Montessori 9th grade: The plan and a sneak peak into the future

Some of you must be wondering, “Now that the advocating is over, what’s next?” Rest assured, Montessori high school planning has been going on behind the scenes since spring 2015, when our own science and math teacher/program manager, Mindy Mahar, escorted representatives from the Magnet Office to Clark Montessori Jr. and Sr. High School so they could view a successful public Secondary Montessori program in action. Mindy spent much of her summer envisioning the future of the program, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has given its blessing to move forward with the plan.

Marta Donahoe, founder and program coordinator for Clark Montessori Jr & Sr High School and executive director of CMStep, currently serves as Sedgefield Montessori’s program consultant. Marta is a mentor to all of our Secondary teachers, who receive their Montessori education at CMStep. Any teachers hired in the future will attend CMStep, as well, if they don’t already possess Secondary Montessori training.

Pretty exciting, huh?

So, in a nutshell, here’s a sneak peak at 9th grade at Sedgefield Montessori in 2016-17:

• Start time will be 9:15-4:15 for 2016-17.
• Transportation is available to all students.
• AP and Honors courses will be offered. AP classes are taught by content area teachers and offered as elective options.
• All students are required to participate in community service throughout the year outside of school hours.
• All students attend Fall Camp, separate from the middle-schoolers. This intense Erdkinder Experience occurs often on a farm and requires manual labor, as well as teamwork, communication and lessons in perseverance.
• Two-week intersessions are planned throughout the year where students have the chance to explore a chosen topic in depth. Each of the following fall intersessions are mandatory:
  • 9th Grade: Freshman Orientation – An Introduction to HS
  • 10th Grade: Community Service
  • 11th Grade: Post Secondary/College Tour and Application Process
  • 12th Grade: Career Internships
• Ninth-graders will continue the following activities, as they did in middle school:
  • Student-led conferences
  • GIS Day student presentations
  • Ongoing fundraising through microeconomy
• New to Sedgefield Montessori in 2016-17:
  • Clubs
  • Guest speakers
  • Spring and winter dances

Please be on the lookout for more information to come!