We are pleased to introduce you to Andy King, a member of the Greensboro Montessori School graduating class of 2014 and the founder of our new Alumni Ambassador program. Andy and his family have been deeply connected to our school community since he was very young. He and his two brothers began at GMS when they were toddlers and continued through the primary, elementary and middle school years. Andy is currently a senior at Greensboro Day School and for the last three years, he has consistently received academic honors on the Head's List which recognizes students who maintain an A average (90 and above) on their semester report cards.
Andy is also an accomplished musician and percussionist. He is active in his high school pep band which plays on the sidelines at basketball games to energize the fans and the team. He also enjoys playing in a band with his fellow GMS classmate, Jake Breeden, and GMS faculty members, Jonathan McLean and Doug Williams. The quartet (which goes by the name “Reverend Cleveland and the Graduates”) can be found rehearsing in the evenings in the GMS upper school, and occasionally playing local venues such as Scuppernong Books, churning out a wide variety of instrumental music from jazz to swing.
Outside of school, Andy is an avid mountain biker and sports enthusiast. “I like to mountain bike, not only because it’s exhilarating but because it is a great way to get out in nature. I love to be in nature; it is very calming and helps me feel grounded especially when I am stressed. I am also interested in sports and I play all the time with my family and friends. It is a fun way for me to get exercise. And I enjoy the social aspect of watching sports together with friends.” Andy recently joined the Guilford Gears Composite Mountain Bike Team. The team races against other teams from around North Carolina and recently won 2nd place in a state-wide competition during their inaugural season.
Andy also loves traveling on new adventures. This summer he spent two weeks in Guatemala where he volunteered his time working in rural healthcare clinics. In this service learning expedition, his group assisted medical fellows by testing blood glucose levels and recording vital signs of patients seeking healthcare. Andy also enjoyed spending time with his family this summer in their annual mountain biking trek in Crested Butte, Colorado. “The town has a special place in our hearts as we go every year. The people are always nice, and the natural scenery around the town is stunning. Then we traveled further west to tour Yosemite National Park in California. Without a doubt, it is the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life!”
As someone who is genuinely kind and insightful, Andy is not shy when sharing about how much he cares for his family. His parents John and Beth King have supported all three of their sons through full educational journeys at Greensboro Montessori School. Andy is the middle of three brothers; his older brother, Aubrey, attends Washington University in St. Louis, MO and his younger brother, A.J., is a 7th grader at Greensboro Montessori School. Andy has a deep respect for the entrepreneurial legacy that began with his great-grandfather at J.A. King company and he has aspirations of joining the family business one day. When asked to share one of his proudest accomplishments, he said, “I recently logged over 300 hours of working as a scale technician at J.A. King company. I started in the summer of 2016, and have loved spending my summers getting experience in the real world and building my knowledge further. This milestone is a way of showing recognition of the work that I have put in, and I am very proud of myself for reaching it.”
Thanks to Andy King for standing tall as a leader and a role model in our alumni community. His hard work and initiative are helping us pave the way for new leadership opportunities for his fellow graduates for years to come.
To my fellow GMS Families,
Welcome to the 2017-18 school year!
The GMS Community Association (GMSCA) is excited and honored to welcome our many new families joining our Montessori community for the first time. We’re also proud to say welcome back to all of our returning families, with a special "hats off" to those pioneering families joining our inaugural ninth grade class. Finally, a special welcome to our new Head of School, Kevin Navarro, and his family. We are excited about the enthusiasm Kevin has already put into building the partnership between our parent community and our administrative and teaching staff. It’s a wonderful time to be at GMS!
Our hope is that every family will find value in the GMSCA. Our mission is inclusion; inspiring an engaged community of friends who support and encourage each other as parents. We also strive to recognize the diversity of contributions we collectively bring to our school.
Unlike most other schools, membership in the GMSCA is automatic….and free! We ask for no dues and we do not ask you to sell anything. Our activities are funded through a variety of ways, mainly the fall and spring book fairs. We also raise funds through initiatives like the Harris Teeter Together in Education VIC Card Program, so please let’s get those cards linked to our school (link to #1849)!
Perhaps the most visible way you will see the GMSCA in action is through the events we plan and support throughout the school year. Three of the largest are:
- The Fall Festival - a free family-centered weekend event with dozens of activities for kids of all ages.
- The International Fair - an amazing event highlighting our community’s cultural diversity through music, food, art and fun.
- The Green & White Bash - an adults only social event that gives us the opportunity to get to know each other better and raise some money to support our school.
Beyond events, we also provide opportunities for you to participate in the overall experience for your children. The GMSCA supports room parents who work directly with your teachers and help coordinate other parent volunteers needed to plan and execute many of the fun and educational activities your children love. The GMSCA virtual community page on Facebook is available to all parents to connect from home, the office or after hours. We also host social opportunities like morning coffees and Parents’ Nights Out.
In closing, thanks so much to the many parents who participate in the GMSCA. We’re always looking for more parent and community involvement and would love to have your talent on our community team. You don’t need to attend a meeting, host an event, or take a day off work to volunteer to be an essential member of our community.
Here are a few ways you can contribute right now:
- Attend our first Community Garden Workday on Saturday, September 16. We will have a variety of needs that day as we reimagine our Upper School Garden. All ages and abilities welcome!
- Plan to volunteer one morning or afternoon for our Scholastic Book Fair October 6 through 13. The monies raised from the book fair go directly to the GMSCA and allow us to fund things like the Fall Festival and Teacher Appreciation Week celebrations.
- Look for the sign-up genius coming soon with opportunities to volunteer at the Fall Festival on Sunday, October 8. It takes a village to have a successful and fun event. And this year the GMSCA will be purchasing all of the supplies so we are simply looking for donations of your time.
We’re looking forward to a wonderful year for our school, our community and, most of all, our children.
See you at school!
Cordially,
Karen Kelly, 2017-18 GMSCA Lead Coordinator
"An Education for Life," has become a marketing catchphrase in education. What was first coined by Dr. Maria Montessori and unique to her research-based approach, is now overused to the point of meaninglessness. But rather than give up on Dr. Montessori's philosophy, let's explore it's origin and provide the context needed to rescue this phrase from educational pop culture.
In 1949, Dr. Montessori wrote "The Absorbent Mind" based on her decades of childhood research. She writes of her pedagogical theory: "This is education, understood as a help to life.” Dr. Maria Montessori applied a scientific technique to the observation of natural development in students and concluded there are a number of important concepts concerning childhood growth and development:
- Optimum growth is affected by the environment. Dr. Montessori observed that growth can be enhanced by the environment in which the child grows.
- Growth occurs in spurts. Dr. Montessori observed that growth occurs in stages which have peaks and valleys. She called these stages “planes of development.”
- Childhood has distinct characteristics. Dr. Montessori observed that children are not “little adults.” The process of growth during childhood is unique and like no other time during the human lifespan.
- Intelligence increases with experience. Dr. Montessori observed that intelligence grows with experience, and the key to developing the intellect is to promote the constructive activity of the child.
- Each child has a unique potential. Dr. Montessori observed that the child did not come as a clean slate and then
became a product of his cultural experiences. She believed that the child has innate tendencies to become human with a
vast potentiality that was largely wasted in conventional education. - Education is needed to serve the child and not just the needs of society. Dr. Montessori observed that education must place its greatest energies towards serving the child for the betterment of society and the evolution of humankind as a species.
- Children love to learn. Given an optimal environment with adults educated about the true needs of the developing
child, Dr. Montessori observed that children pursued knowledge with vigor and enthusiasm. The classic method of
rewards and punishment are obstacles to the child’s healthy growth and interest in learning. The structure of the Montessori method provides freedom within limits which enhances the learning experience for the child and builds within him an intrinsic motivation to succeed. - Education for development. The Montessori method structures education to meet the developmental needs of the
growing child without preconceived curricula or a directive approach. This she called an education for life.
An Education for Life. When you hear this phrase in our hallways, know it's not some quip or expression resulting from a focus group. It is tenet of the Montessori method highlighting the dual role of education: to meet the child where she is in her developmental growth and to prepare the child for that which lies ahead.