Dear BCMCS Community,
We did it … June is finally here. To finish out each month’s subject matter for this school year, themed to better understand Montessori philosophy, we will close out with the last two of six Montessori Shared Values.
The fifth and sixth Montessori Shared Values relate to a designed Prepared Learning Environment and the recognition that initial learning via concrete concepts [i.e., manipluatives] creates a superior understanding when moving toward abstract conception. For the former, Montessori saw the prepared environment as the key to reaching the full potential in children, as when set up in an orderly fashion, the abundance of opportunities available for students to pursue their interests expounds. Specifically designed Montessori classrooms provide children with an inherent feeling of ownership. Individual work spaces are often designated with the intention that each individual is responsible for its accessibility. BCMCS has carefully arranged each classroom setting to maintain supportive learning ‘opportunities,’ as each learning ‘environment’ is set up to facilitate student discussion and stimulate collaborative understanding. For the latter, Montessori materials inherently create an understanding of abstract concepts, as children learn best when concepts are learned via multiple senses; touch, visual, etc. Montessori materials are meant to be stimulating, inspiring and intended to ‘paint’ a concrete impression. Each material is carefully designed to appeal to the learner at a certain level of development, as the greater part of learning comes from a child’s own discovery with the materials themselves. Because Montessori materials are set up to support the development of competence for students, it is easy for teachers to help them learn from their mistakes, as the materials have built in ‘controls of error,’ further allowing independence, leading to the learners applying their reasoning power to the work.
For the remainder of the school year, please be sure to continue to follow the school’s calendar, as all remaining end of year events, from the 6th Year Play to Field day to Graduation, are soon approaching. Even with all that is transpiring now, we are putting the finishing touches on next year’s student rosters, the finalization of which will determine our class structures, staffing, etc. -- these will be made public sometime in July. With current student projections, we believe that we will continue with a configuration similar to this year, with a single Kindergarten, 3 semi-inflated LE classrooms, and 4 UE classrooms. Staffing changes, mainly additions, will soon be announced. As is typical, we anticipate our entire contracted personnel to return for the upcoming school year.
Finally, it is at the end of the school year that the efforts of our volunteers most reveal themselves. I would like to express huge thanks to all of those who volunteered or helped the school in any way, especially to Mrs. Haas for her efforts with everything PTO. Our school relies upon parents to add to our unique school programs. Without the variety of support efforts of each one of these individuals, we would not have been able to offer the students the multitude of opportunities that we have.
Be sure to follow our website throughout the summer, as, again, we will periodically post updates for next year. Take care, enjoy your summers, and until next time … ~Mr. Brian Long
