A look back in time report music notes >>> Can you hear the difference? Celebrating our 20th year Can you tell the difference between a young musician and a professional violinist just by listening? Of course you can! Kristina is excited to begin working with all of our new and returning students as they develop their skills as young musicians. An important part of being a successful musician is practice. Yes, we’ll all admit it’s not the glamorous part, but it is extremely important. Just like one must practice hitting the ball in order to be a successful baseball player, musicians need to spend time playing their instruments outside of school. Sedona Charter School is known for our amazing strings program and we want to continue to develop young musicians with a love of music and a desire for excellence. Parents: Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to require (yes, I said require) your children to practice their instruments at home. The rewards will be eternal and you will be amazed at how quickly they progress. Roadrunner academic excellence … personal growth … small school environment August 2014 >>> A publication of Sedona Charter School K-8 Tuition-free Montessori School Writing and Design: Bethany Cathcart Photography: Alice Madar Editor: Jane Cathcart in this issue >>> Celebrating our 20th year Cosmic Education Classroom Make-overs Primary Corner Alumni News Letter From the President Every organization or school had a beginning, and we are taking this 20th year to take a look back in time to discover our roots and learn about those who had the vision to start Sedona Charter School as well as the people along the way who made it possible. We can thank the parents of children graduating from Miss Gail’s pre-school and kindergarten at Sedona Montessori School for their vision to get the ball rolling! Realizing there were no local elementary schools providing Montessori based education, they took advantage of the new charter school law and worked to build a school where their children could continue learning in the same style and learning environment to which they were accustomed. Sedona Charter School was born in 1995 and was one of the first charters granted in the state of Arizona. After months of planning and working with both the City and Sedona Oak Creek School District, a modular classroom was set up near the Deer Trail campus and school began with Bob Wentsch leading grades 1-2 and Chris McGee teaching grades 3-5. Enrollment capped at 90 students in several locations around town including White Bear Trail next to the library which eventually became the Middle School campus. Our design team had the vision to begin working on the charter before the new AZ charter school law even went into effect to ensure ours would be one of the first charters granted. With only 27 of the original 55 charter schools still operating, we are among the strongest in the state. Sedona Charter School was one of the first 3 charters granted in the state of Arizona. This school year we celebrate our 20th year of educating children in Sedona.
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Transcript
A look back in time
report music notes >>>
Can you hear the difference? Celebrating our 20th year
Can you tell the difference
between a young musician
and a professional violinist
just by listening? Of course you can!
Kristina is excited to begin working with all
of our new and returning students as they
develop their skills as young musicians. An
important part of being a successful musician is
practice. Yes, we’ll all admit it’s not the
glamorous part, but it is extremely important.
Just like one must practice hitting the ball in
order to be a successful baseball player,
musicians need to spend time playing their
instruments outside of school.
Sedona Charter School is known for our
amazing strings program and we want to
continue to develop young musicians with a
love of music and a desire for excellence.
Parents: Your mission, should you choose to
accept it, is to require (yes, I said require) your
children to practice their instruments at home.
The rewards will be eternal and you will be
amazed at how quickly they progress.
Roadrunner academic excellence … personal growth … small school environment
August 2014 >>>
A publication of Sedona Charter School
K-8 Tuition-free Montessori School
Writing and Design: Bethany Cathcart
Photography: Alice Madar
Editor: Jane Cathcart
in this issue >>>
Celebrating our 20th year
Cosmic Education
Classroom Make-overs
Primary Corner
Alumni News
Letter From the President
Every organization or school had a
beginning, and we are taking this 20th year
to take a look back in time to discover our
roots and learn about those who had the
vision to start Sedona Charter School as well
as the people along the way who made it
possible.
We can thank the parents of children
graduating from Miss Gail’s pre-school and
kindergarten at Sedona Montessori School
for their vision to get the ball rolling!
Realizing there were no local elementary
schools providing Montessori based
education, they took advantage of the new
charter school law and worked to build a
school where their children could continue
learning in the same style and learning
environment to which they were
accustomed.
Sedona Charter School was born in
1995 and was one of the first charters
granted in the state of Arizona. After
months of planning and working with
both the City and Sedona Oak Creek
School District, a modular classroom
was set up near the Deer Trail campus
and school began with Bob Wentsch
leading grades 1-2 and Chris McGee
teaching grades 3-5. Enrollment
capped at 90 students in several
locations around town including White
Bear Trail next to the library which
eventually became the Middle School
campus.
Our design team had the vision to
begin working on the charter before the
new AZ charter school law even went
into effect to ensure ours would be one
of the first charters granted. With only
27 of the original 55 charter schools
still operating, we are among the
strongest in the state.
Sedona Charter School was one of
the first 3 charters granted in the
state of Arizona. This school year
we celebrate our 20th year of
educating children in Sedona.
From new carpeting in the LE classroom
to a new playground surface in the pit, Sedona
Charter School has had a busy summer
preparing for school to begin on August 6th.
We’d like to thank all of our parent volunteers
who helped move furniture for our new carpet
to be installed and the many parents and
students who shoveled, raked and rolled bark
for our new playground surface.
Bob, Terri, Ginny, Katarina, and Lucille
have worked diligently to prepare the LE
classroom so that everything students come in
contact with will facilitate and maximize
independent learning and exploration.
Allowing for movement and activity, students
are able to work on the materials at their own
pace permitting each child to experience a
combination of success, freedom and self-
discipline. Our classroom is designed to invite
the learner to come in and work. The
classroom is arranged so that students are able
upper elementary >>>
Cosmic Education Have your children ever asked, “Who am I”? Have
you ever wondered why you exist on this planet?
Cosmic Education was developed by Maria Montessori as a result of her wartime
experiences, designed to help students make sense of their point in time and where they fit
in the world. Rather than focusing her camera on one subject, she sought to capture the
panoramic view, teaching students about themselves as human beings who could make a
difference in their world.
The universe is an imposing reality, and an answer to all questions. All things are
part of the universe and are connected to each other to form one whole unity. The
idea helps the mind of the child to become focused, to stop wandering in an
aimless quest for knowledge. He is satisfied having found the universal center of
himself with all things. Maria Montessori, To Educate the Human Potential
Cosmic Education, simply stated, encompasses so much. It goes beyond traditional
curriculum and teaches children that they are a part of the total creation and have an
important part in it. The natural world comes alive, as does their place in it. Students who
participate in this system of education are better prepared for success as adolescents and as
adults because they develop a sense of themselves as independent individuals with a
balanced understanding of who they are and what role they plan in society. They are able
to reach for the starts and they understand their limits. They understand the necessity to
seek help when needed and the importance of acting responsibly.
Like Maria Montessori, Bill, Shandra and Jim believe that Cosmic Education will
allow children to grow into responsible sons and daughters of the great human family,
with the understanding, ethics, and self-knowledge needed to transform the world.
lower elementary >>>
to help each other and the teacher is not the
only resource. The learning environment is
designed so that students are drawn to work
through activities. Developmentally
appropriate material are carefully placed in
the classroom and move from simple to
complex and concrete to abstract. LE students
are given the freedom to develop their unique
potential through a carefully thought out
learning space.
The purpose of this prepared environment
is to develop the whole personality of the
child, both academically and socially. As
students move out of the classroom to the
playground area, their prepared environment
continues to be safe and orderly. The pit
provides a sustainable, durable, and natural
environment for students to run off extra
energy, socialize with friends and play safely.
Our new engineered wood playground surface
meets all IPEMA standards, providing high
impact absorbing qualities while
guaranteeing a firm, slip resistant surface.
Whether through teamwork on the
playground or academics in the classroom,
our goal is for students to build up an inner
sense of purpose and motivation. This is a
lifelong, intrinsic value that will serve
them well throughout their educational
career and lives. Believing that the
responsibility for learning rests upon each
student, our task is to create the most
conducive environment for successful
learning .
Absorbent Minds Sedona Montessori School is guided by
the observations of Dr. Maria Montessori,
who believed that each child is unique in his
abilities, personality and interests; therefore,
each child should be taught in a unique way.
She was so passionate about this that she
wrote a book called “The Absorbent Mind.”
Our preschool and kindergarten program
is based on the belief that during the first six
years of life, children should develop through
purposeful “work” in an environment that
allows for intellectual freedom and
exploration. During these foundational years
the child’s mind is exceptionally absorbent.
As the children strive to attain their potential,
they
develop
attitudes
and
confidence
that will
serve them
throughout
their lives.
primary >>>
Rejuvenate the Learning Spaces
Peter Paley demonstrates the scale of this project.
The semi load of play-n-fall wood chips are off the
driveway and in the
playground ready for the new school
year!
It is a fundamental principle of Montessori education to carefully prepare the environment for learning.
ask a teacher >>> What do you remember most about our school’s first year?