News Letter Feb 2019 Public

Modderfontein Montessori

ISSUE NO 1 | FEBRUARY 2019 |

The Start of the Montessori School Year: The
Gratitude
A Welcome Note to Parents Corner

We would like to welcome back all of our returning chil- To kick the year off the Klein
dren and families and extend a warm welcome to all of family would like to thank
our new children and families. First term is always a time Sunita and her team of Ad-
of excitement, yet with that comes anxiety and nervous- min Staff, classroom guides,
ness for many children. We will do our best to ensure the cleaners and ground staff for
transition is as seamless as possible and to ensure that all of their enthusiasm and
each child feels loved, respected and safe. A Montessori effort in preparing the
learning environment is like no other … our main objective school for the new year. This
at Modderfontein Montessori is to provide a carefully is hard work and your loyalty
planned, stimulating environment which will help children does not go un noticed. I'm
to develop within themselves the foundational habits, sure our Parents and stu-
attitudes, skills and ideas essential for a lifetime of crea- dents will agree that you
tive thinking and learning. Respect and courtesy in our have all done an incredible
Montessori school is the foundation for everything we do job!
and each child will soon learn the following important
skills: CLASSROOM ENVIROMENTS
• how to put their work away where they found it EXPLAINED
• how to tidy up after themselves
• the importance of helping a friend in need “Education is a natural
• the importance of respecting the materials, the Guides process carried out by the
child and is not acquired
and each other by listening to words but
• how to be self directed and find their own ‘work’ and by experiences in the en-

most importantly, vironment.”
• how to be independent!
Each child will feel empowered at Modderfontein Montes- ~Maria Montessori
sori and learn how great it feels to do things on their own!
Each Montessori Guide is here to nurture, support and
guide them each and every day and are committed to

making
your child’s
Montessori
preschool
experience
productive,
stimulating
and fun!

Classroom
Environments
Explained

The Practical Life Environment

The Practical Life area is essential for a strong Montessori educational founda-
tion. In this area, a child is learning control of movement (fine motor skills),
concentration, self-confidence and a love of learning. The activities in Practical
Life are made up of familiar objects that a child would naturally see in every-
day life. The activities are designed and chosen so that the children feel com-
fortable and will be able to master the activities. The activities that are chosen
fall into five areas: Preliminary exercise (carrying a tray), Elementary exercise

(spooning), Applied exercises (watering plants),
Grace &Courtesy (manners) and Control of Move-
ment (silence game). The overall idea of these ac-
tivities is not only to help children gain self-
confidence in their working abilities but to expose
the children to fundamental activities that will
build their concentration span and work with ac-
tivities they will encounter through adulthood.

The Practical Life Environment in the Explorers

To lifes new adventures for our beloved Astin

Astin joined our teaching family at Modderfontein Montessori School as a student back in 2011.

It has been an absolute pleasure watching her grow not only in the school environment but also her personal life.
While she has been with us, we have celebrated her sailor themed 21st Birthday. She grew into a capable direc-
tress, showing initiative and a natural passion for working with children. She became a senior directress in the pre-
primary (3-6). During this time, she established the Zookeeper class, and mentored her colleagues. Although she
had always been passionate about the younger children, she decided to expand her wings and accept the oppor-
tunity to move into our Primary School. Astin put her head to the ground and in eight months she completed her
Montessori Primary teaching course.

During this time, a lot more happened in her personal life. She got engaged to and married the man of her dreams,
Warren. They bought their first house together and Astin started to establish her home and her life as a wife. We
knew the next big step in her life would not be far away. Astin and Warren had an unexpected crossing in their

lives, as life brought a little girl Ella into
their life. Her whole family has taken to
fostering this amazing little girl for the
past year. Astin’s natural love for chil-
dren, just made us all eagerly wait for her
to be blessed with the gift of becoming a
mother. While there were challenges
along the way, her truly golden heart was
rewarded by her blessing. We were de-
lighted when she shared the news of her
pregnancy. Her baby girl Capri is due to
be born at the end of April.

This is an amazing new adventure for
Astin. She has put years into her career,
dedication and love into our school and
her whole heart to all the children that
have been in her class. Astin has unfortu-
nately for us, but fortunately for Capri,
decided to be a stay at home mom. It is
with much sadness that she will be leav-
ing us at the end of this term. Astin has touched many hearts, especially all the children that have had the honour
of being in her class. She is a dedicated Montessori Guide and we will all miss her dearly. We have no doubt that
Astin and Warren are going to be amazing parents, their little girl is so lucky to have such loving parents.

On the flip side, we are happy to inform you that we have employed a Montessori Primary Guide to join the Wil-
lows class from the start of the 2nd term. Henk van der Westhuizen has 8 years’ experience as a Montessori Guide.
We look forward to welcoming him into our school and we are sure that the children are going to enjoy working
with him and Nthabiseng in the Willows class. While Astin can never be replaced, we are sure that Henk will share
the same passion to educate the children and continue their learning journey to continue to reach and discover
their potential.

Azzy … we do not know how to say goodbye to you … the only comfort is that you are always going to be a part of
our school family and that you will visit often.

Structure and Freedom
promotes independence.

The work flow of a Primary Class:

Our classrooms are peaceful and happy environments. We have a three hour work cycle which
starts at 8:00 and ends at 11:00 and another one after break from 12:00 till 14:00. The children
have the freedom to choose work during the work cycles. We provide them with schedules on a
daily basis which they have to finish before the end of the day. Those schedules guide the children
into areas that they need to focus on for
that day as well as helping the guide
(teacher) to keep an updated record of
what areas of learning have been cov-
ered. Our areas of learning include
Maths, Language, Afrikaans and Culture.
Culture covers History, Geography, Zool-
ogy and Botany. The guide’s role in the
environment is to guide the children to
complete each task while ensuring that
their confidence and independence con-
tinues to grow. At the end of the day the
children bring the schedules of their
completed tasks to the guide and the
guide sets up a new schedule for the
next day. The guide keeps an updated
record keeping of the children's progress
for reports and parent meeting purpos-
es.

Reminder to parents that we have the following extra
murals offered on the school property by private
service providers

SWIM SCHOOL – (011 608 1159) modderfonteinswimschool.co.za

KINDERMUSIK - (Debbie – 082 826 1555)

SOCCER STARZ – (Patrick – 083 236 8559)
GROWING PROS, Sport fitness – (Alain 074 552 6628)

KINDERMUSIK - (Debbie – 082 826 1555)
SOCCER STARZ – (Patrick – 083 236 8559)
KARATE – (Russell – [email protected])
BALLET (Leanne – 084 884 5005)
CHESS CLUB (Liz – [email protected] / 011 608 0902)
PHYZZ ED (Gregg)
KRAFTY KIDZ (Nicky - 083 301 9825)
BE ME – Life Skills Programme (Jacqui- 082 553 6593)
GUITAR LESSONS – (Peter – 071 635 1929)
PLAYBALL – (Virna )
KINDERMUSIK - (Debbie – 082 826 1555)
SPROUTING YOGIS Yoga (Heidi - 083 7811559)

Music Prep offers Guitar lessons at the highest quality. We
specialise in group lessons as well as private lessons

A Poem for Parents: Nothing
When children come home at the end of the day,
The question they’re asked as they scurry to play is,

“What did you do at school today?”
And the answer they give

makes you sigh with dismay.
“Nothing, I did nothing today!”

Perhaps nothing means
that I played with blocks, counted to ten, or sorted some rocks.

Maybe I painted or learned to tie my shoe
Or learned what happens when you mix red and blue
Maybe I learned to tuck in my chair and put my work away
Or maybe I learned to be kind to a friend while I was playing outside to-

day,
Maybe my scissors followed a line and I learned to write my name.
Maybe I learned some sounds or numbers or learned to play a new

game,
Maybe I made a craft or sang a song from beginning to end,
Or maybe I learned to play with a special, brand new friend.

When you’re in preschool
And your heart has wings,
“Nothing” can mean so many, many things.

(Author Unknown)