Montessori By The Sea

Click below to open an invitation to our Spring Concert on June 19th at 10:00am at The ARK @ Camana Bay.

Click below to open Issue 2 of Turtle Stew, Montessori by the Sea’s literary magazine by young writers aged 5 to 14.

You can also download Issue 1 of Turtle Stew.

Click the poster below to view details of our upcoming 10 Year Anniversary Dinner Gala on Saturday, 27 February at Grand Old House.

Click below to open Issue 1 of Turtle Stew, Montessori by the Sea’s literary magazine by young writers aged 5 to 14.

Several Montessori By The Sea students showed lots of heart and stamina in last Sunday’s Kids Road Race (6 December 2009). The approximately 1/5 mile race was held in conjunction with the C.I. Marathon.

Click the link below for a PDF brochure by Mr. Guy.

Cayman Wildlife Rescue used the Montessori By The Sea school yard this past weekend to release a Brown Pelican they had in their care for over a week. The Pelican had been brought in very weak after its migration and had actually struck a power line. After putting on over a pound, he was ready for release.

They needed to test his flight and so used Montessori’s school yard. The Pelican made it over the fence easily and then circled before landing in a nearby wetland for a bath.

Here is video from the release:

Please click on the link below for further information on MBTS’s 10th Annual Holiday Concert:

Recycling at MBTS

Montessori By The Sea will be collecting aluminum cans to be recycled.  Please bring all your empty, washed aluminum cans to the school and put them in the recycling bin located outside the pathway leading to the back of the school.

The cans will be collected and bailed by the Department of Environmental Health (DEH), who then ship them to a recycling facility in the US. The aluminum will then be sold for re-recycling.

Please tell your neighbors and friends they are welcome to do this… the more we recycle, the less that will go into the landfill!

Aluminum recycling is the process by which scrap aluminum can be reused in products after its initial production. The process involves simply re-melting the metal, which is far less expensive and energy intensive than creating new aluminum. Recycling scrap aluminum requires only 5% of the energy used to make new aluminum.

Why should we recycle?

• Recycling conserves energy; it takes less energy to produce new products from recycled materials.
• It saves natural resources, which sometimes can’t be replaced.
• It keeps the environment clean.
• Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours — or the equivalent of a half a gallon of gasoline.
• 350,000 aluminum cans are produced every minute!
• About one-third of an average dump is made up of packaging material!
• There is no limit to the amount of times aluminum can be recycled.

Composting at MBTS

Montessori By The Sea has been turning some of their trash into treasure this year with the introduction of their school-wide composting program.

Composting is the word to describe when plant matter decomposes (with the help of fungus, bacteria, and invertebrates) back into fertile soil.  This soil can be then used to fertilize plants and helps them grow.

The children were delighted to learn that this happens when the critters munch on the trash, and poop out the compost!  Nutritious compost is actually bug poop – the ultimate lesson that nature recycles everything!

Each classroom, from Casa upwards, has a compost bin located next to their garbage cans, and students have been placing their plant based lunch and snack scraps into the compost bin.  At the end of each day, a “Captain Compost” from each classroom empties the buckets into a larger bucket that goes home nightly with Ms. Sarah, who has an enormous compost pile in her backyard.

Every so often, Ms. Sarah returns a batch of compost from the pile back to school for students to fertilize the class and school plants with.  We hope to eventually collect enough compost to actually grow a school veggie garden.

“Education should no longer be mostly imparting of knowledge, but must take a new path, seeking the release of human potentialities.”

Montessori By The Sea would like to welcome its new staff members, students and families, as well as returning students for the 2009-2010 school year!

Last school year we witnessed the first graduation of our Upper Elementary students, many of whom have been with us since they were 2 and 3 years old. They are now the pioneers of our 2009-2010 Middle Years program. Over the summer, Miss Victoria (Upper Elementary Directress and Elementary Curriculum Coordinator) obtained her International Baccalaureate training in Science and Math for the benefit of all students and specifically, the Grade 7 students who are embarking on a new stage of development. Miss Carmen, our Middle Years teacher, in addition to her years of experience with this age group, also obtained her International Baccalaureate training in Language Arts.

On September 24th, 2009, the members of the Executive Committee for the MBTS Parents Guild were voted in at the annual AGM. Their names are listed in the Parents Guild section of our website. Please feel free to contact them if you wish to be more involved with the school.

Mr. David Boyd, and our own Physical Education Coach, Miss Karen, have started a MBTS team for the Under 9 Primary Football League, complete with uniforms and we are looking forward to interschool games starting in October. Good luck to our “Mighty Montessorians!”