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MMS Monthly E-Newsletter | October 2023

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Dear MMS Families,

Our school year has gotten off to a great start! Thank you for being part of our community.

We look forward to seeing all of you at the upcoming Fall Conferences. Be sure to choose a slot by using the link below. In November, we will open the classrooms to parent observers. That link and additional

information will be in our next M News.

Best wishes,

Jennifer Carriger

Director

PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES

Fall 2023 Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held on October 9-10. There is no school on these days.

Upper Elementary and Middle School students will attend conferences with parents. Primary and Lower Elementary students and MMS siblings may join the Plus program free of charge during their conference time. Please sign in and out with our Plus staff.

Conference sign-ups

MMS DIFFERENCE

Mountaineer Montessori School is pleased to announce that it has earned the distinction of "American Montessori Society School Accreditation Candidate."

MMS was recently notified that it has been officially accepted into the accreditation cycle, a process that provides guidance, empowerment, and high ideals to help schools implement and sustain the rigorous standards of quality Montessori education.

Accreditation by the American Montessori Society is the "gold standard" of Montessori school excellence—the highest level of recognition a Montessori school can achieve. Currently, about 15 percent of member schools are AMS-accredited.

AMS is recognized by the National Council for Private School Accreditation, a national organization that serves as a review panel for the standards and review procedures of private school accrediting agencies. Every school that is accredited by AMS gains automatic recognition by NCPSA.

“We are proud to have achieved this milestone,” said Director Jennifer Carriger.

Accreditation Announcement

SHOP & SUPPORT MMS

Your everyday shopping can make a big difference to your child's school when you enroll in the Kroger Community Rewards program. By designating Mountaineer Montessori School (HD981) as your beneficiary through Kroger Rewards, a percentage of your purchases will be donated back to MMS each quarter.

It's easy, it's free and it adds up!

Kroger sign-up

LOOKING AHEAD

As part of the AMS Accreditation process, MMS will be updating our strategic plan, starting with a visioning session on Sunday, November 5, 2:00-4:00 p.m. All MMS families are invited to participate.

Previous strategic plans have provided invaluable guidance to the board and staff, serving as a roadmap for continuing enhancement and elevation of programs and facilities. We invite you to join us to share ideas as we chart the path to our 50th anniversary!

FACULTY FOCUS

We are pleased to welcome several new staff members this year as well as congratulate returning staff for taking on new roles.

(Please see the staff bios page of our website for more information on all of our of amazing MMS team.)

Long-time Lower Elementary Guide Tara Fought has transitioned to a new role as our Reading/Learning Specialist.

Tiffany Martin joins MMS as a Lower Elementary II Assistant.

Stevie Palenchar is working with Primary students in the Plus Program.

Naphtali ReBrook is the new Elementary Music Teacher, replacing Karen Morris who retired this year.

Dr. Jamie Slaughter is a new Guide in the Middle School program as well as an Auxiliary Programs Specialist.

In addition to her administrative responsibilities, Stephanie Spradling will be leading music instruction for Primary students.

MMS Staff Bios

MONTESSORI MOMENTS

Like these photos? Then you'll love MMS on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Photos, school updates and Montessori news are posted nearly every day!

Montessori Meet-Ups offer a variety of opportunities to connect and have fun. Thank you to School Life Chair Enybe Diaz and the committee for arranging this summer's fantastic events line-up! More photos here.

Thanks to everyone who helped to get the new school year off to a sweet start at the annual Back to School Ice Cream Social! More photos here.

STAFF TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Excellence in the classroom starts with excellent teachers. Each year, MMS makes a major investment in your child's education through sponsorship of Montessori teacher training and other professional development opportunities. Your support of MMS fundraising activities enables our staff to participate in these rewarding and essential educational programs.

Recently, MMS staff have or are participating the following:

Early Childhood credential training
Elementary credential training
Mandated Reporter training
Medication Administration training
Handwriting Without Tears training
AMS Elementary Reading Certificate training
AMS Elementary Writing Certificate training
AMS Book Study
Positive Discipline training
First Aid/CPR training
Restorative Cycle professional development
School Gardens training course
Wilson Reading System Overview Course
Wilson Reading System Conference
AMS 2024 Annual Conference-we hope to send one staff member from each level to the largest gathering of Montessori educators in the world. Your support of MMS fundraising this year will help make this possible.
Assistant Training
Building Resilient Schools Training

MMS Lower Elementary Guides Shannon Bradley and Denessa Rouse trained with Montessori educators from around the world with the Prepared Montessorian in California this summer.

Handwriting Without Tears is a multisensory approach that supports literacy through writing. Primary and LE staff participated in training in August.

Handwriting Without Tears in the classroom.

Medication administration training.

Fostering trauma-sensitive classrooms book club.

COMINGS & GOINGS

With five weeks of school completed, this school year is off to a great start. We do want to remind everyone of our arrival and dismissal times.

Arrival is from 8:00-8:15 a.m. Classes begin at 8:15 a.m., and we cannot emphasize enough the importance of on time arrival for children. Late arrival is disruptive to the classroom and uncomfortable for the child as they will miss important instructions, community meetings, and lessons. If you arrive after the arrival team has gone inside, you will need to sign in your child at the office. This is for both campuses.

Dismissal times are 11:45 a.m.-12:00 noon and 2:45-3:00 p.m. for regular school and 4:15-4:30 p.m. and 5:15-5:30 p.m. for Plus. It is important that children are picked up on time so staff members can finish the day's work and get ready for the next day. If students are not picked up on time, there will be a charge of $25 for the first 15 minutes after the end of the dismissal time and an additional $25 if more than 15 minutes late.

We regard the safety of your children as our primary concern, and we, as a result, need our Plus staff to be able to watch your children both in the classroom and on the playground. For this reason, we are reminding parents that we are unable to accommodate late pickups during Plus.

BOARD BIZ

New members were elected to the MMS Board of Directors at the annual meeting earlier this month.

Please join us in welcoming John Auville, Mary Lafferty, Brian Tucker and Brian Young to the board and thanking the following who are exiting the board after their term(s) of service or eligibility: Clifton Clark (Board President), Emily Hanna, Samantha Hicks (Vice President), Joe Jenkins (Co-Treasurer), Blaire Malkin and JoEllen Zacks (former VP/Acting President).

New board officers were elected following the meeting. Congratulations to Brad Barker (President), Erica Smith-Woods (Vice President), Brad Holliday (Secretary) and Brian Young (Treasurer).

Watch recording of Annual Meeting

MONTESSORI IN THE NEWS

MMS Alumni Family News: A Montessori Family Legacy: An Interview with One of Dr. Maria Montessori's Students, Montessori Life, 7-28-23

Montessori has a 'clear' and 'direct' impact on student performance, K-12 Dive, 8-3-23

Mountaineer Montessori named an accreditation candidate school, Charleston Gazette-Mail, 9-13-23

Ismat Malik's training with Maria Montessori inspired two of her grandchildren to attend MMS!

CURRICULUM CORNER-CAMPESSORI

MMS students flourished this summer with seven enriching weeks of discovery and creativity during Campessori 2023.

Thank you to the wonderful summer staff who put together this year's programs:

Director: Alasha Al-Qudwah

Primary: Julia Carriger, Cora Dunlap, Kaylin Ellison, Michelle Scarbrough and Angela Walker

Elementary: Sonji Byers-Baldwin, Sarrah George, Brittany Javins, Maria-Celeste Kershner-Leon, Charlee Tidrick and Elizabeth Zacks

Junior Volunteers: Eliza Bell, Luke Holliday and Ethan Wehrle

More Campessori photos here and here.

A highlight of this year's Campessori was a presentation by Mountain State Reptile Rescue!

Elementary campers wrapped up a fun week exploring French culture with traditional waiters' races on Bastille Day.

Alumni instructors and volunteers enrich the Campessori experience for a new generation of MMS students. Thanks to our 2023 alumni staff and volunteers: Eliza Bell, Elizabeth Zacks, Sarrah George, Cora Dunlap, Julia Carriger and Maria-Celeste Kersher-Leon.