Eton School Connections 2701 Bel-Red Road, Bellevue, WA 98008 Phone: 425.881.4230 Spring 2013 Eton Alumni Newsletter Celebration of Eton’s First Founder’s Day On Friday March 22, Eton School celebrated its first ever Founder’s Day by recognizing Dr. Patricia Feltin, who founded the school in 1978. Dr. Feltin came to campus to meet with students and participate in the grand celebration. She began her visit by having lunch and catching up with teachers and staff in the Mezzo lunchroom. After lunch, the Pre-elementary students presented her with lovely handmade tissue paper flowers, poems, songs, and even a dance. One Mezzo class performed “A Child’s Plea,” a poem written by Dr. Feltin in 1987. Another class enthusiastically sang the Eton School song for her with a change in the lyrics, “We’re glad you founded Eton School!” The fourth, fifth and sixth grades performed songs from their entertaining play, “Schoolhouse Rock.” It was fun to see the students’ enthusiasm in their wonderful singing and dancing. The seventh and eighth grade wrote a poem, “We Are from Eton School” and recited it as a choral reading. These older students beautifully articulated their Eton experiences. If you would like to read the poem and see some great photos of the event, please visit Eton School’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/etonschool.washington. Dr. Feltin believes every child has boundless potential and the Montessori philosophy provides the right environment for a child to flourish in many ways. In a Montessori classroom, learning is exciting and children thrive with the meaningful lessons using beautiful materials. Students gain confidence as they accept responsibility for their learning, and they feel empowered with their increasing independence. We carry on Dr. Feltin’s dream in educating the whole child according to the Eton School mission statement. The celebration of our first Founder’s Day was a huge success. It provided an opportunity for Dr. Feltin to witness a passionate continuation of her work and served as a powerful testimony to her dream. Featured Alumna: Anne Gaskins Anne Gaskins is a junior at Whitman College majoring in French Studies. She is in Paris as part of a Spring Semester Study Abroad program through Middlebury College and taking classes through the Sorbonne system of education. Anne thoughtfully and humorously shares her French experiences on her blog: papillonaparis.wordpress.com. Her wonderful writing is accompanied with great pictures of her different adventures in Paris and in other parts of France. The Lower Elementary students prepared questions to ask Dr. Feltin. Each class took turns asking Dr. Feltin questions, and she shared interesting stories about the early history of Eton School.