News

Thanks to the 2019-20 Springmont Fund, eight Springmont faculty members and one administrator attended the AMI-USA Annual Refresher Course in Seattle, Washington, during Presidents’ Day weekend.  Alongside “The Child and Nature” theme, keynote speaker Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, set the tone for the weekend as he discussed his newest book The Wild Calling and the powerful link between nature and the development of the whole child. Our faculty were represented in nearly every workshop track, including Infant/Toddler, Primary, Elementary, Adolescent, and Equity. They are thrilled to bring what they learned back to Atlanta to share with their Springmont colleagues. Thank you to all the generous Springmont Fund donors for this wonderful professional development opportunity.

Springmont is happy to offer fun and educational activities after school!  This spring, Primary students ages 4 and up can enjoy Bricks4Kidz, Sports Mash-Up, Music & Movement and/or Yoga while Elementary and Middle School students can select from a plethora of favorites plus new offerings including Exploring Our Senses, Bee Club and LEGO Career Academy. 

Click the links below for additional information and online registration.

• Primary
• Elementary/Middle School

There's something for everyone! Spaces are limited and filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration and payment are due by Thursday, March 19 at 4 p.m.

Questions? Email Tiffany Orem

IMPACT is going green! Announcing IMPACT's first annual Landschool Gear Pop-Up Shop! Clean out your closets and swap some outgrown Landschool gear.  Parent volunteers will collect gently-used hiking boots, rain boots, sneakers, pants, hats, backpacks and jackets in the Pavilion and at the Fine Arts Cottage today through Wednesday. Then, plan to pick-up some Landschool items before your child's Spring Landschool Trip by attending the Pop-Up Shop at the Activity Court this Friday, 9:30-11:00 a.m. and 2:30-4:30 p.m. 

Have you been admiring the cozy, long-sleeved Montessori Mile t-shirts you see on others around campus? Well, just in time for this Friday's Spirit Day and next week's Spring Break, it's not too late to get one for yourself or your child! The flyer pictured below was designed by Middle School P.E. interns Timothy and Mason and will come home in Thursday folders, but don't wait, click here to see available sizes and to place your order!  Just $5 each!  Limited quantities and sizes available! Email Tiffany Orem with questions!

Due to increased demand for our outstanding Toddler program, Springmont is thrilled to announce that we will be adding a third Toddler class for the 2020-21 school year! Toddler/Primary Division Head Cara Friedline has begun the search for an additional teacher and options for creating an additional classroom space in the Main Building are being evaluated and necessary renovations will be completed during the summer.  

Springmont's Toddler Program serves students 18 months to 3 years and is the first step toward developing a life-long love of learning. Toddlers are naturally curious and eager to learn, and our program guides them on a journey of discovery using a full complement of specially-designed learning materials in a beautiful, safe, warm, home-like environment.  

Help us spread the word by letting neighbors, coworkers and friends know about this new opportunity to join the Springmont community!  

All parents are invited to join Head of School Jon Alden for coffee and conversation on Friday, February 28, beginning at 8:30 a.m. in the Media Center. Discussion will focus on your thoughts and preferences about a school parent association and the role of IMPACT (Springmont's parent organization) in the Springmont community. 

All parents are also encouraged to complete a 5-minute Volunteer Engagement Survey designed to capture the thoughts of parents who may not be able to attend the morning discussion with Jon.  Responses are confidential and anonymous and will be viewed at an aggregated level. The survey is open now and will close Wednesday, February 26. Click the link in Monday's Springmont Weekly News to begin!

Feedback from both the parent coffee and the survey will be used to inform potential changes to the structure and function of IMPACT.
 

Thanks to a grant from the Bee Cause Project and Whole Kids Foundation, last spring Springmont became home to two hives of honeybees! Since then, Elementary students have had a series of lessons about all aspects of life in the hive. They covered bee biology and anatomy, including what makes a bee an arthropod, botany and the parts of the flower, the process of pollination, and the life cycle of the bee.  In August, students also participated in the Great Georgia Pollinator Count.  Middle School students received the same lessons but delved deeper into the effects of agriculture on ecosystems, the importance of pollinators in our lives, and bee genetics. There was even a discussion about the Honeycomb Conjecture, a mathematical hypothesis regarding the efficiency of the honeycomb shape!

We are excited to announce that our bees have produced a small amount of honey and that we’ll be auctioning off a jar of Springmont Golden Bead Honey at the Auction!  And, Upper Elementary students will be invited to participate in Springmont’s first Bee Club as part of our Spring Enrichment offerings! Bee Club will be open to 8 students who are interested in learning more about beekeeping techniques and the impact bees have on the environment. Students will focus on ways to help pollinators, research ways to counter the global decrease of bees, conduct hive inspections, and learn more about bee biology and health as well the construction and maintenance of hive equipment.

If you’ve been to the Springmont Auction before, you know this fun event features a great silent auction in which bidders have the chance to take home exciting items, all while financially supporting our school.  These items don’t come to us by chance; volunteers work hard to procure items from local businesses, but some of the most bid upon items come from other parents in our community. Last year parent donations included:

• Signed Sports Memorabilia
• Home Goods (terrariums, art, etc.)
• Gift Certificates (Delta, Marriott Bonvoy, HKT Clothiers, etc.)
• Spa Treatments
• Parties (Beer Fest, Brazilian Dinner, Find Your Zen (yoga class and mimosas), Paella Night, Ladies Wine Night)
• Experiences (3-night Stay in Panama City Beach, Atlanta United Tickets, Tickets to a UGA football game, a Round of Golf at East Lake, etc.)

Please take a moment to consider what your family might have available to contribute to the auction.  Feel free to reach out to me at yanamarie@yahoo.com or to Lauren Stevenson at lstevenson@springmont.com with questions or ideas! We look forward to celebrating with you on April 18!

This year's auction, Havana Nights, is scheduled for April 18! We rely heavily on sponsorships to cover the costs associated with this highly anticipated community event. Show your company and/or family’s support by becoming a sponsor of the auction today! Click here for a paper sponsorship form or click here to complete your sponsorship online. Sponsorships must be received by March 27! 

Thank you to our students, their teachers, and Music Teacher Carissa Gibson for a spectacular musical performance, to our many parent and staff volunteers for helping with set-up and clean-up, and to all the families who brought delicious food to share!  This event is a testament to the strength of our school community and a grand celebration of our diversity. Click here to view more pictures on Facebook!

While many of us grew up during an educational era focused on the 3 R’s - Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic, the buzzword we hear most often today is STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

The STEM movement began with an 1862 act of Congress that set aside land for creating universities.   While most institutions were focused on agriculture, the Industrial Revolution pushed the educational world into fostering advancements in engineering and technology.  After World War II, countries that had already embraced engineering and technology education had distinct advantages.  The last straw for the United States was the Soviet’s launch of Sputnik; the ensuing space race and the creation of NASA caused STEM initiatives to become a dominant educational push.  Initially, STEM subjects were taught in silos, but simply adding a technology and engineering class to the existing curriculum was discovered to be ineffective, leading traditional educational models to look for other ways to apply STEM concepts.  

Maria Montessori was not only looking at alternative ways to educate children in general, but also at ways to incorporate these new subjects. She believed children need to adapt to their time and place and developed her method to seamlessly and naturally include STREAM (STEM plus Reading and the Arts).   This means that in a Montessori classroom, no subject is learned in isolation.  Children are taught to sort and categorize knowledge and encouraged to develop curiosity about the world. Then, they are guided to find answers to their curiosities.   Montessori naturally develops a STEM mindset, one in which children see the world as interrelated; knowledge gained in one area is seamlessly applied to other areas. Math, Science and Technology aren’t taught in isolation; instead, they are interwoven and intertwined so that students come to understand all aspects of a concept simultaneously and develop an ability to look at the world through a problem-solving eye.  

Ironically, as traditional educational models rethink their STEM programs, they have begun to include opportunities for students to use technology and engineering to solve “real-life” problems in math and science classes.  These opportunities have long been completely ingrained in the life of a Montessori student, and your child is empowered to be a problem-solver every day.  Innovation and collaboration are organically nurtured, not squeezed in between other lessons. The hands-on learning and independent discovery that Springmont’s Montessori environment fosters are well aligned not only with the goals of STEM education but also with Reading and the Arts, rounding out a comprehensive STREAM curriculum. In short, Montessori is the original STEM and STREAM learning environment.  

Elementary students Areehsa and Inaaya are collecting new, unwrapped stuffed toys for children who will spend Valentine's Day in the hospital. Please support this student-driven effort by bringing your donations to the labeled bin just outside the Front Office doors in the Pavilion by Feb. 13. Thank you!