Weekly Update Sept. 26 - Oct. 3
September 26th, 2025
Yesterday in Italy
“Children with Early Montessori Materials, Italy.”
Today in Northfield
Maria Montessori Speaks to Parents, p. 22
Happening this week:
Friday, Sept. 26th:
Friday Coffee Hour:
Join us after drop-off every Friday morning!
Monday, Sept. 29th:
Pizza Day - Help support the 6th year class trip as your child enjoys a slice of pizza for lunch!
Sign Up!
Work on the Playground is scheduled to begin today, Monday, Sept. 29th!
Friday, Oct. 3rd
Lower Elementary Field Trip
Lower Elementary children will participate in the Since Time Immemorial: Native American Communities in the Eastern Woodlands program, at The Institute for American Indian Studies including the Regional Similarities and Differences activity option, a clay pottery added on, and lunch at the museum.
Please hand in your permission slip!
Reminder -
There is no play date or game night hosted until the installation of the playground is complete.
If your child is eager to play games, though sign them up for game club!
Fall After School Clubs are starting!
Join us as we offer fall clubs Monday through Friday until 4:30pm.
Registration is now open.
Photo Days are coming!
Tuesday Oct. 7th:
- YPC & Lower Elementary
Wed. Oct 8th:
- Children's House & Upper Elementary
A note from the Head of School:
Devices and Children
This past week, we shared a message reminding everyone about the importance of holding off on giving children devices. Let’s unite in the intention as a community keeping devices out of the hands of very young children and even our oldest students, who are not developmentally prepared to manage the challenges that come with device use.
Research consistently shows that delaying access to devices benefits children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development. Experts at the Child Mind Institute recommend waiting until at least 8th grade before giving a child a smartphone (link). This topic is not a hard sell for any of us. It is something we bring up in the admissions process specifically to make sure everyone is on the same page as we decide if our school and your family is the right fit. That said, it is growing more and more challenging to balance what we have committed to with what we do in practice. To help us reach the expectations we all strive for, we choose to support one another with strategies and understanding. Below are some resources that will help us on our way.
I invite you to join our Coffee Hour today and future community circle events to share ideas and strategies with one another. Together, we can support our children by giving them the gift of boredom, imagination, and real-world connection, things no device can replace.
- https://acpeds.org/media-use-and-screen-time-its-impact-on-children-adolescents-and-families/
- https://healthmatters.nyp.org/what-does-too-much-screen-time-do-to-childrens-brains/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0885201423000242
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41390-025-04108-8
- https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2025/24_0537.htm
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8048888/
If you don’t need all the reasons to say “no”, here are some ways to say “yes”:
Things to know...
Help us prepare for the Fall Festival!
Fall Clean-up takes place on Saturday, October 11th from 9:00 AM to noon.
The playground work will begin on Monday! It should take about two weeks for installation. In light of that, will prepare for this year‘s Fall Festival with a cleanup day on Saturday, October 11th from 9:00 AM to noon. With it being a week before the big ribbon-cutting ceremony, and with guests on the way, this will be the time to do a little sprucing up. Thank you to Jenna Stockwell and Jaime Burnop for heading up the rock painting table for children that morning; they are leading the kindness rock garden rehabilitation work!
October 2025
Looking ahead...
- Oct7 Photo Days! YPC & Lower El. See Details
- Oct8 Photo Days! Children's House & Upper El. See Details
- Oct13 Indigenous Peoples Day (School Closed) See Details
- Oct18 LMS Annual Fall Festival & Playground Ribbon Ceremony See Details
- Oct30 7:00 PM Community Circle (Zoom) See Details
- Oct31 Montessori Schools of Connecticut Teacher Conference (School Closed) See Details