On the pupil free day at the start of Term 4 the teaching and assistant staff from our school travelled to Southern Montessori School in O'Sullivan Beach to join with their staff for the day.

We invited Bill Conway from NSW to present to the attendees on the topic of "Discovering our Relationship with Montessori".  Bill Conway is a well known Australian Montessorian.  He is an AMI Administrator trainer, a past Montessori Principal, the conveyor of the recent Montessori International Congress in Bangkok and a MSCA Board member.

The session focused on the Montessori Prepared Adult and the stages of development for Montessori  teachers.  We spent time together reflecting on and interpreting Dr Maria Montessori's words and quotes.  In the afternoon session, staff got into Cycle groups and shared practice, set individual goals and planned a future follow up session together.

It was very worthwhile for our staff to have the time to visit another Montessori school and talk and share with other Montessori teachers.  In the past this combined professional development day has been held every two years however Covid put a stop to it.  So it was wonderful, after a long hiatus, to re-establish relationships, learn from each other and set up structures for the support to be ongoing between the two schools.

We thank Southern Montessori School and their Principal, Heather McInerney for hosting us. 

Cathy France

Principal

It is with sadness that we announce to the school community that one of our longest serving staff members, Ruth Nisbet will be retiring from her teaching position in the school at the end of this year.  Ruth has worked in the school for 26 years and over the years Ruth has taught hundreds of Cycle 1 children.  She has been a much loved staff member.  I thank her for the love and care she has shown all of her students.  Ruth has made a significant contribution to our school and she will be sorely missed by staff, students and parents. We wish her well for her retirement. 

Below are some reflections and words from Ruth.....

What is it about the school that you have enjoyed over the years that you have worked here? 

 Most of all I love working in a place where I know the people (the parents and staff) care deeply about children’s education and wellbeing. I love the shared ethos and the approach to student learning like children being able to work with uninterrupted time if needed, making their work choices and the benefits of working with Montessori materials. I love the staff camaraderie. I’ve been lucky enough to work with others who are supportive and know how to laugh. I've enjoyed the opportunities for personal development through new learning, for example learning about working with neural divergent students. 

And... the school is a peaceful, beautiful environment to work in.

What is a favourite memory that you have from your time here?   

 I have lots of favourite memories and it’s hard to narrow it down to one, however an event that I always love is our class café. Our class has been hosting this event since 2002 (with some variations during Covid years). Parent and family members are invited and sometimes we needed to call on some extra guests, usually office staff, so that each student had someone to serve. The first café we held was a noodle bar and it was such fun. It made sense to make it a yearly event after that. We’ve had cafés that served soup, Devonshire tea, pancake and pizza, to name a few. We work all day getting it ready and everyone is worn out by the end of the day.

What will you miss about The Hills Montessori School?   

 I will miss the people and the bond that we feel in our school community. The children, families and the staff make HMS a special place. It is such a great privilege to be a part of children and their families’ lives. I love young children’s energy, honesty, insights and enthusiasm. And I will miss seeing them grow (but I’m always hopeful to catch up at the shops). I will also miss the creative challenges that come with teaching. I will miss dreaming up ideas and making classroom materials. Teaching has been such a rewarding career for me and I’ve been lucky enough to spend most of it at HMS. I will miss the staff. Many of us have worked together for a long time and we feel like a family.  

Parting words 

“You're off to Great Places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting,

So… get on your way!”

Dr. Seuss, Oh! The Places You'll Go!

Well done to staff members, Lisa and Nikki, who completed the Heysen 105 Ultra Marathon last weekend. The marathon takes runners through beautiful landscapes along the Heysen Trail, from the Adelaide Hills to the Fleurieu Peninsula. For Nikki, this is her fifth marathon this year which forms part of the 'SA Five 50 Ultra Series' that she has been working towards. Congratualtions, what an achievement! 

We have observed beautiful focus and concentration from the children as they eagerly dive into their meaningful tasks right after the school holidays. It's a very colourful term as we embark on 'rainbow week' blending various vibrant elements into the program. The students have had a wonderful time with colourful painting, gluing, threading, and sorting activities which tie into our rainbow theme. 

We would like to welcome Lenny, Clem and Jemma to the Preschool and look forward to getting to know you and your families. This term we are learning about vertebrates. The children have revised what the difference is between a vertebrate and invertebrate and will be introduced to the five classes of vertebrates – Mammal, Reptile, Fish, Bird, and Amphibian.

 The children explored a variety of bones from vertebrates and brainstormed what animals they had come from. These included a variety of dinosaurs, a sheep, kangaroo, and lizard.

 For the topic of Mammals, we had a visit from Fenbee our hearing assistance dog in training to talk about what makes him a mammal – some of the comments by the children included:

“He has fur.” – Eloise

“He has a skeleton.” – Penny

“He drinks milk when he was a baby.”- Otto G

“He was born live as a puppy.” – Oliver

“I can feel his backbone.”- Leonardo

“His fur is very soft”- Elara

 The children also shared what type of mammal they had a home which included lots of dogs and cats, sheep, and cows on their farms.

As we dive into Term 4, Cycle 1 students have embarked on some exciting units of study. Children have taken on the roles of data detectives, using tally marks and surveys to gather information and draw meaningful conclusions about the world around them. A trip to our school's car park turned into a fascinating data investigation as our students observed and tallied the colours of cars. We have also continued with our exploration of the continents and the animals that inhabit each landmass. This has resulted in some deep work where children have been researching and writing information reports about animals, collating their own research portfolios.

In our recent art lesson, we explored the medium of clay. We discussed the properties of clay and where it comes from. We learned that clay is a natural substance derived from the earth and its composition allows it to be shaped and moulded into various forms. The students had a blast getting their hands dirty exploring texture and experimenting with clay manipulation techniques such as wedging, pinching and coiling.

“If you add lots of water to clay, it gets too wet” - Jack 

“Clay is made from earth and dirt."- Alinta 

“I made a volcano with lava.” - George

This term in the Acacia classroom we have a focus on poetry. We have been reading and analysing poems, exploring various types of poetry, and delving into poetic tools like similes, personification, and onomatopoeia. We enjoyed a special guest poetry reading from Wayne (Dolina’s grandfather) and we look forward to making and sharing our own classroom poetry anthology  in a few weeks' time. 

We have been working with the stick box reviewing the parts and types of angles in geometry as well as estimating and measuring mass with scales. 

Our art focus on textiles this term prompted a conversation about silk, which, in turn, resulted in the class deciding to acquire and nurture silkworms. We obtained silkworm eggs from the Nature Education Centre at Urrbrae and secured a steady supply of mulberry leaves from various sources, including Jack's orchard, Matilda's grandparent's garden, and the preschool garden.

We look forward to watching and documenting the silkworms hatch and move through their lifecycle and hopefully spinning silk. 

"I’m looking after the silkworms today, I have to brush them onto new leaves." - Tanush

"They like eating mulberry leaves." - Mae 

"They make silk, it comes out near their mouth. They start shedding their skin when they are 6 days old." - Tommy

"Their eggs are really small, one actually hatched on my birthday." -

Jack

"They eat the leaves as soon as they come out of their eggs because they are hungry." - Zeke 

"They make silk and then turn into moths." - Noah 

"They spin silk for 4-5 days." -  Zohair 

This term in science lessons, Cycle 3 will be investigating zoology and the study of animals. Our overarching theme for the term is animal adaption. We began by studying bird beaks and bills and how they are unique. The students explored how beaks and bills have adapted to eat or catch different foods. We had a range of materials available to represent the beaks e.g. pliers, tweezers, chopsticks and tongs. The students were tasked with using these implements to retrieve foods such as oats, marshmallows, cereal, marbles and gummy worms. This led to interesting discussions of which beak or bill is most suited to the different types of foods and why.

"Robins, blackbirds and chickadees have a straight and slim beak for eating insects and plants. I used tweezers for this type of beak." - Indigo 

"I used chopsticks to represent shorebirds. They have long and thin beaks and get food from the sand and mud." - Parker 

As the term progresses, we will also investigate how adaptation aids in animal survival, explore camouflage, conduct research to create animal habitats, and carry out independent zoology research. Our topic will culminate in a trip to the Adelaide Zoo.

In Weeks 1 and 2, we have dedicated our time to Place-Based learning. While some students have been exploring Bali due to our Indonesian language learning, those of us back at school this week have been actively engaged in various activities. We have taken walks to observe our natural environment, identified the colonial history of Aldgate, listened to our neighbour Kirsty Dodd as she shared the history of Wairoa, and participated in a series of workshops with Peramangk representative and artist David Booth to connect and deepen our understanding of Aboriginal culture.

Throughout these experiences, students will come to understand the breadth and depth of the significance of our local area for all people, animals, and flora. Beyond being just a place where they live and play, there is a rich history with interwoven connections and relationships. These connections span from Aboriginal and colonial histories to the germination of seeds that eventually lead to a meal on your plate, and even to the art that draws inspiration from native flora.

A note from the Bali crew!

“On Day 3 we started early with yet another delicious breakfast (try banana pancakes if you get the chance) before heading up toward Mt Batur for our mountain bike expedition. The bus wound up the hillside through villages, gorgeous rice fields and fruit and vegetable farms and we saw amazing pockets of jam-packed shops selling woven goods, wooden carvings and other hand-crafted wares. We stopped for lunch in a restaurant on the caldera of Mt Batur overlooking the summit and Bali’s largest lake. Before getting on our bikes we visited ‘Oka’, a small coffee house that featured the world’s most expensive coffee. A Lewak (a small monkey/cat-like animal) eats coffee beans and then excretes them. This process affects the coffee bean in some way that makes it quite the delicacy! The 12 other coffees and drinks sampled were delicious. The views in this part of Ubud are amazing so we took plenty of photos.

Once riding, we rolled 22km downhill through small villages waving ‘hello’ and ‘selamat so-re’ to locals. A highlight was the visit to a wonderful old banyan tree which was said to be some 500+ years old!”

Thelonious Monk: “All musicians are potential band leaders.”  

Sting: “If you play music with passion and love and honesty, then it will nourish your soul, heal your wounds and make your life worth living. Music is its own reward.”  

Ludwig van Beethoven: “Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy". 

Regardless of your opinion on the 3 musicians above, their words capture some of the realities that music engenders in us, in your children and hopefully in your children’s children.  We owe our children a glimpse into the reality of our world and, now with the depth of neurological understandings around the benefits of music, we can be certain of its benefit with engagement in it.  At Montessori, your child’s engagement in music is creating brighter mathematicians, deeper thinking scientists, global citizens, future leaders and even a few career musicians. 

Whatever transpires with your child's future, they will end up vocationally doing what they are required in this life to do, and music will be one of the lights that both creates and illuminates the future paths of your children. 

A number of students and parents have asked if we are entering the Stirling Christmas Pageant this year which is being held on Sunday 3rd December.

We are in search of one or two people who would like to take on the job of coordinating the Hills Montessori School float for the Stirling Christmas Pageant. 

If you are well organised, creative and love a challenge then come and express your interest in the office and we can provide further details.  

**Unfortunately if we don't get any interest from parents then we will be unable to enter this year.

The Oz Asia Festival is on and features theatre, dance, music, film and visual arts from across Asia. Of particular interest for families is the outdoor events  at the Lucky Dumpling market which includes delicious food, free entertainment, and fun for children of all ages.

Running from now until Sunday 5 November, the OzAsia Festival’s Lucky Dumpling Market has the sights, sounds, tastes and smells of a bustling Asian openair food market along the banks of Karrawirra Parri/River Torrens! It's open from 4.30pm until late from Tuesday to Sunday.

For more information, visit: Oz Asia Lucky Dumpling Market

Gravity & Other Myths would love to invite you to join us for an exclusive cinema screening of our most ambitious work to date.

Date Saturday 11th November 2023

Time 6:00 pm arrival for a 7:00pm start (bar service available before the screening)

Tickets https://wallis.com.au/piccadilly_events/the-pulse-by-gravity-other-myths-exclusive-cinema-screening-fundraiser/