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Friday, may 29, 2020
Letter from the Head of School
Dear MCH Families,
I hope you are all doing well, and that you have been able to enjoy the beautiful weather that finally found us. It’s hard to believe that the end of the school year is only weeks away, and summer is right around the corner! With that being said, in this week’s newsletter I wanted to give all of our families deeper insight into the work the Campus Re-entry Team has been doing as we prepare for the summer and fall.
Over the past two weeks, the Campus Re-entry Task Force has been meeting daily to discuss and develop plans and strategies so that we can return to the MCH campus. We are looking forward to doing just that for families in a 12-month contract in our Lower School, beginning June 22nd, 2020. My hope is that all read this carefully, so that everyone is up to date as we move closer to the end of the school year.
Summer Care for Children in a Twelve-Month Enrollment AgreementAt this point, it is important to make clear that summer camp as we have known it will not be taking place this year. However, we have identified adequate staffing and physical classroom space to allow summer childcare for our twelve-month students to take place; in order to accommodate all children enrolled, we will have to re-purpose some of our classroom spaces to have the appropriate amount of space to accommodate all of these students.
To streamline our efforts in the enormous work required to re-enter our campus, earlier today we sent an email via Transparent Classroom to those families holding Twelve-Month Enrollment Agreements. Completing this form is crucial to our planning and asks you to identify your intentions for the summer. Please prioritize completing those forms, as we need this information in order to reopen in three short weeks. We thank you for getting those back to us as soon as possible.
Survey Follow-UpsThank you to everyone who was able to participate in our first two surveys. We’ve received very good results and have most of the data we need to keep moving forward. However, our most recent survey, which is very short, still does not represent enough of our community to provide us with enough data to ensure all voices are being heard. We really want and appreciate your insight, and would appreciate you taking two minutes out of your day to participate.
Lower School
Upper School
Save the Date for the following Town Hall Meetings:Our Re-Entry Task Force has identified several areas we need to consider as we work through our re-entry plans. While we are eager to share all of the details with you, there are some important steps that need to take place before doing so, especially as some of the decisions are not finalized. As community stakeholders, we really need your input on these important topics before moving forward with final decisions.
So, we are hoping that you will join us in a Zoom Town Hall Meeting for your level. The schedule for each program level is as follows. Please note that all Elementary and Middle School families should join the Upper School Town Hall Meeting. More information will be forthcoming next week on how to join the meeting and how you can participate.
Infant/Toddler Town Hall Meeting - Monday, June 8 4:00-6:00 PM
Early Childhood Town Hall Meeting – Tuesday, June 9 4:00-6:00 PM
Upper School Town Hall Meeting – Wednesday, June 10 4:00-6:00 PM
A Sneak PeekCurious as to what our committee has been working on before these events? Here is a truncated list, and we invite you to join us at the Town Hall Meeting to learn more!
Developed Task Force Re-Entry Goal Statement
Risk Assessment/Guidance Leadership
We identified the need for new Task Force members in the following areas:
Health Care, Medical, Epidemiology, Legal and Government Policy Development.
Identified Regulatory Guidance
Facility Zoning/Physical Distancing/Program Modification
* Identified a flexible phasing model that clearly defines campus re-entry and closure during pandemic swings
* Identified various scheduling options that support social distancing guidelines and supports existing enrollment
* Developed staff scheduling that will support extended day enrollment
* Identified classroom design configurations that foster for social distancing
* Identified ways to stagger arrival/dismissal that support social distancing
* Identified how to schedule and outdoor space usage to limit group sizes
* Improving School at Home program model for use as necessary
* Identified strategies for stronger social & emotional curriculum implementation
Facility Management/Modification
* Identified additional classroom space to address capacity limitations, remodels in progress
* Identified staff office reconfiguration, remodels in progress
* Identified other internal and external building modifications to facilitate health & safety
* Identified new vendor challenges and initiated new vendor relationships to mitigate challenges
* Addressing air flow and air quality modifications
Screening
* Developed health screening procedure
and protocol
* Developed arrival/dismissal procedure
and protocol
PPE
* Developed policy and procedure for staff and faculty by program level and job description
* Identifying vendor resources for appropriate equipment
Health & Hygiene
* Developed mask policy for children and curriculum ideas to facilitate and encourage use
* Identified instructional ideas to support health and hygiene practices
* Developed policies and procedures to support health and hygiene practices
* Identified food service policy revisions
* Developed Illness & Exclusion guidelines
* Developing substitute procedures and solutions for staff illness and exclusion
* Developing closure policy & procedure for COVID exposure in the community
Cleaning & Disinfecting
* Developed policy and procedure on increased cleaning and disinfecting procedures
* Identified new equipment to heighten the level of disinfection in classroom environments
* Collaborated with janitorial company to modify cleaning requirements, procedures and products
Upcoming Goals for the Re-Entry Task ForceAs we move forward into next week, we will be working on addressing the following areas:
▪Supplies & Equipment
▪Staff Training
▪Policies & Procedures
▪Financial ImplicationsFinally, we appreciate how eager everyone is to know more finalized plans as we move on to summer and next year, and we are, too! With your help through the surveys and Town Hall events, we will bring your input and needs into the fold as we continue to make decisions and push through this important work.
We thank you for your trust, patience and participation as we all work hard to come back together as a community on our physical campus environment. Thank you for taking the time to read and enjoy your weekend!
Stay safe,
Jennifer McConnell
Head of School
Important Details and Links from the Video
Yearbook Information
Even though the campus has been closed, students in the Yearbook Club have been hard at work on finishing up the Yearbook, and we need YOUR help! We are looking for submissions of your favorite photos you've taken at home during this time. We are looking for photos of students and families learning, bonding, and creating together during our School At Home time. Here are some ideas of photos to contribute:
School-At-Home
Baking & Cooking
Making & Creating
Board Games & Family Nights
Family walks
Bike Riding
Playing with Pets
Gardening & DIY Projects
If you have any photos for the yearbook, please send them to [email protected]. In the subject of the email, please add a short description on the type of photo you are submitting.
Have you ordered your MCH 2020 Yearbook?
The Yearbook will be delivered right to your door in August and will include moments throughout the year. TreeRing has also reduced the shipping cost to $2.99 (regularly $7.99). When you order a MCH Yearbook from TreeRing you get to customize 2 free pages for your personal yearbook. TreeRing will also plant 1 tree for every yearbook ordered!
Click Here to purchase your yearbook: TreeRingYearbookPurchase
PassCode=1014224544742546
Passcode for ordering: 1014224544742546
Price: $23.73
Shipping: $2.99
MCH Wednesday Connection Series with Jonny Gold June 3rd at 4pm
A Special Family Concert is coming your way! Local Musician Jonny Gold will be covering classics both past and present for a fun and engaging evening of music for the whole family! Jonny has performed on stages across America, and is both a parent in our Community as well as Ms. Sarah’s partner. We are super excited to welcome Jonny to our MCH Connection Series!
J
onny's performance will be broadcast via Facebook live on the MCH Facebook page at 4 pm this Wednesday, June 3rd. If you’d like to check them out ahead of the event, we invite you to find and listen to their music on your preferred music streaming service. Here’s a YouTube video to get you started!
A Special Note of Thanks from Liem Kaplan, 6th Grader at MCH
Helping out those in need has long been a part of the MCH community, and last week was no exception. We shared the work that our 6th grade student Liem Kaplan is doing to help the homeless. He wanted us to pass on a note of thanks for those who were able to help, as well as an update on the results and what we can help with for this weekend’s donations. Please read through to the end for a list of what's needed, as well as a new drop-off location and time for tomorrow. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read, we are so proud of him for doing this incredibly important work within the homeless population of the Puget Sound.
“I am Liem and I am 12. I recently joined the MCH community earlier this Spring, and wanted to thank you all for helping me with the donation for the Homeless. I have been serving the homeless for a long time. When COVID-19 started, I was really worried about the people without shelter. I didn’t think they would be able to get masks or hand sanitizer and I knew some of the feeding programs and shelters were closed. I wanted to do something. I started making hygiene kits with masks, hand sanitizer, socks and snacks.
Last week I joined with friends who have been serving lunch bags and water and we went out to the homeless camps on Sunday and distributed 50 masks and over 200 lunch bags. I ran out of masks and felt bad that we didn’t have more.
On Monday I posted a request for donations. I wanted to have enough hygiene kits to give out every week to everyone who needs one. I also wanted to have enough food for everyone who was hungry.
So many people responded, so many people helped. Old friends, new friends, my school, so many Facebook groups from Sammamish, Issaquah and Redmond. So many people I have never met delivered things to my porch! So many people sewed beautiful masks, made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, brought snacks, water, hand sanitizer and socks. The manager from Value Villiage in Issaquah donated 400 pairs of socks!”
MCH and Liem thank everyone who was able to donate last weekend. If you’re interested in helping out, it’s not too late! Liem and his family will be doing this as often as possible, and for this weekend’s donation, they are asking for the following highly needed items:
▪Fresh fruit: apples, bananas, oranges
▪Apple sauce squeeze packets/pouches
▪Bottled or boxed water
▪Capri Sun or other juice boxes
▪Individual packages of cookies and other sweet treats
▪Grocery gift cards to purchase additional needed supplies
▪Used men’s large size shoesIf you are interested in donating, please bring your donations to drop off between 12-3 pm at the Redmond Art Works, at 6825 176th Ave, #A110, Redmond, WA. Please note that we will NOT be collecting donation on the MCH Campus this weekend. Thanks for reading!
Newspaper Submissions
Our students are working hard to finalize our first publication of the MCH Voice! It's been remarkable to see their hard work and dedication along with the depth and quality work that has been submitted. They are all so excited to share it with you next week!
And now we're ready for you to submit MORE so we can make MORE!! Click here if you have something to share- please share!
Articles We Are Paying Attention to
Should the Childcare Industry Get a Bailout? - New York Times
How Schools Will Be Reopening in the Fall - Wall Street Journal
Dear MCH Families,
I hope you are all doing well, and that you have been able to enjoy the beautiful weather that finally found us. It’s hard to believe that the end of the school year is only weeks away, and summer is right around the corner! With that being said, in this week’s newsletter I wanted to give all of our families deeper insight into the work the Campus Re-entry Team has been doing as we prepare for the summer and fall.
Over the past two weeks, the Campus Re-entry Task Force has been meeting daily to discuss and develop plans and strategies so that we can return to the MCH campus. We are looking forward to doing just that for families in a 12-month contract in our Lower School, beginning June 22nd, 2020. My hope is that all read this carefully, so that everyone is up to date as we move closer to the end of the school year.
Summer Care for Children in a Twelve-Month Enrollment AgreementAt this point, it is important to make clear that summer camp as we have known it will not be taking place this year. However, we have identified adequate staffing and physical classroom space to allow summer childcare for our twelve-month students to take place; in order to accommodate all children enrolled, we will have to re-purpose some of our classroom spaces to have the appropriate amount of space to accommodate all of these students.
To streamline our efforts in the enormous work required to re-enter our campus, earlier today we sent an email via Transparent Classroom to those families holding Twelve-Month Enrollment Agreements. Completing this form is crucial to our planning and asks you to identify your intentions for the summer. Please prioritize completing those forms, as we need this information in order to reopen in three short weeks. We thank you for getting those back to us as soon as possible.
Survey Follow-UpsThank you to everyone who was able to participate in our first two surveys. We’ve received very good results and have most of the data we need to keep moving forward. However, our most recent survey, which is very short, still does not represent enough of our community to provide us with enough data to ensure all voices are being heard. We really want and appreciate your insight, and would appreciate you taking two minutes out of your day to participate.
Lower School
Upper School
Save the Date for the following Town Hall Meetings:Our Re-Entry Task Force has identified several areas we need to consider as we work through our re-entry plans. While we are eager to share all of the details with you, there are some important steps that need to take place before doing so, especially as some of the decisions are not finalized. As community stakeholders, we really need your input on these important topics before moving forward with final decisions.
So, we are hoping that you will join us in a Zoom Town Hall Meeting for your level. The schedule for each program level is as follows. Please note that all Elementary and Middle School families should join the Upper School Town Hall Meeting. More information will be forthcoming next week on how to join the meeting and how you can participate.
Infant/Toddler Town Hall Meeting - Monday, June 8 4:00-6:00 PM
Early Childhood Town Hall Meeting – Tuesday, June 9 4:00-6:00 PM
Upper School Town Hall Meeting – Wednesday, June 10 4:00-6:00 PM
A Sneak PeekCurious as to what our committee has been working on before these events? Here is a truncated list, and we invite you to join us at the Town Hall Meeting to learn more!
Developed Task Force Re-Entry Goal Statement
Risk Assessment/Guidance Leadership
We identified the need for new Task Force members in the following areas:
Health Care, Medical, Epidemiology, Legal and Government Policy Development.
Identified Regulatory Guidance
Facility Zoning/Physical Distancing/Program Modification
* Identified a flexible phasing model that clearly defines campus re-entry and closure during pandemic swings
* Identified various scheduling options that support social distancing guidelines and supports existing enrollment
* Developed staff scheduling that will support extended day enrollment
* Identified classroom design configurations that foster for social distancing
* Identified ways to stagger arrival/dismissal that support social distancing
* Identified how to schedule and outdoor space usage to limit group sizes
* Improving School at Home program model for use as necessary
* Identified strategies for stronger social & emotional curriculum implementation
Facility Management/Modification
* Identified additional classroom space to address capacity limitations, remodels in progress
* Identified staff office reconfiguration, remodels in progress
* Identified other internal and external building modifications to facilitate health & safety
* Identified new vendor challenges and initiated new vendor relationships to mitigate challenges
* Addressing air flow and air quality modifications
Screening
* Developed health screening procedure
and protocol
* Developed arrival/dismissal procedure
and protocol
PPE
* Developed policy and procedure for staff and faculty by program level and job description
* Identifying vendor resources for appropriate equipment
Health & Hygiene
* Developed mask policy for children and curriculum ideas to facilitate and encourage use
* Identified instructional ideas to support health and hygiene practices
* Developed policies and procedures to support health and hygiene practices
* Identified food service policy revisions
* Developed Illness & Exclusion guidelines
* Developing substitute procedures and solutions for staff illness and exclusion
* Developing closure policy & procedure for COVID exposure in the community
Cleaning & Disinfecting
* Developed policy and procedure on increased cleaning and disinfecting procedures
* Identified new equipment to heighten the level of disinfection in classroom environments
* Collaborated with janitorial company to modify cleaning requirements, procedures and products
Upcoming Goals for the Re-Entry Task ForceAs we move forward into next week, we will be working on addressing the following areas:
▪Supplies & Equipment
▪Staff Training
▪Policies & Procedures
▪Financial ImplicationsFinally, we appreciate how eager everyone is to know more finalized plans as we move on to summer and next year, and we are, too! With your help through the surveys and Town Hall events, we will bring your input and needs into the fold as we continue to make decisions and push through this important work.
We thank you for your trust, patience and participation as we all work hard to come back together as a community on our physical campus environment. Thank you for taking the time to read and enjoy your weekend!
Stay safe,
Jennifer McConnell
Head of School
Important Details and Links from the Video
Yearbook Information
Even though the campus has been closed, students in the Yearbook Club have been hard at work on finishing up the Yearbook, and we need YOUR help! We are looking for submissions of your favorite photos you've taken at home during this time. We are looking for photos of students and families learning, bonding, and creating together during our School At Home time. Here are some ideas of photos to contribute:
School-At-Home
Baking & Cooking
Making & Creating
Board Games & Family Nights
Family walks
Bike Riding
Playing with Pets
Gardening & DIY Projects
If you have any photos for the yearbook, please send them to [email protected]. In the subject of the email, please add a short description on the type of photo you are submitting.
Have you ordered your MCH 2020 Yearbook?
The Yearbook will be delivered right to your door in August and will include moments throughout the year. TreeRing has also reduced the shipping cost to $2.99 (regularly $7.99). When you order a MCH Yearbook from TreeRing you get to customize 2 free pages for your personal yearbook. TreeRing will also plant 1 tree for every yearbook ordered!
Click Here to purchase your yearbook: TreeRingYearbookPurchase
PassCode=1014224544742546
Passcode for ordering: 1014224544742546
Price: $23.73
Shipping: $2.99
MCH Wednesday Connection Series with Jonny Gold June 3rd at 4pm
A Special Family Concert is coming your way! Local Musician Jonny Gold will be covering classics both past and present for a fun and engaging evening of music for the whole family! Jonny has performed on stages across America, and is both a parent in our Community as well as Ms. Sarah’s partner. We are super excited to welcome Jonny to our MCH Connection Series!
J
onny's performance will be broadcast via Facebook live on the MCH Facebook page at 4 pm this Wednesday, June 3rd. If you’d like to check them out ahead of the event, we invite you to find and listen to their music on your preferred music streaming service. Here’s a YouTube video to get you started!
A Special Note of Thanks from Liem Kaplan, 6th Grader at MCH
Helping out those in need has long been a part of the MCH community, and last week was no exception. We shared the work that our 6th grade student Liem Kaplan is doing to help the homeless. He wanted us to pass on a note of thanks for those who were able to help, as well as an update on the results and what we can help with for this weekend’s donations. Please read through to the end for a list of what's needed, as well as a new drop-off location and time for tomorrow. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read, we are so proud of him for doing this incredibly important work within the homeless population of the Puget Sound.
“I am Liem and I am 12. I recently joined the MCH community earlier this Spring, and wanted to thank you all for helping me with the donation for the Homeless. I have been serving the homeless for a long time. When COVID-19 started, I was really worried about the people without shelter. I didn’t think they would be able to get masks or hand sanitizer and I knew some of the feeding programs and shelters were closed. I wanted to do something. I started making hygiene kits with masks, hand sanitizer, socks and snacks.
Last week I joined with friends who have been serving lunch bags and water and we went out to the homeless camps on Sunday and distributed 50 masks and over 200 lunch bags. I ran out of masks and felt bad that we didn’t have more.
On Monday I posted a request for donations. I wanted to have enough hygiene kits to give out every week to everyone who needs one. I also wanted to have enough food for everyone who was hungry.
So many people responded, so many people helped. Old friends, new friends, my school, so many Facebook groups from Sammamish, Issaquah and Redmond. So many people I have never met delivered things to my porch! So many people sewed beautiful masks, made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, brought snacks, water, hand sanitizer and socks. The manager from Value Villiage in Issaquah donated 400 pairs of socks!”
MCH and Liem thank everyone who was able to donate last weekend. If you’re interested in helping out, it’s not too late! Liem and his family will be doing this as often as possible, and for this weekend’s donation, they are asking for the following highly needed items:
▪Fresh fruit: apples, bananas, oranges
▪Apple sauce squeeze packets/pouches
▪Bottled or boxed water
▪Capri Sun or other juice boxes
▪Individual packages of cookies and other sweet treats
▪Grocery gift cards to purchase additional needed supplies
▪Used men’s large size shoesIf you are interested in donating, please bring your donations to drop off between 12-3 pm at the Redmond Art Works, at 6825 176th Ave, #A110, Redmond, WA. Please note that we will NOT be collecting donation on the MCH Campus this weekend. Thanks for reading!
Newspaper Submissions
Our students are working hard to finalize our first publication of the MCH Voice! It's been remarkable to see their hard work and dedication along with the depth and quality work that has been submitted. They are all so excited to share it with you next week!
And now we're ready for you to submit MORE so we can make MORE!! Click here if you have something to share- please share!
Articles We Are Paying Attention to
Should the Childcare Industry Get a Bailout? - New York Times
How Schools Will Be Reopening in the Fall - Wall Street Journal
wednesday, May 20, 2020
What's Inside?
Message from the Head of School
Community Happenings
▪Furry Friends Need a Home
▪One of Our 6th Graders is taking charge of an amazing project giving back to the Homeless in Puget Sound
▪MCH Newspaper - We have a name!
▪Next Wednesday's Connection - An Odyssey Listening Party
News from the Lower School - Volcanoes and more
News from the Upper School - Morado Community Gatherings
Noteworthy Outside Links
Letter from the Head of School
Dear MCH Community,
As we roll into this long 5-day weekend, I want to take a few moments to say, “Thank you”. After ten grueling weeks of our campus being physically closed and rolling out a School at Home digital Montessori program, I continue to be floored by the solidarity, grace, kindness, flexibility, resilience and loyalty that the MCH families, students, staff and faculty have all demonstrated. I have appreciated and enjoyed the connections, the questions, the conversations, and the offers of support and expertise that continuously come from the community. This has not been an easy journey, but it has been a journey that has represented who we are as a community and what we value together.
As we move towards the final stretch of the school year, our Re-entry Task Force has been meeting daily to develop our plans for re-entering our campus as soon as possible. There is a tremendous amount to do to ensure the health and safety of our students, staff and faculty but we are making progress and feeling increasingly confident in our ability to build a path back onto campus based on guidance and safety requirements. After my request in last week’s newsletter, we had several families with expertise in Medical, Nursing, Epidemiology, Health & Safety and Communication offer to serve on our task force, and we are very grateful for this.
As we initially rolled out the School at Home 1.0 program, we worked hard but knew we would need to make improvements. Your input on our last the last survey was immensely helpful in making the changes the to School at Home program 2.0. While our goal is to get our students back to the MCH campus as quickly as possible, we also recognize that pandemics can come in waves and we want to be better prepared to offer the best online Montessori education we possibly can should we be forced to do so in the future. We would greatly value your feedback on the School at Home 2.0 program, in order to make any necessary adjustments in creating the School at Home 3.0 program. Like the last one, this survey is being kept brief in appreciation of your time.
Again, my deepest thanks to our entire community. We know the struggles you have faced (and are still facing) are real, and we appreciate your partnership and commitment through this crisis. We would not be here without you. Enjoy your long weekend and enjoy these moments with your family, things will go back to normal at some point and my hope for all of us is that we see this time as an opportunity to reconnect with the things that matter the most: our loved ones and the beautiful natural world we live in.
Cheers!
Jennifer McConnell
Community Happenings
Furry Friends Need a Home!
After graciously fostering Lila’s guinea pigs, Chacha and Luna, since school was let out, one of our Upper El families would like to share the love, and are hoping for another family willing to help out. They would like people to know that an added bonus of homing the guinea pigs is that their pellets make great garden fertilizer! :)
Please keep in mind that MCH will cover all costs. You can reach out to our animal specialist, Ms. Dasha, if you are interested in housing the guinea pigs, and she will help facilitate the drop off.
Helping the Homeless in Puget Sound
For families looking to give back to those in need, one our very own 6th grade students, Liem Kaplan, and his family would like to invite you to join them in assisting the homeless community in the Puget Sound. Each week, they help coordinate getting health and food needs met for as many people as possible. If you feel like your family has the time and ability to help, they are in need of donations of the following items, listed in order of most important/needed:
1) Mini-bottles of hand-sanitizer! These can be empty or full, as they have large refill bottles with which to re-fill them. This is by far their highest need.
2) Cloth Masks – These do not need to be filtered, any material works. If you’ve already been making masks, this is a great way to help!
3) Grocery items – fresh fruit, cases of water, gallon-sized zip lock style bags, individually wrapped snacks like chips, dried fruit, and energy bars. They also hand out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to the people they visit, and can use as many as you are willing to make ahead of time. Please place each sandwich in its own zip lock individual baggie.
If you are able to donate anything this week, there will be a drop-off area for dry goods, and a cooler to place any fruit or sandwiches into. This will be set up next to the stairs (at the top of the roundabout). You do not need to coordinate with us, and can drop off your donations anytime between 12-5 pm this Friday, May 22nd. Please remove the cones in the driveway and replace them upon exiting the campus. We ask that you wear a mask and gloves when dropping items off, and that you and your family stay inside your vehicle if there is another family making a drop-off, until they have finished.
Please note that these needs for the homeless community are ongoing, so if this week will not work for you to contribute, any time in the future would be accepted and appreciated. We will let families know about future collection days/times, but can also coordinate individual donations. Please email Mr. Marc - [email protected] with any questions regarding this drive, and thank you for your consideration!
Our Paper Has a Name, Now it Need Your Submissions!
Our elementary students voted, and the MCH Newspaper will hereby be known as
The MCH Voice!This is such a wonderfully chosen name because it truly represents what we'd like to hear- the voice of the entire MCH community. While it is a student run newspaper that our elementary students are taking charge of, this is a newspaper that we'd like to represent our entire community.
We would love for you to share anything that you’ve been doing at home, or anything that you or your child are passionate about. This could be art, a recipe, something surrounding community, gardening photos or stories, something you and your child have enjoyed doing together…the sky is the limit!
Submissions for the first publication are due by 9 am, Tuesday, May 26.
Please reach out if you have any questions, and we hope to share your work!
Wednesday Connections May 27
Odyssey Act 1 Listening Party! Next Wednesday, we'd like to invite all of you to join us on Zoom for a community wide listening party! Let's see if we can set a new record for how many people we can fit on a Zoom call! The elementary community listened to Episode 1 last week, and it was so delightful to watch the students' faces as they heard themselves and each other. During this zoom call, we will play all of Act 1 together, which includes Episode 1 and Episode 2. We hope you can be a part of next week's listening delight!
Though we will be starting with Episode 1 for our listening party, you are of course welcome to listen ahead of the event!
One of our teachers described the wonder of the radio drama's listening experience, saying that "It feels like... little glowing omniscient orbs bouncing around, watching humans play out a story through time in front of them."
News from the Lower SchoolWe are currently producing the third at home material packet for infant, toddler, and early childhood students. This packet will go out on May 29. Please be sure to pick it up because there’s lots of wonderful materials in there to support the fun lessons that our teachers plan!
News from Lower School
The Early Childhood began their study of Volcanos this Monday with the 40th Anniversary of the Mount St. Helens eruption. Ms. Melissa shared stories, ash from the eruption and photos of her family on that day from their farm in Eastern Washington. Did you know you can still find ash along the side of the road along I-90 in Eastern Washington?!
Next week we will be learning all about dinosaurs, including an incredible plant that lived way back then, that you can still find around our campus today! We hope you are loving the new live format for Music and Spanish, as well as getting more time with your child’s teachers during their daily lessons, and parent conferences.
News from the Upper School
Wednesday morning Community Gatherings in Morado provide an important opportunity to connect in one virtual space as a larger classroom community. We offer appreciations, share stories and announcements, and see and hear the collection of wonderful individuals that make up our class of lower elementary students.
Earlier in the week, Ms. Mary gave small group lessons to first years on creating a timeline of the school year. One of the goals of the lesson was working to develop an understanding of the sweep of time over the course of a year by reflecting on significant and memorable events. As an extension of this lesson, we brought the idea of reflecting on the school year to our Wednesday morning Community Gathering. As a way to think about where we’ve been and where we are now, we spent time sharing memories from the school year.
We’re going into the long weekend with full hearts!
From the Morado Teaching Team
Noteworthy Outside Links
CDC Quietly Releases Detailed Guidelines for Reopening the US
Message from the Head of School
Community Happenings
▪Furry Friends Need a Home
▪One of Our 6th Graders is taking charge of an amazing project giving back to the Homeless in Puget Sound
▪MCH Newspaper - We have a name!
▪Next Wednesday's Connection - An Odyssey Listening Party
News from the Lower School - Volcanoes and more
News from the Upper School - Morado Community Gatherings
Noteworthy Outside Links
Letter from the Head of School
Dear MCH Community,
As we roll into this long 5-day weekend, I want to take a few moments to say, “Thank you”. After ten grueling weeks of our campus being physically closed and rolling out a School at Home digital Montessori program, I continue to be floored by the solidarity, grace, kindness, flexibility, resilience and loyalty that the MCH families, students, staff and faculty have all demonstrated. I have appreciated and enjoyed the connections, the questions, the conversations, and the offers of support and expertise that continuously come from the community. This has not been an easy journey, but it has been a journey that has represented who we are as a community and what we value together.
As we move towards the final stretch of the school year, our Re-entry Task Force has been meeting daily to develop our plans for re-entering our campus as soon as possible. There is a tremendous amount to do to ensure the health and safety of our students, staff and faculty but we are making progress and feeling increasingly confident in our ability to build a path back onto campus based on guidance and safety requirements. After my request in last week’s newsletter, we had several families with expertise in Medical, Nursing, Epidemiology, Health & Safety and Communication offer to serve on our task force, and we are very grateful for this.
As we initially rolled out the School at Home 1.0 program, we worked hard but knew we would need to make improvements. Your input on our last the last survey was immensely helpful in making the changes the to School at Home program 2.0. While our goal is to get our students back to the MCH campus as quickly as possible, we also recognize that pandemics can come in waves and we want to be better prepared to offer the best online Montessori education we possibly can should we be forced to do so in the future. We would greatly value your feedback on the School at Home 2.0 program, in order to make any necessary adjustments in creating the School at Home 3.0 program. Like the last one, this survey is being kept brief in appreciation of your time.
Again, my deepest thanks to our entire community. We know the struggles you have faced (and are still facing) are real, and we appreciate your partnership and commitment through this crisis. We would not be here without you. Enjoy your long weekend and enjoy these moments with your family, things will go back to normal at some point and my hope for all of us is that we see this time as an opportunity to reconnect with the things that matter the most: our loved ones and the beautiful natural world we live in.
Cheers!
Jennifer McConnell
Community Happenings
Furry Friends Need a Home!
After graciously fostering Lila’s guinea pigs, Chacha and Luna, since school was let out, one of our Upper El families would like to share the love, and are hoping for another family willing to help out. They would like people to know that an added bonus of homing the guinea pigs is that their pellets make great garden fertilizer! :)
Please keep in mind that MCH will cover all costs. You can reach out to our animal specialist, Ms. Dasha, if you are interested in housing the guinea pigs, and she will help facilitate the drop off.
Helping the Homeless in Puget Sound
For families looking to give back to those in need, one our very own 6th grade students, Liem Kaplan, and his family would like to invite you to join them in assisting the homeless community in the Puget Sound. Each week, they help coordinate getting health and food needs met for as many people as possible. If you feel like your family has the time and ability to help, they are in need of donations of the following items, listed in order of most important/needed:
1) Mini-bottles of hand-sanitizer! These can be empty or full, as they have large refill bottles with which to re-fill them. This is by far their highest need.
2) Cloth Masks – These do not need to be filtered, any material works. If you’ve already been making masks, this is a great way to help!
3) Grocery items – fresh fruit, cases of water, gallon-sized zip lock style bags, individually wrapped snacks like chips, dried fruit, and energy bars. They also hand out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to the people they visit, and can use as many as you are willing to make ahead of time. Please place each sandwich in its own zip lock individual baggie.
If you are able to donate anything this week, there will be a drop-off area for dry goods, and a cooler to place any fruit or sandwiches into. This will be set up next to the stairs (at the top of the roundabout). You do not need to coordinate with us, and can drop off your donations anytime between 12-5 pm this Friday, May 22nd. Please remove the cones in the driveway and replace them upon exiting the campus. We ask that you wear a mask and gloves when dropping items off, and that you and your family stay inside your vehicle if there is another family making a drop-off, until they have finished.
Please note that these needs for the homeless community are ongoing, so if this week will not work for you to contribute, any time in the future would be accepted and appreciated. We will let families know about future collection days/times, but can also coordinate individual donations. Please email Mr. Marc - [email protected] with any questions regarding this drive, and thank you for your consideration!
Our Paper Has a Name, Now it Need Your Submissions!
Our elementary students voted, and the MCH Newspaper will hereby be known as
The MCH Voice!This is such a wonderfully chosen name because it truly represents what we'd like to hear- the voice of the entire MCH community. While it is a student run newspaper that our elementary students are taking charge of, this is a newspaper that we'd like to represent our entire community.
We would love for you to share anything that you’ve been doing at home, or anything that you or your child are passionate about. This could be art, a recipe, something surrounding community, gardening photos or stories, something you and your child have enjoyed doing together…the sky is the limit!
Submissions for the first publication are due by 9 am, Tuesday, May 26.
Please reach out if you have any questions, and we hope to share your work!
Wednesday Connections May 27
Odyssey Act 1 Listening Party! Next Wednesday, we'd like to invite all of you to join us on Zoom for a community wide listening party! Let's see if we can set a new record for how many people we can fit on a Zoom call! The elementary community listened to Episode 1 last week, and it was so delightful to watch the students' faces as they heard themselves and each other. During this zoom call, we will play all of Act 1 together, which includes Episode 1 and Episode 2. We hope you can be a part of next week's listening delight!
Though we will be starting with Episode 1 for our listening party, you are of course welcome to listen ahead of the event!
One of our teachers described the wonder of the radio drama's listening experience, saying that "It feels like... little glowing omniscient orbs bouncing around, watching humans play out a story through time in front of them."
News from the Lower SchoolWe are currently producing the third at home material packet for infant, toddler, and early childhood students. This packet will go out on May 29. Please be sure to pick it up because there’s lots of wonderful materials in there to support the fun lessons that our teachers plan!
News from Lower School
The Early Childhood began their study of Volcanos this Monday with the 40th Anniversary of the Mount St. Helens eruption. Ms. Melissa shared stories, ash from the eruption and photos of her family on that day from their farm in Eastern Washington. Did you know you can still find ash along the side of the road along I-90 in Eastern Washington?!
Next week we will be learning all about dinosaurs, including an incredible plant that lived way back then, that you can still find around our campus today! We hope you are loving the new live format for Music and Spanish, as well as getting more time with your child’s teachers during their daily lessons, and parent conferences.
News from the Upper School
Wednesday morning Community Gatherings in Morado provide an important opportunity to connect in one virtual space as a larger classroom community. We offer appreciations, share stories and announcements, and see and hear the collection of wonderful individuals that make up our class of lower elementary students.
Earlier in the week, Ms. Mary gave small group lessons to first years on creating a timeline of the school year. One of the goals of the lesson was working to develop an understanding of the sweep of time over the course of a year by reflecting on significant and memorable events. As an extension of this lesson, we brought the idea of reflecting on the school year to our Wednesday morning Community Gathering. As a way to think about where we’ve been and where we are now, we spent time sharing memories from the school year.
- Some of the memories students shared included:
* Friday afternoons on the nature trail- jumping into leaves and climbing into stumps
* Field trips to the Burke Museum and to see the Tempest
* Drawing with friends in the classroom
* Making scrambled eggs (on many occasions) and pumpkin bread to share with classmates
* Making plaster hand casts with parent volunteers
* Roasting hot dogs over a campfire in Outdoor Explorers
* Justin the Circler and Sacred Geometry
* Creative writing with friends
We’re going into the long weekend with full hearts!
From the Morado Teaching Team
Noteworthy Outside Links
CDC Quietly Releases Detailed Guidelines for Reopening the US
Past newsletters
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Montessori Children's House
5003 218th Ave. NE Redmond, WA 98053 Phone: 425-868-7805 [email protected] For Records Requests, please reach out to [email protected]. |
Founded in 1987
Fully Accredited in Infant - Elementary II
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