Green Tip from Quinn
Instead of turning up the heat, there are a lot of things you can do to keep warm in your house.
1. You can bundle up in sweatshirts or in blankets.
2. My family puts plastic wrap on our windows.
3. You could get something to keep cold air from getting in the cracks around the door.
Open House
Next Tuesday, January 19, 2010 from 9:00 – 11:00 AM is the final Open House in January. If you know anyone interested in EWMS, please let them know about this Open House. Open Houses are scheduled on the first and third Tuesdays of every month.
Recycle Bank Grant
We are still in need of 23,600 donated points to meet the requirement and receive our grant from RecycleBank. Thanks to all the donations we have received since last week, we are already over halfway there! At the RecycleBank website, just go to “Get Rewards,” then to “Donations,” and then scroll through until you find us! Thanks in advance for helping us reach our goal.
The Montessori Community
Each year, the Montessori Teachers’ Association of Delaware holds a day-long conference for teachers in the area. This year’s conference will be held on Friday, February 12, 2010; there will be no school that day, as the teachers will all be attending the conference. One of the keynote speakers at that conference, Catherine McTameney, will be addressing Montessori parents on the preceding evening, Thursday, February 11, from 7:00 – 9:00 PM. Attached here is a flier about that evening talk.
More Baby News
Our music teacher during the first part of the school year, Tanya, and her husband, Shaun, welcomed their 7 lbs., 15 oz. son, Joel Matthew, on Thursday, January 7, 2010. He was 20” long, and he and his mother are both thriving. Congratulations to the whole family.
(For those of you who might not know it, our music teacher comes to us through the Music School of Delaware. Filling in for Tanya through the remainder of the year will be Mindy Bauman, who has already seemed to hit the right chord with the EWMS students. Welcome, Mindy.)
Also on January 7, extended day staff member from last year, Ashia Lopez, gave birth to Jaden Keith who weighed 8 lbs, 5 oz.
Harmony on the Hill Concert
On Friday, January 29, from 6:00 – 7:30 PM, pianist Thomas Pandolfi will perform works of Chopin, Liszt and Gershwin at The Friends Meetinghouse (4th and West Streets in Wilmington). This pay-what-you-can concert is open to the public.
Martin Luther King Day
In observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday (January 15, 1929), EWMS will be closed on Monday, January 18, 2010. For many folks, this will be a day of service.
Maintenance Day
Anyone available is welcome to come in to school on Saturday morning to help take care of the maintenance needs of the school. Maintenance Day gets started at 8:00 AM and is usually over in a couple of hours. If you are planning to attend, please contact Maintenance Chair, Elizabeth Gehrt so she can gauge expertise and make sure she will have the requisite supplies and materials.
Images from: BarrysClipart.com
The Silent Journey
"The Silent Journey" will take place on Saturday, February 6, 2010 beginning at 8:30 AM. This program is designed to help you understand the spiral nature of the Montessori method and to let you experience what it is like for children at each level in the school. You will have a chance to see the classrooms close up and to work with the materials in the way your children do. At the end of the morning, you’ll be able to debrief, get your questions answered, and rub elbows with other parents. Call either McCrae or Victoria to sign up or to get more details about the program.
Fundraising News
We recently received a check for $66.00 from the Box Tops for Education folks. While that may not seem like a huge amount, it represents 660 10¢ box tops. Thank you all for choosing grocery items that participate in the Box Tops for Education program, and for taking the time clip the box tops out. Every 10¢ helps! Through tomorrow there is a special offer (50 bonus box tops and $5.00 off) atthe Box Tops site that will help you and us. Check it out!
Also, it was pointed out that we never let you know how the coupon book did: $1,330.00.
Finally, our Annual Fund campaign has been very successful thus far. EWMS has earned $22,268.00 in annual fund contributions. Thank you to the current and former parents and grandparents, staff, board members, and friends of EWMS who have so generously supported this school.
On Saturday, April 17, EWMS will hold its annual Silent Auction fundraiser. The Exchange on Market Street will host the event, which will feature a chili cook-off in addition to the silent auction. Amateur and professional chefs from the area will provide their chili to be sampled by the attendees and judged by a panel of local well-knowns including Senator Margaret Rose Henry, Council Member Hanifa Shabazz, John Rago (City of Wilmington), and Paul Lewis (WJBR).
Please mark your calendars, as you won’t want to miss this fun event. Also, please check your attic and start to set aside and bring in items that you may have received over the holidays that are redundant in or not suitable in your home, but that would be treasures for someone else. We are starting now to collect silent auction items. If there are establishments in your area that you frequent, consider asking the proprietor for a donation to our event. A variety of items and values makes for an interesting and successful silent auction. Thanks in advance for your help with this event.
Calendar
Saturday, 01/16
Maintenance Day, 8:00 AM – Noon
Monday, 01/18
Dr. MLK, Jr. Day Observed, no school
Tuesday, 01/26 – Friday, 1/29
Elementary Testing for elementary children second grade and older, mornings only
Saturday, 02/06
“Silent Journey,” 8:30 AM
Wednesday, 02/10
Valentine’s Day at EWMS
Thursday, 02/11
Ski Trip, weather and sufficient participation permitting. School in session.
We recently received a check for $66.00 from the Box Tops for Education folks. While that may not seem like a huge amount, it represents 660 10¢ box tops. Thank you all for choosing grocery items that participate in the Box Tops for Education program, and for taking the time clip the box tops out. Every 10¢ helps! Through tomorrow there is a special offer (50 bonus box tops and $5.00 off) atthe 
Calendar