montessori MESSENGER
DECEMBER
Woodland Hill Montessori School Volume 1 | Issue 4
Dear Parents,
Each January, the administrative team begins the process of planning for the next school year. I am excited to share our enrollment calendar for the 20232024 school year. We believe it will naturally align with the rhythms of the classrooms and provide parents with a unique opportunity to learn more about our programs.
It’s energizing to plan for the future! We hope you will add these dates to your calendar. Look for more information in the coming weeks.
In partnership, Michelle
to Support
a Digital
of
of Social Media
will share tools to help your family
healthy relationships with technology in this special Parent
AUTHOR,SPEAKER, CONSULTANT
How
the Whole Child to Find Balance in
World Through the lens
socialization, selfrealization, and safety, nationally renowned author
Wellness, Ana Homayoun
maintain
Education event.
"Approachable, relevant, and engaging with young people and their parents." Thursday, January 26 6 p.m. @ Woodland Hill This event is open to the community! Free to WHMS Parents $10 per attendee 100 MONTESSORI PLACE | RENSSELAER, NY 12144 with Ana Homayoun Tickets available for purchase here
Over the past two decades, Ana Homayoun has traveled the globe inspiring students and adults to design their own blueprint for success. Ana frequently speaks on topics relating to executive functioning, student engagement, personal productivity and motivation, as well as overall wellness.
What to watch...
Tuesday, December 20 was a day full of rythmn and movement at Woodland Hill!
Our students from Primary to Middle School gave their all in the first school performances in the gym since 2019. The warmth in the school, the community all together as one, was a memorable experience for all who attended.
We offer a special thanks to Chris Fung, a new to Woodland Hill Family this year, for taking the time to record these special events so families could be entirely present for their students performance.
Enjoy these for years to come!
Primary and Violin's Winter
Elementary - Middle School Winter Concert
Winter Concert
You
Annual State of the School Meeting
The 2022 Annual Report was published earlier this month in digital form. The report includes activities, finances, and a list of donors during the preceding fiscal year (July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2022).
Great care was taken to ensure the accuracy of this report. If there are any errors or omissions on the list of donors, please accept our apologies and notify Moira Rienzo.
Woodland Hill Montessori School held its Annual Meeting on Tuesday, December 6. We thank those who joined us in person and want to share the recording and presentation with the entire community.
can view the accompanying slideshow here.
Library
New collections have been added to the library like the Cook Up Something Cozy series and other new cook books. For the holiday season, new winter celebration books were placed on display for Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and the Winter Solstice.
The students in Sarah's Wednesday elective class have been enjoying the environment reading about different games, greek mythology characters, and playing chess.
Middle School runs a school store open everyday during carline in the main lobby - one of their most successful and profitable activities.
The Upper Elementary have been buliding their wilderness skills in PhysEd with Ben Kelts once again!
Free Admission + Skate Rentals Ice Skating Ice Skating Ice Skating at Empire State Plaza Tuesday, January 17 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. for all WHMS students and family members; early arrival encouraged for skate rentals
Theater Recap!
After months of rehearsals, the theater group put on two wonderful performances of High School Musical, Jr. under the direction of Kathryn Capalbo and Shania Jackson on Friday, December 9 and Saturday, December 10. The students were supported by Ben Kelts and WHMS Alumnus & aftercare staff member Ainsley Schuth (pictured below).
The thespians involvment in the show, from set design to choreographing musical numbers kept the spirits high throughout the rehearsal season and was truly a collaborative effort by all of those involved.
We are so proud of our committed students and their hard work really paid off in the coordination of these shows!
The Spelling Bee
The Annual Spelling Bee took place on Wednesday, December 14 after school in the Gym with Andrew McClain, Patrick Kraft, and Julio Gonzalez serving as the judges for the 22 brave Upper Elementary and Middle School students. Last year the spelling bee was held completely online, with the year prior we hosted a hybrid model out in the chilly winds of the amphitheater.
Head of School for a Day!
Kevin B. was Head of School for a Day on Thursday, December 8 for the second year in a row. His first motion was to hire Dhurva G. as his Assistant Head of School!
The duo helped with morning carline, had serious conversations about their ideas for the school over hot chocolate, lead a discussion at the Admin meeting about extending recess time and combining the levels more often in afterschool activities. They are quite the leaders in training!
This Soiree item is not one to miss out on!
Mahika G. won the competition with the word: Lurid
Benjamin in Primary smiles proudly in the glasses he just cleaned!
Middle School students have been learning programming for their Dash robots in Computer Science with Stephanie Carty.
From the sidlines of the Winter Concert, our youngest violinist show their skills while the WHMS Rock Band gives their all in the evening concert!
The Basketball team is back this year with Coach Julio and Assistant Coach Patrick. The team has shown their commitment with extra practices, bringing their good sportsmanship and spirit to each game.
With a full schedule of games coming up this January, be sure to check out our Google Calendar or the Close Friends Story on Instagram for the most up-to-date information.
Let's go Wolfpack!
We reached our goal!
THE WHMS FUND
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the WHMS Fund this year - we are so excited to share that we have reached our fundraising goal of $65,000!
These geneorous gifts go towards our programming, materials in our classrooms, and enchancing the overall Woodland Hill experience.
We are so grateful to our community. There's a whole lot to look forward to in 2023!