The Brickton Weekly, September 29, 2011

Featured Blog
Each month we will feature a couple of blogs so that you can see what’s going on in other parts of the school.  This week, we are featuring Debbie Kelley’s blog, Revisiting Montessori Education.

revisitingmontessorieducation.posterous.com

Happy Anniversary from AMS
The American Montessori Society (AMS) sends out a quarterly magazine with information for Montessori professionals.  This month, they highlighted AMS-member schools achieving “significant anniversary milestone[s].”  Check out our spot on this list!  Thank you, AMS!

Manna Orders Due Friday, September 30
Manna Gift Cards are a great opportunity to support Middle School overnight trips and to help pay your Brickton tuition.  Easy ordering is available online or with Dotty in the business office (dotty.schweitzer@brickton.org).  The next order is due this Friday, September 30, and cards will be distributed next Wednesday, October 5.

Spirit Day!
Next Thursday, October 6th, is Brickton’s first spirit day of the 2011-2012 school year and it’s also the 25th day of school!  Please join us in wearing your favorite Brickton gear and showing off your pride for Brickton. 

Information Coffee
Tell your friends, neighbors, and family: Brickton is hosting an Information Coffee Thursday, October 13, from 9-10:30 am.  This is an opportunity for prospective parents to tour the school, get answers to their questions, and meet Debbie Kelley.  Please invite new families to join our school.  RSVP to molly.arnoldt@brickton.org

Middle School Math
Middle School directress Judy Beyer often writes up her observations of the classroom in a way that brings the Montessori experience all together.  This week, she wrote an article about Middle School Math.  An excerpt is below and the full version of the article is here (you will have to sign into the family site).

“That’s the way learning happens in the Montessori environment, all the way back to the toddler classroom. There, in the beginning, the children choose work and receive presentations to ensure they understand the rules of how to do an activity. Over and over, they revisit materials, constructing a framework of understanding of concepts through the protocol of the prescribed process. Continually, the directress guides each child to new challenges, opening up new territory for discovery. Always, the experience belongs exclusively to the child, for it is during that time of doing by yourself or with a friend that real learning and understanding takes root.”

The Brickton Weekly, September 22, 2011

An Interview with one of Brickton’s Founding Members
25 years ago, when Brickton first opened its doors, it did so with the help and guidance of some very important people, the Founding Members.  Each month, we’d like to highlight a Founding Member as someone who made a significant impact on our school.  To them, we say thank you with appreciation for their courage and spirit.
This month, you may recognize our interviewee, Karen Glab.  You have probably seen her around the school as a classroom assistant, but did you know that she was one of the founding members who helped open the school?

Spirit Day
Show your Brickton spirit on the 25th day of school, October 6, 2011, by wearing your favorite Brickton gear. 
Treasure Hunt!
Have you been moving?  The Move-a-Thon is in full swing and we’d like to invite you to a Move-a-Thon adventure in Catherine Chevalier Forest Preserve this Friday, September 23, at 3:15 PM.  This isn’t an ordinary walk through the woods.  You will be on the look out for 25 hidden ”treasures” placed along the trail.  The event is for all ages.  Join us!
A New Look
You may have noticed a change when you walk in the main entrance.  Our front garden has been upgraded with donated plants from parent LaDonna Taylor’s yard.  She was changing her landscape and thought these plants would look great in front of Brickton.  (We agree!)  Thank you to the Duffy/Taylor family for their beautifying contribution.
Free Money for Brickton
There are two large green paper recycling bins in Brickton’s parking lot (one in the west lot and one in the east lot).  Each month, the paper in these bins is picked up and processed, and Brickton receives a check.  Free money!  This month, we received a check for $18.13 and saved 6.71 cubic yards of landfill space.  Thank you to everyone who has dropped off paper.

The Brickton Weekly, September 15, 2011

Featured Blog
Each month we will feature a couple of blogs so that you can see what’s going on in other parts of the school.  This week, we are featuring the Toddler Program Blog.

toddlerprogram.posterous.com  (password: brickton)

The Winner of Who’s Who!
Last week we revealed the answers to the Who’s Who game and that afternoon we drew a winner.  Three entries got every single answer correct, so we drew from those and the winner was: Heather B. in Children’s House!  She gets her pick of a $25 gift card to Starbucks, iTunes, or Toys R Us (although we’re pretty sure she doesn’t drink coffee).  Congratulations, Heather!

Block Party
The Block Party was great this year despite the intermittent rain.  We had two bouncy castles for all of our students, a ton of food, great activities in the Great Room, and, most importantly, a birthday celebration for Brickton complete with birthday cakes frosted and decorated by our students.  We are so glad you could attend and join in on the fun.  Thank you to our sponsors for their donations of food and the parent volunteers for their hard work putting together this event.  A special thanks goes out to Georgia Ferguson for organizing and planning the event. 

More pictures are coming!

Great Move-a-Thon Kick Off
Thanks to everyone who helped get the Move-a-thon off to a fantastic start!  We hope you have been logging your miles and getting lots of sponsors.  Please save the date for our next group walk – The Treasure Hunt! – on Friday, September 23, at 3:15 pm.  Take a walk with us in the Forest Preserve and find 25 hidden treasures.

The official end date of the Move-a-Thon is Monday, October 3.  Get moving!

Spirit Day
Show your Brickton spirit on the 25th day of school!  Brickton is having a  Spirit  Day Thursday, October 6th.  Wear your Brickton sweatshirts, t-shirts, shorts, or pants to show your Brickton pride!

Calendar Changes
We have made a few changes to the calendar.  The new dates are listed below:

Friday, May 11
Grandparents Day
Band and Chorus (pm)

Saturday, May 12
Art Expo

Thursday, May 17
Middle School Mid-Cycle Meeting- Independent Projects

Friday, May 18th
9-12 Cultural Fair

A New Face
Hannah Birdsall is Brickton’s new Spanish teacher for the Children’s House and Lower Elementary.  She earned her degree in Childhood Education, Special Education, and Spanish from SUNY Geneseo in New York.  She has worked as a teacher at a Saturday School in Rochester, NY for students with emotional and behavioral disabilities and at a private school teaching English in Costa Rica.  Most recently, she was a Fulbright Scholar to Madrid, Spain, where she taught English and conducted personal research on Flamenco.

Peace Day Events
Wednesday, September 21, 2011, is international Peace Day.  Chicago celebrates throughout the month of September with events all over the city.  Please view this Peace Day Flyer to find out what’s going on and attend an upcoming event!

Karen Brenner’s Article
When Karen Brenner is not developing Montessori experiences for people living with Alzheimer’s, writing, or reading her work on NPR, she taught creative writing to the Upper Elementary and Middle School students and this year will be teaching a writing elective in the Middle School.  Over the summer, she and her husband Tom wrote an article published in The Public Montessorian about their work with Alzheimer’s patients.  Click here to read more.

The Brickton Weekly, September 8, 2011

25 People Answer 1 Important Question
Each month, Brickton will ask 25 people the same question and show you their answers here in the Weekly.  It’s one of the great ways we are celebrating our 25th school year.  This month’s question:

What is your favorite thing about Brickton?

 Brickton’s Block Party!
Tomorrow is Brickton’s Block Party.  There will be fun for all ages: bouncy castles, tie dying, food, music, and more.  Please sign up on the bulletin board to help out with the event. You can volunteer to help set up or clean up or you can bring some food or disposable paper goods.  Bring a crowd!  We want to celebrate our 25th school year with the whole Brickton community.

What: Brickton’s Annual Back to School Block Party
When:  Friday, September 9th, 5-7pm*
Where:  In the parking lot outside the school

*Keep in mind that this event takes place, weather permitting.  Please call the school Friday afternoon to check in if you aren’t sure about the weather.

Go the Extra Mile for Brickton
Help us kick off the 2011 Move-a-thon tomorrow, September 9th, at 3:15.  We will do our first group walk at Catherine Chevalier Woods.  Meet in the Brickton parking lot.  Don’t forget to pick up your pledge form in the lobby (on the bulletin board).  See you there!

Who’s Who?
Did you play the Who’s Who Game on the bulletin board?  25 years ago, we all looked pretty different.  Check out the video below to find out the answers to Who is Who!

 Picture Day
Picture day is Wednesday, September 14th.  Make sure to wear your best smile to school!

September Scholastic Book Club Orders Due
Orders are due Wednesday, September 14th.  Fliers can be found in your parent folders. Teachers will earn a free book pick for every order placed online, free money to spend (for the next four months!), plus bonus points to order classroom materials.

Scholastic Book Clubs are a convenient and affordable way to strengthen your child’s love for reading while supporting Brickton. Every catalog has an exciting $1 book pick along with numerous books priced under $3. Last year, Brickton received 491 new books as a result of the Scholastic Book Club program!

Thank you for your support!

Brickton Water Bottles for Sale
Don’t forget to stop by the office and get your 25th anniversary  water bottle for $10.  These re-usable, lightweight bottles are lead free and made of 100% recyclable aluminum.  (They even look great in a lunch box!)

Free Money for Brickton
Did you know you can set up your Target Credit Card with Take Charge for Education and Brickton will receive up to 1% of eligible purchases.  We just received a check for $267.18 and we didn’t have to do a thing!  Thank you to everyone who has already registered your card.  If you still need to designate us as your school of choice, go to their website.

 

The Brickton Weekly, September 1, 2011

 

 

 

Celebrating 25 years
Welcome to Brickton’s 25th school year.  We are so pleased you can celebrate with us this year.  We have a lot of activities and special surprises planned to commemorate Brickton’s birthday, so stay tuned for news!  Don’t forget to sign our giant birthday card on the bulletin board outside the Great Room.

Welcome Back!
It was so great to see so many familiar faces and welcome the new families yesterday for the first day of school. 

New Staff Member
Brickton is excited to welcome a new member to our staff, Charles Martin.  He is the Middle School Assistant Teacher working with Judy this year.

Originally from Shenandoah, Iowa, Charles has a Bachelor of Arts in English Education with a minor in Communication and Theatre from the University of Northern Iowa. He is middle level certified in the state of Illinois in reading, language arts, and speech and is completing a Master of Education as a reading specialist at National-Louis University. Charles’ experience includes teaching middle school and high school language arts and reading as well as Title I instruction at two Chicago-area parochial schools.

Brickton’s Annual Back to School Block Party
Next week is Brickton’s Block Party.  There will be fun for all ages: bouncy castles, tie dying, food, music, and more.  Please sign up on the bulletin board to help out with the event. You can volunteer to help set up or clean up or you can bring some food or disposable paper goods.  Bring a crowd!  We want to celebrate our 25th school year with the whole Brickton community.

What: Brickton’s Annual Back to School Block Party
When:  Friday, September 9th, 5-7pm
Where:  In the parking lot outside the school

Move-a-Thon
Get moving with Brickton’s Move-a-Thon Fundraiser.  We’ll kick off the Move-a-Thon on Friday, September 9th, at 3:15 pm (that’s the day of the Block Party).  Meet in the lobby and join the group for a walk over to the Catherine Chevalier Forest Preserve for a nature walk.  More information coming soon!

Information Coffee
Tell your friends and neighbors about Brickton’s Information Coffee next week, Thursday, September 8th, from 9-10:30am.  It’s a chance for prospective families to take a tour of the school, ask questions, and learn about the Montessori philosophy.  RSVP to Molly Arnoldt at molly.arnoldt@brickton.org.

Parent Handbook
The Parent Handbook is now posted on the Family Site.