Stepping Stones Montessori hosts and plans multiple events both annually and for special occasions. These events are valuable for so many reasons, but most importantly they build and enrich our community. Please be sure to check our calendar page to check out upcoming events and keep reading for more information about our recurring events.
Pizza Lunch
Pizza Lunch is a fundraiser put on by the elementary to, typically, raise funds for the annual 6th-year trip. Parents have the option of signing up for Pizza Lunch which occurs once a month. Our elementary children then process the orders themselves with guidance from the lead guide/s. They tally the totals of requested slices, figure out how many pizzas they need, call in the order, complete grocery lists and shopping for additional items served with pizza lunch, and then work together the day of to get each classroom the correct pizzas and sides. All in all, it is a great learning experience and children and love the chance to have something a little different from the usual packed lunch!
Order forms are sent out at the beginning of the year but can be requested at any time.
Spaghetti Dinner
Spaghetti Dinner is an annual event that takes place typically in September, but has been ‘To-Go’ the last two years due to Covid-19. This year (2022) we are back in person! Families can sign up to attend Spaghetti Dinner and enjoy an evening of songs, a bake sale, and of course…plenty of spaghetti! You will find our halls filled with daily renditions of “On Top of Spaghetti” leading up to the special night.
Spaghetti Dinner Prep is an event in itself. Everything served at Spaghetti Dinner is prepped by students and volunteers who work to makes batches of spaghetti sauce, fresh bread, salad, and pounds of pasta. Each classroom helps out in a special (and age-appropriate) way, making this a true school-wide event. The pride of the children as they enjoy this dinner with their family is incredibly special, and shows just how capable children really are.
We hope you will join us for a Spaghetti Dinner!
International Fair
A core concept of Montessori is the philosophy that we are all ‘Global Citizens’, a part of the Cosmic Education Dr. Montessori believed so passionately in. That is, we as humans from every walk of life and every part of Earth share a connection to this world as our home, and thus all are part of one global community. While children learn to appreciate and celebrate all our differences, they also come away understanding just how interconnected we all are as well. Every year, children in the Elder and Elementary program prepare research about a country they choose to present during International Fair. They commit to hours and hours of research and preparation, learning details from culture and tradition to the biodiversity of their chosen country. Children even prepare a dish from their country to share! The amount of work put into this project really shows as you visit different children’s presentations. You’re sure to walk away with tons of new knowledge and an appreciation for how diverse our world really is!
Science Fair
Science Fair is another yearly research project in which our Elder and Elementary students prepare a science experiment. They get a hands-on experience with the scientific method, becoming masters at presenting their experiment at the annual Science Fair. After selecting their experiment, children form a hypothesis and test it out. This ignites a passion in them to always be searching for more information in a facts-based way while asking further questions. What happens if I change this? How do I know this is credible information? How can I make this outcome more dependable? After they have collected all their data, they reflect upon their experiment and identify what went right, what could use some improvement, and how everything came together.
Presentation Night
Have you ever wondered what a full Montessori lesson is like? There is nothing quite like Presentation Night to give you a peek! Children prepare a lesson they have fully mastered to present to family with full confidence in their knowledge. It is a great example of how a Montessori education really prepares a child from the introduction of materials to the outcome of a child being able to give the lesson with fluidity and incredible attention to detail. Parents come away astounded at what their child is capable of, and just how detailed tasks can be!
Field Day
At the end of every school year, children throughout the school head outside for a particularly exciting period of outdoor time! Primary and toddler students spend the morning enjoying pre-planned activities which have previously included water play, bubbles, chalk, t-shirt tye dying, bike and scooter riding, cooperative games, dinosaur digs, popsicles, watermelon, and more!
The Elementary heads over to Patriarche Park for a full day of fun! There are tons of planned games like sack races and water balloon tosses, a special grilled lunch, ice cream, and of course time for free play.
Mileage Club
Each year students from the Elder and Elementary programs participate in the mileage club program run by Sparrow Hospital. 3 times a week students run, jog, or walk laps in the school parking lot. Students get marks on cards for each lap. They can earn plastic feet on a chain for every 5 miles anda water bottle for reaching 20 miles.
Passages
The Passages Ceremony is an event that honors and celebrates the children who will be changing classrooms next year or did sometime during the current school year. Elder students, third-year students and sixth-year students will pass over a bridge, symbolizing their transition to their new environments. Third and sixth-year students make speeches and the sixth-year students’ time at Stepping Stones is especially recognized.
