Your PTO Dollars at Work
Last week, six PRM staff members, along with our principal, visited Washington, D.C., to attend the American Montessori Society’s annual conference, one of the largest gatherings of Montessori educators each year. Pictured above are Amanda Long, Primary; Sharilyn Seale-Banks, Lower El, Katie Weed, Talent Development; Melissa Toner, Media Specialist; Melanie Francis, Principal; Ann Palin, Lower El; and Cecelia McGloughlin, Upper El.This professional-development opportunity for our staff members was made possible by the contributions of PRM families and friends, along with your support of PTO programs. Thank you!
Thank you to everyone who helped make Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week a success! Whether you contributed to the PTO so that we could provide PRM Tervis cups, a coffee cart, and smoothie bar; brought in a yummy dessert for the Teacher and Staff Luncheon; or sent in cards, our PRM families made it a great week! Additional thanks to Trish Moody and Erica Stawick for organizing.
Despite the rain, we had a wonderful evening at International Spring Picnic last week. Thank you to all of the families and performers that shared their cultures with us, and to Ms. Priti and the ISP committee, who made the event possible. See you next Spring!
This year, your PTO dollars sent six of our staff members to the American Montessori Society’s annual conference. Several of them have shared highlights or key takeaways from the event.
From Ms. Amanda: I had a wonderful time at the AMS conference this year! It was an incredible opportunity to engage with the larger Montessori community and refresh my perspective. I really enjoyed attending the sessions and learning new and innovative strategies to apply to my classroom. It was refreshing to see other educators passionate about teaching and the role they play in a child’s journey. I was able to get hands-on experience with new materials and purchased some for my classroom. It was also a great bonding experience with my fellow Park Road colleagues. Thank you to the PTO for making this possible and taking such great care of your teachers!
From Ms. Cecelia: First, I want to thank the PTO for sending me to the Montessori conference in DC. I was able to meet up with former colleagues – one who worked with me at Billingsville and now resides in New York. We were able to catch up – I had no idea she had moved from the Charlotte area. I purchased some character building materials that will be donated to the media center. The materials use children’s literature to build the character trait of perseverance. Perseverance is learned in each text through different situations and most are true stories. One story is about a child born in Ghana who was born with only one leg. He hopped on one leg 2 miles to school each day. Inspiring story! The cards are being laminated and the books are ordered, soon they will be in the hands of the children. One workshop was taught by our former Mr. Reg! He inspired me to increase the construction of figures in my classroom. I attended a workshop on the middle school level and saw a new way to plan units and projects for the students. I have shared the information with the teachers at Park Road and I am offering the information at the Montessori Symposium in August. I am inspired each time I attend the Montessori conference. I do hope to go again in the future. Thank you for the opportunity.
From Ms. Candace: We had an amazing concert experience with DNA Muzic last week for their Motown and More performance! I have never seen our kids groove so hard while learning so much about African American music from gospel and work songs to soul, funk, motown, and more. Staff and students had a 50 minute fun, academic, and engaging experience that won’t soon be topped! Thank you parents and our PTO for supporting such amazing programming! (Follow this link to watch a video of the children enjoying the concert)
The first ever Park Road Montessori school-wide celebration of Chinese New Year was a success thanks to parent and student volunteers!
Please be sure to ask your child about their experience, and take a look at the special coin each student was able to bring home with their name written in Chinese symbols. The school was decorated with brightly colored red lanterns and the event was certainly enjoyed by all.
We hope to continue to foster the educational principles of Maria Montessori by hosting culturally enriching experiences like this!
Students participated in drumming lessons throughout last week, an experience sponsored by the PTO Cultural Arts Fund. According to Coach Strait the children learned about a rhythm called “Lamban”. This is a West African rhythm used to celebrate the Griot, or Jeli. The Griot was the person who kept the history of the tribe. Since they did not write the history down, the Griot would memorize it, and recite it in song, dance, or other forms of entertainment. The drums used were the Dunun Orchestra, which consists of the Dununba (father drum), Sangba (mother drum), Kenkeni (child drum), and the Djembe.
The experience was led by Bilal Nash, a PRM alum who also teaches a Montessori Mornings drumming class. Be sure to ask your children about their drumming adventures!
A huge thank-you to all of the parent volunteers, students, teachers and staff members who made our Earth Day celebration and Gardening Day, led by Ms. Charlotte, a success!
Your PTO dollars were at work throughout the week, providing Ms. Tricia with a one-week residency and supplies to work with many of our students on the new murals for the storage and gardening sheds along with funding the materials used to build the new gaga ball pit on the field. Coach Strait, Bill Platt and Scott Moulton worked well into the evening to install the new game pit.
Check out their work next Thursday when you come for International Spring Picnic!
Recently, Troy Kryzalka, the Number Drummer, visited Park Road, delivering an incredible integrated math and music learning experience to our kids. The entire auditorium came alive with music and math! Watch Band Prep working with the Number Drummer on rhythm, accuracy, team work, fractions, ratios, and more!
Special thanks to Ms. Candace for arranging this opportunity for the school!
