Hilltop Montessori News August 16, 2013

Summer was fun and it's not over yet, meet us at the beach....see below!

Tamara's blog (Hilltop's new Head of School!)

August Update

I LOVE MY NEW JOB!!! Really, I am so excited to be here in this wonderful community and this beautiful setting. I attended Montessori Administrators training over the summer and must say that I was the envy of the group to be starting at such a strong, established school.

And here we are with summer almost over . . . soon the halls and classrooms will be bustling with your children. Staff and teachers have been working on many preparations for September. You all should have received letters in the old fashioned mail that discuss the upcoming year and the intricate schedule for the next few weeks. We wanted to also send this note by email to reiterate our upcoming events:

Mark Your Calendar

Work Party, Thursday, Aug 22 (4-7pm)

Help us get our campus ready for the new school year! This is a perfect opportunity for new parents to meet the Hilltop community and for returning parents to reconnect after summer. It's fun and makes a huge impact in a few short hours. Food and supervision for little ones will be provided.

Children's House Parent Orientation, Thursday, Aug. 29 (3-5 pm)
Parents meet with teachers and discuss expectations of independence and responsibilities for your 3-5 year old. This group meeting is required for new parents and very strongly encouraged for returning families to attend as well. This will be a talk led by teachers with time for parent questions.

Potluck for 6th Years, Thursday, Aug. 29 (5:30-7pm)
Sixth year students are invited to attend a potluck picnic at Hilltop. This dinner is an opportunity to say hello and to discuss the role of the sixth years in our classroom community this upcoming year.

Conferences for students NEW to Lower El, Upper El and Middle School, Thursday & Friday Aug 29, 30
Please sign up for a time slot with Ann Brehm at the front desk 257.0500 ext. "0".

Visiting day for students new to Children's House and Lower El
Friday, Aug. 30 (9-11am)
Parents and child(ren) are invited to stop by the Primary classrooms and Lower Elementary classrooms to visit, become familiar and more secure with their new environment. Plan to spend 15-30 minutes in the room between 9 and 11am.

First Day of School! Tuesday, Sept. 3
Regular day for Upper El and Middle School. On Sept. 3, students new to Lower Elementary arrive at 8:30 am and returning students arrive at 11 am. The regular schedule for Lower Elementary begins on the second day of school.

Orientation Schedule Children's House Tuesday, Sept.3 - 6
3 year olds : Tues - Fri, 8:30- 10:00 am, there is no Before Care available during this week, and no After Care for the 3 year olds.

4 and 5 year old students: Tues-Fri, 10:15 am - until their scheduled dismissal time at 11:45, 3:00, 4:00 or 5:00pm.

There is no before school care available during this first week as children are still getting acclimated to school. All early morning care will begin the second week of school.

Hilltop Community Picnic, Friday, September 6, 5-dusk
Ware's Grove Beach, Spofford NH
Upper Elementary Families host this festive back to school beach party. Bring your swimmies, connect with old friends and make some new ones. Stay tuned for more details. Rain date is Saturday, Sept. 7.

Other changes...

New Format
We want your feedback on this new "mobile friendly" format for our newsletter. Email Amelia with comments, include other ideas you may have for the weekly letter too!

Elementary Parents - Did you notice the new snack policy?
Snack takes up an inordinate amount of staff and teacher time. Also, snack prep is not always the idyllic practical life, grace and courtesy lesson that we all would hope for. Many times students are busy with lessons, or are engaged in an activity and snack prep is done by a teacher. Also, not everyone has the same tastes and food goes to waste - no one likes to see that. In addition, each child has different snack needs. An Upper El boy may need a significantly bigger and more protein packed snack than a first grade girl. Don't worry, our kitchen will see lots of action with plenty of opportunity for your children to develop culinary, nutrition, sharing, and community eating skills! Contact Tamara directly if you would like to discuss further.

Construction Update: We had hoped to have the solar panels on and the barn at least demolished by the start of school, unfortunately there have been delays out of our control. The solar panels are being funded by Green Lantern and the funds will not be "released until September". We will make every effort to ensure that construction does not interfere with campus activities. For example, we have arranged with the solar panel installer to have the bulk of the noisy construction take place over the long weekend in October so that children will not be disturbed by the noise. We will work to make the same kind of accommodations for the barn work, once the permitting issues are behind us and work can begin. Be on the look out for updates on these projects.

See you at the Community Work Party
Make sure to wear your work clothes...

Click here to visit the Hilltop Montessori School website calendar