Wednesday Weekly
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November 13, 2013
Marie's Message    
Weekly news and notes from Head of School Marie Dugan 

 

 

50th Birthday Celebration
The giant birthday cake that sits in the front lobby was designed and built by your art teacher Laurie Muhlbauer, with help from technology teacher Michael Johnson and our children. It will be decorated during the two-week celebration of this year's Annual Fund Drive. Be sure to bring your child to the table to attach a flower to the cake. Candles will be added as contributions to the fund come in. We want everyone to help us decorate our fabulous cake. Let's all add a candle!

 

Musicians from our community, including talented teachers Mary Kate Newell, Atiba Fields, Michael Johnson, and Leslie Carey, will entertain at arrival time all week, and board members will greet parents and staff. Be sure to stop by the Annual Fund table in the lobby to watch the WMS NEWS video that was made by some of our children. If you would like your child to be included in our second episode, stop by the Great Room tomorrow (Thursday) between 3 and 4 p.m. For more information about the video, please email Sharon Miller at [email protected]. The questions are about what the children like about their school! Our goal for the annual fund this year is to support teachers and staff, improve our playgrounds and Peace Park, enhance our technology and science programs, and make improvements of many kinds in the building and grounds. This month, we need to replace three giant roof units that provide heat and cooling to the building. Thank you for helping! 
Donate to the WMS Annual Fund Today

To learn more, visit www.wmsde.org/annualfund.  

 

Transition Mornings
Transition mornings are some of the most important days of our school year. 
They offer our parents the opportunity to enter classrooms and observe your child's next-level rooms. They are four days set aside for children entering preschool, kindergarten, second grade and fourth grade. For instance, if your child is a toddler this year, and she/he will be 3 years old in September 2014, you can observe the next-level class. 


Dates:

November 14, 9 a.m. - Transition to kindergarten
November 18, 9 a.m. - Transition to 9-12 program
November 19, 9:30 a.m. - Transition to preschool
November 20, 9 a.m. - Transition to 7-9 program
(Note: If you can't attend the scheduled transition day for your child's age group, please contact Theresa Conaty to schedule a visit to a next-level classroom!) 

 
Liz, Lisa, Theresa and I will meet with parents at the end of the observations to discuss curriculum and answer questions. Please take the time to be with us to learn more about next steps in your child's experience at WMS. Join us tomorrow for the first transition morning event for children moving into their kindergarten year at WMS.  

Register Now Button

 


Marie's Signature   

Mark Your Calendars

November 

14Transition to Kindergarten Morning (for current preschool parents) - 9 a.m. 
Begins in the Lobby
See Marie's message above for more information on Transition Mornings. 

PTO Meeting - 9:15

Great Room

18Transition to 9-12 Program Morning (for current 7-9 parents) - 9 a.m.
Begins in the Lobby 

19Transition to Preschool Morning (for current toddler parents) - 9:30 a.m.
Begins in the Lobby 

20Transition to 7-9 Program Morning (for parents of current first-graders) - 9 a.m.
Begins in the Lobby 
 More Info on Transition Mornings

25Montessori Monday - Admissions - 9:30 a.m.
Tell a friend! 

Home-School Enrichment Program Open House - 10 a.m.
Learn more and tell a friend!

26Grandfriends' Day - 8:15 a.m.
27School Closed 
Pre-registered child-care available

28 & 29No school - Happy Thanksgiving!
No child-care - Building Closed 
A Field of Dreams: WMS Alum Renovates Baseball Field in Underserved Neighborhood as Eagle Project

When WMS alumnus Matthew Graesser was 13, he told his parents that he wanted to renovate a baseball field in an underserved city neighborhood for his Eagle Scout project. His desire grew out of a weekend of games that his summer travel baseball team played at a rundown field in South Philadelphia. Struck by the condition of the field, Matthew began to appreciate the quality of the fields on which his team typically played. He realized that the kids on the other team loved baseball as much as he did and he felt that they deserved to play on a well-kept field too. This summer, 16-year-old Matthew, a 2009 WMS alumnus, current 11th grader at The Tatnall School, and Life Scout with Boy Scout Troop 99 in Bellefonte, achieved his goal. 
Read More
Co-op Corner
WMS Spruce-Up Day/Green Apple Day of Service - Thank you!

Special thanks goes out to all of the parents, current students and alumni who made the WMS Spruce-Up Day/Green Apple Day of Service such a productive event! We were able to tackle a range of gardening and maintenance jobs on a beautiful fall day - including trimming, pruning, weeding, repainting the playground four-square and the reorganizing of the Supply Closet. In addition, four boxes of Shoebox Recycling were boxed and prepared for mailing.

Thanks go to the Matalonis, Yanis, BernhardCuevas Riego de Dios, Lober and Surbrook-Bowers families; parents Stacey Silvers and Matt Harris; and alumni Michael Lober and Alexis Skotak for their work, as well as Kelly Lambiras, who followed up later in the week with the final prep for the Shoebox Recycling mailing. We also greatly appreciated the on-site support of staff members, Elizabeth Varley and Chuck Connor.  
News & Notes
WMS Hosts Tellabration!
November 23

TELLABRATION!a world-wide night of storytelling, is coming to Wilmington Montessori School on November 23.  Every year, on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, story-telling enthusiasts from every continent but Antarctica (anyone know any penguin storytellers?) gather to share the oldest form of entertainment - telling stories.  Please join the Wilmington Story Tellers and WMS for an evening of wonderful, child-appropriate stories.  Doors to the Great Room will open at 6:30 p.m. and stories will start at 7 p.m. 

This event is free! and open to the public. A basket for donations to benefit the WMS library will be at the door.

 

 

On Grandfriends' Day, we invite these family members and friends to spend a fun-filled morning at WMS and your join child in the classroom. Attendees will enjoy refreshments, activities with students, a special musical performance and more!

 

Invitations were sent home with children last week. These can be personalized by your child and mailed to grandfriends!

 

Schedule:

8:15-9 a.m.       Registration in the lobby

8:30-10 a.m.     Elementary classrooms open to grandfriends for visits

9-10 a.m.          Preschool and Toddler  classrooms open to grandfriends for visits

10-11 a.m.        Reception in the Great Room including refreshments, music and more!

 

RSVP: Visit www.wmsde.org/grandfriends or call 302-475-0555. (Parents, feel free to RSVP on behalf of your grandfriends!)

 

WMS Students to Perform in Tricia Sloan Dance Studio's Nutcracker
December 21 & 22, 2013 


Marina and Lilla Garagozzo, students in the 9-12 and 7-9 programs, will be showing their talents as dancers in the Tricia Sloan Dance Center's production of "The Nutcracker" this December at the Scottish Rite Theater in Collingswood, N.J. Tickets are currently on sale for 1 and 5 p.m. performances on December 21 and 22.

Seating will be limited! To learn more or purchase tickets, visit www.triciasloandance.com/nutcracker.htm.


The Wednesday Weekly shares WMS news and events that are relevant to the families in our community.  Please send submissions to [email protected] 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.