Fall 2008 Meeting
 Music in Montessori Practice

From 9 AM to Noon on Saturday, November 1, we'll gather for the GPMS Fall 2008 Meeting at Pittsburgh Montessori PreK-8 at 201 South Graham Street in Friendship, PA, 15206.

This presentation will help teachers understand the basics of children's musical development, and will show us how to support that development in our classrooms. In addition, we'll learn some new songs and musical activities that we can share with our children the next time we see them--regardless of our own levels of musical accomplishment. Lots of active participation will illustrate the concepts presented. We'll sing and dance the morning away!

Our speaker, Karen Sloneker, plays second trumpet with the Pittsburgh Ballet and Opera Orchestras. A member of the faculty at the Rogers Middle School for the Arts since 1981, she has also taught music at Carriage House Children's Center in Squirrel Hill. Karen formerly taught in the Music Department at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and at Seton Hill College.

She holds Music Together Certification Level I, Early Childhood Music and Movement Association Certification Level II, and is currently completing her Pennsylvania Music Education K-12 Certification. She has been a presenter at the Pittsburgh Association of Educators of Young Children annual conference on two occasions, and has led workshops with early childhood educators on children's musical development. Karen attended the Music Together Certification Level II training this past summer.

She is a member of the Music Educators National Conference, Pennsylvania Music Educators Association, National Association of Educators of Young Children, and the Early Childhood Music and Movement Association.

For current GPMS members, there is no charge to attend ($15 for non-members) so click here to renew, or apply for, membership today.

When you e-mail us here to RSVP for this event, please include the following information in the body of your message:

NAME
ADDRESS
PHONE
EMAIL
SCHOOL
ROLE (teacher, assistant, administrator, student, parent, other)
LEVEL (infant/toddler), 3-6, 6-9, 9-12, other)
Any QUESTIONS you have that you'd like our speaker to address during her presentation

Make checks payable to: Greater Pittsburgh Montessori Society (GPMS) and mail to:

Greater Pittsburgh Montessori Society
C/O Seth Johnson
1154 Goe Avenue, FL 1
Pittsburgh, PA 15212

Click Here to RSVP! 

 Spring 2008 Meeting Recap
 The Importance of Community in Montessori Settings for Adults and Children

The Center for Montessori Teacher Education/New York is hoping to bring their Montessori training program to the Pittsburgh area in 2009-10. It will take 20 firm commitments for the Early Childhood certification and 20 for the Elementary certification to make this program a reality. Says CMTE/NY's Michelle Hartye, "By sending several teachers to this course, you will be preparing your school for the future."

At The Garden Montessori School on Saturday, March 29, we learned more about this Montessori training program, and discussed how to make it happen. That morning, CMTE/New York Executive Director Carole Wolfe-Korngold and Associate Director Deirdre Fennessy told us about their idea that "Montessori education is growing in Pittsburgh and the need for trained teachers is paramount to creating quality Montessori schools."

We were also treated to a presentation about Montessori communities. According to Wolfe-Korngold, "It's relationships, not only programs, that help us transform and grow. A great program creates the environment for healthy relationships to form. We thrive when we care about each other, when we have a sense of belonging to a community, and when we know we are making a strong contribution to our community. (Inspired by John Gardner, Maria Montessori, Bill Milliken).

"Without community a Montessori program is missing its reason for being. . . The support of GPMS members is paramount to the viability and success of this future program."

Click Here for More Information! 

 Executive Board Announcements
 May We Have Your Attention, Please?

Both Vice Chair Jennifer Sekerchak and Corresponding Secretary Mindy Forsythe have had to leave the GPMS Executive Board because they've each relocated out of the area. Would you like to nominate yourself or someone else to serve in their place? Please let us know!

Is there a job opening at your school? We'd be glad to help you reach interested applicants by listing your position at GPMontessoriSociety.org here.

Would you like to connect with other GPMS members and Montessorians? Join our group on the free, Web-based social networking site Facebook.com!

Your October 1, 2007-September 30, 2008 GPMS membership is expiring so it's time to renew!

Would your school like to host the GPMS Spring 2008 Meeting? Or do you have a topic or speaker idea? Please let us know.

We've started a new GPMS Media Lending Library, which we premiered at the Spring 2007 Meeting. Let us know what you'd like us to purchase next!

Would your school like to be a GPMontessoriSociety.org sponsor like these schools were last year? Your donation of $25.00 would help support our Web presence, as well as entitling your school to a featured Resources link on our site from October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009. Please get in touch if you're interested.

GPMS Members, please contact Immediate Past Chair Peggy Ward to receive, or cast, your 2007 ballot.

Click Here to Ask About the GPMS Ballot! 

 Local Activities
 by Seth Johnson

Over the past two months, a small group of 20 dedicated professionals have begun pursuing their Montessori Elementary I (6-9) training through a course offered by the Center for Montessori Teacher Education/New York (CMTE/NY), which certifies teachers through the American Montessori Society. This course is being held at Pittsburgh Montessori School in the Friendship section of Pittsburgh, PA, over a two-year period. CMTE/NY sends members of its faculty, including D'Neil and Michael Duffy, Joan Daly, Joel Wilkinson and Robyn Breiman, to teach summer and weekend sessions on a rotating basis.

Thus far, the course has included a mixture of philosophy and curriculum content, ranging from Montessori Fundamentals, Cosmic Education, and Preparation of the Environment to Addition Memorization and the Concept of Time. "It's an exciting prospect," says Robyn Breiman, Elementary Coordinator for CMTE/NY, "because it offers an opportunity to help in the process of building a community of teachers as they share this effort to transform themselves and their school into an authentic Montessori program. Because of the nature of the program (a two-year process) and because some of the participants are not working with 6-9 year olds currently, it is also an exercise in patience, and incremental implementation--which is a really good way to build a program."

Click Here to Tell Us What's Happening at Your School! 

 Other Upcoming Opportunities for Continuing Education in Montessori
 by Roberta Coutinho

October 16-19, 2008, Baltimore, MD
NAMTA presents The Montessori Assistants to Infancy from All Perspectives: The Journey from Unconscious to Conscious. This conference offers a unique look at Montessori from conception to age three in the context of the whole developmental continuum and lifelong learning. Montessori Assistants to Infancy express the highest hopes for human consciousness by responding to sensitive periods, developmental turning points, and human tendencies through optimal prepared environments, both at home and at school. Click here for the full PDF conference brochure.

October 24-26, 2008, Fairfax, VA
AMI/USA presents a Cosmic Education Workshop for AMI 9-12 Elementary Teachers and AMI Heads of School. More information

October 25, 2008, Pittsburgh, PA
GPMS will exhibit at the 2008 Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children (PAEYC) Educational Conference at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. This year's theme is "Children, Nature and Wellness: Open the Door to Learning," and will feature a keynote address by Cheryl Charles, President of the Children and Nature Network. More information

November 13-16, 2008, Garden Grove, CA
AMS presents Montessori: Excellence in Action at the AMS 2008 Fall Conference. More information

Click Here for a Complete 2008-09 Listing! 

 What Do You Think?
 GPMS Wants to Know

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