November Events:

6th Thanksgiving Luncheon
10th No School
11th No School
12th Full Day
12th Site Council and PTA Meetings, FNM@Shaw
14th Gold Canyon Candle Fundraiser ends
24th-28th Fall Break


Dear Faith North Community:


Here are Mrs. Engdall’s top 5 reasons for you to consider a tax credit donation to Faith North:

5. You can make a tax credit contribution of up to $200 if single or $400 if married and *deduct that amount directly from your 2014 Arizona tax return! Like free money for you and us! Contributions need to be made by December 31, 2014 to apply to your 2014 tax return. (*Please consult your tax preparer.)

4. Our chickens and bunnies need to be fed!

3. 100% of our students enjoy the outdoor environments, your tax credit will help fund the cost of these programs!

2. Ms. Lauren and Ms. Karla love your support! Their work in our outdoor environments is crucial to a well-rounded Montessori experience. Tax credit dollars help fund them completely.

And the Number One reason you should give a tax credit contribution to Faith North: You can expose our students to new opportunities and truly change their lives in a positive way, and it is as easy as going to: http://www.phxelem.k12.az.us/district/tax_credit/ or snipping the coupon below
and submitting to the FN main office.

You can have an even bigger impact on the students at Faith North if you print extra copies of the tax credit form and give them to your family, friends and coworkers and maybe even post it on your Facebook and Twitter pages.

_____________________________________________________________________________
Tax Credit Donation for Faith North Montessori:
Name:
Address:
Amount:

Please use my donation for (circle one):

Greatest need
Outdoor Environment
Afterschool Programs
Field Trips

**You do not need to have a child enrolled in a school to take advantage of this tax credit, just reside in the great state of Arizona!

All the best,
Susan Engdall
Principal

Events for October:
2nd and 3rd Parent Teacher Conferences
6th-10th Fall Break
15th Site Council/PTA Main Campus
18th Parent Work Day in the Garden
24th School Pictures
28th Gold Canyon Candles Fundraiser begins
31st International Day of the Child Celebration


Hello Faith North Community!

How can you and your child make a significant impact on society?
One of the goals of a Montessori classroom is to assist the child in learning about their place in the world.
How does one’s presence in the world improve the life of another? The following are some examples of
how you as a parent can help your child lead a meaningful life.
v Volunteer your time.
v Lead by example.
v Determine which activities are meaningful in your life.
v Involve your child early on in meaningful activities.
v Read stories to your child about real heroes and heroines. Some great people that have made a
difference: Maria Montessori, Harriet Stowe, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Theresa, Johnny
Appleseed, Rosa Parks, Dalai Lama.
v Strive to be your best and help your child be their best.
Be sure to check Volunteer Spot on the school website for opportunities to volunteer your time right here in our community.
We appreciate each and everyone of you!
All the best,
Susan Engdall
_______________________________________________________________________________________

August Events:
12th Kindergarten Galileo testing at FNM@Shaw
13th Kindergarten Galileo testing at North
13th Site Council/PTA meeting at North
26th Literacy Night at the Burton Barr Library


Greetings Faith North Community:
A warm welcome to our new and returning families! A Montessori learning environment is like no other—our main objective at Faith North is to provide carefully planned, stimulating environments that help children develop within themselves the foundational habits, attitudes, skills and ideas essential for a lifetime of creative thinking and learning. Respect and courtesy in our school is the foundation for everything that we do. August can be a time of anxiety and nervousness for both children and parents. We will do our best to ensure that each child (and parent) feels loved, respected and safe.
Our primary children have a wonderfully full year of learning ahead of them. Days will be spent not only in academics but in the beauty of socialization in a Montessori classroom community. This year the primary child will:
• Learn how to put work away exactly where and how they found it
• Discover the importance of cleaning up after themselves
• Know the importance of a friend in need
• Be respectful of the materials, the staff and each other
• Always push in a chair, walk in the classroom, roll their rugs
• Work to be self-directed and find their “work”
• Be inspired and proud of their independence
• Work on the growth of functional independence, task persistence and self-regulation
• Be immersed in social development through respectful, clear communication and safe, natural consequences
• Be exposed to a large variety of materials for the refinement of sensory perception and the development of literacy and mathematical understanding
• Find opportunities for imaginative exploration leading to confident, creative self-expression
The elementary child will be strongly motivated by social forces! This impulse helps them acquire the culture of their group. It is a period that, psychologically, is especially sensitive and might be called the "sensitive period of culture" during which the abstract plane of the human mind is organized. This year the elementary child will:
• Be exposed to the cosmic plan through the “great lessons”
• Have the ability to escape the classroom and go on numerous field trips and “going outs”
• Exercise formal operational thinking that can work with logic, premises and deductions
• Enjoy collective work
• Become increasingly decentered (the process of being able to take another’s viewpoint and to consider more than one viewpoint)
• Demonstrate self-motivated and discipline in their study and habits
• Engage in opportunities for collaborative intellectual exploration where their interests are supported and guided
• Be supported in the development of self-confidence, imagination, intellectual independence and self-efficacy
• Understand their role in their community, in their culture and in the natural world
The middle school adolescent will bring 9 years of educational independence to the forefront, building successful, organizational systems for themselves as they begin move towards higher education. The character is seldom stable at this age; there are signs of indiscipline and rebellion. The chief symptom of adolescence is a state of expectation, a tendency towards creative work and a need for the strengthening of self-confidence. They will find great work in this environment. This year the middle school adolescent will:
• Map The World By Heart
• Participate in two land labs and an end of the year adventure trip
• Work on self-adjustment and cooperation
• Study the Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens
• Help create a caring, inclusive community
• Do project based learning in groups
• Enjoy electives
• Expand the understanding of oneself in wider and wider frames of reference
• Work in contexts of practical application of academics
• Engage in the development of self-expression, true self-reliance, and agility in interpersonal relationships
Stay in the loop by visiting our website, teacher blogs and interactive calendar. You will find the calendar located at the bottom left hand side of our web page.
We are honored that you have chosen our school and we are confident that this will be a wonderful year for our community.
All the best,
Susan Engdall and the FN Staff.

Dear Montessori Community,

As we close out this school year and plan for the next one, I would like to share changes in staffing and program changes.
• Mr. Robert London will be leaving our district to pursue other teaching adventures
• Ms. Tonia Easton, Montessori Resource Teacher/Coach will be leaving us to work closer to home
• Ms. Megan Trezise will be leaving the classroom to take the position of Montessori Resource Teacher/Coach. She will be replaced by Miss Ciara Goins
Our departing staff has brought great value to our children, our community and their colleagues. They will be greatly missed!

Here are the staffing plans for next year:
Faith North Primary Teaching Staff: Ms. Marisa Punchios, Ms. Jodi Schramm, Miss Robin Miller
Faith North Junior Elementary Teaching: Ms. Wendy Silver, Ms. Leisla Church
Faith North Senior Elementary: Ms. Gina Roam, Miss Fun Chan
Faith North Adolescent Program 7/8: Ms. Jennifer Matthews
FNM@Shaw Montessori Primary: Ms. Stacy Boydston, Ms. Krista Whiting, Miss Ciara Goins and Ms. Shaily Yogi
FNM@Shaw Junior Elementary: Mr. Chris Euzarraga, Ms. Paula Craig
FNM@Shaw Senior Elementary: Ms. Crystal Graham
Montessori Resource Teacher: Ms. Megan Trezise
Special Education Resource: FNM@Shaw: Ms. Yolanda Wheelington
General Music: Miss Corrie Box
PE, both campuses: Mr. Steven Larson
Art: Abby Christensen (pending board approval)
Reading Tutor: Ms. Denise Standage
IEIS: Ms. Shayne Sotelo
Instrumental Music: Elizabeth Laskowski

Program changes will include returning art as a special area class for the kindergarten-8th grades.

Please join us on Monday, July 28th for Back to School Parent Night to be held on both campuses. This evening is designed for parent information purposes only. Children should not attend. Times are as follows: primary 4:00-5:00, lower elementary 5:00-6:00, upper elementary 6:00-7:00, middle school 7:00-8:00. Tables will be set up to assist you with PEER Club, bus schedules, PTA, Site Council and other school information.

For Kindergarten through 8th grade, the first day of school is July 30th. New and returning preschool students have rolling enrollment – start dates will be posted at Back-to-School night. We can’t wait to see you again!

Should you have any questions please feel free to contact me at (602) 257-4069.
2014/2015 class lists will be posted on May 22nd. Class supply lists will be posted on teacher blogs.


Wishing you a fun and delightful summer!

May happenings:

5-9 Galileo Testing
9 Talent Show Rehearsal
13 Volunteer Breakfast
14 Site Council and PTA
15 Child's Play
16 Talent Show, Basket Raffle and Enchilada Dinner
19 Kindergarten Promotion
20 Middle School Promotion
22 Last Day of School/Early Release


Hello Faith North Community,

Independence and Responsibility…avoiding helicopter parenting
More often it starts with something like this: “Let me help you cut that.” “How was school today? Were your friends nice to you?” “I will tell Grandma you don’t like chicken.” “She was just misbehaving because she had sugar.” Or because the other children excluded her. Or the teacher is impatient. Or she fell off her bike. Listen up. Those are the sounds of your blades whirring.
Like most parents, you will irrationally assume this article is about you. Not because it is, but because we all participate in these activities from time to time. Then, we see our children in some setting independent of our homes, and we realize that they are capable of so much more than we are asking of them.
Perhaps you have heard stories in recent years about parents who show up to job interviews with their children, or call college professors about a grade on a term paper, or call their children’s employers about better pay or benefits.
The first part of the struggle will be recognizing when you are doing it. Think of your child’s life as a path. Every day you will face choices that present two options. You can prepare the path for your child by removing the big rocks, the medium stones, and even every little pebble. Or you can prepare your child for the path by letting him face as many challenges as you can stand. This isn’t easy parenting, but it is good parenting. It won’t always feel very good for you; it will make your child’s life a whole lot easier. It really will.
All the best,
Susan Engdall

January/February Events:

January:
8th Site Council/PTA
9th School Spelling Bee
13-17th Galileo Assessments 1st-8th grades
20th After School Enrichment Classes Begin
23rd Prospective Parent Meeting (main campus 10:00)
30th and 31st Early Release, Parent/Teacher Conferences

February:
12th Site Council/PTA (main campus)
14th Me and My Guy Dance (main campus) 6:00
17th District Closed
20th Prospective Parent Meeting (FNM@Shaw) 10:00
21st Regional Spelling Bee (Go Savannah!)
25th District Track Meet at North High School (5th and 6th graders 9:00-12:00)

Dear Faith North Community,

“Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.” Gandhi

In the Montessori classroom and (hopefully in your home), emphasis is placed on using real objects. Glass breaks if dropped, a child learns responsibility. Sharp corners poke if you bump into them, a child develops self-control. Paper tears if tugged, a child understands he must be gentle with books.
The child in a Montessori environment is not punished or reprimanded for breaking an object, but the entire activity/material is removed from the shelf until the object is repaired or replaced. Because it is the only material of its kind, the child understands that his classmates will miss out on that activity. He develops a sense of social responsibility and accountability that no amount of adult talk can instill.
Here is a favorite moment from a classroom observation: a child approached a material that he had broken accidentally and which had recently been replaced. The boy looked at the pitcher and fragile glass on the tray. He knew how fun the activity was, but remembered what happened the last time.
As he lifted the tray and turned his body the pitcher started to slide—he froze. His eyes widened as he waited for the pitcher to stop moving. He resumed his trip to a table, unaware of the poise and control with which he moved his body. He reached his destination, lowered the tray, and exhaled largely. A wide smile of satisfaction and triumph covered his face, and he poured to his heart’s content.
Nobody praised his achievement, but then nobody needed to.
Susan Engdall