Hershey Montessori School invites you to Grandparents and Special Friends Day* at the Concord Campus on Friday, May 5, 2023, from 9:00 – 10:30 am. The campus is located at 10229 Prouty Road, Concord Township.
This event is open to grandparents and special friends of Hershey’s Concord students. We look forward to welcoming guests in the gym with refreshments. Guests will then be guided to the appropriate classroom to meet the child’s teacher and allow the children to share their work and introduce their friends.
Hershey will be using a valet service to facilitate parking and kindly requests that guests or the child’s parents RSVP by Wednesday, April 12, by clicking on the survey link in the email already sent to families. Additional details are provided in that email as well.
*Please note that if a grandparent is unable to attend, students are free to invite another loving adult to visit on this day.
An Open House is a set time for prospective parents and students to visit our school campus to learn more about Hershey Montessori School’s curriculum and culture. The Open House is structured to provide a better understanding of what a school has to offer. There are numerous benefits of attending these school open houses, many of which cannot be achieved by simply browsing a school’s website. Not only do open houses allow you to see the campus, but they also provide valuable insight into the programs and culture of each school.
What Are the Benefits of Attending an Open House?
Prospective families and students benefit greatly by attending a Hershey Montessori School Open House. There is only so much that can be learned from literature, browsing a website and its videos, or even peer reviews. An in-person visit provides greater understanding through physical experience.
When participating in a school Open House event:
You have face-to-face dialogue with school personnel and sometimes students.
You experience authentic classroom settings.
You learn more about the curriculum and will be able to differentiate between Hershey Montessori School and other schools.
You will gain a clearer understanding of the school’s values and its approach to education.
You will learn what outcomes can be expected from our Montessori education model.
You learn how the school communicates with you about your child’s educational progress.
You will get a feel for the culture of the school.
You will learn things that help you in your decision-making process.
You are given the opportunity to ask questions.
You will meet some really nice people! 🙂
What to Expect
You will be given a tour of the school building(s) and see our Montessori classrooms and our outdoor space that provides stress-reducing connections to nature. A presentation will be given, allowing time afterward for a question and answer session.
Takeaways
Attending a Hershey Montessori School Open House will inform and equip you to make the best decision for your child’s education. It will also allow you to visualize your child in the school setting and determine if it is a good fit. The feeling you get from being on campus will be an important indicator of whether the school is a good choice for your child and family. Ask questions, be open-minded, and trust your parental instincts.
HOLA Ohio and Painesville City Schools held a bilingual math workshop titled, “Counting on a Better Future” on Feb. 22, 2023. Approximately 30 students signed up for the program, which was designed to use gameplay to build math skills for Painesville City elementary students. As part of the project, Hershey Montessori School’s Spanish students volunteered to serve as tutors. To prepare for this community service opportunity, they had to first participate in a tutor training session.
“¡Qué experiencia tan maravillosa para los estudiantes | What a wonderful experience for the students!” stated Brooks Cavin, Hershey Middle School Director.
The free tutor program consisted of eight weekly sessions from 6 to 7:30 p.m. for students in grades K-2 and for students in grades 3-5. At each session, HOLA’s chefs provided a free dinner made for all students, parents, families, volunteers, and staff. During the workshop, HOLA also provided a wrap-around component and met with parents to assess and provide services or resources to support any household needs.
“Part of my main goals with the [HOLA] community center was to create a culture of learning in the Hispanic community and improve educational outcomes,” said HOLA Ohio Executive Director Veronica Dahlberg.
Addressing the need for math skills, Painesville City Schools Director of Teaching and Learning Wendy Camper explained, “As much as we are all focused on literacy and improving literacy skills – we’ve really seen – since COVID – a massive decline in basic math skills, which is leading to significant challenges as the children move up [through the grades].”
Hershey students had fun while serving as volunteer tutors and helping the students with their math skills while playing the games. Math skills are rooted in gameplay and are a fun way to learn. Some of the skills taught include: taking turns, strategizing, rotating, counting, logic, telling time, problem-solving, and developing fine motor skills.
During the event, HOLA also provided a wrap-around component and met with parents to assess and provide services or resources to support any household needs.
Hershey Montessori School looks forward to deepening its community connections with HOLA and the community service this relationship provides for its international and domestic students.
Students Excel with Experiential Learning, Using a Global View, Whole Systems Approach
Nicole Lederle, Middle School Guide
It started in the classroom and then continued in the woodshop, where collaboration met conceptualization, which ultimately led students to a new marketable product.
Nicole Lederle, leading Hershey middle schooler’s Industrial Revolution Humanities class, invited collaboration with Sean Wheeler, Hershey’s Woodshop Manager.
Students were assigned readings about the historical context surrounding production in the late 19th century, including an analysis of quantity vs. quality with cottage industries and factory production, noting related working conditions for minors and adults. Nicole wanted students to have a sensorial experience of a working assembly line. Sean proposed a wooden cell phone amplifier for a case study.
After a thorough safety orientation, students took detailed observation notes in the Program Barn as Sean made a single amplifier as a craftsperson would. The process required seven different power tools and the application of polish to reveal the wood’s rich, cherry color. Students were trained at different workstations in the following class, and in a future class, they will run a real assembly line, including counting how many amplifiers can be produced in the time it took a craftsperson to make just one while working alone.
Additionally, the middle school Humanities class seamlessly linked to the campus Microeconomy program, a cornerstone of Montessori education, which is structured to provide adolescents with purposeful opportunities to participate in and manage small business endeavors in order to grow through the personal experience of economic activity. Students were tasked with conducting a cost analysis.
Student-crafted wooden phone amplifiers
They learned that the phone amplifier’s raw materials cost about $5 per unit. Each finished cell phone amplifier sells for approximately $30 at market.
After playing music 30% louder than the phone’s unaided speaker, Sean measured a flat board that had been milled from a felled tree on the school’s campus. Each board was long enough to make just over four amplifiers. Stacking the boards, he counted by increments of $120 as students’ eyes widened: “$120, $240, $360, $480, $600…”
As adolescents use their brains and hands, working and growing in responsibility, they gain respect for the value of labor and learn that they, too, are capable of it.
Dr. Maria Montessori advised that educators should not give more to the brain than we give to the hand, and Hershey’s middle school guides are doing an incredible job balancing that, while creating a collaborated, whole systems, experiential approach for their students.
While the Hershey Montessori School’s 200-year-old sugarhouse was donated, dismantled, and reconstructed on the Huntsburg Campus in 2021, it wasn’t until this Spring 2023 that the sugarhouse would have its own maple syrup system.
Thanks to Martin Chabot, General Manager, and Jerad Sutton, Ohio Sales Representative, at CDL Sugaring Equipment, the students at the Huntsburg Campus, guided by HMS faculty Natalie Hudak, now have an 18” x 48” wood evaporator to learn the process, science, history, and fun of making their own maple syrup.
Butternut Maple Farm, Sugar Pines Farm, GTP Plumbing, Valley Hardwoods, and numerous other volunteers also contributed equipment, labor, and expertise. These donors are multi-generational maple syrup producers here in Northeast Ohio. Their reason for donating is to pass along their knowledge, passion, joy, and respect for the earth that comes from making pure maple syrup.
Thanks to these generous maple syrup producers and their forefathers, our students today have an opportunity to nurture their connection to the earth and carry on the historic art of making maple syrup.
Hershey Montessori School would like to acknowledge and give gratitude to Mandy Orahood, Organization Director at Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, for coming out to visit the Hershey Montessori Huntsburg Campus.
Guided by Hershey Montessori School student tour guides, Brigid and Claire, Mandy was introduced to the agriculture-related microeconomies and learned how these tie to academics and entrepreneurism.
The Ohio Farm Bureau is focused on growing the next generation of farmers and producers in Ohio. Along with trusted organizations like The Ohio State University,FFA (Future Farmers of America), and 4-H, Farm Bureau helps to promote career pathways, agriculture literacy, and provide economic opportunity, networking opportunities, and leadership development for young farmers.
Claire and Brigid talk about the microeconomy work.
Joyce explains the work of the students on the farm.
The students led Jane, Joyce, and Mandy on the tour.
Claire explains the work of the students on the farm.
The HMS team included Brigid, Claire, HMS board member Jane Neubauer, HMS farm manager Joyce Cole, and Director of Development Yvonne Delgado Thomas.
Imagine a beautiful place filled with activities that are designed around your needs, calling to your curiosity and imagination. Picture a community where children are surrounded by people who understand, encourage and challenge their strengths. Envision a child learning each day, immersed in a culture of respect and a course of study based upon personal interest and engagement.
Serving children from birth through age 18, Hershey offers challenging, highly individualized programs that focus on the uniqueness of each child.
Hershey offers an exceptional experience on two campuses, including the truly unique, world class farm school.
