Dear Montessori Parents,

We enjoyed our Open House on Friday evening. Thanks to the Classroom Directress/Directors, parents, PTO, and Board members who helped make the new families feel welcome. We would also like to thank Paul Archie and his Marines who spent Saturday making the back gardens more beautiful. Of course, they were greatly assisted by Matilda Archie and the Archie children. We would like to thank Marie Bowman for organizing and supervising the removal of the dead trees on the Elementary grounds.

Another group that has been working very hard is our Board of Directors. This coming week you will be receiving your paperwork to register your student/s for the 2012-2013 school year. We are committed to the quality of life for our Montessori students. One way that we are going to accomplish this goal is by limiting the Primary classes to 21 students. Students will still be visiting the Outdoor Classroom each week, so the actual number of students in the classroom during the morning work period will be 17.

Of course, the Board of Directors feels that we can accomplish this because we have projected an increased enrollment in our Elementary building. Our final enrollment goal which we should meet within three years is as follows:

Stepping Stones East- 14 students on any given day

Stepping Stones West-12 students on any given day

Primary East-21 students

Primary West-21 students

Primary South-21 students

Outdoor Classroom-No enrolled students-Only students visiting from Primary classrooms

Elementary North-21 students

Elementary South-21 students

Upper Elementary-21 students

To better understand the curriculum for your child's classroom, please visit the Parent Handbook on our website www.jacksonvillemontessori.com.

Enjoy this beautiful Spring weather.

Peggy Higgins

Volunteer Opportunities

Please log your volunteer hours in the book in the office. In April we will be sending you an accounting of your hours for the year. Let us know if you need help finding volunteer opportunities.

Volunteer Opportunity

Weeding flower beds

Fellow MCS parents,

As a new parent to MCS, I asked myself why the Annual Auction was so important to the school and why all the brouhaha over it..... and I have found out why.

Over the past few months, I've had the privilege of working on the Annual Auction Committee. Initially, my involvement was to attend a couple of meetings and simply help out where it was needed. Then I became more involved in decorating... then donations... then it just turned into what seemed like everything! I found out quickly that this event takes a lot of work:. a lot of energy, dedication and a little sweat. While that sounds not so enticing to do it again next year, I have to admit that I'm going to be the first to stand in line to do it all over. You see, the pluses of being involved outweighed any sacrifices I made to participate. The biggest and most important plus of being involved was being afforded the opportunity to forge new friendships with fellow MCS parents. I know that might sound a little corny or you could even say that you can get to know other parents doing other things, and you can; but you build a special bond with these parents working so hard on something so important to the school and ultimately our children. I have met parents that have been with MCS for years and parents that are new to the school just like me. I met parents who work 40+ hours a week and somehow found the time to dedicate another weekly 10+ hours on the auction. I met generous parents who were able to help with a simple pen stroke on a check and others that gave with their time. Basically parents participated in ways that they could. There was no help that was too little or too generous. There were even parents that no longer have children at the school travel back to Jacksonville just to help and attend the event - it was amazing to be a part of such a strong family of support.. There were so many new friends I made; I couldn't possibly name them all. Thank you to Margaret, Jennifer, Susan, Kim, Ann, Valerie... Jill, Christina, Kristina, Chris, Tiffany, Korene.... Katherine, Denise, Marie, and so many more! You ladies (and many cases your fabulous husbands!) are a great group! And thanks to Shane and Sharon in the Office for their support, too! It is my hope that another new parent next year will have the same experience as I have had. Actually, it is my hope that MANY more parents have my experience.

I learned that I have much in common with the other parents and while we may come from different backgrounds, have different lives and different outlooks - we do have a commonality - our children and the desire to see them receive a solid foundation in their education through the teaching philosophy of Montessori. It is that bond that made working with them on this huge project so fulfilling. Sure, I came home some nights exhausted from my work day, sometimes with a sick little one or sick myself, working late into the night on bid sheets, programs or table centerpieces.. and when the event was all over I could barely walk a straight line and maybe had 5 hours of sleep in 3 days... but I would do it all again.

In the end, we surpassed last year's money raised. And that means that the school will have money to budget for critical elements that will support the efforts of our child's education such as basic maintenance, teacher salaries, and supplies to support the ever growing needs of our children. And that is why the Annual Auction is so important.

I feel I need to make an important note here that if these parents didn't help in some way.. this event would never have been as successful without their dedication. And if this event is going to be bigger and better to support the school's ever growing needs to meet the demands we will need to have more parents helping next year - that means you. There are so many areas to help with.. Whether you are a full time working parent, a single parent, a parent who is stay-at-home, part time...there is something you can do. In the Fall, you will be able to learn what areas you can help with.

I look forward to meeting you then if not before. And I look forward to forging a special relationship with you too!

Thank you,

Christie Skerski