Meet Chef Byron

Afternoon, fellow parents!

I spent some time this morning getting to know Chef Byron, who has recently joined Sunflower as the head of the meal program for the entire Sunflower family, including the Seeds building. I sat on the kitchen floor with my camera and asked him some questions about his background, the importance of helping children fall in love with healthy food, and some upcoming menu items the students are going to love. He didn't stop moving the whole time we talked - the man takes his meal prep seriously. 

Video here:



He says nothing makes him happier than to see the children enjoying one of his creations. And with five children of his own, he's learned a thing or two about feeding young people.

Welcome to the Sunflower family, Chef Byron! We're glad you're here.

-Brooke

SUNFLOWER SOUTH - Today's Message Board

Some updates from Miss Julia, the Dostoevsky of the whiteboard. Most important to note is that kids in Miss Sam's class are going fishing tomorrow!

Sometimes - and I'm speaking only for myself here - things can get a little crazy at drop-off and pick-up, between the wrangling of shoes, coats, backpacks, art projects blah blah blah, and I forget to take a minute to read all the info that's posted on Miss Julia's message board. So, in case we have anything in common, join me for a beer, won't you? I've added this little "Sunflower South Message Board" doohickey to the bottom corner of the school website:

As Miss Julia updates the board, I"ll update that linked photo. It'll be there for you to read at your convenience when you're safely at home or work, surrounded by other quiet grown-ups who know where both of their shoes are.

If parents at the other buildings like this idea, let me know, and I'll expand it. 

-Brooke

SPROUTS: Get Well Soon, Miss Jenn!

Sprouts parents,

As you may have heard, Miss Jenn was in a car accident a week or so ago, and will need to take some time off to recover from her injuries.

We'll be keeping her in our thoughts as she takes time to heal. If all goes well, she should be back in the classroom in three or four weeks.

We've put an envelope marked "TO MISS JENN" at the Sprouts sign-in table, in case any little Sprouts want to make her a "Get Well Soon' card or drawing - I'm sure that would cheer her up.

Until Miss Jenn returns, Miss Evgeniya (mornings) and Miss Meranda (afternoons) will be in charge of holding down the fort. If you have any questions or concerns, you should feel free to give them a call. As always, Miss Julia and Katie will also be available to address any concerns. For your convenience, here's a photo of the Sprouts wipe board with the applicable contact numbers:



We miss you already, Miss Jenn! Feel better soon!

June Menus

Sorry for the delay on these - Chef Byron has just joined the Sunflower family and needed some transition time to get up and running. Looking forward to these delicious entrees and snacks!

How To: Pay Your Tuition Online!

HOW TO PAY YOUR TUITION ONLINE

(Just in case you've always wanted the option - of course, personal checks will still be accepted).

1. Log on to SunflowerMontessori.com, then click on the CURRENT PARENTS page (pictured below, just under the school's address in the header).

2. Enter the password. You can receive this password in one of three ways:

1. From the fliers that are being posted at the sign-up tables today.
2. By e-mailing us the name of your currently-enrolled child (I'll reply with the password)
3. Waiting for the password to be e-mailed with your July invoice.

Then, you'll be able to access this page:

3. In the PAY TUITION ONLINE box, enter the name of your child(ren) and click PAY NOW.

4. You'll be redirected to the school's PayPal page:

5. Enter the amount you'd like to pay (ideally, the amount owed on your invoice) and then either log in on the right side of the screen with your pre-existing PayPal account, or click on Don't Have a PayPal Account? and pay by credit card without setting up an account. Note the $7.50 "shipping and handling" fee. For the average Sunflower tuition payment, Paypal assesses a $15 processing fee; the school has opted to split that fee with parents. You can continue to pay via personal check or your own bank's online Bill Pay if you'd like to avoid this charge.

6. Review Your Information - You'll be sent to a confirmation screen where you can verify your payment account  and info before clicking on Pay Now. We've added a Special Instructions / Notes for Katie option. If there's any memo you'd like to include with your payment, just click on "Add" and enter your (completely private) message that will go right to Katie's inbox. 

 7. Pay Now - Click that last "Pay Now" button, and you're set to go!

Questions? Technical Issues? Let Us Know!

-Brooke

Sunflowers & Elementary: Summer Update From Ms. Katie

Hello, parents and families!

We have almost made it through the first week of school and it has been awesome.  The kids love their new, larger spaces and we are looking forward to a lovely summer.   Our garden is in and we are just waiting for our little plants to come up.  The classrooms and materials have been altered to accommodate the season.  A summer filled with activities, field trips and fun is upon us.  Thank you for sharing your children with us the summer!

We've begun referring to the former church building as "Sunflower South." All of the kids in that building see and socialize with all of the children in the whole building every day. Class assignments are for the purpose of dividing the group for swimming and field trips only.  We have split the Sunflower South kids into two evenly-mixed age groups for when we leave the school.  We have done this so the bigger children will be able to assist and mentor the younger children, especially when walking on the rope. 

Alyssa will be assisted by Jordan and Maddie.  Maddie is in her final year at the university and is pursuing a teaching certificate.  Jordan has lots of experience with kids and is a basketball coach to little kiddos.  Alyssa will be taking time off to get her Montessori credential in Kalispell this summer.  She will take an intensive training course which will then be followed by a one year internship.  She will be covered by Madison (who will be taking the training in the fall) while she is out.  

Sam will be assisted by Ellis and Rachelle.  Ellis was an assistant to Alyssa during the school year.  Rachelle just finished her student teaching and will be here for the summer before returning to teaching. Sam will be going on tour for a week in June and then will go to help her family during harvest in August and will be covered by Madison while she is away. Please introduce yourself to the new staff.  They love it!  

In addition, we have created one very small group of children who will be with Indima. These children are the youngest and smallest children who will be attending the swimming lessons.  This group will be allotted extra time for walking and dressing so as to avoid unnecessary rushing.  Indima will be assisted by Casey and Ellen.  Ellen was Indima’s afternoon assistant during the school year.  Casey just graduated from Frenchtown High and will be attending the University in the fall.  He was one of my very first Montessori students over 15 years ago and has two younger siblings who attend Sunflower. Indima will be taking two weeks off in June for continuing education.  Her shift will be covered by Cheryl when she is gone.  Cheryl is the support person for the children and teachers of the Sunflower building.

Alyssa’s kids will swim on Tuesday.  Indima’s kids will swim on Wednesday and Sam’s kids will swim on Thursday. On swim lesson days please send your child wearing their swimsuit under their clothes.  Please send your child to school with sunscreen applied.  We will reapply as needed.  Each child will need a backpack, a water bottle, a change of clothes and a plastic bag to put their wet swimsuit in when they are done swimming.   We leave the school promptly at 9am on swim and field trip days.  Swimming lessons start at 10am.  The kids are instructed for ½ hour, then have an additional ½ hour for free swim.  We like to have at least two parent volunteers for each outing, so please sign up by the sign in and out area.  It is very fun for your kid and a great way to be involved.

Thanks for reading this and have a great day!  

Feel free to call me with questions or ideas at 531-0994.

-Katie

Cool Things Are Afoot

I hope you've all taken the time to check out the new school website. 

One of the components of the site that I'm most excited about launching is the CURRENT PARENTS page - it's the last tab on the right, as you can see in the screen grab above.

This page is meant for current Sunflower families only, so is password-protected. Katie will be sending out the password with next month's invoices, and I'll probably put up signs at all the sign-in tables. The reason we're choosing to make this page private is that it's going to be the home to two cool features:

1) PAY TUITION ONLINE - We've set up an online payment system, so parents can pay their tuition with either a PayPal account or a major credit card. Of course, if you want to continue paying by personal check or your own online bill pay, you certainly can. I advocated for this new online alternative because I like the idea of earning airline miles for tuition, and taking a free vacation without the kids at the end of the year. Woot woot! (Yeah, yeah...I'm terrible). I'll post a separate tutorial as soon as my test payment clears and I've confirmed the system is running smoothly. (P.S., Katie, I want my money back.)

2) SCHOOL DIRECTORY - As we get closer to the start of the new school year, you'll be able to click on that big orange button and access a database of student names and contact info for all your birthday party and playdate needs. The last time we printed hard copies of the directory, we ended up using 1200 sheets of paper and it was overwhelming (and overwhelmingly expensive), and no sooner had we passed out the copies than new students joined the school and the directory became out of date. This will be a great, consistently-updated alternative.

Questions? Suggestions? Let's hear 'em!

-Brooke

Summer Schedule

The latest/greatest info on the summer schedule for Sunflowers and Elementary students has been added to the school google calendar. Click around here:

You can always access this calendar by clicking on the Calendar link on the right margin of this blog, or by clicking on the Calendar tab on the school website. Even better, you can auto-import it to your own personal google calendar by clicking that "+ Google Calendar button" on the bottom right corner of the calendar above.

SAM'S CLASS - Upstairs, Sunflower South

Sam's class will be going on Field Trips on Tuesdays, with Swim Lessons At Currents on Thursdays (beginning June 19th). You'll want to send your child to school on swim lesson days with his/her swimsuit already on under his/her clothes; the class needs to leave for Currents promptly at 9am, so there isn't time to help all the children change once they're at school. Having the swimsuits already on is also a huge help as the teachers are trying to get the class ready for swimming once at the pool. It's also a good idea to send your child to school with sunscreen already applied. Teachers will reapply later in the day, but again, it helps to get the class off to the pool on time if everyone is ready to go.

Each child should bring a small child-sized backpack with a water bottle and a plastic bag for holding wet swim clothes post-swim lesson.

Miss Julie will be recruiting parent volunteers to walk on the rope line and to assist the teachers on all field trips and swim lesson days.

ALYSSA'S CLASS - Downstairs, Sunflower South

Alyssa's class will be going to Swim Lessons At Currents on Tuesdays (beginning June 17th) and on Field Trips on Thursdays. You'll want to send your child to school on swim lesson days with his/her swimsuit already on under his/her clothes; the class needs to leave for Currents promptly at 9am, so there isn't time to help all the children change once they're at school. Having the swimsuits already on is also a huge help as the teachers are trying to get the class ready for swimming once at the pool. It's also a good idea to send your child to school with sunscreen already applied. Teachers will reapply later in the day, but again, it helps to get the class off to the pool on time if everyone is ready to go.

Each child should bring a small child-sized backpack with a water bottle and a plastic bag for holding wet swim clothes post-swim lesson.

Miss Julie will be recruiting parent volunteers to walk on the rope line and to assist the teachers on all field trips and swim lesson days.

INDIMA'S CLASS - Sunflower Main Building

Indima's class will have swim lessons on Wednesdays. You'll want to send your child to school on swim lesson days with his/her swimsuit already on under his/her clothes; the class needs to leave for Currents promptly at 9am, so there isn't time to help all the children change once they're at school. Having the swimsuits already on is also a huge help as the teachers are trying to get the class ready for swimming once at the pool. It's also a good idea to send your child to school with sunscreen already applied. Teachers will reapply later in the day, but again, it helps to get the class off to the pool on time if everyone is ready to go.

Each child should bring a small child-sized backpack with a water bottle and a plastic bag for holding wet swim clothes post-swim lesson.

Indima's class (made up of the younger Sunflowers) will be going on fun (but scaled-down) field trips on Fridays. Typically, they will walk to Sacajawea Park and be met by a specialist who will lead them in a fun and unique activity. Since this class is younger, we find it's easier logistically to bring the field trip to them, vs having them go on extended walks.

Questions? Call Katie at 406-830-3025, or e-mail her at sunflowermontessori@hotmail.com.


-Brooke