July 2020 Volume 26, Issue 12

Montessori School of

Lemont Since 1972

Save the Date!

July 3

Independence Day

Observed, No Summer

Specials

July 31

Graduation Ceremony

(Tentative)

August 1

Forms and Fees Due

Movie Night

Inside this issue:

Accreditation

Update

2

August 1st Deadline 2

Parents’ Association 2

Guidelines for Reo-

pening (COVID-19)

3

Community

Involvement

3

2020-2021

Yearbooks

4

Join us for our annual movie night on

August 1st at 8:00pm. Bring your

chairs and blankets to watch Trolls

World Tour under the stars. We will

be practicing social distancing. This is

an outdoor event taking place at the

amphitheater on campus. In order to

reduce contact, please bring your own

food, drink, and bug spray!

Catch up with old friends and help us

welcome our new families at a party

hosted by the Parents’ Association.

Movie Night!

Another Year, Another Level

We are excited to announce that Montessori School of Lemont will be

extending our adolescent program to include 9th grade! This will complete

the three-year cycle (12-15 year olds) at our adolescent level and provide

one of the only programs of it’s kind in the area. The addition of an au-

thentic 9th grade Montessori program is possible with recognition by the

state of Illinois and the addition of our new adolescent co-teacher, Lauren

Vincenti, who holds a Montessori Secondary I and II (12-18 year olds)

certification, a Masters degree in Secondary Montessori Education and is licensed by the

state of Illinois to teach middle school and high school. Lauren joins adolescent teacher,

Rebecca McClenning who holds Montessori Secondary I and II certification, a Master degree

in Educational Leadership and is licensed by the state of Illinois to teach K-9th grade.

It’s taken quite a while, a

lot of hard work, and

overcoming many obsta-

cles, but we did it!

I’m so proud of all the

work that our MSOL stu-

dents have put forth dur-

ing this unprecedented

time. From gathering infor-

mation to perfecting their

performances, our students

have done a fantastic job! Especially our Executive Vid-

eo Editors, Claire Wolfe and

Marty Zenkevicius who have

worked tirelessly... and even

taken time out of their sum-

mer break to perfect this

project.

-Audrey Tunis

MSOL Parent

and Theater Director

A Virtual Spring Show

Poppy and Branch discover that they are

but one of six different Troll tribes scat-

tered over six different lands devoted to

six different kinds of music: Funk, Coun-

try, Techno, Classical, Pop and

Rock. With the fate of the world at

stake, Poppy and Branch, along with their

friends, set out to visit all the other lands

to unify the Trolls in harmony against a

member of hard-rock royalty, Queen

Barb, who's looking to upstage them all.

In the December newsletter, I

shared our 2020-2025 Strategic

Plan which includes providing a

quality Montessori education

that engages students and sup-

ports academic success in a

safe and beautifully prepared

environment that is accredited

by the American Montessori

Society.

Accreditation by the American

Montessori Society is a reward-

ing, multi-year process that

requires dedicated focus and

input from the entire school

community.

Over the course of the 2019-

2020 school year, parents, staff,

and administration have been

working hard to complete our

self study report with the guid-

ance of our Accreditation Co-

ordinator, Divina Cruz. Divina

served as an MSOL primary

teacher for 10 years, is an

MSOL alumni parent, and is

currently an independent Mon-

tessori consultant.

A Steering Committee was

formed last fall and is com-

prised of a dedicated group of

faculty, staff, and current and alumni parents. Last month we

completed our (220 page!) self-

study report and submitted it

to the American Montessori

Society for approval.

Our self-study is currently

under review and once ap-

proved by the Accreditation

Commission, MSOL will re-

ceive Pathway Step 9 recogni-

tion. Accreditation is granted

after the successful completion

of Step 10 which includes a site

visit by a team of Montessori

Accreditation Update -Therese Colby

“Woof”

-Finn, age 2

Page 2 Montessori School of Lemont

August 1st Deadline

MSOL Organic Farm Fresh

eggs for sale!

Parents’ Association

certified experts to verify the

self-study document and rec-

ommend MSOL for full accredi-

tation.

AMS is projecting the on-site

visit to occur next spring and

we will be establishing a com-

mittee of parents and staff to

help plan for the visit and host

the team during their four day

visit. A Sunday afternoon re-

ception with students, faculty,

staff, parents, and board mem-

bers will welcome our visitors

to our wonderful MSOL com-

munity. They will observe all

classrooms and perform an

operational audit over the

course of the following three days. Parent volunteers will be

essential to support our staff

and visitors during this exciting

experience.

$400 Development Fee

Per Family

$15 Primary Supply Fee

Preschool & Kindergarten

$175 Elementary Field Trip

& Book Fee

1st –9th Grade

The Lifecycle of the Butterfly by

alumna, Josie McClenning, MSOL class of 2016.

Congratulations! As an MSOL

parent, you are automatically a

member of our Parents’ Associ-

ation!

The Parents’ Association of Mon-

tessori School of Lemont exists to

support the school’s philosophy,

programs, and activities for the

benefit of all students, staff, and

families.

We count on each and every

one of you to help us make

your child’s experience at

MSOL one to remember. Our

PA board of directors is looking

forward to another great year

of working with you to host

community events and support

our school.

The 2020-2021 President is

Jenna Treanor, parent of three

MSOL alumni and a current

Purple Room student. Our VP

is Karen Damato; our Secretary

is Jennifer Galka; and Debbie

Moreno is our Treasurer. All

are experienced Montessori

parents and dedicated vol-

unteers.

There are many events that

would benefit from your

assistance, and there are

always multiple ways to

engage and contribute.

Contact me at

jenn.treanor@gmail.com to

help out.

See you at Movie Night on

August 1st!

Health Forms

3-6 year olds, 1st, 6th, & 9th Grade

Dental Forms

Kindergarten, 2nd, 6th, & 9th Grade

Vision Forms Kindergarten & all NEW 1-9th Grade

students

School Guidelines for Fall Reopening (COVID-19)

Page 3 Volume 26, Issue 12

One of the Pink Lady butterflies

released by the Blue and

Yellow rooms.

Community Involvement

The Elementary and Adolescent

students created a documentary titled “The Human“ for their virtual Spring Performance.

It is important to

acknowledge our communi-

ty members who collabo-

rated in the midst of the

pandemic in order to assist

frontline workers. This past

spring, MSOL adolescents

partnered with BSA Troop

149 out of Lemont to make

visor face shields with the

adolescent 3D printer.

Troop leader and Upper El

parent, Keith Nowakowski,

reached out to MSOL for as-

sistance with making 3D visors

to be used as the base for face

shields.

Using the 3D printer donated

by our adolescent class fami-

lies, MSOL students and mem-

bers of Troop 149, Alp Alatas

and Truman Nowakowski

delivered visors to three differ-

ent local facilities including

Lemont Nursing and Re-

habilitation, Marion Village

and Loyola Hospital.

It was an honor to be able

to serve in this effort to

help our community.

The Illinois Department of

Public Health and the Illinois

State Board of Education re-

leased guidelines regarding

school reopening in the fall.

Below is our current plan

which is subject to change as

the guidance continues to

evolve:

Prohibit more than 50

individuals from gathering

in one space. For day to

day classes, no changes will

be required. We will develop

plans for hosting our large

group events as more guid-

ance is available.

Conduct symptom screen-

ings and temperature

checks. Touchless thermom-

eters for classrooms and the

office are already in use for

visitors and children in the

summer program.

Increase schoolwide

cleaning and disinfection.

We have contracted with

our cleaning company to

double our current level of

cleaning beginning August 1.

Observe social distancing,

as much as possible. As

implied, this will be a chal-

lenge and we will do our

best to encourage social

distancing.

Require use of appropriate

PPE including face cover-

ings. Face shields were ap-

proved by ISBE and we will

provide (and label) one for

each student. Parents may

also choose to provide a face

mask. Due to conflicting guid-

ance from the state, a physi-

cians note may be required in

order to opt for a face shield

instead of a mask. Physicians

may also write a note exempt-

ing students and staff from

wearing either. These medical

conditions were not outlined

by ISBE nor IDPH so parents

are encouraged to discuss any

anxiety, allergy, asthma or

other mask-related health

concerns with your doctor.

In order to reopen as safely as

possible, we are seeking to raise

$20,000 for health and safety

improvements before the start

of the school year. $10,000

would fund air purification devic-

es for the ventilation systems in

all buildings. These devices have

been proven, via 3rd party test-

ing (see chart below), to be ef-

fective in significantly reducing

mold, bacteria and viruses in-

cluding COVID-19 and are cur-rently in use at the White House

and onboard Air Force One.

We would also like to purchase

umbrellas, awnings and outdoor

furniture so that students can

be outside as much as possible

where masks are not required.

Thanks in advance for your

help and support for this im-

portant project.

16427 W. 135th Street Lemont, Illinois 60439

Phone: 815-834-0607 Fax: 815-834-0681

info@lemontmontessori.com

Twitter: @lemontessori FB: montessorischooloflemont

The Montessori School of Lemont is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that has been educating chil-

dren ages 3 through 8th grade for almost 50 years based on the methods and philosophy of Dr. Maria

Montessori. The school was established in 1972 by teachers dedicated to offering families an individu-

alized educational approach for their children. The school relocated to Lemont in 1990. In 2001, the

school moved to its permanent location after the construction of a new campus on 7.5 acres of do-

nated land. In 2010, a third was completed to accommodate the growing enrollment and in 2011, a

“natural” playground and an organic community garden were created. Funds are currently being

raised to improve and grow our campus.

Montessori School of Lemont does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender identity, sexual

orientation, pregnancy, national origin, age, socio-economic level, physical ability, genetic information, and

learning style in the administration of its educational policies, admissions, hiring, scholarships or other school

programs.

For all the little reasons

lemontmontessori.com

Are you interested in learning

more about Montessori? Join us

for our next monthly “Coffee.”

Prospective parents will tour the

campus, observe classes, and

speak with current parents, stu-

dents, and staff. Please call or

email if you would like to attend.

info@lemontmontessori.com.

Philosophy & Curriculum

Classroom Observation

Parent Mentors

Student Ambassadors

Admissions Process

Join us for coffee and

stay for a few years!

Coffee, Anyone?

Pre-order your 2019-2020

yearbook now by sending a check

for $20 with the memo ‘yearbook’

and you’re all set. No order form

needed. Yearbooks will be in your

family’s Back-to-School-Meeting

folder and distributed on August

21st or 24th.

It is the mission of the

Montessori School

of Lemont

to provide for the

physical,

intellectual,

emotional, and

spiritual

education of children

ages 3-14 years

following the methods

and philosophy of

Dr. Maria Montessori.