Villa Montessori, Villa Voice Pg. 1

Letter from

Head of School,

Margo O’Neill

Dear Parents,

On December 15th

, the PTO Teacher Apprecia-

tion Committee organized a lovely tribute to

Mary Orlando, our beloved Early Childhood

Director, in honor of her 35 years at Villa. All of

our infant, toddler, primary and elementary

students participated in this tribute, as well as

the middle school interns that were present

that day. Each student and staff member

dropped a ceramic “coin” into a beautiful vase,

giving a visual display of the depth of Mary’s

influence. The students also sang a song taught

to them by Clare Broyles, our music teacher. It

was a touching experience for all of us.

I first met Mary back in 1980 when I was just

beginning my Montessori career and she was

beginning a new chapter in hers, having just

accepted a teaching position here at Villa after

moving down from Flagstaff. She has been in-

strumental in Villa’s growth and emergence as

a prominent school in the Phoenix valley. Villa

would not be the school it is today without

Mary’s amazing contribution. For that, we are

very grateful.

We are also very grateful to Harley Bonham for

sharing his talent of photography with us to

capture the wonderful spirit of the event . To

see the gallery he created, please follow this

link: http://harleybonham.zenfolio.com/p474444169

Margo S. O’Neill

Head of School

Villa Voice January 6, 2016

Mary Orlando Celebrates 35 Years at Villa!

The PTO's inaugural volun-

teering engagement - at St.

Vincent de Paul, put us all in

the holiday spirit! Over 20

Villa volunteers showed up

to color and help the St. Vin-

cent de Paul charity.

There was also the Villa Family Hike on Silent Sun-

day at South Mountain! Everyone had a great time!

Enrichment Highlight:

Running Club

Running Club is an enrichment that teaches the joy of run-

ning. Every Tuesday and Thursday we run a half mile to the

Los Olivos Park. Once at the park we gather as a team and

stretch and participate in a variety of activities and games.

We focus on a different skill each practice, including: endur-

ance running, speed, strength, form and agility, relays and

distance running. We keep a high focus on unity and being a

supportive member of a team; the students often encourage

one another. The kids just love being outside and free to be

silly/goofy, laugh and really they are just natural runners.

The next race is in a couple of weeks. This is our BIG race and

the most fun! The best part of running club is that the races

really bring families together. Runners encourage their par-

ents and siblings to participate and everyone is always smil-

ing. I just love it!

January 23rd

Color Run If your runner can only participate in one run this year, the

Color Run is the event to race! The kids have the most fun at

this 5k race located in Tempe - apparently throwing colored

corn starch at each other is a winning idea! Runners wear

white and come out looking like rainbows, sometimes with

sparkles or glitter too!

January 30th

Villa Fun Run Running Club will be supporting the Villa PTO by helping out

with this fundraiser.

March 12th

Heroes to Hometown This is a charity run, and the proceeds will be supporting our

wounded soldiers. This is great small race in Gilbert Arizona.

Runners are given medals for placing in their age groups.

There is also plenty of treats for after the race!

April 2nd

Run the Runway This is a super fun race for families. It is located at the Scotts-

dale Airpark. They have a 1 mile race, 5k and 10k course. My

little ones will be racing the 1 mile. Mascots from various

Arizona sports teams will be there to cheer runners on!

April 23rd

The Bubble Run The bubble run is another great 5k run for families located in

central phoenix! Runners will run through colored thick bub-

bles 10+ feet high!

Kaitlyn Shaw Lead E2 Teacher

Running Club Teacher

PTO Creates Fun Memories

Through Family Events

Villa Montessori, Villa Voice Pg. 2

Welcome back from winter break! We hope that you all enjoyed some time off from

work and school with your family and friends. As we welcome in 2016, there are many

exciting events on the calendar.

First up is our first FUN RUN. The Villa Fun Run and V Games will be held on Saturday,

January 30th at Camelback High School from 10:00am to 1:00pm. Students can form

teams with their family and/or friends to earn prizes. This is a great opportunity to com-

bine family fun and fitness, while raising money for future PTO community events to-

gether.

Let's all register to participate in the FUN RUN! Get your children’s websites started

on https://raceroster.com/7436 so they can seek pledges. 1 Dollar = 1 Point. The

higher the points the more prizes they win.

We will have drawings each week for extra prizes as the kids begin raising money to-

wards their run. The two prize drawings next week:

• New registrant

• Top Fundraiser

Next on the calendar is a general PTO meeting on Thursday, February 25th at

6:00pm. This meeting will be for parents only - location TBD. We hope that you all can

join us. When the PTO began last year, Margo gave a great presentation about how a

PTO can enhance the Villa experience for families, students, teachers and the commu-

nity. Come learn more about what we have done so far, what we are planning to do and

how you can help! We are a young organization with BIG ideas - let's all work together

to make our school the BEST Montessori experience for our families and staff!!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS and line up a sitter! The 2016 Villa Auction is coming! Satur-

day, April 30th at the Heard Museum. This is one of our favorite events of the year - a

great night out for parents to support our wonderful school and mingle with friends!

Thank you to all who participated in the St. Vincent de Paul Hearts and Hands Volunteer

Event last month. It was a huge success!! Thank you to Lisa Moore for organizing such a

fantastic day. Look for pictures from the event below.

For updates on events, you can join us on Facebook - Villa PTO and our website

www.vmpto.org.

Happy New Year to all!

PTO Update

Villa Montessori, Villa Voice Pg. 3

Dates to Remember

January 13 Intro To E1

6:30—7:30PM, RM 101 For Parents of kindergarten students who will be entering E1 in the 2016/17 school year

January 18

School Closed (ALL) Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

January 20 Intro To E2

6:30—7:30PM, RM 201 For Parents of 3rd grade students who will be entering E2 in the 2016/17 school year

January 26

Magazine Drive Begins (Fundraiser for Middle School)

January 30

Villa PTO Fun Run and V Games 10AM—1PM

Camelback High School

February 1 Valentine Grams go on Sale!

February 12

Staff Professional Development Early Dismissal at 11:30AM

NO All Day Contracts

February 15 School Closed (ALL)

President’s Day

February 25 PTO General Meeting 6PM, Location TBA

Villa Montessori, Villa Voice Pg. 4

TAX CREDIT: The 2015 Public School Tax Credit is extended until April 15, 2016! Your support has us at over

$100,000 donated but we need $50,000 more! Please ask your friends, family & co-workers. Remember it’s a

Dollar For Dollar Credit towards your 2015 Arizona State Taxes! No money comes out of any tax payers pocket.

Most importantly, thank you for making the Villa Montessori Campaign a success for our children!

Villa Montessori, Villa Voice Pg. 5

Conscious Parenting Course Conscious Parenting Course Conscious Parenting Course Conscious Parenting Course By Micheline GreenBy Micheline GreenBy Micheline GreenBy Micheline Green

Details:Details:Details:Details:

Dates: Wednesday January 13th, Jan. 20th, Jan.27th, Feb 3rd

Time: 6:30 pm-8:30 pm

Fee: $197/per person

Where: Erica’s Room #101

Register at the front desk or email MichelineGreen@gmail.com with any questions. You may pay with a check

made out to “Pure Essence” at the front office or through paypal.

Throughout this 4 week course you will explore: 1. 7 Powers for Conscious Discipline

2. Explore your own traps and triggers to self control

3. Small and simple practices each week

4. Reflect on your own self disciplining journey

5. Develop wider perspectives

6. Mindfulness techniques

7. Support one another on your parenting journey

You will gain: 1. An empowered approach to any challenge

2. A more calm centered grounded space within

3. Better understanding to what your children are offering you

4. Awareness to your development

5. New skills for your tool box

6. Support and learning from other parents

7. More connectedness with your children

Testimonial:Testimonial:Testimonial:Testimonial: It was a pleasure attending Micheline Green’s Conscious Parenting Class with my daughter at Villa Montes-sori. I am 83 years old and have been a psychotherapist for over 55 years. Her approach teaches that the an-swers to our parenting dilemmas lie not in another book or opinions of others but within ourselves. Through her skillfully directed empathic approach with each person we discovered inner resources of love and contact for our children that we did not know we possessed. In other words, she helped the group understand that when we learn as parents what our children are trying to teach us it is amazing how our perception of our parenting problems changes. Every parent, no matter what age, should take advantage of this insightful and helpful course. As I have of-ten said to the therapists I teach, your clients and your children will heal you if you give them a chance. Robert Hilton, Ph.D. Author of Relational Somatic Psychotherapy

I look forward to seeing you there. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me!

Micheline

School Counselor

Integral Master Coach

Villa Montessori, Villa Voice Pg. 6

Support our Villa Community

In keeping with the community spirit of the “Villa Family,” we would like to help support those Villa

families that own or operate businesses. If you own or operate a business and would like your business

listed, AND have a child at Villa, please contact Barbi Smith at bsmith@villamontessori.com.

We will list the name of the business, phone number, Web site, and your name.

Villa Montessori, Villa Voice Pg. 7

ADVERTISEMENTS:

Advertising in the Villa Voice is available to Villa parents as a way to support our community and celebrate each

other’s successes. If you are interested in placing an Ad, the cost is $25 per newsletter, or $50 a month for a half-

page spread, with two newsletters being published each month. We email this newsletter to all parents and also

post it to our Web site www.villamontessori.com. To begin the process, please contact Barbi Smith at

bsmith@villamontessori.com.

Disclaimer:

All information contained in any classified Ad is the sole responsibility of the individual advertiser. Villa Mon-

tessori is not responsible for the accuracy or reliability of said information. Villa reserves the right to review

each Ad submitted, and to reject or discontinue, revise, and/or reclassify any Ad at any time for any reason.

Individual advertiser is responsible for all proofreading and verifying of all information of the Ad.

It takes a VILLAge!

Business Name Business Phone Business Web site Parent Name

Angie Sams, Personal Chef 602-430-2885 angiesams.com Angie Sams-Isham

Home Smart Elite—Residential Specialist 480-201-7466 uniquephoenixhomes.com Danielle O’Connell

Rodan and Fields Skincare, Consultant 602-549-0711 mscolville.myrandf.com Melanie S. Colville

Bartholomew Graphics 602-434-5341 Bartholomewgraphics.com Lisa Bartholomew

On The Spot Waxing 602-525-3234 waxingaroundtown.com Cody Davenport

Bikram Yoga AZ 602-HOT-YOGA bikramyogaaz.com Todd Deacon

Villa Montessori, Villa Voice Pg. 8

COST IS ONLY $25 PER AD! HALF-PAGE AD’S DUE ONE WEEK PRIOR TO PUBLISHIING!

Villa Montessori, Villa Voice Pg. 9

My name is Mark V. Haley D.D.S. I am a Villa Montessori Dad and a general dentist at the 27th

Ave. and

Bethany Home Rd. branch of Desert Dentistry. Desert Dentistry is a family owned group of five

offices around the valley and in Payson. I have been in practice for over twenty five years. I am very

proud of our office and wonderful staff.

I would like to personally invite you and your family to tour our facility and meet the staff. My philosophy

in Dentistry has always been to offer treatment options that achieve the best outcomes for our patients’

individual circumstances. We also have incentive programs for referrals! We look forward to helping you

and your family with your continued Dental Health!

Mark V. Haley D.D.S.

6226 N. 27th Ave. #C

Phoenix, AZ 85017

Office: 602-242-0060

markvhaleydds@yahoo.com

Villa Montessori, Villa Voice Pg. 10

Because vision development occurs from birth to age 6, it is now extremely im-portant for children to have their initial eye exams at age six months or ½

years old by a qualified optometrist (www.infantsee.org).

Understanding that this is not common knowledge for most parents, Healthy Eye Care is proud to offer the first initial eye exams in our state of the art facility for any child under 1 years old as a complementary public service, and any child

ages 1-6 for $50 (dilation included, normally $150).

If you know that your child is overdue for this initial health evaluation by an optometrist please call us at 480-887-8778.

*Please Understand: if your child can see, this does not mean they are not

straining to do so. This can only be determined by a qualified Optometrist.

www.myfiteyes.com

First Time Customers Receive $10 off Initial Order!