As our September, 2014 registration progresses, we want to provide some insight on our admissions process and calendar for families considering The Montessori House for school year 2014-15.  (See these links for the latest on Waiting Lists.)

To be considered for 2014-15, families submit a paid application (download here).  While we only offer families placement after a school visit and tour, families are welcome to apply either before they visit, at the visit, or after visiting.

Every year we have the greatest interest in our morning, half-day programs (Stepping Stones and Pre-Primary Montessori), and our full-day programs (Pre-Primary Montessori plus Enrichment and Kindergarten) — our comments on timing are directed at families interested in these programs.

The following sessions currently have a waitlist:

• Pre-Primary Montessori plus Enrichment (full-day) (longer list)
• Pre-Primary Montessori (half-day, morning) (medium list)
• Montessori Kindergarten (full-day and half-day, afternoon) (medium list)
  
• Montessori Stepping Stones (half-day, early session) (shorter list)
• Montessori Stepping Stones (half-day, later session) (shortest list)

We currently have openings in the following sessions and can offer immediate placement:

• Pre-Primary Montessori (half-day, afternoon)

After having done research on our website (About Us, How We Run Our School, Programs, Admissions, etc.), we recommend a visit to the school for a personal tour when our classes are in session.  (Call us at 201-816-8343 to set up your personal tour of the school on most any day school is in session.)

Timing for Your Visit: Most families prefer to tour the school before submitting a paid application.  You may schedule a private one-on-one tour most days classes are in session (see our Calendar), call 201-816-8343 for an appointment.

Timing for Your Application: For families who are confident (after researching and visiting the school, or based on the advice of friends already at the school) that they want a placement offer for 2014-15  from The Montessori House , we recommend submitting an application immediately.  Some families delay: to finalize plans to move to the area, to look at other schools, or they assume they have more time.  The cost of an application is small, and delay in submitting an application may reduce a family’s options once we start placement in January, 2014.

We finalized 2014-15 tuition rates in December and first offered 2014-15 placement to families with children currently at The Montessori House in January.

By mid-January we began to  offer placement to new applicants, more or less in the order paid applications were received at the school.   All new applicants now know if we have space in their preferred session, or if they are on a wait list for 2014-15.

We now have rolling admissions and continue to offer placement in a session until that session is filled, at which point we’ll start a session wait list.  A family may choose to enroll in an alternate session, but still join the wait list for their preferred session.

We urge families interested in 2014-15 to plan now, and establish a plan for research, a time for school visit, and a date to  submit an application .

Families interested in a scholarship through Friends of Montessori Foundation, should submit an application before January, 2014 and be sure to complete their financial aid application before the end of January, 2014.

For more information please contact us at admissions@themontessorihouse.com or call 201-816-8343.

UPDATED: September 18, 2013

For the current school year (started September, 2013), all our  full-day programs are filled.  In our half-day programs we have the following openings and welcome new students throughout the school year :

• For ages 3-4 (children born between Oct 1, 2008 and Sept 30, 2010) we have availability in the afternoon session of our half-day, Pre-Primary Montessori program (M-F, 12:15 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. with After Care available to 6:00 p.m.).

• For ages 2-1/2 to 3 (children born between Oct. 1, 2010 and Sept 1, 2012) we have availability in the later session of our half-day Stepping Stones program (11:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.).  Note, children may first enter the program at age 2 years, 6 months, and we’re happy to have children enter as late as April 1, 2014 (provided they enroll for a Pre-Primary program in September, 2014).
  

We thought interested families might like an update on our 2013-14 Enrollment, especially which programs have waiting lists and which are available for immediate enrollment.   Families may also find useful our Timing and Tips for 2014-15 Enrollment, and our thoughts on Waiting Lists.

To join a waiting list or enroll in an available session, families submit a paid application (download here).  While we only offer placement to families after a school visit and tour, families are welcome to apply either before they visit, at their visit,  or after they first visit the school.  (If, once you apply, we do not offer you enrollment for 2013-14, we carry your application over to 2014-15.)

• Our 2013-14 morning sessions are full:  we have started waiting lists for both morning Stepping Stones (age 2-1/2 to 3)  and morning, half-day Pre-Primary Montessori (age 3-4).
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• Our 2013-14  full-day programs (8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m) are full, —  Montessori Kindergarten (age 5-6) and Pre-Primary Montessori plus Enrichment (age 3-4) — have VERY FEW OPENINGS available, and it’s likely these programs will fill soon, at which point we will start waiting lists. (As of June 15, our full-day program for 3-4 year olds is full  — Pre-Primary Montessori plus Enrichment.  We still have available half-day, afternoon openings for 3-4 year olds. We still have full-day Kindergarten (age 5-6) available.)
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• Our 2013-14 afternoon sessions still have openings, including Montessori Kindergarten (age 5-6, 11:15 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.) and Pre-Primary Montessori (age 3-4, 12:15 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.).nd Stepping Stones (age 2-1/2 to 3, 11:45 – 2:15).  Note, you may enroll in an afternoon session and simultaneously join the waiting list for a morning or full-day session.

For more information please contact us at admissions@themontessorihouse.com or call 201-816-8343.

Children at The Montessori House spent time this week learning a little bit about Ireland

• They heard stories from Irish history and the story of St. Patrick.
• Our Director, Ms. Maria, dressed as a leprechaun and led the children to her pot of gold!
• The Nutrition Committee helped the children make their own (green) St. Patrick Day smoothies  with spinach!.  (Recipe below, please try this at home!)

Erin Go Bragh means, roughly, “Ireland Forever”.    Enjoy the holiday!

Green Smoothies

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup milk
• ¼ banana
• 1 teaspoon (rounded) sugar
• 1 leaf of spinach

Mix together  and blend in a blender, or in a cup with a handheld blender.
Use a clear glass so you can enjoy the beautiful green color!

The Nutrition Committee (NC) is very busy this year.  Not only with daily snack, but engaging the children in “cooking” their own food!

Most recently, at the end February, the NC held a workshop to make yogurt parfaits. Fun to assemble, pretty to look at, nutritious and delicious to eat, yogurt parfaits were a big hit.  Some of the children requested not only seconds, but thirds and fourths!

Here were the ingredients used:

• Organic yogurt (French Vanilla flavor)
• Granola clusters (cinnamon oat with flax seeds / vanilla blueberry with flax seeds)
• Fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries and raspberries)

Yogurt parfaits are an “anytime food”:  it can be eaten for breakfast, snack, dessert or anytime in between.  And the ingredients can be varied or adapted according to preference.   Yum!

In our recent e-mail to parents about our Valentine’s Day Card Exchange, we provided the following guidance:

If your child would like to participate in the card exchange, here’s what he/she should do:

• Bring one card for each child in his/her class(es).  Here’s how many you should send:
  • If your child is in Stepping Stones, please send in 10 cards.
  • If your child is in any other half-day program, please send 30 cards.
  • If your child is in any full-day program, please send 60 cards.
     
• Write — or have your child write — your child’s name where it says “From”, so the children know who gave them a card. 

Please do not address the cards and/or envelopes to any individual children; leave the “To” portion of the card blank.  In other words, the only name on the cards/envelopes should be your child’s name.

We’ve had a few inquiries about the gender mix of children’s classes, here’s what you should do:

• If your child is Kindergarten/First (full-day): 24 girls, 36 boys
• If your child is Pre-Primary Montessori plus Enrichment (full-day): 33 girls, 27 boys
• If your child is Kindergarten (half-day): 9 girls, 21 boys
• If your child is Pre-Primary Montessori morning only: 15 girls, 15 boys
• If your child is Pre-Primary Montessori afternoon only: 9 girls, 21 boys
• If your child is Stepping Stones: 3 girls, 7 boys

Although not part of the card exchange, if you also plan to bring cards for teachers (regular teachers and student teachers):

• Stepping Stones: 3 teacher cards
• All half-day students: 6 teacher cards
• All full-day students: 9 teacher cards

This does not include “specials” (art and Spanish). 

On Monday, October 8, 2012 (Columbus Day), all Montessori classes are in session on the usual schedule.

Many school in NJ are in session.  Here’s a quick sampling:

• Tenafly Public
• Cresskill Public (minimum day)
• Paramus Public (minimum day)
• Elizabeth Morrow
• Bergen Academies
• Oakland Public

In fact, The Montessori House will be open Monday-Friday on the regular schedule all of October; the next holiday with a school closing is Thanksgiving — school is closed November 21, 22, 23 (Wed. Thur. Friday).

If you haven’t settled on a school for your child 2 to 4 years old, we still have a handful of openings for 2012-13:

1. For children age 3 or 4 before October 1, 2012, we have openings in the afternoon session of our half-day Pre-Primary Montessori program (M-F, 12:15 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. with after school classes and After Care available until 6:00 p.m. ).   Tuition for the full year is $8,200.
2. For children who turn age 3 after October 1, 2012 and before April 1, 2013, we have openings in our half-day Montessori Stepping Stones program (early session meets 8:45 to 11:15 a.m., late session meets 11:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.).  We only accept children once they turn 2-1/2.  If your child starts during the school year (say, in January), then you will pay a reduced, pro-rated tuition, based on the number of days the program meets during the school year — full-year tuition is $9,300, pro-rated tuition from January 1 is $6,500.

Children who enroll at The Montessori House for 2012-13 will receive placement in the program of their choice for 2013-14.

If you would like to enroll your child for 2012-13 or have questions, please contact us at 201-816-8343 or at admissions@themontessorihouse.com.

The Montessori House has started the process of enrolling students for the 2012-13 school year.  

Since we fill up our full-day and morning sessions first., we urge families to submit their application for 2012-13 soon, especially if interested in a program that offers a full-day or morning session.  These include our full-day Kindergarten (age 5-6) and full-day Pre-Primary plus Enrichment  (age 3-4) sessions, and our morning Pre-Primary (age 3-4) and morning Stepping Stones (age 2.5-3) sessions.

We’ve already offered 2012-13 placement to families with children currently at The Montessori House, and these families have until January 10, 2012 to provide us a reservation tuition deposit for their preferred 2012-13 program. 

Shortly after January 10, 2012 we’ll start to offer placement to new applicants, more or less in the order paid applications were received at the school.   As with our current families, we ask new applicants to confirm their preferred session and provide us a reservation tution deposit to hold a 2012-13 place for their child. 

At some point in the admissions process, our Director likes to become personally acquainted with new applicants.  Sometimes these meetings take place before an enrollment offer is made, and sometimes after.  We start to schedule these meetings in Janaury. 

We continue to offer placement in a session until that session is filled, at which point we’ll start a session wait list.  A family may choose to enroll in an alternate session, but still join the wait list for their preferred session.  

Again, we urge families interested in 2012-13 to submit an application soon, as we expect some sessions will fill up very quickly. 

For more information please contact us at admissions@themontessorihouse.com or call 201-816-8343.

Diana M. (chair of the Art Appreciation Committee) will be preparing a presentation on George Seurat for March.  She’s planning to do a movable mosaic as part of the unit.  However, she needs your help!

Please bring in your bottle caps (the plastic screw caps from drink bottles are great) and deposit them in the box Diana has left by the front door. 

You can see examples here.  Thanks in advance to you and to Diana for putting it all together!