October Montessori Messenger

montessori MESSENGER

Woodland Hill Montessori School

A letter from Michelle

Dear Woodland Hill Families,

Last school year, Woodland Hill engaged a consultant, Nishant Mehta of MehtaCognition, to help us better understand the needs and opportunities around justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI). Nishant’s partnership with our school community has been a tremendous support to our community’s continued commitment to creating an inclusive, just, and equitable learning environment for each of our students and their families.

As a first step, Nishant came to campus for a series of community listening sessions. Over the course of two days in February 2022, Nishant heard from a broad representation of constituents. In July, Nishant returned to Woodland Hill to share his findings in a community forum.

I am writing today to announce the next step in this important work. A task force has been formed, charged with distilling the feedback from Nishant and recommending objectives to guide our work going forward. The goal is to create a plan that is both authentic to the Woodland Hill community and sustainable; something that resonates as true to who we are and provides us a roadmap for both near and longer-term actions.

Those serving on the task force have been selected to represent our community in the many ways we are distinct from one another. Role and tenure in the Woodland Hill community, family composition, tenure, professional backgrounds, countries of origin, and languages spoken at home: all of these were considered in an effort to create a truly representative body. We expect that the work of this task force will continue throughout the 2022-2023 school year.

Thank you to the following task force members for volunteering their time in service to our students of today and tomorrow:

Trustees

Alex Pieterse P’23

Andrew McClain P’03, ’09, ‘13 Shayla Sawyer P’27, ‘31 Tamara Gatchell P’16, ‘22, '22

Faculty & Staff

Alisa Scapatici P’27

Eraena Fraites-Gonzalez P’35

Erin Mergil P’17, ‘23, ‘25, ‘27 Jess Goodrich P’26, ‘28

Naomi Wimberley-Hartman P’24, ‘27, ‘28 Owusu Anane

Parents

Casey Parker P’22, ‘25 Melissa Breger P’25 Rebecca Koch P’26, ‘32, ‘32 Suzanne Miles-Gustave P’30 Tanu Kumar P’27, ‘29, ‘31 Tony Park P’29

Watch the presentation from the Community Learning Forum above or click here to view the slides.

Oversight and consultation are to be provided by Nishant Mehta, our consultant, Julie Knox, our Board President P’22, ‘23, ‘28, and myself.

If you have any questions about the work of the task force, now or in the future, please don’t hesitate to contact me either through email at medwards@woodlandhill.org, by phone at 518-283-5400 x11, or in person when you’re on campus.

In partnership, Michelle Edwards Head of School

Upper Elementary and Middle School Fun Night

On Thursday, October 6 families with students in the Upper Elementary and Middle School programs gathered for fun night out on the blacktop. Ben Kelts and Patrick Kraft led an adults versus students in one of the largest kickball games in WHMS history! Erin Mergil passed out bandannas to all the participating adults to boost the spirit of the game and to let the children know we were ready to play!

The highlight of the night was when Ben Kelts got up to the plate and kicked the ball up so high into the air that he made it all the way home before it even landed. Max from Upper El made a triumphant leap to catch the home run while his peers cheered him on!

A reason we loved sharing this night is because of the opportunity it allowed to connect families with one another in the upper school of Woodland Hill.

We definitely plan to make this evening a WHMS tradition with hopes of next year being held at our new athletic field!

The Message from Megan Stasi

- Primary students practiced their cutting skills while making fall tree landscapes in Art class.

- LE Art students drew from nature in the amphitheater with FLOCKart guest teacher Blair Lambert.

- UE Art students also worked with Blair Lambert: making blind contour drawings with paper plates over their hands and using large paper to draw tiny objects.

- MS students get practice using word working tools while constructing looms in the Makerspace.

- MS Curator Club elective students discuss their plans for the upcoming lantern walk and FLOCKart opening party with Susan Thomas and Nicholle Gregor.

Maria GermainMeet

Maria Germain joined the WHMS staff in the fall of 2022 as our Primary and Lower Elementary Music Instructor. She is an actively working collaborative pianist and music director throughout the Capital Region. Maria holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Nazareth College of Rochester.

What is your favorite part about teaching in schools?

My favorite part about teaching is giving my students the opportunity to explore different styles and genres of music than just what they might hear through streaming or at home. This past week we learned some folk songs from Africa (specifically Ghana and Liberia), we listened to a piece of music from India celebrating Diwali, explored a famous classical orchestral piece by Norwegian composer Edward Grieg, and continued our standard classroom "kids" music.

What area of music and performance are your favorite?

This is always the hardest question because there is so much music out there and I can find something to like about every type of music. I really enjoy musical theater recently because current composers have been reaching into different genres - The Great Comet incorporates Russian and Jewish folk music, Hadestown brought back a ton of jazz and blues back to the mainstream, and Hamilton was able to use rap and hip hop in a way we've never seen before.

Are there any stories or experiences you’d like to share about Woodland Hill so far?

I think what strikes me most about Woodland Hill is how caring the students and faculty are. A few weeks ago, I lost my voice and a very concerned primary student diligently reminded me to eat honey and drink tea. It definitely helped!

Elizabeth Armstrong works for Otsuka Pharmaceutical Companies as a Senior Director, Clinical Management. Beth has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Binghamton University and a master’s degree in business administration and management from RPI. She has been a WHMS parent for seven years.

Nicole Lenihan joined the board as a teacher-trustee. Nicole has worked at WHMS since 2013 and has been a parent at the school since 2012. Nicole has a bachelor's degree in psychology from the Sage Colleges and a master's degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Capella University. In addition, Nicole holds a phr certification. Nicole has her Early Childhood credential from the Northeast Montessori Institute.

Woodland Hill Montessori School recently named two new members to the Board of Trustees.

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I S C O V E R

Helping Kids With Flexible Thinking

How flexible thinking can help children handle uncertainty and change

By Rae Jacobson

Bouncing back from disappointment. Going with the flow when plans change. Getting comfortable with change and managing uncertainty. These are all skills that rely on a key executive function called flexible thinking.

Flexible thinking is the ability to think about things in a new or different way. Flexible thinking is also an important part of self-regulation and handling big emotions. When kids are able to think flexibly about a problem they’re less likely to fall apart if things don’t go according to plan.

For example, if a trip to see Grandma has to be cancelled, a child who can’t think flexibly might be unable to see a way out of their disappointment and get upset. A child who can think flexibly might feel disappointed, but be more open to solutions. “I know you’re sad we can’t see Grandma. Let’s FaceTime her tonight and bake cookies together!”

Managing disappointment or uncertainty is hard. And that’s okay. It’s important to validate kids’ feelings before trying to move on. For example, “I know you’re sad the game was cancelled. I’m sorry. That’s really hard.” When kids are ready, invite them to help come up with ideas for making the best of difficult changes. When kids feel like part of the team, they’ll feel more in control and have the chance to practice their flexible thinking skills.

Kids look to parents for cues on how to behave. Modeling flexible thinking for your child will help them learn to practice it themselves. Let kids see you work through problems. When your child sees you handle with changes in a reasonable way, they’ll be more likely to do the same. Of course, sometimes there’s no clear solution. When that happens show kids your other coping skills, like mindfulness, or self care, to manage stress.

You can read the full article here.

Bethany Burroughs is Woodland Hill's School Counselor and provides individual and group counseling to our students, as well as large classroom guidance lessons.

Check out her book reccomendations to read with your child to practice Flexible Thinking and Growth Mindset skills:

-Bubble Gum Brain by Julia Cook

-A Little Spot of Flexible Thinking by Diane Alber

-My Day Is Ruined!: A Story Teaching Flexible Thinking (Executive Function) by Bryan Smith

-It's My Way or the Highway: Turning Bossy Into Flexible and Assertive by Julia Cook

-After the Fall (How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again) by Dan Santat

Herkimer Diamond Mine and Concerns-U Food Drive

On Monday, October 24 the Middle School took a field trip to the Herkimer Diamond Mine. The students were engaged in mining and sluicing activities to complement their rocks and minerals unit in Science class. It was a beautiful fall day, full of new memories and hands-on learning.

The Middle School students are holding a food drive to help Concerns-U provide over 250 families in Southern Rensselaer County with a Thanksgiving meal. Concerns U is in need of, cans or jars of turkey gravy, apple sauce, and yams to complete Thanksgiving baskets for our area’s neediest families. Any other Thanksgiving goods and donations are welcome, such as stuffing, canned pumpkin, corn, and beans. Concerns U provides food to over 700 families on an ongoing basis. Thank you for your generosity during the holidays! Donations will be collected in both WHMS lobbies from Monday, October 17 to Thursday, November 17.

Independent School Fair

Trunk or Treat

Fall Family Fun Day

Fall Family Fun Day was a HUGE success this year! Families gathered in the WHMS parking lot with Rhonda's Reptiles, pumpkin painting, pizza, and trunk-or-treating. The Delaney family won with the trunk decorating contest with their Sugarplum's Harry Potter theme.

The Kin Trio performed throughout the event. The band was formed last year as the Lenihan family grew their love of playing music together.

We thank the Friends of Woodland Hill for their efforts in planning and executing this event.

has just started

Ball Field Update

The North Greenbush town planning board has approved the project, we have secured a project manager for construction, and the engineer's work has been completed. We are now just in the process of finalizing the fields final design.

Each contribution to the WHMS Fund is important no matter

it is an expression of your support.

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Montessori

Moira Rienzo.