Athena Montessori Academy
November 2022 Newsletter
"We shall walk together on this path of life, for all things are part of the universe and are connected with each other to form one whole unity."
-Maria Montessori
Cheers to the P5 Families!
Thank you, P5 families, for the beautiful Día de los Muertos themed Happy Hour for our staff. What an amazing spread to enjoy outside in the fabulous fall weather!
Tips for Playdates and Birthday Parties
Every year, we hear about birthday parties and classroom playdates that feel like the Wild Wild West. I thought it might be helpful to write out some tips that are important to be mindful of with group play containing children ages three to six. Please take a moment to read through the suggested guidelines below. The document contains grace and courtesy guidelines for group play, and the children are used to finding solace in our grace and courtesy rules at school. If you have any questions after reading through them, please feel free to send me an email and I am happy to make time for a conversation.
Best Wishes,
Mandy Waid
School & Education Director
Mandy@AthenaMontessoriAcademy.com
FIVE Things to know and remember:
1. Children become aware when they are playing in a group, if they are being overseen by
an adult or not. When they realize no one is tracking their group play, they take it to the
next level. They can ride this energy and test boundaries in a way that you usually do
not see at home or at school.
2. Children sometimes find it hard to regulate when they are in a group, and together, their
energy will spiral out of control.
3. Sometimes children’s play from a distance can look like everything is going well, but
when an adult moves in close, they realize that there may be unkind or unsafe play
happening.
4. Children ages 3.5 - 6 are exploring with power and feeling powerful, so they will test by
saying hurtful things or excluding other children to test how that experience feels.
Important to note: This age group can not “bully”; they actually do not have the brain
development to premeditate hurtful actions with full knowledge of how their actions affect
others.
5. Since we are a mix-aged educational model, then these group playdates and birthday
parties will include a variety of ages. If you have a child 4.5 and older, please remember
what it is like to have a two or three year old at a playdate. Be mindful of rough play or
play that might feel scary for a younger child.
FIVE things to do:
1. Keep an eye on your child and drop into what they are doing every 10 to 15
minutes. Athena has a core value in creating community, so we want parents to
connect with each other, and we have to keep an eye on the type of play that is going
on. Get close and listen and watch periodically to make sure your child and other
children are playing respectfully. You can stop them and ask, “Does this play feel good
for everyone?” If someone says no, then stop the play and make a different plan with the
children. Or help the child set a boundary.
2. Alert the parent group, that there is some play occurring that is not feeling good to
everyone. “Hey parents, there is play occurring right now that is not feeling safe or good
for the group. Can I get some help to monitor the play and help switch the energy a bit?
Some kiddos may need to get a water break and reset for a moment. Thanks!”
3. Avoid judging other parents and children. We are all good people and good children.
Assume the best, this will allow you to ask for help without it landing in a negative capacity. If you need help understanding other children when your child doesn’t struggle
with impulse control or is on the quieter side, then please read this piece I wrote a while
back.
4. Make sure the children stop moving when you are giving them a message or
asking them to take a reset. When children are moving in any capacity they can not
listen. You need to get them to stop and usually putting a hand on them or having them
put their hands on top of your open hands, will bring them back into their body and
therefore more in contact with their brains.
5. Steps for problem solving with young children:
a. Identify what the problem is, by stating what you see. For example, “I’m noticing
this play is getting a little rough because some children are crying and sticks are
involved.” OR “I’m noticing that there are some unkind messages being given to
classmates.”
b. Ask the children how we can make this feel more safe. If an unkind message has
been given, then help that child set a boundary and give the other children a
chance to do something different.
c. Remember that apologizing is not the answer. Setting the boundary then giving
space for something different to occur is the important piece for children.
d. Make sure the expectations are clear for everyone involved. For example, “We
are going to stop calling people “baby” and yelling in each other's faces, or we
will need to take a break. What is a game that we can play so that everyone feels
safe and/or included?”
e. If your child is not respecting these messages after two or three tries, then it is
time to go home. It is important that they are not given a message more than
three times and continually allowed to continue the behavior.
Important November Dates
Student Holiday - Parent Conferences (Sign up with Lead Guide)
Día de los Muertos begins
All Saints' Day
American Indian Heritage Month
Wednesday, Nov 2nd:
Día de los Muertos ends
All Souls' Day
Tuesday, Nov 8th:
Election Day 2022 - Don't forget to vote!
Kartik Purnima
Thursday, Nov 10th:
Lunch and Learn: Using Family Meetings and Curiosity Questions (virtual), 12 pm - 1pm
Friday, Nov 11th:
Veteran's Day
Saturday, Nov 12th:
Athena Cultural Fest Potluck at Athena Campus, 3pm - 5pm
Sunday, Nov 13th:
World Kindness Day
Monday, Nov 21st - Friday, Nov 25th:
Fall Break - School Holiday
Thursday, Nov 24th:
Thanksgiving Day
Friday, Nov 25th:
Native American Heritage Day
Sunday, Nov 27th:
Advent Begins
Don't Forget to Vote!
Election Day: Tuesday, 11/8
Check to see if you're registered to vote: Texas Secretary of State Voter Portal
Information about voting in Texas: Texas Secretary of State's VoteTexas.gov
2022 Texas Midterm Elections: The Texas Tribune
How did Athena celebrate Diwali?
Athena's Lunch-and-Learn with Austin Family Counseling: Family Meetings and Curiosity Questions
Please RSVP by clicking the button below to receive a Zoom link the week of the event.
Thursday, Nov 10, 2022, 12:00 PM
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RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Sign up to volunteer at the Athena Cultural Fest potluck!
NIDO MONTESSORI (ATHENA INFANT ROOM)
You may have heard through the grapevine that we are opening an infant room at Athena. While true, it is not currently available for enrollment. Given the potentially temporary nature of the program, and the limited space available, we have enrolled only one student (a sibling of a current student) and the remaining spots are reserved for our staff members who are new parents. The classroom is located in a room inside the yellow house, off the hallway between T2 and T3.
We are proud to be able to provide childcare in a Montessori setting for our staff members on campus so they may return to work and have their children near them. If at some point in the future we are able to open spots for general enrollment, we will let the community know!
Organic Eats for Kids November Menu
For any questions, please contact Lena@eatsforkids.com
November Birthdays!
4th: Grace G.
5th: Inaiya S.
13th: Quest S.
14th: Calliope K.
15th: Leonidas K.
17th: Shepp T.
19th: Chloe R. & Juna C.
20th: Sienna T.
21st: Elison S. & Pierce B.
22nd: Magnolia M.
27th: Aurora M.
28th: Lyla U.
Staff:
2nd: Zach Newman (T3 Lead)
4th: Lynda McGovern (P4 Assistant)
6th: Lecs Smoak (P6 Support)
21st: Tess Karlan (P1 Lead) & Jocelyn Jaimes-Marquez (P1 Assistant)
Giving Thanks
At Athena, we practice gratitude daily with the children. We model appreciation and thankfulness for the earth, for our work together, for the children themselves when they greet us in the morning, for our families, and for our food.
As Thanksgiving approaches, we are mindful of how to celebrate the holiday without the problematic and confusing stories so prevalent in the United States culture. We are an evolving Anti-Racist, Anti-Bias Montessori school, and we strive to create a culture centering “JEDI”; Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.
When we center Justice and Equity with regards to Thanksgiving, we must consider the history of the United States and how the Indigenous people of this land were treated four hundred years ago, two hundred years ago, one hundred years ago, and how they are treated today. We cannot, in good conscience, educate our youngest citizens to believe a white-washed myth, nor can we burden them with truths too difficult and awful for their young minds and hearts to grapple with.
So, what do we do? How do we celebrate the holiday, so dear to many of our hearts, without teaching the untruths we were taught? At Athena, we use an age appropriate Anti-Racist Anti-Bias approach, and we listen to Native voices on how to honor and normalize their present day existence as well as their history.
Children at the Toddler level see pictures and board books representing Indigenous people, and written and illustrated by members of Tribal Nations. Exposure is the first step in normalizing and celebrating identities. November is Native American Heritage Month (or American Indian Heritage Month) and we honor the month through representation, reading books, appreciating Native artists, professionals, and acivitists.
Children in our Primary classes have the same exposure to images and books, with their books naturally having more text and stories in them. The children might hear something like, “The author of this book is Monique Gray Smith. Monique is a Cree, Lakota, and Scottish person. The Cree and Lakota people lived in North America. They have been here for a long time. The Scots came from Europe. They have been here for a shorter time.” Or, “This book is called Sharice’s Big Voice, it is about a real-life superhero named Sharice Davids. Sharice is a Native American who noticed there were not any Native American people in Washington, DC helping to make the laws, so she worked very hard to join our congress.”
The three and four year old children in these classes, along with their older classmates, will participate in circle times where we discuss Thanksgiving, discover who celebrates Thanksgiving and how they celebrate. For many of the children, it means seeing cousins and/or grandparents and having a big dinner. We enthusiastically discuss the happy feeling in our hearts when we get to have time away from work and school just to be with people we love. We help the children identify the emotions of anticipation, joy, and thankfulness. We celebrate! We give thanks!
The five and six year old children, when their younger classmates are napping or working outside, might listen to a story that tells of the history of the Wampanoag people and the settlers, without the story of genocide. A new book we have in our library is Keepunumuk: Weeachumun’s Thanksgiving Story which tells of how the Wampanaog people helped the settlers to grow food, and to survive their first winter. It doesn’t bring forth facts the children are not yet ready for, nor does it weave a fanciful false tale about those early times during colonization.
Our mission statement is never far from our thoughts and always in our hearts, “Athena Montessori exists to build a healthy and courageous place to grow, play, and actualize an equitable community.”
We also live with the late Congresswoman Shirley Chisolm’s famous words as a guiding light, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” If any of you, our community, ever find that a place has not been set for you at our table, please let us know. Equity work is a lifelong practice that we will never perfect, and never cease. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from all of us at Athena.
Stay at Home Policy
As you all are aware, we are seeing quite an uptick in colds, coughs, runny noses and the like. This is to be expected seasonally, in group care, and especially now that we are all ‘back out there’ in the world.
When your child exhibits symptoms that could be indicative of any number of illnesses, it is a wise time to get tested for RSV, the flu and Covid. We want to mention RSV specifically because we all reflexively test for flu and Covid, but RSV doesn’t naturally spring to mind. RSV is highly contagious, and although usually doesn’t cause severe problems, it can. We have many families with infants, elders, and people with compromised immune systems in our community.
Our ask is that when a member of your family falls ill, please have them test for RSV in addition to the flu and Covid. Please communicate test results through Brightwheel or email, and continue to be vigilant for fevers.
You all are so mindful of our “fever free without the aid of medication for 24 hours” policy, and we greatly appreciate it. With RSV, we are seeing fevers that vanish and return, so please be on the lookout.
If your family decides to have your child mask while indoors at school, we will support that decision through reminders and echo your message to your child.
We appreciate you and all you do. Thank you for being our Athena community.
Clean, Green, and Toxin-Free
Think of the time a child spends at school and the fact that children are far more vulnerable to environmental toxins than adults. At Athena, we make decisions based on current guidelines for avoiding and reducing environmental toxins and we aim to help parents do the same at home.
Athena Montessori Academy takes great pride in using the cleaning product Branch Basics, a company that helps reduce the body's toxic load by encouraging us to #TossTheToxins. Please visit their website at the link above to find out more information about their mission and products.
Ordering School Photos
Important Extracurricular Dates
Life Ki-Do: No class, Wednesday, 11/23
Dance with LB: Last class of the semester, Tuesday 11/15
Mariposa Spanish Lessons: Last class of the semester, Wednesday 11/16
Enrollment Notices
Current Athena Families:
Re-enrollment for the 2023-2024 school year will take place in December. Enrollment of younger siblings of current students will follow in January.
Waiting Pool Families:
January Enrollment: January enrollment is complete. Should we have any unexpected openings, we will be reaching out to individual families as we learn of them. As a reminder, siblings of current students are given priority for enrollment, followed by the general waiting pool.
2023-2024 Enrollment: Enrollment for the 2023-2024 school year will begin with re-enrollment of current students in December 2022. We will move on to enrolling siblings of current and alumni students in January 2023, followed by general waiting pool enrollment in February and March 2023.
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.
ATHENA IS ALWAYS HIRING!
School Supplies
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