Yesterday, our first day of Primary, 2024-25! Eleven returning students jumped right into works, and Miss Noelle had a host of presentations lined up. New students will start one or two at a time over the next couple of weeks. Our primary will have 20 students to start the year once everyone is added in. Prayers for a great new year. Prayers also for all of our supporters. You make this possible. Thank you! #montessori #montessorischool #montessorieducation #hilltopmontessorischool #steubenvilleohio #Steubenville #montessoriinsteubenville #montessorichildrenshouse
Introducing one of our new Toddler guides, Elizabeth Gavrilides.
Elizabeth is a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville with a degree in Theology and is completing her introductory AMI 0-3 training through Southwest Institute of Montessori Studies on August 19th. Elizabeth has worked in multiple child care settings in the past and is excited to make the move into Montessori education.
We’re delighted to have Elizabeth join our Hilltop Montessori School staff!
#hilltopmontessori #hilltopmontessorischool #montessori #montessoritoddler #montessoriteachersofinstagram #southwestinstituteofmontessoristudies
Front Page News!
The Steubenville Herald-Star has a nice write up of Mr. Tom completing the course work for his AMI Elementary diploma through the Southwest Institute of Montessori Studies. Miss Noëlle, of course, earned her AMI Primary diploma through SIMS in 2021.
We were happy to discuss what this means for the children entrusted to our care.
Check out our website for a link, if you don’t get the Sunday paper in print.
Slime camp was a messy blast! The children made gak, ooblek, fluffy slime, play doh, clear slime artworks, baked clay creations, edible slime, and even some elephant toothpaste! They also did some experiments with different ingredients to see what kind of concoctions they could make!
#hilltopmontessorischool #summercamp #slime #summerfun
Our end-of-year picnic became a zoo! No, really. Paper mache animals, made by our Elementary students during the final three weeks of the school year, made the picnic more than just an opportunity for families to get together and have a good time. Learn more at our website, link in bio.
We have an exciting announcement! Many pieces have come together in unexpected ways and, provided we get 10 enrollments, we will be offering a TODDLER Program in the fall! Toddler will run Monday through Thursday from 8:45 to 10:45 and be for children from the time they are walking with stability (12-15 months) to 3 years.
Admissions to the Toddler program will be conducted in the same way as admissions to Primary and Elementary - beginning with filling out the inquiry form on our website. So, if you are interested please fill out the form and please share with anyone you know who might be interested.
https://hilltopchildrenshouse.org/programs/
Starting off our final prayer table time of the school year with a song written by our of our 10-year-old students.
Pippa knows where to be.
We don`t have AC in the Elementary Building, so fans help make it comfortable in these last days of the year, once the weather really turns warm.
That fur, tho... 😂
Mangia! Every year we work with our elementary and full-day primary children on proper eating etiquette and table manners during lunch time. At the end of the year we treat them to a special lunch at Pastaio Cucina, the best restaurant in town (and recently named the best Italian restaurant in Ohio by one outlet!). Giuseppe and Vincenza at Pastaio really treat us well, we are so grateful. Our kids love the experience, and we love seeing those smiles!
#montessorielementary #montessoristeubenvilleohio #Montessori #montessorielementaryschool #hilltopmontessorischool #hilltopmontessori #steubenvillemontessori #Steubenville #SteubenvilleOhio #pastaio #italianrestaurant
Working together, sharing skills, and combining insights to figure out a problem. This is what Elementary is about.
Yesterday my assistant shared these pictures with me.
Two students are working on a project involving South America. They had the atlas out, and were musing on the total land area of the continent.
Another student who has done more in the area exercises of Geometry volunteered to help out, and he pulled out the yellow area material. The yellow area material helps students see how the area of a polygon, in this case triangles, can be determined by turning the polygon into a rectangle — area is easy to calculate at that point, it`s just base x height.
I`m not in the classroom this week due to my training program, so I wrote back to her that he was on the right track, but it would require them to make the connection to the grid on the map, and then to estimate around the edges.
She was going to read my feedback to them, but the boy who pulled out the yellow material stopped her: "No, we`ll figure it out!"
And they did... The second picture is the result of their calculations: 6,874,000 square miles.
The actual area, according to Britannica, is 6,878,000 square miles.
I`d say calculations to within 4,000 square miles is pretty darn good! #montessori #montessoriactivity #montessorigeography #montessorigeometry #montessorielementary #hilltopmontessorischool #hilltopmontessori
Where do you get the money?
That’s a question we’re often asked about the significant tuition reductions Hilltop Montessori school offers its families. Based in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Ohio, where the median income is just $28,000, two-thirds of our families receive some form of tuition assistance. The lowest-income families pay as little as $600 a year. And even the families paying full tuition, pay thousands less than the average cost of a Montessori education in the U.S.
So again, where do we get the money? How do we manage to keep tuition so low?
The answer is that it doesn’t come from grants, an endowment, or a scholarship fund. We don’t have any of those. We also don’t have major donors underwriting scholarships.
Rather, when we give a tuition reduction it simply means we take in less money from tuition. Which in turn means we have less money to operate the school. Important purchases often get delayed and our staff sometimes risk going months without pay. But the school continues to offer tuition reductions anyhow, for every family who needs them.
Why?
Because our mission is too important to let money get in the way. According to a recent study, Montessori is the only education method which eliminates the achievement gap that usually comes with income inequality. It has the potential to make a tremendous difference in the life of every child, but especially in the lives of children growing up in low-income areas.
Every child deserves the opportunity Hilltop provides. And when you make a tax-deductible donation to our school, you’re giving them that opportunity. You’re also furthering our mission of educating the whole child, by stabilizing our operations and making them less dependent on tuition. Help us bring opportunity to the children and families of Steubenville by supporting authentic Montessori education at Hilltop Montessori School. Pray for us, and contribute to our school today by clicking on the link in our bio. Thank you!
#montessorischool #montessorieducation #steubenville #hilltopchildrenshouse #steubenvilleohio #montessori #montessoriinsteubenville #support #supportsmallbusinessowners #supportlocalbusiness
It’s #GivingTuesday 2020. Like so many other worthy charities we are seeking your support.
We began this year in spite of COVID with twelve children. Since we do not wish ability to pay to be a barrier, seven of those twelve have received some level of tuition reduction.
As you can see in the photos below from our Instagram feed, it has been a pleasing year thus far. We have added:
- a dishwashing stand where children can learn to wash and dry their own dishes after snack;
- a knobs and screws work for the children to learn how to use basic tools;
- aprons and oil cloth underlays to increase the number of children who can do pouring works;
- some outdoor tools for raking leaves;
- more books for our reading corner, among other things.
Our ask for #GivingTuesday is two-fold:
Large Needs
Heating and Ventilation: First, if you can give a large amount, it will help us shore up our aging heating and cooling system. Our furnace, air conditioning unit, and ductwork are very old and need to be serviced badly. Such work doesn’t fit into the regular budget, so an emergency could be catastrophic for us.
Outdoor Works: Second, we would love to provide an outdoor space where children could go to do outdoor works in a secure and well-designed yard. This requires a retaining wall and fence around the perimeter.
Larger gifts will help make these possible sooner rather than later.
Smaller Needs
For those who cannot give a large amount, would you consider becoming a monthly donor? Monthly donors are the lifeblood of our operations, allowing us to plan for the future. We are looking for 20 new donors at the $20 level by the end of the year. We have nine new monthly donors, could you help us close that gap with a first $20 monthly donation?
Whatever you give, we thank you from the bottoms of our hearts. God bless!
