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Marie's Message
Weekly news and notes from Head of School Marie Dugan
Upcoming School Year
Plans are in place for our upcoming 50th anniversary school year (2013-14). We are sending messages to our alumni families to invite them to join us for this year of celebration. We begin this work with a visitation from the members of our Advisory Board next Thursday, May 16. During this visit, Advisory Board members will spend time in our classrooms and meet with our board members in the Great Room. We are looking forward to a banner year!
Teacher Appreciation Week
Our school community is honoring teachers as part of National Teacher Appreciation Week. We treasure each teaching team throughout the school. Lead teachers, specials teachers, assistants and child-care staff all deserve our thanks for their incredible work with our children. They are the heart of the school. Yesterday, during Moms' Day, flowers and letters were delivered to classrooms to thank each for the remarkable work they do, and earlier this week, teachers were treated to muffins in the morning. Anna Quisel, board chair and mother to three WMS students (and one graduate), expressed her appreciation for WMS teachers: "I feel so lucky to have had amazing teachers here at WMS for my children year after year. Our WMS teachers are passionate about every child. WMS teachers come to school every day focused on challenging our children, and not only that - our teachers help our kids think beyond their own needs. WMS teachers help our children to learn to think about others, in the classroom, in their families and in the world. For our family, this has been a gift."
WMS father Kevin Kahn agreed, sharing his gratitude for the teachers who have taught his daughter Haley. "We cannot put into words how much we appreciate all the teachers at WMS," he said. "We can't thank them enough for their hard work and dedication to our daughter each day." WMS's teachers would like to share their gratitude to the parents who have worked so hard to show their appreciation this week. They say that it has brightened their week to receive sweet cards from your children and other special surprises!  Moms' Day
Yesterday, we celebrated Moms' Day at WMS through classroom visits, a gathering/discussion on parent involvement in the Great Room and our wonderful French performance. I was thrilled to see so many mothers and other special friends at school. Thank you to Mayura Simon for chairing this event and for all of the parents and staff who helped it come together. Be sure to visit our Facebook album to see many photos from this beautiful morning taken by Heather Siple, Zack Siple and Noel Dietrich!
Thank you, Fabienne - Magnifique!
Yesterday's French play Boucle d'Or et Les Trois Ours (Goldilocks and the Three Bears) was a beautiful end to Moms' Day. It is amazing how our 7-9 and 9-12 students were able to sing and act out an entire play in French - at most schools, foreign language instruction doesn't even start until 7th grade. At the beginning of the performance, our preschoolers and 5-7 students also sang a French song. Many thanks to our French teacher Fabienne Daniels for her ongoing work with preschoolers through sixth-graders at WMS and for writing and directing this play. We also thank Julie Cooke, the play's assistant director, for all of her hard work on this and other WMS productions (and for playing Clifford during the book fair each year). Julie's son Chris graduated from WMS in 2011, and we are so grateful that she continues to come back to share her talents with our students. She is a true example of a parent who embraced our co-op system! The Learning Lab The Delaware Learning Lab's Summer Reading Program 2013 offers intensive daily reading instruction for students ages 5 and older. Instruction is individualized for each student and all instruction is one-on-one. The four-week program will run from June 17 to July 12. Children will receive one hour of instruction per day (longer sessions may be scheduled for older children for an additional fee) with a 5% discount for those who register before May 30. More information about payment and registration can be found on brochures that are available at the front desk or from Trish Harkins.
Questions? Contact rebeccaschaen@comcast.net or call 302-250-5244. Children enrolled in Camp Montessori may also attend the reading program and will be escorted to their sessions by camp staff.
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May
9 PTO Meeting
9:15 a.m.
10 School Spirit Day
Wear your Meerkat Milers shirts,
spirit wear or school colors to show
your support for our runners
participating in the Delaware
Marathon Relay this Sunday!
PTO-sponsored Dessert & Dance
Party - All ages welcome!
6-8 p.m.
Enjoy ice cream, dancing and
friendship one last time before the
end of the school year!
Tickets available for $5 before and
after school
12 Delaware Marathon Relay
Support our WMS runners starting at
7:05 a.m. at the Wilmington
Riverfront.
13 New Family Reception
10 a.m., Library
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16 PTO-sponsored Make Your Own
Natural Cleaners Workshop 7 p.m. in Room 10 More info
22 Admissions Open House
9:30 a.m., Lobby
Tell a friend!
23 WMS Lacrosse Students and
Parents
Game and Pizza Party
After school
We Kids Rock! Concert
3:30 p.m., WMS outdoor stage
Facebook event page
24 Elementary Field Day Volunteers needed!
More info
27 Memorial Day
Building closed.
No school or child care.
29 Preschool Field Day
Volunteers needed!
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Encouraging Our Children Toward Independence
Parenting Tips
by Certified Parent Educator (and WMS Great-Grandmother)
Yvonne Nass
The question of rewards often comes up in a parenting class. If your goal is to control your child then rewards might work. A child might do what you want if they like the "carrot" you are dangling. If your goal is to live in a family where everyone participates then rewards have no place.
When you use a system of rewards you teach the child to only do something when there is something in it for them - What will you give me? How much will you pay me? - a child will not develop a sense of responsibility to meet the needs of the situation and to contribute to the welfare of the group. I believe all families can celebrate accomplishments, share good feelings about getting the job done and give lots of hugs, smiles and warm post-it notes. What could be better than that?
For more information about this and other parenting topics, contact Yvonne Nass at MyNass@aol.com. |
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Helping Delaware's Hungry Children (Donate peanut butter to our "wall"!)
by Avani Vasudevan and Sarah Breger
Kids around the world don't have enough food. People who have enough food may not think about the people who don't have enough food. We can do something to help. Maybe right now we can't get food to Africa but we can start here in Delaware.
Everyone deserves food but not everyone can afford it. Seventeen percent of children live in poverty in Delaware and 55,000 children in Delaware receive food stamps to trade in for food. In America, 16 million kids struggle with hunger and even die from it. We can all make a difference in the world and make that number less.
Peanut butter is affordable and many children like it. It's healthy because it's high in protein. If you compare peanut butter to chicken, a chicken breast has 12 grams of protein which is equal to just 3 tablespoons of peanut butter.
The 9-12 students are collecting peanut butter to build a wall that we will donate to The Food Bank of Delaware during our visit on May 31. The food bank will distribute the peanut butter to children in Delaware. You can help by picking up an extra jar of peanut butter and dropping it in the box outside of room 9 or 10. Thanks for helping us help Delaware's kids.
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 Support the Meerkat Milers at the Delaware Marathon - This Sunday!
 Please join us in cheering on our six Wilmington Montessori Teams, made up of students, staff and parents, at the 2013 Delaware Marathon on Sunday, May 12. The race begins at 7:05 a.m. at the Wilmington River Front. Look for our WMS tent in Tubman Garrett Park! On Friday, wear your WMS spirit wear, Meerkat Milers shirts or school colors to school in support of our runners! |
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We Kids Rock @ Wilmington Montessori School
May 23, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
WMS's woods/outdoor stage
Join us for a free concert on Wilmington Montessori School's outdoor stage and enjoy fun, interactive rock 'n' roll for the very young and young at heart! This event is open to the public, so tell a friend and share our Facebook event.
To learn more about We Kids Rock, visit www.wekidsrock.com. |
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Camp Note - Share the joys of Camp Montessori
Camp Montessori is a wonderful place for children, a great resource for families AND an essential contributor to the financial health of WMS. If none of the many options offered are of use to your family - or if you've already registered - please consider taking a brochure and passing it to a friend or neighbor.
In my neighborhood, I've even left them under people's doormats if I know they have children between 2 and 14! Sharing the brochure offers others the opportunity both to share in the joys of our community and to contribute to its future. It will help their children AND yours. All it takes is a few minutes of your time. Thank you for your help!
- Cass Winner, Director of Extended Day Programs
To learn more about Camp Montessori and register for this or other camps, visit wmsde.org/camp. Many programs are filling quickly, so be sure to sign up soon! |
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 Co-op support needed for Field Days
Looking for a way to earn some end-of-the-year co-op hours AND enjoy fun and fitness outside?
Physical education teacher Adrianna Wall is looking for a number of co-op volunteers to help with Elementary Field Day on May 24 from 8:30 a.m. until noon.
A few volunteers are also needed for Preschool Field Day on May 29. Stations are run by 9-12 students, but we will need several parents to supervise the activities.
Finally, we are looking for someone to donate water ice for our children to enjoy during field day.
Earn co-op hours for any of the opportunities above. To volunteer, please email Adrianna at acichonska@wmsde.org or sign up on the main co-op board across the from the library.
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Coming next week - Earth Day Workshop
Make Your Own Natural Cleaners
Sponsored by the WMS PTO
Open to the public..
Date: Thursday, May 16, 2013
Time: 7 p.m.
Room 10
Cost (covers materials): $7
Is this something you've thought about doing but haven't found the time? Now's your chance! Meet like-minded people in a fun workshop while making your own natural house-cleaning products. We will be making:
- All-purpose cleaner
- Floor cleaner
- Laundry detergent
There will also be a list of more recipes and simple tips for getting greener at home.
Please RSVP by Saturday, May 11, using this form so we can provide enough materials for everyone.
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The Wednesday Weekly shares WMS news and events that are relevant to the families in our community. Please send submissions to wednesday-weekly@wmsde.org by 4:30 p.m. on the Friday prior to the issue in which you wish to include your information. Content may be edited for length and style and may be held for a future issue due to space constraints. For more information, contact Noel Dietrich, Communications Officer.
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Our Mission
Wilmington Montessori School is a collaborative learning community rooted in Montessori principles, inspiring the joyful discovery of self and a passion for learning and independent thinking. We empower children to be knowledgeable and responsible contributors to the global community.
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