Hershey News
Get an in-depth look at the rich learning experience of Hershey Montessori.
Hershey Middle Schoolers Build Computers, Experience Digital Age
In Hershey Montessori School’s Adolescent Community, studies in Humanities give adolescents the opportunity to connect with the whole of human history through integrated scholarship, including research, experiential investigation, and expression.
This quarter, some students explored the Digital Age. Students, led by Humanities guide Nicole Lederle, first began their exploration by learning about the evolution of communication, from the invention of the printing press to today’s growing use of A.I. (artificial intelligence).
Adolescents researched the ins and outs of computer functions, creating their own presentations on selected topics involving technology and communication.
The next step was to begin the hands-on execution of building their own computers. Students worked in teams of three to build Piper Computer models. The Piper Computer comes in a kit and is designed to give a hands-on STEM learning experience. It also provides students with the fundamentals of electronics and coding through the use of Minecraft Pi and a Scratch-like coding language.
Each model was put together like a puzzle and students got to see how the parts of the computer connect and work together. The adolescents took two class sessions to strategize, problem-solve, and build their fully functioning model. By the end of the second building session, students basked in the glory of their final product, eager to show the other Humanities class what they had accomplished.
The Piper Models consist of a wooden shell fully put together by the students, a Raspberry Pi motherboard, a screen, a small mouse, breadboards, and wiring for controls.
Hershey middle school students engaged individually, and collaboratively, in sophisticated academic and multisensory, project-based learning.
The hands help the development of the intellect. When a child is capable of using his hands, he can have a quantity of experiences in the environment through using them. In order to develop his consciousness, then his intellect, and then his will, he must have exercises and experiences.
Maria Montessori, The 1946 London Lectures, p. 130
Bringing lessons to life through an experiential, hands-on learning process is what truly captivates the student. Dr. Montessori knew this. Her approach to educating the whole child in this manner is what makes the Montessori method the sought-after education model families love providing for their children and adolescents.
Hershey Adolescents Undergo Suicide Prevention Training
Mental health training professionals from the Integrated Student Supports and Prevention Services for the ESCWR (Educational Service Center of the Western Reserve) came to Hershey Montessori School’s Huntsburg Campus to lead Middle and Upper School students in QPR Training. They were impressed with the students’ openness, respectful demeanor, and thoughtful questions.
QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer, and its mission is to reduce suicidal behavior and save lives by providing innovative, practical, and proven suicide prevention training. Just as people trained in CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver help save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to best help.
QPR training teaches both adults and adolescents to identify signs that other people, especially adolescents, may be at risk for attempting suicide. QPR is a nationally recognized, research-based approach to providing life-saving, short-term support and refers people to the professional help they need.
Hershey’s Huntsburg staff was fortunate enough to receive this training earlier this year and will now be able to share a common language with the adolescent students. Providing social-emotional support is not only a focal point in Montessori education but it is also a renewed commitment by school leadership and staff to ensure that every student has the support and the tools to navigate social and emotional challenges they or their friends and peers might encounter.
Through Hershey Montessori School’s close partnerships with parents, our Social-Emotional Learning program, our collaboration with mental health professionals through Family Pride of Northeast Ohio, regular student check-ins with staff advisors, and our holistic, adolescent community-centered Montessori approach, our goal is to guide and support students to recognize and respond to mental and emotional health needs for themselves and others.
For more information about the QPR student training, please visit the QPR website at: https://www.qprinstitute.com/ :
Grandparents and Special Friends Day
Attend a Hershey Open House or Visitors’ Day
Hershey Montessori School open houses are scheduled through May 2023.
OPEN HOUSE DATES
Registration is required.
- Wednesday, March 8, 2023 from 9:00 – 11:00 am
- Wednesday, April 12, 2023 from 9:00 – 11:00 am
- Wednesday, May 10, 2023 from 9:00 – 11:00 am
- March 31, 2023 from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
- April 10, 2023 from 9:00 am – 11:00 am
- May 8, 12023 from 9:00 am – 11:00 am
What Is an Open House?
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.
Hershey Spanish Students Volunteer to Tutor at HOLA Math Workshop
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.
Middle School Students Thrive with Hershey’s Integrated Academics
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.
The Sweet Flow of Maple – from One Generation to the Next
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.
Ohio Farm Bureau Federation Visits Hershey
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.
Your Giving Tuesday Gift Can Be Matched
Finally, Something Dangerous Book Launch with Hershey’s Doug Cornett
Hershey Upper School ELA Guide, Doug Cornett, has authored the second book in his One and Onlys mystery series. Finally, Something Dangerous: The One and Onlys and the Case of the Robot Crow will be released from Random House Children’s Books November 22 — just in time for the holidays!
Please join Doug in person at the Larchmere Holiday Stroll for his book launch at Loganberry Books in Cleveland on Saturday, November 26, at 1:00 pm.
Let’s congratulate Doug and celebrate this great accomplishment together!
About the Book
The mystery-solving trio, the One and Onlys, from Finally, Something Mysterious is back with another whodunit. Robot crows, a poetry-slash-wrestling Club, and a hamster infestation? This looks like another case to tackle!
As the excitement from the last mystery the One and Onlys solved is starting to dwindle, Shanks, Peephole, and Paul worry that their town is back to being boring old Bellwood. But as plans for a shiny town makeover get underway, they realize that the “old Bellwood” is anything but.
The glee over “New Bellwood” is palpable, and it’s hard not to get swept away by the flashy new milkshake joint and other developments that are quickly making their small town unrecognizable. But the One and Onlys can’t deny that something nefarious seems to be afoot–especially if the robot crow they stumbled upon is any indication.
Strange? Yes. Dangerous? Hopefully! Shanks doesn’t know how these things are connected, but she’s determined to find out—with the help of the One and Onlys.
If you are interested in learning more about our Middle or Upper School and/or our boarding program, please message us or visit our website.
