Winter After-School Basketball & Yoga Programs - Coming in January

Our winter after-school programs are here! 

Starting in January, we’re excited to offer basketball for Elementary and Middle School students and yoga for Primary students.

Basketball will take place in the gym, while yoga will be held in the Great Room. After-school enrichment participants will go directly to after-care when the school day ends, have a snack and then be escorted by staff to their designated activity area.

This year, Jordan Howard will return as our basketball coach for his third year. During the school day, he serves as a teaching assistant in Room 19. The basketball program for 9-12 and Middle School students will include games with other local schools, while the instructional basketball program (for 6-9 students) will focus on developing fundamental skills through drills and activities.

For yoga, we’re thrilled to welcome back Petite Yogi, a company that has previously worked with WMS students of all ages. If you have any questions about their program, you can reach them at Hello@PetiteYogi.com.

For more details, see the information below.

Instructional Basketball - Grades 1-3

January 7 - February 25 (8 weeks)

Tuesdays, 3:45-5 p.m.

$125

Register Here

Basketball - Grades 4-8

January 9 - February 27 (7 weeks) - Includes games with other local schools!

(No practice on 1/23)

Thursdays, 3:45-5 p.m.

$175

Register Here

Petite Yogi - Primary (3-6) Students

January 22 - February 26 (6 weeks)

Wednesdays, 3:45-4:45 p.m.

$110

Register Here

Please sign up in advance! Programs with low enrollment may be canceled.

Winter Warmth Drive Continues - Now through Monday, December 16

Our Wall of Warmth is filling up, but there's still plenty of time to contribute to this kindergarten service project. The kindergartners have also been writing notes to include with the donations, which will support families living in hotels this winter through the organization Volunteering With Love.

We are currently accepting new items for children in all sizes, including:

• Scarves
• Ear muffs
• Winter hats
• Ballcap hats
• Gloves and mittens
• Socks and underwear

Donations can be attached to the clothes lines in the lobby or placed in the box next to the display! 

After the drive, the kindergartners will use their math skills to graph the items they collected, making this a memorable cross-curricular service project for everyone involved!

Montessori Model United Nations (MMUN) Preparations Underway for Sixth through Eighth-Graders

This year, sixth- through eighth-grade students are looking forward to one of Wilmington Montessori School's capstone experiences - participating in the Montessori Model United Nations (MMUN). Rooted in Maria Montessori’s strong belief in peace education, the MMUN program brings Upper Elementary and Middle School students together to learn about the United Nations and its role as the world’s largest international peacekeeping and humanitarian organization.

Preparations are already underway for the March 2025 MMUN conference in New York City. There, our students will join hundreds of other Montessori students from around the world in a United Nations simulation experience designed to foster cooperation and teach the art of compromise. This fall, students began learning about the United Nations, its history and its role in today's world. They selected their countries - Lebanon, Syria, Vietnam and Cambodia - and then chose committees and topics to research and represent at the March conference. The committees they chose to represent include Disarmament and International Security, Sustainable Development, UN Women and the World Health Organization.

Their topics will include:

• Reduction of military budgets
• Relationship between disarmament and sustainable development
• Corporate environmental responsibility
• Green cities
• Engaging boys and young men in gender equality
• Women's meaningful participation in peace processes
• University health coverage
• Pandemic preparedness and response

Students began by researching their assigned countries, and are now delving into their individual topic areas and exploring their country’s positions on those topics. This process has included lessons on research, annotation, note-taking, and primary and secondary sources. To prepare for the conference, students are also practicing public speaking through class discussions and current event presentations.

Each student - or “delegate” - will write a paper proposing a solution for their topic issue. Based on that paper, each delegate will write a one-minute speech about their topic, which they will present to their committee on the opening day of the conference. Delegates will negotiate, collaborate and compromise to reach acceptable solutions in line with the positions of the countries they represent. The goal for each committee is to arrive at a single solution for each of their topics, and for those solutions to be voted on by each member country in consensus.

Stay tuned to hear how the MMUN experience unfolds in the new year, when we follow up with the middle-school and sixth-grade team to capture their impressions and share conference highlights.