2018-2019 MSNV Annual Report

ANNUAL REPORT

2018-2019

MISSION VISION OUR MISSION: We inspire and guide children to love learning, to love one another, and to love the world around them.

OUR VISION: We envision a humane and peaceful society where people of all ages feel reverence and responsibility for all that sustains life on Earth.

OUR VISION STATEMENT ON DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION: MSNV has a responsibility and a role in advocating for a world of love, acceptance, understanding, and inclusion. We empower our community to embrace these values by fostering respectful and compassionate interactions with all people. We aim for our students to embody a profound appreciation and respect for differences and interconnection, and to move forward with a commitment to equity, justice, and inclusion.

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of our listing of donors. If you find an error or omission, please contact Kari Cafeo, Head of School at kcafeo@msnv.org or Andreka Johnson, Director of Marketing Communications at ajohnson@msnv.org. All gifts listed in this report are those received between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019.

Faculty & Staff ADMINISTRATION AND SUPPORT STAFF Kari Cafeo Head of School Sara Bannon Director of Accounting and Human Resources

Will Sacarelos Facilities Manager

Beth Bell-Leresche Director of Parent Engagement

Tina Savage Events Coordinator

Diana Hwang Hillbrook Office Manager

Anna Sipin Accounting Assistant

Andreka Johnson Director of Marketing Communications

Gretchen Straczewski Advancement Admin. Assistant

Peter Leresche Technology Coordinator

Oanh Tran Valleybrook Office Manager

Christina Perruci Director of Admission and Enrollment Management

PREPRIMARY Laura Bellinger Christy Chen Jessica Mejia Claudia Wright

PRIMARY Jacalyn Bossart Jean Carr Timothy Chen Casey Choi Ingrid Fol Janine Labak Kathryn Lazaro Atim Obidegwu Jared Oerke Camilla Roberts Rachel Romano

ENRICHMENTS

LOWER ELEMENTARY

UPPER ELEMENTARY

Janig Baladouni Amanda Glithero Elizabeth Kyvig Aaron Pierce Kristan Rivera Timothy Schwartz

Catharina Jacknow David Morgan Jacqueline Savage Amy Schlenker Baylen Wagner

LEARNING SUPPORT Heidi Bishop Pauline Novak

EXTENDED DAY

Laura Bellinger Physical Education

Claudia Rohaly Physical Education

Mike Drennan Band

Rebeca Sandoval Spanish Teacher

Peter Leresche Physical Education

Suzy Scollon Art

Gina Moeller Art

Elizabeth Solis Spanish Teacher

Nate Oliver Music

Christopher Tolbert Music

Carlee Cameron Christie Cameron Casey Choi Autella Gasparek Peter Leresche Kristina Liboro Jessica Mejia Gabriella Nunez Leo Sandoval Rebeca Sandoval Valerie Santamaria

A MESSAGE FROM THE

Head of School As I reflect on the past year as Head of School at Montessori School of Northern Virginia, the first word that comes to mind is “passion.” In my opinion, few schools generate as much passion as MSNV, whether it is the level of engagement our students portray every day in the classroom, the dedication of our exceptional faculty and staff, or the commitment of our parents. I have the pleasure of seeing this “passion” each and every day. As any MSNV parent or student can attest, MSNV students love to come to school each day.

It is known that MSNV is dedicated to cultivating a love of learning in each child.

For fifty-seven years, our school has embraced the principles and teaching methods of Dr. Maria Montessori. We challenge our MSNV students academically in a safe environment while encouraging: curiosity, creativity, selfdiscipline, initiative and academic achievement, independence, self-confidence, and leadership. Through our strong partnership between the home and school, we help children reach their fullest potential.

Looking forward, we plan to continue programmatic and site improvements as we strive to create the ideal educational curriculum and setting for our students and their families. Our mission is to inspire and guide children to love learning, to love one another, and to love the world around them. With your support, for which I am personally thankful, the 2018-2019 school year at MSNV was a tremendous success.

We also acknowledge the significant investment that many of you have made of your time, talents, and energy to enrich the school experience for all members of our community. We are grateful for all your efforts to support the success of MSNV. On behalf of the school, I would like to thank our past and current families for being a part of such an incredible educational experience. Becoming a part of the MSNV community means choosing to participate in your child’s education and investing in his or her future as a compassionate, confident scholar and person. Thank you for being a part of the MSNV family!

With warmest regards,

Kari Cafeo Head of School

A NOTE FROM THE

President

MSNV BOARD OF TRUSTEES Dear Friends of MSNV, I am pleased to share that the 2018-2019 school year was a great success.

In July, we welcomed our new Head of School, Kari Cafeo. Kari quickly got to work meeting with faculty and staff individually, connecting with parents, and most importantly getting to know all of our children. The Board has been very pleased with the smooth transition Kari has facilitated. Over the past year, she has proven to be a very flexible and creative leader, with a keen eye for budget-friendly initiatives that expand the appeal of our programs and delight our children. I am sure I speak for many that Kari has quickly become a beloved member of our community, and we look forward to exciting things to come under her leadership.

I’d like to highlight the efforts of the Business Office and the Board’s Finance Committee to continue to enhance MSNV’s financial footing in the competitive marketplace of independent schools in the Washington, DC area. In the past year, MSNV has undertaken several initiatives to promote efficiency and to reduce costs.

Their efforts have enabled us to make a voluntary repayment of approximately eight percent of MSNV’s outstanding debt for the second year in a row. We are on track to pay off our debt within a decade, ahead of scheduled balloon payments.

As you’ll see in this report, MSNV continues to derive the majority of its operating budget from tuition and fees, which puts us in an enviable position among other independent schools that rely heavily on fundraising. With the support of the MSNV Fund we were able to send all of our teachers to the American Montessori Society conference and host an on-site Positive Discipline training for our teachers and staff. Your contributions to the Auction were directed to our financial assistance program, enabling us to offer an authentic Montessori education to a more diverse population in our community.

As I step down as President of the Board of Trustees and reflect on my two years in this role, I find myself deeply grateful for the many individuals who dedicate so much more than their time and financial support to further the mission of our school. I am most impressed by the heart that everyone brings to their work.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, thank you for everything that you do to inspire and guide our children to love learning, love one another, and to love the world around them. We have a truly unique and special community here at MSNV and we are well positioned to continue to carry our mission forward into the future.

With gratitude,

2018-2019 MSNV BOARD OF TRUSTEES Kent Allen Allison Carpenter Dennis Cotto Michael Cranna Kelly Engstrom

Jennifer O’Sullivan President, MSNV Board of Trustees, 2018-2019

Vice President Ann Ferris Christine Griggs Zachia Murray Gozie Nwabuebo Jennifer O’Sullivan President Pam Peckingpaugh Sabrina Rose-Smith Larisa Sawhney Stacy King Scanlon Treasurer Malini Sekhar Secretary

MSNV

FINANCIAL REPORT JULY 1, 2018 - JUNE 30, 2019

$526,955

Extended Day and Summer Camp

$113,428

Fundraising and Contributions

$18,079

REVENUE TOTAL REVENUE

Interests, Dividends & Other

$4,637,821

$3,979,359 Tuition & Fees (Net)

After Net Tuition LEARNING Discounts of SUPPORT

$176,716

$3,023,830

$508,466

Instruction

Advancement

$357,768

Extended Day and Summer Camp

EXPENSES TOTAL EXPENSES

$4,223,621

$282,880

General and Administrative

$50,677

Fundraising

2018-2019

MSNV DONORS We are happy to recognize the following individuals who made gifts to MSNV this year through the MSNV Fund. Your generosity supports every aspect of our Montessori community so that we may inspire and guide our children to love learning, to love one another, and to love the world around them.

Your contributions are helping to produce creative and innovative leaders for tomorrow's world.

PRACTICAL LIFE LEADERS (GIFTS OF $6000+) Anonymous

BEAD CHAIN BENEFACTORS (GIFTS OF $2400+) Kent Allen Anonymous Eric and Kelly Engstrom Barbara Francis and Robert Musser

PINK TOWER BUILDERS (GIFTS OF $1200+) Alex Attard and Maria Swainson Allison Carpenter and Nabeel Yousef Melissa and Ryan LaSalle Alex and Morgan Reed Sabrina Rose-Smith and John Smith III Matt and Stacy Scanlon

OUTDOOR NATURE NURTURERS (GIFTS OF $600+) Anonymous Sara and Tristan Bannon Joedy and Richard Cambridge Emmanuel and Rosemond Dennis Miriam and Nabil Marshood Ana and Timothy McIntosh Richard and Zachia Murray Arjuna and Kristan Rivera

GLOBAL PATHFINDER PATRONS (GIFTS OF $300+) Kathryn Ahlfeld and Timothy Schwartz David Bender and Cheryl Focht Kari and Rick Cafeo Michael and Rebecca Cranna Ann Ferris and Thorsten Ziegler Michael Frutchey and Larisa Sawhney Ami and Lawrence Gordon Claudia Gray-Rudd and Paul Rudd Colin and Ira O'Sullivan Anne Peterson Stephen Potter and Carter Shields Michael Ramires Atul Rustgi Helga and Lloyd Stevenson Alexander and Denise Wood

METAL INSET SUPPORTERS (GIFTS OF $100+)

FRIENDS OF MSNV (Up to $99)

Amir and Emma Afzal Patricia and Tom Ahlfeld Anonymous Anna and Egor Bondarev Katie and Tom-Erik Bowen Adrianna Bravo and Matt Fitzgerald Dan and Jean Carr Karen Consiglio and Ron Johnson Christina and Dennis Dipp Jon and Marian Engstrom Branislav and Sedina Eric Adele and Mark Feldstein Gigamon, Inc. Amanda Glithero Christine and William Griggs Kathy Grooms Andrew and Susan Hayden Kyle Johnson and Tamara O'Neil Anoop Kumar and Malini Sekhar Janine and Stan Labak Patrick LaSalle Gina and Jeffrey Moeller Gayatri and Naganand Murty Joe and Judith Nuss Parisa Pirani and Abouzar Rah David and Vivian Richard Carolyn and Chris Rodriguez Chandra and Valsala Sekhar Julianne and Raymond Shanley Gretchen and Jason Straczewski Ashley and Justin Testa Oanh Tran Daniel and Jennifer Voss

Carlye Austin and J. Carlos Madrid Elizabeth Bell-Leresche and Garry Bell Paula Boggs and Peter Seitz Erik and Martha Bond Jacalyn and Kent Bossart Tiffany and Tyler Colton Ingrid Diz-Fol and Joaquin Diz Laura and Michael Hill Diana Hwang Gregory and Catharina Jacknow Elizabeth Kyvig Shazeen Lakhani and Ali Moloo Lolo and Maya LaSida Megan and Mike Lumer Hristo and Svetlana Marintchev Catharin Meadors and Aaron Pierce Anne and Michael Megowan Aubrey Mosley and Katie Musser Noodle John Rudibaugh Meriwether Sale Jessica and Robert Sandler Jacqueline Savage Nicholas and Tina Savage Peijie Shen and Yaxi Zhou Martha and Thomas Shimkin Yan Shu and Nathan Smoot Nancy Smith Lily and Phill Thomas Fay Vasilarakis

RAISE A PADDLE

MSNV would like to thank the numerous attendees at our annual Auction who elected to give during the Raise a Paddle portion of the evening. Through your generosity, MSNV will be able to continue to support families through its tuition assistance program. Thank you for your attendance at the Auction and for your gracious generosity!

Amir and Emma Afzal Kathryn Ahlfeld and Timothy Schwartz Ana Alarcon and Juan Moreno Kent Allen Malika Azargoon and Mohammad Shahbazi Thea Bartha and David Rohrbach David Bender and Cheryl Focht Donna Blum-Kemelor and Phillip Kemelor Paula Boggs and Peter Seitz Anna and Egor Bondarev Jacalyn and Kent Bossart Kari and Rick Cafeo Daryn Cambridge and Alyson Lipsky Allison Carpenter and Nabeel Yousef Christy and Tim Chen Jason Chen and Tina Kamalanathan Joyce Cheng and Henry Tang Karen Consiglio and Ron Johnson Mark Cooter and Angelina Maguinness Dennis and Jessica Cotto Michael and Rebecca Cranna Catarina Cronquist and Andrew Tappert Eric Crusius and Emily Smith David and Jessica Culverhouse Ingrid Diz-Fol and Joaquin Diz Benjamin and Kathleen Dulaney Eric and Kelly Engstrom Beth Finerty-Stelzner Michael Frutchey and Larisa Sawhney Christine and William Griggs Chris and Tracy Hall Joshua and Kelly Holly Andrew Hunter and Karen Kleiber Jason and Nicole Kaeding

Saraswati Khalsa and Dilraj Sidhu Anoop Kumar and Malini Sekhar Elizabeth Kyvig Katie Larkin Melissa and Ryan LaSalle Jason and Lydia Maglathlin Ahmad Marzuki Dara and Jonathan Massicot Betsy Mitchell Gina and Jeffrey Moeller Neil Morgan and Kate Singleton Evdoxia Mpras and Nikolaos Vasilarakis Richard and Zachia Murray Barbara Francis and Robert Musser Bill and Pauline Novak Andrew and Kathryn Nuss Chiagozie Nwabuebo and Aniekan Udofia Atim and Chuma Obidegwu Jennifer and Robert O'Sullivan Brett and Emily Palmer Catharin Meadors and Aaron Pierce Alex and Morgan Reed Carolyn and Chris Rodriguez Claudia Rohaly Sabrina Rose-Smith and John Smith III Beca Sandoval Jennifer Sanwogou Hunter and Henry Hunter Jaqueline Savage Joe Savage Matt and Stacy Scanlon Amy and Ralph Schlenker Nancy Smith Ashley Barron and Robert Walls Abdu and Susan Youssofi

Bolded names gave $600+

BETSY MITCHELL ENDOWMENT A special thanks to everyone that has supported this endowed fund through their generous contributions. This fund was established to honor Betsy's long standing and exemplary commitment to the school. This fund will be secured and invested in a manner that allows it to grow, thereby providing a source of revenue, in perpetuity, to safeguard the quality Montessori education to which Betsy devoted her career. Your contributions are what make MSNV a leading Montessori school!

Clint Adams Kent Allen Robert Alwood and Dan-Tam Nguyen Pranoti Asher and Michael Kelley Gokalp Babaoglu and Cynthia Chu Geeta Banerjee Sara and Tristan Bannon Elizabeth Bell-Leresche and Garry Bell Brad and Jovanna Bello Tiffany Benge Bud and Heidi Bishop Donna Blum-Kemelor and Phillip Kemelor Karen Bopp Katie and Tom-Erik Bowen Adrianna Bravo and Matt Fitzgerald Jessica and Peter Braxton David Breen Michael and Stair Calhoun Christie Cameron Dan Cornette Dennis and Jessica Cotto Michael and Rebecca Cranna Jennifer and Keith Critzer Eric Crusius and Emily Smith Joanne and Ralph Erickson Ann Ferris and Thorsten Ziegler Jim and Karyn Ferro Benton and Joan Fisher Michael Frutchey and Larisa Sawhney Christine and William Griggs Nicole and Nolan Guagenti Harvey Hallenberg John Hasnas and Ann Tunstall

Dru and Janig Heard Greg Herbold and Alexa Stott Paul Hertz and Ninamarie Maragioglio Mu Kyung Hong Philipp Huber and Joanne Lewis Laura Humphrey Andrew Hunter and Karen Kleiber Diana Hwang Gregory and Catharina Jacknow Karl Kaser Julie and Marshall Kasten Amy and Donald Knieriem Anoop Kumar and Malini Sekhar Julia and Stephen Kurtz Elizabeth Kyvig Janine and Stan Labak Riea and Steven Lainoff Jennifer Liner and Dina McCullough Phyllis Liner Ana and Tim McIntosh Catharin Meadors and Aaron Pierce Kristina Messner Betsy Mitchell Susan Mitchell Gina and Jeffrey Moeller Cornelius Morgan Neil Morgan and Kate Singleton Julianne Mueller Richard and Zachia Murray Joseph and Michele Ney Andrew and Kathryn Nuss Atim and Chuma Obidegwu Colin and Ira O'Sullivan

Jennifer and Robert O'Sullivan Brett and Emily Palmer Ann and Matt Payne Nathalie Phaeton and Harry Torain Anthony and Kate Pinson Alex and Morgan Reed Aileen Reynolds and Robert Silverstein Arjuna and Kristan Rivera Claudia Rohaly Sabrina Rose-Smith and John Smith III Camille Russell Jaqueline Savage Nicholas and Tina Savage Patricia Sawhney Matt and Stacy Scanlon Hope Scherer Amy and Ralph Schlenker Suzy Scollon Julianne and Raymond Shanley Nancy Smith Thomas and Ritika Stauber Gretchen and Jason Straczewski John and Katherine TerBush Alan and Jana Thomas David and Theresa Trissel Baylen Wagner Tobi Walker Kerry Weems Abdu and Susan Youssofi

SPOTLIGHT

A NEW LEADER TAKES THE HELM In July a bright, beaming bolt of energy entered the halls of MSNV in the form of its new Head of School Kari Cafeo.

With years spent in the classroom and leading other independent schools, Cafeo is no stranger to education. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that she hit the road running once at MSNV. “One of the first things I wanted to accomplish early on at MSNV is to establish relationships with its community -- the students, parents, and staff that make MSNV such a special place,” Cafeo said.

“My arrival last summer offered me the opportunity to get to know our students enrolled in Camp MSNV in a relaxed atmosphere. I also got to meet and speak with parents one on one to address any questions and/or concerns prior to the start of school.”

Before long, fall rolled around, bringing with it the opportunity to meet the community through Coffee with Kari, Back to School Night, Fall Picnic, and other communal gatherings. “I love the wonderfully rich traditions of MSNV and how they stimulate engagement amongst our families, faculty, and alumni,” Cafeo said. “It was great to engage with our community in this way, whether in the lobby of Valleybrook or amidst the idyllic foliage of Fort Hunt Park, it only goes to further my goal of creating a one school atmosphere."

To staff, Cafeo’s presence has made an undeniable impact. “It has been a privilege to get to know Kari this year, as a Head of School, as a student advocate, as a co-worker, and as a friend,” said Tina Savage, Events Coordinator at MSNV. “Kari's excitement, energy, and enthusiasm for getting to know all the parts of MSNV is awe inspiring. She has supported the relationships between teachers and parents, while working to strengthen the connection between both campuses. The school is so lucky to have Kari join our MSNV family."

As Head of School, Cafeo works closely with MSNV’s Board of Trustees. They too recognize Cafeo’s contributions to the school. “It has been a pleasure to work alongside Kari this past year,” said Stacy King Scanlon, Treasurer of the Board of Trustees. “She has fostered a strong community between the two campuses in such a short period of time, and she wholeheartedly embraces our mission to inspire and guide children to love learning, to love one another, and to love the world around them. As Kari continues to build on our more than 50 years of success, I have never been more excited about the future of our school."

With a new school year underway, the community can take comfort that with Cafeo at the helm MSNV’s mission and legacy are not only intact, but poised to flourish in the years to come.

SPOTLIGHT

MSNV’s Young Alumni Hard at Work on the Environment The MSNV Young Alumni Service Group is an effort to keep former MSNV students close and involved -- to the school and to each other, through thoughtful and focused local and global service.

The annual focus of their service is voted on by the group and comprised of multi-level activities within their chosen theme. This year, MSNV’s Young Alumni Service Group voted to concentrate their efforts on the environment, specifically using the theme Reduce, Reuse & Recycle.

“Every year we look for a different topic, something that affects our community and something that we want to really take and apply ourselves to hopefully make a difference,” Skylar Thomas said. “We kind of had this broader environmental theme, and then we noticed that waste is just everywhere, it’s everywhere in everyone’s lives. So we kind of wanted to take that and do a project that really made our community aware of the role of waste in our lives and then how to reduce that waste.”

In preparation for their service, the group jumped into a fact-finding mission to collect information at multiple levels. “The very first thing that we did was that we sorted through the school’s trash,” Gabriela Selmonosky said. “Ms. Jackie collected all the trash bags from the different classrooms and we sorted through it to see what kind of trash was in there.

We found that most of the trash that was in the bins was actually recyclable.” In addition, the alumni also took assessments at each of their schools to determine what kinds of recycling systems were in place and if they were functioning. During winter break the group journeyed to the I-95 Landfill and adjacent Covanta processing plant which recycles energy from those wastes and regenerates to millions of homes locally.

On Friday, June 7 the MSNV Young Alumni Service Group capped off their year of work on the environment with a very successful community education event for students. “Slash the Trash was kind of our cumulative project,” Thomas said. “At the end of the year we wanted to involve all the kids at MSNV and have really interactive activities so that they could learn things about waste and then hopefully take that home to their families and implement those things that they learned.”

Slash the Trash: A Community Exploration in Waste engaged more than 90 MSNV students in games and activities to build awareness around care for our Earth. With alums located at each Reduce, Reuse & Recycle station, participants gathered to take part in the afternoon’s activities. Some of the workshops included creating a public art structure with recyclables, building eco-bricks to construct a garden bench, and weaving mats for the homeless from recycled plastic bags. Selmonosky adds, “One of my highlights from Slash the Trash was I was in charge of a relay race station

for sorting recycling and trash and I got to work with some of the Preprimary students and teach them which items went in what bin.”

Other enthusiastic students played an eco-footprint game on a life-sized board, and made their best guesses at how long certain categories of trash take to break down. The Reflection area of the event brought a slew of artists to create nature mandalas and chalked messages to our Earth. The effort included a raffle to raise money for the organization Keep America Beautiful, a national nonprofit whose mission is to inspire and educate people to end littering, improve recycling, and beautify America’s communities.

The work done throughout the year by our Young Alumni Service Group shows that they are truly embodying MSNV’s mission to love learning, love one another, and love the world around them.

The MSNV Fund:

Supporting the Fabric of MSNV Intertwined amongst the beautifully woven fabric that is MSNV are the enriching and diverse experiences made possible by the MSNV Fund. As the fundraising arm of our community, the MSNV Fund financially supports our ability to provide students with a fulfilling and highquality education. From field trips and professional development for our educators to playground renovations and capstone experiences such as Echo Hill, these events would not be possible without the generous contributions made to the MSNV Fund by our community.

Giving that inspires . . .

LEADERSHIP

Click the image above to hear about the MMUN experience from our sixth years.

One of the tenets of MSNV’s mission is to guide children to love one another. How fitting that the culmination of our Elementary program ends with our sixth years experiencing one of the biggest lessons in humanity - the Montessori Model United Nations (MMUN).

MMUN is a two-day experience where students from across the world gather to engage in a global education simulation that teaches them about critical thinking, social justice, and collaboration. The main objective of the MMUN Program is to engage students in authentic learning situations that teach them about critical thinking, social justice, and collaboration while participating in this memorable experience. Since 2012 our students have taken part in what many refer to as a "life-changing experience."

Each student becomes a delegate of a chosen nation. This year our students represented the countries of Indonesia and the United Kingdom. They wrote, presented, and debated issues affecting the nation they represented as well as our global society. In fact, four of our students were selected and voted for by their peers to represent their resolutions in front of the entire conference of more than 1,000 attendees at the real UN General Assembly podium.

Our students put in a lot of hard work and dedication in their preparation for the MMUN which accounts for their successful experience at MMUN. However, it is also important to recognize the moments in between, where the lessons of compassion were enacted in real time. Such as a student asking members of her committee to slow down their speech so that the delegates from other countries could be included. Welcoming the opportunity of making new friends while valuing the friendships that have been nurtured for years reminding an overwhelmed friend that she is kind and amazing. Or advocating to pass out leftover food to those in need on the streets. MMUN was an eye-opening experience for our students.

Their performance while in New York showed that they not only learned the lesson of humanity but made the commitment to live it daily.

Giving that inspires . . .

ADVENTURE

Click the image above to hear about the Echo Hill experience from our students.

There must be provision for the child to have contact with nature, to understand and appreciate the order, the harmony and the beauty in nature.

-Maria Montessori

MSNV students are encouraged to immerse themselves in nature and gain respect for its unwavering beauty. This is reflective of Maria Montessori’s belief that nature should be an inspiration for learning. As a result, nature has always been included as part of our curriculum -- be it through student recycling, outdoor gardening, or nature hikes. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the spring tradition of our Elementary students attending the Echo Hill Outdoor School is one of the highlights of the year.

In March our students and teachers traveled to Worton, Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay for an immersive three day, two night stay in Echo Hill’s residential program. The Echo Hill experience is grounded in having students live and learn closely with nature. Students slept in canvas platform tents, ate in the outdoor dining hall, and participated in naturalist led hands-on classes. The team at Echo Hill led our students around its unique setting, exploring the forest, beaches, and streams of the outdoor environment.

Like Maria Montessori, MSNV considers the outdoors an extension of the classroom. Experiences such as Echo Hill are invaluable to our students and further our mission of guiding children to love the world around them.

Giving that inspires . . .

CREATIVITY

Click the image above to hear about the Shakespeare Festival from our Elementary students.

On May 19, 2019 the Hillbrook Campus was transformed into Willowford Castle as Upper Elementary students welcomed the MSNV community to the school’s first ever Shakespeare Festival. After weeks of practice and preparation the inaugural event debuted featuring an afternoon full of song, dance, stunts, combat choreography, games, and The Tempest in three acts.

Performing Shakespeare has been a long-standing tradition at MSNV. However, out of the desire to have more opportunities for students beyond speaking on stage, the Shakespeare Festival was born. No longer were the words of Shakespeare’s day contained in the four walls of an auditorium, but were brought to life by our students. Festival attendees could participate in interactive experiences with students while in character as they told fortunes or sold apples. During the festival, students presented The Tempest in three acts, with each act performed by a different company of students. This increased the amount of time each student got to be on stage and their number of lines.

The production of the Shakespeare Festival not only developed the language and performance skills of our students, but served as an exercise on teamwork, flexibility, and cooperation. The Shakespeare Festival would not have been possible without the support of the entire MSNV community.

Giving that inspires . . .

CURIOSITY Maria Montessori once said, “Play is the work of the child.” At MSNV we strive to create a learning environment that supports every aspect of childhood, including play. With the support of the MSNV Fund the school was able to enhance the outdoor experience for our students by upgrading the features of the playgrounds at both campuses.

At Valleybrook, there is now a stone retaining wall featuring seating to aid in water management of the playground area. The imagination of our students can take flight as they experience the revamped outdoor learning spaces and garden area. In addition, new swings and a climbing structure have been added for their enjoyment.

The playground at Hillbrook now features a turf field where students can safely play and participate in group activities, games, and sports. Climbing structures and a building area have also been added to stimulate imaginative play.

We anticipate these enhancements to our outdoor areas will be the source of many happy memories for our students. When you have a moment, we invite you to take a look at these newly improved spaces.

MONTESSORI SCHOOL OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA HILLBROOK

VALLEYBROOK

6820 Pacific Lane Annandale, VA 22003 Phone | 703.256.9577

3433 Rose Lane Falls Church, VA 22042 Phone | 703.992.0255

LEARN MORE | www.msnv.org

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