Hello, MCOL families!
I don't know about you, but we find it surreal that the 2020-21 school year is in the last semester of the school year, and Summer is quickly approaching! Uplifting reveals for Team MCOL have been birds chirping and the sun shining brightly for days at a me. We hope you have found your uplifting moments as individuals and a family!
Nido News!
We are equally pleased to share that we have hired Christina Painter as Lead Teacher for our Nido (infant) program, which joins our campus in September 2021. Additionally, we have already enrolled three Nido students, which confirms parental desire for Montessori infant care in Livonia and her surrounding communities. It says something wonderful when enrolling without the Nido environment staged and ready for parents to view. We hope you will celebrate with us as we welcome the newest of our full-day programs to MCOL! Christina wanted to introduce herself to you-
On a personal note, I have known Christina for 17 years and am delighted to have Christina join our team and lead us forward with our soon-to-be youngest students.
Young Children's Community
Miss Dalbir and Miss Nada continue to support Miss Jody as needed. Miss Nada will join Miss Jody and Jessica for the remainder of the school year, as we welcome in our newest YCC friends over the next six weeks.
Hot Lunch Proposal
Next school year, we would like to offer one day each week with pizza as a hot lunch option. We would order both cheese and pepperoni pizza for purchase, thus providing you the opportunity to have one day each week; you need not concern yourself with packing a lunch or having your child help you pack their lunch. Gabby would create a sign-up sheet for you one month ahead of me and send it home. In turn, you would complete the form with the number of slices your child wants and pizza type and return the completed form and money to us. Please respond if this idea is of interest to you, so we know whether to move forward.
Updates and Reminders
Pandemic Protocols
Pandemic protocols remain in place for our Center without ease in applicaon from the State of MI. Now, we are unsure whether we can facilitate our end-of-the-year picnic and maintain the required physical distancing and mask protocols as required. We are certain that any violaon of the State of MI's protocols can close our school, either temporarily or permanently. We connue to monitor updates closely and will inform you of any changes that allow us to gather in some form and maintain full compliance
Teacher Appreciation Week
Teacher Appreciation Week is May 3-7, 2021, and I would love your support in making the week special for our team! Gabby and I will reach out as we return from Spring Break with daily themes for our team. You are welcome to take part in all, one or none...your choice! The year has been full of challenges unique to MCOL and universal challenges across the child care industry. Our team has responded to each challenge and turned the various experiences into learning opportunities. We are stronger together, and this year has affirmed that message!
Check Us Out On Instagram!
If you missed our Remind announcement, we are now on Instagram! Follow us @montessori.centerofourlady as we connue our move forward. We look forward to seeing you on Instagram and Facebook!
Upcoming Calendar Reminders
March 29 - through April 2 - Spring Break (school closed)
April 5 - School resumes
April 12 - Parent-teacher end of year conference sign-up begins Conferences will be in person and outdoors with parents/teachers in masks since conferences will last longer than 15 minutes. If you prefer a Zoom conference, you may let your child's teacher know.
May 3-7 - Teacher Appreciation Week
May 3 - May Crowning Celebration
May 28 - Professional Development Day for staff; school closed
May 31 - Memorial Day/No school
Mission Moments: Growing Closer to Jesus
How can this be? Didn’t we just celebrate Advent and Christmas? Now here we are, in the midst of Lent preparing for Jesus to rise at Easter. We opened the Lenten season at MCOL with the distribution of ashes to staff and children to Remember we are dust and to dust we shall return. Genesis 3:19
Lent is the 40 days before Easter. Have you ever wondered why 40 days? Well, the number 40 generally symbolizes a period of testing, trial or probation such as the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert fasting, praying and resisting temptation, when God flooded the earth for 40 days and 40 nights and Moses wandering the desert for 40 years. These are just a few examples of the 146 mes the number 40 is mentioned throughout scripture. So, what does this mean for you and me? Well, these 40 days are a good opportunity for us to grow closer to Jesus through prayer, reflection, sacrifice and almsgiving. There are so many booklets, one-minute mediations and on-line reflections in which to choose that it can be overwhelming and to be quite honest, some of them just don’t seem to resonate with everyday life. I’ve been reading Embrace this Holy Season by Fr. Joseph F. Sica. (Twenty-Third Publications). I like this booklet because it is an easy read; concise and relatable. If you’re looking for something on- line, just a few short minutes a day, Dynamic Catholic is an awesome choice...SO GOOD! Click on www.dynamiccatholic.com to receive your daily reflection right into your inbox daily.
No matter what reflection or mediation you choose, I hope you will give yourself the gift of selecting something. Spending just a few minutes each day in prayer, thought or reflection is a wonderful way to develop a deeper connection with Jesus. You will be amazed at how your life will be transformed when you nurture and grow your spiritual relationship. In a world filled with schedules and responsibilities to family, friends and work; all this will seem more manageable if you take me to slow down, take a deep breath and enjoy a few minutes talking and listening to the one who loves you unconditionally, forgives you always and will never abandon you. Developing a more prayerful relationship with Jesus is just one aspect of Lent. We can also improve our relationship with Jesus through self-sacrifice (giving up something that perhaps gets in the way of spending more me with Jesus. I know self-sacrifice isn’t easy. Just the word “sacrifice” stirs up a negative connotation. Perhaps each me you reach for that item that you have “given-up”, it can be a reminder that Jesus gave up his life, so we could have everlasting life in heaven.
Finally, there’s almsgiving. Lent is a good me to think how fortunate we are and how we can share with those less fortunate. Here are a couple of suggestions: Try the 40 day challenge. Look through your household items, closets, basement etc., and challenge yourself to select one item each day for 40 days to donate to your local donation center such as the Salvation Army, St. Vincent DePaul, Veterans, etc. At the end of 40 days you will have done a lile spring cleaning and given to those in need. What about donating to a local food bank? Did you know that food pantries are the emptiest in April? You can help replenish the food pantries with nonperishable food items or through a monetary donation.
Keep in mind that even though we are going into week four of Lent, it’s never too late to start your Lenten experience. May you be blessed with contentment in your heart and immeasurable love as you travel on your Lenten journey.
In Prayer,
Gail Jones Mission Director
Mission Statement:
Guided by our Catholic and Felician traditions, we nurture and educate the whole child in a peaceful and faith-filled environment.
Vision Statement:
Provide a foundation by which children reach their full potential guided by Felician Core Values.
A Felician - Sponsored Ministry
Respect for Human Dignity * Compassion * Transformation * Solidarity with the Poor * Jusce & Peace
Montessori Center of Our Lady | 14200 Newburgh Road, Livonia, MI 48154
