Happy Easter! Christ has risen, symbolizing hope, joy and a new beginning.  This year, Easter fell on April 4th.The children made their Easter cards and Easter egg baskets the last week of March.

The Easter baskets were made with a milk carton and some colorful tissue paper that the children rolled into decorative balls. Making Easter cards, and coloring, and cutting out Easter eggs.

The children took home their Easter cards and baskets on Japanese Culture Day, the day before the Easter break.

… and in April there were more wiggly teeth!  Children often stand in front of the mirror, checking which tooth is wiggly..

Flags: On their own initiative, the children started combining two activities and discovered a new matching game to play.

Good cooperation and concentration.

A child found the flag of her home country (Brazil) and her host country (Japan) while having her snack!   Learning the names of 10 shapes.

 

Making Shape mobiles.

Sandpaper Numbers: Tracing the correct formation of numerals with two fingers. Putting the numbers in order Birthday celebrations: Sharing her photos from each year, from 0 ~ 4 years old.

A new addition in the family: Writing a story about his newborn brother using the Small Moveable Alphabet.

Transferring using chopsticks to develop her fine motor skills.

Circle Time: A new child joining Circle Time for the first time.  She started dancing to the music in front of her 18 classmates!  Show and Tell: Things we can’t bring into the classroom, we can still share with photos. “I like jumping on the trampoline.”

Montessori Fun Day, April 29th: The children went to the interim gym for the last time before the new gym opens, and they had fun tossing in the air and catching the large balloons.   In the classroom: The children wanted to see what they could do with 100 paper cups. “Look what we made together!”

They also watched a video about beautiful butterflies and their life cycle.  Spring is here, and we do see lots of butterflies and bugs. At the end of the day, they all enjoyed some sherbet. It was yummy having a cold snack with friends.

Opening Ceremony of the new Cougar Café, Activity & Sports Center on April 29th.  

April 29th, which is saved for our annual Food Fair, was unfortunately canceled again due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  But this year it was a super special day in the 149-year history of Saint Maur International School. The old gymnasium (which Ms. Mimi used as a student) was demolished, and a brand new multi-story facility was completed after close to four years of construction next to our Montessori School Building.

Three children, one from each Montessori class, were invited to represent Montessori at the Opening Ceremony.

The three children sat with Ms. Mimi to listen to a live performance by the school Jazz band; special prayers and speeches by the School Head, the Architect, and a Construction company representative; and a thank you speech by the Student Council president.

Luna, the High School Student Council president, delivered a  “Thank you message” in three languages (English, Japanese, and French) and also joined in the ribbon-cutting ceremony with Ms. Thomas, Chairperson of the Board; and Mrs. Endo, School Head.  Luna was in Ms. Mimi and Mrs. Almoula’s class in Montessori for three years.

After the ceremony, Principal Ms. Rachel Forbes-Dias led her Elementary & French section representatives and Montessori children on their first tour of the new building. It was an exciting tour, to be the first to witness the new building.

At the entrance of the new building is a Cross made from pieces of the original wooden floor of the old gymnasium. To the right is a tile of Margaret flowers, which are found elsewhere on campus in various buildings. Can you find them? The Margarets are on our school badge. 

We went down from the levels of the cafeteria (2F), Spectators’ Stands (1F), and gymnasium (B1) to the activity rooms 1, 2, and 3 (B2).  Our pre-First children and Grades 1 and 2 students will have their P.E. classes in Room 3. Younger children will use Rooms 1 and 2. Look at those nice climbing ladders and colorful rock climbing boards in Room 3. Of course, there will be safety mats for them.  Each Montessori class will have their private tour of the new building the first week of May.

When we walked to the official gym court, this is what we saw from the bleachers. The volleyball players were having a Volleyball Clinic by Volleyball pro Ms. Hatakeyama.

The Opening of the new building is the highlight of the month, and perhaps of the year!  Congratulations on the newest addition to our campus: the Cougar Café, Activity & Sports Center!  This marks another new chapter in Saint Maur International School’s history.  How many of these children will graduate from Saint Maur?

Are you interested in looking at April obento lunches by one of our moms? Can you identify who the characters are?