News from JMS

Joliet Montessori School Newsletter

September 3, 2009

1600 Root Street
Crest Hill, IL 60403

Office Hours:

8:00 am - 4:00 pm

Head of School

Ms. Jan Novotny

Administrative Staff

Lorraine Seaman

Extension 10

Business Manager Kathy Bertani

Extension 13

Development
Sue Bebar

Current Families website page

Parent Handbook

Calendar Reminders

Welcome Back Picnic

Inwood Park Pavilion

"JMS 101" or "How long has that been

in the Handbook?"

Parent Education evening, 7 pm

Primary Family Playdate

Tue, Sep 29
"Montessori Math"
Parent Education
evening, 7 pm

Looking Ahead

Thu, Oct 1 and Fri, Oct 2: Preschool Screening

Fri, Oct 2
Elementary
Family Playdate
5 - 7 pm, JMS

Missing forms reminders are included in your communication envelope, if applicable.

Carpool Reminder

Help us be good neighbors.

The speed limit in Crest Hill residential neighborhoods is 25 miles per hour. Please observe this and all other rules of the road.

JMS Family Directory

Please review your family information and contact the office with any corrections.

Refer to our Parent Handbook for guidelines concerning the use of the family directory.

Preschool Screening Volunteer Opportunity

Are you available to help escort primary children on either Thursday, Oct 1 or Friday, Oct 2 for preschool screenings? Please consider volunteering on the September Reply Form. If you have any questions, please contact the office.

H1N1 Flu Virus

Please see enclosed information for safety precautions regarding the H1N1 flu virus.

We will follow the Will County Health Department protocol for schools concerning the H1N1 flu virus.

As always, we ask that you allow sick children to recuperate at home.

Adolescent Business Ventures

A significant piece
of the adolescent curriculum is designed to teach the children to appreciate the value of hard work and earning, saving and spending their own money. Several times a year, the
adolescents work at a business venture designed to help them meet these goals.

In the past, these ventures have included selling cookies, brownies and rice krispy treats. These kinds of business ventures encourage the children to calculate costs, purchase necessary supplies, maintain inventory, and evaluate profit margins. They have also worked with companies designed to promote fair trade and global sustainability.

Family participation in adolescent business ventures supports the adolescent class and the money they earn belongs to the adolescent program.

This money has been used to schedule going outs, purchase classroom items and charitable giving.

This year they are excited about assuming responsibilty for the Innisbrook sale.

Participation in adolescent business ventures is completely voluntary.

Garden Club

will be meeting Friday, Sep 18 from

Extracurricular Activity Booklet

is included in this month's communication envelope. Registration forms are enclosed. Some classes begin as early as next week.

We are looking for an adult to help facilitate the Yearbook Club. Please contact Ms. Jan if you would be willing to share your time and talent with our children.

Greetings!

A Word from Ms. Jan

Welcome to another happy year of learning and growing at Joliet Montessori School! Thanks to many generous donations to our JMS Annual Fund, as well as the hard work and long hours put in by our volunteers, we have completed the first phase of our beautiful new outdoor environment. Additionally, work will be beginning very soon on the Adolescent House. It promises to be an especially exciting year!

Thanks to everyone who made our first Parent Orientation Dinner a resounding success! It was a truly delightful evening, giving us a chance to show off the gardens and playground, as well as to meet our new families and greet our returning parents. We also were able to raise additional funds for the expansion! The date of the 2010 dinner will be announced soon, so everyone can make plans to attend.

We would like you to join us in welcoming Ms. Suzannah Walter to the JMS community. Suzannah, who is an AMI-trained elementary directress with several years teaching and administrative experience, is the director of our new elementary class currently sharing a room with Ms. Viscovic. Next year, when our adolescents have moved to 1612, the new elementary class will take over Mr. Brandon's classroom.

Once again, thank you for entrusting the education of your children to Joliet Montessori School. We are grateful for the many ways in which you support our school. JMS families are the best!

Ms. Jan

P.O.D. 2009 calendar

Thanks to Sue Bebar, Director of Development and Marketing, and our P.O.D. Committee for a wonderful evening!

Heather & Bill Bonacorda, P.O.D. Chair-Couple
Meredith & Chris Spesia
Ann & Mark Streitz
Kevin & Catherine Whitcher
Steve & Jeni White
Jennie & Mark Villegas

Congratulations to Kim and Tim Byrne who won the "Front of the Carpool" Pass.

Congratulations to all our winners of items available both in the live and silent auctions. Winners of 'Experience' items will be contacted by their directors to schedule their event.

If you were unable to attend the dinner or could not find your child's picture, please contact the office as we have your unique "Child at Work" pictures available for purchase at $15.00 each. The photographs are 4 x 6 black and white, mounted on a 5 x 7 mat, accented with a meaningful quote by Dr. Maria Montessori.

And now a word to our sponsors - "Thanks!": Spesia, Ayers & Ardaugh; Russell I. Khater, Obstetrics; Harris Bank; Mark Streitz, D.D.S; Eager Polymers; First Community Bank; McNamara, Phelan, McSteen, LLC; Johansen & Anderson, Inc; Elliott Electric; Automated Direct Mail Services; Meade Baltz Paints; Lanagan Landscaping; McGrath Office Equipment; Planning Resources.

Thanks also to our very generous families who provided gifts of time and treasure for the evening: Karen and Matt Barowsky, Ron Bebar, Jenny Dolph, Dr. Dough Pizza (Bill Bonacorda and Anthony Perino), Stephanie Morris and Dawn Polacek. Thanks also to our moms who helped with our scarecrows: Lori Carmine, Kathy Duranto-Huebner, Kathy Londergon, Cathy Schultz and Meredith Spesia.

Thanks to our Directors, Assistants and Staff, without whose support this evening would not have been possible.

Thanks to those gracious and generous families who attended this fun social evening and helped raise over $5,000 for the JMS Campus Expansion Campaign.

...because every pea needs a pod.

P.O.D. Feedback Form

Help us make next year even better! Please complete and submit the enclosed feedback form. You make a real difference and we appreciate your input.

September Parent Education Evenings

Wednesday, September 16th, at 7 p.m.
"JMS 101" presented by the administrative staff

Are you new to Joliet Montessori or want to know more about how we're structured administratively? Have a question about the payment policy? Interested in volunteer opportunities? And just what is the deal with this carpool thing, anyway?

We have a parent night designed just for you! We will discuss operational policies and procedures, introduce room parents, and answer any questions you have about JMS.

This year's Home and School Leadership Team will be among the presenters to talk about upcoming HSA events, how HSA works, and how you can get involved

Tuesday, September 29th, at 7 p.m.
"Montessori Math" presented by Mrs. Fisher and Ms. Viscovic

Montessori Math is an exciting adventure! Come with us as we explore the primary math area. Then we'll travel down to Ms. Viscovic's elementary classroom where the secrets of geometry and algebra will be revealed. We promise to amaze you! Attendance at both presentations will count for two parent education events.

Childcare is provided, free of charge, at all parent education evenings. Please call to reserve your spot.

Home and School Association (HSA)

hsa

Your Home and School Association is excited to announce the enclosed 2009-2010 Event Calendar. Specific details of each event will be in the newsletters as the event dates near. For now, mark your calendars and save the dates so you won't miss an opportunity to get together with other JMS families.

Thank You!

Thank you to all the families who turned in their Back to School Reply form. If you volunteered to help at the picnic, you will be contacted next week with more details. If you have any questions, please contact Vicki Hartmann, our School and Family Team Leader.

Welcome Back Picnic
Join us Sunday, September 13th, from 3:30 - 6 p.m. at Inwood Park in Joliet for our annual Welcome Back Picnic. You will find us in the large pavilion in front of the playground. Bring a main dish for your family and your favorite picnic dish to share if you would like. Plates, napkins, cups, utensils, and water will be provided. We will also have several grills fired and ready for your family meal.

New this year: We will have JMS T-shirts available for sale at the picnic! Are you one of those families who always finds the order form on your desk after the due date? T-shirts will be available in child and adult sizes, while supplies last.

Room Parents

Thank you to all the parents who have volunteered to be room parents this year. These volunteers will be coordinating the holiday celebration menu donations and contacting you throughout the year with reminders of various events. They will be contacting you to introduce themselves by the end of next week. If you have any questions, please contact your homeroom parent or Mary Spesia, our School and Classroom Team Leader.

Mrs. Cornstubble
Lynn Marchio & Ann Streitz

Mrs. Fisher
Lisa Gleason & Shannon LiCausi

Mrs. Renzi
Rebeca Castro-Marquez & Eileen Kozlowski

Ms. Suzannah
Karen Barowsky

Ms. Viscovic
Marina Kostyra

Miss Francis
Susan Gomez & Donna Martin

Come Check Out Our New Outdoor Environment!

Many JMS families have spent their summer preparing the Outdoor Environment for our students and it's time to "ooh and aah" their hard work. Special thanks to Jeni White and her Outdoor Environment committee - - -

Primary students and their families are invited to come and play on Friday, September 25th, from 5-7 p.m. out in the new Outdoor Environment. A light supper will be provided, you may bring either an appetizer or dessert to share if you like. More details in upcoming newsletters. Volunteer opportunities available on the September Reply Form.

Elementary students and their families are invited to come and be social on Friday, October 2nd, from 5-7 p.m. out in the new Outdoor Environment. A light supper will be provided, you may bring either an appetizer or dessert to share if you like. More details in upcoming newsletters. Volunteer opportunities available on the September Reply Form.

The Adolescents will be planning their own event. Watch for details!

Merchant Support

There are many opportunities available to JMS to earn money from your everyday purchases. Throughout the year we will be highlighting the programs we participate in through the newsletters and on the school website. If at any point you have any questions about these programs, please contact Karen Barowsky.

This Month's Featured Merchant Support Program

boxtop

Boxtops for Education

We are once again participating in the Boxtops for Education program. We ask that each month you submit your box tops in an envelope marked BOXTOPS and return them with your signed Communication Envelope to the office.

Chances are there is at least one product in your home that participates in the Boxtops for Education program. By clipping these box tops and sending them in to school, we earn 10 cents per box top. Last year we earned over $150 through this program, and there are local schools that are earning over $5,000.

Please take a moment to check out their website www.boxtops4education.com. Besides clipping box tops they also offer a rebate program for online shopping that benefits our school. You must register on their site, and some restrictions apply, but if you shop online for the holidays, consider going through this site to your favorite online retailer and helping JMS earn more through this program.

boxtop

Brownie and Junior Girl Scouts

Brownie (2nd and 3rd year) and Junior (4th and 5th year) Girl Scouts will have their first meeting of the school year on Friday, September 11, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00p.m. at JMS. Please call Susan Khater at (815) 729-0549 if you would like to join or if you have questions.

Webelos (4th and 5th year) Cub Scouts and Tiger/Wolf/Bear (1st through 3rd years) Cub Scouts will have their first meeting of the school year at 3:30 pm on Tuesday, September 8th, at JMS.

Please call Susan Khater at (815) 729-0549, if you would like to join or if you have questions about Webelos, and Jeni White at (815) 729-3129 concerning Tiger/Wolf/Bear Scouts.

Sincerely,

The Faculty and Staff of
Joliet Montessori School

Handbook Corner

Joliet Montessori School Mission Statement
Joliet Montessori School inspires students to engage academically and socially every day, developing independence, a love of work, and a respect for all.

Portrait of a JMS Graduate
Our graduates:
Strive to meet their academic potential
Take responsibility for their education
Contribute consciously to their community
Treat others with grace and courtesy
Commit to lifelong learning

Characteristics of Professional Excellence
Our directors:
Dedicate themselves to the Montessori philosophy
Respect children and their natural learning cycles
Provide a loving, caring, nurturing environment
Develop high expectations based on each child's potential
Model sincerity and engage in genuine communication with students

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