November 2011

The Villa Voice

Inside this issue:

Miscellaneous 2

Class Pages 3-4

Circle News 5

From the Desk of Sue Watson

6

SPED News 7

Scouting News 7

Box Tops for Education 8

Villa Ads 9

November Calendar 11

Support Your Villa Community

10

IMPORTANT DATES

November 2nd Elementary 1 Info Night in

Room 5 for current Kindergarten parents—7pm

November 11th Veteran’s Day

School Closed except for Infants and All-Day Contracts

November 14 Cookie Dough orders due!

November 16th Elementary 2 Info Night for current 3rd grade

Parents—7pm Cheryl Campus Sanctuary

November 24th & 25th ALL SCHOOL CLOSED! Thanksgiving Holiday

From the Desk of Margo O’Neill:

Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as

frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow. ~Edward Sandford Martin

During the month of November, we are reminded to give thanks. I would love to take this opportunity to thank all of you for the prayers and well wishes you sent to my husband during his recent medical “escapade.” Although he still has some hur-dles to jump in the months ahead, he continues to be a medical marvel to his doc-tors and an inspiration to the rest of us! A warm thank you also goes to Sue Watson and her fabulously talented group of parent volunteers for another successful Halloween Carnival. You can read more about the carnival in Sue’s article. For those of you with children in Kindergarten, there is an important parent infor-mation night regarding the Elementary I program this Wednesday night, November 2, from 7:00 – 8:30 PM. You will be shown some of the amazing materials designed for this age group, learn how to support your child with the transition to first grade, meet the teachers and tour the classrooms. We will meet in Room 5 on the main campus for the opening presentation. This is a parent-only meeting. A similar parent information night is scheduled for parents of children currently enrolled in the third grade on Wednesday, November 16, at 7:00 PM up at the Cheryl Campus (3110 E. Cheryl Dr., near the intersection of 32nd St. and Shea Blvd.). This, too, is for parents only. You should have already received important enrollment/re-enrollment information for the 2012-2013 school year. As many of you may know, Heather Carara’s last day is Friday, November 4. We will miss her terribly and hope she enjoys her new job in the real estate/property management field. She is an incredible young woman. Luckily, we have Teri Pietila stepping into Heather’s role. Please contact her at 602-831-9967, ext. 103, with any questions concerning the upcoming enroll-ment/re-enrollment process. Have a great month and enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday.

Page 2 The Villa Voice

BOARD OF

DIRECTORS

Margo O’Neill Head of School

Mary Orlando Asst. Head of School

Chris Burbach Parent

Cindy Jones Parent

John McDonald Parent

Donna Witherwax Alumni Parent

Carol Mitchell Parent

Elissa Mullany Parent

Tom Jankowski Parent

Marilyn Burbach Past Executive

Director

VILLA VOICE VILLA VOICE VILLA VOICE VILLA VOICE

STAFFSTAFFSTAFFSTAFF

DESIGN & DESIGN & DESIGN & DESIGN &

LAYOUTLAYOUTLAYOUTLAYOUT

Kathy Egleston

EDITOREDITOREDITOREDITOR

Mary Ann Bashaw

Mary Orlando has been very busy this past month dealing with observations, discipline issues and being a constant sup-port to our Head of School, Margo O’Neill.

Look for more words of wisdom from Mary in December.

SHARE Your Heart & Home with an International Teen HOST FAMILIES in your school district are needed to host high school teens from 20 different countries for the upcoming spring semester. The teens speak English, are covered by medical insurance and have spending money for per-sonal expenses. Families are volunteers and provide bed, meals, as well as friendship, understanding, and a genuine desire to share American life with a youngster from overseas.

The SHARE! High School Exchange Program is a non-profit organization. For more information, call today:

Yvette at 1-800-941-3738 or visit us at sharesouthwest.org.

How silently they tumble down And come to rest upon the ground

To lay a carpet, rich and rare, Beneath the trees without a care,

Content to sleep, their work well done, Colors gleaming in the sun.

At other times, they wildly fly Until they nearly reach the sky. Twisting, turning through the air

Till all the trees stand stark and bare. Exhausted, drop to earth below

To wait, like children, for the snow." - Elsie N. Brady, Leaves

Page 3 The Villa Voice

Infants & ToddlersInfants & ToddlersInfants & ToddlersInfants & Toddlers

November greetings from the Infant and Toddler rooms. Things continue to be “humming “

along nicely in our environments. We have children from the Infant room begin walking, so they have

made their transition into Toddler 1. Toddler 2 has also welcomed new friends, and had to say good-

bye to a few who left for Pre-Primary.

It is always so bittersweet to say goodbye to the children you have watched grow so much in

such a short time. We truly celebrate each day we have spent with and every one of them.

As the cooler weather is here it is always a time for us to begin planting our gardens, as well as

just to enjoy spending time outside sitting in the grass, looking and listening to everything around us.

As I was preparing to write this article I was reminded again of a small passage I read

regarding seeing the world through a child’s eyes from the book How to Raise an AMAZING CHILD

The Montessori Way by Tim Seldin. I would like to share this with you:

“Child’s eye view— Remember that your child’s world is up close and low to the ground. Seeing life from her point of view can help you to rediscover the sense of wonder of a young child. Keep in mind the slow-moving pace of her world. Follow your child’s lead, and be prepared to stop and examine anything that captures her interest—a ladybug or a flower, for example. Don’t get impatient when she dawdles—adhere to her pace. The best way for children to learn is by doing things, not by being told about them. This is especially true when they are young, but it also applies to older children and even adults. When children are young they are not only learning things, they are learning how to learn. No book using words and illustrations to de-scribe the world that exists around a small brook or under a rotting log can replace the value of spending time closely studying the real thing. Books and other materials help children to pull these powerful impressions and experience together in their minds, but the foundation needs to be laid in direct observation and hands-on experi-ence.”

Wishing you a wonderful month!Wishing you a wonderful month!Wishing you a wonderful month!Wishing you a wonderful month! Jeni Johnson

Pre-Primary News—by Sherra Sieben

RECTANGLE BOX

I am learning geometry. I like to

put the triangles together to make differ-

ent shapes.

I take the isosceles triangle and

make a square and a parallelogram. The

scalene triangles make a rectangle, a par-

allelogram and a trapezoid. The 2 equi-

laterals make a rhombus.

There is a box of solid blue trian-

gles that I can match to the ones pic-

tured. This helps me to see how shapes

are related.

Later, I will work with the

equivalences of areas in shapes that do

not look the same.

As I work with the triangles, I will

see that all geometric shapes are made

from triangles.

Page 4 The Villa Voice

The Elementary One teachers have been doing a wonderful book study called “Montessori Today.” I would like to share some of the high points of the first part of the book. Maria Montessori believed there were four different planes of development. The ages of 6-12 are considered the second plane. The child’s focus shifts from individual formation to development as social be-ings and the direction of their explorations of the world ends to the abstract rather than the concrete. Mentally the children have an immense power and are capable of great effort and concentration. Their intellectual curi-osity is limitless. This curiosity is not the same as that of the adults. A scientist, for example, seeks to find something new. The children’s purpose is the formation of their own minds. They take in new information in order to re-form it and bring it into existing relationship with what is already there. Montessori called this stage of the child’s formation the Intellectual Period. Children want to grasp the whole of knowledge. They have developed the higher brain function required for reasoning. With this power of reason, a new world of independent thought and discovery is opened up to the child. It is the realm of abstract ideas that now intrigues them. The child of six years has become a reasoning explorer of the abstract.

~ Patty Langhurst

MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS— Doug Dziedzic

With fall now in full swing, middle school is experiencing the

changes that go with the season. Students at both the Oak and Weldon campuses are

busy working in their second cycle of the year. Along with the daily academic rigor, there are several

extra-curricular activities on the calendar. On Friday November 4th

, the middle school will host

another Café Villa. This is a wonderful talent show that gives middle school students an opportu-

nity to showcase their talents. The middle school will also have their first school dance on No-

vember 17th

. This is also a chance for great socialization among the students.

Another big activity in November is students choosing a personal challenge. This is a fundamental

component of the Heroic Journey program in which middle school students participate. It consists of a signifi-

cant goal that the student sets out to accomplish. It might be a new activity, sport or instrument that the stu-

dent will learn. It might be an opportunity for a student to overcome a significant personal fear. There have

been books of poetry and other creative works that students have sought to have published. The personal

challenge is a great aspect to the Heroic Journey and one that helps to transform the students.

November is an intense and busy month at the middle school. Many activities and assignments make for

an exciting and fun-filled month. It is “in like a lion” with the start of fall.

Elementary 2 News — Christy Cantu “There is a great sense of community within the Montessori classroom, where children of differing ages work together in an atmosphere of cooperation rather than competitiveness. There is respect for the environment and for the individuals within it, which comes through experience of freedom within the community.” - Dr. Maria Montessori

Students in Elementary II are part of classroom communities, as well as a campus-wide community. Each child is treated as an individual, but also has a role in something greater as an E2 student.

Within our classrooms, we gather as a community daily in a circle to plan our day and share news. We also gather in this way for organized class meetings where we solve problems. A typical class meeting involves affirmations, stating a problem, offering solutions, and a vote for the best idea. All student and teacher voices are heard and the focus is on what is best for everyone. During work time, the classroom is buzzing with coop-erative work: students help each other, work together and give lessons. The classroom is a social, cooperative working environment, which fulfills the need of a 9-12 year old child.

As a campus community we gather on several occasions - many of them in the coming weeks. Fall brings our Autumn Celebration, where all of the students on campus visit craft and game stations. With Thanksgiving, we have a potluck gathering. In November, we also begin our campus-wide holiday community service project. This year, we will gather toys for the Salvation Army’s “Forgotten Angel Program.” We will col-lect toys for 9-12 year old children, which is the Salvation Army’s area greatest need. Elementary II students at Villa are members of a special community both in the classroom and on the Cheryl Campus.

Page 5 The Villa Voice

Hello, So here we are, one third of the way through the school year. I must say it’s moving along quite quickly. October was a blast; we had an awesome time bonding with our students over fall break. Now, just when things are beginning to settle, here comes the holiday season!!! ……….. looove it! As if Turkey Day isn't enough, Circle will taking Friday, Nov. 11th, to observe Veter- ans Day. This day will be for “All-Day Contract” students only. We plan to honor our beloved Veterans with a flag-making project, courtesy of Mrs. Lisa Moore. Please remember to pack a lunch, as well as an additional snack for afternoon Circle. The rest of November is looking tasty. As we are spending more and more time outdoors, we will be adding a slew of outdoor equipment and activities.

◊ Reminder: Villa will be completely closed on the 24th and 25th of November for Thanksgiving weekend.

☺ Eat well, Happy Holidays, and enjoy the best time of year to be in Arizona! --- Dee Woods

Pre-Primary Circle

News:

Welcome to November, friends! Last month, Circle had oodles of fun. We made spooky crafts like puppets and jack-o-lanterns. During fall break, we en-joyed many festive activities and our shared recess with our Elementary friends. Also, we are SO happy that the weather has cooled down, allowing us more time on the playground!

Parents, please note that November 11th is Veteran’s Day. The school will be closed except for

all-day contracts, so Circle children are welcome to attend all day. Since the weather is cooling down, remember to change out your child’s extra clothes to long-sleeved shirts and pants. I personally use November as a special time for thankful awareness – consciously appreciating different aspects of my life experience. I speak for Circle Team Members and myself when I say that we are so grateful to be a part of your children’s lives. Thank you for the opportunity to help them grow. They help me grow and teach me valuable lessons every day. Wishing you all the best this November, Rachel Croly-Pincock

FROM THE DESK OF SUE WATSON

HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL – ANOTHER GREAT SUCCESS! We want to thank all of the parents who worked so hard to make this the best carnival ever. The most time consum-ing part of the carnival is the Haunted House. This committee starts their planning the first week of September. Thanks to the following dedicated parents who worked so hard to scare you to death:

BUILDERS: Fred Bates, Brett Gaines, Jeff Trembly and all of the incredible workers who worked all Friday night, Saturday and Sunday morning.

DECORATORS: Jill Zimmerman and her group of wonderful creative decorators worked for two days. We also want to acknowledge Lisa & Jeff Moore for a spectacular job at the Food Court. Sheri Johnson (an alum parent) ran the finance and check-in and it never ran smoother. Terry and Todd Madeksza ran a fantastic Toddler Game Area that made many small children smile! Vince Watson kept everything lively with his great dance music. Our facilities crew run by Manuel Chimal worked very hard to help set up and clean up for several days. I want to personally thank all of the parents who worked their shifts and made this carnival a great experience for all the chil-dren at Villa. I also want to thank all of the Classroom Coordinators for the time spent calling the parents of their classrooms to cover the volunteer areas. We really appreciate all of the parents who baked and bought the wonder-

ful desserts for the Cake Walk and the food court.

HONEY BEARS BARBEQUE - (Gary & Elizabeth Clark) discounted the barbeque platters and hamburgers. HUNGRY HOWIES (46th & Thomas) gave us a large discount on pizzas for the event. LUX COFFEEBAR – (Tara & Jeff Fischer, Villa Parents) donated their great coffee.

Please patronize these restaurants and thank them for their continued support of Villa.

2011 TAX CREDIT CAMPAIGN: This program allows you to prepay your Arizona State Taxes. This is a dollar-for-dollar tax credit. The Tax Credit packets were sent out last month, one per family. Please check with your child/children if you did not receive one. I can send another one out to you immediately if you did not receive a packet. This is by far our biggest fundraiser. There are extra tax credit cards in all of the school offices if you need more. Married couples filing jointly can give $400 and single parents or head of household can give $200. You can also make your donation online on our secure website www.villamontessori.com. The goal this year is $300,000, which is possible if all families bring in three tax credits. Ask friends with children in private schools to give to your charter school and in return you can give to their private school. All taxpayers can give tax dollars to private and public/charter schools in the same tax year. Please put your child’s name on all cards before you distribute them. We will start listing the donors in next month’s newsletter. Tax Credit checks must be written and postmarked

on or before December 31, 2011.

REMEMBER: 1) If you are responsible for $1500 received from you and your friends in tax credit donations, you will receive two free tickets to the Auction Dinner in May. 2) You will get credit for your required ten hours volunteer time if you are responsible for four donations of any

amount to the tax credit campaign.

PLEASE HELP US GET TAX CREDIT DONATIONS!

MARDI GRAS – Dancing in the Streets with Villa Montessori is the theme for this year’s Auction Dinner. Mark your calendars for May 12th. We will be sending out donation forms throughout the school year and you may pick one up in your closest school office. Please help us get items for the auction. Every item counts! You will receive double hours if you work the night of the auction in the silent auction area, so let me know if you are interested. Also call me if you are interested in work-ing for any auction committee (Sue’s cell 602 363-5006). We can always use more help!

Page 7 The Villa Voice

VILLA PACK 324 Cub Scouts — Jenna Haggard Our last awards ceremony left our Scouts with pockets full of awards. They have been busy! Our Piestewa Peak hike was a beautiful day—we do love Scout Rock! We are so excited for our upcoming entry in the Veteran’s Day Parade. It is so great to give a huge THANK YOU to the men and women in our Armed Forces! It is an honor to walk the parade and hand out American Flags to the viewers.

Brownie Troop 2647 is already up and going strong. We have several new members, our Fall Sale was a success, and we are starting to work on some of the new badges in our Brownie Handbooks. We celebrated Juliette Low’s birth-day (founder of Girl Scouts) and learned a fun new song that has been a scouting favorite for years! Cookie sales are right around the corner (January) so start thinking about ordering some delicious Girl Scout favorites! Parents – We have a lot of interest in a Daisy Troop, but we need more volunteer

leaders. Right now, if I can get one more parent who can commit to one Friday afternoon a month from 3-4:30 p.m., we can start up the Daisies. Please consider volunteering this small amount of time to enrich the lives of our Villa girls!

Bobbi Jo Claywell

A quick word from Exceptional Student Services…

❖The vision and hearing screenings are complete! Thank you to all the parents for making sure their children were in attendance.

❖The next two months are going to be very busy with meetings. We try, as much as possible, to schedule meetings on a Wednesday or Thursday during school hours. However, we

might need to start a little early or go a little late in order to accommodate all the needs.

❖The first IEP progress notes will be coming home at the beginning of December…keep your eyes peeled!

Exceptional Student Services is very thankful for the awesome, supportive families, the amaz-

ing students, and the truly magnificent teachers and teacher assistants. May each and every one

of you have a Wonderful Thanksgiving.

Liza Prince

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Stacy Vivas – 602-264-6774 Chanda Campos – 480-703-9460 Karen Crowder – 602-494-7889

WIN an Ice Cream Social for your Classroom!

The Classroom with the most Box Tops by April 15th wins the Ice Cream Social.

What is Box Tops For Education? It is a program where we purchase brands from General Mills and Kleenex that have a Box Tops for Education logo. Each box top is worth 10 cents. We would like each classroom to have a coordinator who will clip the extra paper off the box tops, separate and place them into sandwich bags in groups of 50 box tops, write the teacher’s name on each bag and turn the bags into the main office. Participating Brands: Hundreds of your family’s favorite products from General Mills, Ziploc® and Kleenex® products. The goal this year is to earn $1,000 from Box Tops.

Box Tops for Education

Mark D. Fullerton, P.C.Mark D. Fullerton, P.C.Mark D. Fullerton, P.C.Mark D. Fullerton, P.C. A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION

C. Andrew CampbellC. Andrew CampbellC. Andrew CampbellC. Andrew Campbell Attorney and Counselor at Law

1839 S. Alma School Road, Suite 275 · Mesa, AZ 85210-3050 Telephone (480) 838-9000 · Fax (480) 838-9302

E-Mail Campbell@mhf.cc

Page 10 The Villa Voice

302 West Bethany Home Road

602.264.5188 www.musicworksacademy.com

All ages ~ All styles and levels: classical, jazz and blues, popular, sacred

Performance Classes, Guild Auditions, Ensemble, Arizona Study Program, Festivals

Computer Lab – music fun and education with technology

University-trained and nationally certified instructors

Prelude Piano classes for young children: 18 months – 1st

grade

Sound-proof studios ~ Summer instruction

MUSIC LESSONS AND CLASSES

Voice � Piano � Guitar � Young Children

PRELUDE Piano Classes

For Young

SUPPORT YOUR VILLA COMMUNITYSUPPORT YOUR VILLA COMMUNITYSUPPORT YOUR VILLA COMMUNITYSUPPORT YOUR VILLA COMMUNITY

COMPANY NAMECOMPANY NAMECOMPANY NAMECOMPANY NAME CONTACTCONTACTCONTACTCONTACT PHONEPHONEPHONEPHONE EMAILEMAILEMAILEMAIL----WEBSITEWEBSITEWEBSITEWEBSITE AAAAir Sports Trampoline and Tumbling Scott Larson 602-400-6876 http://airsportstnt.com

AAAAxiom Landscape & Design LLC Jim Ridder 480-699-8267 www.AxiomLandscape.com

BBBBricks Studio—Dance & Karate Mandy Durante 602-954-5200 mandy@bricksstudio.com

DDDDe GGGGeorge Plumbing Dennis Hawksworth 602-274-0939 www.degeorgeplumbing.com

FFFFacings of America, Inc Erik & Marion Droge 602-955-9217 4121 N. 27th St., Phoenix 85016 Selection of Natural Stone, Ceramic, Porcelain, Glass Tile & 480-222-8480 16421 N. 90th St., Scottsdale Architectural Features

GGGGenesis Structural Engineers, LLC Jim Palmer 602-971-2227 www.genesisstructural.com

MMMMark D. Fullerton, P.C. Andy Campbell 480-838-9000 campbell@mhf.cc

MMMMoments Salon Paula Moyes 602-840-4700 www.salonmoments.com

PPPPower Tools—Offers training Melissa Wilson 602-501-9101 melissa@my-power-tools.com And education in the field of Home Energy Performance

TTTTim the Tool Man Tim Wilson 602-292-7201 www.timthetoolman.biz Quality Handyman Services and Home Energy Analyst

TTTTotal Auto Pros - Tires & Wheels Scott Moyes 602-280-7767 www.totalautopros.com

WWWWoolsey Studio Architecture Kristine Woolsey 602-418-8134 www.woolseystudio.com

Gratitude Quotes

Gratitude consists of being more aware of what you have, than what you don’t. ~ Unknown We often take for granted the very things that most deserve gratitude. ~ Cynthia Ozick

Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart. ~ Henry Clay As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. ~ William Arthur Ward Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.

It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~ Melody Beattie

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 Approximate

delivery date of Innisbrook

Wrapping Paper products

2

Elementary 1 Info Night for current

Kindergarten Parents at 7pm in

Room 5

3 4 Last PP

Soccer Game

MS Café Villa 6:30-8:30

5

6 7 8 9 10 11

Veteran’s Day School Closed

except Infants & All-day

contracts!

12

13 14

All Cookie Dough orders are due!

15 16

Elementary 2 Info Night for current 3rd grade Parents 7pm –Cheryl cam-

pus Sanctuary

17 18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30

November 2011November 2011November 2011November 2011

Thanksgiving HolidayThanksgiving HolidayThanksgiving HolidayThanksgiving Holiday ALL SCHOOL CLOSED!ALL SCHOOL CLOSED!ALL SCHOOL CLOSED!ALL SCHOOL CLOSED!

Important December Dates

December 2nd & 5th: Early Dismissal for PP-MS @11:30am for Parent/Teacher Conferences All-Day Contracts only after 11:30 am (This does not affect Infants & Toddlers.)

December 13th: Pick up Cookie dough orders at the Main Campus

December 19th–22nd: Winter Break—School Closed except for Infants and All Day Contracts

December 23rd & December 26th: ALL SCHOOL CLOSED—Winter Break

December 27th–29th: Winter Break—School Closed except for Infants and All-Day Contracts

December 29th: Infant and Toddlers Closed

December 30th: ALL SCHOOL CLOSED—Winter Break

December 31st: LAST DAY TO SEND IN TAX CREDITS!