As I begin my second term as Board President, if I know one truth about CMEC, it is that we are much more than a school, we are truly a community. A community of dedicated faculty and staff and a community of invested parents, whose commitment lasts long after their time here ends. Where our community is strongest, however, is where we educate and nurture our children. Columbus Montessori changes the world, one child at a time, and our kids are going on to make a difference. Because of environmental factors beyond our control, the last few years have been difficult for all nonprof-its, Columbus Montessori included. Since 2009 we have operated with $300,000 dollars less in annual gov-ernment and other external funding that had played a critical role fulfilling our mission of educating the whole

child through magnified learning and care in a diverse environment. Columbus Montessori has, from its very first day, dedicated itself to advocating for quality education for all children. John Dewey said it so well with his quote: “What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all its children.” And with the changes in external funding over the past few years, the ability by Columbus Montessori to maintain a high level of socio-eco-nomic diversity has been challenged. The education hasn’t – we are still providing the highest quality Montessori education for ages birth through 6th grade. Our many awards, accreditations, and the students themselves attest to that, as you will read throughout this newsletter. We continue to strive to provide opportunity to as many as possible.

Our Spring Gala this year raised more than $85,000 in order to sup-port our mission and provide financial aid to families. Why is this important and why do we ask our current and alumni families to give so generously year after year? Because we are more than a school. We are a community. A community who demands all children receive the high-quality education we choose to provide for our own children. So thank you for the support you have given to Columbus Montessori. And thank you for the future invest-ment you make for all children.

Missy BedellPresident, Board of Trustees

979 S. James RoadColumbus, OH 43227

Summer2011

Alumnus Profilepage 8

Annual Fund Newspage 7

ACCREDITATIONCMEC Pursuing Accreditationpage 6

SPRING GALA SUCCESSMore than 250 parents, alumni, community members and guests page 2

FIRST EVER SCIENCE FAIRpage 4

WHAT’S INSIDE:

serving infants through grade 6

columbus montessorieducation center

Back to School | First Day of the New School Year is August 23, 2011

COLUMBUSMONTESSORIEDUCATION CENTER

If you would like to become more involved with Columbus Montessori Education Center’s plans and projects please call614.231.3790

Are you an Alumnus or Alumni Family? We want to hear from you! Contact Lauren Wood at lwood@columbusmontessori.org to update your information so that we can continue to share exciting news from Columbus Montessori Education Center.

Dear Friends: Message from the Board President

Columbus Montessori Education Center’s mission is to nurture and develop the whole child through magnified learning and quality care in a diverse community.

Alumni Profile: Matt BarnesYears attended Columbus Montessori: 1990-1992

What do you do now? I work as the weekend sports anchor at NBC4 in Columbus. I actually interned there in 2007 while in college.

Whom do you admire most? My parents, for the way they raised me and the values they instilled in me.

What do you remember most about Columbus Montessori Education Center? I simply remember always having fun. It was fun to go to CMEC everyday. I know learning isn’t always supposed to be fun, but it was there. I also remember the great teachers there and the friends I made. I keep in contact with some of them to this day! Oh, and I remember naptime. Oh, how I wish there was a scheduled naptime in my life now!

How do you think Montessori has prepared you for your journey through life and in your career?It’s hard to know exactly the impact CMEC had on my life and career, especially at such a young age (4-5 years old) but I know it got me off to a great start. I could always be myself there. I could learn at my own pace. I was challenged, but also not pushed too hard. It was tough leaving there after 2 years for elementary school, but it prepared me well and it showed in 1st grade and beyond.

Spring Gala: A great success!

This event raised $85,000 to support Columbus Montessori, an increase from last year, that reflects the generosity of the Columbus Montessori commu-nity.

The Gala featured more than 200 silent auction items from busi-nesses and individuals who sup-port Columbus Montessori.

The live auction featured student-made items from each classroom at Columbus Montessori along with other exciting items such as a Brutus Buckeye party appear-ance and the opportunity to dedi-cate a tree on the grounds of the Center. Suneeta Ganga and Joanna and Ryan Helon were the George Award winners for 2011. The George Award, named in honor of George Neugebauer, annually recog-nizes a volunteers for outstanding service and a commitment to children. These three individuals have given tir-

lessly of their time, talent and treasure.

Columbus Montessori alumnus, and current Columbus

Academy high schooler, Courtney Deena, shared with us her special journey and the exciting future that awaits her. Guests then raised their hands to support student financial assistance with a special dona-tion. This effort raised $17,000.

More than 250 parents, alumni, community members and guests celebrated the 2011 Spring Gala on April 9 at the Grand Valley Dale Ballroom.

2011 Gala Sponsors Thank you to all of our generous supporters.

Supporting Sponsors

& Drs. Morna and Gary Smith

Boich Companies

Patron Sponsors42FishMissy and Stephen BedellLaurel and Mike DawsonHuntington BankSuzanne and Dustin MetsMelody Steely & Steve GusslerRansier, Gouke, Whisler Families

George Award SponsorTiffany and Steve Harmon / Spartan Logistics

Raffle SponsorEllen M. Pizzuti

Print SponsorsGrange InsuranceComDoc

Patrice and Darryl Allen-HusseyBrian and Jill Aubert William and Jennifer Avoli Andrew Bartz and Sarah Saxbe-BartzBryce and Sherry Baugh Seth Becker Stephen and Melissa Bedell Zahi and Ayelet Ben-David Bill and Cindy Benedict Mark and Sarah Bennett Eric and Shannon Bersagel Robert and Tiffany Bethea Julia Bitzel Mark and Meredith Blake The Boehmler FamilyPat and Richard BrownDuan and Reggie CannonNancy and Larry CaseLay and Vone Chandavong Kerry and Julie Cibulskas Tina ClarkStaci Collier Scott and Tammie Colosky Roland and Mary Couture Mike and Laurel DawsonVenessa Decree Danielle Demko and Amanpal GarchaMorgan and Liam DonnellyMichelle Douglass and Elton SmithBradley and Danielle Dresbach Marcus and Marjorie Dresbach Jane Dunham Sam Dunlap and Debbie OgleAlfonso and Dionne EdwardsAustin EilbeckG. Preston and Jill Elliott Mark Engelhardt and Moira KonradBryan and Fran Evans Andrea Fein

Peggy and Bill Fein Kent and Jodi Finley Ted and Allison Finn Luful Fisher and Denise Hatter-FisherMark and Wendy FisherBeth Grimes Flood and Tom Flood Luke and Willow Fodor Dawn Freese Michael and Victoria Frost Mathew and Mary Fyie Mahesh and Suneeta Ganga William Garner and Melissa Blount-GarnerJacob and Elizabeth Garrett Pamela GlasgowBayardo Gonzalez and Carrie SheehanCecil Gouke and Jolie Havens-GoukeDaniel and Lisa Groff Jason and Elissa Gunsorek Eric Gussler and Kendra HouseholderPeter and Amanda HalpinJack and Norma Hand Steve and Tiffany Harmon Ryan and Joanna Helon Beth and Chris Henney Paul and Jeri HensleyJeff Hewitt and Lucie Grena-HewittSteve and Sherri HileShawn and Laura HitchingsTodd and Heather Hockman Steven and Julianne Huefner Edward Jamelarin Richard and Chamese Jarrett Joe JenningsChristopher and Bethany Kefauver Arvind and Rekha KohliSteven Landau and Katherine Adler

Zainab Latif and Fazal ElahiTrip and Lexie Lazarus Mary and Bill Lee Greg and Jennifer Lestini David and Julie LevyJohn Lewis and Judy HuangChristopher and Carrie Liebtag Wayne Lin and Elizabeth YoungBill and Elissa Litfin Terrance and Christy LumpkinsAndrea and George LynchAnnalese LynchKevin Ma and Margie ToyPramod Madala and Sowjanya ValluriRobert Marincic and Ellen ShackelfordSandy and Ray MasonDuncan and Debbie McEwenJames and Gena Merkel Dustin and Suzanne MetsMatthew and Nicole MillerSusan and Mark MillerRyan and Linsey Moffett along with his GrandparentsGeorge and Linda Neugebauer Greg and Vondolee Nixon Dawn and Shannon Overly-Sheterom Laura and Terry PaulJoseph and Adriana PefferMary PinatielloEllen PizzutiRobert and Tracy PlummerRobert and Natasha PorterVictoria Powers and David HornSaira and Jim PriestMichael and Natasha RaimondoKathy and Fred RansierJohn and Nicole ReehilBethanie Rhodes

Jim and Marcia RicketAllison Ricket and Angela PerrigoJanis RosenthalJamie and Susan RuppJohn and Laura RyanLori and Ed SachsRicarda SarkarPete Scott and Michelle MineoKevin SheaPeggy ShillerGary and Morna SmithKelly and James SmithThe Speranza FamilyTodd and Nicki StanleyMelody Steely and Steve GusslerRebecca and Carlton TannerDimitri and DeLois TeagueMatthew and Jennifer TiceAnn and Brian TimmEdward and Amy TimmonsSusan Tomasky and Ron UngvarskyJeffrey and Kim TurnerLenn TurnerAnthony and Becca UckerChristina and David ValentineKenneth and Julie WaddellAmanda and Lucas WeissElizabeth Weiss and Michael DarrMargaret and Andrew WestfallEric and Suzanne WhislerMarc Wiskemann and Kristi WilliamsLauren and Jeremy WoodNisar and Ambreen YakoobDoug and Sonya YencerDavid and Betsy YorkaAnonymous (15)

Thank You For Supporting Columbus Montessori2010-2011 Annual Fund Contributors

Critical FundsMore than $85,000 was raised through the 2010-2011 Annual Fund.

Nearly 300 current families, alumni, community leaders and friends invested in providing a quality education for our young children at Columbus Montessori. This fundraising campaign provides critical funds to the Center which helps us maintain low student-to-teacher ratios, develop trained and nurturing staff, purchase high-quality learning materials and ensure a safe and comfortable facility.

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Suneeta Ganga, Joanna and Ryan Helon

Missy Bedell speaking from behind

Room 5’s auction item.

Jennifer and Bill AvoliSarah Saxbe Bartz and Andrew BartzZahi and Ayelet Ben-DavidSarah and Mark BennettShannon and Eric BersagelDeb and Jay BoehmlerNancy and Larry CaseAdriana Castellanos and Joe PefferDanielle Demko and Aman GarchaNancy DeRoberts MooreJill and G. Preston ElliotFran & Brian EvansJodi and Kent FinleySuneeta and Mahesh GangaElizabeth and Jacob GarrettPam Glasgow

Lisa and Daniel GroffElissa and Jason GunsorekKimberly HallDenise Hatter-FisherJoanna and Ryan HelonHeather and Todd HockmanLisa & Benjamin HornJudy Huang and John LewisJohn Koetz, W.E. Davis InsuranceCarrie Liebtag and Chris LiebtagElizabeth Young and Wayne LinElissa and Bill LitfinNicole and Matt MillerLinsey and Ryan MoffettAngela and Jonathon MuglerLinda and George Neugebauer

Vondolee & Greg NixonNorthrup and AssociatesLaura and Jim PhiefferTracy and Rob PlummerAllyson and Ron PorshinskyKyle and Daniel ReinardLaura and John RyanLori and Ed SachsAmy and Rylin SlotterbeckJennifer and Matthew TiceAnn and Brian TimmLenn Turner

Gala 2011 Individual Patron Sponsors

The 2010-11 school year, my first at Columbus Montessori, has flown by. But even with the time passing, it has been marked by many highlights throughout the year. We have again been awarded a three star rating by Step Up To Quality.

We have re-earned our accreditation with the National Association for the Education of Young Children. We were honored at the Ohio Association for the Education of Young Children (OAEYC) for our quality work with children.

Presentations were made by faculty at the Cincinnati Montessori Society and OAEYC statewide conference.

We continue to work with four other programs from around the city as a model for our multi-age infant toddler program. Seven faculty members participated in the APPLE program for the state of Ohio and Ohio State University, providing us with addi-tional professional development. We have developed a partnership with Ohio Dominican University offer-ing programs through our Teacher Education Program. We have reached out to the State Department of Education, Ohio legislators, and

other Montessori programs to share our philosophy of the outstand-ing educational opportunities that Montessori has to offer.

I could go on and on, but the most important milestones this year have been with your children.

How many of our children have we seen take first steps this year and gotten first teeth this year, or had their first haircuts this year?

How many children came in the fall with just their innate wonder and awe of learning and are now using the moveable alphabet or counting beyond 1000 in Children’s House?

How many of our children write now in paragraphs and understand even more the wonder of nature through their work in our gardens and on our grounds?

How many of our lower elementary students have learned the basics of Spanish or the fun of participating in group physical education activities?

How many of our upper elementary students have rounded out their learning by sharing with the residents of the Sunrise community or real-

ized that giving back is what it is all about?

To me, these are our most important accomplishments this year. I cannot begin to share what great opportuni-ties next year will bring for Columbus Montessori! We will be welcoming back 94% of our faculty for next year. We will say goodbye to Elizabeth Workman who will be teaching next year at a Montessori School in Shanghai, China. And we are cel-ebrating our first twenty-five year Columbus Montessori veteran....Duan Cannon!

Yes, this has been a great year...next comes a fun summer with all of our programs in full swing including the elementary summer program and we’ll continue into the 2011-12 school year with even greater accomplish-ments and many more milestones to come!

Thanks to everyone who made this year so successful!

Lenn Turner, Executive DirectorExecutive Director

“I could go on and on, but the most important milestones this year have been with your children.”

We at The Columbus Montessori Education Center are thrilled to announce that our school is in the process of seeking simultaneous accreditation from both the Ameri-can Montessori Society (AMS) and the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS).

Our community is aware we provide an unequaled education in a true Montessori environment from six weeks through sixth grade. Gaining these accredita-tions will help everyone in Central Ohio and beyond quickly under-stand the first rate education our students receive. ISACS and AMS accreditation will be additional feathers in our hat as we compete

in an increasingly competitive private school marketplace.

Any child care provider or school can say that they practice Montes-sori, few do. At Columbus Montes-sori, already an affiliate member of AMS, we provide authentic Mon-tessori in every classroom, every day. AMS accreditation will help strengthen and unify the Montes-sori curriculum being taught at every level.

Parents look for an ISACS accredited school because they know the requirements are strin-gent and because they are looking for an administration free to imple-ment the mission of the school by designing and articulating its

curriculum, hiring and developing a capable and qualified faculty, and showing a commitment to continuous institutional growth and quality manifested by participation in the rigorous and comprehensive accreditation process of ISACS.

The process of achieving these accreditations is historically long; we expect somewhere between 24-34 months. While the end result will set us apart (currently no school in the State of Ohio has both of these accreditations), it is the required and intensive self-study that we expect to benefit from the most. The self-study process requires participation from our entire community and will reach into and benefit every classroom and office.

We look forward to the enthusi-asm and support of the Columbus Montessori Community in this process as we continue to provide the best Montessori educational value in the region.

Congratulations Duan Cannon on 25 Years of caring for infants and toddlers! Your presence and leadership at our Center is noticed and appreciated by all and we thank you for paving the way for our children’s futures.

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Columbus Montessori Education Center Moving Forward with Top Level Accreditations

A Year in Review

Initiated by upper elementary students Antonia Speranza and Aiden Geig, both the Upper and Lower Elementary students participated in Columbus Montessori’s first ever science fair! Projects were on display for one week in May and each room presented their projects individually in front of other students, teachers, parents and family members. It was an exciting event and we were all blown away by the hard work and creativity that each child showcased. Ved Kohli said, “It was fun working with Aneesh to figure out how water is a conductor of electricity. I also learned that if you want to make sound louder, you add more salt.” Congratulations on a job well done and thank you to all of the teachers, students and parents who contributed to this event! Special thanks to Antonia and Aiden for their inspiration and leadership.

Elementary School’s First Ever Science Fair

Thank you to our parents, children, faculty and staff for making our last day of school on June 2 a fantastic cel-ebration. The ceremony began at 3pm where we honored all of our third year graduates and presented them each with a certificate. The students were so excited to partake in this event and it was wonderful to see so many parents and families in the audience.

The children sang beautifully with the help of music teacher, Becky Ogden, and the upper elementary students

were given a special “token” from Lenn Turner demonstrating their exceptional leadership in the school. Brandon Reyes, our 6th grade graduate, deliv-ered a speech sending children on their way to new beginnings.

Following this celebration, we gathered for a special tree dedication ceremony. This tree was donated by Alexander, Nicholas, Cecil and Jolie Gouke and Benjamin and Lisa Horn and Family. The families came together at our Spring Gala auction to leave their

legacy at Columbus Montessori.

To top off the after-noon, children and families gathered at the playground to enjoy delicious Johnson’s Ice Cream and a variety of activi-ties. Thank you to everyone to helped make this day special for our children.

Last Day of School Celebration

“The greatest

sign of success

for a teacher is

to be able to say,

‘The children are

now working as

if I did not exist.’”

- Dr. Maria Montessori

Columbus Montessori Education Center will be hosting an Admissions Open House on Sunday, July 31st. This is an opportunity to meet with prospective families and share with them the true uniqueness that is Columbus Montessori. We invite all parents, volunteers and alumni to attend, as our guests love to hear from you. We hope to see you there!

OPEN HOUSE: July 31st, 3:00 - 5:00

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Each One, Reach OneInvite your family and friends to join us

Montessori lays a foundation of lifelong learning. You see it in your chil-dren, long after they graduate from Columbus Montessori. If each of us brought one friend or family member to school, our enrollment would grow even stronger. Please personally invite them to investigate how a Montessori education would work for them. Ask your friends and family to contact the school at 614-231-3790 to get more information and to sign up for a tour today. We are here during the summer and we will be happy to introduce them to your school.

Cecil & Jolie Gouke and Lisa, Benjamin & Brayden Horn

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Left: Ved Kohli, Aneesh Ganga. Right: Ashlee Jebalayan,

Unathi Ransier, Liam Timmons.

Right: Kindergarten Graduates, Evan and

Michael.