2024 Newsletter Term 03 | Issue 04 – Farmhouse Montessori School

Oct	14th	First Day of Term 4
Oct	14th-16th	Yani-Primary Class to Milson Point Camp
Oct	24th	Preschool Tour – 4.15pm
Oct	29th	Grandparents Day – Preschool Campus
Oct	29th	Grandparents Day – Primary Campus
Nov	1st	Grandparents Day – Preschool Campus
Nov	9th	Farmhouse Trivia Night – Wakehurst Golf Club 7pm
Nov	12th	Preschool Parent Education Evening
Nov	15th	Parent Education (morning session) -Primary Campus
Dec	10th	Art Gallery & Graduation Picnic – Primary Campus
Dec	11th	End of year Concert & Picnic – Preschool Campus

See more Important dates here

Dear Farmhouse Montessori Families,

It was a joy celebrating the official Opening of our new Primary School Campus at North Head Sanctuary, Manly, with Farmhouse Montessori School and the extended Community 10 years after the original primary campus opening.

The day was filled with a wonderful sense of community and joy. Our primary students began the ceremony with an Acknowledgement of Country and introduced the traditional smoking ceremony with Brendan Kerin from the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council. Stories were shared from the land, an address was given by the Board Chair Nick Fletcher, and a history of the School was shared. We extend our thanks to the School Board, former principals Gavin McCormack and Bruce Rixon, Zali Steggall MP, the Sydney Federation Harbour Trust, NBRS Architects, Matthew Brooke Builders, all of our parent volunteers, and our dedicated staff for the tremendous effort in helping us move to our new home. We were thrilled to welcome extended guests as well as former Principal and Preschool Coordinator Jenny Bensted. The ribbon cutting with our youngest primary and oldest primary students (Georgia and Arjo) was a memorable event.

It was a wonderful sense of community on the day and an incredible journey for the School. Our new location at North Head Sanctuary also means that our classrooms are well-connected and surrounded by nature. The new classroom, opening in 2025 for K-Year 3 students, was open for viewing and tours. If you haven’t already visited the campus, we look forward to welcoming you for a visit soon.

Parent-Teacher Conferences at the Preschool

As we conclude the school term, we hope you have enjoyed connecting with your classroom teachers for conferences. If you missed your conference or would like to schedule a meeting, please get in touch with reception or email your classroom teacher.

Save the Date, November 9th Trivia Night

Trivia Night for Saturday, November 9th can now be purchased online. The event will be held at Wakehurst Golf Club. If you would like to volunteer for the event or if you have some donations in mind, please email enrolments@farmhousemontessori.nsw.edu.au .

I hope you have a safe, wonderful term break filled with joy and relaxation. I look forward to welcoming you back for the next term.

Kind regards,

Alia James | Principal

Dear Families,

The Second Plane Child and Emotions

One thing Maria Montessori observed was that children aged from 6-12 years of age have certain distinguishing characteristics. Of course, children younger or older have these characteristics as well but Montessori thought that the 6-12 age group exhibited them with a pronounced degree. You are probably familiar with some of them through reading Montessori’s works or from just observing your own children. Here’s a list:

Greatest potential for intellectual development
Disappearance of rounded, baby-like contours of the body and face
Lose teeth
More robust and less sickly
Ready to move from concrete learning to abstract learning
Use imagination
Need more internal than external order
Adventuresome
Sense of justice
Social; “Herd Instinct”
Big work
“Hero” worship

It’s a joy to watch children as they enter into this plane of development with their eyes, arms, and hearts wide open. They learn to read fluently, perform surprising physical feats, and find heroes to admire. They are also making new friendships and thinking about justice for themselves and others. As they do these things we think of how wonderful our child and this period of development is.

But this period of development also means that your child might be concerned that they can’t read as well as their best friend, or maybe your child boasts in an unkind way to their friends about how fast they can run, or decides to admire an unsavory influencer, or is distressed about their friend group. When these things happen we can become concerned, frustrated, and embarrassed for our children.

But what if we didn’t need to get concerned about these behaviours because they are part of your child’s development?

Here are some ways we help your child develop emotionally at school:

The children’s work: Montessori observed and understood that children are happier when their minds are engaged in purposeful work. This work can be anything from studying an ancient civilisation, to analyzing a sentence, to completing an art work. Through this work the children increases their agency, their ability to do things.
Express empathy: All feelings are welcome but not all behaviours. We can acknowledge the children’s emotions while maintaining expectations of the children’s behaviour.
Facilitating discussions: Helping a child feel heard by another person as well as helping them see the full picture of an event can go a long way towards helping a child resolve a conflict or realise that it wasn’t such a big deal after all.
Grace and Courtesy Lessons: These can be some of the funniest parts of the day as the children and teacher act out behaviours that we want to bring to the attention of the children. After the laughs, we show the children the behaviours we’d like to see in the classroom.

Kind regards,

Chris Deery | Primary School Coordinator

Elouera has had some wonderful visits from the Burbangana and Cooinda children this week. In a Montessori classroom, when older preschool children mentor their younger peers, it fosters a nurturing environment that benefits both groups. The older children reinforce their knowledge and skills by teaching; enhancing their confidence and leadership abilities. Simultaneously, the younger children gain valuable guidance and support, often finding relatable role models in their older peers. This dynamic creates a collaborative learning atmosphere where empathy, patience, and communication are cultivated, promoting a sense of community and mutual respect among all students.

— Corinne, Anniebelle, Nina, Sarah.

The Burbagana children welcomed Spring with a wonderful opportunity to connect with nature through gardening. As part of the new seasonal activities, the children were excited to learn about planting seeds and nurturing their growth. This hands-on experience provided the context for developing valuable skills and knowledge such as responsibility, patience and the basics of plant life cycles,

To complement our planting experience, we read The Little Gardener by Emily Hughes. We also had a whole preschool group time run by Yuko who inspired the children with pictures of beautiful cherry blossoms, taught them a song and to count to 10 in Japanese. To extend on this, the children experimented with using cotton buds as a painting tool to create their very own blossoming trees.

We encourage you to continue the gardening fun at home by planting seeds with your child. It’s a fantastic way to reinforce their learning and foster a love of nature. Happy Spring!

Kindly yours,

– Vanessa, Teresa and Katherine.

In a Montessori classroom, the exploration of puzzle maps and land and water forms is a vital part of your child’s learning journey. This term, children have thoroughly enjoyed engaging in these activities, fostering a sense of belonging and fascination for the world around them. As they manipulate the puzzle pieces, they enhance their spatial awareness and deepen their understanding of geography and natural sciences. This exploration nurtures independence and a love for learning, ultimately laying a strong foundation for their educational growth.

—Jo, Catalina, Rachel, Yuko and Claire.

Asking children to help clean the classroom at the end of term gives them a sense of ownership of their environment. Giving them this responsibility can keep them motivated and provide a sense of accomplishment.

Maybe there a few things you need help with during the school holidays? Remember when children do chores they learn skills, feel valued, as they contribute to family life. They also really enjoy being helpful! Thank you so much everyone for helping me. Enjoy your holidays.

—Dawn.

Toby is back!

After three weeks away on practicum, Toby is back in the classroom!

Say hello and ask him about his highlights from practicum.

Reading with preschool children.

Over the last few weeks children have visited Headland Montessori School and Farmhouse Montessori School, North Balgowlah to read to the younger children. It’s something we’ll be doing on a more regular basis. It gives the children an opportunity to connect with past and future peers, the older children have an opportunity to be a guide, and the younger children get to spend time with some very cool primary aged children.

The older children took the event very seriously. They practised diligently. Some of the children told me how they practised reading their book at home in preparation for the event. Others decided to bring one of their favourite children’s books from home to share with the younger children.

It was all very touching and we look forward to more reading sessions in the future.

Literature

After finishing Trumpet of the Swan, we’re reading a Greek myth, Perseus and the Ghorgan’s Head. It’s definitely a known favourite for some of the children while for most it’s the first time they’ve heard it. Perseus is definitely a crowd favourite.

Botany

We’ve continued on with our study of Botany. The children have dissected and labelled a seed, written a narrative, and are currently observing the growth of Butter Bean seeds with their seed viewers. Everyone was very surprised to see that the seeds in the seed viewers sprouted after only one day! Their hypothesis ranged from three to ten days.

Next we are going into a study of polinators!

Mapping

Mapping has been another crowd favourite. The children were given a map of the Botanic Gardens and completed a range of activities from using coordinates to find specific locations to using the map’s scale to measure the distance of walking routes.

The last two weeks of term will be very busy with finishing existing works and receiving new lessons! We also have the school’s open day!
Until next time,

Toby, Chris and the Aikya Children

Over the past two weeks, our classroom has been buzzing with various activities and special events. One of the highlights was our Father’s Day celebration, where the children proudly shared their work with their fathers. It was such a lovely morning! The fathers explored the classroom, asked many questions, and connected with their children’s learning experiences. Afterward, everyone enjoyed a light morning tea and even played some soccer!

Some of the children had the opportunity to visit Headland Montessori, which was a fantastic way to build community and foster connections between the two schools. During these visits, the students read stories to the younger children. The Yani children were very engaging and had a lot of fun playing games with the younger children in between stories.

We also had two exciting incursions that the children thoroughly enjoyed. Rachel, Esther and Lily’s mum, visited to talk about her work as a dentist and explain the importance of dental hygiene. The children were captivated by her presentation and walked away with a better understanding of how to take care of their teeth. Another day, Bobby-Jo, Tylor’s mum, led a breathwork workshop where she explained the anatomy of the respiratory system and the importance of conserving CO2 in our bodies to absorb more oxygen. The children had so much fun with the interactive games and left feeling more aware of how to live healthier, more balanced lives.

—Laura, Thomas, Ella & Amy Louise.