Montessori Matters

November 16, 2018

Grateful Hearts

Grateful Hearts

"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give." -Winston Churchill


Tis the season to open our hearts, our home and our minds to giving. We are once again collecting donations for Clean Start, The Soup Kitchen and other local charities. A paper bag went home with students to collect items. We will be collecting items up until our Community Blessing on Tuesday, November 20 at 10:00 AM.


This is a great opportunity to talk to your children about the joy of giving, why it is so important and the blessings we all have in our lives. So often we can take for granted the simple joys and "things" we have that are not afforded to others. We thank all of you for taking the time to offer donations and having conversations with your children about giving thanks.


Here is a great link to some children's books that can spark a conversation about giving:


Books About Giving


We hope you all have a wonderful weekend!


MSA Faculty and Staff

Grateful Hearts
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Dates to Remember

Dates to Remember

November 19 - Fall portrait make-up pictures

November 20 - Thanksgiving Blessing

November 21-23 - Thanksgiving Holiday, all programs closed

December 4- Elementary Parent Education Night

December 6 - Middle and High School Parent Education Night

December 18 - Winter Holiday Program

Dates to Remember
Thanksgiving Blessing - Tuesday, November 20

Thanksgiving Blessing - Tuesday, November 20

LE through HS parents are welcome to join us for our communal Thanksgiving blessing on Tuesday, November 20 at 10 a.m. at the Peace Pole. Parents coming to campus should park in the field across from the Round Room. Your child's teacher will provide further details about their specific schedule for that day.


Here is a note from our founder, Karen Holt, about the Blessing:

Thanksgiving Blessing - Tuesday, November 20
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Special message to all parents and grandparents: We would love to have you participate in our Thanksgiving Blessing Circle out at the flagpole at 10 am on Tuesday. According to our John Cessarich - it should be a pleasant day. It is heartwarming to see our small community come together and build "one bag or coin at a time" that will be distributed to our Soup Kitchen right here in Anderson. The past few years, we have helped them stock their shelves for the winter.


And if you want a memory to stay you through some of the sad things that happen in this old world, it is good to have the memory of a sweet, innocent, and shining face across from you remind you of the fact that "His spirit does indeed surround us all" no matter how we interpret that "Spirit."

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Holiday Program - Tuesday, December 18

Holiday Program - Tuesday, December 18

Students (LE-HS) go directly to Boulevard Baptist on this school day. All students will be dismissed at 11:30 a.m., except for MS. MS students will stay until noon to practice playing the chimes. LE through HS students should wear RED or WHITE top with BLACK skirt/pants for the evening program. Primary students should wear holiday attire. The program will begin at 6:30 p.m. Teachers will let students know what time they need to arrive.
Holiday Program - Tuesday, December 18
AdvancED Parent Survey

AdvancED Parent Survey

Our AdvancED re-accreditation year marks the ideal time to solicit your valued input. It is a time of reflection and self-assessment. As we move through this process, we will be asking for feedback from each of our stakeholder groups - students, parents, teachers, and board members. Ultimately, we want to determine what MSA is doing well and what MSA could do better. The goal is continuous improvement.


That is precisely the aim of this AdvancED Parent Survey. It is anonymous so please share openly. Help us candidly assess our past performance and provide guidance for improving our future performance. We would be grateful for your input!


This AdvancED survey will be open through November 30. It will take no more than 5 to 10 minutes of your time. Your participation is essential to this re-accreditation process.


Link to survey:

https://eprovesurveys.advanc-ed.org/surveys/#/action/87120/36279


MSA Board will send a more focused survey later in December for additional feedback regarding specific MSA matters.


Thank you for your participation in our continuous improvement process!

Dr. Hill, Administrator

AdvancED Parent Survey
Fall Portraits

Fall Portraits

Class portrait proofs are coming home soon. We will have a make-up session on Monday morning. If your child missed the original portrait week, please send them to school dressed for portraits. You are welcome to send a change of outfit for after the photo session. Please let your child's teacher know if you would like them to change afterward.


We will have another retake/make-up session after Thanksgiving break.

Fall Portraits
Operation: Share the Warmth Tree

Operation: Share the Warmth Tree

As the holiday season approaches, we look to the spirit of giving and service to others. Once again this year, MSA will be sponsoring the “Operation: Share the Warmth” Tree.


Here’s how the service project works. I will be placing a Christmas tree in the front office of the Montessori Administrative building during the Thanksgiving break. The Christmas tree will only have a ribbon on the top of tree and lights. Our students, families, MSA classrooms and clubs are asked to provide the decorations.


The decorations should consist of new mittens, gloves, socks and scarves. If you have gently used jackets, coats and shoes they will gladly be accepted. Some of you may remember how beautiful the tree looked last year, all decked out in warm clothing finery!!!


The tree will remain on campus until the December 19th when the school closes for the Winter Holiday. The items will then be donated a local charity organization, Anderson Interfaith Ministries. This project allows our Montessori students and families to provide the basic need of warmth to those who may not have the ability to stay warm during the cold winter months. Thank you in advance for your generosity!!!


Susanna Merriman, RN

Operation: Share the Warmth Tree

Parent Education Topics

You will receive information from your child's teacher regarding the Parent Education offered by that level. Feel free to attend any session that you may have an interest in, however. The topics offered are based upon feedback from the Parent Ed Survey earlier this fall. Hope to see you there!


Dec. 4 at 5:30 p.m.

I/T: A Montessori Approach to Toilet-training

PR: Montessori Materials and Curriculum Areas

LE: A Montessori Approach to Discipline

UE: Montessori at Home


Dec. 6 at 5:30 p.m.

MS/HS: "Technology: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly" led by Michaela Tomberlin, licensed counselor with Counseling for Life

Primary Activities

A primary student experiments with magnets. See below for more activities primary students have been doing this week.
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Knitting

Students across campus have been rediscovering the joy of knitting or learning the trade as a new life skill.

Middle School Science

Dr. Mahajan's Middle School science class works on modeling an equation for photosynthesis.

New Readers

Know a grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, or neighbor that would enjoy keeping up with your student through Montessori Matters? Follow this link to request new recipients.
Montessori School of Anderson

Montessori School of Anderson

Our mission is to nurture the whole child, physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually, preparing students for academic excellence, lifelong learning and responsible, caring lives.
280 Sam McGee Road, Anderson, SC, USA mdabney@msasc.org 864-226-5344 msasc.org