February Newsletter
"Now, what really makes a teacher is love for the human child; for it is love that transforms the social duty of the educator into the higher consciousness of a mission.."
-- Dr. Maria Montessori
Black History Month
In February, at Athena, we educate our learners on the powerful contributions of various Black leaders throughout history. We do this by sharing childrens’ books, listening to Black musical artists, learning about foods that came to America from Africa, and having conversations during our circle time gatherings. We also have photos in all our classrooms centering Black lives and celebrating Black joy. Each classroom has a slightly different approach, books that are special to them, and ways of celebrating. Stay tuned to your child’s class newsletter and to Transparent Classroom to see how Black history is honored and celebrated at Athena.
While it is imperative that we continue to educate on historical figures throughout Black History Month, and all year long, we also feel that it is equally as imperative to feature and highlight current and lesser known contemporary Black leaders, some of them quite young! This provides an opportunity for the children to learn about relatable people and ultimately, this instills an understanding that black history is an integral part not only of our history but also our future.
Athena Montessori Academy acknowledges that we still have a long way to go in our city, in our state, in our country, and in the world, to eradicate the systems of oppression and intentional marginalization that plague our Black communities. We can’t solve racism and the structure that upholds it, but we can be an intentional and evolving Antiracist and Antibias early childhood school. If you are enrolled here, you are part of that journey and that intention. Thank you, it takes all of us.
Happy Black History Month from all of us at Athena Montessori Academy!
RSVP for CASINO NIGHT
Saturday, April 6th
6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Join us at our annual gala this spring at Athena!
Click the invitation above to RSVP to Athena Montessori Academy's Annual Fundraiser!
If you are interested in learning more about our fundraising goals, please read this letter from our founder.
Want to help make the event a success?
Use the link below to access the Donation Form to donate an item or service to the
SILENT AUCTION!
Stay tuned for a Signup Genius to volunteer to help at the event.
We are so excited to bring this event back to our community! Don't forget your dancin' shoes!
SENDING A HUGE ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO OUR AFTERSCHOOL TEAM!
We want to take a moment to highlight our afterschool teams. One of Athena’s core values is to assure any time we have students on campus that they are receiving the best possible care we can provide. We strive to have our ASP program to be fun and flexible for the children that have a little longer day at school. This year we have hit the jackpot with such fantastic support team. Each of our support staff members show up ready to help and truly want to create an engaging and safe environment for the children in their care. During the school day they are ready at the drop of the hat to step in and help a classroom, a guide, or a child that may need extra support. When not pitching in around campus, they spend their mornings creating exciting projects and art activities so that the ASP students are offered to the children after school. The whole team are expert huggers, joke-tellers, and love being with the children! On behalf of our whole admin team we send a HUGE thank you to: Olivia, Ana, Brittany, Liam, Sydney, John, Kimby, and Sam. We also want to shout out our thanks to Lorena, Mily, and Candice who float into ASP often and are always a stellar addition!
Reminders
Current Families: Keep an eye out for our Admin Updates!
In an effort to streamline our administrative team's communication to current families, we are sending out an Admin Update via Brightwheel every other Wednesday. This is where we will share important action items, news, dates, and resources for our parent community. Our first Admin Updates were issued on January 17 and January 31. The next one will be sent to current families on February 14.
Valentine's Day and Kindness at Athena
Valentine’s brings several weeks where our school focuses on love and kindness! These are topics our children know well and it is a joy to center love and kindness. Your child’s classroom will let you know soon if not already the details of how they are celebrating the special day. As a school, we have veered away from children bringing individual Valentine cards for their classmates. Each child is invited (not required!) to bringing one homemade Valentine that represents their love for their class community. Some children make posters, collages, or other fun ideas they drum up with their families. The children will get a chance to place their Valentine somewhere special in the room. If you have any questions, please reach out to your child’s teaching team for more details. Have fun celebrating love and kindness with us.
February 16th is a Half-Day
We will be having a half day of school on Friday, February 16, to allow our Lead Guides to attend The Montessori Conference in Dallas.
Please note that there is no ASP on half days.Half Day Pick-up Times
Siblings can use either window.
11:45am -12pm
Primary 1
Primary 2
Primary 3
Tots 2
12pm-12:15pm
Movers & Shakers
Primary 4
Primary 5
Tots 1
Tots 3
Tots 4
Keres Children's Learning Center
At Athena, we have many causes near and dear to our hearts; this one is a Montessori school: The Keres Children's Learning Center. This Montessori school and its teacher training Center, The Indigenous Montessori Institute, were founded to reclaim educational sovereignty for Indigenous children. Since 2019, Athena has been a proud supporter of this Montessori school and this year was no different. A huge "Thank You" to all of our community members who joined Athena in redistributing funds in support of this amazing organization!
Leave Your Mark At Athena
Purchase a custom brick for the Athena pathway in front of the breezeway!
Bricks are custom-made and may include a special tribute to your child's guides, your child's name and/or signature, or your family's name! Need inspiration? Visit our brick path today.
If you are interested, please stop by the office to fill out the order form OR click to download below.
Lunar New Year
Saturday, February 10th begins the Lunar New Year Celebrations! Here is a link to a Lunar New Year Scholastic book list for our age group and young elementary children.
Please let your Lead Guide know if your family will be celebrating this holiday and you would like
to share your traditions and culture with our community, you are welcome any time that works for you and the class! If you cannot come in person, please think about any books or crafts you would like to share with your child's class.
ADMISSIONS AND ENROLLMENT
Current Families
Sibling enrollment for next year is nearly complete!
If you have any younger children you hope to enroll at Athena at any point in the future, please be sure to complete an application for them if you haven't already.
Waiting Pool Families
We are fully enrolled for the 2023-24 school year.
Enrollment for the 2024-25 school year is well underway. You will hear from Joy if she is able to offer your child a spot, as well as with updates as to where we are in the process. Our goal is to complete enrollment by the end of March, but it is not uncommon for rolling admissions to occur up to August.
Our continued goal in the admissions process is to be as transparent as possible, and we strive to give you the most accurate information we can during each step of the deliberate process of enrollment. We respect that decisions related to your child's education are important and timely ones, and we will continue to send you general enrollment updates via this monthly newsletter. Thank you for your continued interest, and we encourage you to reach out with specific questions related to your child's enrollment at any time.
Please direct admissions & enrollment questions to our Admissions Director, Joy Jacobson. You can email her directly at Admissions@AthenaMontessoriAcademy.com.
Leave us a Review!
We're so glad you chose Athena to be part of your family. We value each and every one of our community members and are always trying to improve to bring our families the best experience possible. We would be so grateful if you left us a Google review!
Students:
2/3- Poppy B.
2/4- Kevin C., William B.
2/5- Landon T.
2/6- Isa K.
2/7- Balboa E., Ruby G.
2/11- Gracelyn A.
2/13- Houston T.
2/15- Ada C., Jack M.
2/17- Bennett C., Henny B.
2/18- Isla G.
2/21- Ella C.
2/28- Merit B.
2/29- Bo. B
Teachers:
2/4- Becca H. (P1)
2/13- Asma F. (P3)
2/19- Alicia R. ( T3)