January 2026

Hello 2026!!

Happy New Year Everyone!!

2025 was a good year for Montessori, and I feel 2026 will hold many possibilities and opportunities for the children at Montessori.

We are starting 2026 off with some big changes to our Montessori staffing family.

Change #1: Miss Danika is expecting her first child in mid-June. She is anticipating staying until mid-May; however, this is dependant on how she feels as her pregnancy progresses. We will be on the lookout for her replacement late winter/early spring.

Change #2: Miss Zilkie has accepted a position at another preschool in town and will be leaving us at the end of the year. She is also starting her schooling for her Level 2. We are going to miss her dearly but wish her all the best as she expands her teaching career.

Change #3: We have hired Miss Shauntae Leith to join Miss Danika in the toddler room as she fills Miss Zilkie’s absence. She completed her Level 3 at MHC and has experience working with all age groups. We are excited to have her join the team and work with the toddler group. She was in last week for a few trial days and will start full-time in January.

Change #4: There will be a few fresh faces in both the toddler room and the preschool room as we have some children transitioning out of the toddler room and 2 new little boys joining the toddler room.

Change #5: While we were processing Miss Zilkie’s announcement we were blessed with 2 emails: one from Miss Leith and one from our previous practicum student Bianca Austria. This created a very difficult predicament for Mrs. Cook and Mrs. Weimer. After many conversations we have made the difficult decision to lay-off Miss Maddy and bring Miss Austria into the program. This was a decision made with the future of the program in mind. Miss Austria completed her Level 3 at MHC and has experience working with all age groups as well. We are grateful for everything Miss Maddy has brought to the program, and she is open to assisting with covering sick days and holidays in the future. Miss Maddy’s final day with the children will be Tuesday.

If you have any questions about these changes, please ask, call, or text. This has been a month of difficult conversations and difficult choices, all that reflect the best interests of your family, your children, the staff, and the school in mind. We appreciate your grace during these initial transitions in January.

In Other News…

The fee rate for 2026 will be staying the same. The Government of Alberta opted to keep things as is through their fiscal year. If anything changes, you will be the first to know!

All fees are due on the first of each month, unless otherwise arranged with Mrs. Weimer. Please set yourself a reminder for this date for payments.

Music will remain on Monday mornings.

Social Thinkers will remain on Tuesday mornings.

SACA kickboxing will continue Thursdays if the weather is favorable for the children to be walking to the gym. Always send them with their outside attire so we are prepared to go.

It looks like the start of January is going to be all over the place weatherwise (much like December was)! This means we will venture out as much as we can each day. This has been amazing to help settle the children and keep the cold germs to a minimum. It has been refreshing to clear our minds and get some exercise in during the day.

The children need appropriate coats, snow pants, hats, and mittens for outside walks. We are trying our best to get outside during warmer days but need your cooperation in having the children come to school prepared for outside time.

Please send extra clothing in case they get wet or have an accident. We have no clothes on site to be used as spares and do not want to have to contact you to bring clothing.

If the temperature is -10C or colder we are not going outside. It is too cold for the children especially with the wind chill. Outdoor walks or playing in the yard will be decisions made quickly during the day and will reflect the weather and what we feel is suitable for the children.

Any brief information will be added to the Instagram posts. Please be sure to set your notifications so you get these weekly updates.

Looking ahead for the next few months looks like this for us:

The school re-opens on Monday January 5th,2026 at 7:45am

We are closed on Monday February 16th,2026, for Family Day; however, we are open the remainder of the week as all schools are closed for Teacher’s Convention.

Friday April 3rd-School closed for Good Friday

Monday April 6th-School closed for Easter Monday

**School is open the rest of Easter week**

April 2026 (after Easter)-Summer and Fall registration opens for internal families.

Monday May 18th- School closed for Victoria Day

Graduation will be mid-June, date TBA once it is arranged

Wednesday July 1st– School closed for Canada Day

Summer School Closure August 3rd-7th

We are looking forward to another fantastic year at Montessori!!

If you have any questions, please be sure to stop one of the staff or text Mrs. Weimer as we would be happy to help find a solution.