Friday Folder

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” –William Arthur Ward

“The holiday season is a perfect time to reflect on our blessings and seek out ways to make life better for those around us.” –Anonymous

During the November and December Holidays it is often easy in America to forget that some of these holidays are not celebrated by everyone in our community. We can attempt to work Thanksgiving into a generalized celebration of gratitude that does not exclude citizens and community members who were not raised in the U.S. or Canada. The celebrations that are more connected with religion are sometimes more difficult to find ways of inclusion. Not everyone in our community celebrates Hanukah or Christmas. There are some non-religious celebrations and traditions connected with Christmas that also are not celebrated by everyone. We need to remember that “Santa” does not visit every house. When children discuss all of the items that “Santa” brings them, it might make children whose families do not celebrate the holiday wonder why this figure does not visit their house. We also need to be mindful that not all households that do celebrate this holiday celebrate it as extravagantly as others which also might leave children wondering why “Santa” brings different levels of items to different homes. When we are raised with a tradition, we often cannot see how it might potentially impact others around us.

Dr. Montessori was very clear in teaching children real stories and not make-believe or fantasy. In fact, Montessori pre-school classes do not discuss fairy tales or such. Children before age six have a mind that is developed to simply absorb information equally and cannot differentiate between real and fiction.

Children at ages six- nine are much more concerned with right and wrong and what is equal or fair. They might have conversations about holidays that younger children have not had yet. Especially if they do not feel that a discussion is factual or even if there are aspects that do not seem to be equal for everyone. Eagle Peak, being a Montessori school, values that students within the appropriate developmental ages are together in a classroom where it is natural for these discussions to take place.

As a school we do discuss the various holidays in class so that all children have a basic idea of what is celebrated, we do not center our lessons or celebrations around one tradition. We do not have classroom holiday parties as such. In the past we have been fortunate to celebrate International Day before the Winter Break. This was a day of a very brief snapshot into other countries and places. Unfortunately, this year we will not be able to do so. However, we will continue the tradition of being globally minded and this includes respecting that everyone celebrates differently.

Please help us help you. We ask that you speak to your child about coming to the office for being ill. While we want anyone who is feeling ill to let us know, we want to also help the students be able to know when a stomach ache might just be a bit of homesickness instead. We are not medical professionals and as such must err on the side of caution. Every time a child comes to the office and says that they have any of the potential symptoms of covid, they must be picked up within 30 minutes and be tested for covid. Thank you for your cooperation.

So many Reminders:

If your child has been fully vaccinated, please provide a copy of the completed vaccination card to the office. The information will kept confidential.

When your child is sick, please remember to call (925-946-0994) or email (Admin@eaglepeakmontessori.org) the office. Thank you.

Covid Testing- Please note that we must receive the results of a Covid- 19 PCR test. We cannot accept the results of a rapid test. Thank you for your help with this.

Please avoid calling the office during carpool (M, Tu, Th, F 2:45-3:00 and Wed 1:40-1:55p), there is a good chance you will get disconnected due to the children performing their carpool tasks over the loud speaker.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO SEND YOUR KIDS TO SCHOOL WITH THEIR WATER BOTTLES.

Our Art teacher is looking for clay and Fuji Instax mini film donations.

Hello from CFEP!

Thank you so much for your enthusiastic support of our logo gear sales! We will be still taking orders through the WEBSITE throughout the year, for pick up in the office. From now on, when you order, you will receive a date that you can pick up in the office when they are ready. The next pick up days are December 7th & 14th.

You can order anything, including our brand new VERY comfortable branded masks. We will be wearing masks on campus all the way through 2022, so it's a great way to support our school and stay safe on campus! Our branded masks have a metal nose bridge, a pocket for an optional filter, adjustable ear loops, and are machine washable (hang dry).

Mask Pricing

Kid mask: $8 each, 2 for $15

Adult mask: $12 each, 2 for $20

2 kid, 2 adult mask bundle: $30

Please follow this LINK to order your masks and other logo gear today!!

If you have any questions, email Laura Desautels at laura@cfep.us or Megan Daoudi at megan@cfep.us. Thank you so much for your support!!

SEE's CANDY

Please make sure you order some See's candies before the holiday break so they can arrive on time for your celebrations! Every purchase sends 50% back to the school, and See's is a locally run business. If you share the link to your friends and family, they can order and it will benefit the school too. This is an AMAZING opportunity to support Eagle Peak!!

Follow this link to go directly to our store: https://tinyurl.com/js78vsae

Reminder: End of Year Corporate Matching!!
Please check with the company you work for to see if they match your donations! The end of the year is an especially great time to seize the moment for any last minute tax write offs for your company! You might be surprised that you can double your efforts for the school. Thank you for your support!!

Social Media Support!

We are ramping up our social media presence for both Eagle Peak and CFEP, so please make sure you like our pages and follow our posts. If you see one of our posts, please make sure you like, comment, or tag a fellow parent! These are all great ways to support the school and it costs NOTHING!!

Follow the links below to find our pages easily:

Eagle Peak Facebook

Eagle Peak Instagram

CFEP Facebook

CFEP Instagram

6th Grade Gathering Leaders: Harleen Dhillon and Gabriel Hinojosa

5th Grade Quotes – Integrity

Tycen Kirkpatrick – “Integrity is when you care more for the hard truth than the easy lie..” – Maxime Legace

Sophie Liu – “Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.” – Oprah Winfrey

EAGLE PEAK MONTESSORI SCHOOL

Elementary Gr 1-6: 8:30am-2:45pm (Gate closes at 8:30am and opens at 2:45pm)

Adolescent Program Gr 7&8: 8:30am-3:15pm

Wednesdays and other Early Dismissal Days- 1:40pm

Childcare is still looking for yarn donations. If you have any yarn cluttering your house, our childcare would really like to have it as a donation. Thank you.

On Wednesdays we encourage students to bring little to no waste such as wrappers or anything that goes in to the trash bin. Instead we encourage you to bring reusable, recyclable and compostable containers. Participating in waste free Wednesday will ensure our school is a cleaner place.

Please check the Lost and Found rack. We are getting quite the collection. We also have a few water bottles. So please check it out. It is currently located in between Room 201 and the Office. And for those smaller items, we have a small wooden bowl in the office on the counter. Please check that out as well. Thank you.

Remember to gather your Box Tops for Education.

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS: Buy participating products and use the Box Tops mobile app to scan your store receipt within 14 days of purchase. The app identifies eligible products and automatically adds Box Tops to Eagle Peak's earnings online. Even if you’re shopping online or doing grocery pickup, you can still submit your e-receipts and earn Box Tops. Your earnings may seem small, but they really do add up. The more people that participate, the bigger the impact we can make. Learn more about how Box Tops works at BTFE.com.

Email: Admin@Eaglepeakmontessori.org
Website: eaglepeakmontessori.org
Location: 800 Hutchinson Road, Walnut Creek, CA, USA
Phone: (925)946-0994