News
Third Time is a Charm for South Suburban Montessori’s Upper Elementary Students
For the third consecutive year, students from South Suburban Montessori School’s Upper Elementary program took home a top trophy in the Bird Identification event of the Elementary Science Olympiad, held at Cleveland State University on Saturday, March 20. The duo of Summer Motton and Aleesia McKinney placed first out of 17 other schools competing in that event, while the entire South Suburban team of seven students was awarded the overall first place prize for exceptional Sportsmanship Conduct.
South Suburban has competed in the Science Olympiad for the past three years as an extension of its 4th, 5th and 6th grade science education program. Students are not required to participate, but rather are encouraged to choose events that spark their interest.
This year, the students participated in a total of 16 of 24 separate events against 21other public and non-public schools. South Suburban was the only Montessori school taking part in the competition. The events chosen by the students covered an extensive range of topics, including aerodynamics, mechanical design, chemistry, physics, geology, zoology and botany. Team members also included Jordan Price, Beck Saine, Jeremy Vitello, Rainell Vernon and Mary-Kate White. The team was coached by South Suburban teacher Kim White who was assisted by various subject matter experts.
“We are so very proud of and excited for our Upper Elementary students. Their enthusiast participation and success in this event is another example of the outstanding, holistic education our Montessori school provides,” commented Head of School Amy Mackie-Barr.
South Suburban Opens Its New Library
South Suburban announces the opening of its new school library.For the first time in the school's 40 year history, it has a stand-alone, well organized library, complete with a full complement of up-to-date materials, including books, periodicals, hand-selected educational software and several new computers. It is an inviting, comfortable environment which beckons all of its' students to expand their horizons as they learn the joys of discovering the treasures inside.
By providing a wide range of materials and activities, South Suburban's library provides an opportunity for children to experience the enjoyment of reading and the excitement of discovering knowledge and works of the imagination. The mission of South Suburban's library program is to inspire and encourage a lifelong love of reading and literature and to teach students to locate, evaluate, and use information independently and effectively.
The library space and the materials will be used by all of South Suburban's students...from toddlers through its' middle school students. The entire student body celebrated the opening of the school's library by coming together for a ribbon cutting ceremony of January 7th.
Montessori Education Provides Better Outcomes
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H1N1 Update
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South Suburban Montessori School Students Place Second in Virtual GLOBE Conference
Congratulations to South Suburban Montessori School Students Brandon Stralka, 12, of Independence, OH, and Summer Motton, 11, of Strongsville, OH. The pair won second place in the virtual GLOBE conference, in which the pair participated from December 2008 through Spring 2009. GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide hands-on, primary and secondary school-based science and education program. GLOBE promotes and supports collaboration among students, teachers and scientists on inquiry-based investigations of the environment and the Earth system working in close partnership with NASA and NSF Earth System Science. GLOBE improves student understanding of science because it involves them in performing real science - taking measurements, analyzing data, and participating in research in collaboration with scientists.
The project gave students the opportunity to collect climate data to be used by NASA research scientists as part of ongoing studies of global climate change. Because of an inability to penetrate cloud cover, satellite temperature sensors cannot accurately detect surface temperatures. Students first learned the protocol for the study, then determined precise locations using GPS units and took surface temperatures using infrared thermometers during the month of December 2008. The data was entered by the students into a worldwide database, and once validated, was used to give the NASA researchers a better understanding of local temperature patterns and climate change. The title of the students’ project submission was “What is the relationship between Elevation and Snow Cover.” It was judged against numerous other projects submitted by fifteen other elementary schools in the United States.
South Suburban Montessori School helps Northeast Ohio Sheltie Rescue
The Lower Elementary students from South Suburban Montessori School took on quite a project when they decided to help the Northeast Ohio Sheltie Rescue with a Doggie Biscuit Sale. The students, ages 6 through 9 years, were inspired when they had a visit from a couple of “furry” members from the organization in March. After visiting with the dogs, the students decided that they would like to raise money to help support the organization.
They decided to have a Doggie Biscuit Sale. The students created order forms and marketed the idea of a doggie biscuit sale to parents and friends. The children started baking biscuits four weeks ago. Since then, they weighed, stamped and bagged over 85 one pound orders of doggie biscuits. All of their efforts have raised over $400.00. The students presented a check to Northeast Ohio Sheltie Rescue on Wednesday, June 10th, 2009.