On Thursday, March 18th Monticello is hosting our first Foreign Language Fair, from 5:00 to 7:00pm.  We are looking for volunteers to donate store bought cookies- any type of Spanish or Chinese cookies would be nice but we will also take anything you can provide and some 2 liter bottles of Sprite.

We are hoping to enhance the evening with some dance or musical groups (Spanish and/or Chinese) willing to perform (free) that night. If you have any contacts or know of such groups please let me know.

My information is as follows:

Lindabird01@comcast.net
801.450.7250

Please contact me by Monday, March 15th - Thank you for your willingness to help make this event a success!

Remember the date for the spring Parent/Teacher Conferences is being consolidated from 2 days to one day. March 3rd will be a full day of school (no conferences) and school will end at 12:00 (lunch will not be served) on Thursday, March 4th 2010. Parent/Teacher Conferences will follow the half day from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Teachers will be excused for dinner from 5:00 to 5:30 p.m. 

Note: Kindergarten Hours on Thursday, March 4th

   * Morning Kindergarten 8:00-9:45
   * Afternoon 10:25 - 12:00

NEW FORMAT

We are also trying a new format for the spring Parent/Teacher Conferences. Instead of expecting parents to meet with all of their 4th-9th grade teachers in the gym, as we did last fall, students are preparing educational portfolios (with the help of their home room teachers) for your review. When you arrive, you will pick up your student's portfolio in his/her home room (1st period, A-day class). You will sit down with your student in the home room class and he/she will review its contents, sharing goals, successes, and challenges in regards to attendance, grades, and behavior. You are encouraged to help your student refine his/her goals. Your student will also provide some of his/her favorite work for you to review, as well as any other pertinent information he/she feels it important to share. Once your student is finished reviewing and discussing the portfolio with you, you may wish to visit with certain teachers to discuss any concerns you may have regarding attendance, missing work, or behavior concerns. You are free to stop by any teacher's room for a brief discussion/review of the portfolio materials. If you would like to discuss matters in depth, you are invited to stop in and set an appointment with the teacher to come back before or after school to discuss your concerns in a confidential atmosphere without time constraints. Of course, emails and phone calls are also helpful resources for communication with teachers. 

NEW! TUTORIAL ON PARENT PORTAL AVAILABLE

We will have 4 computers set up in the main office for anyone who would like to stop in and ask questions about Compass, Monticello Academy's student information system. Compass provides parents/guardians and students with critical online information: a syllabus and unit plans, attendance and grade tracking, lunch account information, library book due dates and much, much more.

SCHOOL COUNSELOR

Mr. Seim, our school counselor will be available from 12:00 p.m to 2:00 p.m. as well as between 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. if you would like to discuss your student's SEOP. Mr. Seim will also be available to his 9th grade Geography students and parents/guardians from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Our semi-annual school book fair will be held in the school library on

* Tuesday March 2nd - 12-4 p.m.
* Wednesday, March 3rd - 7:30-8:30 a.m. & 12-4 p.m.
* Thursday, March 4th - 7:30-8:30 a.m. & 12-6:30 p.m.

We are still in desperate need of volunteers to help. This is a great way to get your hours. If you are able, please contact Julie Anderson and 801-252-9028 or 801-680-5758. Your help will be greatly appreciated. We encourage you to come and visit with your children while you are at the school for Parent Teacher Conferences. Please remember not to send your small children into the library unattended. The book fair is a great way to show your children the importance of reading at home. It is also a great way to help us build our school library as the revenues will be used to purchase more books! Thank you in advance for your help and support!

We look forward to seeing you at the Monticello Academy Book Fair.

ANNOUNCING A DATE MODIFICATION AND A NEW FORMAT FOR SPRING PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES

The date for the spring Parent/Teacher Conferences is being consolidated from 2 days to one day, so March 3rd will be a full day of school (no conferences), and March 4th will be a 1/2 day of school followed by Parent/Teacher Conferences from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Teachers will be excused for dinner from 5:00 to 5:30 p.m.

We are also going to try a new format for the spring Parent/Teacher Conferences. Instead of expecting parents to meet with all of their 4th-9th grade teachers in the gym, as we did last fall, students are preparing educational portfolios (with the help of their home room teachers) for your review. When you arrive, you will pick up your student's portfolio in his/her home room (1st period, A-day class). You will sit down with your student in the home room class and allow him/her to go through the portfolio, sharing goals, successes, and challenges in regards to attendance, grades, and behavior. Your student will also provide some of his/her favorite work for you to review, as well as any other pertinent information he/she feels it important to share. Once your student is finished reviewing and discussing the portfolio with you, you may wish to visit with certain teachers to discuss your concerns regarding attendance, missing work, or behavior concerns. You are free to stop by any teacher's room for a brief discussion/review of the portfolio materials. If you would like to discuss matters in depth, you are invited to stop in and set an appointment with the teacher to come back before or after school to discuss your concerns in a confidential atmosphere without time constraints. Of course, emails and phone calls are also helpful resources for communication with teachers. 

The purposes of "student-led" Parent/Teacher Conferences are 3-fold, providing students with the opportunity: 1) to share their educational and extracurricular goals and aspirations, 2) to take responsibility and be accountable for their personal educational achievements and challenges, and 3) to provide an opportunity for students to improve critical communication skills.  We will also be providing Compass tutorials in the office during Parent/Teacher Conferences this spring. 

We will have 4-5 computers set up in the main office for anyone who would like to stop in and ask questions about Compass, Monticello Academy's student information system. Staff will be available to teach you anything you need to know to navigate and use the system successfully, which is critical for you to stay on top of your student's educational progress. 

Please note the date modifications listed above and remember that you are not expected to meet with each teacher. The primary "conference" will be between you and your student, and teachers will be available for comment, as necessary.

Thank you so much helping us try this new format for spring Parent/Teacher Conferences. And thank you for your support of Monticello Academy. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Michael Westover
Director

Thank you for your wonderful children (seriously). It's an honor to be able to interact with so many great students every day!

As you know, I also have the responsibility of being the "bad guy" some times. It's not a part of the job that I necessarily enjoy, but it's part of the job. I try to handle each situation professionally.

We have lacked an effective means of natural consequences in the past. The teachers really need more administrative support with discipline, so we are starting an after-school detention program starting next Monday, February 8th. The detentions will be held Mondays through Thursdays (note - NOT Fridays) in the library from 2:45 - 3:30 p.m.

Students will not be allowed to talk. They simply need to show up on time and work on their school work. There will be an aide there to help if the student needs assistance. If the student fails to bring work, the aide will provide work to do from our new Character Education program. The point is that we want students to use the time wisely.

The challenge will be for you, as parents/guardians, to arrange for the students to be picked up at 3:30 p.m. I know this is an inconvenience, and I apologize, but we need to do more than assign "lunch duty" when students are sent to the office.

We have great students, but even good kids make mistakes. We try to be as respectful as possible, but we do try to hold students accountable.

Thank you so much for your support.

Respectfully,
Michael Westover
Director