The BEEC program will be held at the Hilltop campus on Friday morning, March 28th, and children will not be travelling to BEEC. There is a full roster of children signed up, but they can accommodate more if you would like to be added!

A big thank-you for coming to our Peace Curriculum Evening!

During the course of the evening the teachers discussed Peace Curriculum goals and ways in which they accomplish those goals. One particular focus was conflict resolution. The Peace Place is an area in the prepared environment where the disputing children can go to calmly express their feelings to each other and reach an amicable agreement on their own. Cheryl and Ellie demonstrated how this area is used in our classrooms.

"No one is claiming that the Peace Rose or other Peace works will ultimately lead to a peaceful world.. but it can lead children to reject violent means of settling disputes. If our youngest citizens form the habit of resolving conflicts peacefully it is possible they will become more peaceful adults who, hopefully, will work toward a more peaceful world." By Alicia Jewell

Another busy week in the Upper El. Jen brought in two pig hearts for the sixth grade to dissect as part of the human body systems study.  (Ask your sixth how many chambers the pig heart has.) The fourths and fifths had a lesson on the power of roots to pump water up to their leaves. This is made possible by the structure of the water molecule itself, and we recalled our work of water experiments and the stickiness of water (adhesion and cohesion). The students then examined the structure of roots under the stereoscope, both the exterior of a root and in cross section. In geometry, the sixths explored the relationship between the diameter of a circle and its circumference by rolling out circular objects on a straight line. They found that the circumference is about 3 1/7 times the diameter. In Art, the students were creating tessellations as an outgrowth of our Islamic study and their geometry work.

Thanks to all who attended the Peace Curriculum Night. We really enjoyed our community meetings with parents.

A quick reminder about three upcoming events:

1. March 20, 9 AM trip to the Latchis Theater to hear the Windham Orchestra. We are still in need of drivers for this  trip.                                         

2. Thursday, March 27, (Noon dismissal) and Friday, March 28 (no school) parent conferences.

3. Thursday, April 10, UE play at 1 PM and 5 PM. After the play we have a potluck meal here at school. We are still in need of a couple of people to coordinate this event. If you are interested, please contact Dan at dfiller@hilltopmontessori.org.   

We began the week with our last stellar performance of "Boxed In". The audience was comprised of the Hilltop elementary classes, a mixture of parents, students from the Marlboro middle school, Anna, from the Women's Freedom Center who was a guest speaker during our "Struggle for Peace" study, and a contingent from Holton Home. Jeremy invited his elderly companion, Barb, to the performance and his initiative blossomed into three more companions and Holton Home's activities director, Elenka, making the trip and enjoying the performance. After the show the Marlboro students and Anna stayed behind and we entered into a conversation about the process and themes of "Boxed In". It was a nice way to end this part of our year's journey.

The next day we jumped right into "The River of Spirit". Beginning with a little meditation, we explored the different perspectives of religion and started looking at the big questions that have permeated our historical need to gather and contemplate the worlds beyond us. Later in the week, we discussed our first major religion, Hinduism. What worlds to explore! As we discover and investigate five of the world's religions, we will be hosting clergy and practitioners of those faiths in the classroom. Here is the schedule for our speakers if you would like to join us for any of these exchanges:

 Hinduism - Friday, March 21 at 9:00 - Shital Kinkhabwak

Buddhism - Monday, March 24 - Gary Keiser (former Tibetan Buddhist monk) and hopefully the Ven. Geshe Ngawang Singey

Judaism - Monday, March 31 - Kate Judd, spiritual leader - Brattleboro Area Jewish Community

Christianity - Thursday, April 5 at 9:30 - Reverend Mary Lindquist of Saint Michael's Episcopal Church

Islam - Monday, April 7 - Amer Latif, professor of religious studies at Marlboro College

Plans and the itinerary for the River of Spirit Odyssey are coming along beautifully. We will be sending along details in the weeks to come. Here is a reminder of the dates that we will be away: Thursday, April 24 to Wednesday, April 30th.

Have a wonderful weekend.