Every roof needs a fourth pillar to stand it strong. Remembering our first three: passion for excellence, universal values, and global understanding. Our fourth pillar takes us out of our classrooms to share with each other on this campus and then out into our larger community. Service to Humanity is integral to Montessori School of Anderson’s Blueprint as a student, faculty member, and family.

Building myself: my own striving for excellence; holding values high as a priority, building my own awareness of the fact that I belong to a global community; these three then are all facets of the concept of “taking in.” In order to be balanced as a human being, one must understand the concept of “giving back” – the fourth pillar.

It starts down in toddler and primary classrooms, where the older children “help” the younger ones by sometimes giving them lessons or tying a three-year old’s errant shoelace. It continues throughout our campus at all levels: Middle school students listen to emerging readers in the lower elementary classroom. Middle schoolers recycle/compost around the campus. Upper elementary children go out on a weekly basis to help serve at Meals on Wheels and help in Infant/Toddler and Primary. Students restock supplies when it comes to the Soup Kitchen at Thanksgiving time and help in the animal shelter. Christmas finds our carolers visiting nursing homes and decorating windows. There have been years when students collected bottled water for sending to a war zone, created cards for servicemen, collected hats and gloves for those who are in need in Anderson and elsewhere.

Each year can be different dependent on our community – internal and external. One special time I remember is when our middle schoolers visited a nursing home. They were assigned a senior who didn’t have visitors very often. Each student then listened to the elder’s stories, wrote them down, composed them into a well-written biography, and then after six weeks read and presented the elder’s “booklet” to their “adopted” grandmother or grandfather and his or her family. These times always had a lasting effect on all concerned: student, senior, and the senior’s family. (Such a win-win-win: English class biography writing “passion for excellence” meets an avenue for community service and generational sharing.)

October 10 - Classroom Campout (LE and UE)

October 11 - Early dismissal, no extended care

October 14-18 - Fall Break, extended day available

October 21-25 - Spirit Week

October 25 - Primary Book Character Day

Oct. 28-Nov. 1 - Middle and High School conference week

See here for the full, interactive calendar.

Family, Food, and Philosophy Date Change

While many families have an interest in attending our Family, Food, & Philosophy event, several have expressed that Tuesday, Oct. 8, is not an ideal time. With soccer and volleyball and all the other fall activities, family schedules are packed! We know that the demands on your time are great, so we appreciate this feedback. In response, we have decided to postpone our Family, Food, & Philosophy night to Tuesday, Jan. 28, in hopes of giving families more time to get it on their calendars. After Fall Break, we will begin previews of the various topics in Montessori Matters.

The new date will coincide with our re-enrollment period, so this will be a great opportunity for you to invite prospective families to the event! The referral incentive is still being offered for MSA families.

Mark your calendars now! TUESDAY, JAN. 28 - "FAMILY, FOOD & PHILOSOPHY"

Dr. Hill

Anna (Riester) Reardon “graduated” from MSA after having spent 10 years in our program, from age 2 – 6th grade. She is currently an RN Case Manager with Interim of the Upstate. Anna has one son, Edward, a two-year-old in our Toddler program.

One of her favorite memories includes learning to knit in Mrs. Hopkins’ class which she still enjoys to this day. Although this area is now “off limits” to our students, Anna has happy recollections going down to “dead man’s pit” near the creek behind the school. You mention Camp Lou Ann, Barrier Island, zero food waste, Mrs. Yon and the chicken-hatching incubator, and playing Helena in Ms. Duart’s production of “A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream” and she still smiles thinking about them. One that she can laugh at now is “having to rinse my mouth with water and spitting it into the sink for biting another student (the same sink my child is currently using).” She has many wonderful memories of her dad working tirelessly around the school designing buildings, volunteering on the board, and building one of the porches off the Infant/Toddler program.

Advice to other MSA students? “If you need help, ask. The Montessori way encourages independence. I remember a time when a teacher was unable to help me understand a concept but had another student explain it to me. It worked!”

Advice to families and faculty? Communicate frequently with each other about concerns.

Final thought? “Montessori has a wonderful program. I am still friends with many of my former classmates to this day. The skills I learned at Montessori have helped me be independent in my job and be responsible for all of the work I complete.”