: Emily Shubits M.Ed. AMI 0-3
Sat. August 5 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Cost: $90
Is your biology album out of date? The field of biology has been transformed by breakthroughs in the past twenty years. The mapping of the human genome, DNA manipulation, the discovery of molecular fossils, mitochondrial DNA, and many other discoveries and techniques have rewritten our understanding of the origins and mechanisms of life. Expand your knowledge and receive an updated album with lessons to help you present an engaging and accurate curriculum to your elementary students.
Instructors: Katie Ibes, MAED AMS 6-12, & Karen Anway, AMS 6-12
Two Day Workshop: Wednesday, August 9 & Thursday, August 10, 8:30 - 4:30 pm
Cost: $180
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 At St. Catherine University, the theme of social justice is foundational to everything we do. I came to some of my own realizations around the teaching of social justice through instructing the undergraduate course, "The Search for Global Justice: Dismantling Racism." I learned how difficult it is to have "brave" conversations about equity, race, and privilege, among other topics. Students have long held beliefs that form their identity--the way they see themselves, the way they move in the world. People push back against ideas that do not fit neatly into their paradigm. Yet, anti-bias and anti-racist work is vitally important to create a more socially just world. In that frame, I offer this
link from the "Cult of Pedagogy," a site that offers resources for teachers. Jennifer Gonzalez, who hosts the site, is a wise mainstream teacher who provides excellent reference materials, podcasts, and the like. She also offers this selection,
A Collection of Resources for Teaching Social Justice. I hope that you will consider adding social justice content to your teaching, and/or your interactions. Together, we really can change the world.
-Teresa Ripple, Program Director
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Watch and listen to a beautiful poem written and read by Naomi Shihab Nye at Wisdom Ways Center for Spirituality, a ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. She describes an experience at the airport that creates a momentary community made up of people from all different backgrounds - chatting, laughing, sharing, and eating together while they wait for their plane. "This can still happen anywhere. Not everything is lost."
- Olivia Christensen, Assistant Professor
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Complete Your Bachelor Degree
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Have you always wanted to complete your Bachelor degree?
Would you like to receive credit for your Montessori credential?
Join us for a free online information session!
Tuesday, July 11, 8:00 - 9:00 pm Central Time
One hour of your time could open the door to your future.
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Action Research Highlight
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 Itzel Mejia-Menendez '16
Itzel currently works in a bilingual Montessori public school and studied the effects of sign language on second language acquisition. Read her fascinating study.
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Ashly Chavez, AM2 '14
 We recently received this update from Ashly:
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This spring I spoke at a Montessori Conference at Barry University! My topic was "Grace and Courtesy." As I prepared for the talk, I often thought about how much St. Catherine's University helped me. In addition, I will start a new job title as Curriculum Director. Again, a position I wouldn't have had the opportunity to delve into without the leadership content St. Catherine's provided!
Congratulations Ashly! We are so happy and proud of your accomplishments.
Justin Tosco, AM2 '15
We also heard from Justin Tosco. Justin had this news to share:
Congratulations Justin! Thank you for sharing this exciting news.
Alums, we would love to share your news. It's so easy just click the link.
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Montessori Community News
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Events:
Montessori Model UN (MMUN), the unique Model UN program for students 9-15, is scheduling a Teacher Professional Development Workshop from October 19-20, 2017 9am-5 pm daily at Great River School. The workshop, which is acknowledged by AMS for Professional Development, will instruct teachers on how to introduce the United Nations Global Citizenship program into their classroom and how to prepare their students for participation in an MMUN Regional in their area or an international MMUN in NYC, Rome, Lima or China. Please share your interest or your questions by sending an email to info@montessori-mun.org or by contacting Jean Peters, jpeters@greatriverschool.org.
Cost: $395
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Job Postings:
Summer Toddler Community Assistants - Oak Hill Montessori School, Shoreview, MN
Lead Toddler Guide - Jonathan Montessori School, Chaska, MN
Contact:
Email resume to bhawthorne@jonathanmontessori.org
Children's House Assistant - Jonathan Montessori School, Chaska, MN
Contact:
Email resume to bhawthorne@jonathanmontessori.org
Administrator - Sandstone Montessori Charter School - Sandstone, MN.
Contact: http://sandstonemontessori.org/about-us/available-positions/
Primary Teacher - Sandstone Montessori Charter School - Sandstone, MN.
Contact: http://sandstonemontessori.org/about-us/available-positions/
Elementary Teacher - Sandstone Montessori Charter School - Sandstone, MN.
Contact: http://sandstonemontessori.org/about-us/available-positions/
Elementary Teacher - Bloomington Montessori School - Bloomington, Indiana.
Contact: headofschool@montessori.k12.in.us
Children's House Teacher - Dakota Montessori School - Fargo, ND.
Contact: julia.jones@dakotamontessori.org
Infant Teacher - Dakota Montessori School - Fargo, ND.
Contact: julia.jones@dakotamontessori.org
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Good News for a Good Planet
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With all that is going on in the world today. It just takes one person, one moment to change the direction of someone's life.
Kindness is viral
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Thank you for reading our news each month. Being in community with you is why we do this. It is so important to us to stay in touch. Reach out to us if you have something to share or any comments or suggestions.
Sincerely,
Teresa, Liv and Carol
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