montessori MESSENGER
Hill Montessori School Volume 1 | Issue 6 FEBRUARY
Woodland
REPAIR RECAP
The Repair Cafe was a huge success on Saturday, February 11. There was a consistent flow of those with items in need of repair! We saw many families from both Woodland Hill and The Parker School as well as many members from the local community!
Visitors were welcomed and directed towards a Repair Coach who helped them assess their items and work together on the repair. While not all repairs were a success, many of the visitors were just excited about this type of event and how great it was to work towards fixing something instead of throwing it out.
Students shadowed Repair Coaches at the event building upon their skills with sewing, working with hand tools, and small electronics or appliances.
Overall, the event was full of positive energy! The next Renesslear Repair Cafe is being planned for May this year.
A big thank you to the Repair Cafe organizers from both WHMS and Parker!
FLOCKart
MelindaMcDaniel &March10,2023
6- start, tourgalleryandmeetMelinda
6:30- artisttalkingym, askallthequestions
7:00- s’mores&cocoa, celebrateagreatexhibit
“Ouridentityismuchmorethanasurface, itisalsohowwethink,howweliveandlove. Theexhibition Herald featuresplayful ceramicfigurines thatformally presentflags designedbystudents.Puppies,birds, bunnies,andcatsserveasmessengers ofidentity.”
Viewtheshowanytimeatour parentcompanyandpartner COLLARWORKS.org
100 Montessori Place RensselaerNY,12144
bidsfarewellto
WHMS
Coding at WHMS
Stephanie Carty has introduced Computer Science into our Middle School curriculum this year and the students are loving it! With technology use increasing all around us, part of further incorporating STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) into our students education allows them to build awareness and understand the technology and applications they use daily.
The students recently held a Robot Snow Plowing Competition where they used an obstacle course (shown below) to program Dash Robots to push as many of the cotton ball "snowballs" to the finish line without hitting any pedestrians or going out of the lines.
Stephanie has also started an after school STEAM Club on Fridays where the students can join at their leisure to work on designing and programing their own video games, continue work on classroom projects, and work on different coding challenges. Coding has also been slowly trickling it's way into the Upper El Curriculum through Megan Stasi in Makerspace class with the program Scratch.
Session 3 of elective offerings started this past month with new activities like Chess, AV/Tech Workshop, Into the Woods, and Library Lounge.
The students in Upper El and Middle School have the opportunity to explore different activities and learn something new! Other offerings include Curator Club which will be planning the Middle School Regional Art Show, Graphic Design, Musical Theater, Fitness, Board Games, Crochet, Guitar, and Herbalism.
There will be one more session of electives starting in the spring with similar offerings. We love seeing what both our specialty staff and parents have to offer to enrich the student experience.
At Woodland Hill, Black History is incorporated into our curriculum all year long but during February, Upper El Classrooms dove a bit deeper. Students in Jess and Vinita's Class each researched and presented a short biography of African American personalities who have made contributions to society. They also made their annual collaborative poster of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
In Melinda & Julio's Class, they collectively read “The Hill We Climb,” by Amanda Gorman, which has echoes of MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech and compared the two works. The students also read about African Americans in history and gave brief presentations to the class.
Sarah Colwill also held a library display during the month, highlighting the voices and work of Black authors.
The Basketball season has come to a close and Volleyball is alive and well at Woodland Hill!
The team, coached by Ben Kelts and Jess Goodrich, have been practicing twice a week and just started competing in games. The teamwork seen among the young athletes is truly something unique about our school community. Let's go Wolfpack!
Check the calendar for upcoming games.
Harriet Tells It Like It Is
On Friday, March 3 our students attended a special performance of Harriet Tells It Like It Is. Playing locally at Proctors Theater, the compelling show takes you back in time and brings you on a journey with Harriet on the Underground Railroad.
Harriet shared her story of bravery, resilience, and triumph as she fought for her freedom and the freedom of countless other African American slaves. Harriet’s account came to life with live accompaniment from a professional African drummer. This narrative truly demonstrated the power of one individual to affect and inspire the lives of many.
Students reflected in class collectively about the performance.
Valentine's Day in the Toddler Class was a great success! The children enjoyed baking and eating heart cookies, exchanging cards with their friends and a festive balloon dance party! Walking through the hallway on Valentine's Day, you could feel the love, energy, and excitement from all the students.
Lasagna Love took place on Friday, February 24. The event, coordinated by Danielle Dow, provided five lasagnas, salads, and cookies for families in need of a home cooked meal.
Thank you to Danielle for spearheading the event, and the following families for volunteering to cook and generous contributions:
The Armstrong Family
The Atwood Family
The Canty and Heilner Family
The Fiedler Family
The Gambarani and Collins Family
The Jenkins Family
The Murray and Stengel Family
The Yutesler Family
Read for Ronald McDonald - Success!
Woodland Hill has raised $2,086 for Ronald McDonald House this year as of March 3! The program will come to a close on March 6 for the remainder of donations.
Jenn Burns said this is the best Woodland Hill has ever done since she took over the program five years ago. A thank you goes out to all of the participants and the teachers for promoting the program.
The team page can be visited here!
