Joliet Montessori School News Brief
September 16, 2010
1600 Root Street
Crest Hill, IL 60403

Office Hours:
8:00 am - 4:00 pm 
 
(815) 741-4180
 
Business Manager
Kathy Bertani 
Extension 13 
 
fax
(815) 741-9753
 
Current Families website page
 
 
Calendar Reminders
calendar
 
Thu, Sep 16
Scholastic book orders are due
 
Fri, Sep 17
Preschool screening packets due to office
 
Garden Club meets 3:30 - 4:30 pm 
 
Tues, Sep 28
Parent Ed Night
"Planes of Development"
6:30 pm
 
Week of Sep 27 
Adolescent
Nature's Classroom Trip
 
Wed, Sep 29 and Thu, Sep 30 
Preschool Screenings
 
 
Looking Ahead
October is Parent Observation Month
 
Mon, Oct 11
Columbus Day
No School 
Manna
Orders
Manna Informational Letter and Order Forms are available on our website.  
 
Orders are due by Monday's 3 pm carpool and are delivered the following Thursday.
 
Please contact Sue, at extension 14, with any questions.
 
 
Adolescent Corner
 
Innisbrook orders
are due 
Fri, Sep 24
 
- - - - -
 
If anyone is interested in ordering from
Olive Living,  
please go to www.oliveliving.net and register your
e-mail addresses for reminders of when orders are due and the pick-up dates and times.
 
In our ongoing attempts to be more ecologically friendly and to reduce possibilities of lost orders, please plan on placing orders electronically. 
 
Thank you for your support.
 
Greetings!
JMS Board of Trustees
 
is actively recruiting prospective trustees.  Please contact the Committee on Trustees Chair, Mrs. Lynn Gonzalez at (815) 230-2737 for further information.
Who is the JMS Search Committee ?
 

In August, the JMS Board of Trustees Executive Committee was charged with creating an ad-hoc Search Committee to help our school locate the best match for our Head of School opening.  In keeping with JMS's commitment to follow the guidelines suggested by Independent School Management (ISM), the JMS BOT has structured the Search Committee so that it "defines and guides the Head search process, keeps it on track and...helps to provide a broader perspective that ensures that finalists will have the backing of the school community." 

 

Our Search Committee is comprised of both current and past BOT members, one of whom is a Montessori trained directress.  It also includes a current JMS faculty member with administrative experience in an AMI school.  Past experience conducting a search and relevant career experience was considered in forming this committee. 

 

Our members are:  
 

Chair - Jason Rausch, Dawn Polacek, Justin Binns, Heather Bonacorda, Nan Renzi, Jean Venegas and Christian Spesia.

 

The Search Committee is committed to locating a new Head of School that will continue to uphold JMS's mission to "inspire students to engage academically and socially every day, developing independence, a love of work and a respect for all" while at the same time ensuring the ability of JMS to serve our community for future generations to come.

 

We will be updating you on our progress in this newsletter on a regular basis and we will be updating the BOT each month until a final candidate is presented.  We are YOUR Search committee and value your input.  Please feel free share your thoughts as we move forward!
Parent Education Evening

Tue, Sep 28, at 6:30 p.m.
"Exploration of the First and Second Planes of Development in  Primary and Elementary Classes" presented by Mrs. Cornstubble and Miss Francis

Please join us as we explore and discuss the continuum from the first plane of development to the second plane of development.
 
Childcare is provided, free of charge, at all parent education evenings.  Please call to reserve your spot.
Home and School Association (HSA)
 
hsa
Thank you to Vicki Hartmann for organizing the Fall Family Picnic this past Sunday. Also thank you to the Kozlowski family for helping with set up and clean up.
Half Day Primary Children
 
Preschool screenings will be held at the school on the mornings of Wed, Sep 29 and Thu, Wed Sep 30.  Parent information packets are due tomorrow.  Please contact the office if you need a replacement packet.
Extra-curricular Classes
 
Kindermusik classes are now forming
 
Culinary Arts classes begin on Sep 24
 
After-School Music Program includes violin, piano and percussion
 
** Registration Forms are available here.
Spring Event Writing Team  
 
Interested Writers are meeting on Sep 23, from 3:30 to 4:30 pm, to discuss the choice of play and begin the writing process.
P.O.D Hand Sculptures Purchase Deadline
 
We have a very generous family that has offered to purchase any leftover hands from our P.O.D. event.  If you still have not purchased your child's hand, please do so by Fri, Sep 24.  
 
Please contact Sue Bebar at (815) 741-4180, ext 14, if you have any questions.  Thank you.
Montessori Dictionary
 
Exercises of Practical Life:  One of the five areas of the Montessori prepared environment.  The exercises of practical life resemble the simple work of life in the home:  sweeping, dusting, washing dishes, etc.  These purposeful activities help the child adapt to his new community, learn self-control, and begin to see himself as a contributing member of the social unit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my child scrubbing tables?
 
Well, to us it looks like they're scrubbing tables.  They're actually executing a complicated sequence of tasks that:
 
* Improves their coordination
 
* Lengthens their span of concentration
 
* Develops their physical, mental and emotional self-control
 
* Creates left to right muscle memory in preparation for reading and writing 
 
* Establishes good work habits by paying attention to detail and cleaning up after themselves when they've finished
 
* Practical Life exercises develop the child's awareness of caring for themselves, caring for others and caring for the world around them
Sincerely,
 
The Faculty and Staff of
Joliet Montessori School
Handbook Corner
 
Absences
 
If your child will be absent, please contact the Attendance Line at 815-741-4180, extension 10.  Should your child contract a contagious disease, please notify the school immediately so that we may alert the faculty and other parents.  Contact your family physician for time frames for children returning to school.  You may also refer to this page for further information.
 
Children who are ill should recuperate at home.  We ask you to be considerate not only of your own child's health but also that of the other children and the staff.  Your child may be removed from the classroom, at the discretion of the director, to help prevent the spread of illness and contagious diseases.