GAMS

Greater Atlanta Montessori School

Integer metus.

Butterfly News

Lorem.
Volume II: Issue 2

February 2012
Important Dates
2/1: Feb. Tuition Due 2/14: Valentines Day 2/21: Fall 2012 Enrollment 2/28: Happy 4th Birthday to Yash!

We Love Our Students!

Theres no month better than February to thank you for sharing your children with us! They are each so unique and blessed with wonderful talents and personalities, and the teachers and staff of GAMS love seeing their smiling faces each day! We are so pleased your family is a part of our school community, and as we continue to grow, we strive to make each month of this school year an even better Montessori experience for you and your child. The New Year has already seen many great changes. The updated after school program includes violin and Spanish lessons, new themed crafts and science lessons. We look forward to sharing our new blog and Facebook page soon, which will highlight more of our weekly activities and display photos so that we can improve our communication to our families and grow our community as a school. We will plan a parents night soon so families of students can meet with teachers and staff and greet one another.

IN THIS ISSUE:
Class Updates 2 Do you need the Early Bird program or after hours care for your child? 3

February is the month of Valentines Day. If your child wants to participate in a Valentines card exchange with his/her classmates, please remember to bring in cards* by Tuesday, February 14th. Creating a homemade card would be a wonderful winter afternoon activity for you and your child to share together! Be sure to have your child practice writing his/her name on the card if they are able. You are welcome to send in goodies (ex: 1-2 candies, stickers, pencils, balloons) with the cards, but please do not send in anything containing nuts. Thanks, and have a Happy Valentines Day! *PrePrimary Class sends in 10 cards, Primary Class sends in 6 cards to exchange.

Montessori At Home
Practice and encourage Montessori lessons at home this month. Here are some tips: At mealtimes, encourage your child to use good table manners, help with the preparation of the food, and identify the variety of colors, textures and names of the foods on the plate. During meals, turn on beautiful music instead of the television. Use your creativity to make Valentines for neighbors, friends or family members. Children love to use their hands and imagination to create beautiful objects. Show your child coins or bills that display past Presidents. This could be a good lesson in counting or ordering coins by size too.

Ms. Josephines PrePrimary Class has enjoyed working with shapes and colors. These young children are starting to recognize their names on their coat hooks and cubbies and are working independently at stations such as play-dough rolling, painting, and stamping- practicing and improving their fine motor skills. Ms. Gentrys Primary Class has also been busy. Many of the students are actively learning about patterns and counting, and are recognizing many types of plants and vegetables in preparation for Spring gardening. If you are interested in assisting with this years planting, or would like to bring in fresh flowers, please let us know. We love our Parent Volunteers!

For more information about Violin lessons email Marlena@gamontessori.com

Unless your child participates in the Early Bird Program* before school, please drop off (Assistant to the Director) pick him/her up at your child promptly at 8:30 a.m. and 12 noon for the Half Day Program, 3 p.m. for the Full Day Program, and /or 6 p.m. for the After School Program. Recently families have begun arriving late in the morning or are dropping off their child before official school hours. In order to have the appropriate staff caring for the students at all times we must adhere strictly to the start and end times of your enrollment. If your familys schedule has changed and requires an early drop off or late pick up once in a while, please contact our office in advance to schedule extra care. This is a $15/hr fee payable to the teacher on staff that day. *The Early Bird Program is available from 6:30-8:30 a.m. for $150/mo.

Hunter ODonnell

The 2012-13 School Year Enrollment Information will be sent home later this month. Please send back all forms promptly to secure your place in our classroom this Fall. We look forward to continuing your childs Montessori Education!

Please remember to always provide a healthful and complete breakfast for your child before school. The morning snack provided at GAMS should not serve as the 1st meal of the day, though we find children are requesting a snack first thing in the morning prior to starting their school work. Thanks to all the parents who have already provided the weekly snack. The kids love the fresh fruit, crackers and cheese especially!