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2018-2019 Impact Report Our Mission Our mission in partnership with teachers, parents and students, is to nurture a lifelong love of learning. Our “whole child” focus creates self-motivated, creative, critical thinkers and kind, responsible global citizens. We are unflagging in our commitment to our students and strive to create an exceptional and authentic Montessori environment so that each student may achieve their maximum potential. Our Philosophy & Guiding Principles The Village School is guided by the theory and practice of the Montessori philosophy and believes that it is fundamentally important to: Foster a lifelong love of learning. Impart a challenging curriculum that supports and respects individual learning styles Table of in multi-age classrooms. Contents Educate the whole child by recognizing and respecting the physical, emotional, and intellectual individuality of each child. A Letter from the Directors Nurture in each child creativity, independence, self confidence, and the joy of Annual Fund Feature Story discovery. Annual Fund Statistics Provide well-structured environments, order and orientation in classrooms, proper sequencing of materials, and a consistent educational approach. Enduring Gift of Giving Encourage sensitivity and awareness for all people and cultures as well as for the Meet The VS Trustees global environment. Parent Volunteers Affirm and support the value of family-school partnerships by encouraging active FAQ’s family involvement. A Million Dreams Develop a sense of community in and out of classrooms by encouraging cooperative learning, problem solving, and community service. The Village School is a private, not-for profit Montessori school educating children in programs from Toddler through Middle School. Students come from Bergen, Passaic and Rockland Counties and range from ages 18 months to 14 years. The Village School was founded on the principles and philosophy of Dr. Maria Montessori, reflecting that each child is inherently unique, having individual talents, interests, and internal schedules. The entire environment of our school, both physical and philosophically, is designed so that each child can pursue the course which will best promote his or her development. The Village School is an Accredited school of the American Montessori Society and the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. It is also a member of the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools and the New Jersey Montessori Administrators’ Council. Disclaimer: This Annual Report is for the period July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019. The Development Office has made every effort to ensure the information in this report is accurate and complete. For misspellings of names, omissions, or other errors, please accept our apologies and notify us at 201-445-6160, so that we may accurately correct our records. Dear Village School Families and Friends, We are very grateful for everything that you do to support The Village School. Your support is fundamental in making The Village School both financially stable and in building a strong supportive community working together to provide an amazing learning environment in which children can flourish. In this report we have highlighted the importance of music in our school and how it enriches the children’s educational experience. Maria Montessori said that “Music can touch us in a way that nothing else can. No better gift can we give to the children than to open this door for them.” All schools are required to provide a fundamental education, however, education should be about a lot more than just reading, math and taking tests. As an independent school we have the freedom to make important decisions as to what we feel will most enrich the children’s learning. As you already know tuition pays for the fundamentals. Fundraising pays for the extras which impacts all areas of school life. Fundraising enables us to have music on all levels with two full time music teachers. It also pays for the orchestras, choruses and percussion groups that further enhance our student experiences. It pays for updated materials and technology, it provides specialist subjects such as journalism and makerspace. It enables us to provide scholarships which helps to create a diverse environment. It also pays for staff development which ensures that our staff are kept fresh and current in their field. This year our ‘Fund A Need’ paid for us to renovate our elementary playground providing both a safe and functional area for the children to use during school time and for families to use after school. We are grateful to everyone who contributed to fundraising this year, to those who made monetary donations to the Annual Fund and the Endowment Campaign, the businesses/people that donated items to the auction, the volunteers that chaired events. There are also many people that support the school in other ways, such as attending events, providing food for events or helping in the background. As Directors of The Village School we are extremely thankful that we have you to support us in our mission to nurture a lifelong love of learning and create children that are self-motivated, creative critical thinkers who are also kind, responsible global citizens. As a community we can all be proud that our fundraising efforts have enabled us to provide the children with an exceptional and authentic Montessori environment in which each child may achieve their full potential. Marilyn and Dadmara Marilyn Larkin Dadmara DeSantis Annual Fund Feature Story Music at the Village School The idea that every child is able to express themselves musically lies at the center of the Montessori philosophy. The Village School, established in 1977, has always placed a great emphasis on music education. It enables children to communicate and express themselves non-verbally; helps them to understand and enjoy music; enhances their math skills, literacy, and overall brain development; and can even improve their academic operatic music and enthusiasm for performance. choral repertoire, our chorus grew and in order to give older children an While music is a separate lesson in opportunity to perform more the day, it is also a natural and challenging material, our group was integral part of classroom life starting expanded into Junior (3-4th grade) at the toddler level. Songs are heard and Senior (5-8th grade) Choruses. at the start of the day, during transitions, through their walk down Last year, Thad Wheeler joined our the hallway and on the playground. music faculty and brought with him There is music being made or heard his vast experience in instrumental in almost every corner of our school. music. Our instrumental program was initially implemented in 2013 with just Through the year, music is infused a small group of children taking into our community celebrations and instrumental lessons at the school. presentations. Our International Day This group formed into a Junior begins and ends with songs that all Orchestra, which consists of students children learn and sing together as a who are beginning to study an community. Middle School students orchestral instrument. Being in are given an additional task to orchestra gives them an opportunity accompany these songs on to make music with others, even if instruments. Each grade level shares they have only learned to play 3 a song at the Thanksgiving notes. Instrumental parts are celebration and our day ends with an adjusted to every child’s ability and annual sing-along of “Over the River working together, they create music and Through the Woods”. Our and an experience they can feel graduation ceremony is a vast proud of. musical presentation. It not only allows each grade level to present a At the initiation of instrumental musical gift to the 8th grade students program, there was also a small but also gives graduates an group of students who have taken opportunity to showcase their musical instrumental lessons for several years talents. and were proficient music sight readers. This became our new Marina Krasnopolsky, joined the Chamber Orchestra, which is the only Village School as a Music Teacher in audition performance group at our 2007. At that time, she taught all school. Students who audition for the students from Toddler to Middle Chamber Orchestra have been taking School and a small chorus of about lessons for several years, are able to 15 students that met weekly after learn music independently and work school. With her experience in earliest level, children hear stories of great classical composers through story-telling. Later in Upper Elementary, as they learn music notation, they will play music of this composer in classroom instrumental ensembles. Our music room is filled with a large variety of percussion instruments, recorders and ukuleles, giving each child a new way to experience music. So why does the Village School put such an emphasis on music? Dr. John Feierabend, Professor Emeritus at the Hartt School of Music, is a leading authority in music and movement development in early childhood. He explains that our goal as music on playing more challenging, classical orchestral educators is to help children grow into adults that are repertoire. tuneful, beatful and artful so they can participate in the Before joining us at the Village School, Thad worked music that is interwoven throughout our lives. Children as a professional percussionist performing on and adults that are tuneful can sing Happy Birthday in Broadway and around the world. He drew on his tune with others or lullaby to a crying baby. Adults experience to create a new ensemble allowing many who are beatful can clap a beat at a sporting event or of our piano students to participate in a Percussion dance at their child’s wedding. Artful individuals are Ensemble. Students learn to use many of our pitched moved by the music that they hear in concert halls, and non-pitched instruments and work on improvised religious ceremonies, radio and can enjoy this shared and classical repertoire.

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