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Staff Spotlight: Johan van der Wee

Staff Spotlight: Johan van der Wee

Jun 1, 2021 | Featured Posts, School Blog | 2 comments

 

Our Staff Spotlight series is intended to bring recognition to Hershey’s amazing guides and administrators while connecting us with them in a personal way.

This month, we honor

Johan van der Wee

 

Johan van der Wee is a Children’s House guide at our Concord campus where he has been for six years. Johan and his wife, Katie Bodnovich, are the proud parents of their beloved dog, Betsy, who came from Rescue Village.

Johan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from the International Agricultural College in the Netherlands, and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Dayton. Wanting to further explore a career in education, he enrolled in the Ohio Montessori Training Institute and earned his AMI Primary diploma. 

Here is our interview with Johan:

 

Where are you from and where do you now live?

I was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands and am now living in Mayfield Village. 

 

What did you do before coming to Hershey?

I did outdoor gardening programs and nature hikes with children and families for Five Rivers MetroParks in Dayton, OH and for the Cleveland Botanical Garden.

 

What brought you to Hershey?

I was an assistant in one of the lower elementary classrooms in 2001. I loved the Hershey community and was very excited when there was a position for a Children’s House guide many years later.

 

What drew you to Montessori?

Children learn to make independent choices and are able to excel in areas of strength while working on skills that need more practice. The multiple age group creates an atmosphere for development of leadership and cooperation.

 

What is your favorite part of your work at Hershey?

Helping children to connect with activities they enjoy doing. It is always a joy to see a child beginning to write their own thoughts. 

 

What do you do at Hershey that is unique to you?

My education in, and love of, the outdoors combined with my experience working on farms and in outdoor education brings great passion and knowledge to my students. We spend our recess time exploring in the woods rather than on the playground. We see animals and creatures from deer and hawks to toads and salamanders. The connection I’m able to facilitate between my students and nature brings a calm and greater connection in the classroom.

 

What is your favorite Hershey memory?

Cheering on our parents and children at the “beginning of summer” parade at the end of last school [pandemic] year.

 

Where is your favorite place to go?

North Chagrin Metro Park and River.

 

What is your favorite thing to do?

I like running, fishing, biking, gardening, and oil painting.

 

What is a little-known fact about you?

During my 15 months as a Conscientious Objector from the Dutch army, I worked for an environmental education organization writing brochures and making educational materials for farmers.

 

Who has made the biggest impact in your life and what does that impact look like?

Spirited children have taught me the most as they encourage me to learn more about myself and how I’m doing things. They cause me to draw deeper from my Montessori training to build and apply myself and to reach the highest challenges. I’m a better guide to all the children because they inspire me to continually grow and be better equipped to handle all learning styles. 

 

What is your favorite book?

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse and Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer and Christian Johnson.

 

What is your favorite quote?

 “And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.” Max Ehrmann.

 

What is your favorite movie?

Gandhi

 

How would your friends and family describe you?

My friends and family will describe me as a kind, patient, and tenacious person who likes to bring happiness and joy to others.

 

How would you describe yourself?

Always looking for ways to improve a situation.

 

What is your happiest moment?

Hiking in the Pyrenees by myself.

 

What is your biggest life lesson you would like to share with others?

Be flexible. Have an open mind in everything you’re doing. Montessori is very prescribed and you follow the method, but I still keep my eyes open to other views out there that may contribute even greater benefit when combined with the Montessori approach.

 

Is there anything else you would like to share with others?

My years spent in outdoor education and visiting other schools is what led me to Montessori. When I visited Holy Rosary — now Cleveland Montessori — I was invited to do lessons about gardening and nature. Children were happy and self-directed. I knew that if I ever wanted to teach in a classroom setting, this is the kind in which I would want to teach. After 9/11, I evaluated my life and decided it was time to choose a new career path. I realized how important it is to have a world open to peace and that children are our future. Montessori is an education for peace. Life is short, but it is the longest thing that I will know. I want to make a difference while I can. It’s my contribution to the world. The events of 9/11 gave me courage to do something different, to create something different. I reprioritized what was important to me. I gave my two-week notice right after 9/11, and Debbie Guren connected me to Hershey. Sometimes life brings unexpected turns that lead to the most fulfilling, beautiful places.

You’re an inspiration to us all, Johan. Thank you for taking time to share with us. We appreciate you and value all that you bring to our community!

 

 

 

Hershey Students Taking Products to Market

Hershey Students Taking Products to Market

May 19, 2021 | Featured Posts, School News | 0 comments

Tenth and eleventh year Hershey Montessori School students are nearing the end of their Food Systems Project, a project that combines content and skills from the student’s Humanities, Integrated Science, and Business courses.

Hershey 10th and 11th year students each chose a food item to produce and sell at local markets. In support of quality production, students learned foundational food chemistry concepts and used scientific methods in order to improve their product. They also investigated historical, cultural, or social justice aspects of their product to strengthen their branding and story-telling. Students then calculated the price of production and break-event points in order to take a loan from Hershey’s Microeconomy – a hallmark component of Hershey’s Adolescent Community modeled after Dr. Montessori’s vision for adolescents to participate in, and manage, small business endeavors in order to experience economic activity as an introduction to real economic life.  

Students also presented their products at a “Shark Tank” event with guest expert judges. Each student’s project survived, allowing them to move on and finish readying their product for market.

The Food Systems Project students are now nearing the final stage of their endeavor as they complete the final tasks of website creation, food production, and packaging. They will take their finished products to local markets, making them available for sale to the public.

A list of student products is as follows:

  • Hot Chocolate Mix
  • Easy Aussie Damper Mix
  • Cornbread Mix
  • Sourdough Bread
  • Sourdough Bagels
  • Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
  • Homemade White Bread (great for those picky eaters!)
  • Maple Cotton Candy
  • Fresh-made Shade-grown Coffee Beverages
  • Homemade Fresh Soda-Pop
  • Marinara Sauce
  • Fermented Pickles
  • Smokin’ Mitch’s BBQ Sauce and Meal Plates
  • Conscious Chocolate Bars

 

Each off-campus market will have two to four students present, representing their items and Hershey Montessori School. However, all local, participating students will be present for Hershey’s larger Huntsburg Campus market.

 

Currently scheduled markets and dates are listed below. 

 

Willoughby Farmers’ Market

May 22nd

8:00 – 12:00 pm

 

Huntsburg Campus Market 

June 2nd

2:30 – 4:30 pm

 

 

Hershey Holds Senior Signing Ceremony

Hershey Holds Senior Signing Ceremony

May 3, 2021 | Featured Posts, School News | 2 comments

Hershey Upper School staff and students recently held a Senior Signing Ceremony as a formal declaration and celebration of each senior’s post-graduation plans.
 
 
This year, one hundred percent of Hershey graduates are enrolling at colleges and universities. Seniors were invited to wear apparel representing their chosen college or university. They were given a sign with the name and logo of the institution where they have enrolled.
 
 
Two seniors were also recognized for their athletic commitments; Lucy McNees for tennis and Michael Swank for lacrosse.
 
 
We wish our soon-to-be graduates much happiness as they begin to transition into the next chapter of their lives. We are proud of who they are, what they have accomplished, and we are certain they will make an impact wherever they go.
Staff Spotlight: Valerie Raines

Staff Spotlight: Valerie Raines

Apr 14, 2021 | Featured Posts, School Blog | 0 comments

 

We created a Staff Spotlight series to bring recognition of the many amazing guides and administrators while connecting with them in a personal way.

This month, we honor

Valerie Raines

 

Valerie Raines has been with Hershey Montessori School since 2015. She serves as our College Counselor to Upper School students and families. She works with students from grades ten through twelve as they make plans for their life after high school. Valerie provides advice and support in navigating college selections, college admissions, scholarships, and financial aid.

Valerie’s career includes three decades of service in education and philanthropy with positions at Laurel School, Oberlin College, Connecticut College, the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, United Way, and KeyBank Foundation. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Northwestern University and her master’s degree at Case Western Reserve University. She is also president of VRaines Consulting.

Her knowledge, expertise, and passion for what she does makes for an invaluable gift we are all grateful for at Hershey.

Check out our interview with Valerie below.

 

Where are you from and where do you now live?

I grew up in Cleveland, and lived in Illinois and Connecticut. I have traveled to most U.S. states and across Canada. I’ve also been to South America, Africa, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

 

What did you do before coming to Hershey?

I worked in admissions at Connecticut College and Oberlin College. I was college counselor at Laurel School (my alma mater). At KeyBank Foundation, I facilitated grants for education programs.

 

What brought you to Hershey?

I met Laurie and Jim Ewert-Krocker at a gala for Montessori High School in Cleveland. At the time, Hershey was looking for a college counselor for the new Upper School.

 

What drew you to Montessori?

My son attended Ruffing Montessori School in Cleveland Heights. As a college admissions recruiter, I visited hundreds of schools that felt like cinderblock tunnels where students had factory-like experiences. I knew I didn’t want that for my child and that all children deserved better learning environments and experiences.

 

What is your favorite part of your work at Hershey?

I love celebrating with 12th graders when college acceptances arrive. I also love getting started with 10th graders because we begin earlier than other schools and the students are so excited!

 

What is your favorite Hershey memory?

Our day trips on the Hershey bus to visit nearby colleges with our students: Allegheny, Wooster, Kent State, Hiram, Cleveland State, Case Western Reserve, Lakeland Community College, Oberlin, John Carroll, and Mount Union. I love hearing their oohs and aahs as they discover what is possible at colleges.

 

Where is your favorite place to go?

I long for the spectacular fireworks in Sydney, Australia every New Year’s Eve!

 

What is your favorite thing to do?

I love summer festivals for jazz and theater in Canada.

 

What is a little-known fact about you?

I’ve been cutting my own hair during COVID (don’t inspect too closely).

 

Who has made the biggest impact in your life and what does that impact look like?

I have benefited from a loving family and strong network of educators my whole life. I am inspired by how they have gone extra miles to foster and celebrate my successes.

 

What is your favorite book?

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I still wonder about those characters.

 

What is your favorite quote?

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Dr. Martin Luther King in “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”

 

What is your favorite movie?

Fences, based upon the play by August Wilson, starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis.

 

How would your friends and family describe you?

Caring, determined, always learning.

 

How would you describe yourself?

Always looking for ways to address big problems.

 

What is your happiest moment?

Seeing my son graduate (high school and college).

 

What is your biggest life lesson you would like to share with others?

Adapt to what life calls upon you to do and find the lessons in each situation you are in.

 

That is great advice and profound wisdom, Valerie.

Thank you for taking time to share with us. On behalf of students, families, and all Hershey staff, we appreciate you and greatly value what you bring to our community!

 

 

 

Hershey Embarks on Social Discovery Journey

Hershey Embarks on Social Discovery Journey

Mar 18, 2021 | Featured Posts, School News | 0 comments

“The crises we are witnessing is not one of those that make the passage from one era to another, it can only be compared with the opening of a new Biological or Geological period, when new beings come upon the scene, more evolved and more perfect, while upon the earth are realized conditions of life, which had never existed before.” Dr. Maria Montessori, Peace and Education (1932)

The events that unfolded over the last year brought a heightened awareness of the social injustice and inequity that has plagued our nation’s history and profoundly affected fellow citizens.

Dr. Montessori, and many other scientists, demonstrated that an education that removes the obstacles for healthy development, and that allows the student’s innate energies for good to develop in accordance with their natural capacity, will reveal a “new child” who is intellectually independent and emotionally drawn to contribute to moral and social conditions of their environments.

That is why this year’s whole school professional development day centered on social-emotional development that included emotional intelligence and communication skills, as well as social leadership capacities and abilities. We learned about Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) from specialists with Cleveland consulting firm Sage and Maven.

A number of staff as well as some Upper School students also took the opportunity to dive deeper into learning about Restorative Justice with specialist Tarek Maassarani. Maassarani’s work on the science of peace, on both the national and international level, includes organizations such as Restorative DC and Communities in Transition.

Several topics were covered in the two half-day sessions, including Privilege, LGBTQ language, how we create our identity, the difference between explicit and implicit bias, the difference between “not racist” versus “anti-racist,” the different types of racism, and restorative practices.

Hershey staff deepened their understanding of how to create practices and environments that strengthen community inclusion and connection so that our students will learn even more about community responsibility and leadership.

“It is this conviction that imbues us with hope that education may be the most effective instrument to attain the union of all humanity. To this end, education must channel the powerful creative energies of the child toward an ultimate spiritual independence, utilizing to its utmost (their) miraculous capacity for adaptation, according to an ideal of altruism and love.” – Dr. Maria Montessori, Citizen of the Word, San Remo Lectures, Montessori-Pierson Publishing Co. (1949)

A DEIB circle (a.k.a. “committee”) has also been formed to help further progress in this area. The circle is made up of staff and Upper school students who select consultants and trainers, meet and attend workshops, webinars, and trainings for the purpose of sharing and advancing DEIB work and initiatives at Hershey Montessori School.

“There was a group of seven students who participated in the 3-hour workshop, which focused on being actively affirming and inclusive of all identities,” said Lucy McNees, a senior at Hershey.

She and two other Upper School students, sophomore Kylie Golden-Appleton and senior Cecilia Carney, lead an antiracism initiative and meet with the DEIB circle biweekly to discuss the school’s efforts and goals.

“In this way, we can move forward with the whole community on the same page,” says McNees.

As a staff and whole school, Hershey will continue to ensure it has healthy, prepared environments that allow for personal reflection and deep dialogue about our personal contribution to growth in DEIB.

Self-awareness and growing in social emotional intelligence as a community can be wonderfully restorative and inclusive. It is important that Hershey maintains an environment where all feel safe, represented, heard and valued.

Watch for a Hershey DEIB resource webpage to come in the near future.

 

Alumni Spotlight: Maya Harwood ’20

Alumni Spotlight: Maya Harwood ’20

Mar 18, 2021 | Alumni Spotlight, Featured Posts, Hershey Alumni, School Blog | 0 comments

Featuring Maya Harwood, Class of 2020

Maya is from Cleveland Ohio and attended Hershey Montessori School for sixteen years. She began her Hershey journey back in 2004 in our Children’s House program when her mom, desiring a Montessori education for her, chose Hershey while in the process of house hunting.

Maya graduated from Hershey in the spring of 2020. She has since enrolled in the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Savannah, Georgia. She is currently studying to receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Film & Television and her of Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Dramatic Writing. Maya is currently undergoing her studies remotely, living at home with her turtle, Fred, and her new Labradoodle, Sadie May.

Maya’s friends describe her as dedicated, hardworking, and responsible, and hardworking is an adjective she and those of us at Hershey would agree with. Along with her current school studies, Maya does video project work for Hershey.

Here are some fast facts about Maya. We wonder if her friends or fellow alumni know these things about her.

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Favorite part of attending Hershey?

The freedom that we were allowed to have throughout their day.

 

Favorite memory of Hershey?

My sixth grade trip to Washington DC and my ninth grade trip to Findley Lake, New York, which was part of her Education and Peace class.

 

Favorite space at the Upper School?

It was either the Upper School Café or the Community Room.

 

Enjoyed most about senior year?

Being able to go off campus for lunch.

 

Favorite book?

The Harry Potter Series.

 

Favorite movie?

The Devil All the Time and Harry Potter.

 

Happiest moment?

Being a camper during the summer, which later led me to become a camp counselor.

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 It was great to catch up with you, Maya. We wish you all the best and look forward to our continued connection.

Thanks for chatting with us!