Many thanks to TNSM alumni parent and photographer, Helen Adams, for once again taking our staff photo for the year. You caught us all smiling!
Alexa Abner In a farmer’s world, summer is far from a “break.” I spent each day cultivating fruits, vegetables and flowers in urban farm lots sprinkled throughout the Ohio River Valley with each week culminating on Saturday at the Covington Farmers’ Market. My 5-year-old son, Xavier, loved tending his own plot in the garden, but especially enjoyed the time we spent riding bikes, hiking new trails, and cooling off at the pool. Xavier loved breaking in his black electric guitar and challenged me to perform “rock and roll” with him at a neighborhood open mic night! We are looking forward to autumn, which brings more farming… but cooler weather!
Ann Baumgardner We had a ranch vacation this year, but not the kind with saddles, spurs and stallions. We downsized from a 2-story home in West Chester to a one-level 1950s ranch in Colerain. Rather than take on the expense of removing the pinkish tan tile, tub and sinks in the bathroom and the yellow backsplash in the kitchen, we decided to embrace the 50s and have taken to wearing skinny ties and polka dot circle skirts. It was a major pain to move, but as the paint dries and the newly revealed hardwood floors wake to sunshine on their face, we are drinking in the coolness of the woods from the comfort of our sunporch.
Brendan Blumer This summer I took brief trips to Nashville, Colorado, and Norris Lake but spent much of my summer working on projects around my house, such as screening in my back porch for my cats. I took the first of my Xavier Montessori classes and played a few shows with my bands, Ernie Johnson From Detroit and Daap Girls.
Colleen Blumer We had a quiet summer. I got away for a week to Lake Michigan, and surprise, surprise, I bought myself new glasses and a coffee maker!
Catherine Pray Bollmann Though our plan was to catch up on some house renovations, we did absolutely NONE of that! Instead, we did some family bonding, including spending an extra week up at our cabin on Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin. While there, we made daily trips to our swim club and went all out with Bollmann Balloon Battles (girls vs boys), although every battle somehow ended up being kids vs parents…funny how that happens. Nevertheless, we had a great summer, taking advantage of afternoon movies, summer camps, staying up late and sleeping in.
Karen Borgmann
I kicked off my summer with a bang by taking a weekend trip to Chicago. I went with friends I have known for over 25 years, and I saw my first U2 concert. The rest of the summer the boys and I hit the YMCA pool, tried new restaurants, and got more involved in our new Westwood community. I added a few fun commitments to my week which include sand volleyball on Thursdays, wallyball on Sundays, and bingo on Tuesday nights with my mom and her 4 sisters. You might think the sports would be my biggest physical challenge, but it’s the bingo. There I am with my mom and my aunts for 3 hours AND WE’RE NOT ALLOWED TO TALK!
Emily Broderick My family took a trip to Florida, and we celebrated my dad’s 60th and my grandpa’s 90th birthdays. I took a girls’ trip to Chicago with friends and was in a wedding.
Nancy Buchman
My first stop this summer was Ecuador, where I spent 3 weeks visiting friends and family from my Peace Corps days 30 years ago. I traveled around the country, roaming snow covered volcanos and seeing vicuña, crater lakes, monkeys in the jungle and blue footed boobies.
Audrey Cobb I had a great summer. The best part, of course, was visiting my daughter Ilia in Hawaii. We stayed with Ilia and her husband Daryl for two leisurely weeks on the island of Oahu. We had many glorious hikes, relaxed on the beach, swam in the ocean, enjoyed fabulous food and played evening games around the dining room table. We learned about Hawaiian history and culture. We spent the 4th of July in Pearl Harbor, watching fireworks. We met all of the friends, got to know the pets, and cooked our favorite meals together. We climbed 1035 stairs (old railroad tracks actually) about 1000 feet high to see a totally amazing 360 degree view of the island. Then we came home (aaahhhh… home). My baby is doing just fine on her own!
Ceara Comstock My newest nephew was born this summer to my sister Leah and her husband. It has been such a joy to have him in our lives and to go through all of the baby stuff again. My son, Kelen, is starting at U.C. this fall, so he’s getting ready for dorm life. In August, I spent some time visiting with family in Texas. That is typically not a good time to be in Texas, but it wasn’t too terribly hot, and we all had a good time together.
Mandy Crouch My family and I started the summer with a trip to Venice, Florida. We visited Siesta Key Beach which has been rated as one of the best beaches in America and Venice Beach which is known as an excellent beach for shark-tooth combing. We also renovated our kitchen which included knocking down the wall between our kitchen and dining room. Now that it’s finished, I can say that it was completely worth it, and we love the transformation!
Caroline Davis
This summer I was able to do a lot of traveling! I took a few fun weekend trips with friends (Charleston, Lake Ozark and Memphis.) I also went on an amazing family vacation to Europe. We started the trip in Rome and cruised around many Italian, French and Spanish islands before disembarking in Barcelona. While in Rome, I was able to visit Maria Montessori’s original Casa dei Bambini (pictured above). I wish I could have gone inside, but it was closed for the weekend, bummer! I was filled with emotions while exploring and left feeling very grateful for the passion I have for my career and grateful for the family and friends who have guided me along my journey. I’m so excited to begin my third year at TNSM and look forward to spending my days in the North Room again!
Jean Eschenbach I had a quiet summer and spent a lot of time doing yoga. Noa took part in several day camps and especially enjoyed her time in Jeanne Speier’s camps.
Ximena Flores
Summer is a change of pace. The best part has been accomplishing two challenges: The first one with my grandson Kion was to go to the zoo and try our luck at seeing Fiona. It took us 5 times! And when it happened, it was AWESOME! Amazing, how such big animals can be so tender. Seeing my grandson and other kids’ emotions and excitement was wonderful, and I enjoyed every moment of it. The second challenge was to finish a glass mosaic project that was gifted and commissioned by the graduates of 2017. It will be displayed in the new preprimary West Room. The mosaic shows The New School Montessori’s logo made from tiny pieces of cut glass. Hard work. Long days. But I did it! And it was completed on time for the opening – today : )
Life is good; the weather has been great; my plants are happy, and I am too. I’m ready for what comes next.
Jeff Groh I went hiking in Glacier National Park early in the summer, and saw moose and big horn sheep. It has become my new favorite park and is really quite an exceptional place. Raphaela, the kids and I spent some time visiting family in Munich and then traveled a bit through Europe. It was as relaxing as traveling with a 2- and 4-year-old can be, but gave us some very special time with the extended family.
Robin Hartmann
My summer was filled with travel, teaching and fun! We started our summer with a trip to Pigeon Forge, where I married George Clooney. We hiked mountains and went on a huge Ferris wheel. I took a two-day bookbinding class and made 7 books. I taught 3 weeks of camp at Kennedy Heights Art Center. One of those weeks, Jeanne Speier and I taught together, leading Octopus Garden. My daughter, Leah, and I spent 3 weeks in Chautauqua where I was rejected from the Tall House (lol)- we had awesome weather! We also spent some time with our granddaughter, Shaylee, which is always a treat!
Ryonen Ignatius It’s been a summer of transition for our family. Brent started an exciting new job where he gets to travel around the country to write about 3D printing and robots. Brando celebrated the first day of summer and becoming a teenager by jumping off of a waterfall. Jesse grew several inches, in height and hair, and is beyond excited to finally be in the Annex and the Shakespeare Club. And we are “this close” to finalizing the sale of the house we’ve been in since the impossibly faraway days of the 1990s.
Margaret Kellar This summer I revisited the ancient Mayan temples of Tulum and explored underground caves in Xenotes, Mexico. I also snorkeled off the island of Cozumel. I saw beautiful sea turtles and eagle rays.
Robby Lewis I spent much of the summer at my parents’ home in Kentucky building wooden furniture for TNSM classrooms and firing up the smoker to make wonderful dinners for the family. I also took some classes over the summer, and Beth and I have settled on a date in September to be married in Rowe Arboretum with our immediate family.
Holly Lottman
This summer was really good for us! A few weeks after breaking down the classrooms at school, I completed my studies and graduated with my (3-6) Montessori credential. Yeah! In June, our family visited the beautiful Siesta Keys in Florida. July was spent going to the pool, zoo, Coney Island, and my daughter’s favorite, Kings Island.
Lydia Neiheisel
This summer was about cleaning out and spending time with family. I spent lots of time with my kiddos enjoying the zoo, pool and local parks. When we were home, I was clearing out like a mad woman. I’m sure our neighbors think we are moving, but really just getting rid of almost 10 years of clutter. We ended the summer with a trip to Northern Michigan where it was cool and beautiful.
Emily Olexsey We were thrilled to welcome our daughter to our family and have enjoyed our time together with both kids this summer. We are happy to end our 2.5 years of house hunting as we close on a new home on Friday. Our growing family will now have some extra room to stretch.
Matt Olexsey We had the new baby in the spring, which was really terrific. We spent a lot of time outdoors with the kids, and I was able to take a trip to Snowshoe for some hiking, exploring and mountain biking.
Yance Pyle I’ve been working on the facilities over the summer to get them ready for the school year and have been gearing up for coaching this fall. I took some time off in July to take a trip to Washington, D.C. It was quite hot, but we had a good time.
Kristen Rammel
Our family started the summer with the most relaxing vacation ever to Hilton Head, South Carolina. We loved discovering the wonders of the Atlantic Ocean and reading books on the beach. Back in Cincinnati, I could usually be found at the pool with the kids, hiking at Cincinnati Nature Center, volunteering at the League for Animal Welfare, reading about educational research and statistics for my grad school class, or at the grocery store attempting to keep my hungry kids satisfied.
Melissa Robinson This summer was the most calm and mundane one we’ve ever had. Our oldest daughter took a summer job that required her to work all week every week, so we stayed here. Kids enjoyed lazy days intermingled with summer camps, as well as trips to visit Grandma. The highlight of our low-key summer was a fun-filled July 4 extended family gathering in Indianapolis with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Laura Slanker I adopted a puppy in March and spent a lot of time working with her over the summer. We took lots of walks together and had a nice relaxing time.
Jeanne Speier I had a tree cut down in my yard and have sun for the first time ever. I put in a little garden and found out that I love gardening! I planted potatoes and turnips and lots of other things that I don’t know what to do with, but it’s still fun to grow them. I went to Maine with family and was delighted by all the swimming I did this summer.
Sarah Strietmann This summer I spent much of my time traveling by car! Traveling is a passion of mine and while it is my life goal to visit all seven continents, I enjoyed seeing more of the North America this summer. Going to Leland, MI / Buffalo, NY / driving though Ontario, Canada / Asheville, NC / Columbus, OH / and Louisville, KY. These trips were full of weddings, visiting friends, and family time. One highlight was a visit to Niagara Falls while staying in Buffalo. I was especially excited to walk across the bridge into Canada, crossing another country off my bucket list! My family also loved going on the Maid of the Mist. It was amazing to see and feel the incredible power of the falls! When we got off the boat, we all wanted to do it again! I would highly recommend it! I’m excited to begin this school year, and I think my car will be thankful for some time spent not clocking as many miles!
Debbie Weinstein I had an uneventful but productive summer, sewing, straightening up my house and visiting with my grandchildren. This was a welcome and restful time, since my previous 3 summers have been very complicated.
Johnnye White I had a low key summer but spent a lot of time doing community work. As part of that, I worked a lot with a number of jazz musicians on performances we were planning. I received an award this summer for being the least grumpy person in College Hill!