Dear Auguste Families, Alum Families, and Friends of Auguste

As most of our community knows, we have closed Auguste’s rascally doors. We celebrated 29 years around the sun in May! Our alums and current families held a beautiful party for our celebration of 29 years.

This year, we had three cakes with three different photos! All three levels of our Auguste classroom. They are all butterflies and going through metamorphosis!

Although we have closed, I am planning many hikes, trips to the pumpkin patch and our Celebration of Love and Light: Jingle Bell Rock! Some will be spontaneous and others will be mapped out ahead. Rascals double pinkie and a double pinkie is a contract so we are doing lots of those!

Below is a poem I wrote when asked to speak at my Association Montessori Internationale graduation on May 31, 1996. It was a special time and I want to thank Nancy Nickels, who was the founder of then Family Montessori. Her school held joy in the Montessori program and community. I did one of my student teaching programs there. I am thankful to parents from my first year teaching for encouraging me to start my own school. Elaine and Tom. Their older children had gone to Family! We only pieced it all together over this last year. I am thankful to my mom and dear friend Dan, for encouraging me to go to Montessori. Making that change and being true to myself was a very big change and I have been so happy working with Rascals. Dan also encouraged me to open my own school, and I am truly thankful. My teams over the years have been wonderful too! Very Grateful!

It has been wonderful observing our Rascals build their own temples and being true to themselves. Thank you for all of the support and kindness over these many years. We are all still building our temples and we need help with a big stone, we know we can ask for help. We all are learning and building in our own way. Maria Montessori really believed in that. I am not sure where I will place my next stone, but will share on my journey! Hope Rascals and you will still share yours!

Cheers, Love and Light!

Valerie aka Ms. O'Connor (or the Rascal

Building A Temple – A Child

A child is born

to the world

and for a moment

he moves as a moment

--a moment caught

between two worlds.

He wakes

between worlds

and like a wild animal

his fragile ears are piqued

to the other—other world.

A world

where a stranger is released

and waking he moves

to feel the light—

Hand moving over form

he discovers the pyramid

Building A Temple – A Child

A child is born

to the world

and for a moment

he moves as a moment

--a moment caught

between two worlds.

He wakes

between worlds

and like a wild animal

his fragile ears are piqued

to the other—other world.

A world

where a stranger is released

and waking he moves

to feel the light—

Hand moving over form

he discovers the pyramid

--he must climb.

First examining his treasures

like a pharaoh

then just for a moment

--caught in a moment

a movement of eye

to catch any sudden changes

in his new world’s shades

of light and dark.

Oh! What strength

in one so little!

he explodes

into directed light –

a contained fire

pushing towards purpose.

From this flight

of unconscious fury

the child builds himself

Embracing the wings of the world

he pushes back stone

molding transparent flight

out of clay.

climbing he traces

--the form of a leaf

--the space of a pyramid

--the sphere of his world

out of these forms

he pulls a limb,

--an arm, a face

--a will.

Emerging, stone by stone

he builds his temple

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Our Community

Our student body, ages 2-1/2 to 6 years old, is culturally, ethnically, and racially diverse. Located in the north Cleveland Park neighborhood. Auguste attracts students from a wide radius of northwest DC and Maryland neighborhoods. Founded in 1997 by our director Valerie O'Connor with a small group of parents, our vibrant community has grown to include many alumni. Many siblings and cousins attend together. Our Auguste alumni love to return regularly to work with the little ones in the classroom and participate in holiday events. We are proud of the bonds our families have forged with the school and with one another.

Mission

Auguste Montessori School respects each child as an individual and commits to developing each as a child of the world. We are dedicated to providing a nurturing and empowering environment to support the whole child: intellectual, spiritual, social, emotional, and physical. We practice an Association of Montessori Internationale (AMI) curriculum that is filled with joyful learning, opening the children to embrace the world with confidence and purpose. Furthermore, we work with the children to create a purposeful and beautiful community where reverence for wisdom, joy, connectedness, honesty, and integrity is manifest in all school activities.

Our objective

The objective of Auguste Montessori School is to provide a strong foundation and foster perseverance and belonging.

Strong Foundation: A robust foundational program supports the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive growth of all students.
Perseverance: Learning happens best when children have the confidence to make mistakes and gain strategies to work through challenges.
Belonging: We appreciate uniqueness of each student and welcome them with joy into a safe, inclusive environment.

Our objective

The objective of Auguste Montessori School is to provide a strong foundation and foster perseverance and belonging.

Strong Foundation: A robust foundational program supports the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive growth of all students.
Perseverance: Learning happens best when children have the confidence to make mistakes and gain strategies to work through challenges.
Belonging: We appreciate uniqueness of each student and welcome them with joy into a safe, inclusive environment.

Our Goal

Every human is a work in progress. We continually seek progress toward these goals for all children:

Nurturing the Individual

Development of each child according to individual needs and potentials.
The attainment of self-discipline.
The growth of independence and initiative.
The development of skills through the child's own effort and interest.

Intellectual

A love of work and joy in learning.
Spontaneous creativity.
Teaching-learning situations are stimulated by the child teaching the child and guided by the teacher's observation of the individual needs of the children.
The absorption of impressions and concepts leads to the ability to abstract.

Social

The training of the child in those fundamental social qualities of good citizenship.
The development of positive self-concepts and social relations, mutual aid, and sharing.

Faculty

Auguste is our director's passion and calling. Director Valerie O'Connor brings the children an intellectual curiosity in both humanities and the sciences and brings to her staff team management experience.

All of our teachers and assistants have Montessori training and continue to augment our program with summer training and professional development. We encourage professional development not only in child development and learning but also art, nutrition, and other curricula that help us support the whole child. We are committed to working as a team that builds on our staff's many and varied talents.

Dear Auguste Families, Alum Families, and Friends of Auguste