This article is written by Hope Miller, TNSM parent and member of the Diversity and Community Engagement Committee (D+CE) and expresses her views. At TNSM, we are grateful to have this D+CE forum that allows opportunities for members of our community to share their own beliefs, always with the goal of expanding our understanding of each other’s experiences and points of view. We live in a Good Friday world—a world of perennial bad news and immeasurable sorrow. The tragedy in Ukraine, the never-ending pandemic, our sobering history/reality of racial injustice, the quickening pace of environmental destruction…I could go on. But what …
Doing the work that brings true equality
Article written by Rachel Lwin, member of the Diversity + Community Engagement Committee (D+CE) and expresses her views. At TNSM, we are grateful to have this D+CE forum that allows opportunities for members of our community to share their own beliefs, always with the goal of expanding our understanding of each other’s experiences and points of view. Last week, DC+E committee members Claudia Lòpez and Allie Precht shared their dialogue about the mixed feelings that they, and perhaps many of us, have about monthly recognitions like Women’s History Month. I, for one, found myself internally nodding along to their points …
Mummified apples in canopic jars
New School Montessori 1st-3rd graders studied the ancient Egyptians mummification process that was used to dry and preserve the organs and bodies of important figures who had died. The powdery substance natron (found in dry lake beds) was used in mummification and also as a preservative for meat and fish when mixed with salt. Students conducted experiments in groups, testing various “mummification” processes on slices of apple using four different substances: salt, baking soda, vinegar and sugar mixed in various strengths that they recorded and tested. They also ran a control test and made observations daily. Egyptians used and decorated …
The complexities of celebrating one-day or month-long holidays
Article written by Allie Blocksom Precht and Clauda López – members of the Diversity & Community Engagement Committee (D+CE) and expresses their views. At TNSM, we are grateful to have this D+CE forum that allows opportunities for members of our community to share their own beliefs, always with the goal of expanding our understanding of each other’s experiences and points of view. The Diversity & Community Engagement committee members have engaged in vulnerable and open conversations around a number of topics from world events, legislation being formed in our very own state that could impact our families and children, and …
Honoring and celebrating women’s history and contributions
Article written by Claudia López, Diversity and Community Engagement (D+CE) Committee Member (D+CE) and expresses her views. At TNSM, we are grateful to have this D+CE forum that allows opportunities for members of our community to share their own beliefs, always with the goal of expanding our understanding of each other’s experiences and points of view. The Diversity and Community Engagement Committee has been working together with TNSM staff to develop a cultural calendar to coordinate different curricular and extra-curricular activities for our TNSM students and community. We know March is the month when we especially honor and celebrate women’s history …
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This is your cause. It is our cause.
This article is written by Hope Miller, TNSM parent and member of the Diversity and Community Engagement Committee (D+CE) and expresses her views. At TNSM, we are grateful to have this D+CE forum that allows opportunities for members of our community to share their own beliefs, always with the goal of expanding our understanding of each other’s experiences and points of view. March is my happy month. My wife and I had our first date in March—14 years ago. We got married in March—11 years ago. And I was born in March—an undisclosed number of years ago. The weather hints at …
We said, “Yes.”
Hello Friends, We are SO close to our goal. Your support can get us there. If you have not given yet, this is the time to be a part of the future. This is the moment to make your mark. The New School Montessori needs all of us to do what we can to ensure that when we look toward tomorrow, it’s A Beautiful Vision. Here are a few voices from our community, sharing why they have given. If you have three minutes, you will not want to miss this tribute. The Annex, which we are replacing with …
Students in (6-9) created prints using Gelli plates
New School Montessori elementary art teacher, Robin Hartmann, worked with students in 1st-3rd grade on what she calls “Mark Making.” Students began by rolling paint onto a Gelli plate and then used everyday objects like a comb or a leaf to leave a pattern on the Gelli plate’s surface. Students could create a more complicated print by layering colors and/or various textures. Once they had the design looking the way they liked, they placed a sheet of white paper on top, pressed it down firmly and then peeled it off the plate so that it absorbed the resulting printed image. …
What has gotten you thinking lately?
Are there articles, websites, videos, books, or organizations that have helped you to think differently about issues of inclusion, equity, and diversity? Or ideas that you have come across and realized were a blind spot you had never even considered before? This week, I am hoping to turn this section of the newsletter on its head and ask you, the readers, if you have any resources to share? One of the things that drew our family to TNSM is the Montessori focus on peer learning and the openness to learning as a community. Especially after these times where our in-person …
Preprimary students led the school in an Olympic closing ceremony.
At The New School Montessori, we had our own closing ceremony for the 2022 Winter Olympics Games. Children in our 3 preprimary classrooms have been studying the different continents and made flags for each participating country. The closing parade was joyous and triumphant and was attended by many spectators from the (6-9) and (9-12) levels as the children processed through each learning environment, flags waving and crowds cheering! What an impactful way to study geography and to have “Fun with Flags.”