Secondary School
October 2023

Dear Elizabeth Academy Secondary School Families,

The heat of summer has simmered down, and the fall equinox has ushered in autumn— the season of renewal. This is a period of reflection, transformation, and ripened harvest, which reflects so much upon our own human experience. Transformative change in teenagers comes to fruition in the third plane of childhood development, a process which Maria Montessori calls valorization. 

Our students have already valiantly begun this process, searching for their own personal identity (outside of family, friends and school), internalizing their core values, emerging with integrity and confidence as they see themselves as strong and worthy individuals.

There will be no school all next week due to our Teacher Workday on Monday, October 9th, Parent Teacher Conferences on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 10th and 11th, and Fall Break on Thursday and Friday, October 12th and 13th. We are looking forward to discussing our students’ progress and accomplishments with parents at our first Parent Teacher Conference, held Tuesday and Wednesday, October 10th and 11th. Please sign up for conference slots with this link. Then, later this month, we hope you will join us on Thursday, October 19th at 7:00 pm in the MPR for our Parent Education event, titled Teen Social Dynamics: Creating an Inclusive Community. We invite parents to come and learn about how to navigate the complexities of teen social dynamics in the current culture, building a more inclusive community. This will include break-out sessions by age group to share ideas in understanding our teens individually and in furthering the school’s values, particularly in promoting unity and inclusion. 

Last but not least- mark your calendars for this year’s Monster Mash!— or rather, “MONSTER-SORRI MASH” on Friday, October 27th, 7:00-10:00 pm at Thanksgiving Point! This year we will be hosting the event at Thanksgiving Point’s Museum of Ancient Life and asking other area Montessori Middle School and High School students to co-host with us as we scale up this inclusive dance, inviting young adults with special needs in the larger community to join us! We will have a party on the second floor from 7:00-8:00 pm, where we will have food and fun, and at 8:00 pm the dance will begin and we will boogie down with dem dinosaur bones on the main floor and/or explore the other ancient attractions in rooms at the museum! Sign up for this spooktacular event with this link!

Warmly,