Welcome to the 2020-2021 School Year

              Hello CHMS Families, 

I am writing to welcome you to the 2020-2021 school year as well as to inform you of the changes being made to our school in order to provide a safe learning environment for our students, families and staff. This school year will be unlike any other that CHMS, or  schools all around the world, have faced in recent history. 

The 2020-2021 school year also marks our tenth anniversary of bringing quality Montessori education to the children and families of the Lewis Clark Valley! 

When I began CHMS I never imagined I would be guiding our school through a global pandemic! Though it has been tumultuous, to say the least, with all of the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am confident that the spirit of CHMS and what we have built together will endure this time as a school community. Your continued support throughout the final months of the 2019-2020 school year as well as the support we received for summer camp has made it possible for CHMS to remain open.  I am so proud of CHMS, our past present and our future. Our school community will continue to do what is best for the citizens of our valley and beyond and we will continue to send positive ripples out into the world, as we have been doing for the past nine years. 

In this letter you will find information about specific changes being made to our school policies, health and safety standards, schedule and events. You will also find information about your child’s school supply list. 

As you read through the information and  prepare your child for the upcoming school year I ask kindly that you keep in mind that myself along with our community are working to navigate through this pandemic with new information every day. I will always strive to do what is best for the students and staff in my care. This will mean that changes might suddenly need to be made to the practices, policies and systems currently in place. There is still much to be learned about the virus and the appropriate response to it. In order for CHMS to remain open we all must comply with the new safety standards and policies. If there are aspects to our standards and policies that you are not comfortable with, now is the time to reconsider your child’s enrollment at CHMS. All of us will need to adapt and adjust in order for this virus to be contained. 

We have successfully implemented these new policies already during our CHMS Summer Camp and all of the children, families and teachers have remained safe and have adapted. It is also possible that with everyone’s help and compliance with these new health and safety policies we can mitigate the impact of the virus together and lessen some of the policies. 

Email and our brightwheel app are the best ways to reach me with your inquiries, please allow me time to answer. Remember, the school closes every August between the end of summer camp and the first day of school. This time is used for training, cleaning and classroom preparations. This year with new health and safety standards in place we will be very busy. 

I am so grateful for our CHMS community and I am privileged to be trusted with not only your child’s education but also their social and emotional well being and physical safety. 

I am looking forward to another wonderful year of learning and growing at CHMS.

Thank you for all of your support and for making the 2020-2021 school year possible. 

Sincerely, 

Ms. Megan