The Brickton Weekly, April 14, 2011

Manna Credits
We have issued $874.88 in tuition credit from MANNA purchase this school year! Remember that Brickton splits the profit from MANNA with you and you can apply it to your last tuition payment or use it towards any other invoice.  We thank you for participating in the MANNA Program.

Manna orders are due this Friday, April 15th, with card pick up on Wednesday, April 20th.  Order online with your personal code or pick up an order form outside the business office and turn it in to Dotty.

Teacher of the Month – Erica Lane
Each month, we will highlight a different teacher at Brickton.  It’s a chance for you to get to know the teachers better.  At Brickton, we pride ourselves on building the relationship between teacher, student, and parent.  We feel this is important to the strength of our community.
We hope you enjoy getting to know Erica!

Playdates in the Park
The Community Committee is sponsoring a series of gatherings this spring to provide opportunities for students to play together and build community after school.

Weather permitting, please come out and join other families at 3:15 p.m. on the following days for some fun in the park!

· Tuesday, April 19^th
Grandparent’s Park
5445 N. Chester
Chicago, IL 60656

· Wednesday, April 27^th
Oriole Park
5430 N. Olcott
Chicago, IL 60656

· Friday, May 13^th
Centennial Park
100 S. Western
Park Ridge, IL 60068

Questions? Contact Cindy Degand at 773-458-3869 or cddegand @yahoo.com.

Join Brickton’s online community!
Subscribe to Brickton’s Weekly Newsletter:
You can have the Brickton Weekly delivered directly to your inbox.
1. Go to www.bricktonmontessorischool.blogspot.com
2. In the column on the right, enter your email address where it says “FOLLOW BY EMAIL” then click SUBMIT.
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1. Go to our Facebook Page and click the “Like” button at the top.

Follow Debbie Kelley’s Blogs on Posterous:
Head of School Debbie Kelley keeps up with two blogs you’ll definitely want to read: Revisiting Montessori Education and Overheard While Talking to Myself.
1. Go to revisitingmontessorieducation.posterous.com.
2. In the column on the right below “GET UPDATES,” click on “Subscribe by email” and follow the instructions.
3. Now head over to overheardwhiletalkingtomyself.posterous.com and follow the same instructions.

The Brickton Weekly, April 8, 2011

Brickton’s Strategic Plan
As you may know, Brickton embarked on the process of developing a new strategic plan over the last year. The process of developing our plan was truly invigorating. The thoughtful input we received from our faculty, staff, parents, Board members, and students (even if they didn’t know it) energized us and helped us define what we want to be and what we need to do to get there.

Our plan is a roadmap for the next several years that will help us achieve our vision – to be the independent school of choice in our surrounding community by delivering the finest quality Montessori education through continued inspirational teaching, a focused curriculum, and sustained operational excellence.

We established goals in six overarching areas that represent the keys to our continued success: Education, Community, Finance, Gifting, Marketing, and Operations. Over the next several months, we would like to share with you some of the key components of our plan. Today, I would like to highlight Education.

Our primary Education goal is to maintain our Montessori and ISACS accreditation and to offer a distinguishing educational experience to attract and retain students. To that end, we have established three workstreams:

• Articulating a continuum of outcomes, aligning curriculum to outcomes, assessing outcomes and curriculum against state and national standards
• Developing a Portrait of the Graduate that defines our mission and values
• Updating our progress reports toward consistency across all levels
• Creating a stand-alone document that illustrates the logical content sequence of our curriculum across all our programs (Toddler through Middle School)

These activities are not only critical to continuing to provide the highest quality Montessori education to our children, but also are designed to help us improve the way we communicate with current and potential parents.

Our plan is a living document and we are always striving to improve our school each and every day. My door is always open for anyone who wants to share his or her thoughts and concerns. I look forward to continuing to work with you and your children.

In peace and friendship,

Debbie

Prettying Up the Playground
It's Spring Clean-up time at Brickton! Please join us in beautifying our playground.  Lots of helping hands (children and adults) are needed to lay new wood chips on the playground.

When: Saturday, April 30th at 10 a.m.

If you can, please bring your wheel barrel, shovels and rakes.  Please RSVP to Jackie at jackie.toro@brickton.org.  We look forward to seeing you then!

Brickton’s Bowling Bash
The Bowling Bash is Saturday, April 9th, from 12 to 2 p.m.  Fill out the form to RSVP and turn it in to the main office.

New AED in Brickton’s Lobby
Thanks to grant money from the State of Illinois, Brickton now has an  Automated External Defibrillator.  The AED is located on the east wall in the lobby (next to the fish tank), just outside the main office.

Earthquake Drill
Brickton Montessori School will be participating in an area-wide earthquake drill, the Great Central U.S. Shakeout, on Thursday, April 28, at 10:15 am. 

Three important steps which may prevent injury if you are in an earthquake are:  drop (where you are), cover (your face and hands), and hold on (to something sturdy) until the shaking stops.  You can get more information about the drill and earthquake safety procedures if you visit these websites: www.shakeout.org and  www.dropcoverholdon.org

World’s Finest Chocolate
Thanks to all who participated in the chocolate sale.  The World's Finest  Chocolate is scheduled to be delivered on April 14.  Extra chocolate will also be on sale for those who forgot to order or those who just want more!

Paper Recycling
As you know, there are large green paper recycling bins located in the east and west parking lots.  Brickton earns free money when the paper is deposited into these bins. A representative from the Abitibi Recyling Co. recently stopped by to explain that while we are paid $5 per ton for 3 tons or less per month, we earn $15 per ton if we recycle 4 tons or more. In the year 2010, there were several months when we were just short of 4 tons.  We still managed to recycle 35.87 tons of paper and earned a total of $308.15.

Please keep filling the bins with your old newspapers, catalogs, magazines and phone books.  It's such an easy and beneficial way to earn money for our school.

The Brickton Weekly, March 31, 2011

Teacher of the Month – Cheryl LaCost
Each month, we will highlight a different teacher at Brickton.  It’s a chance for you to get to know the teachers better.  At Brickton, we pride ourselves on building the relationship between teacher, student, and parent.  We feel this is important to the strength of our community.

We hope you enjoy getting to know Cheryl!

Summer at Brickton
Summers at Brickton are full of fun, field trips, and friendships.  Join us this summer for awesome programs.  All the information you need is online at brickton.org/summer.

Dates:  Wednesday, June 8th, through Friday, August 19th  (Closed Friday, July 1st, and Monday, July 4th)
Programs:  Toddler, Children’s House, Elementary (1st – 6th grade), and Discover Chicago (6th – 8th grade)

You can sign up for the whole summer or by-the-week.  Applications are due Tuesday, May 3rd.

Enrollment Form for Current Brickton Students

Enrollment Form for Non-Brickton Students

The Brickton Weekly, March 24, 2011

Contracts Due Tomorrow
Re-Enrollment is going strong.  Make sure to turn in your contracts by Friday, March 25th, so that you avoid a late fee!

Spring Break
Spring Break is Monday, March 28 – Friday, April 1.  All full day students and students who are pre-registered and pre-paid in the amount of $50 are welcome to attend the club days.  Please contact Sara Gregory in the main office to let her know if you are planning to attend.  Thank you!  (sara.gregory@brickton.org)

Alumni News
Our very own Sydney Delin (Class of 2010) was recently awarded the highest academic honor at Loyola Academy for her first semester of work.  This is awarded to those with a weighted average of 93% or better.  Congratulations, Sydney!

Spring Extracurricular Classes
Sign up for the second session of Spring Extracurricular Classes!  Fill out this form.  (You will have to sign in to the family website.)

National Poetry Day
In honor of National Poetry Day, the Middle School students were challenged to write “Tweet Poems” of exactly 140 characters.  Here is a brief sample of their work.

The Princess
Far away a princess lived,
In her castle up on a hill,
How funny, she thought,
I will never be free.

How funny, she thought,
And drank tea.

Him
I remember him,
As I remember summer,
His faint calls as he chased another.

His nose so small,
And his frame so thin,
But I remember,
That he would most likely win.

~Lily and Susanne (Class of 2011)

Bowling Bash
The Bowling Bash is Saturday, April 9th, from 12 to 2 p.m.  Fill out the form to RSVP and turn it in to the main office.

The Brickton Weekly, March 17, 2011

A Peek Into a Lower Elementary Classroom (Room 102)
Each month, we are going to give parents a peek into one of our amazing classrooms with a slideshow of pictures and short videos.  It’s a chance for you to see what’s going on around Brickton.

Trinity Irish Dancers are here! 
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  The world traveling, award winning, Trinity Irish Dancers performed at Brickton in honor of St. Patrick’s day.  Check out the highlights in the video below!


One Page Calendar Update
You may have noticed that Spring Break was missing on the one page calendar that was sent out with your Re-Enrollment forms on February 28th.  Don’t worry, Spring Break isn’t cancelled; it just didn’t make it on that calendar.  Check it out here (you will have to sign in to the parent website).
World’s Finest Chocolate Sale
The World's Finest Chocolate sale is underway!  Don't miss out on getting your favorites  just in time for Spring.  We have chocolate bunnies, Mint Meltaways, Caramel Whirls, and more!  Return your orders to the office by Friday, March 25th.
The Big Leap!
The Big Leap was a huge success!  Check out the pictures on the family website (you will have to sign in to the parent website). If you have more pictures, please send them along!
Meet Olympic Athlete and Author, Kristi Yamaguchi
Who hasn’t dreamed of meeting a celebrity?  Well, now is your chance to meet Olympic and World Champion figure skater, Dancing with the Stars champion, philanthropist, and now children’s book author, Kristi Yamaguchi.  Kristi will be at the John Hancock Observatory on Monday March 28^th, at 6 pm, sharing her inspiring message and signing copies of her first picture book, Dream Big Little Pig.
Poppy is a little pig with big dreams!  And with the support of her family and friends she will chase down those dreams until they come true. This message of always dreaming and always pursing your dreams is the heart of Kristi’s message and her Always Dream Foundation, which raises money for children’s charities in the San Francisco Bay Area.
So if you are looking for activities to fill your spring break, please join Kristi at the Hancock Observatory!  Dream Big Little Pig is being published by Sourcebooks, a trade publisher located in Naperville, IL
Recycle, Recycle, Recycle!
The large green bins in the east and west parking lots are waiting for your recyclable paper.  Thank you to everyone who has tossed in their paper.  Your contributions helped us earn a check for $20.16 from the Abitibi Corporation.  That’s free money!  We also saved 6.65 cubic yards of landfill space.  Thank you for all your help.
Dr. Betsy Coe Speaking Engagement Next Week
Race to Somewhere: Following the Montessori Journey
Tuesday, March 22nd, 7:00 PM
St. Scholastica Auditorium, 7416 N. Ridge Blvd
RSVP here
Preeminent Montessori educator, Betsy Coe, will join us for an evening guest lecture. Ms. Coe will share her lifelong experiences ‘teaching teachers’, founding a Montessori High School, and explaining how Montessori education is relevant in developing knowledge and skills for a 21st century education. The presentation will be at St. Scholastica and hosted by Rogers Park Montessori and Chiaravalle.
 Spring Break Club Days
Spring Break is coming up: Monday, March 28th, through Friday, April 1.  Brickton will have Club Days that week, so all full day students and those who are pre-registered and pre-paid in the amount of $50 may attend.  Please contact Sara Gregory in the main office if you would like to sign up for Spring Break Club Days.  Email her at sara.gregory@brickton.org.

The Brickton Weekly, March 10, 2011

Huge Success at the Big Leap!
A big BIG thank you to all of the Big Leap supporters! The event was a huge success thanks to the countless volunteers and so many generous donors.  All of us at Brickton thank you and the children thank you – just watch the video below:

 
Re-Enrollment Forms Due Friday
Make sure to secure your spot at Brickton by turning in your Re-Enrollment form and $165 Re-Enrollment fee this Friday, March 11.

World’s Finest Chocolate
Order forms for World’s Finest Chocolate (including chocolate bunnies!) were placed in your parent folder this week.  This is a great fundraiser for the school, and you get to eat some excellent chocolate!  Order forms are due Friday, March 25th with payments.

Bowling Bash
Mark your calendars for the Bowling Bash! 
When: Saturday, April 9th from 12-2

Trinity Irish Dancers Performing at Brickton
The World Famous Trinity Irish Dancers will be performing at Brickton in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th, at 9 am.  Parents, friends, neighbors, and families are welcome to attend this free performance in the Great Room.  All the Brickton students will be watching, too!

Don’t Forget to Set Your Clock Back!
Daylight savings is back!  Set your clocks ahead one hour this weekend.

The Brickton Weekly, March 3, 2011

The Benefit is Almost Here
This Saturday, March 5th, is Brickton’s Annual Benefit.  If you haven’t had a chance to turn in your RSVP card, it’s not too late.  You can even pay at the door!  Tickets are $85 each. 

Check out the Classroom Art Projects on display in the lobby outside the main office.  The students did a great job creating beautiful work. 

Check out some of the other items in our live auction:

 
-- Four 3-day Passes to Lollapalooza 2011 (It’s the 20th anniversary, so you know it’s going to be AWESOME.)
-- Four Cubs tickets – Dugout seats, next to the owners (You can’t get a  better view of the game.)
-- Choose your own Olympic Adventure: you win a two night stay for two people at one of the Olympic training centers (Lake Placid, NY, or Colorado Springs, CO) and you stay in the athletes’ dorms where athletes are currently training.  Included in this package: three meals a day, a private tour of the facilities, and sport experience.
-- Two tickets to the Blackhawks ON THE GLASS (You can’t even buy these tickets!)

 

It’s Re-Enrollment Time!
On Monday, the Development Office sent out Re-Enrollment Forms via email.  Those forms are due Friday, March 11th.  There will be a $50 late fee for forms turned in after that date.  If you did not receive a form, please contact Erika Bolte at erika.bolte@brickton.org.

 

Manna Orders Due this Friday
Manna orders are due this Friday, March 4, with card pick-up Wedbesday, March 9.  Questions about ordering online?  Contact kathleen.kasser@brickton.org.

You can also pick up an order form outside the business office, and the Manna Committee will do the ordering for you when you turn in your completed form and payment.

The next Manna orders will be due Friday, March 18.

 

Scholastic Book Club
Be sure to place your March Scholastic Book Club orders by Thursday, March 3^rd. Online orders will be accepted until midnight!

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. Books will arrive in time for Spring Break!

Thank you for your support!

 

Montessori High School Interest Survey Update
Dear Parents,

Last month, we collaborated with seven other Chicago area Montessori schools to survey parents on their interest in continuing a Montessori educational environment for their children through the high school years.

948 of you responded! Thank you for taking the time to help us develop this initiative and help to guide the design of a Montessori High School. It is our collective goal to design an exceptional learning environment/program which will not only meet the developing needs of the adolescents, but respond to factors that you as parents consider important to your children’s high school experience.

In the next month we will establish a Board of Directors to guide this project from the initial idea to a functioning Montessori High School. This group will consist of parents and educators who have the specific skill sets that will enable us to move this project forward. In addition, a group of Montessori practitioners and innovative thinkers will undertake the work of curriculum development.

Many of you offered your support and are willing to be involved in this process. Before long, the Board will begin to establish committees on which some of you may be asked to serve. Our project to establish a Montessori High School is underway !

Thank you again for your time in helping us forward our mission to develop a Chicago-area school that supports the natural continuum for a Montessori Education.

Sincerely,
Debbie Kelley