August 15, 2022

Dear Montgomery Lower School Parents,

I’m looking forward to what’s sure to be a wonderful 2022-2023 school year! The summer has been busy on campus. While our campus has been full of ESF campers, our teachers have been working hard throughout the summer, and are often on campus preparing for the new school year. With many new grade partners teaming up, there is much enthusiasm and collaboration happening on a daily basis. Creativity is already bursting through our halls! It’s always exciting to be around our happy teachers.

THEME - “IMAGINE”

As Tom wrote in his recent community letter, the theme of “imagine” will be guiding our work as a community for the year. This theme is a perfect fit in our Lower School! These are the years when imagination is limitless. Students know and feel that anything is possible. It’s our job as the educators in their lives to teach them how to communicate possibilities, take risks, and let their ideas and creativity flow. Through respectful acceptance of one another, students can freely explore who they are and who they want to become, receiving feedback and encouragement from peers and all the adults at Montgomery.

I read recently:

“A wish is something you hope for. A dream is something you pursue. A dream requires action. Stop wishing. Start dreaming.”

Teaching students to imagine, act, and plan are important life skills. We take ideas and help harness them into action- what could/might happen? What can be done to make this idea succeed and if it doesn’t work, what is the worst thing that could happen and what did we learn through our experience?

UPDATES:
Many of our grades have relocated to new classroom areas. Here’s a rundown of locations of each Lower School grade as well as teacher assignments:

PreK - same location, back of schoolhouse
Teachers - Mrs. Tracy and Mrs. Shellhamer
Kindergarten - new location, up the ramp and to the left, behind the stage in Bell Hall (previously second grade classrooms)
Teachers - Ms. Janney and Mrs. Occhett
A special welcome back to Mrs. Occhetti who is returning to teach at Montgomery
in our Lower School!
First Grade - same location, up the ramp and first classrooms on the right
Teachers - Mrs. Knauss and Mrs. Fragoso (formerly Miss Nedbalski)
Mrs. Masciandaro (Fillipo) sadly relocated to North Carolina this summer due to
her husband’s job. Montgomery will miss her, but she promises to visit often!
Second Grade - back corner of the schoolhouse, past the locker row to the left of Bell Hall (previously fourth grade classrooms)
Teachers - Mrs. Canan and Mrs. Clay
Third Grade - same location, just outside the back schoolhouse doors to the right
Teachers - Mrs. Berger and Mrs. Friz
Fourth Grade - to the left of Bell Hall, just up the stairs (previously fifth grade classrooms)
Teachers - Mrs. Bala and Mrs. Batson
Fifth Grade - outside classrooms, at the end of the sidewalk, past the Dining Room
Teachers - Mrs. Mulzet - Language Arts; Mrs. Kelly - Social Studies; Mr Kratz - Science; Mr. Hambrick - Math

We are excited about the fifth grade program for 2022! Fifth grade has always been a special year for our Lower School students. They are the leaders of the Lower School and at the same time, they are expanding their academic skills and competencies as they prepare to enter middle school. For the coming year, we are keeping the home classroom component that is so important for social-emotional connections, but we are also giving the students more specialized instruction in the core academic courses. As students embark upon this journey of a team of teachers, the students have the wonderful opportunity of having the same teacher team in sixth grade, as they transition into Middle School. Likewise, in seventh and eighth grades, they will have a new team of teachers for their last two years at Montgomery.

REMINDERS:

To all parents, please remember the importance of having your child to school on time in the morning and allowing for a transition morning time. Drop off can occur as early as 7:30 AM in our Early Mornings Program, which ends at 8:10. Parents can begin to drop off in the car line at 8:10 AM when administrators are ready to greet our students. Teachers begin to teach at 8:30 AM so having your child to school well before this time allows time for your child to feel organized and ready for the day!

Also, please respond to individual emails sent to you from teachers or myself. If you would like to respond to group emails, we like that too! It’s always great hearing from parents!

IMPORTANT LOWER SCHOOL DATES:

Lower School Parent Night for PreK through grade 4 will take place 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 22. Teachers will share with you their curriculum, classroom procedures and the exciting learning highlights they have created for your children. Fifth grade parents should plan to attend Middle School Parents’ Night on Thursday, September 29 at 7 PM, where parents will be able to spend time with each of your child’s teachers.

Parent Teacher Conferences have been scheduled for October 20 and 21 for all grades. There are no classes for students on conference days. MSD Camp is available for both days, and registration is currently open.

I look forward to seeing all of you on Welcoming Day, Thursday, September 1. New families will come to school at 10:30 AM and returning families at 11 AM. Enjoy the remainder of your summer days!

As always, if there is anything I can help you with, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at smarotta@montgomeryschool.org.

Warmly,

Susan Marotta

Lower School Head