--Fall Sports-- Boys Soccer Cheerleading Cross Country Field Hockey Football Girls Soccer Girls Tennis Golf Volleyball

--Winter Sports-- Boys Basketball Girls Basketball Bowling Cheerleading Swimming Wrestling

--Spring Sports-- Baseball Boys Tennis Boys Lacrosse Girls Lacrosse Softball Track

The Scoop from Monteessori - Phyllis Schueler

02/01/07

The Father’s Day Celebration, February 6th, is upon us soon and the children are very excited to share this special time with them. Dad is invited to visit their child’s classroom during their academic session, which is either from 8:30–9:30pm or 12:30–1:30pm. During this time your child will have the opportunity to teach Dad the Montessori materials they have learned to love and use throughout the year. I hope that you will be able to join us for this most precious of events. If Dad is not available, please have your child invite their mother, grandparent, aunt, uncle or a friend to visit on this important day. We look forward to seeing you.

The Montessori Parent Education Evening was outstanding as Linda Moeggenberg and Karen Koch presented the great magnitude of the galaxy. Throughout this evening, parents were provided with a lecture and rare opportunity to star gaze using The Summit’s very own starlab. During the evening, parents learned about the planets and identified clusters of stars known as constellations. They located the Big Bear, Draco the Dragon, Orion, Cassiopeia the Queen, Cepheus the King and Hercules to mention a few. This turned out to be a spectacular evening, plus it provided the parent with a great educational link as to what the children are learning in the Advanced Kindergarten Enrichment Program. Great appreciation goes to our two wonderful parent Chairs, Debbie Alf and Christine Browner, who hosted the parent reception.

COSI once again visited The Summit, on January 23rd. The program was titled “Science of Sports.” The program included students from K-4th grade. Naturally, this was an exciting day for children to experiment with a multitude of hands-on science activities. For example, one exercise connected the elements of velocity, vibration, and waves, thus enabling the students to find the “sweet spot” of a baseball bat. Another experiment demonstrated the effects of torque, angular motion, and gyroscopic force on the entire body when using a bicycle wheel to spin on a platform. Another entertaining activity brought focus to “thinking fast” in reaction time by using eye/hand coordination to catch a measuring stick as soon as they see that an object is moving. Obviously, all students have a natural connection to science and thus provided them with that “perfect day.” I wish to express to our parent and teacher volunteers an enormous “THANKS” for this day filled with science and fun learning for our children. Thank you, Susan Beckmeyer and Kathy Schertzinger.

We appreciated the wonderful treats provided on Teacher Appreciation Day. This was an exceptional day and we wish to thank the Montessori hosts, Carol Biggs and Peggy Barker, as well as Gina Kirk and the Summit Parents Association for this great event.

As all the children look forward to the festivities on Valentine’s Day, Jen Ragland has been decorating Lower School entrance doors with beautiful Valentine decorations. We look forward to celebrating this special event and it is important for us to be watchful of our children with allergies. Many of these children are allergic to red dye, wheat, fish, peanuts/nuts, peas, lentils, dairy products which include, milk, soy and eggs. In managing these concerns we ask our parents not to bring candy or treats to school on Valentine’s Day. Allyson Schumacher and her parent committee are arranging the treats for this holiday event. As always, I appreciate your understanding on behalf of these children.

During the month of February we will be celebrating Black History Month. Throughout this month all classrooms will highlight generations of successful and influential African Americans. They will engage in celebrating its heroes, leaders, writers, politicians, artists, athletes, inventors and explorers. Our goal is to enhance the children’s knowledge of African American history.

In closing, there is one additional request I would like to mention in regard to our library. We are seeking “like-new” hardbound children’s books. If your child has outgrown some of their story books, you might consider passing them on to our Montessori Library. This would be a great resource for other children who enjoy books.

Until our next letter, stay warm and enjoy the wintery weather.