Back to School Newsletter

"Imagination does not become great until human beings, given the courage and strength, use it to create." - Dr. Maria Montessori

Hello Athena Community,

The new school year is in full swing and it is a delight to see returning and new faces on campus! It's hard to believe I am welcoming our families and staff back to school for our 19th year! We are so happy to have all of you in our special community.

I couldn’t be more proud of my entire team of teachers and administrators who make this place so special. The teams worked so hard with enthusiasm and devotion in the weeks leading up to school attending workshops, team building, and preparing themselves and their environments to be ready to receive your children. We now get to settle in and enjoy getting to know your children, witness them create bonds with their guides and classmates, learn new skills, and settle into their Athena communities. We look forward to the memories we will create together!

My door is always open if you’d like to schedule a visit, ask questions, brainstorm ideas, offer

feedback, or just tell me about your wishes for your children. If I see you on campus and don’t call you by name, please don’t hesitate to remind me!

If you missed our virtual “Meet Your Administration Team” where we introduced ourselves,

explained our roles, and discussed important campus-wide topics, please click here to watch the recorded version. Anytime you need to put a name with a face, please visit the Faculty and Staff Page page of our website.

We understand how overwhelming parenting can feel, and that the beginning of the year is loaded with lots of information, so call or email us anytime if you have questions or need support or resources.

Here’s to another great school year!

Warmly,

Lisl Friday

Founder

Dear Families,

The beginning of the school year brings the opportunity to practice transitions. We all struggle with transitions and our children are no different. You may notice that your child is sleeping more than usual or sleeping less; they may be eating more than usual, or almost not eating at all; they may be crying over every little thing, and so might you. We all handle transitions and change differently. We can assure you that no matter how they are adapting to the new school year, it has brought them into disequilibrium. When a child is experiencing disequilibrium, this means that they are in a time of growth. It is best to simplify the rest of their lives during this time. Our recommendation is that you not schedule too many extra activities for a couple of weeks. They need down time, and lots of one-on-one attention from their family members.

The children want their feelings validated. For example, saying, “You feel sad,” to a crying child, instead of “You’re OK,” or “Look at this fun thing!” it might feel strange, but the healthiest thing we can do is to allow them to sit with their feelings instead of trying to distract them. They may decide they love school one day and the next day they never want to go to school ever again. These hard moments are opportunities to validate their feelings about how it can feel hard to say goodbye in the mornings. Maybe you build in a two-minute snuggle with your undivided attention before following through with all the morning steps. Afterwards, if they are still having feelings or putting their foot down about not moving through the morning, then you do your best to navigate the steps while avoiding falling into any power struggles. Remember that at school we will happily receive children in PJs or with breakfast in their hands, and we can complete those morning steps right here at school.

Broaden their feelings vocabulary by naming your own feelings with a rainbow of words (more than “happy,” “sad,” “angry,” “silly”) and talking to them about how feelings are just passing through–they don’t stay all day. Another helpful and simple tool is to draw out each step that needs to occur in the morning with stick figures. This drawing or sketch creates a roadmap for your children and can transform an abstract process to a more concrete one that allows them to feel more control over the process.

The final step in this process is to make sure the adults are taking care of themselves so that you can stay regulated. Make sure you are sleeping, eating, and getting your needs met.

We love listening to and collaborating with parents and supporting you with resources, tips, and tools for better understanding your children’s needs. Please reach out to me or a member of my team if you need anything at all.

Here’s to a wonderful year!

Warmly,

Mandy Waid

School & Education Director

Here are some excellent recommended reads that might help new and returning students cope with some big "Back to School" feelings.

• "Wemberly Worried" by Kevin Henkes
• "The Kissing Hand" by Audrey Penn
• "The Pigeon Has to Go to School" by Mo Willems
• "The Day You Begin" by Jacqueline Woodson
• "How Do Dinosaurs Go to School?" by Jane Yolen
• "Our Class is a Family" by Shannon Olsen
• "Double-Dip Feelings" by Barbara S. Cain
• "The Invisible String" by Patrice Karst

We encourage support of our locally owned bookstores when purchasing books for your family! Our favorites are Black Pearl Books, and Reverie Books and First Light.

For regular morning drop off, both gates will open between 8:00am - 8:45 am. Please drive in the east gate for drop off, and leave through the west gate. If you arrive with your student after the parking lot gates are closed, please make your way around to our Morgan Lane gate entrance to drop off in their classroom. Creating a back-up onto the service roas is dangerous. You are more than welcome to enter through the front gate when late.

For half day pick up, only the west gate will open at 12:00pm for entering and exiting. If you arrive to the parking lot after the gates are closed, please park at the front of the campus on Morgan Lane and use the front gate entrance for pick up.

For full day pick up, both gates will be open between 2:30 pm - 3:00 pm. Similar to the morning, please drive in the first gate and leave through the second gate. If you arrive for pick up after the parking lot gates are closed, please park on Morgan Lane and use the front gate entrance for pick up.

Families in EAP & ASP should have received information via email about their drop off and pick up procedures.

Thank you for your cooperation!

If you are having any issues with the gate codes please call the office for assistance.

August 31st, 2024 marked Maria Montessori’s 154th birthday! Maria Montessori was an innovator, a feminist, one of the first female physicians in Italy, and a strong leader for peace education who made discoveries that were WAY ahead of her time. Brain research is now proving true many of Montessori’s philosophies that she developed by simply observing children. She allowed the children to teach her, instead of her teaching the children. It was through this freedom that the children were allowed to make contact with their own curiosity. She stated, “To stimulate life, leaving it free however, to unfold itself— that is the first duty of the educator.” This past week all of our classrooms celebrated Dr. Montessori. Ask your child about her!

Cultural Fest is a school-wide potluck that honors the rich cultural heritage of the Athena community. We invite families to bring a dish that represents their cultural background.

We need your help to make this event a success! If you’re interested in volunteering to staff the food table, please look for the Signup Genius link in your email. Additionally, if your family is connected with a cultural performance group or if you can contribute alcohol for the bar, please reach out to our Office Manager, Jessica, at Info@AthenaMontessoriAcademy.com.

We can’t wait to celebrate with you on campus this November!

Save the date for school photos with Alison Eden!

Friday September 27th- Movers & Shakers and T2
Monday September 30th- P1 and P2
Tuesday October 1st- T1 and P3
Wednesday October 2nd- T3 and T4
Thursday October 3rd- P4 and P5

Tuesday October 22nd- Make-Up photos

Looking to get more involved at our school? We’re seeking enthusiastic volunteers for our Events Committee and Yearbook Committee! If you’re interested in helping out and making a difference, please reach out to Lisl or Jessica by September 23rd. Your contribution can help make our events and yearbook truly special!

Sunday, September 8th is Grandparents Day.

We will be acknowledging this holiday as a whole school by talking with the children at circle time about ancestors, elders, seniors, and grandparents. We considered familial relations and their many facets before we decided to adopt Grandparents Day as a holiday we can all celebrate together.

Learning from and about our ancestors is something we can all find a way to do. This foundational identity work is part of our DEI mission at Athena. We know that when children form positive self and family identities, they more readily celebrate the family identities of others.

We look forward to learning with you and your children. If you are a currently enrolled Athena family, please stay tuned to our Transparent Classroom photos and our class newsletters to see how we choose to celebrate Grandparents in your classroom.

In our talks with the primary aged children, we will ensure inclusivity by speaking about all kinds of special people who are older than we are, older than our parents/primary caregivers, and how we should learn from and pay attention to the elders in our lives.

At the toddler level, and in our infant room, we will provide images of seniors and elders in the environment. You are welcome to send in photos of your special elders as well!

Some of the books we recommend for celebrating elders with our age group are:

Both the Early Arrival Program (EAP) and After School Program (ASP) began this past Wednesday, August 28th, 2024. Enrolled families should have received an email with more details on these programs. If you didn't receive the email, please reach out to our Support Manager, Rocio Lopez-Cortez at Rocio@AthenaMontessoriAcademy.com or our Assistant Director, Peyton Dame, at Director@AthenaMontessoriAcademy.com.

For more detailed information about EAP & ASP, please click the link to visit our website .

We are excited to welcome back our extracurricular programs available to our Primary students for the 2024-2025 school year. This year's offerings include classes in dance, soccer, and martial arts. These programs begin the week of September 9th. Athena has been partnering with each of these programs for a number of years, and we love being able to offer them to your children. Each instructor and coach receives an Athena Culture orientation, and undergoes the same background check/training process as our teachers. Each program handles their own registration, which you can access via the Extracurricular Programs page of our website.

Interested in learning more about our safety protocols and drills? Campus security measures? Below is a quick high-level overview of our practices. We aren’t going into too much detail here, so if you are a current family and have questions, feel free to give our office a call.

Monthly Fire Drills:

Each month, we conduct a fire drill with the whole school that is scheduled by Admin but a surprise to the teachers. We send a mass text via our Emergency Broadcast system and Admin walks through campus opening gates and doors while ringing cowbells. We exit the buildings in less than three minutes, gather in our designated class spots in the parking lot, do a headcount, and sing a song. The parking lot is closed during fire drills and we will not receive or dismiss students to parents or caregivers during a drill. We will ask you to wait until after the drill is completed to drop-off or pick-up your child. We will not schedule our drills during drop-off or pick-up windows. Our next one is scheduled for September, so be on the look out for a Brightwheel message after!

Quarterly Lockdown and Severe Weather Drills:

We don't do lockdown drills with the children, nor do we use the word "lockdown" with the children. We do, however, do lockdown drills with our teaching staff and administration. We held our first severe weather/lockdown drill during our prep days with the staff. In the case of severe weather, all of our children are well prepared to follow their teachers to our designated safety spots for weather. What the teachers do every day with the children is preparing them: every day in their classroom management (circle time, transitions, lining up, getting their attention with the ring of a bell, “herding cats” :) etc.) they are training the children to listen attentively to the adults, trust the adults, trust that the adults keep them safe, and follow the instructions of the guides. Our belief is that if we spend time preparing the adults for emergencies, and make plans with them to work as a team and feel prepared for anything, then the children will respond to their instructions in an emergency. And in the event of a real emergency, the main message that the guides give the children is that it is the adults’ job to keep them safe, and that they are safe in our care.

Annual Safety Protocols and Security Trainings:

When onboarding a new staff member, and every August during our prep days for all staff, we do an annual deep dive into all of the safety protocols and drills and practice them as a team.

Sending Brightwheel Messages:

On the day we conduct a drill or training on campus, we will send a message on Brightwheel to inform parents and to offer a nugget of information.

Current Families

If you have any younger children you hope to enroll at Athena at any point in the future, please be sure to complete an application for them if you haven't already. Re-enrollment for the 2025-26 school year will begin in December, and sibling enrollment will follow. Joy will be in touch with individual families this fall if we expect to have any mid-year openings.

Waiting Pool Families

Our Admissions Director will be in touch with individual families should we have a spot become available for their child throughout this school year. General enrollment for the 2025-26 school year will begin in January.

Our continued goal in the admissions process is to be as transparent as possible, and we strive to give you the most accurate information we can during each step of the deliberate process of enrollment. We respect that decisions related to your child's education are important and timely ones, and we will continue to send you general enrollment updates via this monthly newsletter. Thank you for your continued interest, and we encourage you to reach out with specific questions related to your child's enrollment at any time.

Please direct admissions & enrollment questions to our Admissions Director, Joy Jacobson. You can email her directly at Admissions@AthenaMontessoriAcademy.com.