W E D N E S D A Y  W E E K L Y
April 29, 2015
In This Issue


Upcoming Events

May 1
All-Staff Professional Day
Pre-registered child-care available.

May 5
Moms' Day
WMS moms & other special friends are invited to spend a morning at school.  

May 9 & 10
Delaware Marathon Weekend
Saturday - GYMM Fun Run, 11 a.m. at Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park (registration starts at 9:30 a.m.)
 
Sunday - Relay Marathon
7 a.m., Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park
Water station volunteers needed!

May 11
Montessori Monday Open House
9:30 a.m., Tell a friend!

Lead Teachers at Meerkat Theatre
Message from 
Head of School Lisa A. Lalama 
 
Read more from Lisa on our Montessori Message blog.

 

During the spring, we begin to put plans in place for the next school year. That includes considerations such as staffing, shifts in programming, professional development needs and supplies, among others.

We would like to thank all of the families who have submitted their re-enrollment paperwork. Because of you and your strong commitment to WMS, the Board of Directors was able to offer contracts to all of our current lead teachers today.  

Our goal was to be able to have contracts ready for the teachers by the end of April, and we have met that goal. Meeting this deadline lets our teachers know that you value them and their hard work with your children; it is a message that reflects the strength of our community.

If you have not yet re-enrolled, please be aware that we are now interviewing new families, and spaces will be filled on a first come, first served basis. To secure your child's seat, please submit your paperwork and deposit as soon as possible. (Contact Theresa Conaty for more information.)

Thank you again for your support in helping us as we prepare for next year. 

 

 

 

 



News & NotesNews
Bidding on the Bayou Auction Update

 

Thank you again to everyone who made Bidding on the Bayou such a success! This year's auction raised nearly $30,000 for WMS!

You can still help support the auction by stopping by the fire sale in the lobby - all items start at 50% of their original minimum bid! Tables close on Thursday at 3:15 p.m.


For a complete list of auction donors and sponsors, visit www.wmsde.org/auction.

 

Thanks for your support!      


Calling all WMS moms (and other special friends)! It's finally YOUR day! Join us next Tuesday, May 5, for Moms' Day.

 

Schedule

Classroom Visits8:30 to 10 a.m.

Reception or Student Presentation in the Great Room10 to 10:45 a.m. 
Co-op Cornerco-op

ZERO 

Zero Co-op hours reported = $900.

As the end of the school year approaches, the Business Office begins the process of tallying Co-op hours. Parents who have volunteered for multiple events/projects but have not submitted hours are surprised when they receive a bill for $900. Now is the time to either submit hours or complete hours, so your family can avoid confusion/charges at the end of the year.

 

What should your family do if its 30-hour commitment has not been completed? There are plenty of opportunities for volunteering in the coming weeks - Moms' Day, the Delaware Marathon Relay, Field Day and Graduation, for example. Please email co-op@wmsde.org to volunteer for one of these events or to connect with a staff member about fulfilling your Co-op obligation.

 

URGENT

Help is Needed for Moms' Day - Tuesday, May 5

Please check the Moms' Day sign-up sheets posted on the Co-op bulletin boards to sign up for refreshment donations and assist with setting up, hosting and/or cleaning up. You may also email co-op@wmsde.org to volunteer/contribute, as well. 

 

Support the WMS Meerkat Milers

Would you like a simple way to complete ALL 30 (or some part) of your family's Co-op hours in one fell swoop? Would you like to work on a Co-op task that will make a lot of people very happy (or, at least, hydrated)? The Meerkat Milers (Delaware Marathon Relay runners from WMS) urgently need Co-op parents to host the Market  Street water station on the race course on Sunday, May 10. Come join the fun and provide an invaluable service for the WMS runners (and other marathoners, some from the other side of the world!), while also earning Co-op hours. If you are interested in volunteering, please email meerkatmilers@wmsde.org or contact WMS mom Becky Davey!

Today's LearnersLearner
WMS Celebrates Earth Day


Tomorrow's LeadersLeaders
The UNLESS Project
by WMS Alumni Isabel Snyder & Ariel Shweiki

As you may know, PRIED (Program for Rigor and Innovation in Education) recently participated in a contest hosted by the Philadelphia Zoo, called the UNLESS Contest. The UNLESS Contest challenges schools to create a campaign that helps their community rethink recycling.

We chose to participate in the UNLESS Contest because we love to support the environment, and we saw it as a way to help our community. We also saw it as a way to practice school-related subjects, such as writing, math, public speaking and research, in a creative way. We would like to share why we campaigned at Wilmington Montessori School, how WMS prepared us to do such a project and the results of our campaign.


Because WMS has been a very supportive community in the past, we knew that they would help us with our campaign in an effective way. While we were students at WMS, we participated in other community service projects such as building a vegetable garden, supporting a non-profit organization called Vision For and From Children, and participating in the DelawareCAN food drive. These past experiences led us to believe that WMS would be a great place to campaign, and we were right!


WMS prepared us to complete a service project like this by creating a learning environment directed toward supporting our community and helping the outside world. We learned the importance of being good citizens and helping the environment through the dedicated teachers in the WMS community. Our teachers also helped us to think creatively and develop our public speaking skills. Because of these reasons, we had the confidence to design and deliver a successful campaign.


The results of our project were unbelievable! We received a total of 1652.1 pounds in donations. Out of that number, WMS gave us a whopping 844.2 pounds, or 51 percent, of our total!  Along with the amount of items you donated to us, you also helped the environment in many ways. First, you saved 3,376.8 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. You also saved 1,011,591.71 gallons of water. Additionally, you kept 422.1 pounds of fertilizers out of the soil and 21.105 pounds of pesticides out of the ground. Give yourselves a hand!


We want to thank WMS for preparing us for this project and being so supportive of our endeavors. Because of your efforts and contributions, we were chosen as one of the top five finalists in our age group. We will attend a celebration at the Philadelphia Zoo on May 12 to find out if we have won the grand prize. Regardless of where we place, we still feel like winners because we have helped both our community and the environment. To learn more, check out our blog posts about the UNLESS Project.

 

Turtle Totes


 

Isabel and Ariel have joined forces with WMS alumni Annabelle

Damude, Annika Delport, Avani Vaseduvan, Lauren Jones and Marina Garagozzo to start a non-profit business called Turtle Totes. To raise funds to help rebuild the declining sea turtle population, the girls have turned old T-shirts (many of which were donated from WMS families) into reusable shopping bags. Purchase a Turtle Tote after school in the WMS lobby on Thursday, April 30, Friday, May 8, or Friday, May 15. 


 

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, Director of Communications.

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