Last Thursday, December 10, Montessori House parents organized a delightful surprise for the teachers and staff.  First, a big THANKS to all the parents and families who worked so hard, so creatively, and so successfully on this splendid event.

Ms. Maria was really taken with it all, “This was a memorable experience.  Even before entering the carefully veiled room, we knew something special was waiting on the other side.  Moments before stepping into the room, the scent of incense, the flickering of candle light, and the beating rhythm of exotic music all indicated that this was going to be extraordinary – and it was!   A plain meeting room, wholly transformed into a Moroccan-style escape, complete with savory foods and drinks, spa treatments, delectable sweets, and fabulous furnishings.  The highlight was the photo album conveying special messages from the children to the teachers.   This was a wonderful gift from the families to the teachers, and we thank all of the parents (and their helpers)  for this amazing escape.  “

The party guests couldn’t believe how the room had been transformed.  It wowed Ms. Kathy, “What a transformation of the living room!  I can’t believe how those women did that.  I thought the evening was wonderful … they really made me feel very special, appreciated and loved.”

Ms. Anne Marie added, “I was amazed at how they could transform the entire room.  There were so many brand new parents involved … what a family!  That’s what we’re all about.”

Ms Suzy was also amazed, “The moms who pampered us completely transformed the room into a beautiful scene, with delicious food, soothing lights and music, lovely flowers, and a fantastic masseuse.  Thanks for the generosity, and the sincere and kind appreciation they showed us.”

“The hand massage, the back massage and the food were all absolutely delightful”, continued Ms. Deepthi, “it must have taken many volunteer hours.  My thanks to all the kind parents for their hospitality and generosity.”

Ms. Hillarie said, “I most enjoyed the people and atmosphere … and the food was fabulous.  I plan on making the yogurt and blue cheese appetizer for Christmas. The Montessori House is a truly special place. I’m so lucky to be a part of it. Thanks so much for inviting me.”

Other menu items included: Mint Tea; Vegetable Platter; Mixed Olive Salad; Hummus & Lamb with Vegetables; Eggplant Dip served with Warm Pita; Beef Skewers; Chicken Meatballs; Almond Spiced Cookies; Fruit Platter (a specialty of The Montessori House!); as well as Yogurt & Blue Cheese Dip with Pitas.

“Everything.  I enjoyed everything,” enthused Ms. Delores, “the delicious food, beautiful relaxing atmosphere, and the great massage!  We were all touched by this totally amazing party and how much effort, time and thought the parent put into making it all very special.  Thank you.”

Having a masseuse was a novel and popular touch.  One of the guests has a regular Thursday massage appointment.  She planned to reschedule, no need, “The massage therapy was delightful and a real treat!”

But it was more than just the afterglow of massage that Ms. Marcia refers to when she says, “I left wrapped in your warmth and gracious care.  Thank you for your time, thought and tremendous effort.  What an extraordinary group of parents.  No wonder your children are amazing!”

The entire staff of The Montessori House extends its most heartfelt thanks to all the parents and students for a wonderful event, and especially to those who contributed directly to an absolutely spectacular afternoon last week, including:

Cathy C. (Ritchie’s mom)

Eunsoo K. (Joshua and Nicholas’ mom) – Event Organizer and Photo Album Book Design and Décor

Joy O. (Sebastian’s mom) – Event Organizer Assistant and Décor

Samantha S. (Isabelle’s mom) – Décor

Christine C. (Caitlyn’s mom) – Menu

Kyung-Hae Park-Kim (William’s mom) – Flowers

Jennifer O. (Sienna’s mom) – Invitation, Favor, and Music

Annie C. (Olivia’s mom) – Invitation, Favor, and Music

Geetika Patel (Priyanka’s mom) – Spa

The Cho-Choi Family

The Uram Family

The Garcia-Miller Family

The Chia Family

The Staphos Family

The Chan-Ellis Family

The Bakhru Family

The Gold Family

The Collins Family

The Chun Family

The Ramaswamy Family

[Note: you can find many pictures of the teachers, the parents, and the party in the Parents section photo gallery.]

Center for Food Action in Englewood (CFA) asked us to pass on their thanks for the generous donations made by
Montessori House families during last week’s food drive.

Last Friday our kindergarteners helped to deliver more than 10 bags of food in Englewood.  The children, parents and teachers all found it an enlightening and fulfilling effort.

Thanks again for all your donations and help!

(P.S. You can see more photos in the Parents Section)

The Nutrition Committee would like to take advantage of our diverse family here at Montessori House.

If you have any health, interesting snack ideas for the children, we would love to hear them.  In particular, we want to explore how we can offer a more ethnically diverse snack program. Or, perhaps we can use your culinary talent or great food craft skill with all our children: would you like to sign up for a food presentation in the classroom?!?

Join the Nutrition Committee for a meeting with other Montessori House parents to share fun healthy snack ideas for our kids!  We meet this Friday November 20th, 2009, at 9 a.m. in The Montessori House school office.

This week children will receive book order forms from Scholastic. 

Order forms submitted by Monday November 23 should arrive at school before the Winter Break (December 18 is our last day).  Order forms received later will arrive later (after the break).

Be sure to make your check payable to Scholastic Books and put your name at the top of each order form.

Many parents have already made appointments for Parent-Teacher conferences next week on Thursday and Friday, November 12th and 13th.   We schedule 20-minute conferences between 8:00 a.m. and 11:20 a.m.   If you would like to schedule a discussion with your child’s teacher(s) please stop by the office during the school day or call 201-816-8343.

Reminder: No classes on the conference days  — Thursday November 12, and Friday November 13.

Also, we still have spots open for Parent Visitation on Wednesday (Nov. 4), Friday (Nov. 6) and Monday (Nov. 9) if you would like to spend 30 minutes in the classroom participating in school with the children (note Stepping Stones does not participate in Parent Visitation).  We have two 30-minute slots each morning and two 30-minute slots each afternoon on the days noted; however, we do limit the number of parents visiting to three at a time in each classroom.  If you’re interested in scheduling a classroom visit please stop by the office or call 201-816-8343.

My daughter Olivia and I certainly enjoyed last Sunday’s Fall Festival.  Great weather, great food, great fun!  Of course, we owe it all to the great parents who prepared the festival, and to all the families that participated.   Thank you.

• The Gardening Committee prepared tulip planting and pumpkin scooping.  They planted over 200 tulip bulbs.  Great fun, and thanks to Samantha S, Joy O, and Eunsoo K.
• Thanks to the parents who prepared and helped with crafts.
• We had oodles of good food.  Thanks to all the chefs (and the corn grillers).
• Square dancing really gave me a workout.  Thanks to the DJ (er, I mean the caller.)
• And thanks to everyone who helped with clean up.  Tough duty on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Finally a great big THANK YOU to the Festival Committee along with everyone else.  They want me to remind you to start thinking about how you want to participate in the Spring Festival (last year it was an International Festival, and it was splendid!).

Thanks again to everyone!

Maria

P.S. To see more pictures of Fall Festival, go to Parents, log in, and then click Photo Gallery in the left navigation bar.  You’ll find several albums, including one of Fall Festival.

A few quick reminders and updates to the school calendar for November.

• With the support of the Friends of Montessori Foundation, Lenape Lifeways will conduct cultural presentations at the school on Thursday, November 5. Thus we will suspend Parent Visitation on that day.
• Parent Visitation will be held the balance of that week November 2-4 & 6. We will extend Parent Visitation through the following Monday November 9.
• School is in session on Veteran’s Day (Wednesday, November 11).
• No classes will be in session Thursday November 12 or Friday November 13. We will schedule Parent/Teacher conferences for these two days.

An important message from Ammu and Allie:

Dear Parents,

We are very excited for our Fall Festival, which was scheduled to take place this coming Saturday at The Montessori House playground.

Unfortunately, the weather forecast predicts rain and thunderstorms for Saturday.  Because so many parents have to plan ahead for food and craft preparation, we would rather not wait and see if the weather cooperates on Saturday.

As a result, we have decided to postpone the Fall Festival to its rain date on the following day, Sunday, October 25, from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm.

We hope this is not an inconvenience to you, and that Sunday is a fun (and sunny!) day for all of our families to celebrate the season!

Looking forward to seeing you all on Sunday,

Allie and Ammu

Interested in presenting an Art Appreciation topic at The Montessori House this school year? If so, drop by the school Monday, October 19 to see one in action (via the TV monitors) and learn how it’s done. Diana, chair of the Art Appreciation Committee, will present artist Wassily Kandinsky to all our Montessori classes on the following schedule Monday, October 19:

• South Classroom: 9:15 a.m.
• East Classroom: 9:30 a.m.
• South Classroom: 12:30 p.m.

By the way, the Guggenheim Museum currently has a wonderful Kandinsky exhibit through January 13, 2010.

On October 8, children across the globe are reading Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar to break a world record for the largest shared reading experience.  Our Montessori House children were part of this effort, called Read for the Record, and added at least 75 to the worldwide count!

After hearing the story in class today, every child at school received his or her very own copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  This lovely gift was arranged by Tracy — mother of Montessori House pupil Liliana — who works with Pearson, one of the supporters of Read for the Record through the Pearson Foundation.  So, send your thanks to Tracy, Pearson, and the Pearson Foundation.

We won’t know until the end of the day if we broke the world record.  If you’d like to participate by reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar to your child tonight, you may be counted at the Read for the Record website: http://www.readfortherecord.org

Maria