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Director's Page
TCAPS' Montessori
Program Growth and Our Future
Ten years ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools launched a Montessori program, which consisted of 32 students, ages three to nine. Presently, TCAPS Montessori has grown to serve over 400 students, ages eighteen months to 12 years old and is continuing to flourish. It is very unique to offer a public Montessori program and we are very fortunate that the Traverse City Area Public Schools district has supported our program throughout the years, including providing intense Montessori training for each of our directresses and directors, providing beautiful Montessori materials for our students and much more. Providing this public school offering of a Montessori program is definitely meeting a need in our community.
For the 2011-2012 school year, we will have seventeen different environments within our building including a two toddler programs (ages 18 month olds-2 ½ year olds), four primary environments (ages 3-6), seven lower elementary environments (ages 6-9) and four upper elementary environments (ages 9-12).
The TCAPS Montessori program is recognized as its own public elementary school by the state of Michigan and is considered to be an exemplary Montessori program according to the American Child-Care Consultants and Educational Specialists, who oversee one of the main Montessori training centers in Rochester Hills, Michigan.
I encourage you to browse our website, to watch the video of our program and to call me at 933-5607 or e-mail me at campan@tcaps.net if you would like more information or have any questions.
Best Regards,
Angela Camp
TCAPS Montessori Director
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Message from Director Angela Camp
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| February 3, 2012 E-Newsletter MessageWhat an exciting beginning to 2012 filled with a lot of Montessori community activities!
Last evening, we held our annual Upper Elementary Information Night for parents of current third year students, as well as for parents of current upper elementary students. Thank you to the Upper Elementary team for presenting and answering many excellent questions!
I would like to thank the forty-five parents who attended our Montessori Math Night on January 10th! I would also like to thank the following directors and directresses who volunteered to demonstrate key math lessons for parents, as well as explain the Albanesi system: Scott Munn, Andrew Habich, Megan Hancock, Jennifer Girard, and Amy Flaherty.
The 3rd Annual Montessori Science Share is taking place on Friday, February 10th, (during the school day) and Saturday, February 11th, from 11:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. Please stop by the school either day and take a look at all of the wonderful science projects that are students have created!
TCAPS Montessori’s “Kindergarten Night” will be held on February 16th from 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. This is always a well attended evening with an opportunity to meet a lot of new families!
Our Spring Parent/Teacher Conferences are right around the corner. Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held the following dates and timeframes, so please sign up for a time that is most convenient for you in our lobby:
February 23rd (4:30 p.m.- 7:30 p.m.)
February 28th (4:30 p.m.- 7:30 p.m.)
March 1st (12:30 p.m.- 3:30 p.m.- this is a half-day of school for students)
Parents are often asking us how can the Montessori philosophy be encouraged or supported at home. One way is to do “practical life” at home. Children learn by doing. Practical life is all about teaching a child how to take care of the environment and himself or herself. Children enjoy repetitively practicing real-life experiences. Give your child the real-life experience of sorting and folding socks, setting the table for dinner, or helping to put clean dishes away for older children. Some of the best learning experiences come from the mundane and ordinary efforts of life, giving children the opportunity to exercise their minds, their motor skills and, in the end, developing lifelong skills that will allow them to take care of themselves and their environment.
As always, if you every have questions, please feel free to contact me at 933-5607.
Best Regards,
Angela Camp |
| January 6, 2012 E-Newsletter MessageHappy New Year TCAPS Montessori Families!
As 2012 begins, I want express how fortunate we are to have such an involved and caring community at our school. With that said, we are continuing to lead efforts that support our School Improvement Plan, including our program’s vision. This year, TCAPS’ Montessori has its first Leadership Team, which is comprised of at least one directress or director from each level. This team is continuing with action planning to address priority goals. Members of the Leadership Team are also members of the School Improvement Team. If you are interested in attending our monthly School Improvement Team meetings, they will be held the following dates and will take place in the library from 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM:
Thursday, January 26th
Thursday, February 23rd
Thursday, March 15th
Thursday, April 26th
I would like to take this time to extend my warmest gratitude to Lisa Brown and Amanda Saxton for co-chairing last month’s TCAPS Montessori Family Potluck. This event had a magnificent set-up, including a beautiful “Welcoming Tree” to welcome staff members that are new to TCAPS’ Montessori. The Family Potluck was a terrific success due to all of the hard work of these two ladies and the many volunteers who also contributed their time and efforts.
As a reminder, our TCAPS’ Montessori Math Night will take place on Tuesday, January 10th, from 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM and will include an explanation of key Montessori math materials and presentations in the primary, lower elementary and upper elementary levels. For parents who attended last year’s Math Night, there will be more advanced presentations offered for the lower elementary and upper elementary levels.
The TCAPS Montessori staff and I look forward to another year of partnering with you to maintain the excellence of your child’s educational experience at TCAPS’ Montessori!
Best Regards,
Angela Camp |
| December 2, 2011 E-Newsletter MessageDear TCAPS Montessori Families,
Thank you for supporting our PTO fundraisers and the Scholastic Book Fair this fall. You are such a supportive community of parents and the money that is raised directly benefits your children. We had a very successful Local Harvest Sale as well as another successful Ladies Night and I would like to thank Marcy Lindberg and Judy Arnold, as well as all of the parents involved in both of those fundraising committees, for their leadership, their time and organization to make these fundraising events such a success! I would also like to thank our Library Media Paraprofessional, Mrs. Funkhouser, as well as all of her parent volunteers, for setting up the Book Fair, working numerous hours during the Book Fair, and packing everything after the Book Fair concluded.
Every school year, for safety reasons, we are required to conduct various types of drills: 6 fire drills, 2 wind drills, and 2 lockdown drills. As always, the children have been doing a wonderful job learning the different types of drills.
If you are waiting inside of the school building to pick your child up before the dismissal bell sounds, please wait in our lobby. We have had an increasing number of parents waiting just outside their child’s classroom door, which is interrupting instructional time in some instances and is not a building-wide safe practice. Thank you so much in advance for your cooperation.
I would like to remind all parents that children are not to bring toys to school. Toys cause many unnecessary issues which interfere with the educational environment, such as trading, lost toys, hurt feelings, etc. We have recently had many students bring Beyblades to school, which are not allowed, and prompted this reminder.
The morning of November 23rd, we had twenty-six eighth grade students from West Middle School come read books to each of our classes, followed with a fun activity. Our students absolutely loved this experience and the middle school students enjoyed working with the younger students. Thank you West Middle School for arranging this opportunity!
I am pleased to announce that we our offering another TCAPS Montessori Math Night, as it was very well received by parents last year. Our Math Night will take place on Tuesday, January 10, from 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM. During this event, you will have a chance to learn more regarding the Montessori math sequence for your child’s level and you will also have an opportunity to learn more about the supplementary Albanesi card and assessment system. If you attended Montessori Math Night last year, you may want to consider observing in the classrooms that will be presenting the more advanced portion of the math sequence for your child’s level. We are offering Montessori Math Night to our primary, lower elementary, and upper elementary families and we’re looking forward to another successful event!
Report cards will be sent home with students on Monday, December 5. If you have any questions regarding your child’s report card, please feel free to contact your child’s teacher or me.
As always, if you ever have questions, please feel free to contact me.
Best Regards,
Angela Camp |
| November 4, 2011 E-Newsletter MessageDear TCAPS Montessori Families,
It has been wonderful to see everyone at parent/teacher conferences. Your involvement truly makes a difference in your child’s education! This year, we held primary conferences earlier than elementary conferences and there will be a survey link emailed to you this month to gather your input to consider as we schedule future parent/teacher conferences.
I would like to thank parents of our third, fourth, fifth, and sixth year students for making sure that your child was present and was well-rested for the MEAP test each day. The TCAPS Montessori students put forth their best effort and we will let you know when we receive the MEAP results.
Bringing Montessori principles into your home can be a valuable connection to what your child is learning at school. One way to support the Montessori philosophy at home is to nurture your child’s intrinsic motivation. Children are most willing to put forth their best effort in each endeavor when they feel there is intrinsic value to their work. Montessori teachers refrain from using traditional classroom rewards and, instead, focus on nurturing each child’s sense of personal accomplishment, often times in the form of specific praise. By expressing encouragement and appreciation for your child’s efforts at home or in the community, you, like your child’s teacher, help nurture an intrinsic motivation that will serve him or her for life.
Best Regards,
Angela Camp |
| October 7, 2011 E-Newsletter MessageDear Parents,
I want to thank all of the parents who are volunteering to help with our Fun Fitness Field Day! We have over fifty volunteering. We also owe a big thank you to Mrs. Leibenguth and Ms. Kane for all of their work in organizing this annual community event!
Thank you to all that made our International Walk to School Day such a fantastic event. What a wonderful way to also kick-off our Walking School Bus program! As a reminder, if you are interested in your child participating in the Walking School Bus program, please fill out the Parent Permission Form that is available on our PTO’s website and turn it in to Mrs. Stricker (our Walking School Bus Coordinator). In addition, we would always love to have additional parent volunteers for the program and want to thank those that have committed to helping.
MEAP assessments are beginning next week! The assessments will be taking place beginning October 11th through October 28th for all 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th year students. The state has mandated a very precise testing schedule and it is crucial that your child is at school during these testing weeks. Please make sure your child is getting plenty of sleep each night and has a nutritious breakfast each morning so that he or she is well prepared.
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 933-5607.
Sincerely,
Angela Camp |
| September 16 - E-Newsletter Message
Dear TCAPS Montessori Families,
This has been such a terrific beginning to the 2011-2012 school year! I would like to take this opportunity to introduce new staff members to TCAPS Montessori and also introduce existing staff members who are in new positions this year:
- Mary Dezelski: Lead Custodian
- Amy Flaherty: Primary Directress
- Janine Germaine: Afternoon Extended Day Manager
- Linda Gilson: Morning Toddler Coordinator
- Becky McGillivary: K/1 Directress
- Karen Morell: Orchestra Teacher
- Amy Pilarski: Special Education Assistant
- Tracy Rucker: Spanish Teacher
- Kathy Sheahen: Primary Assistant
- Liz Sievers: Lead Administrative Assistant
- Angela Stricker: Walking School Bus Coordinator
An event that is just around the corner is our annual “Fun Fitness Field Day”, which will be held on Friday, September 30th. If you are interested in volunteering, sign-up sheets are located in the school lobby. This is always an exciting event for our students!
In October, we will be kicking off our “Walking School Bus” program, which will be taking place on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Mrs. Stricker, our Walking School Bus Coordinator, is still looking for additional volunteers, so if you are interested, please e-mail her at strickeran@tcaps.net. There will be Volunteer Training for the WSB program on Thursday, September 22nd at 8:30 a.m. in the library. We are so very fortunate that community organizations have partnered with us to make this program possible, which is promoting the overall health and wellness of our students. Additional information regarding the WSB program will be sent home with more details.
If you ever have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 933-5607 or e-mail me at campan@tcaps.net.
Sincerely,
Angela Camp |
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| February 3, 2012 E-Newsletter MessageWhat an exciting beginning to 2012 filled with a lot of Montessori community activities!
Last evening, we held our annual Upper Elementary Information Night for parents of current third year students, as well as for parents of current upper elementary students. Thank you to the Upper Elementary team for presenting and answering many excellent questions!
I would like to thank the forty-five parents who attended our Montessori Math Night on January 10th! I would also like to thank the following directors and directresses who volunteered to demonstrate key math lessons for parents, as well as explain the Albanesi system: Scott Munn, Andrew Habich, Megan Hancock, Jennifer Girard, and Amy Flaherty.
The 3rd Annual Montessori Science Share is taking place on Friday, February 10th, (during the school day) and Saturday, February 11th, from 11:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. Please stop by the school either day and take a look at all of the wonderful science projects that are students have created!
TCAPS Montessori’s “Kindergarten Night” will be held on February 16th from 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. This is always a well attended evening with an opportunity to meet a lot of new families!
Our Spring Parent/Teacher Conferences are right around the corner. Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held the following dates and timeframes, so please sign up for a time that is most convenient for you in our lobby:
February 23rd (4:30 p.m.- 7:30 p.m.)
February 28th (4:30 p.m.- 7:30 p.m.)
March 1st (12:30 p.m.- 3:30 p.m.- this is a half-day of school for students)
Parents are often asking us how can the Montessori philosophy be encouraged or supported at home. One way is to do “practical life” at home. Children learn by doing. Practical life is all about teaching a child how to take care of the environment and himself or herself. Children enjoy repetitively practicing real-life experiences. Give your child the real-life experience of sorting and folding socks, setting the table for dinner, or helping to put clean dishes away for older children. Some of the best learning experiences come from the mundane and ordinary efforts of life, giving children the opportunity to exercise their minds, their motor skills and, in the end, developing lifelong skills that will allow them to take care of themselves and their environment.
As always, if you every have questions, please feel free to contact me at 933-5607.
Best Regards,
Angela Camp |
| January 6, 2012 E-Newsletter MessageHappy New Year TCAPS Montessori Families!
As 2012 begins, I want express how fortunate we are to have such an involved and caring community at our school. With that said, we are continuing to lead efforts that support our School Improvement Plan, including our program’s vision. This year, TCAPS’ Montessori has its first Leadership Team, which is comprised of at least one directress or director from each level. This team is continuing with action planning to address priority goals. Members of the Leadership Team are also members of the School Improvement Team. If you are interested in attending our monthly School Improvement Team meetings, they will be held the following dates and will take place in the library from 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM:
Thursday, January 26th
Thursday, February 23rd
Thursday, March 15th
Thursday, April 26th
I would like to take this time to extend my warmest gratitude to Lisa Brown and Amanda Saxton for co-chairing last month’s TCAPS Montessori Family Potluck. This event had a magnificent set-up, including a beautiful “Welcoming Tree” to welcome staff members that are new to TCAPS’ Montessori. The Family Potluck was a terrific success due to all of the hard work of these two ladies and the many volunteers who also contributed their time and efforts.
As a reminder, our TCAPS’ Montessori Math Night will take place on Tuesday, January 10th, from 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM and will include an explanation of key Montessori math materials and presentations in the primary, lower elementary and upper elementary levels. For parents who attended last year’s Math Night, there will be more advanced presentations offered for the lower elementary and upper elementary levels.
The TCAPS Montessori staff and I look forward to another year of partnering with you to maintain the excellence of your child’s educational experience at TCAPS’ Montessori!
Best Regards,
Angela Camp |
| December 2, 2011 E-Newsletter MessageDear TCAPS Montessori Families,
Thank you for supporting our PTO fundraisers and the Scholastic Book Fair this fall. You are such a supportive community of parents and the money that is raised directly benefits your children. We had a very successful Local Harvest Sale as well as another successful Ladies Night and I would like to thank Marcy Lindberg and Judy Arnold, as well as all of the parents involved in both of those fundraising committees, for their leadership, their time and organization to make these fundraising events such a success! I would also like to thank our Library Media Paraprofessional, Mrs. Funkhouser, as well as all of her parent volunteers, for setting up the Book Fair, working numerous hours during the Book Fair, and packing everything after the Book Fair concluded.
Every school year, for safety reasons, we are required to conduct various types of drills: 6 fire drills, 2 wind drills, and 2 lockdown drills. As always, the children have been doing a wonderful job learning the different types of drills.
If you are waiting inside of the school building to pick your child up before the dismissal bell sounds, please wait in our lobby. We have had an increasing number of parents waiting just outside their child’s classroom door, which is interrupting instructional time in some instances and is not a building-wide safe practice. Thank you so much in advance for your cooperation.
I would like to remind all parents that children are not to bring toys to school. Toys cause many unnecessary issues which interfere with the educational environment, such as trading, lost toys, hurt feelings, etc. We have recently had many students bring Beyblades to school, which are not allowed, and prompted this reminder.
The morning of November 23rd, we had twenty-six eighth grade students from West Middle School come read books to each of our classes, followed with a fun activity. Our students absolutely loved this experience and the middle school students enjoyed working with the younger students. Thank you West Middle School for arranging this opportunity!
I am pleased to announce that we our offering another TCAPS Montessori Math Night, as it was very well received by parents last year. Our Math Night will take place on Tuesday, January 10, from 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM. During this event, you will have a chance to learn more regarding the Montessori math sequence for your child’s level and you will also have an opportunity to learn more about the supplementary Albanesi card and assessment system. If you attended Montessori Math Night last year, you may want to consider observing in the classrooms that will be presenting the more advanced portion of the math sequence for your child’s level. We are offering Montessori Math Night to our primary, lower elementary, and upper elementary families and we’re looking forward to another successful event!
Report cards will be sent home with students on Monday, December 5. If you have any questions regarding your child’s report card, please feel free to contact your child’s teacher or me.
As always, if you ever have questions, please feel free to contact me.
Best Regards,
Angela Camp |
| November 4, 2011 E-Newsletter MessageDear TCAPS Montessori Families,
It has been wonderful to see everyone at parent/teacher conferences. Your involvement truly makes a difference in your child’s education! This year, we held primary conferences earlier than elementary conferences and there will be a survey link emailed to you this month to gather your input to consider as we schedule future parent/teacher conferences.
I would like to thank parents of our third, fourth, fifth, and sixth year students for making sure that your child was present and was well-rested for the MEAP test each day. The TCAPS Montessori students put forth their best effort and we will let you know when we receive the MEAP results.
Bringing Montessori principles into your home can be a valuable connection to what your child is learning at school. One way to support the Montessori philosophy at home is to nurture your child’s intrinsic motivation. Children are most willing to put forth their best effort in each endeavor when they feel there is intrinsic value to their work. Montessori teachers refrain from using traditional classroom rewards and, instead, focus on nurturing each child’s sense of personal accomplishment, often times in the form of specific praise. By expressing encouragement and appreciation for your child’s efforts at home or in the community, you, like your child’s teacher, help nurture an intrinsic motivation that will serve him or her for life.
Best Regards,
Angela Camp |
| October 7, 2011 E-Newsletter MessageDear Parents,
I want to thank all of the parents who are volunteering to help with our Fun Fitness Field Day! We have over fifty volunteering. We also owe a big thank you to Mrs. Leibenguth and Ms. Kane for all of their work in organizing this annual community event!
Thank you to all that made our International Walk to School Day such a fantastic event. What a wonderful way to also kick-off our Walking School Bus program! As a reminder, if you are interested in your child participating in the Walking School Bus program, please fill out the Parent Permission Form that is available on our PTO’s website and turn it in to Mrs. Stricker (our Walking School Bus Coordinator). In addition, we would always love to have additional parent volunteers for the program and want to thank those that have committed to helping.
MEAP assessments are beginning next week! The assessments will be taking place beginning October 11th through October 28th for all 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th year students. The state has mandated a very precise testing schedule and it is crucial that your child is at school during these testing weeks. Please make sure your child is getting plenty of sleep each night and has a nutritious breakfast each morning so that he or she is well prepared.
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 933-5607.
Sincerely,
Angela Camp |
| September 16 - E-Newsletter Message
Dear TCAPS Montessori Families,
This has been such a terrific beginning to the 2011-2012 school year! I would like to take this opportunity to introduce new staff members to TCAPS Montessori and also introduce existing staff members who are in new positions this year:
- Mary Dezelski: Lead Custodian
- Amy Flaherty: Primary Directress
- Janine Germaine: Afternoon Extended Day Manager
- Linda Gilson: Morning Toddler Coordinator
- Becky McGillivary: K/1 Directress
- Karen Morell: Orchestra Teacher
- Amy Pilarski: Special Education Assistant
- Tracy Rucker: Spanish Teacher
- Kathy Sheahen: Primary Assistant
- Liz Sievers: Lead Administrative Assistant
- Angela Stricker: Walking School Bus Coordinator
An event that is just around the corner is our annual “Fun Fitness Field Day”, which will be held on Friday, September 30th. If you are interested in volunteering, sign-up sheets are located in the school lobby. This is always an exciting event for our students!
In October, we will be kicking off our “Walking School Bus” program, which will be taking place on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Mrs. Stricker, our Walking School Bus Coordinator, is still looking for additional volunteers, so if you are interested, please e-mail her at strickeran@tcaps.net. There will be Volunteer Training for the WSB program on Thursday, September 22nd at 8:30 a.m. in the library. We are so very fortunate that community organizations have partnered with us to make this program possible, which is promoting the overall health and wellness of our students. Additional information regarding the WSB program will be sent home with more details.
If you ever have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 933-5607 or e-mail me at campan@tcaps.net.
Sincerely,
Angela Camp |
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