From the Head of School:
The Environment is Prepared
Dr. Montessori said that the environment must be a living one – appropriately prepared by an adult who is fully prepared for the mission. That sounds rather lofty, and indeed it is and should be. With the new school year underway, I feel compelled to share some thoughts and observations regarding the importance of the Prepared Environment.
From my perspective as Head of School, I have the distinct advantage of seeing the whole and the parts each day. One of my daily activities is to take “the pulse” of the school at various times, to feel and see the “culture” at work. Each of our classrooms, no matter what level, is prepared to greet the children, and stimulate the individual drives and propensities within each child. We are looking to facilitate the process of self realization through engagement with the world.
Whether you are a parent of a Toddler or a Middle School student, the environment must attract and be matched to the child’s age, sensitivities and circumstances. Montessori knew this, and gained her understanding through direct observation of the child at various stages of development. This condition is not stagnant, but must “be responsive to new fascinations, interpret behaviors and judgments, and integrate lessons and materials according to a child’s age and circumstances.”*
As I do my daily “walkabout, ” one of my goals is to see that this is working, that the children are “served,” by the prepared environment - not just within their classroom, but in the halls, specialty subject areas, the gym, playground, during arrival and dismissal – it all counts to ensure the whole experience meets the needs of the whole child. After just 3 weeks of school, I can attest to, and assure you, that this is happening at Ruffing. There is joyful engagement at work here. Your children are known, they are safe, and they are secure in their subconscious and conscious minds, knowing that from the moment of arrival they are greeted with a welcome that enhances the natural tendencies of each of them and opens the channels for optimizing potential through an education for life. *What is Montessori? Heather & Jason Pederson
Gordon Maas, Head of School
Sunday’s Celebration
There was magic in the air last Sunday as Ruffing kicked off its 50th Anniversary celebration. No matter where I went, the palpable sense of community was notable. The games on the field, (with me getting wrapped like a mummy), the children on the playground with the flower and vegetable gardens as a backdrop, the archives display, the red oak tree planting as children just naturally came close to witness and ask about the tree – all the events came together beautifully and meaningfully.
Then, the joy of gathering of 500 in the gym to sing Happy Birthday in five languages; witnessing categories of attendees: First graduate (1984), longest teaching tenure (38 years), former student, now Ruffing parent; current oldest and youngest students (Middle School and Toddler) and myself, all sing “The Earth Goes Around the Sun” for every decade of Ruffing’s history!
It was a glorious day of celebration, inter-connectedness, generational gatherings and most apparent, the Ruffing spirit on display. Thank you to Rita Grabowski and Tina Yost, and the countless volunteers who helped make the Birthday Party an historic day for Ruffing.
Gordon Maas, Head of School
From the Development Department: Thanks for the Memories…
The kickoff celebratory event for Ruffing’s 50th year of educational achievement was a rousing success. A turnout of over 500 enjoyed an afternoon of fun, entertainment and nostalgia. Former faculty, parents of alumni, alumni and friends returned to the school and were welcomed by current families and staff. Thank you to the gracious and friendly volunteers whose efforts made the day run smoothly. A beautiful day, games, a giant birthday card, an archives display, a unique student performance and many, many memorable birthday cakes made it a special day. To be sure, the commemorative red oak tree, planted to mark this occasion will help us all remember Ruffing’s 50th and we will watch it grow tall and strong.
Thank you to the Chair Rita Grabowski and Co-Chair Tina Yost and their committee: Francine Barnett, Scott Bowen, Nivi Engineer, Lindsay Flack, Sheri Furey-Stilson, Debra Mitchell, Susan Olsen and Jennifer Rozsa. Thank you to the many volunteers recruited by PA Volunteer Coordinator, Doug Fleck: Tammy Astor-Jack, Don Barnett, Ramesh Belli, Andrea Burns-Crayton, Julidse Coll, Peter Ditchman, Stuart Dowling, Rakesh Engineer, Nora Ferenczy, Miki Graban, Ted Grabowski, Allie Hanna, Angie Hardman, Shawna Johnson, Priya Kalahasti, Terese Karlovec, Bob Kloos, Vanessa Maier, Angela Mazzi, Jane McGann, Monika Mendels, Lisa Navracruz, Chris Nestor, Paul Postak, Brian Provan, Lili Rose, Donna Ruhlman, Martha, David, and Barbara Schubert, Nancy Lyon Stadler, Sheri Stevens, Karen Sullivan, Trenton Tipton-Fletcher, Michelle Toivonen, Cynthia Trotta, Monica Van Niel, Erin Wagner, Jeff Weissman, and K. Ann Zimmerman. Your help as docents, cake servers, game leaders, and clean-up made the day enjoyable for all. Special thanks to Eric and Michelle Toivonen and Genie Repros Inc. for support of the Archives Project and contribution to the photo history now mounted near the Conference Room.
“Vintage” Dinosaur Tee-Shirts
The Fiftieth Anniversary dinosaur logo tee-shirts and aprons can be ordered on our Website or via email to Susan Olsen at susano@ruffingmontessori.net. All child and adult sizes and aprons are available. The tee-shirts are $12 and the aprons are $15.
Leading Montessori Author to Speak at Ruffing
On Thursday, October 15, at 7 pm, Paula Polk Lillard, author of numerous books on Montessori for parents, will speak at Ruffing as a highlight in the year-long celebration of Ruffing’s Fiftieth Anniversary. Praised for explaining the concepts of Maria Montessori’s educational philosophy in a clear and accessible manner, Lillard is internationally known and regarded. Paula’s talk is titled Montessori for Our Time: A Tribute to the Past, A Hope for the Future. A few prominent leaders in Ruffing’s history will be recognized, as well. RSVP to Karen Hahn, karenh@ruffingmontesssori.net
Gala Planning
Although the fall events celebrating Ruffing’s Fiftieth Anniversary are still going on, early planning for the party on April 17, 2010, is getting started. This year’s party will be a fun evening of music, food and fun with friends. It will be fundraiser and celebration for Ruffing’s whole community and invitees will include parents, alumni, parents of former students, grandparents and friends of the school. We encourage anyone who would like to volunteer in the planning to contact the Chairs, Dominique River, dominique.river@sbcglobal.net, or Martha Schubert, schuberger@roadrunner.com
At the very least, save the date!
Carol Provan, Director of Development
50th Anniversary Quiz
Every month in this space, a question regarding Ruffing’s rich history will appear. The first reader who e-mails the correct answer to Cary Seidman at CaryS@ruffingmontessori.net will receive a free 50th anniversary T-shirt.
Over the past 50 years, many Ruffing alumni have gone on to exemplary careers in academia and the arts. However, three alumni from the 1990s earned a living as professional athletes. Name them and their sports. (One of these three is still employed as a pro athlete.) The answer will appear next month along with the name of the contest winner.
Dike 14 Nature Walk
If you are free on the morning of Saturday, September 26, consider taking the family on the annual fall nature walk at the Dike 14 Nature Preserve any time between 7:30 am and 2 pm. This beautiful, unspoiled stretch of 88 acres is located on the lakeshore, and you are likely to see migratory birds and butterflies in abundance. There are usually only two days per year when the Dike 14 Preserve is open to the public. Hikes along the trail (and all visitors must stay on the trail) are self-guided, but staff members from area museums and wildlife organizations are available to answer questions and provide background along the way. The Dike 14 Nature Preserve is just north of the East 72nd Street Exit from the Shoreway (I-90). After you park, walk north and a little east from the parking area, and you will see the entrance. To learn more about the fascinating history of Dike 14, click here.
Cary Seidman, Middle School Science Teacher
Middle School Families - Save the Date - October 14!
On Wednesday, October 14, 2009 at 7 pm, Ruffing will host its annual High School Information Night for Middle School families. Admission officers and representatives from area public, independent and parochial high schools will be available to distribute materials and answer questions about their particular admissions process. We will also provide information about the ISEE exam and distribute guidelines for obtaining recommendations and transcripts from Ruffing for your child’s application. We look forward to seeing you there!
Julie Haffke, Director of Admissions
From the Technology Coordinator: When Word is Not Word
Microsoft has thrown us a bit of a curve. As Office 2007 replaces older versions, the problem of backwards compatibility rears its ugly head. Well, not exactly… only if we let it. What all this double-talk means is that documents created in Word 2007 won’t be able to be opened in older versions of Word unless they have been saved with Word 97-2003 compatibility, or if a converter has been installed on the computer with the older version.
Unless there is a compelling reason to the contrary, you may want to set your office applications to save in a format compatible with Office 97 and Office 2003. Click on the round Office logo in the upper left hand corner of the application. This will reveal familiar functions such as Open, Save, Print, etc. You may not have noticed the Options button at the bottom of the dialog. When you click on the Options button, a series of screens will allow you to personalize the options within the application.
Click Save on the left side of the screen. The first option will be “Save files in this format:” If you are setting the option in Word you will want to pick the third option, “Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc). Click OK at the bottom of the dialog. Now all of the documents you save will be compatible with all versions of MS Word. You can repeat this process with the other MS Office 2007 applications.
If you have an older version of Office and receive a docx (Word 2007) file, a pptx (PowerPoint 2007) file, or xlsx (Excel 2007) file, you will need to convert it to a form compatible with your software. Microsoft offers a converter that can be downloaded free.
Lauren Pacini, Technology Coordinator
From the Parent Association
For those of you who were unable to attend last week's Parent Association meetings, I'd like to highlight a few important points that we discussed. First of all, Save the Shoes was a great success. We earned $375 to help fund the various PA events for the coming year. Thanks to everyone who helped make the event succeed.
Our Upcoming Events:
Friday, September 25 is our Welcome Back Wine & Cheese event from 6:30 - 9:30 pm
at Taste Restaurant (2317 Lee Road). Please RSVP via the evite or to Karen Hahn by Friday, September 18, so that we are sure to order enough hors d'oeuvres .
Wednesday, Sept. 30 is our first Parenting Toolbox Lecture Series event. Be sure to come listen to Dr. Lisa Damour speak about Social Networking. Should be quite insightful.
Saturday October 17 is Diwali, which is India's festival of colors. Last year, a group of parents worked with the Children's House teachers to introduce the festival to the youngsters with a craft project. This year, we'd like to work with more of the teachers (and start earlier) and introduce more aspects of this Indian holiday to more students, including dance, throughout the week preceding the holiday. If you'd like to get involved, please contact Nital Subhas at subhas_2@yahoo.com.
One of the PA’s biggest events of the year is the Pumpkin Party, which will be held this year on Sunday, October 25 from 11 am – 3 pm at the school. Each classroom will be responsible for coordinating one event for the Pumpkin Party, so if you have some ideas about what your class could do, get in touch with your class parent(s) and start brainstorming.
The PA website, currently a work in progress, is http://pa.ruffingmontessori.net. Take a look around. We hope to make that a useful resource for all Ruffing parents. Let us know what you'd like to see on there.
Be sure to continue cutting out and dropping off those Box Tops. There are other ways to support Ruffing (Target, Heinens) and we'll update our website with more information.
And again, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at 216- 320-2317/H, or 216- 299-2178 /C, or niviengineer@gmail.com
Nivi Engineer, PA President
Parenting Toolbox Lecture Series
Please join us for our first lecture in the 2009-2010 series, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter: Navigating the World of Social Networking with Your Child from Early Childhood to Adolescence on Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 7 pm. In this age of social networking, come to find out what you need to know about social networking. Lisa Damour, Child Psychologist and Co-Director of the Center for Research on Girls at Laurel School, will give you strategies that enable you and your child to navigate this new terrain safely and respectfully. This lecture is for parents with children of all ages. [more]
Childcare will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis. Please contact Karen at 216-321-7571 or karenh@ruffingmontessori.net to reserve a spot for childcare. Important process note: please be sure to reserve your spot for the talk through the evite sent out earlier this week and childcare directly with Karen in the office.
Didn’t receive the evite? Wondering about the other 3 lectures in the series? Want to get involved in planning the 2010-2011 series? Please contact Clare Ditchman at cmditchman@me.com to answer those and any other questions, concerns and/or comments you might have. Looking forward to seeing you on the 30th!
St. Charles Borromeo Library Update
Returning families will remember the book drive held last spring by Dave Kosky’s class to help St. Charles Borromeo School rebuild their collection after a devastating electrical fire destroyed their library. The library reconstruction has just been completed, and hundreds of books have finally been delivered in time for the new school year. Maureen Leigh, the school librarian, was overwhelmed by the generosity of the Ruffing community, and extremely grateful for all the wonderful books. Her thank you note reads:
"St. Charles School is greatly appreciative of the kindness and generosity extended to us as we continue to rebuild our school library. Your large donation of books contributes significantly to our new library collection. Ruffing Montessori has truly been an “angel” to our cause, and your outpouring of support has been such a blessing.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Maureen Leigh
St. Charles Librarian"
Many thanks to all who made the book drive such a success.
From the Business Office
Bike Rack Relocation
Ruffing’s bike rack has been relocated to the back of the playground to enhance the safety of all students, especially our youngest ones who play in the far north section of the playground every day. While we understand it may seem like an inconvenience to park bikes in the back now, the move also allowed us to expand much needed playground space for the enjoyment of all students. Children who bike to school should walk their bikes along the sidewalk to the east of the building to get to the bike rack in the back. Students may then enter the school building from the rear entrance – the double doors will be unlocked until school starts at 8:30, as is the practice with our front entrance doors. Please do not leave bikes leaning against the stone wall or the picnic tables in the front. Our Toddlers are naturally drawn to big shiny bikes! Thank you for your cooperation.
Safety Reminder
As listed in the Family Handbook, “For safety, no cell phone use is permitted while navigating the arrival/dismissal car line.” This includes driving and walking. Thank you for your cooperation.
Wish List
The school was given a large picnic table and benches, now placed near the Art Room/Middle School doors. This is the side of the building that receives the most sun during the day – hence the placement of our solar array. However, for students or teachers working or eating at the table, Kathie Freer has a wish. If any family has an umbrella and stand that they are getting rid of, the school would be happy to receive it.
Calendar Reminder
For the most current information concerning school events, please check the school calendar posted on the Website. It is updated as necessary, and is more accurate than the paper version contained in your Family Handbook.