Middle School Heads to Stone Lab
Navajo Dance Troupe Visits WSMC
Dr. Betsy Coe Presents An Adolescent-Friendly Environment
West Side Destination ImagiNation Teams Go Global
Discovering Montessori Days: Personalized Tours
Seventh & Eighth Grade Students Host Dinner Theater Production of "We Haz Jazz"
West Side Montessori 4-6 Grade Students Create Peace Garden
West Side Hosts National American Montessori Society Touring Symposium
Happy Birthday, WSMC! West Side Turns 30!
Middle School Heads to Stone Lab
On Thursday May 31, middle school students from West Side Montessori Center travel to the Franz Theodore Stone Laboratory on Gibraltar Island in Put-in-Bay harbor to participate in water testing, invertebrate explorations and other workshop activities at the nation’s oldest freshwater biological field station. The Stone Lab is the Island Campus of The Ohio State University.
During their overnight stay, students will engage in Stone Lab workshop activities including a science cruise, exotic species slides, herpetology, an invertebrate walk, ornithology and a plankton and fish lab. The seventh and eighth graders have been planning for this trip since early in the school year. Students raised money to help fund the excursion by starting a coffee café designed and operated by middle school students.
Native American Dance Troupe Visits West Side Montessori Center
The Pollen Trail Dancers are bringing a dash of Native American culture to the students of West Side Montessori Center on Thursday, November 16, 2006, at the school’s Bancroft Campus. The Pollen Trail Dancers are a traditional children’s dance troupe from Joseph City, Arizona. The group will perform the Bow and Arrow Dance, the Hoop Dance and other traditional Navajo dances to an audience of upper elementary and middle school students.West Side Montessori students will be treated to a brief history of the Navajo culture. Students will also be taught some of the native dances performed by the Pollen Trail Dancers.
Special Guest Shines the Light on Adolescent Behavior
West Side Montessori Center is delighted to welcome Dr. Betsy Coe to the school on Thursday, October 19, for a very special presentation, An Adolescent-Friendly Environment. Dr. Coe will share information of interest to parents of children of every age – if they’re not teenagers yet, they will be soon enough.
Join the WSMC community at the Bancroft Campus, 7115 Bancroft St., for Dr. Coe’s talk, which will include information about new adolescent brain research and adolescent development. Dr. Coe will also highlight her presentation with a slide show featuring pictures of an environment that responds to the specific needs of adolescents.
Dr. Coe, who has a Ph.D. in developmental psychology and adolescents, is Principal of the Middle and High School at School of the Woods. She created the Montessori middle school and high school programs. Dr. Coe serves as the Executive Director of the Houston Montessori Teacher Education Center that administers American Montessori Society teaching credentials. She speaks internationally on Montessori philosophy, adolescents, and peace education.
All parents, grandparents and caregivers are welcome to attend. Please be sure to RSVP by calling 419.866.1931.
West Side Destination ImagiNation Teams Go Global
Click here to see pictures.
Eleven fifth graders from West Side Montessori Center will join other students from Ohio and thousands of students throughout the world to participate in the 2006 Destination ImagiNation Global Finals. The two West Side Montessori teams who will be traveling to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville the week of May 22 are the Surreal Seven: Sachin Jindal, Carolina Fidler, Madeline Kaplan, Priyanka Pitroda, Rachel Reeves, Tommy Sandwisch, Jacob Sigman, and coach, Karen Callinan, and KABAM!: Kristen Darah, Beth Ann Less, Allison Sheehan, Molly Wheeler and coaches, Lauren Sheehan, a West Side Montessori alum, and Elaine Sheehan.
The Surreal Seven and KABAM! finished first in their respective Destination ImagiNation challenges. Surreal Seven team members also received the Renaissance Award, which is given for exceptional skill in the areas of engineering, design, or performance demonstrated by a team or individual. The students and their parents were ecstatic and beaming with pride at the state awards ceremony held in Cincinnati on Saturday, April 22.
West Side Montessori students have been participating in Destination ImagiNation for years. This is the first time that the school has been represented at the global finals by two teams and it’s phenomenal that both fifth grade teams placed first.
Destination ImagiNation is a community-based, school-friendly program that builds participants' creativity, problem solving, and teamwork in enjoyable and meaningful ways. Teams of two to seven members work together to apply creativity, critical thinking and their particular talents to solve a Team Challenge.
You’re Invited to Discovering Montessori Days at the McCord Campus
Personalized tours by appointment for children 13 months through third grade and their parents on one of the following mornings:
February 14, 15, or 16 at the McCord Campus
2105 N. McCord Rd.
Toledo, OH 43615
Bring your child(ren) to visit West Side, see teachers and students at work in a Montessori classroom, and learn about Montessori education.
Please call (419) 866-1931 to schedule a visit. Tours begin at 9:00 am.
You’re Invited to Discovering Montessori Days at the Perrysburg Campus
Personalized tours by appointment for children 18 months through Kindergarten and their parents on:
February 17 at the Perrysburg Campus
13587 Roachton Rd.
Perrysburg, OH 43551
Bring your child(ren) to visit West Side, see teachers and students at work in a Montessori classroom, and learn about Montessori education.
Please call (419) 874-9385 to schedule a visit. Tours begin at 9:00 am.
Seventh and Eighth Graders Serve Up Spaghetti and Jazz Favorites
Don’t Miss “We Haz Jazz” at West Side Montessori Center’s Bancroft Campus,
on Thursday, November 17, at 6:30 PM
West Side Montessori Center middle school students have been busy rehearsing songs, planning menus and choreographing dance steps all in preparation for this fall’s exciting presentation of “We Haz Jazz”. The musical is West Side’s first foray into dinner theater.
The evening kicks off with a spaghetti dinner, prepared and served by middle schoolers, at 6:30 PM. Showtime starts 7:15 PM, featuring the music of Fats Waller, Billie Holiday and Benny Goodman.
Seventh and eighth grade students orchestrated the entire evening. Students worked with their classroom, art and music teachers to develop this outstanding demonstration of creativity and learning education.
Parents, staff and friends will $7.50 for a ticket. A portion of the proceeds will support the middle school trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
West Side Montessori 4-6 Grade Students Create Peace Garden
West Side Montessori upper elementary students, 4-6th grade, have been working to create a peace garden on the east lawn of the school’s Bancroft Campus. Students formed committees and planned the garden for the WSMC community to enjoy as a quiet, meditative spot.
Students requested donations from families, staff and friends of the community for the following types of bulbs: purple hyacinths, white snowdrops, red tulips, white lilies, white daffodils and purple irises. They designed the garden so that the flowers would bloom in a rainbow-colored array.
Maria Montessori, the educator and founder of the Montessori method, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her vision and efforts to achieve world peace through education. The students raised money to purchase a Peach Pole that is fixed at the center of the garden surrounded by red, white and blue flowers. Peace is inscribed in four different languages on the pole sides. Peace, respect, and acknowledgement of the diversity in the world are a natural part of the Montessori curriculum.
West Side Montessori Center Hosts National AMS Symposium
West Side Montessori Center, an independent school for children ages 13 months through the eighth grade, hosts the 20th Annual American Montessori Society Touring Symposium: Maria Montessori and Best Practices: Are We Just Catching Up with Her? The symposium will be held Saturday, October 15, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm at the school’s Bancroft Campus, at 7115 Bancroft St., Toledo, OH 43615.
The featured speaker is Joanne DeFilipp Alex, M. Ed, a co-founder, educational director, and classroom teacher at Stillwater Montessori School, in Old Town, ME. She will discuss how nearly 100 years after Dr. Maria Montessori opened the first Montessori school it is possible to stay true to her philosophy and practices in the 21st century.
Area educators and parents are invited to attend this event. Brochures and registration forms are available at the West Side Montessori Center McCord Campus, 2105 N. McCord Rd., Toledo, OH 43615. Or visit the American Montessori Society website to register online.
Click here to go to the AMS website.
http://www.amshq.org/events_touringSymposia.htm
West Side Montessori Turns 30 & Celebrates with a Harvest Party
West Side Montessori Center celebrates its 30th birthday on Friday, October 21, with a school-wide harvest-themed birthday party complete with pony rides, live music, square dancing, a juggler (a former WSMC student), and a wall of West Side Montessori memorabilia from the last 30 years.
The school officially opened its doors on November 2, 1975. What began as twelve children and two teachers in a single classroom has grown into a program for children ages 13 months through the eighth grade with three West Side Montessori campuses.
The school currently provides quality education in a nurturing environment for over 430 children and is accredited by the American Montessori Society, the Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation, NCA and NAEYC.
