Volume XXXIII Number 08 June 2017

MONTESSORI MATTERS A Discover Montessori School Newsletter

Principal’s Message Recently, it was brought to my attention that some parents are perceiving my exit from the classroom as an indication that I am no longer invested in Discover Montessori School. I am happy to reassure everyone that this is very far from the truth. In fact, spending more time in my Principal’s position will allow me to get more deeply immersed in the day to day administrative and operational workings of our growing school. In addition, I am going to be assisting classroom teachers with some students. I am looking forward to having more time to observe our Montessori programs, to chat with parents and students, and to continue working toward our forever home.

I want to thank all of our elementary families for your support as we return to the 6-12 classrooms. After much discussion with many parents, the final class lists have been published on Hubbli. If, for some reason, you can’t access the Hubbli page, feel free to drop into the office and we shall be glad to help.

Any day now, the Agricultural Land Commission will be getting back to us with their decision on the farm school. As soon as we hear anything, we shall pass on the news to you. In the meantime, work at the farm will continue over the summer. Yes, the squash will grow and fill in the spaces.

Finally, I want to thank everyone who helped to make our first year in this new temporary location, as pleasant as possible. We simply wouldn’t have such a great school without all the daily support we get from our school families.

Have a great summer!

~ Diana Chalmers

Happy Summer!

Volume XXXIII Number 08 June 2017

End of Year Potluck Picnic at RATHTREVOR BEACH

5:00pm - 7:00pmA fun evening of games, friends, and food.

Celebrate the completion of another wonderful school year!

Please bring enough food for 10 people plus your family. To avoid having 100+ desserts, please bring:

We are a Nut-Free School!A list of ingredients would help those people with food allergies.

Bring your own: Cutlery, plates, cups, lawn chair, blanket, games to share,

beverage and kite to fly! A sweater is a good idea as it is often windy on the water!

WHERE TO MEET: See last page for map! We don’t have the Picnic shelters this year.

There will be NO Picnic tables available.

Upcoming Events

Monday, June 12 & Tuesday June 13 Upper Elementary parent Teacher Child Conferences. Book on Hubbli/ Make an Appointment/ choose classroom/ show available dates.

Bard IN THE

BARNThursday, June 15

Shakespeare Night@ the Farm

Thursday, June 15th 6:00 - 8:00pm

Presented by Upper Elementary and

Middle School students. FREE!

Everyone welcome!

Friday, June 16 End of Year School Picnic @ Rathtrevor Beach. See you there! 5pm-7pm

First day of school is Wednesday,

September 6th.

Notes from the Office

I hope you have a great summer, and look forward to working with you next year. To the families moving on, thank you for the opportunity to assist you and best of luck in your new school. See you at the picnic! ~ Karin

Casa 1: Main course Casa 2: Main course Parksville Casa 1: Dessert Elementary 1: Salad, veggie or side Elementary 2: Salad, veggie or side Upper Elementary: Main course Middle School: Dessert

Everyone

Welcome!

Volume XXXIII Number 08 June 2017

Notes from the Primary Program, Parksville Campus

We are certainly seeing the warmer weather and the coming of summer. Along with this comes such a busy time in our school year. It is a pleasure to see the progress the children have made and the delight on their faces as they are introduced to the more complex exercises for which they are now ready.

The beautiful weather has also inspired us to open the outdoor work space. Children take turns using the deck as an extension of our prepared environment. 

It is also time to get all our seedlings planted in our garden and keep the garden weeded and watered. A lovely addition to our practical life activities!

A huge thank you to our families who joined us for the Qualicum Beach Family Day festivities. We are so proud of our "Best Community Spirit" ribbon! 

Have a great summer!  

Volume XXXIII Number 08 June 2017

Notes from the Primary Program, Nanaimo Casa 1

Another summer has arrived. I want to wish all the children who are moving on to Elementary the best of luck. These children are entering a new plane of development, one where social needs are paramount. I am so proud of them as they show us how they can express their feelings, use language to get their needs met and resolve conflicts successfully with peers. 

Parents often wonder if they need to be keeping up with academic work over the summer and they worry about "summer learning loss". I have mixed feelings on this for the 3- 6 year old. Now that life can slow down a bit in the summer it is time to really establish the routine of helping in the home.  It is so important that the child has responsibilities (beyond cleaning their own mess) that help the whole family. This accountability is essential for academic success.   If your child is a reader, keep reading! If your child can write, keep writing. If they are struggling with recognizing their letters, use alphabet books. Other than that allow for lots of free play and keep them busy with helping the family rather than doing homework.

Have a great summer, see you at the pot luck last day of school!

PS: When choosing books for your child to read to you, it is fine for them to read below their level. They like it when its not too hard. When choosing books for you to read to your child choose above their level. A challenging book enriches their vocabulary.

Have a great summer!

Volume XXXIII Number 08 June 2017

Notes from the Primary Program, Nanaimo Casa 2

Thank you to all of the children and their families who attended the recognition dinner for the 5/6 years old. It was truly a memorable evening filled with a feeling of accomplishment and community. This is the time of year when we can reflect on all that we have experienced and learned together. It is also a time to acknowledge our growth and the changes to come. We see over and over the joy a child has when he/she discovers a new ability, the pride they take in being able “To do it for Myself”.

Congratulations to each child as he/she moves on his/her next phase of development. We will miss those families who are leaving us and wish them well in the future. Jodi and Liz, who will be in the classroom during my year of absence, are looking forward to next year with the children who will be returning. It has been a great joy and privilege to be entrusted with the guiding and teaching of your “little ones”. Thank you for being a fantastic part of our school and of our life.

I will stay in touch during our travel by sending post cards along the way and we hope to write a travel blog as we can. Before then, we will see you all at the school picnic on the 16th of June. Have a wonderful summer.

Volume XXXIII Number 08 June 2017

Notes from the Elementary Program:

May and June were fantastic especially since the weather cooperated with some of the outings our students enjoyed! One of these was the Montessori Regional Track Meet. It was sunny and dry, and it was a great success. Here is a link to the Track Meet photos. Our students were able to place in most of the events! Their Phys. Ed and daily morning running has paid off! Congratulations to all and thank you to the parents who volunteered at the event.

The students also spend a couple of days working at and exploring the Farm School Campus. On June 9th they’ll spend the afternoon transplanting the classroom squash they planted almost three weeks ago. It’ll be fun to see the variety of fruit at the school potluck in September.

We hope you have a great summer and thank you for your support this year. We’re looking forward to working with you again next year.

Summer tips… This summer enjoy free time to be creative, enjoy nature and outside time, focus on healthy sleeping and eating, and don’t forget to read a little bit

each day! There are some great series available in the library to get into! Go often, allow your child to choose their own selection of

books, and if stumped, encourage your child to ask their Librarian for a recommendation!

Have fun everyone! See you back at school on Wednesday, September 6th at 8:20am.

- Flights Nanaimo to Shanghai have been purchased. - Position Papers have been completed. Great job students (and parents for the articles)! - Chinese Visas will be applied for by August 28th - we’ll need your passport! - Next fundraiser: Country Grocer Hot Dog Sale, September 10th. - Have a great summer!

Link to more MMUN information: MMUN Upper Elementary Conference MMUN Middle School Conference

MMUN UPDATE…

Volume XXXIII Number 08 June 2017

Notes from the Middle School Adolescent Program

This month has flown by, with many outings and lots of hard work. The students presented their Mesopotamian unit as a skit, with the Upper Elementary students as their audience. We traveled to the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre, and learned about their amazing facility and the animals who live there. Arianna and William treated the class to a wonderful First Nations meal. Constable Caram visited and talked with the students about internet and social media safety.

The Extreme Science Show at VIU was a fun showcase of both physics and chemistry. Rock-picking at the Farm quickly became a quest to find a way to remove the largest chunks of concrete possible with the tools available. New fish were purchased for the large fish tank. (Thank you, Parent Group!)

Near the end of the month, we traveled to Vancouver for a tour of the Vancouver Art Gallery, and to see the Salvador Dali sculpture showcased nearby. We traveled to the VIU physics building to learn about how to land space missions on other planets from Dr. Greg Arkos. We then built and tested our own landers! We continue to work hard on our MMUN papers, math projects, our upcoming Shakespeare play, and our latest unit on electricity.

See you for the Gear Drop on Wednesday, August 23rd.

Volume XXXIII Number 08 June 2017

Notes from the Parent Group

DMS Parent Group wants to thank YOU, our school community for participation in our events and fundraising efforts throughout the school year!

The Parent Group recently committed funds to purchase metal insets for the Parksville Campus, a pink tower for Nanaimo Casa 1, classroom materials (to be determined) for Nanaimo Casa 2, cooking supplies (including griddles) for the school kitchen, and possibly some astronomy equipment to benefit the whole school, and connect to community.   We have also committed significant funds to the 2017 MMUN in China, a very unique, exciting, and meaningful part of the Discover Montessori experience. Our aim is to connect all school families to the benefits of this program.   Please remember, you can continue to contribute throughout the summer by indicating your donation at the following stores:   • COBS Bread– 5% donation goes to DMS • The Soap Exchange – 10% donation goes to DMS • Thrifty Foods – load up your Smile card by June 24th and you can use it all summer. Once it

runs out you will need to wait until September to load it up again. If you don’t have a Smile card yet you can get one at the school office.

~ DMS Parent Group

Have a great summer everyone! School starts on Wednesday, September 6th

Volume XXXIII Number 08 June 2017

Year End Picnic at Rathtrevor Beach

WHERE TO MEET

WHERE TO MEET: We don’t have the Picnic shelters this year. They are booked by another group.

We will picnic on the grass by the playground and field. There will be NO Picnic tables available.

Bring a chair or blanket to sit on.

Looking forward to seeing you and your family at the Beach!

Picnic here Park here