Transparent Classroom is an online tool that we utilise in our school from Cycle 1 Preschool through to Cycle 3. It is a tool that teaching staff use for planning lessons for students, record keeping, tracking progress and informing parents of their child’s learning.
Transparent Classroom is specifically designed for Montessori educators and schools. Over 2570 Montessori Schools across the world use Transparent Classroom.
It also provides parents with information on the Montessori learning materials and activities. For example, if parents were unsure what the ‘binomial cube’ is, they have access to a clickable link that briefly explains this Montessori piece of material.
Using Transparent Classroom, staff are able to send photos to parents via email or a mobile app to show their child working on different activities throughout the day. Staff enter their presentations, observations, notes and photos and this forms part of their record keeping. As students move through the school the data remains and is built onto so that it forms a comprehensive record of the child’s progress across the cycles. As well as recording Montessori presentations and activities, staff are able to enter the content and achievement standards from the Australian curriculum and use these in conjunction with the Montessori curriculum for planning and recording purposes. Transparent Classroom forms part of our Reporting to Parents procedures in the Preschool and Primary classes.
In the past we have sent home a “Snap Shot Book” to parents in Term 3 each year which includes photos and annotations of students learning across the curriculum areas. As of this year we will no longer send home Snap Shot Books in Term 3 as Transparent Classroom has proved to be a favourable replacement. Many parents comment positively to the photos and notes that are sent home via Transparent Classroom. We hope that you have enjoyed seeing the different learning activities that your child has been involved in using Transparent Classroom.
In Term 3 this year, however, we will trial a new event to support our reporting to parents’ processes. Yultiwirra Primary classes will showcase students’ learning at a Yultiwirra Exhibition of Work and Learning to be held after school on Thursday 5th September (Term 3 week 7). We ask parents to please save the date and we hope to see all parents come along to this inaugural event.
Cathy France
Principal
The Hills Montessori School thrives on the incredible generosity of its Board members, whose dedication and hard work is at the heart of our community. Our Board is comprised of past and current parents, teaching staff, and administrative staff who all share a profound commitment to the educational and personal growth of our students. These individuals volunteer many hours to ensure our school operates smoothly, upholds its values, and continues to provide an exceptional learning environment.
The Hills Montessori School Foundation Board members play an equally crucial role. Their efforts in setting up the Foundation in 2023 and the continued fundraising and securing of resources, ensures the longevity and sustainability of our programs. They are instrumental in contributing significantly to our school's development and future success.
Their unwavering dedication and generous contributions of time, energy, and expertise embody the spirit of community that defines The Hills Montessori School. It is through their altruism that we can continue to nurture curious minds, foster a love of learning, and support each student’s journey. We are deeply grateful for their ongoing commitment and passion, which inspire us all.
While Aboriginal culture is integral to our curriculum year-round, Reconciliation Week is an opportunity to reflect on how we can contribute to reconciliation in Australia. Our Cultural Understanding Committee works closely with teachers in the lead-up to Reconciliation Week to ensure the week is especially meaningful to all students. The 2024 theme, "Now More than Ever," highlights the need for connection, respect, action and change. Below are some reflections from the Cultural Understanding Committee, as well as students on our RAP committee, about Reconciliaition Week.
This term, we have had a busy few weeks leading up to National Reconciliation Week (NRW). As part of our NRW events, we hosted a special screening of 'Buckskin: A Film About Jack' in collaboration with Southern Montessori. The documentary highlighted how Kaurna and Narungga man, Jack Buckskin, has been instrumental in the revival of the Kaurna language and was, for some time, the sole teacher of the language. We were honoured to be joined by Jack and his daughter at the event. During the Q&A session, Jack shared his mission to teach the Kaurna language to as many people as possible in his lifetime, hoping that one day he’ll be able to step back and see the Kaurna language alive and strong in the community. Watching and hearing about Jack’s journey into language and culture was truly inspiring and thought-provoking. It made us reflect on how we can promote and use the Kaurna language in our school moving forward.
It was wonderful to come together for a Reconciliation Week sharing assembly at Yultiwirra, where students from all cycles showcased their cultural learnings in the lead-up to NRW. Students across the cycles have been in engaged in various activities, including learning about native plants and their traditional uses, sharing the Kaurna language through song, and representing Dreaming stories of Sky Country through plays and artwork. The highlight was being joined by First Nations musician Nathan May. A couple of weeks prior, Nathan visited the school to deliver music workshops, teaching the students his song, 'It's Gotta Start Somewhere.' This culminated in a beautiful, shared performance of his song, with the lyrics embodying the spirit of reconciliation and inspiring a sense of connection, respect, hope, and action.
Last week, Cycle 3 students and RAP representatives Bella, Hazel, and Olivia also led some book readings across the Cycles, teaching students about the anniversary of the 1967 Referendum and Mabo Day, two significant events that bookend National Reconciliation Week. This aligned with our RAP goals to educate about reconciliation and days of national significance. The girls shared the picture books, ‘Say Yes: A Story of Friendship, Fairness, and a Voice for Hope’ by Jennifer Castles, and ‘Somebody’s Land’ by Adam Goodes, eliciting discussions about reconciliation and our shared history.
Finally, thank you to the students, staff, and parent community for making our NRW events a success. Let's continue to embrace reconciliation not just during National Reconciliation Week, but every day of the year. Your voices and actions make a difference!
On Monday, the 27th of May, Pearl, Harvey, Maddy, and Nicki attended the National Reconciliation Week breakfast hosted by Reconciliation SA at the Adelaide Convention Centre, with 2800 people in attendance.
This is what Cycle 4 students Pearl and Harvey had to say about it:
We arrived very early at the Convention Centre and were welcomed by the host, Luke Carrol, who introduced Auntie Rosalind Coleman for a Welcome to Country, followed by an amazing performance by Desert and Sea dance.
We heard from the Reconciliation SA co-chairs who were honouring Dr. Lowitja O’Donoghue AC CBE DSE, the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. Following this, the Attorney-General spoke and then there was a presentation by the University of Adelaide and a beautiful original song by Rob Edwards.
The breakfast was amazing, with an entrée of seasonal fruit juice, poached eggs with a sauce made of native plants, delicious sausages, and lots more yummy things.
Adam Briggs was the keynote speaker, he is a proud Yorta-Yorta man who is a musician, rapper, actor and he worked hard during the Yes! Campaign. He talked to us about how the no vote had made him feel, what he thought about the no vote, how he would move on, and what we could do next to move closer to reconciliation.
The amazing group, DEM MOB, performed the last act and were excellent. They also talked to us about what they thought about the no vote. The breakfast concluded around 9am and we made our way back to school. It was a really great experience!
You might like to make a tax deductible donation before the end of this financial year. You can visit the Hills Montessori School Foundation webpage at this link to make a one off or recurring donation. Every gift, large or small, will help us achieve our vision to achieve financial sustainability and opportunities for our young people into the future. Your involvement and generosity will help us create an exceptional future for Montessori education and our school.
We invite you to make a tax deductible donation if you are able to or would like to.
Congratulations Ruth Nisbet who was bestowed with a Life Membership to our school following the AGM. Over the 26 years that Ruth worked for the school she always supported the school way beyond the call of duty and has been a strong advocate of our school and Montessori education. We thank Ruth for her amazing contribution to our school.
Over the last few weeks in Infant Program we have been exploring colour. The children have enjoyed the story ‘Little Blue and Little Yellow’ by Leo Lionni. We extended this by testing out a simple experiment using coloured blue and yellow water and mixing together to make green. The children also mixed blue and yellow paint to create their own green art.
We have also been reading the very popular story of ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ by Eric Carle. We have discussed the life cycle of the caterpillar and created our very own caterpillar crafts to take home.
For practical life experiences we have focused on making toast and spreading the butter. The children have really enjoyed this whole process!
The beautiful warm weather has provided the children with the opportunity to learn about the various aspects of botany in our outdoor classroom. The children have looked at and explored the parts of a plant, parts of a root and parts of a stem. They have been very interested in the variety of seeds they have found from eating fruits and vegetables in their lunches and this had led to those being planted, along with herbs, vegetables, and flowers into our garden beds.
To learn about the way plants grow the children have participated in a number of experiments where they placed the bottom of a celery, the top of a carrot and a potato into dishes of water to see how they develop roots and stems. Celery placed into jars filled with coloured water showed how the water travels up the stem and into the leaves (called capillary action).
As part of our study of Indigenous culture and Reconciliation Week experiences the children explored the outdoor bush looking for indigenous plants. They discovered that we have the bottlebrush or “lolly tree”, the banksia which when placed into water tastes like cordial and the gum leaf which is used to provide relief for a blocked nose. Other “bush food” found was the quandong and wattle seed which we enjoyed when the children made wattle seed pancakes.
As part of our zoology studies, we visited the Marine Discovery Centre. We began the day beach-combing, where we found a treasure trove of objects, including a huge intact razor shell with both valves, colourful sea sponges, crab claws, cuttlebone, red, yellow, and green seaweed, sea grass balls, a mussel, and a variety of wonderful sea shells. The children were able to draw on their knowledge from our invertebrate studies so far and classify animals using their scientific phylum. Bodhi stated this razor fish is a type of mollusc. In the afternoon, we returned to the Discovery Centre and explored the various exhibits on offer. We marvelled at the range of ocean creatures, including pufferfish, seahorses, catfish, starfish, clownfish, and turtles. Additionally, we engaged with interactive activities, such as virtual reality headsets where we were able to deep dive into the ocean. We also spent time in the Kaurna Education Room, where we learned about the profound relationship the Kaurna people have with the Adelaide Plains and the coast.
"We saw porky the puffer fish" - Frances
"There were huge cat fish" - Hunter
"I found shells and a crab claw on the beach" - Maya
"We went to the beach and we made a sandcastle" - Ned
"I liked the goggles" - Alex
"At the beach we found shells, probably 10 shells" - Jasper
"We made a shell city" - Jadriel
"I loved the goggles" - Miranda
"The puffer fish was really cool and seeing the turtle come out" - Finnley
"We saw sea horses eating" - Elise
"There were baby sea horses" - Eloise
"I liked finding shells on the beach" - George
"I found a HUGE razor fish shell" - Bodhi
"I liked chasing the fish (lights)" - Lucca
It has been quite a busy time in Cycle 2 this term. Both Cycle 2 classes combined with Cycle 3 classes, working on activities for reconciliation week. Each group represented their chosen dreaming story in different ways, including plays, paintings and dioramas.
In week 4 we had Games Day, which is wonderful fun way to connect the cycles and demonstrates students' abilities to work together as a team.
More recently, as Cycle 2 has been studying the earth’s movement and the seasons, to deepen this learning, we visited the Adelaide Planetarium at the University of South Australia (Mawson Lakes). Prior to experiencing a night sky presentation and full-dome feature film, the students enjoyed some time at Thorndon Park to connect as a cycle.
Cycle 3 students recently embarked on an excursion, beginning with a visit to the local planetarium. During the visit, students were guided through the wonders of the Milky Way, gaining a deeper understanding of our galaxy. Questions were answered, Saturn was in full view, and students gained insight into what it takes to become an astronaut. The experience captivated our Cycle 3 students, many of whom are very interested in space, sparking curiosity and inspiring future astronomers. Following the planetarium, we enjoyed a trip to Thorndon Park, known for its inclusivity and welcoming environment. Students recognised the need for more playgrounds like this; to allow all the opportunity to swing, slide and spin. The combination of learning about the stars and enjoying a day at the park made for a memorable and enjoyable experience for our Cycle 3 classes.
Checkout a video of our excursion, and keep up to date with various school day moments on The Hills Montessori School Instagram: @the_hills_montessori_school
Busy times continue in Cycle 4!
Amongst the central work of Language, Maths, and Cultural Studies, students and guides prepared to host over 40 adults for the annual Meeting in the Middle Conference, co-hosted with Southern Montessori School. Educators from across Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia gathered for the 'MiM: Meeting in the Middle' Event, dedicated to Montessori Adolescent Programs across Australasia.
Groups of students worked tirelessly to have the grounds looking its best, including some landscaping, and the addition of some final touches to our chicken house. We have also welcomed 3 chooks to our Wairoa community who are settling in well and even producing some eggs! A huge amount of work went into the Meeting in the Middle catering with our guests here for 3 days. Our amazing kitchen specialist Monica and her team of students produced delicious snacks, lunch and afternoon teas. Overall, the weekend was a great success!
Indonesian with Ellis - Cycle 2
Recently, Cycle 2 students from Penny & Maddy’s class had a wonderful opportunity to meet their peers in Years 3 and 4 from our sister school, SD Alfa Centauri (Alcent), in Bandung, West Java, via Zoom. For some of them, this was the second time since 2021, and for others, it was their first time speaking with Indonesian people in Indonesian language.
Students from both schools appreciated the valuable experience of interacting online and practicing their respective language skills with each other. A number of students took turns practicing greetings, including greeting in Arabic (as the majority of Alcent students are Muslim), introducing themselves, and ‘showing off’ some simple words in both Indonesian and English, depending on their language ability and confidence. All students enjoyed singing together the popular song ‘Topi Saya Bundar’ (My Hat is Round) at the end of the session.
One of the most rewarding aspects of language teaching is witnessing children successfully communicate in another language – it’s also tremendously empowering and motivating for the learners, as described by some students from both schools below:
"It was fun to interact and speak with our friends from Indonesia. They were a bit older than us but friendly!" - Florence
"We were feeling a little bit nervous talking to them because this was our first time." - Mila & Iris
"I got to tell them what the Indonesian word for cheese is – it is ‘keju’!" - Corey
Indonesian with Lyndal - Cycle 4
Listening Comprehension
To foster agency, students in Cycles 3 and 4 read their own unseen compositions to classmates and ask their own comprehension questions about what they have presented. Both Cycles 3 and 4 have undertaken many listening comprehension tasks this semester on the theme of Family Members.
Cycle 4 students spoke as if they were 30 years in the future, allowing them to talk about what they do with their 'anak' (children), 'cucu' (grandchildren), and 'pacar' (partners).
We invite our community to join The Hills Montessori School Foundation (HMSF) and become part of our vision to sustain and support opportunities for young people into the future. Some current and past parents, students and staff have already joined the HMSF last year when we launched the Foundation. It would be wonderful to see more of our community become members.
The HMSF has been established and is a mechanism for raising money to create security for Montessori learners of tomorrow. The other purpose of the HMSF is to provide a way for past students, staff and parents to stay connected with our school through events and get togethers.
We encourage current and past students, parents, staff, friends and supporters to become a member of the HMSF and enjoy a lifelong connection with The Hills Montessori School. We hope the HMSF will give everyone the opportunity to actively contribute to a community that represents part of their identity.
You can become a HMSF member by visiting the HMSF webpage https://www.montessori.sa.edu.au/foundation/ and completing the membership form along with a one-off payment of $150.
To help reach our fundraising goals, the school is once again taking part in the People First Community Lottery (originally known as the People's Choice Community Lottery).
We get to keep 100% from every $2 ticket sold and our goal is to sell enough tickets to raise at least $2500 to contribute towards improvements at both Yultiwirra and Wairoa.
Tickets are only $2 each and by buying from us, not only do you support us, you also go into the draw to win one of 52 prizes worth over $300,000.
Head to the link below to buy tickets. Each ticket is another entry to win!
Ways to pay:
Please feel free to also send this on to your family and friends.
Thank you for helping us to meet our fundraising goals.
On Sunday 16th June the Fundraising Committee is hosting a sausage sizzle at Bunnings Mount Barker .
We are seeking just two more volunteers for the 11am-2pm spot and 2pm-5pm spot for 3 hours. If you are available to give some time to assist and help raise funds for the school, please contact the office via phone 8339 6842 or email reception@montessori.sa.edu.au.
Also, please note that Bunnings stipulates that all volunteers must be over the age of 18 and unfortunately children are not able to accompany parents on the day.
We very much appreciate any support you are able to give to assist us reach our fundraising goals!
