News&NotesDECEMBER 2011

DEARBORN HEIGHTS MONTESSORI CENTER

Accredited by the National Association

for the Education of Young Children

As we move into the winter months, weenter that time of year when it can be

a challenge to keep our children healthy. Afew proactive steps can help our DHMCstaff and parents work together to achieve ahealthy school environment.

Keeping germs at bayWe disinfect tables and play surfaces here atschool several times daily. We always havethe children wash their hands before eatingand after toileting.

Experts cite two useful tips to help chil-dren avoid spreading germs: n Wash your hands for the right amount oftime—and in the right way—to help get ridof germs. Have your child rub his or herhands together vigorously with soap andwarm water for 20 seconds (about the time ittakes to sing “Happy Birthday”).n Cover coughs. Because few people washtheir hands after they cough into them,many nurses suggest that children coughinto their inner elbow instead of their hands.

If your child is sickWhen your child goes home sick, you will beasked to sign our Sick Child Policy. As areminder, this policy states the following:n Each week, we must report all cases ofcontagious diseases to the county.n Children sent home with a fever, vomit-ing, and/or diarrhea may not return the nextday. They must be fever free and free fromthese symptoms for at least 24 hours.n We cannot accept a child for care if he or she has recently vomited, or has a fever orprofuse nasal discharge. n We will not administer Tylenol or aspirinto treat a fever. This only masks the symp-toms of illness and contagion.

We require staff members to stay at homewhen they are ill. Please do the same for yourchild, not only to avoid the spread of conta-gious illness, but also to ensure a speedierrecovery for your young patient.

We appreciate your cooperation duringcold and flu season!

Stay healthy all winter long

Science fun is on the riseHow do you inflate a balloon withouthuffing and puffing? Through science, of course! By mixing vinegar and bakingsoda, preschooler Noah Pich masteredthe carbon dioxide gas experiment atthe science-themed preschool/ExtendedDay Family Activity Night on December 1.Other fascinating hands-on experimentsinvolved magnets, air pressure, sound,and color mixing. Even snack time had a science spin: Children and their fami-lies were invited to mea sure out theirown trail mix and try their hand at colormixing by tinting their apple juice.The temptation to rely on media screens

to entertain babies and toddlers is moreappealing than ever, with screens sur -rounding families at home, in the car, andeven at the grocery store. And there is noshortage of media products and program-ming targeted to little ones. But a new pol icystatement from the American Academy ofPediatrics (AAP) recommends keeping chil-dren under age 2 as “screen-free” as possibleand says there are better ways to help chil-dren learn at this critical age.

The AAP first provided guidance on mediause for children under age 2 in 1999, discour-aging TV viewing for children in this agegroup. At the time, there was limited data onthe subject, but the AAP believed there weremore potential negative effects than positiveeffects of media exposure for the younger set.Newer data bears this out, and the AAP standsby its original recommendation. More isknown today about children’s early braindevelopment, the best ways to help them

Babies and toddlers shouldlearn from play, not screens

continued on page 5

2 NEWS & NOTES

FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Mind in the makingSeven skills crucial to children’s learning—and success later in life

Ellen Galinsky, child devel -opment specialist, author,

researcher, and former presidentof the National Association forthe Education of Young Chil -dren, gave the keynote address at the March 2011 AmericanMon tessori Society national con-ference. In her talk, she discussedher latest book, Mind in theMaking: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs.Galinsky conducted an extensivereview of research to arrive atseven skills that are crucial tochildren’s learning and to theirsuccess later in life. All of theminvolve the prefrontal cortex, thepart of the brain that weavestogether social, emotional, andintellec tual capaci ties in pursuitof goals. These are skills that can (and must) be taught by

parents and teachers. The listthat follows is excerpted from theMind in the Making website,http://mindinthemaking.org.

1. Focus and self-controlChildren need focus and self-control in order to achieve theirgoals, especially in a world that is filled with distractions andinformation overload. This skillinvolves paying attention, remem -bering the rules, thinking flexibly,and exercising self-control.

Focus and self-control involvemany executive functions of the brain. Scientists call these“executive functions” becausethese are the brain functions weuse to manage our attention, ouremotions, and our behavior inpursuit of our goals. Many scien-tists now believe that executive

functions predict children’s suc-cess as well as—if not betterthan—IQ tests.

Focus and self-control encom -pass four components:n Focus—alertness, orientationtoward a goal, concentrationn Cognitive flexibility—theability to flexibly switch perspec-tives, change the focus of atten-tion, and adjust to changeddemands or prioritiesn Working memory—the abil-ity to hold information in themind while mentally workingwith it or updating itn Inhibitory control—the abil -ity to resist a strong inclination to do one thing and instead dowhat is most appropriate. Inhib -itory control involves controllingattention, emotions, and behav-ior to achieve a goal.

Like other

essential life skills,

critical thinking

develops on a set

course throughout

childhood and into

adulthood, but

its use must be

promoted.

Artwork by Alana Nowlan, 4

NEWS & NOTES 3

2. Perspective takingPerspective taking goes far beyondempathy; it involves figuring outwhat others think and feel, andforms the basis for children’sunderstanding of their parents’,teachers’, and friends’ intentions.Children who can take others’perspectives are also much lesslikely to get involved in conflicts.

Perspective taking calls onmany of the executive functionsof the brain. It requires inhib itorycontrol, or inhibiting our ownthoughts and feelings to considerthe perspectives of others; cogni-tive flexibility to see a situation indifferent ways; and reflection, orthe ability to consider someoneelse’s thinking alongside our own.Although perspective taking israrely on lists of essential skills for children to acquire, researchmakes it clear that it should be.

3. CommunicatingCommunicating involves muchmore than understanding lan-guage, speaking, reading, andwriting—it is the skill of deter-mining what one wants to com-municate and realizing how ourcommunications are understoodby others.

These are not simple tasks.Workplace research conductedby the Families and Work Insti -tute revealed that the skills mostlacking among new entrants tothe workforce were spoken andwritten communication skills.

4. Making connectionsMaking connections is at theheart of learning, and makingunusual connections is at thecore of creativity.

Making connections involvesputting information into cate-gories as well as seeing how onething can represent or stand forsomething else. Ultimately, itinvolves figuring out what’s thesame or similar; figuring out howone thing relates to another; andfinding unusual connections,often by being able to inhibit anautomatic response by reflecting,and by selecting something that is connected in a different way.

5. Critical thinkingCritical thinking is the ongoingsearch for valid and reliableknowl edge to guide our beliefs,decisions, and actions. Like otheressential life skills, critical think-ing develops on a set coursethroughout childhood and intoadulthood, but its use must bepromoted. It is similar to the scientific method because itinvolves developing, testing, andrefining theories about “whatcauses what” to happen.

6. Taking on challengesTaking on challenges involvesbeing resilient in the face ofstress, trying new experiences,and being proactive in standingup to difficulties. One of the jobs of parents and teachers is to

help children learn to respond to the inevitable stresses andchallenges of life. But theyshould do more than help chil-dren cope; they need to helpthem learn to take on challenges.Children who take on challenges(instead of avoiding them or sim-ply coping with them) do betterin school and in life.

7. Self-directed, engaged learningIt is through learning that werealize our potential. It isthrough learning that our mindsbecome attuned, ready to meetwhatever life brings. As the worldchanges, so can we, for as long as we live—as long as we learn.The goal is to remain a seeker ofknowledge and skills.

Ellen Galinsky believes thatthe current focus on testing isdetrimental to the developmentof the seven essential life skills,and that the achievement gap in our country cannot be effec -tively addressed unless we helpall children gain these skills.Visit your child’s Mon tessoriclassroom to see “seven skills”teaching in action.

Thank you to…n Jolie Dabaja’s family,

for donating a play kitchen

to the school.

n Lauren Newton and Eric

Kurtz (Oliver Kurtz’s parents),

for donating various types of

paper to the classrooms.

n Drew Thompson’s family,

for donating scrap paper to

the school.

Move up with MontessoriSave the date for our Open House and “Moving Up” meetings on Thursday, February 16. The

meetings are designed to inform you about the next step in your child’s Montessori education.

Come for the Open House at 5:30 p.m. and stay for the Moving Up meetings at 6:30. Meet the

teachers, check out the classrooms, and learn more about the next level of DHMC Mon tessori!

4 NEWS & NOTES

Howdy, partners! Preschooler Cristian

Dhruna (left) and ExtendedDayers Ethan Perkins and

Radwan Darwich were amongthe nearly 100 people who

moseyed on down to DHMCfor our Family Square Dance inNovem ber. Pre school through

Middle School families wereinvited to the hoedown, led by

caller Bill Peterson. The toe-tapping fun included dancessuch as the Virginia reel and

the Macarena. Yee-haw!

Building strength in gym classUpper elementary and Middle School students have been starting gym class with a circuit-trainingwarm-up. This involves strength training and conditioning exercises such as push-ups, jumpingjacks, and the plank, as demonstrated above by phys ed teacher Brett Rosbury and fourth-graderTrinity Hearns. After completing the warm-up, students move on to a skill-based activity such asbasketball, and then finish the class with a cooldown. Students are also learning to recognize theirresting and exercising heart rates, a common measure of exercise intensity.

NEWS & NOTES 5

learn, and the effects that varioustypes of stimulation and activitieshave on this process.

“The concerns raised in theoriginal policy statement are evenmore relevant now, which led usto develop a more comprehensivepiece of guidance around this agegroup,” says Ari Brown, MD,AAP Fellow, lead author of thenew policy statement and a mem-ber of the AAP Council on Com -mu ni ca tions and Media.

The policy statement, “MediaUse by Children Younger ThanTwo Years,” was published in theNovember 2011 issue of Pedi -atrics. It recommends that parentsand caregivers: n Set media limits for their

children before age 2, bearingin mind that the AAP dis-courages media use for thisage group, and have a strategyfor managing electronic mediaif they choose to engage theirchildren with it.

n Opt for supervised indepen -dent play for infants andyoung children during timesthat a parent cannot sit downand actively engage in playwith the child. For example,have the child play with nest-ing cups on the floor nearbywhile a parent prepares dinner.

n Avoid placing a television setin the child’s bedroom.

n Recognize that their ownmedia use can have a negativeeffect on children.

In a recent survey, 90% ofparents said their children underage 2 watch some form of elec -tronic media. On average, chil-dren this age watch televisedprograms one to two hours perday. By age 3, almost one-thirdof children have a television intheir bedroom. Parents whobelieve that educational tele -vision is “very important forhealthy development” are twiceas likely to keep the television on all or most of the time.

In researching the new guide-lines, the AAP set out to answertwo questions:

1. Do video and televised pro-grams have any educational valuefor children under 2?

2. Is there any harm in chil-dren this age watching these pro-grams?

Among the key findings: n Many video programs forinfants and toddlers are marketedas “educational,” yet evidencedoes not support this. Qualityprograms are educational for children only if they understandthe content and context of thevideo. Studies consistently findthat children over 2 typically havethis understanding. n Unstructured play time ismore valuable for the develop-ing brain than electronic media.Children learn to think creatively,problem-solve, and develop rea -son ing and motor skills at early

ages through unstructured, un -plugged play. Free play also teaches them how to entertainthemselves. n Young children learn bestfrom—and need—interactionwith humans, not screens. n Parents who watch TV orvideos with their child may addto the child’s understanding, butchildren learn more from live pre-sentations than televised ones. n When parents are watchingtheir own programs, this is “background media” for theirchildren. It distracts the parentand decreases parent-child inter-action. Its presence may alsointerfere with a young child’slearning from play and activities. n Television viewing aroundbedtime can cause poor sleephabits and irregular sleep sched-ules, which can adversely affectmood, behavior, and learning. n Young children with heavymedia use are at risk for delays inlanguage development once theystart school, but more research isneeded as to the reasons.

“In today’s ‘achievement cul-ture,’” says Dr. Brown, “the bestthing you can do for your youngchild is to give her a chance tohave unstructured play—bothwith you and independently.Children need this in order to fig-ure out how the world works.”

Babies and toddlers continued from page 1

Children learn

to think creatively,

problem-solve, and

develop reasoning

and motor skills at

early ages through

unstructured,

unplugged play.

Inclement weather is a fact of life in Mich igan.When bad weather strikes, DHMC makes every

effort to keep the school open—or at least day careand latchkey. The safety of our families and staff is our first priority, so we evaluate the weather and announce the school closing decision no laterthan 6:30 a.m. on the day in question. We will alert DHMC staff and parents about school clos-ings via email. In addition, you can find school

closing information in the following ways:n DHMC’s website: www.dhmontessori.orgn Radio stations WWJ (AM 950) and WJR

(AM 760)n Television stations WDIV (Channel 4), WJBK

(Channel 2), WXYZ (Channel 7), WWJ-TV(CBS Detroit), and WKBD (CW50)

n A recorded message on our school’s answeringmachine: 313-359-3000

School closing info is at your fingertips

6 NEWS & NOTES

HABITAT STUDYExtended Day students

in Manel’s classroom tookadvantage of a beautiful

Novem ber day to observe the seasonal changes in thetrees, shrubs, and plants in

our schoolyard habitat. At thebeginning of the school year,

photos were taken of the habi-tat. The students brought those

photos on their walk for com-parison, and more photos weretaken for their next visit to the

habitat. They’ll continue toobserve the changes in nature

throughout the school year.From left are Elaina Gress,

Eva Ibrahim, Nathan Daniels, David Kibbey,

Marquis Sagnia, and Mrs. Manel.

InspirednatureBY

NEWS & NOTES 7

COLORFUL STILL LIFEThird-grader William Stephens(left) drew an orchid in agreen glass vase for a still lifework in art class recently. The medium was dry erasecrayons, and the canvas was a dry erase board.

POETIC EXPRESSIONS Karen McGraw’s lower elementary students broughtnature collages to life through poetry. First, studentscreated a nature scene using leaves, acorns, and otheritems found in the great outdoors. At right is first-graderHarry Ducu working on his masterpiece. Then, studentstook inspiration from their collages to write poems.Below is an owl collage and poem by third-graderClaire Nowicki. Thank you to Heather Cadena(Matthew and Christopher’s mom) for assisting thestudents with this project. We appreciate it when par-ents take time to help in the classrooms!

Owl, owl, come listen to me, Hear my poem behind the tree. I saw you flying past me. You carry a poem with me. I see you fly above me While I’m eating a cookie under a tree.

—Claire Nowicki, Grade 3

Brad Gallagher, award-win-ning author of Escape from

Zobadak, shared his love of read-ing and writing with Regina andMar gher ita’s upper elementaryclass in November.

A Hamtramck Public Schoolsdata specialist, Mr. Galla ghertold students how he realized his dream of becoming a pub-lished author when Escape fromZobadak was printed by Mack -inac Island Press in July. Themystery story was written forfourth- through seventh-gradersand earned Mr. Gallagher theMEMSPA (Mich igan Elemen -tary and Mid dle School Prin ci -pals Associa tion) Chil dren’sBook Award. He is already work-ing on a sequel.

Mr. Galla gher talked with stu-dents about the publishing pro -cess, which included editing,deciding on the book title, andcreating the cover art. He alsoworked with the class on a creativewriting lesson, taking time to lis-ten to each student’s ideas.

Thank you to JenniferKibbey (Hayden and David’smom) for arranging Mr. Gal -lagher’s visit to DHMC.

Weekly mail servicebuilds communityThe fourth-level students areoffering schoolwide mail pickupand delivery every Tuesday.

Students and staff are invitedto write letters to anyone in theschool (all levels) to say hello,reacquaint with an old friend, ormake a new one. Letters can bewritten on DHMC’s “snail mail”stationery and dropped in themail box in the lobby. Fourth levels will pick up and deliver the mail every Tuesday.

It’s a great community builder!

Opening the door to gratitudeMary Beth’s students talk regu -larly about the various aspects of being positive and having apos itive outlook on life. Throughstories, poems, or discussion, theyreflect on topics such as beingthankful. In November, studentsshared what they are thankful forby writing their thoughts on alarge piece of paper attached totheir classroom door. Contribu -tions included: n My family.n My family and friends.n Love and people to be there

for me.n My challenges.n Creativity.n A loving family, a place

to live, great friends, andeverything else that makesmy life special.

n My pets.n Education.n The gift of life.

The display inspired a grand-parent to add to the list duringGrandparents’ Day in Novem ber:“I am thankful for the UnitedStates, freedom, and rights.”

UPPER ELEMENTARY

Author shares his publishing story

Author Brad Gallagher

Collage shows whatAmerica is made of As part of their U.S. geogra-

phy studies, upper elementarystudents in Tony’s class created

a three-dimensional collage of the 50 states. Each studentresearched two states to find

representative items to place onthe map, from gems and insects

to crops and exports (Mich i -gan is made of cornflakes!).

The collage will be on displayfor all to enjoy.

8 NEWS & NOTES

Recycling squad Every week, upper elemen-tary students collect the recycling containers from each classroom and depositthe paper, plastic, and card-board in the bin outside theschool. Man aging our recycl -ing program is an importantcommunity ser vice componentof the cur riculum. A rotatingschedule ensures that everyonehas a chance to lend a hand.From left are Zachary Buvalic,Jack Audi, Ryan Kobel, AlissaElanjian, Hayden Kibbey, and Emily Jason.

It’s been an education-filled fallfor staff members, who refined

their skills and added to theirknowledge base through confer-ences and workshops.

Learning to innovateStaff members were challenged to take a fresh look at teaching,plan ning, assessing, and structur-ing school life during “Innova -tion: Thinking Outside the Box,”the Indepen dent Schools Asso ci -ation of the Central States’ 2011conference at Cobo Cen ter inDetroit on November 4. Stafffrom DHMC and sister schoolsLivonia Montessori Cen ter andPlymouth-Canton Mon tes soriSchool attended sessions such as: n Learning in a Networked

World: For Ourselves andfor Our Students.

n Learn Actively.n Authentic Publishing

of Student Writing.n Attend, Focus, and Remem -

ber: Setting ADD/ADHDStudents Up for Success.

n The Root Skills of Learning.n Navigating Gender Identity,

Expression, and Variance inChildhood and ElementaryEducation.

Improving PE qualityPhysical education teachersMaggie Porada and Brett Ros buryattended the Michigan Asso cia -tion for Health, Physical Edu ca -tion, Recreation, and Dance’s2011 conference in Dear bornNovember 3 and 4. The “Quality(Re)Considered—Let’s Be EvenBetter” conference focused oneducating the whole child andcreating sustainable programs.Maggie and Brett took part in anumber of workshops, including:n 5-Minute Games and

Activities.n Strategies to Avoid Conflict

in Your Gym.n Games That Integrate

Personal-Social ObjectivesWith Physical Activi ties.

n Building an Inclusive PhysicalEducation Program.

The road to mathPreschool/Extended Day teacherManel Wickremasinghe focusedon “the natural road to formalmathematics” on Octo ber 28during the North Amer icanMon tessori Teachers’ Asso ci a tionCon fer ence in Mil waukee. Theconference offered a doubletheme, highlighting math as wellas Montessori culture. Manelattended one of the “EssentialMontessori Mathe matics” ses-sions, “The Lines That Make theClouds: The Essence of theMon tessori Mind in the First Six Years of Life.” The workshopexplored how to support devel-opment of the child’s “mathe-matical mind” through concrete,sensorial experience.

Staff hone their skills at workshops

NEWS & NOTES 9

10 NEWS & NOTES

PARENTS ASSOCIATION

Your support makes a differenceDHMC’s annual cookie dough

fund raiser, sponsored by theParents Association, was onceagain a sweet success! Proceedstotaled more than $2,200 andwill be used throughout theschool year to support ParentsAssoci ation initiatives that bene-fit DHMC. Special thanks go to:n Kathrine Horan (Sarah’smom) for coordinating the cook-ie dough sale again this year. n Denise Abdullah (Adam and Kassim’s mom), AdrianaBaker-Kelly and Vintries Kelly(Sydnie Kelly’s parents), LauraFransen (Jack’s mom), KellyGallagher (Evan, Kelsea, andalumnus Kyle Kernosek’s mom),Evette Dukes (Trinity Hearns’smom), William Pavlich(Katherine’s dad), Vikki Prince(Nole and Kael Ligon’s mom),and Patricia Seashore (Lindsey’smom) for helping assembleorders and fulfill deliveries. n The entire Middle School classfor helping to unload the truck on delivery day in November (seephoto below).

5 easy ways to support our schoolChances are, products you buyand stores where you shop arepart of school fundraising pro-grams. DHMC participates inthe following five, and you cantoo. As always, we appreciateyour support of these easy, ongo-ing fund raisers!

1. Box Tops for Educationcoupons are worth 10 cents eachand can be found on dozens of products; drop coupons in the collection basket in theschool lobby.

2. Labels for Educationcou pons and caps from productssuch as Camp bell’s Soup and V8Splash can be redeemed for class-room accessories such as globes,easels, and other educationalitems. Drop labels in the col -lection basket in the lobby.

3. Meijer CommunityRewards can earn cash for ourschool. Enroll at your localMeijer store by applying for aMeijer Credit Card and/or sign-ing up for the loyalty program.

4. Office Depot’s 5% Backto Schools pro gram can help us earn free supplies. Simplymention DHMC when makingyour purchase.

5. Target “Take Charge ofEdu cation” enables Target Visaor Target REDcard holders todesignate DHMC as the recip -ient of a percentage of their purchases. Learn more athttp://target.com/tcoe.

Join the association DHMC’s Parents Association isan important part of our schoolcommunity, and we welcomeyour participation! The groupmeets at 6 p.m. on the secondThurs day of the month (January12, February 9, March 8, andMay 17). Compli men tary childcare is available.

Meeting dates, agendas, andmore are available on our school’swebsite, www.dhmontessori.org.Click on the Parent Resources taband you’ll find the Parents Asso -ciation link in the menu on theleft side of the page.

Teamwork was the name of the game for

Middle School students as they unloaded cookie

dough orders last month.They formed an assembly linefrom the end of the truck intothe building—and had a great

time to boot. From left areLindsey Seashore, Salwa

Hammoud, Fouad Alzaroui,Abigail Kosch, Carlton Helwig,

Silan Fadlallah, KennedyKubica, Adam Abdullah,

and Nick Nunu.

Save the date for Movie Night

Movie Night, sponsored by the Parents Association, is

Friday, January 27 at 6 p.m.The movie selection will beannounced soon, but mark

your calendar now. Stu dentsfrom Toddler through MiddleSchool and their families willbe invited to view the movie

on the big screen in our gym—popcorn included!

NEWS & NOTES 11

ALUMNI CORNER

DHMC lays ‘a solid foundation’Biltu Saha (class of 1995)

stopped by DHMC in Octo -ber and spoke to the MiddleSchool class.

“I was beyond thrilled to visit my old stomping groundsof DHMC,” Biltu says. “It was

such a great experience for me. I hadn’t been back in a very long time.”

After graduating from thesixth grade (our Middle Schoolprogram hadn’t yet extended to eighth grade), Biltu attended

Univer sity of Detroit Jesuit. Hegrad u ated from high school in2001 and went on to New YorkUni ver sity’s Stern School ofBusi ness. He majored in finance and economics, and served aspresident of the Stern/TischEnter tain ment Busi ness Club.During college, he interned withNBC Olympics for the AthensSum mer Games. He graduatedin 2005.

Today Biltu works at NBCUni versal as a marketing man -ager for NBC Sports and Olym -pics ad sales. “It is an excellentjob,” he says, “and I have beenable to travel to great sportingvenues such as the U.S. Open ofgolf, the Vancouver Olym pics,and the Stanley Cup finals.

“I am loving what I am doing,and DHMC definitely helpedme build a solid foundation.”

Biltu Saha’s recent visit toDHMC brought back mem -ories, including the installa-tion of our Peace Pole. “I waspresent for the Peace Polededication on June 3, 1994,”Biltu recalls. “I was in fifthgrade at the time, and it was a pretty big deal.”

Winter weather may beupon us, but we are still

prepared to enjoy outdoor play.State licensing rules require

outdoor playtime for children,and DHMC is committed tomaking exercise and free move-ment available to our students.Studies have indicated that chil-dren who play outdoors, even

during cold weather for shortperiods of time, have fewer res -piratory illnesses. The schoolstaff will use reasonable dis -cretion in deciding if weatherconditions are appropriate forchildren to be outdoors.

Please remember to dress yourchild in weather-appropriateclothing. As we move into winter,the children will need heavier

coats, hats, mittens, snow pants,boots, and other cold-weathergear every day. Also, please clearlylabel all outerwear so that the chil-dren (and teachers) can easily findtheir belongings.

With your help, we are happyto provide a wonderful outdoorexperience for your child atDHMC!

Is your child dressed for outdoor play?

Alum recognized for academic achievement Congratulations to John Way(above, class of 2008), who wasnamed a Semifinalist in theNational Achieve ment Scholar -ship Pro gram! John is a seniorat Brother Rice High School inBloomfield Township.

DATES TO REMEMBERDecember20 Tuesday Parent Perks meeting. 8:30 a.m. Complimentary child care provided.

23 Friday Holiday Sing. n 10:30 a.m.: Toddler/preschool morning session and upper elementary.n 2:30 p.m.: Toddler/preschool afternoon session, lower elementary, and Middle School.n Extended Day may attend either session.

26 Monday Holiday vacation through January 8. NO SCHOOL. NO DAY CARE. NO LATCHKEY.

January9 Monday Welcome back! Return to school.

12 Thursday Parents Association meeting. 6 p.m. Complimentary child care provided.

16 Monday Staff professional development. NO SCHOOL. NO DAY CARE. NO LATCHKEY.

16 Monday “The 6 Best Parenting Strategies Ever.” 7 p.m. Parents (all levels) and membersof the community are invited to this presentation by parenting and relationship expertDr. Thomas Haller.

17 Tuesday Parent Perks meeting. 8:30 a.m. Complimentary child care provided.

18 Wednesday Elementary Curriculum Night. 6:30 p.m.

25 Wednesday Picture Retake Day.

DEARBORN HEIGHTS MONTESSORI CENTER

466 N. John DalyDearborn Heights, MI 48127-3703

313-359-3000www.dhmontessori.org

“The child’s nature

is to aim directly and

energetically at functional

independence.”

—Dr. Maria Montessori

Join us for our Holiday SingPlease plan to attend DHMC’s annual

Holiday Sing on Friday, December 23.

Children from Toddler to Middle School

have been working hard to prepare for

this festive musical gathering for fami-

lies. Times are listed in the calendar

at right. See you there!

Happy Holidays from

your DHMC staff!

Toddler and preschool parents: Pleasewatch for the Parent Survey we will be

sending you as part of our Toddler accredita-tion and preschool reaccred itation process.

Since 1998, DHMC’s preschool programhas been accredited by the National Asso -ciation for the Education of Young Children(NAEYC). We are in the process of securingreaccreditation for preschool and first-timeaccreditation for our Toddler program,which is now in its second year.

NAEYC accreditation is a voluntary sys-tem to measure the quality of a school and to find ways to help a program improve. For20 years, NAEYC has helped families acrossthe country feel good about the child careprograms they choose.

To obtain the NAEYC mark of quality,programs go through a rigorous accredita-tion process based on 10 standards. Thesestandards address not only the curriculumand physical environment, but also relation-ships with children and families.

You may already be aware of the followingaspects of our Toddler and preschool programs: n You are welcome to observe in yourchild’s classroom at any time.

n Teachers are happy to talk with you eachweek during their office hours, or at any timeyou have a question or concern.n You receive written reports about yourchild’s progress three times a year (at twoparent-teacher conferences and at the end ofthe school year).n Information about community resourcesand services, including those for familieswith special needs, is available through thestaff and the DHMC Information Center,located in the school lobby.n You have many opportunities to meetother families by attending our numerousschool-sponsored events and by participatingin our Parents Association.n We help to make the transition fromToddler to preschool and from kinder gartento first grade smooth by providing a parentinformation meeting; this school year, it’s onThursday, February 16.n We conduct an annual survey of parentsto help us assess and improve our programs.

Parents are a valuable resource in assessingour programs, and we thank you in advancefor taking time to fill out the questionnaire.

Toddler, preschool Parent Survey coming