News

We are excited to announce a NEW community-wide friend-raising event! Saturday Socials will be held in a level-by-level format on Saturday, October 16!  Families are invited to come to campus at the times designated below for an hour or two of casual, relaxed, outdoor socializing.  There is no need to RSVP.

• In order to accommodate parking for everyone, we ask that each family bring just one vehicle to campus and arrive and depart during their designated time.  
• In keeping with our COVID health & safety precautions, we do ask that everyone 2 and older wear a properly fitted mask while on campus except when actively eating or drinking while physically distanced.
• Thanks to the Springmont Parent Association, the Spirit Store will be open!  make sure to stop by to select your Springmont gear. 

TODDLER FAMILIES – Join us on the Toddler Playground 10:00-11:00

• Outdoor Science Education Teacher Michelle Wolfersberger will offer opportunities to meet and pet our farm animals. 
• Mini pumpkins and stickers will be available for making a festive table decoration to take home.
• A light snack will be provided.

PRIMARY FAMILIES – Join us 11:30-12:30

• Outdoor Science Education Teacher Michelle Wolfersberger will offer opportunities to meet and pet our farm animals. 
• Mini pumpkins and washable paints will be available for making a festive table decoration to take home.
• PE Teacher Tiffany Orem will offer games on the Activity Court for older Primary students.
• Pack a picnic lunch to eat on the Lawn!

LOWER ELEMENTARY FAMILIES – Join us 1:00-3:00

• Outdoor Science Education Teacher Michelle Wolfersberger will offer opportunities to meet and pet our farm animals. 
• PE Teacher Tiffany Orem will offer an area and supplies for sidewalk chalk art and games and activities on the Activity Court!
• Pack a picnic lunch to eat on the Lawn!

UPPER ELEMENTARY & MIDDLE SCHOOL FAMILIES – Join us 4:00-6:00

• Shop the Market – eggs, dried herbs, microgreens, and more will be available!
• Enjoy karaoke and student vs. parent volleyball games!
• Pack a picnic dinner to eat on the Lawn

In preparation for Parent/Teacher Conferences (October 29 & November 5), parents of 4-6-year-old Primary students and all Elementary students are invited to observe their children's classroom in action!  Online Sign-Up will begin later this week, and Observations will begin October 5 and continue on designated days through October 28. Two observation sessions (8:45-9:30 and 9:00-9:45) will be available for each class on each designated observation day.  Parents will gather in the Pavilion for a brief introduction, followed by time to observe in their child’s classroom. Each session will conclude with an opportunity to debrief observations in a small group facilitated by Associate Head for Curriculum & Learning Cara Friedline and/or Head of School Megan Hakerem. Look for more information soon!

Because Toddler and younger Primary students are less able to maintain concentration with parents present and may feel distressed when parents depart, parents of Toddler and 3-year-old Primary students will be invited to join Associate Head for Curriculum & Learning Cara Friedline for Zoom observations. Look for your invitation to observe via Zoom soon!

Observations prior to Parent/Teacher Conferences allow parents a glimpse of their child's day as well as an overall picture of how a Montessori classroom allows children opportunities for creativity, engaged learning, authentic social interactions, time for exploration, and more.  We hope to see you in our observation chairs and in our Zoom observations!

Thanks for your patience as we developed our online Spirit Store.  We're pleased to offer a selection of items perfect for showing your school pride!  

• Click here to view current offerings and to place your order online.  
• Orders placed by 8 a.m. on Wednesdays are sent home with students on Thursdays. 
• Questions? Email Julie Strickland

Prefer to shop in person? The Spirit Store will also be open at our Saturday Socials on October 16!

You can support Springmont by doing something you are already doing - shopping for food and other items! Passive fundraising is a great way to help Springmont without spending any additional money! While Springmont does not ask students or parents to sell wrapping paper, popcorn or other items to benefit the school, we do appreciate your help with these programs!

NEW – Springmont has joined Box Tops for Education!

Springmont is now participating in Box Tops for Education. Use this referral link to earn a $4 bonus for Springmont when you sign up. 

Download the app! Download the Box Tops app and scan your store receipt to automatically find participating products and instantly add cash to Springmont’s earnings!

We have already accrued over $1,000 through a special promotion (no purchase necessary) called Unlock Brighter Futures that is running through November. Parents and grandparents with the Box Tops app can win $10/day for Springmont. 

Feel free to contact Springmont parent Maryam Sanders for more information or any questions about Box Tops. We’re excited to see what our collective efforts can do between now and when Box Tops mails Springmont a check in December!

Supporting Springmont via AmazonSmile is easy!

Go to smile.amazon.com. Choose Springmont as your charity! 

You'll receive the same products, same prices, and same services but AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases to Springmont!  

Earn Money for Springmont with Publix Partners! 

Sign up for Club Publix. Then log into your account, click My Publix Partners, and select Springmont.

Pay with the Publix app or enter your phone number at checkout and a portion of your eligible purchases will be donated to Springmont!

I often wonder whether my articles shouldn’t be titled “At The Zoo” in light of the wide variety of animals here on Springmont’s campus. Of course, we have our favorite farm animals – the flock of chickens, goats Pickles and Pepper, and turkeys Franklin and Jenny, but did you know we also have bearded dragons, leopard geckos, frogs, parakeets, and fish? Having animals in classrooms is a cornerstone of Montessori philosophy because it teaches children about the interconnectedness of all things.

Feeding and cleaning up after pets (at home or in the classroom) helps children learn responsibility, self-confidence, and how to observe carefully, which serves them later in life when they study the sciences. They also learn to treat living things with respect and gentleness, which extends into their interactions with other people. Dr. Montessori noted that “Solicitous care for living things affords satisfaction to one of the most lively instincts of the child’s mind.”

This part of the Montessori philosophy is clearly embraced at every level at Springmont, including the Middle School that recently adopted two adorable sugar gliders!  Bindi and Dundee came to us from someone who is relocating overseas soon.   She is not a member of our immediate community but instantly recognized Springmont as somewhere her gliders would be well-loved and cared for! Her comment was, “they are the perfect pet for curious learners.”

Sugar gliders are marsupials native to Australia. Bindi and Dundee were captive-bred and are 6 years old.  Sugar gliders have a long lifespan compared to other small creatures; they can live to be 12 years old! Sugar gliders make excellent pets for older children who can better handle the lively antics of these fantastic creatures. They are omnivores and can have a truly varied diet. They love most fruits and vegetables and will eat boiled eggs, chicken, and insects!  Middle School students will have fun testing out new foods and figuring out what treats their new pets like best!

Bindi and Dundee currently reside in the Liberal Arts classroom, but once they have settled in, they will make the rounds to visit other classes so they can be formally introduced to everyone!  See more photos on Facebook!

As we carefully and deliberately begin to resume some of our pre-pandemic offerings such as Early Care/Extended Day and our Elementary & Middle School Strings Program, we are excited to offer our first after-school Enrichment opportunity - Running Club for our Upper Elementary & Middle School students!  

Upper Elementary and Middle School students interested in running are invited to join Andrea Restifo and Tiffany Orem Thursdays, September 30-November 18, 3:15-4:15 p.m. For safety reasons, enrollment will be limited to 12 students. Once enrollment reaches 12 students, we will start a waiting list and consider offering Running Club on an additional day.

Participation is contingent upon completion of a one-mile, timed run in 13 minutes or less. Regular attendance results in a progression of skills and is required as missed classes may adversely affect the experience of the group as a whole. 

Masks will not be worn while running as students will be carefully distanced. Students will wear masks if they are not able to remain physically distanced (such as while traveling on the bus for off-campus runs).  

$85 fee includes a keepsake technical shirt, snacks, and transportation expenses.  

Registration is due by Friday, September 24, and is first-come, first-served. 

Whether you chose Springmont for your child(ren) this year or many years ago, you made a wise decision!  In addition to providing an environment that empowers students to be inquisitive, knowledgeable, and compassionate, Springmont students are also independent and effective. They are curious, self-directed, and eager to discover the world around them. Your children will grow up to have careers not yet invented and challenges we can't even imagine. Opportunities to explore and make responsible choices and age-appropriate mistakes help children to develop self-confidence and life skills beyond just academics. The Montessori experience you have chosen will help your children to become resilient, competent, and ready to thrive.   

Click here to read How Montessori Education Creates Resilient, Competent Adults, a wonderful article by Christa Montague about why Montessori education is so uniquely effective. 

Primary Picnic Tables - In addition to the outdoor eating spaces available to Elementary & Middle School students, we have added additional picnic tables for our Primary students.  Classes are encouraged to eat outdoors whenever possible. 

Hand, Foot & Mouth - Springmont has updated our Key Information Parent Handbook regarding Hand, Foot & Mouth disease. Due to the highly contagious nature of this virus, children with HFMD should remain at home and may return to school after being fever-free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medications and when open blisters in the mouth and on the skin have healed. 

Runny Noses - We are aware that Atlanta's fall allergy season is upon us!  Students with slightly runny noses are permitted to attend school so long as the discharge is clear, and they do not have any other symptoms or COVID exposure, and are able to wear their masks.

Notifications vs. Classroom Quarantines - In an abundance of caution and to promote transparency, Springmont notifies parents of positive cases of COVID-19 in their child's class.  The decision to quarantine a class happens when the positive case exposes other students and adults during the positive case’s infectious period as determined by the Fulton County Board of Health epidemiologist. There are times when the positive case, because of timing and particulars of the situation, is unlikely to expose other students; in this case, we notify parents but don’t quarantine the class.

Police Officers on Campus - Beginning this week, we will have off-duty police officers on campus to help direct traffic on Long Island Drive during morning arrival.  After carpool concludes, they will also patrol campus and offer classes opportunities for public safety presentations in the Pavilion.

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month; CURE Childhood Cancer, a local non-profit that raises funds to support research related to childhood cancer and families who have children being treated for childhood cancer, sells gold bows to place on mailboxes to raise funds and also awareness. Upper Elementary student Reagan, pictured installing the bow with her mom last week, is a champion supporter of CURE; as her neighborhood captain, she raised around $2,000 last year to support CURE’s efforts and has donated the gold bow on the Springmont mailbox! Despite being a new member of our school community this year, Reagan’s efforts are very much in alignment with Springmont’s Core Values – The Gift of Time and Global Awareness.  Thank you for including Springmont, Reagan!

Thank you to all who have been so patient with our morning carpool! We have some Primary, Elementary & Middle School families arriving before 8:10, ready and eager to drop off their children, but we’ve noticed that by 8:15, the school’s driveway is often empty! Then at 8:25, a queue extending into Long Island Drive forms and there are more Primary student arrivals than our staff can handle by the end of carpool at 8:30.  While we have added carpool staff and are considering hiring off-duty officers to assist, Primary parents can help us make mornings smoother by planning to arrive between 8:15 and 8:20!  Not only will you be on your way faster, but your children will have more time to settle happily into their classrooms before the school day officially begins. By reducing the queue waiting on Long Island, we can improve safety and make our arrival carpools a less frustrating experience for both Springmont families and our neighbors.  

In addition to the current carpool congestion noted above, we have received notification from the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) that their 285/400 project will soon impact traffic in our area. We anticipate families needing to leave home earlier to arrive to campus on time. The following is excerpted from a message shared by GDOT:

“The Transform 285/400 project is about to enter its most transformative stage. The time when Perimeter commuters will be able to enjoy all the benefits of the project is approaching—modeling of the project estimates it could reduce rush hour delays by more than 30% once it’s fully completed. 

To reach this final stage, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has announced that they will begin lane closures on I-285. These closures will accommodate bridge construction. Here's what you should know: 

•    Starting the weekend of September 11 and 12, two left lanes in both directions of I-285 will close between Roswell Road and Ashford Dunwoody Road. 

•    The closures will be in place 24/7, until the completion of the project.  This closure is estimated to last through summer 2022.

•    Full closure details can be found here: www.perimeterconnects.com/285at400

We understand that this may cause significant disruption for travelers on I-285, and we wanted to give you a heads up so you can prepare. Delays will almost certainly occur, but that doesn’t mean they have to ruin your day.

Free traffic and GPS apps can keep you informed real-time of slowdowns and suggest alternate routes. If you aren’t already, consider using an app like Google Maps or Waze when preparing to drive in the area.

We’re continuing to work closely with the cities of Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, and Brookhaven as well as the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts (PCIDs) to assist commuters during this time. Please reach out directly to info@perimeterconnects.com with any questions.”