Dear Friends,

A very Happy 2019 to you all! I wanted to send a personal note of thanks to each and every one of you for your contributions to our School. Whether you donate your time, your talent, or your treasure, every gesture is appreciated and celebrated.

As our children are busy doing their important work in their classes, the GMSCA is also doing our important work cultivating and supporting a vibrant and engaged parent community. Looking ahead, we will have many opportunities to get together to support our children, our faculty, and each other. Keep a look out for these upcoming events - we hope you'll find there's something for everyone!

See you in our community, whether we're enjoying a student performance at school or breaking bread together at a local restaurant!

Karen Kelly,
GMSCA Lead Coordinator

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:

 

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:

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

 

Karen Kelly, 2017-18 GMSCA Lead Coordinator, and her daughter Kyla

 

We recently had the pleasure to do a personal interview with our GMSCA outreach coordinator, Rebecca Sheridan. Becca is such a down to earth and approachable person, and we are eager for you to meet her, in case you haven’t already. We also wanted to learn more about how she is enjoying her first year working with the GMSCA cultivating the Outreach Committee!

GMSCA: Hi Becca! Thank you for agreeing to be our GMSCA family feature! We’ve been very excited with all of the outreach and social activities this school year. It's been great to meet and hang out with other families. Tell us about the outreach program.
Becca: The Outreach Committee focuses on the social aspect of being part of a school community. Its focus evolves a bit every year based on the school’s and GMSCA's needs. This year the focus has been to welcome new families and foster further connections with our established families. Our members help coordinate small group gatherings like parents nights, coffee socials and playdates, and connect our new folks with established families based on something that they may have in common, which may be as simple as being in the same classroom. This spring we had a couple of occasions where some moms met at a local restaurant for dinner. It included moms from every level in the school and lots of people met each other for the first time. This month we are encouraging everyone to meet up at the Green & White Bash. We will also have a couple playdates over the summer to get acquainted with new families and welcome them to our community. I really enjoy social events and connecting with new people, so the Outreach Committee seemed like good fit for me.
GMSCA: Tell us about what brought you and your family to GMS.
Becca: Eric and I fell in love with the campus and the people from our first tour! We felt very connected to the teaching philosophy and the respect the students receive. We also really appreciated the opportunity for children to learn at their own pace and the aspects of peer learning that the children engage in as they grow.
GMSCA: What is your favorite thing about GMS?
Becca: Our kids learn so much about being great independent people and being a positive part of a community. The collective talent in our staff is so amazing and they not only teach our kids, but educate us too! For example, I think the independence that the children develop from an early age is beyond eye opening. Seeing what my kids are capable of in the classroom has really caused me to grow as a parent and encourages me to challenge and support them to have greater independence at home too. I guess I love that the school has helped me grow in addition to helping my kids grow!
GMSCA: Tell us a little about your family!
Becca:  We are in our third year and we have two children at GMS - Aidan who is in Primary with Catherine and Stacy and Ana who started this year in the Toddler program with Skye and Marie. Before becoming a mom I was a physical therapist and Eric is a software engineer who runs his own business here in Greensboro. We moved to the area in 2013!
GMSCA: Thanks so much for your time Becca, and for volunteering to take on this important role with the GMSCA. Your work is helping to expand the network of support and friendship that our families feel.

In this GMSCA interview, we invite you to meet Sophia Dubrovsky, Alex Trestman and their sons, Luka and Ethan, ages four and two, respectively. This interview was conducted by Amy Blanton, GMSCA Communication Coordinator, and fellow Montessori mom.

We were excited to recently catch up with Sophia and her family to learn more about them! It was such a pleasure to interview Sophia as she is a beacon of kindness, warmth and light. You may recognize Sophia from the GMSCA Events Team. Last year she led the effort to organize our school's International Fair which is an annual event held in late January. 

GMSCA: Hi, Sophia! Thank you for being our first GMSCA feature family for 2016. We are so excited to chat with you! Tell us about a bit about your family!

SophiaWe moved here from Connecticut and remain in Greensboro mostly due to the community we've found at Greensboro Montessori School. Alex works for Honda Jet, and I have my own consulting company called Plant Based Made Easy. Luka started at Greensboro Montessori  when he was 18 months old and is now in his second year of Primary in Isabelle and Gail’s classroom, and Ethan just started his first year in Toddler with Skye and Marie.

GMSCA: How did you end up at Greensboro Montessori School?

Sophia: We toured the School when Luka was just 14 months old. I immediately felt at home, especially in the gardens. I knew instantly that this is where I wanted my kids to spend their days. I love the exposure to the outdoors, and the opportunity they have to develop into their own people. It is a very lovely, cozy environment that I felt would allow Luka (and later Ethan) the freedom to explore. Greensboro Montessori is not a cookie cutter program; it gives children the opportunity to mature into their own interests. That was important to our family!

GMSCA: Tell us about your involvement in the GMSCA.

Sophia: Being part of the GMSCA has been wonderful! All of our family and friends live in Connecticut. It wasn’t until joining the GMSCA that I felt like I had found my tribe. We love how community-focused the School is, and it has given us a reason to grow roots in Greensboro. Volunteering is a great way to meet other families. You can volunteer as much or as little as you want. I’ve loved being a room parent for Luka's and Ethan’s classrooms; it’s a great way to be involved with the life of the school and support the teachers. Last year I was the chair of the International Fair and it was an incredible experience reaching out and learning about all the different cultures represented at our School. If anyone is looking for a way to get involved with the community, show up to our next monthly GMSCA meeting.

GMSCA: We can’t wait to see what is in store for this year’s International Fair in January! Tell us more about your sons, Luka and Ethan.

Sophia: Luka and Ethan are both adventurous and charismatic boys, and Greensboro Montessori has been instrumental in Luka’s growth over the last four years. I love that he has a place to explore without the pressure of workbooks or homework. Ethan just enrolled this fall and the toddler program is a great outlet for his strong desires for gross motor play.

GMSCA: You mentioned you run your own consulting firm. Please give us a window into your work with Plant Based Made Easy.

Sophia: I am passionate about nutrition and sharing with the community about how easy and monumental a plant-based diet is for your whole family! I offer cooking classes, consultations, and I frequently post reviews and recipes on my blog.

GMSCA: Thank you so much for your time and for sharing about your family, your work and your deep connection to our School!