Community A NEW YEAR: A NEW BEGINNING · to the classroom library, replenish materi-als for science experiments, or reorganize ... PTM has recently undergone an effort to inventory

2 | PTM NEWS AND NOTES

3 | BOARD REPORT: Strategic Conversations

3 | CURRICULUM MATTERS: From the Whole to the

Parts

4 | MIR SCRAPBOOK: Holiday Sing

6 | MIR SPRING GALA: Opportunities for Parents

8 | CALENDAR:

- January Parent Education Night Cancelled

- You’re Invited to a Strategic Conversation

JANUARY 2015 VOLUME 39, ISSUE 5 © Montessori in Redlands, LIC# 360910803-4-5

by MAURA JOYCE, HEAD OF SCHOOL

Abrandnewyearbringsusacleanslate.

Formanyofuswetaketheturningofthe

calendarasanopportunitytolookatwhat

wewanttochangeoraccomplishduring

thenext12months.

Asparentsyoumay

makeresolutionsto

re-focustimeand

energyonphysical

healthorfamilylife.

Aseducators,we

lookforwardtoJan-

uaryasatimetore-

focustheworkof

theclassroomand

theclassroomcom-

munity.

Ourexperienceyearafteryearisthat

afterafewweeksoff,thechildrencome

backreadytowork,andwehavetobe

readyforthem!TheteachersandIlook

forwardtothenextfewmonthsoffocused,

productivetimeintheclassroom,which

meansarefocusontheenvironment,inall

itsaspects.Whatthismeansfortheteach-

ersisthattheroom,

materials,lesson

plans,andthey,

themselves,needto

beprepared.Hereis

howtheyareprepar-

ing:

Thephysicalenvi-

ronment—TheMon-

tessoriteachertakes

thetimetoexamine

eachofthematerials

intheroombeforethechildrenre-enter.

Theycouldmodifyanactivity,addabook

totheclassroomlibrary,replenishmateri-

alsforscienceexperiments,orreorganize

(Continued on page 4)

What’s Inside

YouareinvitedtoJourney&

DiscoveryonSunday,Febru-

ary8,801-221.

Journey&Discoveryis

youropportunitytoun-

derstandwhatyourchild

doesinschoolandwhat

thecurriculumlookslike

throughallgrades.

Thedaystartswithasi-

lentjourneythroughMon-

tessoriclassroomsspanning

Toddlerstohighschool.This

journeyhelpssetthecon-

textfortheMontessorienvi-

ronmentandcurriculum.

Parentswillthensplit


NIKKI’S STUDENTS WILL ENJOY A NEW PATIO SPACE

THAT WAS BUILT OVER THE HOLIDAYS.

A NEW YEAR: A NEW BEGINNING

“From the end spring new beginnings.”—Pliny the Elder

Community

JANUARY 2015 LIVING THE MONTESSORI JOURNEY

2

A LITTLE BIRD TOLD ME...PTM NEWS AND NOTES By EDIE PUNT, PTM PRESIDENT

Community

NEXTPTMMEETING

OurnextPTMmeetingisat6pmonThursday,January22.ContactyourclassroomPTMrepresentativebeforethento

passalongquestionsorcomments,ordropbythemeetingyourself.ThePTMmeetingsareopentoallparentsinthe

MIRcommunityandareagreatplacetogetanoverviewofwhatactivitiesarehappeningintheschoolcommunity.We

alsohostlivelydiscussiononrelevanttopicsateachmeeting.WhilethesemeetingsaremandatoryforPTMroomrepre-

sentatives,weencourageallparentstoattendandparticipate.Wehopetoseeyouthere.

JOINUSFORSKATENIGHT

ThefollowingweekbringsustothenextFamilySkate

Night!OnFridayJanuary30,from5-721,Montessoriin

Redlandshastheentirefacilitytoourselves.Therewillbe

freelessonsandrefreshercoursesforthosewhowant

them.Thereisfoodavailableforpurchaseatthesnackbar,

orbringapicnicmealalongwithyoutoeatatthetables

rinkside.Skaterentalsareincludedwiththeticketprice;

theyevenhavetoddlersizes.Inlineskatesareavailablefor

afewextradollars.PurchaseadvanceticketsattheMIR

of?icefor$6,or$8atthedoor.Parentsandsiblingswho

arenotskatingdonotneedaticket.

STUDENTS IAN AND ERIC KISH SHOW OFF THEIR BLUEBIRD SHIRTS WHILE

HIKING AT MOUNT SAN JACINTO STATE PARK ON A BEAUTIFUL FALL DAY.

WELCOMETO2015!OnbehalfofthePTMExecutiveCommittee,I’dliketowelcomeyoutothesecondhalfofthe

schoolyear.ThankyoutothewholeschoolcommunityforthegenerousdonationsthatweremadetotheHolidayFood

DriveinDecember,bene?itinglocalfamiliesinneedviaJoseph’sStorehouse.Thiswasagreatopportunityforourstu-

dentstogivebacktotheircommunitybyhelpingotherfamiliesduringtheholidays.SpecialthankyoutoVictoriaHob-

sonforcoordinatingthedeliveryofallthefoodfromtheschooltotheStorehouse.

I’dalsoliketoextendanadditionalthankyoutoVictoria.PTMhasrecentlyundergoneanefforttoinventorythecon-

tentsoftheshedtoensurethatwehavewhatweneedreadilyavailableforeachPTMevent.VictoriahasbeenthePTM

membertospendhertimedoingthiswork.Thisorganizationeffortbene?itstheentireschool.Thankyousomuchfor

yourtime,Victoria!

EAT WELL, HAVE FUN, SUPPORT MIR 6TH YEAR STUDENTS MIR6thyearstudentsareholdingtwoyummyfundraisers

thismonthtoraisemoneyfortheirtriptoWashington,D.C.:

Wednesday,January14,startingat423:Joinyour

friendsforMIRnightatGourmetPizzaShoppeinRed-

lands.MentionMIRorbringa?lyerandstudentswillre-

ceiveaportionofthesales.

Friday,January23,7:15-983:Breakfastburritosare

back!Enjoyegg-and-cheeseornondairyburritosandan

orangejuicefor$5.

3


CurriculumMatters

FROM THE WHOLE TO THE PARTS

IbegantheNovemberparenteveningonMontessorigeog-

raphywithafunexercise.Ishowedtheparentsalistof

words,justforaminute,andthenhidit.Next,Iaskedthem

towritedowneverywordfromthelistthattheycouldre-

member.Ithenaskedforashowofhandsofthosewho

hadwrittendowntheword“sleep.”Thevastmajority

raisedtheirhands.Ishowedthemthelistagainandthey

couldseethat,althoughallweresleep-relatedwords,the

word“sleep”didnotactuallyappearonthelist!Thepar-

entslaughedinsurpriseatthisgraphicexampleofoneof

thetendenciesofthehumanbrain:toalwayslookfor

meaningandcontext.

IborrowedthisactivityfromDr.MarialeHardimanof

JohnsHopkinsUniversity,authorofConnectingBrainRe-

searchwithEffectiveTeaching.Asshewrites,theconven-

tionalmethodof“teachingchapter-by-chapter”fromthe

textbookand“assigningend-of-chapterquestions”may

getstudentsthroughthecontentbut“willnotresultin

meaningfullearning”because“conceptsandskillstaught

inisolationaremeaningless.”

Instead,shesuggests,teachersshouldprovidestudents

with“bigpictureideas”?irst,thenbreaktheseideas“into

connected‘conceptchunks’thatrelatestudents’prior

knowledgeandunderstandingtonewinformationtobe

processed,integrated,applied,andretained.”Itcameasno


By PETER DAVIDSON,

ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL

Whole Child ReportfromtheBoardby PAM FORD, PRESIDENT

STARTING WITH THE BIG PICTURE: THE MONTESSORI SANDPAPER GLOBE.

STRATEGIC CONVERSATIONS AstrategicplanforMIRisalwaysaworkin-progress.

Thatmaysoundalittleweird,sincetheverytitle,

“StrategicPlan,”soundslikeastaticentity,aPlan.But

thinkofitasacar’sGPSsystem.Sure,itisathing,a

toolthathelpsyougetfromplacetoplace.Butit

doesn’talwaysguideyoufromyourhomeorwork-

place.Itcanstarttheguidanceprocessfromwherever

youareatthetimeyouaskforhelp.And,youknow

thatitcan“recalculate”whenyoumissaturn,orfol-

lowyourownideaaboutwhereyoushouldbeturning.

ThatideaofastrategicplanasaGPSisguidingthe

planningprocessthattheLongRangePlanningCom-

mitteehasdevisedforthisyear.Ithaslongbeenon

ouragendatoreviewandrevisetheMIRstrategic

plan.Weareinthatprocessnowandallofyouarein-

vitedtoparticipate.

YoumayrememberthatanOctober“StrategicCon-

versation”tookplace.Atthisgathering,MIRparents,

staffmembers,andalumniparentsalongwithprofes-

sionalsfromthelargerRedlandsandInlandEmpire

communitycarriedoutaSWOTanalysis.Wediscussed

thestrengths,weaknesses,opportunities,andthreats

involvingMIRthatgroupmembersbroughttoevery-

one’sattention.Theconcludingactivityproducedasyn-

thesisofthemajoritemsonthegroup’sradar.

Fromthislist,theLongRangePlanningCommittee

isdevelopingasetofquestionstobeconsideredata

gatheringonMonday,January12atTheMittenBuild-

ingat621.Atthisnextsession,stakeholderswilldis-

cussandaddressthesequestionsinaWorldCafeset-

ting.Answerstothequestionswillguidethenextstep

inourprocess,athirdstrategicconversationinlate

AprilthatwillagaininvolveMIRstakeholders.

Fromthesethreesessions,designedtoelicitinput

fromeveryoneinvolvedwithMIR,theLongRange

PlanningCommitteewillbeabletoputtogetherastra-

tegicplanthatwillguidedecisionsmadeandactions

takenbytheBoardofTrustees,theadministration,

andthefacultyincarryingoutthemissionofMIR.

Likeyourcar’sGPSsystem,thisstrategicplanis

moreofaroadmapthatwillrequireflexibilityandup-

dates!MIRwillalwaysbeengagedinastrategicplan-

ningprocess.


4

ashelf.Youhavebeeninyourchild’sMontessoriclass-

room—there’salotofstuffinthere!Everythinghasits

placeandeveryplacehasathing.Theyoungerchildren

expecttheshelvestolookexactlythesameeachtimethey

walkin.Thisorderorientsthemtotheenvironmentso

thattheyfeelempoweredtochoosework,engagetheir

entirebodyandmindinit,andfeeltheprideandsatisfac-

tionofaccomplishment.Fortheolderchildren,themateri-

alsandsuppliesneedtobethereforthemtoactontheir

creativefollow-uptoanypresentationbytheirteacher.

Planningforinspiration—MIRteacherslookatwhich

presentationsarenext—whichoneswillinspirethechil-

drentodotheirbestwork,putintheirmaximumeffort,

andcarrythemintodeepconcentration,oranexplosion

intoreading,oracollaborativeprojectwiththeirpeers.

TheMontessoricurriculum,theteacher’straining“album,”

coversavastamountofsubjectmattertiedtoahands-on

pieceofmaterialandadiscoveryprocess.Theteacher’s

jobistoknowwhichchildrenarereadyforwhichpresen-

tation.Thisisnotbasedonarigidtimeline,butratheron

theobservationsofthechildren’swork,interest,andde-

velopment,soastoenthusetheminthelearningprocess.

It’satrickybusinessfortheMontessoriteachertomatch

thatcurriculumtotheindividualneedsofthechildrenin

theirclass,sotimeisneededtothinkabouteachofthem.

Thespiritualpreparationoftheadult—Perhapsmost

importantlytheteachermusttakethetimetoremindher-

selfthatsheisa“guide”morethanateacher.Montessori

wrote:“Inoursystem,themistressdoesnothingmorethan

facilitateandmakecleartothechild,theveryactiveand

prolongedworkwhichisreservedforhim,inchoosingob-

jects,andemployinghimselfwiththem.”TheMontessori

teacher,orguide,knowsthattheknowledgeandconcepts

thechildwilllearncomefromtheirworkwiththemateri-

alsandtheirdiscoveryintheenvironment.Althoughthe

workoftheadultisimportant,theteacherknowsthechil-

drenareabletoindependentlyinteractwithmaterials

(afterapresentation)andlearnwithoutthedirectinvolve-

mentoftheadult.Inthisstructurewheretheteacherdoes

nothavetobetheconstantlecturer,thechildrentake

ownershipoftheirlearningandtheteacherhasmoretime

toguidethemintheirlearning.

AsweseetheNewYear,Montessorisawthechildas

humanity’scleanslate.Eachnewlifepresentedanewbe-

ginningforthehumanrace.Shesawtheopportunityfor

change,butsheknewthattheadultscouldnot“make”it

happen.Guidedbythechildren,Montessorididwhatour

teachersdoduringeachin-serviceday—createthecondi-

tionsforeachofthemtobecomethebestpersontheycan

be.Preparingthephysicalclassroom,planningforinspira-

tion,andpreparingthemselvestobetheguidetotheirstu-

dentsontheirMontessorijourney.

(Continued from page 1)

ANEWBEGINNING(cont.)

MIR SCRAPBOOK: HOLIDAY SING

ScenesfromHolidaySing.

Topleft:Elementarystu-

dentsandMaurakickedoff

theshowwithalimerick.

Topright:Astudentget-

tingreadytoperform.

Lowerright:Astudent

fromSara’sclassenthusias-

ticallyperformingBlitzen’s

Boogie.

Lowerleft:AllofMIR’s

UpperElementarystudents

performedtogether,singinga

medleyofBobMarleysongs.

Community

5


surprisetomethatDr.Hardimanisactuallyabigfanof

Montessori,amongotherreasons,becausethisisexactly

theapproachweuse.

Ibegantheparenteveningwiththisexercisebecause

it’ssoobviouslyaprincipleappliedinourapproachtoge-

ography,thetopicoftheevening.Afterall,primarychil-

drendon’tstartwiththecityorstateorevenourcountry,

butwiththeworld!Withthesandpaperglobe,thechildof

threeisintroducedtolandandwater,andwiththepaint-

edglobetocontinentandocean.Fromthereachildpro-

ceedstotheworldpuzzlemapwiththenamesofeachcon-

tinentandocean,andonlythentoamapofhisownconti-

nentwithpoliticaldivisions.Oncethatismasteredasa

puzzle,thelanguageofthenamesofthecountriescanbe

learned.Fromtheirowncontinentchildrenprogressto

themapofSouthAmerica,thenEuropeandAsiaandAfri-

caandOceania(Australia),and?inallytothestatesofthe

U.S.puzzlemap.ThatputsCaliforniaincontextindeed!

Inelementary,newareasofgeographicalunderstand-

ingalsobeginwith“bigpicture”ideas.Storiesandimpres-

sionisticchartshelpstudentsunderstandtherelationof

theearthtothesun,themovementoftheearthonitsaxis,

theseasons,thesolsticesandequinoxes,theTropicof

CancerandCapricornandtheequator,andzonesofcli-

mate,beforelearningthemajordeserts.Theyhaveexperi-

enceswithvolcanismandplatetectonicsbeforelearning

themajormountainranges,andtheworkofwaterbefore

lookingatriversystems.Ofcoursetheyalsocontinueto

explore?inerdegreesofknowledgeofthepoliticaldivi-

sionswiththecapitalsand?lagsofthepinmaps.Finally,

theyaddeconomicinformationastheystampmapswith

symbolsoftheproductsproducedindifferentregionsof

countries,butitmakessensebecauseofthecontextcreat-

edearlier.

Butitisnotjustingeographythatwebeginwiththe

wholeandmovetotheparts.Thisbasicapproachisevi-

dentinnearlyeveryareaofstudy!Forinstance,before

studentsbegintolearntheirmathfacts,theyexperience

theentiredecimalsysteminaformtheycanliterallywrap

theirhandsaroundwiththegoldenbeads,settingthecon-

textforanunderstandingofcarryingandborrowingand

thegeometricprogressionofmultiplication,longbefore

theyperformthesefunctionswithpaperandpencil.We

evensetthecontextforthestudyofgrammarwithanex-

plorationofthefunctionsofthedifferentkindsofwords

longbeforestudentslearnthenamesofthepartsof

speech,muchlessparsesentences.Whentheydo,itmakes

somuchmoresenseandissomuchmoreenjoyablebe-

causeofallofthebackgroundthathasbeenestablished.

Thisidea,ofstartingwiththebigpicture?irst,isno-

wheremoreapparentthaninaMontessorielementary

classroom.Hardlyanythingnewisintroduced,whetherin

languageormathematicsorgeometryorscience,without

tellingastory?irstthatsetsthehistoricalcontext,asfor

writing(thankyou,Phoenicians!)ortriangles(thankyou,

Egyptians!)ordivisionsofthecircumferenceofacircle

(thankyou,Babylonians!)Forthatmatter,everyschool

yearbeginswiththeUniverseStory.Youcan’tstartwitha

biggerpicturethanthat!

SomehowMariaMontessorimusthaveunderstoodthis,

longbeforetheinventionofmagneticresonanceimaging,

andbasedherapproachonthissolidunderstandingofthe

humanmind.It’snowonderthatMontessoristudentssee

theinterrelatednessofgeometry,grammar,mathematics,

science,andgeography.Whennothingistaughtinisola-

tion,itallhassomuchmeaningandmakessomuchsense!

CatchupwithMIRonFacebook:https://

www.facebook.com/montessoriinredlands.

(Continued from page 3)

FROMTHEWHOLETOTHEPARTS(cont.)

A FEW OF PETER’S FAVORITE LESSONS WhataresomeofPeterDavidson’sfavoritelessons?Find

outatCoffee,Tea,andM.E.onFriday,January9,8:4501.

Peterwilldemonstratethreeofhisfavoritelessons.

Thedemonstrationwillbefollowedbydiscussionand

questionsandanswers.

Coffee,Tea,andM.E.isagoodwaytodelveintothe

Montessoricurriculumandlearnmoreaboutwhatyour

childislearningeachdayatschool.

THE GOLDEN BEADS SET THE CONTEXT FOR THE DECIMAL SYSTEM. FROM

LEFT TO RIGHT: 1000s, 100s, 10s, AND 1s.


6

Community

On Saturday, March 7, 2015, MIR will hold its 18th

Annual Spring Gala & Auction (6 PM-midnight).

The Spring Gala is a fundraiser featuring live and

silent auctions. Proceeds from the auctions will help

fund a new space for MIR's Student Services pro-

gram. The space will be designed for individual and

small-group therapy, occupational therapy, tutoring,

and counseling services. You will also have an oppor-

tunity to contribute to MIR’s financial aid program.

As an MIR family, there are many different ways

you can support the event and its fundraising goals:

Attend and bid. Live auction items are beautiful, one

-of-a-kind treasures created by the students and teach-

ers of MIR, items donated by local businesses or indi-

viduals, and unique experiences for you and your chil-

dren. Our silent auction comprises 50+ baskets of

goods, certificates for services, and tickets to entertain-

ment venues. Invitations will be sent in January.

Donate to the auctions. We are seeking donations

of goods and services to include in either auction and

have many already. If you have a great gift item to con-

tribute, a vacation home that you’d be willing to donate

time in, or connections to unique experiences, contact

Jill McDermott at 909-793-6989 or jill.mcdermott@

montessoriinredlands.org.

Sponsor the event. Sponsorship levels range from

$125–$1,000. If you want to support the fundraising

goals of the event but are not able to attend or are not

sure you’ll bid, this is a great way to do so. There are

many great benefits for sponsors, including tickets to

the Gala.

Volunteer your time. It takes a team to make the

Gala happen. We are always in need of volunteers

(and ever so grateful for the help!). We need help

with everything from soliciting donations and putting

together baskets to staging the event. Contact Jill

McDermott at 909-793-6989 or jill.mcdermott@

montessoriinredlands.org to help.

We are looking forward to the Gala and hope you are,

too! Learn more about the Gala and see a gallery of pic-

tures from last year’s event at mir/gala.

Thank you for your support.

Saturday, March 7, 2015 | 6 PM - MIDNIGHT | The Mitten Building in Redlands

THE STUDENTS ARE HARD AT WORK ON THE AUCTION ITEMS. LEFT: KARA AND SARAH’S CLASS PIECE IN PROGRESS.

RIGHT: KELLY’S CLASS MOSAIC IN PROGRESS.

7


For more information call Jill McDermott at

909-793-6989. Visit the Gala web page at

mir.org/gala.

Thank you for your generous support of the MIR Spring Gala & Auction.

Acknowledgement before the Event

♦ Recognition in all Gala materials before the event.

Acknowledgement at the Event

♦ Full-page advertisement and acknowledgement as Gold

Sponsor in auction program.

♦ Patrons Table seating at the event (includes up to 4

reserved seats).

♦ Name and logo listed on sponsor and underwriter

acknowledgements placed on each table.

♦ Mentioned and thanked by the emcee.

Acknowledgement after the Event

♦ Company logo and name printed in MIR Annual Report.

♦ Listed as Gold Sponsor on the MIR Spring Gala web page

with a link to sponsor’s website for one full year.

♦ Special thank-you announcement in MIR’s monthly

Bluebird Bulletin newsletter and weekly e-mail.




♦ Half-page advertisement and acknowledgement as

Silver Sponsor in auction program.

♦ 2 tickets to the event.

♦ Name and logo listed on sponsor and underwriter


♦ Placard acknowledging sponsorship of the DJ,

entertainment, Auctioneer, or Photographer.


♦ Company logo and name printed in MIR Annual Report.

♦ Listed as Silver Sponsor on the MIR Spring Gala web

page with a link to sponsor’s website for one full year.






♦ Business-card-sized page advertisement and

acknowledgement as Bronze Sponsor in auction

program.

♦ Name listed on sponsor and underwriter


♦ Acknowledged on placard as sponsor of the Silent

Auction.


♦ Company name listed in MIR Annual Report.

♦ Listed as Bronze Sponsor on the MIR Spring Gala web

page for one full year.



SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES


♦ Business-card-sized advertisement in auction program.


♦ Company name listed in MIR Annual Report.

Community


8

CAMP MONTESSORI PARENT WORK DAY

Community JOURNEY&

DISCOVERY(cont.)

intothegroupoftheir

choicetofullydiscoverthe

learningfortoddlersto3rd

grade,or4th-12thgrades.

Youwillimmerseyourself

intheworkthechildrendo,

andyouwillhavethetime

totalkwithteachersabout

whathappensintheclass-

roomeachday.

Journey&Discoveryis

ourmostvaluableparent

eventforansweringthat

all-importantquestion:

whatdoesmychilddoat

school?Weencourage

everyparenttoattendat

leastonceduringyourtime

atMIR.

Learnabouttheexperi-

encesofotherparentswho

attendedpasteventsand

signupatmir.org/journey.

Theeventtakesthefull

timeand“droppingin”is

notpossible.)Alightbreak-

fastandafulllunchwillbe

served.

YOU’RE INVITED TO A STRATEGIC CONVERSATION

JANUARY PARENT EDUCATION NIGHT CANCELLED Withthenumberofpar-

enteventsinJanuaryand

February,wedecidedto

canceltheJanuaryParent

EducationNighttohelp

simplifythecalendar.

JoinusforCoffee,Tea,

andM.E.onFriday,Janu-

ary9at8:4501,orsign

upforthenextJourney&

DiscoveryonSunday,Feb-

ruary8,801-221.

CAMP MONTESSORI PARENT WORK DAY

MON TUE WED THU FRI

29 30 31 1 2

5 6 Positive Discipline class, 6 PM

7 8 9 Coffee, Tea, and M.E., 8:45 AM

12 Strategic Conversa-tion, 6 PM

13 Kara/Sarah—Living Desert Positive Discipline class, 6 PM

14 Sportball Gourmet Pizza Night, 4 PM

15 2nd Semi-Annual payments due Monthly payments due

16 Maria—Fingerprints Museum

19 20 Positive Discipline class, 6 PM

21 Sportball

22 PTM meeting, 6 PM

23 Breakfast burritos, 7:15-9 AM

26 27 Kristen—San Bernar-dino Valley College Planetarium

Positive Discipline class, 6 PM

28 Sportball

29 Nikki—San Bernardi-no County Museum

30 Bluebird assembly, 9:15 AM PTM Family Skate Night, 5-7 PM

School closed for the holidays. Childcare available by reservation.

School and childcare closed for New Year’s Day.

School closed for the holidays. Childcare available by RSVP.

JANUARY 2015

School and childcare closed for staff in-service.

School and childcare closed for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

MontessoriinRedlandsis

developingastrategic

roadmapwiththehelpof

staff,parents,andcommu-

nityleaderslikeyourself.

We?irstmetinOctoberin

anopenforumtounder-

standMIR'sstrengths,

weaknesses,opportunities,

andthreats.Youareinvited

toournextconversation,to

helpusprioritizethestra-

tegicinitiativesMIRshould

pursue.

Thismeetingwillbea

roundtableformatwhere

everyonewillhaveachance

tocontributeandbeheard.

Feelfreetobringafriend.

Thisisanopportunityto

contributetothefuturedi-

rectionofMIRifyouarea

parent,alumni,orstaff

member.Ifyouareacom-

munitymember,thisisan

opportunitytocontribute

yourideasabouteducation

toauniqueschoolinRed-

lands.

Theconversationtakes

placeatTheMittenBuild-

ingonMonday,January12,

621.Alightsupperwillbe

served.PleaseRSVPat

mir.org/conversation.

Documents

Community A NEW YEAR: A NEW BEGINNING · to the classroom library, replenish materi-als for science experiments, or reorganize ... PTM has recently undergone an effort to inventory