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Alumni Spotlight: Cameron Zona

Alumni Spotlight: Cameron Zona

Hershey Montessori School is proud to put a spotlight on one of our alumni, Cameron Zona.

Cameron was able to travel with the Mercury Theatre Company to perform in the National Performing Arts Festival on February 21-24. Cameron and his group were judged on national standards by four world class judges. They performed an original 20-minute cabaret, Disney on Broadway, composed of 14 songs from different Broadway musicals like Mary Poppins, Frozen, Aida, and Aladdin. 

The group placed first in their division and second overall and were able to perform half of their show on stage at Disney Springs. Cameron received an award for his singing, dancing, and acrobatic skills during “Seize the Day” from Newsies. 

While at the Festival, Cameron was also able to participate in master-class workshops run by employees and actors at Disney, including former and current Broadway and National Tour actors and actresses.

Photo courtesy Cameron Zona.

Upcoming Performances:

  • The Bridges of Madison County
    March 8-16

    Western Reserve Playhouse
    Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00, Sundays at 2:00
    Synopsis: This musical tells the story a love story between a woman and a photographer who has come to town to take pictures of the famed bridges of Madison County, Iowa. Cameron plays the son, Michael.
  • 1776
    April 11-May 5

    Ohio Shakespeare Festival
    Thursdays-Saturdays at 8:00, Sundays at 2:00
    Synopsis: This classic musical recounts the writing and ratification of the Declaration of Independence. Cameron plays The Courier, who closes Act One with a song that reminds the audience just how even when there are arguments happening within congress, the real problem lies on the battlefield.
    This is a good one to bring middle/upper school students to, great music and very historically accurate.
  • The 10-10 Festival of New Plays
    June 21-July 13

    Chagrin Valley Little Theatre (River Street Playhouse)
    Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00, select Sundays at 2:00
    Synopsis: Ten original one act plays, each ten minutes long! Cameron will be directing five of them selected from nearly 800 submissions.
  • Himalayan Dreams (a Tale of Nepal)
    September 14-October 6

    Talespinner Children’s Theatre
    Fridays at 7:00, Saturdays and Sundays at 3:00 (Possible 10:00AM school matinees on Fridays)
    Synopsis: The story of a Sherpa boy’s humorous coming of age adventure that teaches him about himself, and about his father, a porter.
    This is a great show to bring lower/upper elementary students to, entertaining and original play that teaches about another culture and preaches equality between all children.
Hershey Montessori School Celebrates Inaugural Graduating Class

Hershey Montessori School Celebrates Inaugural Graduating Class

Hershey Montessori School celebrated its 1st Commencement on Sunday, June 3rd, 2018. We are proud and delighted to have celebrated the Inaugural Graduating Class of Hershey Montessori School!  Recently students were accepted to the following colleges: Allegheny College, Baldwin Wallace University, Case Western Reserve University, Cuyahoga Community College, Emerson College, Guilford College, Hiram College, Kent State University, Lake Erie College, Mercyhurst University, Miami University, Oberlin College, The Ohio State University, Ohio University, University of Akron, University of Cincinnati, University of Dayton, and University of Maryland.

Our school profile provides more information about matriculation and acceptances, as well as the academic talent of our students.

We wish our exceptional students the very best and look forward to hearing of their experiences and achievements as they embark on the next stage of their academic or working lives.

“Free the child’s potential, and you will transform him into the world.” – Dr. Maria Montessori

 

 

Marianna Pasaret – Alumni Spotlight

Marianna Pasaret – Alumni Spotlight

Marianna Pasaret is a 2012 graduate of the Huntsburg campus of Hershey Montessori School.  She is a current resident of Austin Texas and was recently interviewed by ESPEROS in their SoHo stories blog which focused on Lifting Women Up.

Read it here!

Marianna is a multimedia artist, concentrating on a combination of digital and sketch work. She exhibited in London late last year and was Boss Babes’ resident artist last winter. Read her inspiring interview where she discusses what and who empowers her and how she lifts other women up. We at Hershey are very happy for her success both as an artist and an inspiration!

 

This Material’s Purpose: the Pink Tower and the Brown Stair

This Material’s Purpose: the Pink Tower and the Brown Stair

As the Alumni Coordinator, it is wonderful to have the opportunity to speak with alumni about their favorite memories and the lessons that have stayed with them through their lives. It is a joy to re-live some of those experiences while looking through photos of former students working in the classrooms. Let’s take a look at some of the work and materials we used and how those translated into lessons we learned later in our academic careers and lives! A variety of resources are being used to collect information to share with you (infomontessori.com, American Montessori Internationale, Montessori 101 to list a few). These posts will be called ‘This Material’s Purpose.’ Today, let’s look at two of the most memorable materials for a Montessorian, and those are the Pink Tower and the Brown Stair.

There were many reasons why we learned how to use and put together the Pink Tower when we were in Children’s House. It is sensorial work, which helped us classify what was around us, ultimately helping us with organization and adaptation to our environment. It showed us the difference between something large (the bottom blocks), and small (the top blocks), and also to learn the language of comparison. It helped us with motor skills and hand-eye coordination, and it even planted the seeds for mathematics lessons that we would learn later. The smallest block is 1cm cubed and they get larger by 1cm cubed up to the largest block which is 10cm cubed. This helped us spatially see the mathematical relationship of the blocks.

(Photo: Hershey Montessori School student putting together the Pink Tower)

 

The Brown Stair was also taught to us for many of the same reasons as the Pink Tower. Each of the ‘stairs’ or the rectangular blocks called ‘prisms’ are 20cm long, but the heights grow incrementally larger with the smallest stair’s height being 1cm by 1cm, and increasing in size to 10cm by 10cm. These materials helped us to understand thickness and recognize the differences in weight between the sizes. Like the Pink Tower, the Brown Stair helped us see relationship and a visual understanding of objects getting incrementally thinner and thicker. Another purpose for these two martials is called “materialized abstractions” – the sensorial materials help bring concepts that were abstract into the concrete.

Something very important to Dr. Montessori was that all of the materials handled by children were aesthetically pleasing. It was important because the materials needed to be desirable by us so we would want to touch them and learn more about them. As children, we needed to be able to feel and hold things to get a better understanding of them so all of the sensorial materials were of quality materials, pleasing to the eye and touch, and easy to manipulate. Dr. Montessori said, “He does it with his hands, by experience, first in play and then through work. The hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence.”

(Photo: Dr. Montessori working with a young child)

 

Is there a Montessori material you’d like to learn more about? Please comment below or email me at mwebster@hershey-montessori.org.

Thank you for reading!

Makella Webster, Hershey Montessori School Alumni Coordinator

 

Meet the Hershey Montessori Alumni

On March 16th, five Hershey Montessori School Alumni shared insights into our lives after Hershey Montessori School. Each of us are in different places in our lives and careers so it was interesting to see how we each have ways in common that our time at Hershey Montessori School impacts us in our lives, school, and careers today. Katie Vadakin and I participated remotely and Andrew Yarger, Connor DeWalt, and Leigh Emelko participated in person at the Concord Campus.

If you did not have the chance to attend, please watch the entire event on the Hershey Montessori School YouTube channel!  

You can also learn more about Hershey Montessori here

If you have any questions for alumni, please feel free to email them to mwebster@hershey-montessori.org and a group of alumni will answer them!

Thank you!

Makella Webster, Hershey Montessori School Alumni Coordinator

 

Community Reflections Part 2

Community Reflections Part 2

In honor of Montessori Education Week, honoring the sense of community that was fostered in us as Montessori students is important.

Many people go about their lives looking inward, asking questions like ‘How can I help me?’ ‘Is this going to benefit me?’ ‘What can I get out of doing this?’ ‘How can that person help me get ahead?’ While Montessori promotes independence, decision making, and helping the child to think for themselves, there is also an external focus to the work done, the lessons taught, and community that is fostered. In many, if not all, of the lessons that we learned as students, there was a thread that runs through them which is the betterment of the world and mankind – sometimes through the connection with nature and other living things, sometimes through projects that help the community run smoothly, sometimes through knowledge about historical issues and issues facing society today, sometimes it’s through the Practical Life work. Almost every lesson we were taught had a connection to the greater world – what we learned was to either directly better the world and those around us, or to equip and inspire us to make the world around us better.

(All photos are of Hershey Montessori School students or former students)

Dr. Montessori called children ‘a hope and a promise for mankind…’, said that “An education capable of saving humanity is no small undertaking; it involves the spiritual development of man, the enhancement of his value as an individual, and the preparation of young people to understand the times in which they live…” and that, “The child is capable of developing and giving us tangible proof of the possibility of a better humanity.”

Dr. Montessori said these things because she believed that her curriculum and the way that she designed an educational system are meant to educate children as a whole, not just academically. By educating the whole child and interweaving peace and community throughout the pedagogy, these statements she made are attainable because the alumni and former students will be living out the principals of peace and community knowingly and unknowingly.

 

Looking at the basic needs of an individual, the desire for community (and thus peace within that community) is one of the essentials. According to Maslow’s ‘hierarchy of needs,’ once the basics are met (food, clothing, shelter, safety), the next level of need is belonging, followed by esteem, self-actualization, and self-transcendence, which is helping others. Dr. Montessori designed a curriculum and a system that educates, develops, and encourages these innate needs which is a big reason why it works. She knew what mankind needed – belongingness, esteem, self-actualization, and self-transcendence – and developed an environment where those needs are met, fostered, cared for, and grown. The environment that Dr. Montessori envisioned was created by Hershey Montessori School 39 years ago with over 1,000 students having had the chance to experience it. In honor of Montessori Education Week, that is worth celebrating!

As students, we were taught that we have something to contribute, that we were capable of much, and that we could make a difference. We were recognized as unique individuals and given freedom within limits to foster our individuality within the greater community. Being encouraged in this way inspires us to better the world around us and to contribute.

Katie Vadakin, a Hershey Montessori School Alumni Ambassador who attended Hershey from 1998 to 2010 said, “…it has become extremely clear to me all that Montessori has provided me with. From people skills, to academics, to leadership abilities, Hershey has given me a perfect base for success.”

To sum it up, promoting community and peace alongside providing an education for the whole child results in students being prepared to make an impact.

Makella Webster, Hershey Montessori School Alumni Coordinator