Sterling Montessori Academy and Charter School
September 14, 2016
Sterling Montessori Academy and Charter School
September 2016 Newsletter
In This Issue...
Student Information
Sheets...
Message From Paul Raymond
Executive Director
Message From Paul
Raymond...
Sterling Gets all A's...
Message From Catherine
Oudjit...
From The Children's
House...
From Lower and Upper
Elementary...
Message From EC Team...
Arrival, Departure and
Parking Lot Safety...
Around Campus...
PFA Announcements...
We Remember...
Upcoming
Events
GoPlaySave Due!!!
September 15
PFA Movie Night
Food at 6:30 and Movie at
8:00
September 17
Substitute Teacher
Orientation
9:00 in A-10
Welcome Back!
What a joy to see returning students and new students
transitioning with ease to school. The beauty of the multi-age
grouping of a Montessori classroom is that the child is naturally
acclimated to working within a diverse and dynamic grouping of
peers. The governing principle of responsible freedom guides the
child in all they do. It brings to mind one of my favorite quotes by
Dr. Montessori,
Liberty within limits implies individual freedom with awareness of
the common interest. The goal of self-perfection is balanced with
service to others.
When I was teaching I always enjoyed being a contributor and
teaching lessons during the first days of school. The yearly
process of beginning the school year in the "Montessori Way"
includes activities to build leadership skills for the rising oldest
group, team building for the entire class and defining community
values in a "Community Charter". We have discussions with the
students on freedom and responsibility, as well as basic individual
and group rights. These student activities are unique and
invaluable. They are a component of the process of character
development integrated into the Montessori curriculum. It is all
about the connection between one's actions and healthy relations
with others. A strong moral character grows from the selfdiscipline and civility necessary to be a participant in the
Montessori classroom community. Through living and working
daily in a collaborative approach to learning, the child finds
September 20
LHU Board Meeting
6:30 PM. in D-4
September 21
Class Pictures
September 22
Coffee with
Mr. Paul
9:00 A.M. in C-16
September 22
Yearbook Contest Ends
September 27
PFA Meeting
3:45 P.M. in A-10
Childcare Available
September 28
Box Top
Contest Ends
October 14
Fall Break
Childcare Available with
Contract
October 3-7
Picture Day
(Individual)
October 19 & 20
Quick Links
Paul Raymond
Executive Director
Catherine Oudjit
Assistant Executive
Director
Josie Spreher
Children House
Team Leader
Carrie Smith
Lower and Upper
Elementary
Team Leader
Rownak Ifat
Exceptional Children's
Team Leader
Gena Stephens
Facilities
Communications
Michele Stacy
community membership can be both personally satisfying and
socially rewarding.
The Montessori Way
Daniel Pink, author of the hugely popular best seller, A Whole
New Mind, boldly states, "Gone is the age of 'left-brain'
dominance. The future belongs to a different kind of person with a
different kind of mind: designers, inventors, teachers, storytellerscreative and empathic 'right-brain' thinkers whose abilities mark
the fault line between who gets ahead and who doesn't."
In a world of instant content and rapidly changing information, the
confines of discreet subject matter are blurred and lateral and
integral knowledge is needed. It no longer matters what you know,
what matters is what you do with what you know. The model for
success in the 21st century is an aware global citizen, with good
people skills, but most importantly, one who is able to manage
new sources of information well to find the answers.
Have technological changes altered the intrinsic nature of the
child? Who are today's children? They are the ones coming of
age who have made the adaptation to the information and
communication technology world of today. They have already
made the shift from the one-way broadcast media that you and I
grew up with (print, radio, television) that reflect the values of the
producer to a new age interactive media that gives control to all
users, and that is the very heart of the new generation.
Our kids have grown up with the internet. They spend time online,
not as passive watchers but active participants. Whether its
gaming, social networking or texting they are a generation who
watches less television then their parents, treating it more like
background, while simultaneously interacting through several
different devices, listening to music, virtual chatting, doing
homework, eating, and looking at a graphic novel. With their
reflexes tuned to speed and in personal control they are right at
home with the brisk and accelerated pace of technological
change. From this platform they are in a unique position to impact
modern society, replacing a culture of conformity with a culture of
innovation.
The Montessori Way has always avoided the one-size-fits-all
Industrial Age model. While core subjects at most schools in the
United States continue to emphasize the memorization of large
amounts of discrete and often isolated information, the Montessori
Way has always stressed interdisciplinary study that connects
content and consciously identifies the relationships between
subject matter.
Emphasis on isolated and limited subject matter has long been
driven by the emphasis on testing to determine performance. It is
far easier to test what you know than what you create. A more
authentic and personalized assessment in the Montessori
classroom broadens students choices in the projects they pursue
and the ways they demonstrate their learning. The emphasis in
evaluation is on what you do.
Today's schools are still severely limited in the response modes
for the students. They are defined by structured classroom
discussion, specific assignments, and tests based on content and
not discovery. The Montessori Way allows students to take control
of the decisions in how learning takes place. There are varied
pathways to instructional goals. These new routes are intended to
be more efficient and avoid barriers to success. The Montessori
Data Manager
Elaine Mongno
Administrative Assistant
Mike Cox
Maintenance Manager
Brian Morris
IT Manager
Sterling's Community
Garden Outreach
Project
Sterling's Community
Garden, located on the
upper field, got off to a
great start last year. It was
a well received, elective
classroom project and
teaching too!
The beds were used to
varying degrees but all the
students who took part
really enjoyed participating
in the process and many in
our community were able
to enjoy the fruits of their
labor.
We would like to build on
that enthusiasm and
increase both the physical
output and the meaningful
results of our successful
garden. The idea has
been proposed that we
direct our school efforts
into an outward,
community-oriented
service project. We feel
strongly that the beautiful
lessons embodied by
growing, nurturing,
harvesting, and bettering
our community through the
giving of fresh produce,
would be a wonderful,
living extension of the
Montessori education
being provided daily by
Sterling.
As the "Plant a Row for the
Hungry" program asks us,
"Did you know that lowincome families have the
Way uses specially designed, concrete materials to constantly
engage the children in their own learning, allowing each to learn -and to understand -- by doing.
Even in the best schools knowledge is defined on learning
objectives that only allow the use of pre-set methods and
materials. These may be realized in a syllabus, a textbook,
curriculum guides, or increasingly, online learning modules. In
The Montessori Way, learning takes place by an original and
personal process of discovery. Children are able to choose their
own work, direct their own progress, set their own learning pace
to internalize information, and seek help from other children and
adults when they need it.
Education for a new world can ironically be found in an innovative
education approach invented by Maria Montessori in the 20th
century. It's a school where kids know what to work on and kids
are showing kids how to master difficult skills. It's a place where
instruction, both individual and group, is personalized to each
student's learning style. It's a place where satisfaction comes from
doing, and doing is learning. It's a place where teacher is more
mentor and guide than "sage on the stage". It's our place, Sterling
Montessori School.
Sterling Gets all A's...
North Carolina has released its latest school grades, showing how
every public school in the state performed during the 2015-16
school year. Grades are based on each school's achievement
score (80 percent) and students' academic growth (20 percent).
The performance scores are converted to a 100-point scale and
then used to determine a school performance grade of A, B, C, D
or F.
Some schools have received a letter grade of A plus NG. That
means that the school earned a grade of A and did not have any
student achievement gaps larger than the largest average gap for
the state overall. This additional designation was added in 201415 to address federal requirements that exclude schools with
significant achievement gaps from earning a state's highest
achievement designation.
Math
Grade
Growth
Did you know that children at Montessori schools regularly outperform those who graduate from traditional schools? And that
some of the leading innovators in the world, including Google's
Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Amazon's Jeff Bezos and
Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales credit their ability to think differently to
their Montessori educations? That's the Montessori Way.
highest rates of
obesity/chronic disease
and hunger in our
community - largely due to
limited access to healthy,
fresh foods? We hope to
do our part to remedy that
issue in the Triangle. The
Camden Street Learning
Garden and its
accompanying teaching
kitchen, located in SE
Raleigh, is beginning a
brand new initiative aimed
at providing boxes of fresh
produce to the same
identified, at-risk families at
Ligon Middle School who
currently receive packaged
food through the Backpack
Buddies program. Our
produce would be
combined with produce
from Ligon's own
community garden as well
as the Camden Street
garden. Students from
Exploris Charter School
are slated to both learn
how to grow produce as
well as box up the results
from all the gardens for the
Ligon students. All in all, it
feels like a worthwhile
effort toward which to
direct our labors and
teaching.
We hope that any
classroom who had a bed
last year would participate
again this year with the
new focus. There is a
community garden
workday planned for
Saturday, September 10th,
to clean the garden and
beds and prepare them for
planting. The hope is to
avail ourselves of the free
seeds provided by the
'Plant a Row for the
Hungry' program that the
classrooms could then
plant the week after the
workday.
We look forward to working
together to make a
difference in the Triangle
community.
Student Information
Sheets...
Sterling went digital with
the Student Information
Message From Catherine Oudjit
Assistant Executive Director
Staffing
New staff were hired and welcomed to Sterling. Here are their
bios for your information:
Josie Spreher- Team Leader Childrens House
From a very young age, Josie knew she wanted to be in the "helping
people" business. Josie discovered Montessori as a teenager while
driving her niece and volunteering in her little Montessori school in
Georgia. She did her research while in college at Georgia State
University and found an AMI training center in Atlanta. Josie's
educational background is in Psychology, Birth through Kindergarten,
and Special Education (Adaptive). She graduated from the Montessori
Institute of Atlanta and began teaching at Arbor Montessori. In 1999, she
married and moved to North Carolina where she began teaching in the
Children's House at the Montessori School of Raleigh. In 2009, after
some time at home as a "stay at home" mom of two boys, she came to
work in the Children's House at Sterling Montessori. After four years,
Josie became a "stay at home" mom again to two little girls. She is
happy to be back at Sterling Montessori and to be a part of the Faculty
Support Team.
Frances Morgan-change of classroom, Frances is now in D10
with Shannon
Tisha Shah- Childrens House Assistant A4
Tisha is from Raleigh/Durham, NC and is now truly enjoying seeing her
hometown through the eyes of her children. She completed her
bachelor's degree at N.C. State University and her master's degree at
the Univ. of South Carolina in speech-language pathology. Tisha has
been a practicing speech-language pathologist for 11 years. She was
introduced to and fell in love with the Montessori method and philosophy
7 years ago after having her first child. Tisha has worked with children
for many years in child care centers, preschools, elementary schools,
and as a speech-language pathologist. She is a life-long learner and
immerses herself in books, courses, and articles about child
development and best practices to support childhood. Tisha holds a N.C.
teaching license and speech-language pathologist license. She has
been a part of the Sterling community since 2014 and her three boys are
excited to be returning to their beloved school this year.
Kristy Gibson- Lower Elementary Assistant B8
Kristy graduated from East Carolina University in 2000 with a Bachelor
of Science in Computer Science. She has two children that attend
Sterling Montessori- a rising sixth grader, River, in C14 and Eleanor
(Ellie), a rising fourth grader in D18. You have seen the Gibson's around
campus in a variety of ways for these past six years. Reading with
children, room parent, chaperone, classroom gardens, community
gardens, cultural arts events, substitute, and now teacher assistant.
Kristy's family takes great pride in being a part of such a wonderful
community and she is excited about beginning this new chapter.
Jackie Carre'- Childrens House Assistant A6
Ms. Jackie is happy to be back and is super excited to be teaching with
Ursula in A6, at last putting her Montessori Children's House certification
into full use. She wanted to answer the question many of you might ask,
"Won't you miss the art room?" She says of course she will miss being
with Ruth and our amazing specials department, but she is eager to
begin this incredible journey with Ursula. Jackie knows she is going to be
a phenomenal mentor and feels very lucky to be part of the entire
Children's house team. This past year Jackie has been working with a
Sheets this year. So far,
we have a great response
in getting the accurate
information for students.
This process will hopefully
make it easier for parents
to submit changes they
need to the form
throughout the year.
Parents simply email
[email protected]
and in writing make those
changes of address,
phone, email and
authorized pick ups. For
more information about the
Student Information
Sheets, contact Gena
Stephens.
2016-17
Yearbook Contest...
Yearbook Contest!!!
We are inviting all students
to enter their drawing for
our 2016-17 Yearbook!!!
Deadline for entry will be
September 27, 2016
All entries must:
1. Include the date: 20162017
2. Include the word:
Sterling Montessori
Turn in your completed
submission to the
Yearbook Mailbox in the
Main Office.
For further information,
contact Kim Elliott or Jen
Waschek.
spectacular family in Raleigh and was extremely lucky to care for two
remarkable children.
Rashmi Ghimire - Lower Elementary Assistant C6
This year will be Rashmi's second year at Sterling. She worked in AfterCare in the A building and has been a sub for all grades. She is very
excited to being coming on full-time and glad to be part of the school
family. Rashmi originally came from Nepal. She did her MBS (Master in
Business Studies) degree in Nepal. In America, she completed a MBA
(Masters in Business Administration) from Southern Polytechnic State
University (SPSU), Marietta GA. Rashmi lives with her husband and has
two wonderful daughters, both girls; Samikshya, (7th grader), and Sejal,
(3rd grader), are students at this school. In her free time she enjoys
hiking, cooking dishes, and spending time with family and friends.
We bid a fond farewell to staff that did not return and wish them
well in their future endeavors: Karen Barker, Diana Elshenawy,
Keanna Artis, Madgie Fort, Dawn Coletti, Jo Rogers, Lisa Naser
and Barbara LeBlanc.
From The Children's House...
By: Josie Spreher
"The child can develop fully by means of
experience in his environment. We call such
experiences 'work'"
"Such experiences [are] not just play.... It is
work he must do in order to grow
up."
Maria Montessori
Welcome to the 2016-17 school
year! I wanted to extend my
thanks to you all for your efforts
in helping to make the start of the school year very successful so
far. Your understanding of and collaboration with our staggered
start are key to setting the children up for a successful year.
Allowing the eldest students to settle into their routine, and
staggered start for the three and four year olds, makes it possible
for the teachers to be available to assist each student in a
personal and caring way. The results are now showing in each
classroom as I observe the children busy, engaged and getting
along.
Thank you for all that you do on a daily basis, from getting to
school on time, to providing nutritious lunches, nurturing care, and
partnering with our team of teachers. All of these things are
important to your child and helps them to have a successful day.
From Lower and Upper Elementary...
By: Carrie Smith
Welcome back students and parents! It has been great seeing all
of you again and walking by classrooms already hard at
work. These past couple of weeks the teachers have been doing
team building activities, playing getting to know you games, and
observing and assessing the students. Now that the teachers
have mostly completed their assessments and observations, they
have placed your students in groups to start receiving
lessons. These groups can change throughout the year based on
your child's work and teacher observations.
Students in Lower Elementary classrooms will be receiving the 5
Great Lessons throughout the year. The 5 Great Lessons in the 69 classroom are the Story of Creation, the Timeline of Life, the
Timeline of Humans, the History of Writing, and the History of
Math. The Story of Creation explains to the students about the
formation of the Earth and the origins of the universe. This
precedes the studies of physics, chemistry, astronomy, and
geology. The Timeline of Life represents the beginning of life to
the creation of man. All forms of life are represented and are
introduced into life's great cosmic scheme. The Timeline of Early
Humans explains the growth and development of man and studies
their early cultures. The History of Writing presents the earliest
forms of writing to the students up to the age of writing through
the use of computers. The History of Mathematics also presents
the students with the beginning concepts of Math through
counting which began in the primitive tribes up to the time of
Einstein and Grace Hopper.
Students in the Upper Elementary classrooms will be taking
overnight field trips this fall. Six of the classrooms will be going to
Betsy Jeff Penn 4-H Educational Center and Ms. Vanessa's class
will be visiting Western North Carolina. Stay tuned for next
month's newsletter to read all about their adventures and the fun
and exciting activities they enjoyed on these trips.
Parents, if you are interested in becoming a sub at our school,
please come to our next sub orientation which will be held on
Tuesday, September 20. The orientation will be held from 911:30. Please go to the main office first to check in and receive a
visitors badge. Once you have completed the orientation and
filled out all of the paperwork, you will be added to our sub list.
Sterling's test calendar was sent home in Friday folders a couple
weeks ago. It is also on our school's website. Just like last year,
EOG testing will start before Memorial Day Weekend.
Message From EC Team Leader...
Rownak Ifat
Funding for meeting the needs of children with learning difficulties
requires the school to author grants and meet compliance issues
of the Federal Department of Education. We spend considerable
time this summer focused on three key requirements:

Writing the Individual with Disability Education Act (IDEA)
grant for 2016-2017 school year.
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Updating EC student information to stay in compliance.
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Developing a three year plan to improve outcome for
students facing any academic and behavioral challenges.
LEA Self-assessment
This is a new DPI (Department of Public Instruction) requirement
starting from the 2015-2016 school year. DPI trained school
representatives throughout the year. We developed an LEA (Local
Educational Agency) Self-assessment team involving staff from
every section and met to have a very open discourse on six core
elements, given by DPI. These six core elements cover:
We realized that Sterling is in compliance with most of the federal
and state requirements! However, there is room for us to make
growth as well. We collected and analyzed the survey data, and
we realized that teachers need support to learn and implement
intervention in the classroom and collect data/do record keeping
effectively. We thought effective implementation of MTSS (multitier support system) will support their needs. The LEA Selfassessment plan was finalized with Mr. Bill and Mr. Paul's
feedback and submitted to DPI.
IDEA Grant
Sterling submitted the Individual with Disability Education Act
(IDEA) grant for the 2016-2017 school year.Charter Schools must
submit federal grant applications for funding under the 3-21 IDEA,
Part B, which serves children with disabilities who need special
education and related services because of permanent or
temporary mental, physical or emotional disabilities. These funds
are available to ensure that children with disabilities have access
to programs and services that meet their unique needs. Last year
we received a little over $337, 000.00; this year we
requested $380,000.00. We received confirmation of approval on
August 10th.
Updating of EC data
EC student information was updated to stay in compliance. This
year thirteen of our students exited from our EC program; some
went to high school and others moved to different schools. In
addition, new students have enrolled at our school. We updated
all this information in our school database as well on CECAS
(Comprehensive Exceptional Children Accountability System). We
have 65 students who qualify this school year.
Arrival, Departure and Parking Lot Safety
Many thanks to all of you who have shown consideration,
patience and discipline in assuring safety in the drop off and
pickup of students. It really is coming along well, as folks become
accustomed to the process, rules of compliance, and traffic settles
down after the beginning of Wake County schools nearby.
Much has been said recently regarding a few exceptions to the
many who use the crosswalks, refrain from cell phone use, and
practice courtesy and grace in the daily routine of arrival and
dismissal. Faculty and staff appreciate those of you who consider
the childrens' safety more important than your need for speed or a
phone conversation. We celebrate you!!
Staff have given great consideration to facilitating both safety and
efficiency, purchased new signs and security equipment, made
plans for inclement weather or dangerous outdoor conditions and
practice enormous patience and determination to keep our
community safe. Thank you for respecting us and being courteous
when we remind you when you must comply with the few
measures we require for security and safety!
Around Campus...
During the summer months many projects, upgrades and major
cleaning takes place while the students are away.
Facilities
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We uplifted, installed cabinetry and furnished additional
office space
Files were moved to off-site storage
Purchased and installed granite counters and new
cabinets in A and B Building
Painted MS Classrooms
Replaced ceiling tiles in Music room with acoustic tiles for
soundproofing, also replaced carpet with tile floor.
Removed dead trees in parking lot and B Playground.
Installed new carpet in C8 and C7.
Installed LED Lights in all small bathrooms in A and B
Buildings.
Sidewalk and fencing were added behind the A-Building
for access to the playground.
Dilapidated barn was removed in the wooded area near
the Nature Trail.
All interior doors were re-keyed.
The HVAC project (Heating and Air-conditioning units) is
now complete! The project was done over several years
replacing aging heating and air units with energy efficient
new models. The last 2 units were installed in C13 and
C17.
Termite Treatment- We had our entire campus treated for
termites this summer.
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Fencing along the front perimeter was repaired and trees
were trimmed
Parking areas were professionally swept
Mulching of beds and playgrounds to specified standards
was completed
The parking lots were striped and new signage installed to
facilitate safer traffic and pedestrian circulation
Custodial
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The blinds that hang in center of the rooms were all dusted
Windows and carpets throughout the school were cleaned
The tiled bathrooms and all tiled areas were stripped and
polished
The exterior of all the buildings were power-washed
The commercial kitchen on campus got a deep cleaning
Thanks to our very special staff Gena Stephens, Mike Cox and
Dennis Scarborough who work so hard to make our campus
beautiful, safe and clean.
PFA Announcements...
Fall Box tops for education contest:
October 14th will be the collection day for the fall classroom
contest. Please put them in the labeled container in your
classroom or put them in the Painless fundraiser mailbox with
your child's name and classroom.
Thank you for helping to support Sterling!
We Remember...
Sterling Montessori Academy and Charter School,
202 Treybrooke Drive, Morrisville, NC 27560
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