Message From the Director
Dear Families,
One of my favorite parts of my job is teaching. Seeing the "ah-ha" moments when I'm helping teachers brainstorm ideas for a child who may need a different approach, talking with students about their work or behavior, helping parents with a challenge, or working with young hopeful applicants who are just entering the field of education is what keeps me coming back each day.
So when I'm not feeling energized about my work, I know there is only one thing left to do...teach! I've always wanted to do a parent book study on the book, The Gift of Failure
. It's my favorite "education" book and when I was able to hear the author speak at the AMS National Conference a few years ago, I was inspired. Is there interest in such a book study? If you would be interested in joining me, please send me an email. I'll weigh interest and schedule a time that is best for the group! I hope some of you join me. I'll make it worth your time!
In the meantime, you can look up the title, The Gift of Failure How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed
by Jessica Lahey. Here's a link on Amazon
where you can read about the book.
Warmly,
Brenda
New Outdoor Playspace!
I am happy to share that we raised enough funds to be able to install a new outdoor playspace for our Primary and After School Care children. The new equipment (three separate pieces) will be made of Robinia Wood and be an aesthetic match to the rest of our campus. These two dimensional drawings don't do the beautiful new equipment justice. I will have better models very soon! I just couldn't wait to share the good news.
Enrollment Deadline February 16
Please remember to create your
FACTS Family Portal
and take care of your 2024-25 enrollment before
February 16.
Our district code is WR-TX. We do have a wait pool and will open enrollment to new families after the 16th. Please do not hesitate to ask if you need help. We are learning our new SIS system too, and although there have been a few glitches, things are moving pretty smoothly. Remember to create your Portal using the email address you provided the school
during last year's enrollment. If you need help you can email Julie at julie@whiterockmontessori.org
Parent Education Opportunity
The AMI/USA Montessori Experience will be held in Dallas this February. They are offering a
2 full day parent track
at this event where they will explore topics designed for parents and caregivers!
You can find more details on the Parent & Caregiver Workshop
here.
Books!
Do you have any school appropriate books you would like to donate? We are looking for adolescent appropriate books for our Middle School classroom library and Primary-Upper Elementary appropriate books for our main building library. A few of our adolescent students under the guidance of Ms. Taber will donate their service time to help organize and shelve the books. Thank you!
Financial Assistance
Families interested in applying for financial assistance through FACTS Grant and Aid can access the portal
here. The deadline to apply is March 8, 2024.
AMS Family Connections
Access the February AMS Family Connections
here.
This month the articles are about the Absorbent Mind and Tips for Cooking With Your Child. Enjoy!
Coffee with Brenda
Please join me on Monday, February 12 at 8:45 for coffee and conversation upstairs in the Spanish Room. See you there!
Team Ms. Laufersky
When Connie retired from White Rock in December she asked that in lue of a retirement party, that we put together a team from White Rock to join the Ferguson Road Initiative's Operation Beautification. Please use the
link to register
so we know how many t-shirts to order!
Girl Scout Cookies!
Our own girl scout troop 6504 is selling girl scout cookies! They are raising money to go to Camp Grady Spruce in the spring. Order "girl delivered" and a scout fairy will drop them on your doorstep. Place your cookie order using this link
or look for our Girl Scout Troop at dismissal on February 14. You may want to purchase some cookies for your sweetie on Valentine's Day!
Let's Make a Cookbook!
We need your help! We are putting together a Cookbook for the 2023-24 school year, and would love to collect all of your favorite family recipes to share with the WRM community.
Our plan is to use Morris Press Cookbooks
, who have prepared templates that we can use. They will print them for us to distribute! WRM Parent Kira Hartgrove has used them in the past with fabulous results. |
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Please send your well-loved recipes to Kira Hartgrove at txkira@gmail.com
by March 1st,
so that we can submit them to the printers before the end of the month.
We look forward to creating this lovely memento with you! |
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Your inbox may get a little busier for the next few weeks as we gear up for Annual Event 2024! We are so
excited about Clue: A Night of Mystery
! This is our big fundraiser for the year, which funds all the things TPC does year-round: school support and faculty & staff appreciation; social events for WRM parents and families each semester; service opportunities within the school and our surrounding community; and general support of our amazing school.
Buy your tickets now!
Consider sponsoring the event!
Silent Auction Donations (DOTS; donations of time and service)!
Sign and Go Events
Thank you to the TPC and all of their planning. It take a great deal to put on an event like this! I'm excited to experience my first Annual Event here at WRM. There are already plans for the 2024-25 school year and how the TPC's proceeds from this event will benefit your children. Please come join us for a night of fun!
We're also starting to plan for our first annual "Team Connie" group
for the Ferguson Road Initiative's Operation Beautification trash pick-up on March 2nd. (We'll do this in honor of former WRM Director Connie Laufersky.)
You can sign up for a clean up shift here
. We're also looking for a few people to help coordinate our team - if you're interested, just reply now.
DAA (Diversity Awareness & Advocacy)
Link to the DAA Curriculum on our WRM website:
https://www.whiterockmontessori.org/diversity
White Rock Montessori’s Diversity, Advocacy and Awareness curriculum is proud to recognize February as Gender Diversity.
Here are a few resources as outlined in our DAA curriculum that you can use to have conversations about gender with your student:
Primary; Red
; A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall and/or Neither
by Airlie Anderson
Lower Elementary; I Am Jazz
by Herthel and Jennings and/or From the Stars in the Sky to the Fish in the Sea
by Kai Cheng Thom
Upper Elementary; Jaime is Jaime: A Book About Being Yourself and Playing Your Way
by Afsaneh Moradian
The DAA Committee will be hosting a DAA Coffee Chat the third Thursday of each month. The next chat will be Thursday, February 15. If you plan to attend on the 15th,
please read this article
from the American Montessori Society to discuss.
