***Updated 4/26 - DUE MONDAY, APRIL 29! Last chance!

***Updated 4/22 - Form now available! Click Here!

MONDAY, JUNE 10th.

$16. Discounted School Group Tickets MUST be purchased by April 29th. 

Buy your discounted group tickets by printing, completing and returning the form that will be available next week!

**Update 4/26 - Do you have your RSVP and Change of Dismissals turned in?

This event is for Primary School students. Please return your child’s guest’s rsvp as soon as possible. Invitations went home this week. Here are the details:

Guests of 1st year Primary attend 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.

Guests of 2nd & 3rd Year Primary attend 11:00 a.m. until 11:45 a.m.

Guests of Kindergarteners arrive at 1:15 p.m. for a Dessert Reception

Performance at 1:30 p.m.  *  Classroom visit from 1:45 - 2:15 p.m.

Thank you to our Diversity and Programming Committee for organizing Tuesday evening’s Technology and Our Children Parent Workshop with Dr. Casey Hoffman , Ph.D from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia,Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

Here are some of the highlights from the presentation:

Current facts about television viewing:

·         The average age that children begin TV viewing is now 5 months old

·         90% of children under the age of 2 years watch TV

·         Many young children spend more time watching TV than any other activity besides sleeping

·         The TV is “always on” in 50% of homes

·         70% of children have a TV in their bedroom

Why we should care about these television viewing facts:

·         Babies and young children learn best in a three dimensional world with toys and people

·         TV can disrupt children’s attention during play

·         The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no TV for children under age 2, for whom TV viewing is not of educational benefit and may be detrimental to development

·         The presence of a TV in a child’s bedroom is related to sleep problems

·         Violence in TV content, even cartoons, is linked to increased aggression and anxiety

·         Exposure to unhealthy food advertising on TV is linked to increased obesity rates

What we can do to provide balance to the overwhelming presence of screen time:

·         Avoid any screen time for infants and toddlers

·         Try play time in a high chair, pack’n’play or play yard with toys for this youngest age group instead of screen time to help keep them occupied while you prepare dinner

·         Preschool aged children love to help set the table or with simple food preparation tasks

·         Pick a part of your family’s day that will be “screen time free” for everyone, such as dinnertime (that includes not checking your smart phones for the adults!)

·         Reclaim commutes and car rides as times to talk with your children and point out what is outside the window

·         Play board games instead of video games with your preschool aged children

·         Pick a physical activity to do together as a family once a week

·         Bring toys and hands on materials to occupy your children when you are on the go instead of bringing electronics:

•  Young infants: baby safe small toys to hold and chew
•  Older infants: baby safe small toys with detailed parts to inspect, sounds to make
• Toddlers: board books to look at, small safe manipulatives to stack/connect
•  Preschoolers: pictures books, crayons and coloring books, reusable sticker scenes/ magnetic dress-up set, small play vehicles

·         Be a good example for your children, and avoid attending to mobile devices while driving

·         Create a bedtime routine that does not include screen time, for both you and your children- everyone will sleep better!

“The primary danger of the television screen lies not so much in the behavior it produces as the behavior it prevents…Turning on the television set (or ANY SCREEN) can turn off the process that transforms children into adults...”

 ~Urie Bronfenbrenner Cornell University

DARE TO BE FREE...DON’T WATCH TV

or any other electronic media!

Get ready for National TV Turnoff Week: April 28 – May 4

To inspire your participation in TV-FREE WEEK read this Roald Dahl poem:

The most important thing we've learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them near your television set --
Or better still, just don't install
The idiotic thing at all.
In almost every house we've been,
We've watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out.
(Last week in someone's place we saw
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)
They sit and stare and stare and sit
Until they're hypnotised by it,
Until they're absolutely drunk
With all that shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don't climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash the dishes in the sink --
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK -- HE ONLY SEES!
'All right!' you'll cry. 'All right!' you'll say,
'But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!'
We'll answer this by asking you,
'What used the darling ones to do?
'How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?'
Have you forgotten? Don't you know?
We'll say it very loud and slow:
THEY ... USED ... TO ... READ! They'd READ and READ,
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!
One half their lives was reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching 'round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good, what can it be?
Good gracious, it's Penelope.)
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter,
And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,
And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and-
Just How The Camel Got His Hump,
And How the Monkey Lost His Rump,
And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul,
There's Mr. Rate and Mr. Mole-
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!
So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
And children hitting you with sticks-
Fear not, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They'll now begin to feel the need
Of having something to read.
And once they start -- oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts. They'll grow so keen
They'll wonder what they'd ever seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!
And later, each and every kid
Will love you more for what you did.

To learn more about work being done on the impact of electronic media on our children, please visit Center on Media and Child Health, Children's Hospital Boston.  To access this site go to: http://www.cmch.tv/mentors_parents/default.asp

...here are some ideas on what to do instead of turning on and tuning out:

♦ Plan and execute a service project with your child: plant and tree, clean up the street in front of your home, a nearby park, or do some weeding for an elderly neighbor. Clean out the closet and donate outgrown toys and clothes to a younger friend or shelter.  Your child will likely have some good suggestions. Many local community managed parks have planned work days to participate in.

♦ Cut up old magazines and make a collage together. Some good themes include: healthy foods, outside fun, I like summer, etc.  Or your child can chose a picture from a magazine and tell you a story about what is happening.

♦ Write a letter or draw a picture for grandparents or family who live far away. Follow it all the way through by letting your child help stamp it, address it, and take it to the post office or mail box. You can even turn this into a field trip of sorts by letting your child interview a postal worker to learn what happens to the mail after it leaves your hands. If you make arrangements in advance, sometimes they even let you see sorting rooms.   

♦ Play board or card games, you can even institute a family game night.

♦ Clean out the toy box together and suggest in advance that your child select a toy or two for donation to a shelter.

♦ If you're up for it, plan one of the days as a field trip somewhere a little far off. Some fun excursions include: The Crayola Factory ($$), The Strasburg Railroad & Museum in Lancaster County ($$$), or the beach (free).  Locally you can visit many museums or the historic neighborhood in Old City.

♦ Check out a stack of books from the library and challenge your child to a "read-a-thon" with a (agreed on in advance) special treat for meeting the goal you set together. 

♦ Walk a dog. If you don't have one, ask if a neighbor's dog needs the exercise. 

♦ Have a picnic in the azalea garden or along one of the river drives.  Take a bike or skates along with you and spend the whole afternoon! 

♦ Buy an old clock at a thrift shop. Take it apart with your child so that they can see the mechanisms and learn about how a clock works. Check out a book on this subject from the library. 

We are delighted to announce the Greene Towne Montessori School Board of Directors’ formal approval of Greene Towne West Campus expansion at 2213 Arch Street.

The expansion will include the addition of a third classroom for Toddlers, a lobby and administrative offices, and a new home for our growing Primary level All-Day Montessori community.  Work will begin at the West Campus next week on the space not currently occupied by GTMS and after the school year on the existing GTMS space.  The project is expected to be completed in early August. 

How did this start? 

Over the past three years in response to the GTMS Strategic Plan, the board has focused on mission based goals related to program, community, place and development.  This has led us to opening the All Day Montessori (ADM) Primary classroom and the All Year Montessori (AYM) Toddler and Primary programs this year (2012) and a third toddler classroom (opening 2013).  This strategically planned growth was staged in 3-phases over four years.  With the wide acceptance and success of both the ADM classroom and the AYM program, the board has decided after extensive research and analysis to move ahead with the construction of the new Primary level ADM/AY environment at GTMS-West. 

Although current activity is at GTMS-West, our focus remains on all of our classrooms and programs.  As always, our overall goal is to build and maintain Greene Towne as a Montessori school that serves its community. 

We will continue to share additional information regarding this exciting project with the GTMS community in the coming weeks. Please don’t hesitate to stop by to share any thoughts or ask any questions.

Breakfast Reception for Jean's current and former families and colleagues
Saturday, May 4, 2013
9 to 11 am
at 2121 Arch Street

Class Photo at 10 am for all of Jean's current and former students

rsvp by April 29 to 215-563-6368 or
with your name and number of adults and children

Spring Picnic for all at Lemon Hill to follow from 11 to 2 pm

If you have not yet purchased the note cards lovingly made by your child, please don’t delay. The set of 10 cards makes a lovely gift for grandparents and friends or can be used as thank you cards.  You may purchase (only $10 a set) your child’s note cards at the front desk.

We are still looking for afternoon volunteers from 12:00 to 2:30 to work with Kindergarteners and afternoon children who don’t nap. 3 and 4-year olds are planting window sill lettuce gardens to take home. Kindergarteners are making their own mini worm habitats and tending to our street trees. Everyone will have a chance to plant and we also need an event photographer! If you already replied to Erika, she’ll confirm with you soon.  If you haven’t, email to volunteer.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013, 7:00 pm at Greene Towne Montessori School

As technology creeps into more and more areas of our everyday lives, the risk of overexposure to gadgets and dangerous content for children is on the rise. How much is too much?  And what is the proper amount of screen time for toddler through kindergarten? 

To talk about these questions and more, please join us for a discussion with

Casey Hoffman Ph.D, Psychologist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

RSVP at the GTMS front desk.

*UPDATE* Sessions 1 and 4 are FULL! Swim Lessons are FULL!

Priority Registration for current GTMS students has ended.  Camp Registration is now open to children not enrolled at Greene Towne.  If you plan to enroll in camp, DON’T DELAY!  If your child has a 3 to 5-year-old friend who may be interested, please pass on the information or let us know and we’ll send the information.

It's going to be a great summer!

Don’t delay in registering for Spring Session classes.  Classes start Monday, April 8.

We still have spaces in Art and Spanish. We also have for the first time Ballet class with our very own Carly Stearn! Here is some information about her you may not have known:

Carly Stearns began her 20 years of dance training in New Jersey where she studied classical ballet and modern dance. During her Junior and senior years of high school she was a member of The Garden State Ballet's Youth Company and performed at various locations throughout the state. She continued her dance education at Belhaven University, in Jackson, MS, studying dance pedagogy, Kinesiology, and technique to supplement her degree in Arts Management. Ms. Stearns has experience teaching young children dance since the age of sixteen and most recently teaching ballet and creative movement to children overseas in Italy. Ms. Stearns knows firsthand the joys of dancing as a young child and hopes to pass on that joy to all of her students.  

The First annual "Art in the Park" event is Saturday, April 6th, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. This FREE, FUN event will feature creative activities, performances and mini workshops for children, bringing several of Philadelphia's top cultural resources to families in a celebratory setting. Our outstanding lineup of participants includes Fleisher ColorWheels mobile art studio, Arden Theatre Company, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Fairmount and Queen Village Art Center, Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, Philly PACK, The Philadelphia Dance Academy, Spiral Q Puppet Theater, The Expressive Hand and more!

News from Fleisher ColorWheels: A Collaborative Art Installation Project

"ColorWheels teaching artist Rana Sindhikara will teach participants basic crochet techniques to create small squares that will be combined to create a large collaborative installation piece. The work created at Art in the Park will be exhibited on June 8th at ARTspiration!, Fleisher's free annual outdoor art party. Families of all ages are invited to create with us and view your work on display as part of this community-cultivated collaboration."

Find out more about the awesome ColorWheels van here:

http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local//arts-culture/35663-fleisher-van-art-classes-on-wheels

The complete Art in the Park event schedule will be posted at friendsofseger.org and facebook.com/FOSPP. Light refreshments will be available for purchase at the event, with proceeds benefiting the Seger Sprayground Capital Campaign.

Fairmount Art Center

With two locations in Center City Philadelphia, we are full-range art centers offering programs for adults, teens, children, and babies. Let’s get creative!

Offerings including adult art classes and adult art workshops. For the little artists, we offer children’s art classes, a full after school arts program, children’s music classes, birthday parties, summer art camps, and vacation art camps.

FAC is also open full days when schools are closed, so it's a great alternative for care if you need it!

Saturday, May 4
9 - 11 am: Celebrate Jean Prestas’ 25 years as lead teacher at Greene Towne! Join Jean’s current and alum students along with their parents for a Breakfast Reception in recognition of this momentous occasion.  

11 am – 2 pm: The celebration continues at Greene Towne Spring Picnic at Lemon Hill for ALL!

Friday, May 10 
Grandparents & Special Friends Day for Primary School students.

Invitations will go home next week, meanwhile here are the details to share with your child’s guest:

Guests of 1st year Primary attend 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.

Guests of 2nd & 3rd Year Primary attend 11:00 a.m. until 11:45 a.m.

Guests of Kindergarteners arrive at 1:15 p.m. for a Dessert Reception

Performance at 1:30 p.m.  *  Classroom visit from 1:45 - 2:15 p.m.

Toddler students look forward to the Primary classroom to enjoy this event!

“It is necessary for the teacher to guide the child without letting him feel her presence too much, so that she may always be ready to supply the desired help, but never be the obstacle between the child and his experience”       
~ Maria Montessori

THE HUNDRED BOARD
The Hundred Board is made up of a square board with a grid pattern marking 100 squares and 100 tiles, numbered 1 to 100. At first, putting ten tiles, from 1 to 10, in correct sequence arranged from left to right on the board is sufficient challenge for a child.  Before long, however, the child continues the pattern with each row, each succeeding row has the same numerals in the units place as in the tiles of all the previous rows.

Soon the child finds it interesting to mix up all 100 tiles on the table or rug, placing the tiles in their proper places on the board individually.  The Hundred Board makes the structure of the written decimal system apparent: even before a child can describe this pattern, she can see and make use of it to solve the problem of how to put the tiles in their places.

Once the basic left to right pattern is mastered, children create multiple variations by arranging the numbers in a forward spiral, backward spiral, and sometimes making up abstracted patterns.  Although different children often “create” these extensions year after year, they always feel as though they are the first to “invent” the new variation.

A beloved GTS tradition has developed over the years in regards to the Hundred Board.  When a child has completed the Hundred Board, a friend is invited to help carry it around the whole school to share the accomplishment.