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Week 2 Term 1 2017

Our AMI trainees preparing to embark on the first evening of their course. Recognise anyone...?

Message from the Principal

Dear School Community,

Welcome back everyone!!

We are now well into the first few weeks of what will be an exciting Term One. Our staff have returned from a well-deserved break, both refreshed and excited to commence another year supporting our students on their Montessori journey.

This year we have engaged with the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) as a staff to develop our understanding of ‘Assessment’ in the shifting sands of educational trends...

Collegially, we will also be looking closely at our Montessori practice, seeking to build our depth of understanding and service provision within this framework...

At our Annual Community Gathering picnic on 20^th February, you will be able to receive some insight into the direction of our school, meet new staff and be excited by the array of opportunities to engage with and support your child’s learning and our school....

From Director of School Administration

Dear CMS Community,

Welcome back to another fantastic year at our school. We have kicked the year off beautifully with three days of fantastic Professional Learning from how to use a fire extinguisher (heavier than you might think) to having sport instruction given to our Directors.

The sport facilitator, Harriet Walker, came from PE Pulse and shared websites and resources with our Directors who may be a bit rusty having not delivered PE for some years. Harriet encouraged all our Directors to sign up for what is going on in the ACT...

The class parents are appreciated as a wonderful conduit for parents to find out more from their Director without having the Director explain every little nuance pertaining to the daily life at CMS. Our class parents are extremely valued by our staff and leadership of the school and help us recognise many details of focus for parents...

Specialist Teachers in Montessori:
The Montessori Director is responsible for the whole child. Watching the development of the child very carefully, as each movement and response to the environment is observed, allows unblocking of obstacles and developing planned presentations of our Montessori materials to develop the child in all areas of growth. The reason authentic Montessori schools do not engage specialists is due to the whole Montessori curriculum Directors are trained to deliver...

Áine Barker
Director School Administration

Upcoming Dates

Term 1 2017

Wed 8 Feb Annual Community Gathering - postponed until 20 Feb 6pm
Thu 9 Feb Class Parents Meeting 9am
Fri 10 Feb Speech & Drama class 3.15pm - enrol on line www.redstars.com.au
Tue 14 Feb Montessori Readings (Book) Club 7pm
Wed 15 Feb Gumnut bookings for Annual Community Gathering due by today
Thu 16 Feb Fundraising Meeting 8pm (NB: new time)
Mon 20 Feb Annual Community Gathering picnic 6-7pm
Wed 22 Feb Learnscapes Meeting 7pm
Fri 24 Feb Scholastic Book Orders due
Mon 27 Feb Child/Parent sessions commence
Mon 6 Mar Redgum Book Orders due
Thu 9 Mar Parent Education event
Fri 10 Mar Grandfriend's Afternoon
Mon 13 Mar Canberra Day Public Holiday
Tue 21 Mar Annual General Meeting 7pm
Wed 29 Mar Learnscapes Meeting 7pm
Fri 31 Mar CMS Disco 5pm
Fri 7 Apr Walkathon
Fri 7 Apr Last Day of Term 1

School Calendar 2017

Redgum Book Club

Dear Parents,

Our school is participating in Redgum Book Club again this term. The catalogues will be sent home this week.

To view the current catalogue, please open the link Redgum Book Club Term 1 2017 You will find many more great titles on their website that you can order this term, with books starting from $2.00.

The catalogue is now open and closes on 6^th March. Ordered books will be delivered free to the school week commencing 20^th March. Every book order will earn resources and books for our school.

More information here ...

Like to send us some feedback? you can use our new email address:
feedback@cms.act.edu.au

From our CMS Parent Volunteer Committees

Fundraising & Social Events Committee

A very warm welcome to all new and existing families from the Fundraising & Social Committee. Welcome back to school and welcome to another exciting year of fun and social activities (some of which even raise some money for the school).

Our first meeting of the year is Thursday 16 February at 8pm. If you've always wondered what goes on at a meeting, follow the sounds of laughter on the 16th! We come together as parents who want to have some fun and promote the school community. New and inventive ideas welcome, as are the strong silent volunteers! We have lots of activities and fun things to plan for the year...

Learnscapes Committee

The Learnscapes Committee is a small group of parents and teachers who are committed to improving the outdoor educational and play-spaces at the school. Our first meeting is on Wednesday 22nd February from 7-8pm. Please come along if you are interested in improving your child’s learning environment!

We would like to extend a huge thank you to the families who volunteered their time during the holidays to water the school gardens. Despite some very warm weather we have managed to keep the gardens and some patches of grass alive and even green! Your efforts are appreciated!

In 2016 we had a productive year thanks to the funds from the 2015 Spring Fair and a small but dedicated group of volunteers. The focus was on the Cycle 1 playground improvements ...

Montessori Nature-Play Group

A group of Montessori families catch up weekly for unstructured nature play and exploration of the natural world. If you'd like to join in follow this link for more information.

Montessori Readings (Book) Club

Come and join us at school on the second Tuesday of each month at 7pm. This month on Tuesday 14th February we’ll be looking at ‘Imagination’. Places are limited so please sign up at the office if you would like to attend and pick up your readings.

The Montessori Readings (Book) Club offers parents a chance to really analyse one area of Montessori each month. Our readings and discussions will centre around children in regards to independence, socialisation, freedom and discipline, imagination, sleeping, transitioning to traditional education, praising and moral development, the prepared environments (at home and school), and curriculum areas of language, practical life, sensorial, mathematics and Cosmic Education (the primary curriculum).

Looking forward to seeing you there,

Sarah Beresford-Jones
Red Gum Director

Useful links

In this blog from MAF some simple, yet effective ways in which adults can support the development of a young child are presented. They are our “must-knows” for parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters.

Montessori Australia now offers an online Montessori materials store for the home with a 10% discount for CMS families.

Maren Schmidt, a certified AMI Montessori teacher who holds a Masters in Education from Loyola College in Maryland, founded a Montessori school, and has over thirty years experience working with children, has some interesting articles here.

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Canberra Montessori School · 35 Mulley Street, Australian Capital Territory, Australia · Canberra, ACT 2611 · Australia