Violin Group Classes commence Monday, March 1, 3 p.m.

If there’s sufficient interest among our families, starting Monday, March 1, The Montessori House will offer an after-school program of Suzuki violin instruction.

Please come to a meeting Monday, February 22 at 7 p.m. to meet our instructor, Lisa, and to learn more.

The program is open to children enrolled in Pre-Primary, Enrichment, and Kindergarten programs at the school, and will run through the end of the school year.  Instruction consists of  a weekly 30-minute group lesson (each Monday school is in session; 3:00 pm to 3:30 pm) and a weekly 15-minute private lesson (Monday afternoons at the school, or at the instructor’s home at other times, to be scheduled with the instructor).  Children who attend the morning Pre-Primary session may return Monday afternoon for violin.

Parents should have received a flyer or an e-mail with information on the program, the instructor, and an enrollment form.  If you cannot make the meeting on Monday, February 22 at 7 p.m., we will send out an e-mail reporting any significant points raised at the meeting.  Or if you need a copy of the flyer, please call the office at 201-816-8343.

You might find interesting this article “Is Your Kid Truly Allergic? Tests Add to Food Confusion” in today’s Wall Street Journal.  A few interesting observations from the article:

… A national sampling from 2005-2006, which also included blood tests, found that 9% of U.S. children had a sensitivity to peanuts, 7% to egg; 12% to milk and 5% to shrimp. But experts believe that only about one-tenth of those children will actually have allergic reactions to those foods. Even the true rate of fatal reactions to food allergies is hard to gauge: Estimates range from as low as five to as high as 200 per year.

… Blood tests measure the level of antibodies, called immunogloblin E (IgE), a body makes to a particular food. But having IgE antibodies doesn’t mean that a person will actually have an allergic symptom when they encounter it.

Skin-prick tests are slightly more predictive, but there, too, a red wheal in response to a skin prick doesn’t necessarily mean that a child will have an actual allergic reaction to that food.

… Allergy experts can make some guesses about the likelihood of a reaction based on test results, and they are starting to establish cutoff thresholds. In a skin-prick test, for example, a wheal smaller than 5 millimeters in diameter indicates a slim chance of a real allergy, says Dr. Sampson; a wheal greater than 10 millimeters is generally a good chance.

… researchers in Manchester, England, reported that when 79 children who tested positive for peanut IgE antibodies were given food challenges, 66 of them could eat peanuts safely.

… “Are these blood tests being overused? Possibly. Misinterpreted? Absolutely,” says Robert Wood, director of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

… It’s estimated that 80% of children with allergies to milk, eggs, wheat, diary and soy outgrow them, usually by about age 5. But only about 20% of those with allergies to peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish do.

As discussed elsewhere on our website (under Community), based on financial need, the Friends of Montessori Foundation (FoM)  provides scholarships for tuition at The Montessori House.

You may apply on-line at www.sss.nais.org in the “Families” section.

One family did try to apply on-line recently, but could not find FoM.  The problem they identified has been resolved (and thanks for pursuing it with us).   Before you apply, please contact the school office for the proper code for the foundation, then all should proceed smoothly.

The Montessori House is accepting enrollment for our 2010 Summer Camp.

Enrollment is open to students enrolled in 2009-10 or those entering our Pre-Primary or Kindergarten programs for 2010-11.  Enrollment is limited to 25 and is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Camp runs for five (5) weeks starting June 28, 2010,  Monday- Friday 9 a.m. to  1 p.m.  (no camp Independence Day, Monday, July 5).

Please click here for information on camp fees and and enrollment application.

The Montessori House will be closed Monday January 18, a national holiday to commemorate the birthday of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King.  Please remember to make other care arrangements for your children, and enjoy the 3-day weekend! Classes resume on our normal schedule Tuesday January 19.

For those not familiar with the Dr. King, he was an was an important civil rights activist in the 1950s and 1960s.  A leader in the movement to end racial segregation and discrimination in the United States, his most famous address was the “I Have A Dream” speech (” …I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character...”).  An African-American, and a Baptist minister, he was an advocate of non-violent protest, civil rights, peace and social justice.  He became the youngest man to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He was assassinated in 1968 at the age of 39.

The Center for Food Action (CFA) in Englewood is a very effective antidote to some of the pains of poverty in our area. In order to provide sufficient food to families in need during this holiday season, the CFA is reaching out to local communities and asking for food donations.

The Montessori House will collect food for the food drive from Monday, November 16, through Friday, November 20, 2009. We encourage all Montessori House families to participate in this worthy effort by donating any one of the food items from the list below. We will deliver the food to the CFA Friday afternoon on November 20. Please consider having your child assist you in your choice of food at the supermarket so s/he can better understand the purpose of this food drive.  A seed of giving, sewn in the heart of a child, cultivates a garden of kindness for years to come.

We thank you in advance for your donation. – – The Montessori House

(Follow these links to see the list of most-needed food items for Thanksgiving and overall)

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

If you have any healthy, ethnic snack ideas for the children, we would love to hear about them.  With your help, we can provide our children with an even more interesting and varied  snack program.  

OR

Perhaps you have a special culinary talent or a great food craft for the children  They love it when parents present in class!   In the past parents have presented:

• Sushi making
• Fruit Kabobs
• Pizza Prep

Other ideas include Cannoli for Kids, Smoothies…You get the idea!!

If you have ideas and want to participate, get in touch with Elia  F.  [Use your ID and password to log on to the Parent section, go to Parent Contact and search for Elia (be sure to search in Name, not Child’s Name).  There you’ll find her e-mail and her phone number.)

Next week we invite parents of Pre-Primary and Kindergarten students into the classroom to observe and work with their children:  3 parents at a time in each classroom for visits of 30 minutes.

Parent Visitation is scheduled for next week Monday – Wednesday (Nov. 2-4), plus Friday (Nov. 6) and the following Monday (Nov. 9).  Two 30-minute sessions are scheduled in the morning (at 9:00 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.) and two in the afternoon (at 1:00 p.m and 1:30 p.m.).   No Parent Visitation is scheduled for Thursday Nov. 5: on that day we host Lenape Lifeways for a cultural presentation.

We have an appointment book at the front door for you to schedule your Parent Visitation; or you may call the office at 201-816-8343 to schedule your visit.  When you do so, you may want to also schedule your teacher conference for Thursday Nov. 12 or Friday Nov. 13 — reminder, no classes are scheduled for either day.

To ensure everyone an opportunity to visit, please schedule only one parent visit per child during Parent Visitation Week.  We will have a second Parent Visitation in Spring.

Halloween.  In our haste to introduce children to all the exciting holiday celebrations, we sometimes overlook the occasional side effects. Halloween, with its emphasis on horror, monsters, or super-hero fantasies, falls into this category. Very young children can be unduly scared by the goings-on of this holiday. So here at The Montessori House we make an effort to keep the atmosphere at school as undisturbed as possible, and we appreciate your cooperation in helping us do so by not sending in treats and not dressing your child in a costume for school.

Tulip Planting, Fall Festival, Hay Days.  Instead, to celebrate the season, on  Friday, October 23 the children scooped pumpkins with the Parent Garden Committee; at last Sunday’s school Fall Festival they planted tulip bulbs in the playground garden boxes; and this  Friday, October 30^th the children will participate in a “Hay Days Adventure” on the playground.

We have made revisions to the After Care program at The Montessori House based on our first 4 weeks of operation.  We’ve recognized that parents need a better-tailored option for emergency care, especially when running late for pick-up.  These changes accomplish that goal while still freeing our teachers immediately after the scheduled pick-up time to attend to their recordkeeping and learning environment tasks.

*        First, we will no longer levy a $10 penalty fee for the 1^st hour of unscheduled/emergency After Care or for After Care use without pre-payment; and we will credit this penalty amount to all families who incurred it during the initial month of the program.

*        Second, for future unscheduled/emergency care, we will charge $5 for children picked up by 3:20 p.m.  For children picked up after 3:20 p.m., we will charge $15 for care until from 3:00 pm. to 4:00 p.m., and the normal After Care rates after 4 p.m.

You may pick up a revised After Care description at school.