New School NC chess champ is featured on the front page of the Holly Springs Sun (click for full size image)

The TNS Chess Club was represented at the NC Championship by Aiden, Carter, Sydney (K-1 team), James (K-3 team), and John and Kenan (K-5 team).

We were particularly thrilled for James who achieved a perfect score to become NC State Scholastic Champion in the kindergarten through grade 3 section, making the front page of the Holly Springs Sun!

This was all on the heels of our successes at the Wake County Chess Championship. The K-1 team, consisting of Aidan, Carter, Sydney, Oliver, Alex, and Landon, took home the second place team trophy. A particularly significant victory since half or our team had never played in a tournament before.

Our K-5 team, consisting of James, Kenan, and John, also took home the second place team trophy. Again this was especially impressive since, in team chess, the teams can be any size, and the top four players’ scores are tallied. Our K-5 team, with only three players, needed every single point they scored!

Article in the Holly Springs Sun describes the success of The New School Chess Team at the NC Scholastic Championship (click for full size image).

We owe a big thanks to Brad Dill for providing some of this content and for keeping track of our chess team’s tournaments and results. To access recent chess club news, please visit Brad’s chess club page in MemberHub.

Coach Jonathan Schroer is an International Chess Master who is very active in scholastic chess in schools throughout the Triangle area.

He believes chess is not just a game. The value of chess to help children develop strong cognitive and analytical skills has long been recognized. It has been known to help children in subjects ranging from math to music and is also a great way to learn good sportsmanship. (Read more about the benefits of chess.) These benefits provide many reasons why chess has long been emphasized not only as an after-school activity for our students, but as part of the curriculum here at The New School for children ages five and older. If you are interested in signing your child up for the chess club, please contact Jonathan.

While there is still some tweaking taking place, our school news page is up and running. You may have also noticed some quick links on the home page in addition to an important announcement bar. The calendar of events page is also a good way to keep up on upcoming events.

To further our goal of being as environmentally friendly as possible and to help cut down on costs, most of our newsletters are delivered by email. These are typically sent out once per month. The New School PTO is always very active in sending frequent updates via emails. Please keep you eyes open for these important newsletters.

As always, we welcome any feedback!

We will be offering programs for infants through Upper Elementary aged students. In addition to the regular Montessori program to provide continuity, our Children’s House students can look forward to weekly water days, field trips, visitors, arts & crafts, botany, and much more. Summer school is also a great opportunity for your kindergartener, who will joining our elementary program in the fall, with extra practice in the academic areas they will be working with in August.

Meanwhile our Elementary students will be able to explore areas such as science (including a week of animal science), outdoor adventure week, art, drama, cooking, chess, and sports. Afternoons will be filled with reading, swimming, photography, music, games, and watching select videos.

Our Summer Program runs from June 4th to August 10th. Each week of the summer schedule will be led by one or two certified teachers and either assistants or interns. Check out our Summer Program pages on the website for more program information and a list of summer teaching staff.

Download a PDF copy of the 2012 summer application form here. There are limited spaces available, so make sure to submit yours before the March 16th deadline!

Join the Boxtops website and everything you buy online for your holiday gifts will help the New School, at no extra cost to you. It’s the gift that keeps on giving!

When you shop online from your favorite brands such as Target, Best Buy and Barnes & Noble, etc., a portion of what you spend earns points. As the points accumulate, the New School converts them to much-needed funds for program enhancement and school improvements.

Please sign up and do as much of your holiday shopping as you can through the program. It’s really easy and would be a great holiday gift to the New School, without any extra cost to you. Here’s what to do in three easy steps:

1. Click here for the New School Montessori Center on the Boxtops website
2. Complete the form (first and last name, birthday)
3. Enter your email and a password. Confirm your email address.

Make sure to select The New School in the drop-down menu when prompted. Then visit the site every time you shop for gifts for your family, loved ones and colleagues. As an additional help, you can post the above information to your Facebook page or share it in an email with everyone you know.

We so much appreciate your help. Thank you for everything you do for the New School!

Happy Holidays!

This year’s picnic will be a “Bring Your Own Picnic” lunch.  Bottled water and desserts will be provided by the school.  Yes, this is a change from previous years. Remember it will be outside and it will be hot, so bring chairs or blankets for you and your family, and a tent or canopy if you have one. The playground will be open for the kids, and other games will be set up for everyone.

The highlight of the picnic is always the drawing for the Raffle Baskets.  Tickets go on sale tomorrow, Wednesday April 27 and will be available through the Friday May 6.  After purchasing your tickets, drop your stub into the jar corresponding to the basket you want.  All basket drawings will be held around 12:30 at the Spring Picnic. You do not need to be present to win. For more information about the raffle contact Katie Turner (katiepar2@gmail.com).

This year’s special raffle is a great selection of Gift Cards from various local retailers and restaurants. Tickets for this raffle will only be available at the picnic. The drawing will be held after the other baskets have been drawn.  You must be present to win the special raffle.

Volunteers are needed to plan games, set up tables, canopies, decorate, and provide a festive mood to the field!  Please contact Carolyn Kesler for more information. (tns.parentsgroup@gmail.com).

Thank you to our parent volunteers, Katie and Erin, who have been working hard on putting together these fun-packed variety baskets and to all of you for donating.

Please help support this event by helping sell these raffle tickets to friends, family, and neighbors also! Proceeds from our raffle will go toward our Field Day event for the children and toward our school beautification projects.

Raffle Baskets

Click on the links below for an image of each basket.

Sports
Coffee and Chocolate
Eco-Friendly Home
Movie and Family Game Night
Rest and Relaxation
Summer Fun
Green Garden

Click here for a list of contents in each basket (PDF File).

Each week of the summer schedule will be led by one or two certified teachers and either assistants or interns. The Children’s House Program this summer will include Ms. Jamila, Ms. Norly, Ms. Kit and Ms. Emma for varying amounts of time. The Infant and Toddler program will be run by Ms. Michelle and Ms. Sue. Please check back soon for confirmation of staffing schedules.

We are also considering the possibility of offering a summer elementary program. This program would focus on various themes such as physical education, chess, drama, music, etc. Before fully establishing the program, however, we would like to find out how many families are interested in this option. If you think you may be interested in an elementary summer program for your child, please email the school no later than April 10th.

Please click on the following link to download a copy of our Summer Information and Application form: Summer 2011

• The Montessori Goldmine Montessori Mom who wants to share all those Montessori ideas that are out there.”
• My Montessori Journey A blog devoted to Montessori education
• Montessori Mama Montessori education information from a Montessori teacher and Mom.
• Living Montessori Now Information and inspiration for parents and teachers
• Looking at Montessori Chicago Montessori teacher blogging about Montessori education
• Montessori Free Fall A parent documents the challenges, successes, and failures of teaching a preschooler
• MontessoriMum Parent blogs about Montessori and other topics
• Education of Ours A place to share the ways in which we introduce the world to our children

Apologies if we missed your favorite blog! If so, contact us, and we’ll be happy to add your suggestions to this list.

So it’s understandable if your child wants to spend free time indoors, and understandable if you want to let them.

But in the long run, too much indoor time isn’t good for your child. According to a slew of reports and research, simple unstructured time outside will help your child be healthier, better socialized, more independent, and to do better in school.

Yet, children are spending more and more time indoors and foregoing the benefits of outdoors.

A new health report published by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) highlights key statistics behind the worrisome trends. According to surveys by researchers at the University of Michigan children spend only four to seven minutes a day in unstructured outdoor play. A study cited in the NWF report found that today, only a quarter of children are playing outside daily, as compared to nearly three quarters a generation ago, even in rural areas.

A Seattle Times article points out that while parents take children to plenty of organized activities, there’s hardly any free time outside — “time for kids just to be kids.” According to the article, playing outside with other children and, yes, without parents or coaches, “Fosters imagination and helps teach youngsters to share, cooperate and solve problems.”

An article in the UK’s Guardian reaches similar conclusions: “Free and unstructured play in the outdoors boosts problem-solving skills, focus and self-discipline. Socially, it improves cooperation, flexibility, and self-awareness. Emotional benefits include reduced aggression and increased happiness.” The article cites a study published by the American Medical Association in 2005. “Children will be smarter, better able to get along with others, healthier and happier when they have regular opportunities for free and unstructured play in the out-of-doors.”

So yes, it’s hot, and humid but it’s still a beautiful world out there, full of wonder and delight. Your children might benefit from a bit of extra time outside — just doing their thing.

Additional resources

• Download the full NWF report
  Whole Child: Developing Mind, Body and Spirit Through Outdoor Play (pdf)
• NWF:
  Developing Healthy Kids Through Outdoor Play: Be Out There Parent Tips
• Rhonda Clements (2004) An Investigation of the Status of Outdoor Play, Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 5(1), 68-80.
  http://dx.doi.org/10.2304/ciec.2004.5.1.10
• Oprah.com Outdoor Ideas for Children
• FamilyEducation Outdoor Activities for Children Ages 6-10
• Education.com Preschool Outdoor Activities

SMS is our web-based mobile messaging system. It is used primarily for urgent updates, since all parents may not have access to email at all times. For example, we will announce outages due to weather via SMS. To get updates directly via SMS, visit the sign up page and complete the requested information.

Another way you can stay in touch with The New School via your mobile device is to receive our Twitter updates. To follow us online on Twitter, you can visit our URL @TNS_Montessori. To get Tweets sent to your iPhone or Blackberry, text follow TNS_Montessori to 40404.

We do not charge for either of these services, but your phone company may apply standard data rates.

So when Mr. and Mrs. Brin and Mr. and Mrs. Page sent their children to Montessori schools, perhaps they weren’t surprised when their sons later went to college and then founded a business.

But they couldn’t have expected the astonishing success of their sons’ enterprises. It was only a few years after founding their company that Montessori graduates Sergey Brin and Larry Page went public. The value of their company today is more than $150 billion. The name of the company? Google.

These two videos feature interviews with Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page who highlight their Montessori experiences. Two key points:

1. They credit their Montessori education more than anything (including Stanford University) for their later success
2. Their parents were willing to invest in their children’s education — an investment that paid off no doubt beyond their wildest dreams.

Google Founders Talk Montessori (Barbara Walters report)

Sergey Brin talks about his Montessori education