The Critter Keeper is coming to CMS

On Wednesday, March 27th the Critter Keeper is coming to Clemson Montessori.
Entertaining and exciting, surprising and sometimes a little scary, the Critter Keeper will captivate our students with interesting facts, entertaining stories, appropriate life applications, and of course, all his critter sidekicks.
Students will meet Julius, the albino Burmese python; Citrus, the Australian Bearded Dragon; Clyde, the Savannah Monitor; Fiona, the Argentine Tegu, as well as other reptiles and arthropods from all over the world. 
If you are curious about what is in store, visit the Critter Keeper's website... http://www.critterkeeperupstate.com/

Dine Out for PTO this month

Hi all!

There are lots of things to look forward to this month, but our monthly PTO meeting is not one of them!

In lieu of our second-Monday meeting, we are hosting a couple of Dine Out for Clemson Montessori PTO events. We hope you will mark the following dates and locations on your calendars, so that you, your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers can participate!

The first fundraiser is being generously supported by Three Spoons Yogurt of Clemson. All you have to do is purchase frozen yogurt between noon and 1 a.m., Friday, February 15th, and make sure to tell the cashier that you are there in support of Clemson Montessori. Feel free to download the attached image and forward it to everyone you know. The more we buy, the more we make! 25 percent of all sales that reference our school will be donated back to CMS. We also encourage you to "like" 3 Spoons on facebook, and use email and social media to spread the word the day of, please. Don't worry. We will remind you!

Our second Dine Out event this month is being generously hosted by Columbo's Pizza, which is conveniently located next door to the school at 203 Pendleton Road. We encourage you to eat in at Columbo's between 5 and 8 p.m., Tuesday, February 19th. They will have their dinner buffet set up, and 10 percent of all sales between those hours will be donated to CMS. Please "like" Columbo's on facebook, and spread the word on email and on facebook. Once again, the more we buy, the more we earn. Columbo's donates 10 percent of every bill to our school during those hours, regardless of whether you say you're with the school or not. But do us and them a favor, and say "thanks" for supporting CMS.

Thanks to you for all that you do to support Clemson Montessori School. And if you haven't already, be sure to "like" our PTO page on facebook. It's a great way to stay plugged in to what's happening, and to other Montessori parents.

Take care, and happy dining!
Heidi & Drake

PTO meeting minutes and Sensorial Workshop overview

Many thanks to secretary Nadia Moysey for compiling these great notes from this week's PTO meeting and Sensorial Materials and Concepts workshop.

It was a great, hands-on experience for all of us who participated, but for those who were unable to attend, here's a nice overview with some helpful resources, to get you up to speed.

Remember, every parent is a member of our Parent Teacher Organization, and we value your involvement and your support. So, please take time to review this information, and we welcome your feedback and input.

Thanks,
Heidi & Drake

CMS PTO Minutes 01/14/2013

Time: 7:00 pm

Attendance: 12 PTO officers, parents, staff, teachers

Fundraising Updates

-       School earned $323 in credit from the For Small Hands fund raiser.

-       We will not have a February PTO meeting but will do a fundraising night at Columbo’s and/or 3 Spoons instead.

-       PTO account (non-profit account) has a balance of $5,178.64. The balance on this account has increased by about $165 since November.

-       SCRIP account has a balance of approximately $1,700. We made approximately $115 in December and $8 in January.

-       Looking into setting up an “in-house: field trip with the Critter Keeper using PTO funds.

Greenhouse Update

-       The school would like to get a greenhouse using PTO funds. Drake will be discussing this project at the March PTO meeting.

-       We already have enough funds for a small greenhouse that would have to be replaced every 2-3 years.

-       Some catalogs with ideas for greenhouses were circulated at the meeting and given to the school administrators.

Plant Sale

-       Scheduled for April 19, 2013

-       Need plastic or foam egg cartons and plastic yogurt cups (6 oz size).  Yoplait yogurt cups cannot be used.

-       Publicity for the plant sale will be discussed in March when we have an idea of how many plants will be available.

Important Dates

-       January 21 – MLK Day – No school or childcare

-       February 18 – Professional Development Day – No school or childcare

-       March 18 – 22 – Spring Break

-       School is still working to securing a date for a spring performance to replace to winter program

Sensorial Presentation – Presented by Natalie and Susan

-       Watched a video clip from Dr. Steve Hughes, a pediatric neuropsychologist, Montessori researcher and Montessori parent.  The clip was titled “Why 20^th Century Educational Methods Won’t Work in the 21^st Century and What We Can Do About It”.  The clip is available for viewing on Dr. Hughes website: www.goodatdoingthings.com

-       Montessori provides a developmental method of education that is highly personalized.

-       Montessori is based on an integration of culture, method and materials.

-       This is a “Brain Based” approach to education. The brain needs experimental interactions with the environment.

-       A tremendous amount of the brain’s geography is devoted to the hands. Hands are the instrument of the mind.

-       Focus on a refinement of the senses.  Montessori materials are precise and scientifically based.  Manipulation of these materials builds the foundation for reading/math.

The 11 Senses (as identified by Maria Montessori)

1.     Visual

2.     Chromatic

3.     Tactile – eye to discriminate textures

4.     Auditory

5.     Baric – weight

6.     Thermic

7.     Kinesthetic – eye to recognize 2D shapes; move from 3D to 2D

8.     Olfactory

9.     Gustatory – taste; recognize that different areas of the tongue taste different things

10.  Equilibrium – balance within the body

11.  Stereognostic – ability to determine 3D shapes with muscle memory of the eye

Sensory Materials

1.     Contain a control of error/self-correcting

2.     Aesthetically beautiful à  attractive

3.     Specific language/corresponds with concept being taught

4.     Self-teaching à independence

5.     Progressively challenging – helps refine the senses in a logical sequence

e.g. The Brown Stair work refers to the blocks as “prisms”. Introduces the concept of thickest and thinnest and uses very specific vocabulary.

Moving from concrete to more abstract concepts.

Aims of Sensorial Materials

Direct:

1.     Provide a sense of order, observation, concentration, attention, reasoning, decision-making, ability to make judgments, comparisons (science/math)

2.     Isolation of senses/concepts (touch, sight, taste, bigness, length, thickness)

3.     Strengthen motor skills (writing)

Indirect:

1.     Teach abstract concepts tangibly

2.     Repetition à mastery

3.     Endless possibilities for explorarion/discovery

4.     Prepares for math by refining the idea of relationships (little to big, correlates to operations in math; short to long à bead cabinet; ten parts leads to the concept of base 10)

5.     Prepares for language development by training child to work for left to right

Montessori uses correct vocabulary for the materials – quatrefoil, prism, ellipse, etc.

Montessori materials are very scientifically precise. In the Pink Tower work, the children get to explore the heaviness of the largest cubes and the lightness of the smallest cubes. Each cube in the tower has a 1 cm difference in the length of the sides. The smallest cube is 1 cm long so the children can use this cube to check their own work and see if the cubes are arranged in the correct order. The materials engage more than one sense.\

Tactile learners need to touch more than a screen.  A screen does not engage all of the senses.

Anderson Independent Mail article on “The New Kindergarten”

"The standards soon to be adopted by public schools hint at ones the Montessori education method introduced more than 100 years ago."

 http://www.independentmail.com/news/2013/jan/10/not-your-fathers-kindergarten-naps-cookies-out-hom/

Minutes compiled by Nadia Moysey, PTO Secretary

Sensorial Materials & Concepts: PTO Meeting Programming

Welcome back from winter break!

Now that we're through the flurry of fall fundraising, the PTO would like to turn our focus back to developing our Parent Teacher Organization as an informed and active group. That's why we hope you'll join us at 7 p.m., Monday, Jan. 14 for the monthly PTO meeting where our teachers will provide a programming workshop on sensorial materials and concepts. 

What is this? It's a great opportunity to gain additional insight into your child's classroom experience. Have you heard your child talk about the pink tower, brown stair, colored cylinders, geometric solids? 

OK, if you're like most of us, you haven't. But guess what? You can find out what this work is, and then you might be able to prompt your child to tell you more about what he or she is doing!

At the sensorial materials and concepts workshop, which will be held during the regularly scheduled PTO meeting, you can come investigate why the Sensorial area of the classroom is often considered the most intellectual area in a Montessori environment.  Maria Montessori said children perceive the world through their senses, and these materials encourage the child to classify, thus organize and sort, their sensorial impressions. This ability to classify is a basis for intelligence.  

On one hand, so many sensory-based activities exist for children these days. On the other hand, with even more screen-based activities available, children are not engaging with their environments in the same ways they were even a decade ago. Our teachers will discuss why hands-on activities are so important, and how Montessori Sensorial activities are unique and provide a basis for mathematical reasoning, scientific thinking, and literacy.  

As always, childcare will be provided. We ask only that you please RSVP to Ellen at ellen@clemsonmontessori.com by Friday, January 11. 

Thanks for your support, and we look forward to seeing you at our first meeting of the New Year!

-- Heidi & Drake

Reminder: PTO Meets Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 5:30 p.m.

Join Us at PTO This Month: You might just get a date night and concurrent naps out of the deal.   So, you haven't been able to make a PTO meeting yet this year ... it's never too late to get involved! If that's not enough to convince you, we've got some great news about fundraising, upcoming plans for a Parent's Night Out, and a fall cleanup that promises to make your children take a nap this coming Saturday.  We're meeting at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 13. Just show up on the senior elementary side of the street (which is the side of the street where our pumpkins are sold). We'll be outside the white classroom building, which is just beyond the "Stop" sign. Picnic tables will be set up outside, and our business meeting will last all of 30 minutes. Maybe less. We're really THAT good. Bring your coats (it's probably gonna get cold when the sun goes down!) and your video cameras, because after our meeting the children will perform Soup & Songs at 6 p.m., which is the next best thing to Showtunes on your parents' karaoke machine.  (Look at this cute photo of some of our Peanuts singing, way back when they were in Trish's class!) We thank you for your continued support of Clemson Montessori School and the Parent Teacher Organization. You're already a member of the PTO, so why not join us Tuesday and make it official? See you there! - Drake & Heidi

PTO Meeting and For Small Hands Ordering -- Reminders and Information

Get Ready!

Our October PTO meeting is planned for this Monday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m., and we have lots of exciting things to talk about. We promise to keep our discussion to less than an hour, and we would encourage you to please go ahead and sign up for childcare by emailing Ellen in the office: ellen@clemsonmontessori.com

A few things you can look forward to Monday night:
- Information about the Pumpkin Delivery and mass unloading, scheduled for 8 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 13
- Sign ups for ongoing Pumpkin Sales, from 10/13-10/31
- Information and Volunteer Sign ups for the Fall Festival on Friday, Oct. 26, 3-7 p.m.
- Answering any questions you may have about For Small Hands ordering. Catalogs are going out in Friday Folders, Oct. 5. Extra catalogs will be available at the PTO meeting.


Here's a little primer on For Small Hands, for those of you who were not here or did not participate last year ...

There is a wonderful Montessori tradition that makes the holidays really easy to handle. The only tricky part is that we ask you to plan ahead and do it in October. The best part is, you'll find loads of educational gifts for all the children in your life, and there are teacher gifts for our Montessori classrooms, as well! Shopping now will get your holiday errands completed early, and it will benefit a great cause: CMS PTO.

WHAT IS IT?
‘For Small Hands” is a catalog that sells Montessori-approved materials, books, toys, and games. Your purchases will earn 15% credit for our school.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
It's a lot like a Scholastic Book Order. (We just need an order total of $500 or more for free shipping, which is why we ask you to place an order through the catalog, and not online.)

HOW DO I PARTICIPATE?
1) An order form will be made available in your child's Friday folder this week!
Fill it out, and include check made out to CMS PTO by Wednesday, OCT. 17th (if you have questions about products, teachers have recommendations)

2) You are welcome to purchase an item off a "teacher wish list" as a classroom gift/donation for the holidays. Teacher wish lists should be posted in classrooms by Monday. To avoid duplicate classroom gift orders,  please check these lists and let the teachers know you would like to purchase an item for the classroom. Your classroom parent liaison may also email this list out, and you can "split" larger gifts with another parent or two.)

QUESTIONS/CONCERNS?
Please ask or email PTO co-president Heidi Williams at heidicwilliams@gmail.com or call (864) 247-0097. Turn forms and checks into the office.

Mark Your Calendars: PTO dates and events

Hi everyone!

Thanks for a GREAT turnout at our first formal PTO meeting of the year. Our intrepid secretary Nadia Moysey has compiled minutes from that meeting.

If you couldn't make it on Monday, please take a moment to peruse the dates, times, events, and notes below. You will see we have a lot to look forward to this year, and we've gone ahead and listed a bunch of dates so you can place them on your calendars now. Remember: you don't have to attend PTO meetings to be a member of the PTO. (Although we'd love to see you there! We enjoyed a little free time to visit and meet new families, after this week's meeting.) Just by virtue of being a parent at CMS, you are a part of our organization, and we value your ideas and insights.

If you attended, and you see any corrections or addendums that need to be made to these minutes, please email Heidi at heidicwilliams@gmail.com, so she can make any necessary corrections. Or if you see anything you'd like more information about, feel free to email either Heidi or Drake (dmacmtb@gmail.com).

Thanks for your continued interest and participation. Your involvement benefits every child at CMS, which is why we appreciate you so much!
-- Heidi & Drake

CMS PTO Minutes 9/10/12

Time: 7:00 pm

Attendance: 25 parents, PTO members and teachers/staff

1.     What is PTO and what does PTO do?

-       Heidi and Drake are co-presidents of the PTO

-       PTO is a non-profit organization affiliated with CMS school

-       Function is to raise money and volunteer to support the school and special programs for the school

-       Goal for this year is to raise money to build a greenhouse

-       Also raises money to fund field trips and visitors to the school

-       Create community between parents and teachers

2.     Treasurer Report

-       Beth Carraway is current PTO treasurer but she was unavailable to come to the meeting due to illness

-       PTO has two bank accounts – restricted and unrestricted

-       Current account balances unavailable due to Beth’s absence from the meeting

3.     Upcoming PTO Fundraisers

-       Primary Fundraiser: Pumpkin Sale

o      Drake is the primary organizer for the pumpkin sale

o      Pumpkin delivery scheduled for Saturday, October 13 at 8 am

§       Volunteers needed to unload the truck – fun activity for the whole family and people are encouraged to bring their children

o      Pumpkin sale will begin on Monday, October 15

§       Volunteers needed to sell pumpkins daily from 3-6 pm. Asking for 2 families per 3 hour block on weekday afternoons.

§       On Saturdays, sales will happen from 8 am – 6 pm. Saturday shifts would be 1-2 hours each.

-       Fall Festival: Friday October 26 from 3-7 pm

o      Heidi is the primary organizer for the Fall Festival

o      Scheduled activities will include: Touch a Truck, Bouncers, Craft Table, Paint-a-Pumpkin, Face Painting, Science Table, Bake Sale, Old time games, Cake walk

o      Possible activities mentioned during the meeting include: miniature horse rides (possibly provided by the Duffy family), pumpkin toss/cornhole games (Ryan – Naya’s dad).  If you have additional ideas for activities at the fall festival, email Heidi and Drake.

o      One flat fee is charged for most of the activities.  Some activities may have an additional ticket required. Fall Festival pays for itself and then makes additional income on top.

o      Volunteers needed to run the events, work on advertising, organize and bake goodies for bake sale, assist with set up of tents and tables, clean up, etc.

o      Student volunteers are also being organized to free up parents to have fun with their kids!

-       Other Possible Fundraisers

o      Usborne Book Fair

§       CMS will receive 50% of the proceeds of the sale in either cash or books for the school.

§       Examples of books are set up in the front office and order forms are available there as well.

§       You can also order books online at www.booksaremoore.com.  Place your orders under the CMS eshow link.

o      For Small Hands – Montessori product catalog

§       Order deadline is October 13 and catalogs will be sent out soon

§       Go through the link to FSH website posted on the CMS web site and our school earns even more.

§       Make great holiday gifts.  School gets free shipping as well.

§       Can also buy gifts for the classrooms.  Teachers will be providing wish lists for items they would like.

o      Arts Center – decorating Christmas ornaments (or possibly doing something in-house)

o      Open to suggestions for other activities (parents night out?)

4.     Ongoing CMS Fundraisers

-       Beth will discuss our ongoing fundraising opportunities at a future meeting.

-       They include: SCRIPTS, Box Tops, Campbell’s Labels for Education, Bi-Lo and Ingles Savings programs, Printer/ink cartridges, 3 Spoons night, Columbo’s night, etc.

-       Note: Need to update your information for the Bi-Lo and Ingles programs every year.  CMS school codes are available in the store or online.

-       Upstate Locally Grown – online farmer’s market which delivers natural/organic/locally grown food. Orders are placed online and deliveries are made to CMS campus every other Wednesday between 4:15 and 5:00 pm. 3% of the proceeds are donated to CMS PTO.  Heidi will be writing about this on the CMS PTO blog if you would like more information.

5.     Classroom Reps

-       Another point of communication between parents and the school

Pre-Primary - Saara DeWalt (Sasha’s mom)

Susan and Patrick’s class – Joey Sarkees (Martin’s mom)

Marjorie and Judy’s Class – Marie (Oliver’s mom)

Junior Elementary – possibly Sandra

Senior Elementary – possibly Beth

6.     Communication with PTO

-       Using Mail Chimp for email so that the PTO can verify that you have received their emails.

-       Email messages will ask you to click through to the CMS PTO blog which will act as a repository of all PTO information.

-       Suggest bookmarking the blog so that you will have access to all PTO information in one place.

-       Access to the school calendar is also available on the blog.

-       CMS PTO also has a Facebook page.

7.     PTO and CMS Meeting Programs

-       During PTO meetings, teachers from CMS can offer programs on Montessori approaches to math, reading, and science.  Need to gauge interest from parents to determine what topics should be covered this year.

-       CMS will also be offering the following workshops this year:

o      Parent Talk: The Language of Responsible Parenting

§       Thursday, October 4 at 7:00 pm

§       Examples of the types of language that you can use with your child to effectively parent.

§       Offers various parenting strategies.

§       Presentation followed by interactive dialogue with parents.

§       If there is enough interest, a complete 6 week program could be offered.

o      Silent Journey and Discovery

§       Held over 2 days – Friday, November 9 (evening) and Saturday, November 10 (morning).  Attendance on both days is required.

§       No child care is available as this is meant to be a silent experience.

§       Provides insight into the classroom through your child’s eyes.

§       Guiding questions are provided as you go through the classrooms silently.

8.     PTO meeting schedules

-       Next PTO Meeting will be held on October 8 at 7:00 pm.

-       Every third meeting will be more informal.  It will be held at Columbo’s or 3 Spoons and PTO will be there to distribute information and field questions.

9.     Other Important Dates

October 9: 7:00 pm - PTO Meeting

October 13: For Small Hands- Montessori product catalog order deadline.

October 13: 8:00 am – Pumpkin delivery

October 15 - 31: Pumpkin sale

October 26: 3:00-7:00 pm – Fall Festival

November 13: 5:30 pm - PTO meeting, followed by Soup & Songs at 6:00 pm

NO DECEMBER PTO MEETING (a holiday fundraiser instead)

December 13: 6:00 pm Winter Program, Pendleton Playhouse (Clemson Little Theatre)

10.  Questions/Concerns

-       None

11.  Closing Comments

-       Important to keep the lines of communication open between parents and the school/teachers.  Make sure you are communicating both the good things you see happening and the concerns that you may have.  That will truly help to keep the school functioning well.

Minutes complied by Nadia Moysey, PTO Secretary