News&NotesJANUARY–FEBRUARY 2011

Inspired by Mrs. Sejal’s recent visit to India, Katie Rolls, 3, locates thecountry on the classroom’s globe.

Warm up to winter wonders

Happy New Year! In this time of reflection,we at Livonia Montessori Center arethank ful for the past, enjoying the present, andanticipating a great future.

We are looking forward to a visit on Jan - uary 28 from the Leslie Science and NatureCen ter of Ann Arbor with the “Brr, It’sWinter” program. The center’s staff will bring along a couple of animals, and together we will discover how animals sur-vive the cold, cold winter.

In November, our staff attended a work-shop on nature education presented by Julia Liljegren, a parent from our DearbornHeights affiliate and the regional educationadvocacy manager at the National WildlifeFederation’s Great Lakes Regional Centerbased in Ann Arbor. Mrs. Liljegren stressedthe importance of children connecting withnature in and out of school. “People savewhat they love,” she said, explaining that if

LIVONIA MONTESSORI CENTER

Join us for our Open HouseOur house is your house, and we invite

you to bring guests to our next Open

House for the com mu nity. Please join us

on Sun day, March 6 from 1 to 3 p.m.

Invite your friends, family, and neighbors

to tour LMC and meet the staff!

Accredited by the National Association

for the Education of Young Children

continued on page 3

More than 300 Montessori administra-tors, teachers, and parents from acrossthe state flocked to our Dearborn Heightslocation on November 6 for the MichiganMontessori Society’s fall conference.

“Best Practices III: A Selection of ShortCourses” offered 20 seminars on topics span-ning all levels of Montessori, from toddlerthrough secondary education.

Ten of the 17 conference presenters werestaff members at our network of schools:LMC, Dear born Heights Montessori Center(DHMC), and Plymouth-Can ton Mon tes -sori School (PCMS):n Peggy Simms (DHMC): “Build ing a Tod -dler Program”n Sandy Ewasek (LMC): “Get ting the Mostout of Your Mon tessori Language Materials”and “Enliven Your Practical Life Works andCalm Your Classroom”n Sudha Kosgi (PCMS): “A Yearlong ScienceCurriculum”n Manel Wickremasinghe and Heidi Gauger(DHMC): “Math ematics for the WholeChild”

n Manel Wickremasinghe and Beth New -berg (DHMC): “Hand writing: From Prac -tical Life to Penmanship” (Pat Schmidt ofDHMC also spoke briefly, sharing the lowerelementary perspective on handwriting)n Margherita Rodriguez and Regina Dunn(DHMC): “Estab lishing a Successful Writ -ing Program” and “Applying the ScientificMeth od: Incorporating Experiments”n Ann DeVore (DHMC): “Mid dle SchoolRoundtable: Issues and Ideas”n Sue Fitzpatrick (DHMC): “Playing forPeace”

Nearly 20 staff members from all three of our schools attended the conference,including our own Patsy Girnys andVijayanthi Perera.

The Michigan Montessori Society is anindependent, nonprofit organization whosegoal is to promote, develop, and disseminatethe educational philosophy and principles ofMaria Mon tessori, fostering their integrationwith the American educational and culturalenvironment.

Staff shares best practices at statewide conference

2 NEWS & NOTES

FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Screening the screen Winter has arrived, and I’mgetting back on my soap-box again. The weather is colder, and children are inside more. Ihope you’ll encourage activerather than passive activities, andI hope you’ll limit the time yourchildren spend in front ofscreens—television, videos andvideo games, and computers.

In the hope of persuadingyou, I’m passing on the words of Jane Healy, a highly respectedresearcher and writer on the topicof brain development. The shortpiece that follows summarizes herthoughts on computer use byyoung children. As you know, wedon’t have computers in our pre-school classes—this helps toexplain why.

Children and computersWhere did we get this preposter-ous notion that young childrenneed computers lest they some-how fall behind? Educators havenever before been wooed by sucha concerted commercial effort toget computers into the classroom,and developmental issues arebeing virtually ignored.

I see too many ill-informedsoftware choices; inadequateteacher preparation; childrenengaging in idle clicking; game-playing and silly surfing; lack ofrele vance to curriculum; expensiveequipment obsolete or ill-used—to name just a few problems.

In every other sphere of edu-cation, we recognize that what is right for a 15-year-old is notnecessarily right—and may beoutright damaging—for a 5-year-old. Some ages are far moreappropriate than others for theintroduction of computers. Chil -dren under the age of 7 are betteroff without today’s electroniccompanions.

Little is known about the cog-

nitive, emotional, and social con-sequences of early computer use.The sparse objective evidenceindicates that computers have

contributed nothing of note tothe learning process—often less,in fact, than what is accom-plished by a good teacher with a reasonable class size and ade-quate materials.

Moreover, growing awarenessof brain development empha-sizes the importance of a physi-cally active, linguistically rich,crea tive, and three-dimensionallearn ing environment. Preschooland primary learning may be distorted by too much electronicstimu lation. Too much com -puter use in early years is nowsuspected of exacerbating bothsocial and emotional difficultiesin many children.

Rather than seeing them-selves as powerful, independentlearners, young children tend todis believe their own power as compared with a computer.

Excessive electronic stimula-tion threatens the child’s ability to direct his or her attention andfocus on what is to be learned.Even some of the best educa -tional software requires no men-tal effort from the student.

I would propose that we delayour technological assault on thevery young and direct the com-puters, software, and Internetaccess to support a well-articulatedcurriculum in later grades.

But won’t the little ones fallbehind? Nonsense! It has beenrepeatedly shown that 10-year-olds—or even adults—can mas-

ter complex computer skills evenwithout previous experience.

Spend the early years devel -oping the powerful habits ofintellect, reflection, creativity,interpersonal skills, and internalmotivation that so far come onlyfrom real-world experiences andgood (human) teaching in ameaningful social context.

—Jane Healy, Ph.D.

Parents, take control And now, a few more of thosefacts about TV, video games, andviolence:n Many children spend moretime in front of a screen than inthe classroom.n Children now average 35hours per week watching TV andplaying video games.n By age 18, children will havespent at least 7 years watchingtelevision.n Heavy TV viewers are lessimaginative, more impulsive,more aggressive, and have poorerconcentration.n The average child will see8,000 murders and 100,000other acts of violence by the endof elementary school. Children’sTV shows average 14 violent actsper hour.

Too much TV may harm children

psychologically Pre-teens who spent more

than two hours a day in frontof the TV or computer were atgreater risk of having psycho-logical problems than young-

sters averaging less screen time,even if the kids also tended to be physically active, new

research finds. The study, pub-lished in the November issue

of Pediatrics, found that the risk of psychological difficul-ties—including hyperactivity,inatten tion, social problems,

and conduct issues—increasedby about 60 percent when kids

between 10 and 11 years oldspent more than two hours

daily watching TV or playingon the computer.

—HealthDay News

“The best multimedia, interactive environment is still

the real world. Rather than expose kids to artificial minds

that possess no human values or common sense, offer them

the squishiness of mud pies, the scent of peppermint, and

the feel of balancing a block on top of a tower.”

—Jane Healy, Ph.D., Failure to Connect: How Computers

Affect Our Children’s Minds—and What We Can Do About It

NEWS & NOTES 3

children are discon nected from nature, they can-not be stewards for it. Mrs. Liljegren suggestedkeeping a log to clock how much time is spent outdoors. It might be interesting to also clock how much is structured outdoor time (skating,sledding, biking, and swim-ming) and how much is unstruc-tured (watching a bird build anest; making creations frommud, leaves, and sticks; or listen-ing for noises). Children canlearn so much from just being in a field, in the woods, or on a lakeshore.

Caring for others is an impor-tant aspect of the Mon tessori curriculum, and every year thefamilies and staff of LMC cometogether to make a differencethrough charitable contributions.In October we started collectingused books for the Red WagonProgram, which provides booksto children who may not other -wise have the opportunity to buy books or get to a library. We will keep a collection box for this pro-gram in the lobby throughout the year.

In December, the Extended Day children wentto the Michigan Humane Society in Westland tolearn about the needs of the animals at the shelter.Throughout the remainder of the year, the childrenwill con tinue inquiring about items that will behelpful, share that information with LMC families,and accept donations of supplies. We will then make

sure they are delivered to the shelter. The first itemsrequested are kitty forts. Families are creating cozylittle niches for kitties and bringing them to school.

Mark your calendars. As this newsletter wasbeing prepared, we looked forward to Moms’ Night

on January 13. The children loveto share their classroom activitieswith Mom, and they especiallylike serving snack. Dads’ Night is soon to follow, on Thursday,February 17. If Mom or Dad isnot available, a substitute is mostwelcome to attend.

There will be no classes or daycare on Monday, February 21 orTuesday, February 22 (MidwinterBreak). Wednesday, February 23is a staff professional developmentday; there will be no classes, butday care will be available.

We look forward to welcom-ing you and your families,friends, and neighbors to ouropen house on Sunday, March 6.

Please plan to attend…and bring a guest or two.Accentuate the positive and enjoy our winter

wonderland. Take a walk in the woods—when theleaves are down, you are more likely to see animalssuch as deer and wild turkey. Look for tracks in thesnow, have a winter picnic, or take a nighttime walkand just listen.

We look forward to all the wonderful things we can share in 2011.

—Patty Porta

Warm up to winter wonders continued from page 1

n Viewing violence in the mediateaches aggressive attitudes andbehaviors, desensitizes viewers toviolence, and produces fear ofviolence.n 42 percent of children aged 9–12 play video games at least one hour a day; 22 percent reportplaying more than two hours.n Behavioral science research

demonstrates that playing violentvideo games can increase the like-lihood of aggressive behavior inchildren and youth.

Violence in the media hasbecome a public health issue that affects us all. As parents,you are responsible for control-ling your children’s exposure to

inappropriate content. And youcan make sure that extendedtime spent in front of any screen is replaced by social andphysical activities.

Artwork by Zoe Shemet, 4

4 NEWS & NOTES

MRS. VIJAYANTHI

Sound lessons to build onThe first few weeks of school inthe New Year have been quitebusy and productive for our class.The children were eager to seetheir school friends after the breakand also very excited to find newactivities on the shelves.

In the language area theyounger children play the I Spygame to develop skills at isolatingsounds. The sandpaper sounds arealso presented. There are a varietyof activities to reinforce thesounds. Once the children knowthe sounds, there are activities toencourage word building.

When the children are com-fortable with word building, theymove to decoding (reading) activ-ities. Younger children dictatestories to us, and the older chil-dren are encouraged to write theirown stories. Parents often noticethe spellings are not standard yet,because the children are using thesounds they know to write out

their thoughts. As the childrenread standard spellings, and espe-cially as parents read to them,their writing becomes more andmore standard.

They are so proud of theirwork. There are many ways toenhance your child’s writing andreading at home. Certainly thefirst way is to read good children’sliterature to them daily. It is alsoimportant for children to see theadults in their family reading.Encourage your child to write.For example, when he or she tellsyou that you are out of milk,respond by asking him or her towrite you a note so that you don’tforget! Remember to accept what-ever form they present to you,keeping in mind that first wewant them to get their thoughtson paper. Later, we will work onhandwriting, and even much laterwe will begin to learn to spell.

We recently talked about

Martin Luther King Jr. and hisquest for peace. We discussed howhe helped our nation understandthe need for respect for all people,and the children came up withideas on how we can respect ourfriends and families.

Food preparation is in highgear. The children all had a chanceto participate in making stonesoup for class snack. Each childbrought in his or her favorite veg-etable in raw form, and scrubbed,peeled, sliced, diced, and seededthe vegetables to be included inthe soup.

In the science area the childrenwere introduced to prediction andexperimentation with a familiarwork—sink and float. We are dis-cussing the polar region animalsand will be creating a biome ofthe polar region.

—Vijayanthi Perera,

Erin Taylor, and Badia Jaafar

Happy Birthday!January

Melissa BarbatKhalil Jones

Mikhaila Nienus

February Brianna Flatley

Andrew FriedrichCharlie Schleicher

Artwork by Kael Ligon, 5

NEWS & NOTES 5

MRS. EWASEK

Ablaze with lightbulb momentsWelcome back to what manyteachers consider the verybest time of the year. The childrenhave just had a nice long breakwith their families and are restedand ready to return to school. Theweather (although fun with theright clothing) isn’t beckoning thechildren’s minds away from theirstudies. Every one has a nice baseof skills to draw upon, and thiswhole set of circumstances con-tributes to some pretty amazingacademic achievement.

This is the time of year whenthe room is ablaze with lightbulbmoments. Concepts that were justout of reach become clear. Chil -dren are coming up to us withwide eyes and asking sincerely,“Did you know…?”—and what-ever personal discovery they sharewith us, it is a joyful moment.This is what sets a Montessoriclassroom apart: The children areallowed to make these wonderfuldiscoveries themselves, instead ofhaving a teacher attempting toimpress her knowledge uponthem. It is why our students learnso much—because we allow themto THINK.

After looking at the differencebetween a vertebrate and an inver-tebrate, we will be studyingamphibians and mammals. Wewill consider what defines thesegroups, as well as look at manyexamples. We will also begin touse different items to measurethings. Length, weight, and tem-perature can all be measured andcompared, and your student willget many opportunities to do this.

We plan to do some timetraveling back to the days of the

ancient Greeks, to examine whatlife and art were like. We will alsoexamine the amazing contribu-tions and influences of Chinaand India around this same timeperiod. Of course the studentscontinue to be allowed to createtheir own art out of anythingfrom the scrap box, using thetools they have had lessons on:paint, scissors, crayons, markers,glue, and tape.

The food works are finallycoming out! The children havealready spread homemade jam oncrackers and have ground corian-der with a mortar and pestle.They will get the opportunitysoon to slice pickles and peel andslice eggs. Once the item is pre-pared, the child may either eat itor offer it to a friend. This helpsthe children share and practiceimportant social skills, such aswaiting to see if something isoffered and using lovely wordslike “thank you.”

In closing, we would like tothank parents for providing thechildren with appropriate cloth-ing for the weather. We are com-

mitted to getting the studentsoutside as much as possiblebecause it is so vitally importantto their health and development.We recently attended a seminarand found out that children whospend at least one hour a day play-ing outside do significantly betterin their academic achievementthan children who do not playoutside regularly. So get those kidsout into nature and enjoy one ofthe greatest gifts available!

—Sandy Ewasek,

Sejal Doshi, and Ann Carter

Happy Birthday!January

Dylan LaForestAdrian Seidel

FebruaryNandita Ganesan

Addison PiergentiliGabriella Piergentili

Katie RollsAdahlia Xu

Artwork by Adrian Seidel, 6

The children are

allowed to make

wonderful discov -

eries themselves,

instead of having

a teacher attempt-

ing to impress

her knowledge

upon them.

6 NEWS & NOTES

The Extended Day childrenwelcomed the New Year bygetting back into their well-established classroom routine.We try to remember our class-room ground rules so that wetreat our friends and classroomrespectfully. We practice makinggood work choices, rememberingthat there is a time to work and atime for play. We also continueto develop the skills needed to bea good friend.

The children are learning tocount the number of pennies in a nickel and a dime, and theylearned that 100 pennies make a dollar. Another interestingmoney exercise will be learninghow to make change.

We have begun a group studyof the human body and nutri-tion. We encourage families toparticipate with us by providingbooks, puzzles, programs, andgames on the subject for yourchildren at home.

One of the greatest advan-tages of Extended Day is theextra opportunities these stu-dents have to prepare food,which is always a favorite activity.We are going to make home-made pizza and macaroni andcheese in the coming weeks. It isfun to see the students worktogether. If something needs tobe stirred, for example, they passit around and take turns so thateveryone participates.

Our Extended Day studentsshould be proud of their effortsto lead the school in helping the Michigan Humane Society.They took a field trip in Decem -ber to the Westland location and learned firsthand how we

can help homeless animals. Backat school, the children visitedeach classroom and talked totheir fellow students about howto construct a kitty fort. Thesedecorated boxes give the shelter’sfelines a place to hide, and theforts go home with adoptees sothe kitties have something famil-iar as they transition to their newhome. We plan to deliver theforts during the month of Jan -uary. As the year progresses thechildren will ask for other itemsthat will help the shelter.

EXTENDED DAY

Making good choices

MUSIC

Winter harmoniesWelcome back! In Januarywe begin our unit on theinstruments of the orchestra. Wewill learn the four sections:woodwind, brass, string, and per-cussion. On the last day of this

unit, I will bring in a collectionof instruments with examplesfrom each of the four sections.

In February we will beginlearning about rhythm patternsand music symbols: quarter note,quarter rest, and eighth note.

Songs for January will beabout snow and winter fun.February songs will highlightValentine’s Day and Black His -tory Month.

—Patsy Girnys

Aaron Spunar (left) and Devyn McGow (below) meet some MichiganHumane Society represen -tatives during their recentfield trip to the organiza-tion’s Westland shelter.

NEWS & NOTES 7

FRENCH

New year, new words in French Bonne Année (Happy NewYear)! I hope you had a lovelyholiday season with your family.

During our French lessons inDecember, we studied colors andtalked about all the beautifullights on display around town.We decorated a tree with our col-ors as we learned the words:n Bleu blue n Rouge redn Jaune yellow n Vert greenn Rose pink

n Orange orange n Marron brown n Blanc whiten Gris gray n Noir black

In January and February, thecold weather provides us with an opportunity to learn aboutthe clothes that help keep ourbodies warm:n Le pantalon pantsn La chemise shirtn Le chapeau hatn La jupe skirtn La blouse blouse

n La jaquette jacketn Les bottines bootsn Les gants glovesn L’écharpe scarf

As we dressed a flannel per-son, we named each article ofclothing, and we were able to usethe colors that we previouslylearned. How fun!

We continue to practice num-bers, and we are now countingup to 50.

—Mary Zirles

(aka Madame Mary)

Artwork by Charlie Schleicher, 4

8 NEWS & NOTES

DAY CARE

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!The weather outside may befrightful, but day care isdelighted. We look forward tosnowy days. The children love toshovel snow, roll in it, buildsnowmen, and pull each otheron our sleds. Last year we founda hill to try our downhill sled-ding skills.

When we can’t go outside, we bring the snow in. Our water table holds three bucketsof fresh snow, and we replace it as it melts. We also freeze smallplastic people or animals in ice cubes, build slopes, and have downhill races at the watertable. It is so much fun!

Our large-muscle room is alsoavailable on cold winter days. Wehave our wonderful climber witha slide and a small rock wall, atunnel, a balance beam, steppingstones, and room for riding rollerracers. Other large-muscle activi-ties include moving to music,and exercises from various CDssuch as Preschool Aerobic Fun byGeorgiana Stewart.

The day care grocery store inour bottom loft was anotherhuge success. The childrenenjoyed pretending to shop—and socialize. Labeled basketswere provided for cleanup times,to assist the children in sorting

food groups. The staff made listsof groceries for the children tobuy at the store and gave thempretend money to purchaseitems. We also learned abouthealthy foods to choose. Ournext few themes for the loftinclude a doctor’s office, petshop, and veterinary clinic.

We sincerely hope you had ahealthy, restful, and happy holi-day season.

—Alice Boguslaw,

Jason Bengel, Ann Carter,

Patty Favazza, Badia Jaafar,

Megan Shomo, and

Marie Sulewski

Artwork by Carley Piergentili, 3

NEWS & NOTES 9

Robotics Club earnsteamwork awardCongratulations to DHMC’supper elementary LEGO Robot -ics Club, the Cybo trons, whotook third place in their firstcompetition, were acknowledgedfor sportsmanship, and advancedto the state championships!

The Cybotrons were one of 15 teams to compete in the 2010 Downriver Robot RescueFLL (FIRST LEGO League)Regional Tour na ment, held atAllen Park Middle School inNovember. Entrants were judgedon teamwork, project presenta-tion, problem-solution research,and robot performance.

“They came in third in robotperformance, but it was theirteamwork that pushed them to the state championships,” sayscoach Scott Stockinger (Coleand Amber’s dad).

Preparing for the tournamentgave students the chance toexplore the field of biomedicalengineering. With the themeBody Forward, the competitionchallenged teams to discoverinnovative ways to repairinjuries, overcome illnesses anddisabilities, and build healthier,stronger bodies.

Winning the overall Team -work Award enabled the Cybo -trons to advance to the statechampionships. In addition,Cameron Kabacinski and ColeStock inger each received a Judges’Award for Gra cious Pro fes sion -alism, given to those who “learnand compete like crazy, but treatone another with respect andkindness in the process,” accord-ing to the FLL. The boys were

the first to wish a competitorgood luck and then offer theircongratulations.

“This award shows how amaz-

ing these kids are and how Mon -tessori propagates all the thingsparents and society want to seefrom kids,” says Mr. Stockinger.

The Cybotrons were among48 metro Detroit teams to com-pete in the state championships in

White Lake in early Decem ber.Although they did not win anyawards, team members learned agreat deal from the experience.“Being a rookie team, it meanseven more that we made it to the state level,” says Mr.Stockinger. “I could not be moreproud of them for what theyaccomplished in such a short period of time.”

Middle Schoolers aimto fill Empty BowlsFor the third year in a row,DHMC Middle School studentshave organized the Empty Bowlspeace project. Seventh- andeighth-graders make, fire, glaze,and refire bowls in the school’svery own kiln, using clay andglaze donated by Rovin Ceramicsin Taylor. Students sell the bowlsat school events, and all proceedsbenefit Hungry Kids, a nonprofitorganization that helps childrenaround the world who do nothave enough to eat. The project ispart of the economics cur riculumand helps Middle Schoolers expe-rience peacemaking, outreach,and community service.

MONTESSORI MOMENTSNoteworthy news from the elementary and Middle School programs at our Dearborn Heights Montessori Center sister school

Explore the next level of Montessoriat DHMC’s Open House

Learn more about Dearborn Heights Montessori Center—cometour the school and meet our staff during our Open House onTuesday, February 15 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

DHMC is in its fourth decade of providing the highest-qualityeducation available and represents the only single-choice Mon -tessori environment for toddler through middle school in thisarea. Our staff welcomes the opportunity to share with pro spec -tive families all the benefits that a DHMC education has to offer.

If you can’t make the open house, please call AdmissionsDirector Laura Springer (313-359-3000) to schedule a tour at your con venience. DHMC is located at 466 N. John Daly in Dear -born Heights, one half mile east of Inkster Road and one blocknorth of Cherry Hill. We look forward to seeing you soon!

“This award

shows how amaz-

ing these kids are

and how Mon tes -

sori propagates

all the things par-

ents and society

want to see

from kids.”

10 NEWS & NOTES

ALUMNI CORNER

DHMC alumnus flies high with NASAThe following is based on an arti-cle by Sasha Congiu that appearedin the NASA Langley ResearchCen ter’s Researcher News last July.

If you could choose to do any-thing in space, what would you do? Finger push-ups? Spininfin itely? Act like Superman?Duncan Miller (DHMC classof 2005) did those things andmore last summer through aprogram at NASA.

Duncan, a sophomore at theUniversity of Michigan majoringin aerospace engineering, wasone of six U of M students selected to be part of NASA’sReduced Gravity Stu dent FlightOppor tu nities Pro gram. The pro-gram enables undergraduates topropose, design, fabricate, fly,and evaluate a reduced-gravityexperiment of their choice overthe course of six months.

“Colleges from across the U.S. submit a proposal to NASAdetailing what their experiment is trying to accomplish—gen -eral objectives, success criteria,technology they’re trying toadvance,” says Duncan, whograduated as valedictorian fromDivine Child High School inDearborn in 2009.

Once NASA accepted the U of M project, students workingon the team had to apply toaccompany the project on theZero-Gravity (Zero-G) flight. Asthe team’s structures lead, Duncanwas one of the six selected.

In the meantime, Duncanlanded a summer internship atNASA’s Langley Space Center inVirginia. He was part of a multi-disciplinary student research teamestablishing a lab to test flyingrobots. Duncan interrupted thiswork to spend two weeks in Juneat Johnson Space Center in Hous -ton for the Zero-G flight.

Zero-G participants flew on aspecially modified Boeing 727.

Parabolic arcs were performed tocreate a weightless environmentthat made passengers feel as ifthey were in space.

NASA prepared the fliers wellfor the experience. Preflight train-ing included safety proceduresand hyperbaric chamber testingin case the cabin lost pressure.

Team members also had to

make final adjustments to theirproject to make sure it was readyfor testing in flight. The U of Mproject involved retesting pro-posed diagnostics to measure theperformance of the NanoparticleField Extrac tion Thruster (Nano - FET). The thruster is basicallyelectric propulsion.

“[With] electric propulsion, intheory, you carry way less fuel,”Duncan says. “Then you have

more space for scientific instru-ments and people, and it’s sup-posed to be faster. You don’t neednearly as much fuel to travel.”

Duncan’s team flew in groupsof three on two consecutive days.The first group encountered anumber of problems with theproject, which they fixed over -night. When it was Duncan’s turn

to fly on the second day, all sys-tems were go and the team col-lected data as planned.

Duncan says he was thrilled to participate in the program andespecially in the flight, which was featured on NBC’s The TodayShow, Biggest Loser, and TheAppren tice. “It was one of the bestdays of my life,” he says. “U.S.soccer had won [a World Cupgame], and then we went out and

PHO

TO C

OU

RTESY OF N

ASA

Duncan Miller demonstrates his Superman moves during a Zero-Gravity flight with NASA.

NEWS & NOTES 11

flew and [did] all that cool stuffand things were working and wewere getting data. It was great.”

Great Samaritan Matt Ippel (DHMC class of2005), whose volunteer work in Haiti was featured in ourNovem ber–December newsletter,has been named the 2010Samaritan of the Year by Inter -national Samar itan (IS) of AnnArbor. According to IS, Matt distinguished himself on all threeof the service learning immersiontrips he took with the orga -nization, traveling to Hon duras in 2008 and 2009 and Haiti in2010. Matt grad uated as val -edictorian from Uni versity ofDetroit Jesuit High School in2009 and is a sophomore in theSchool of Foreign Service atGeorge town University.

Alum is scholarshipsemifinalist Keith Alangaden (DHMC classof 2007) was one of sevenUniversity of Detroit Jesuit HighSchool seniors to be named aNational Merit Scholarship Semi -finalist last fall.

The National Merit Schol ar -ship Program is an annual com-petition for recognition and college undergraduate scholar-ships. Students at high schoolsnationwide receive recognitionbased on their scores on thePreliminary SAT (PSAT) test,abilities, skills, and accomplish-ments. Semifinalists must fulfilladditional requirements andadvance to the Finalist level of the competition to be consideredfor a Merit Scholarship. Winnerswill be announced in February.

LMC alumni (or their proud parents) can keep us apprised of note worthy news by con tact -ing the office. We look forward to sharing your news! Artwork by Andrew Peters, 4

Dinosaur train by Aaron Spunar, 6

Artwork by Katie Rolls, 3

DATES TO REMEMBERJanuary28 Friday In-house presentation: Leslie Science and Nature Center presents “Brr, It’s

Winter.” Morning classes: 10:30 a.m. Afternoon classes: 12:45 p.m.

February2 Wednesday Parent Perks morning parent discussion. 8:45 a.m. Complimentary child

care available.

15 Tuesday Dearborn Heights Montessori Center Open House (466 N. John Daly, DearbornHeights). 5:30–6:30 p.m. Offering toddler through middle school, DHMC invites youto explore the next level of Montessori education for your child. (See story on page 9.)

17 Thursday Dads’ Night. 5–7 p.m. Dad (or a substitute) and enrolled children come toschool together for an evening of work and fun in the classroom.

21–22 Monday–Tuesday Midwinter Break. NO CLASSES. NO DAY CARE.

23 Wednesday Staff professional development. NO CLASSES. Day care available—pleasesign up in advance.

March2 Wednesday Parent Perks morning parent discussion. 8:45 a.m. Complimentary child

care available.

6 Sunday Open House for the community. 1–3 p.m. Invite your friends, family, and neigh-bors to tour LMC and meet the staff.

25 Friday Staff professional development. NO CLASSES. Day care available—please sign upin advance.

26 Saturday Art Day. 9:30–11:30 a.m. Parents and enrolled children come to schooltogether for a morning of art activities. Lots of fun—don’t miss it!

LIVONIA MONTESSORI CENTER32765 Lyndon

Livonia, MI 48154734-427-8255

www.livoniamontessori.org

“The environment

is certainly secondary

in the phenomena

of life. It can modify, as

it can assist or destroy,

but it can never create.

The source of growth

lies within.”

—Dr. Maria Montessori

Artwork by Austin Kain, 5

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