Montessori Peaks Academy

Dear MPA families,

What a wonderful first week of the 24-25 school year! Our team was overjoyed to welcome our students back to school. Schools, staff, and students across the nation have had some challenging starts to the year since the onset of the pandemic. The start to this year was the first one that mirrored what we would have observed in schools prior to the shutdown. This week, students entered the building demonstrating excitement to be back, independence, and confidence.

On behalf of the entire MPA staff, I want to thank all of our K-8th families for following the new arrival procedures. Students are arriving on time and entering the building independently and finding their classrooms. This is a very normal step in the development of the independence that will serve our students throughout their entire lives. Thank you, MPA families, for supporting our team in helping our community return to the developmentally appropriate growth so indicative of pre-pandemic times!

Car Line Reminders:

This week's car line has progressed very smoothly. There is always a learning curve during the first couple of weeks. Thank you for your grace and courtesy, as we help all of our new families learn the traffic flow patterns. On Monday, 8/19, our Preschool families will start school. Thank you in advance for your patience and support in the onboarding of our new families.

Based on this week's car line observations - for your consideration:

• If you are picking up Preschool/Kinder students in the Primary lot, please enter from Kipling and Capri.
• If you are picking up Elementary students, ONLY enter from the Jellison off of Bowles. Drivers should not attempt to enter the Elementary car line from Kipling and Capri.
• When exiting the Primary lot, there are two lines that form at the stop sign: (1) Right lane - Cars turning right to join Elementary car line (signal should be on); (2) Left lane - cars not entering Elementary car line and ready to exit the campus.

Thank you for helping our team make this a fantastic first week back at school! We could not do this without you.

With grace and courtesy,

Ms. Robin

Please click HERE for the 24-25 MPA Family Calendar.

August

19 - First Day of Preschool

23 - Primary Assessment Days (Teacher will send schedule.)

23, 8/26 - Lower El Assessment Days (Teacher will send schedule.)

23 - Meal Orders Due

23 - PTA Back to School Celebration, 5:00-7:00 PM

29 - Back to School Night: 2 sessions, 5:30-6:15; 6:20-7:05

September

6 - PTA Meeting North 8:30 AM

11 - Picture Day

17 - Dewey's Kick-Off

20 - No school for students (Staff In-Service Day)

Hello Parents,

This is the link to order September Meals and the menu is attached. https://forms.gle/L7NgXvmYgSj8d5ij9

The deadline is Friday, August 23, 2024 3:00 pm

We will have a strict deadline this school year. Although meals are free, it is a challenge to feed students who do not order in advance. Due to the planning and organization it takes to order and bring in the correct amounts of meals, please make sure you have submitted your meal form by the cut-off date and time. We will not accept late orders. You will be asked to bring a sack lunch for your student.

Thank you for supporting the nutrition and dietary needs of the children at this school.

We need some volunteers to assist with the student lunches. If you are interested in this fun and rewarding opportunity. Please contact Shannon. Or come by the school, stop in the office, get a visitor tag and see Shannon directly. She will gladly explain how the lunches are served.

Hello MPA Families,

I am very excited to add a running club to this year's after school program. If you are interested, please fill out the google form sign up sheet below. The program is open to 3rd-6th grade students only, with a maximum capacity of 30 students. We will meet every Monday from 3pm to 4 pm starting September 9th - October 14th. I can't wait to hit the ground running with you all!

Ms. Margaret

Run Club Sign Up

Currently seeking:

• Substitute teachers
• After Care Leads and Assistants

If you are interested, please reach out to Jen Webb (Jen.Webb@jeffco.k12.co.us) for more details.

Maria Montessori's research summarizes four distinct planes of development that each individual progresses through to reach adulthood: birth-6, 6-12, 12-18, and 18-24. In each of the planes, she believed that children and youth gravitate toward different skills and activities and make extraordinary progress if opportunities align with these preferred skills and activities.

1. The First Plane of Development: Birth to Age 6 - Montessori Philosophy

Previously Shared Resources:

• Follow this link for the Montessori 101 presentation that our team presented last November.

During the Primary and Lower El Assessment Days, your child will be given an assigned time to come and take the DIBELS assessment. This will enable the Lead teacher to connect with your child and administer the test in a one to one setting with no distractions. The estimated time for this testing is approximately 20-30 minutes.

Details:

• Primary students will attend one 30 minute session on 8/23/24 with teacher and then go home with guardian.

• Lower Elementary students will attend one 30 minute session on EITHER 8/23 or 8/26 and then go home with guardian.

• Parents are welcome to wait in the atrium or leave for a walk, Starbucks, etc.

• Upper El and Middle School students attend school as normal.

Starting August 1st - September 13, 2024, Jeffco’s Annual Registration takes place. Please access your Campus Parent Portal and update all your family’s information including emergency contacts, addresses, phone numbers, and health information. You will also be asked to review and acknowledge the yearly code of conduct and internet agreements. The fee system will also open on August 1st and can now be found in the Campus Parent Portal as well. When logged into Campus, you will want to go to the More section to find the Online Registration tool and the Jeffco Student Fee Payment system.

CALL TO ACTION! We are looking for 2-3 adults to "coach" STEM Club on Tuesdays from 3-430. If you volunteer to coach the club we will waive the fee for one child per coach for the semester! Semester will run September-December and then January to May.

If you are interested please email Caitlin Coney at president@mpeakspta.org. We can't open the session for enrollment until we have enough Coaches!

Volunteer Opportunity: We have lots of volunteer opportunities with the upcoming Dewey's Dash Fundraiser. Most of which can be done 100% from home! If you are interested please email president@mpeakspta.org

Resources:

• MPA PTA Website

• MPA Meeting Minutes

• MPA Volunteer Interest Form

• 24-25 Log Your Volunteer Hours

Don't forget the back to school celebration Friday August 23rd on the Elementary Playground from 5-7pm. We will have food trucks, face painting, games, and more!

The next BOD meeting is August 20th at 6:30 PM.

Resources:

• BOD Website

Email: veronica.botcher@jeffco.k12.co.us
Website: montessoripeaks.org
Location: 9904 West Capri Avenue, Littleton, CO, USA
Phone: 303-972-2627
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MontessoriPeaksAcademy