Southwest Suburban Montessori School in Palos Park
Our mission is quite simple: To introduce each of our children to the world while fostering independence, creativity, responsibility and an enduring love of learning.
Registration for the 2019/2020 school year will begin on February 7, 2019. Please note, current students need not submit an application. All new students must submit an application before registration. Applications are now being accepted and are held in the order they are received. To obtain a 2019/2020 application, please click here. For a sibling/alumni application form, click here. You may also contact us at (708) 448-5332 to obtain a copy of either form.
In order to give you a broader insight and better understanding of your child’s time at Southwest Suburban Montessori, view the December curriculum here.
The reviews of the Extended Day play The First Thanksgiving were stellar. The Indian tepees and drums on the playground were an exciting addition . . . but the gathering of all the Pilgrims and Indians for the traditional feast of turkey, wild rice and pumpkin pie was the best of all!
Happy Thanksgiving
The Harvest Moon Gala is but a memory! To all families who attended, donated, solicited, baked, wrapped or in any other way helped . . . we thank you for our successful evening! It was the perfect way to help build community within the school and connect with other SWSM families.
The event would never have come to be without the vision and dedication that began early this summer of Paty Rojo Alpers. She worked diligently gathering donations from a plethora of venues so that when we returned to school in the fall, we were ready to begin moving forward with the event.
Tori Viana did the wonderful graphics for the invitations, and we used her computer expertise often. Katie Williams’ sparkling personality showed up in the table décor, I’m sure you’ll agree. Dynamite Grandmas Faye Voight and Janet Coronado, as well as (new-to-school mom) Tercia Bajner, picked up, shopped and did any other task we needed done. Deanna Memon was the Cupcake Lady, otherwise known as the sweet table organizer, yum.
Meanwhile in the office, Sharon and Joyce photographed items, logged them in, sent reminders out and made sure EVERYTHING was numbered and completed in a timely manner, as well as creating the evening’s slide show of the kids for your entertainment. Even the children had their hands in creating those one-of-a-kind items up for auction with the teachers’ creativity and help.
Two weeks before the auction, there was an additional flurry of activity as all items were organized and wrapped for display. Besides the afore mentioned moms, we were joined by Lori Baird, Marina Dalmares, Jazmin Hammad, Heather Kruszewski, Fran Lang, Alisa Mathews, Erin Nicorata, Kharen Schuller and Terri Siampos, who now can add basket wrapping to their resumes. When everything was ready, the Lang family graciously transported it all to Bourbon Street to await set-up. The DiNovo family has been so generous to host us once again at 115 Bourbon Street, and we were delighted to have Nancy and Doug Segal lead the live auctioning. Congratulations to alumni grandfather Curt Yelnick, the Grand Prize winner who generously donated $500, half of his winnings, right back to SWSM!
I hope that all who attended the event enjoyed themselves. It was a lot of work, but the children here certainly benefit from it. I join them in thanking you for helping make this such a successful event!
Enjoy your families and have a Happy Thanksgiving!
. . . Kathy
The hallways are f
illing with the aroma and sounds of the holiday! The First Thanksgiving play is being diligently rehearsed every day and will be performed by the Extended Day Class on Monday, November 19th. Hopefully for all of the students who presently attend or have attended the SWSM Extended Day program, their first true experience of Americana when asked would be our infamous THANKSGIVING PLAY — for you cannot be in the play until your kindergarten year, a right of passage so to say. You are officially old enough to come together as a group and tell this historical story to an audience — not just any audience, but your family!
The most meaningful of all the enterprises involved in this production is the simple and so effective moral lesson. The white man flees the King of England to be free. The Native Americans with their rich and diverse cultures were the first people to occupy this land. The white man and the native man may look different and live differently but are ultimately one in the same. They both seek respect, peace, liberty and harmony amongst themselves and equally with one another. It doesn’t get more American than that!
Register and place bids online now
Things you should know before you go . . .
Arrive with Fully Charged Phone
All Raffles Cash/Check Only
Let’s Give Back This Season
Please bring a new toy to be donated to Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital.
By Ms. Sonoe
The Extended Day children recently took a trip to Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, located in the beautiful town of Evanston. The museum offers an outstanding display of artifacts – a full size birchbark canoe, an eagle feather headdress, a tipi, a weaving, a button blanket and a vast collection of Katchina dolls and jewelry from all regions. This collection seeks to immerse and educate us on the experience of Native American history, culture and arts.
In the permanent exhibit, we journeyed through five major regions — Woodlands, Plains, Southwest, Northwest, and Arctic — with fascinating stories and discovered the art, costumes, tools of the tribes and the customs of the first peoples and their thriving cultures. On the second floor, there was a replica of a hunting lodge wigwam. We were very fortunate to step into it to experience the life style of the Woodlands tribal people. What is so great about this museum is that the children can physically touch and wear the authentic artifacts.
Finally, we ended our journey with a 
new activity called Ledger Art. It is a continuation of traditional pictorial art. Plains Indian artists recorded battles, heroic deeds, ceremonies and everyday customs as their way of life began passing into history. The children drew a picture of a significant or memorable event in their past, present or future to create their own unique ledger art.
It is a sophisticated museum that really demonstrates the breadth of Native American culture and presents a very enriched, hands-on and meaningful experience for everybody. Also this field trip was truly a wonderful introduction as we will study the Pilgrims and the Native Americans curriculum in November.