Welcome to the 2026-27 school year!!!
We’re excited you are here!
Happening this week:
Monday (Specials: A-Day)
First day of school for lower el and upper el
Primary staggered start for students with last names A-K
Tuesday (Specials: B-Day)
Primary staggered start for students with last names L-Z
Wednesday (Specials: C-Day)
No school for Primary
Primary meet-the-teacher, 4-5PM
Thursday (Specials: D-Day)
ALL primary students begin attending daily
Friday (Specials: E-Day)
From Principal Jenn
Good evening, families!
It is almost time—tomorrow, we will all begin to adjust to the early mornings and getting to school! Our team spent the past week ensuring all of our environments are prepared for student learning and community–all that remains is filling them with students!
If you missed our call on Friday, please take a few minutes to review our arrival and dismissal protocols at George Watts Montessori. The first two weeks, we always have to work to iron out the kinks, but by week three, arrival and dismissal are not only safe but also efficient. Please be patient during these first two weeks, as safety is paramount, and efficiency may be impacted while we work to ensure everyone understands the protocols. **Please note any student who will be dismissed independently (without an adult) will need a signed self-dismiss form for the 2026-27 school year on file.
It is time to vote for parent representatives for our school improvement team. Will you take a moment and vote to approve Liz Constantino to join as a parent representative for 2026-2028 using this form. With one remaining parent representative opening, our PTA will work to fill the final position. If you are interested, please reach out to PTA President Elena Snavely (elena.snavely@gmail.com).
Is your child in grades 3, 4, or 5? To support device sustainability and repair, a $15 annual technology fee is required for students in grades 3-8. Details regarding the DPS technology fee can be found at https://www.dpsnc.net/page/technology-fee.
To pay your child’s technology fee, please visit the DPS online payment portal: https://durhampublicschools.givebacks.com/shop/items/5fcb45451ef6
DPS is committed to ensuring all students have access to the technology they need for learning. If your family is experiencing financial hardship, you may request a waiver of the annual Student Technology Fee by completing the 2026-2027 Student Technology Fee Hardship Request.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Ms. Chiti (melissa_chiti@dpsnc.net, out-of-office until September 3) or Principal Jenn (jennifer_aguilar@dpsnc.net).
We are looking forward to a great start to the school year! Have a great week, and we hope to see you around George Watts Montessori soon!
Principal Jenn
Family Connect Folder
Be on the lookout for your child’s Family-Connect Folder. This year, every student at GWM will have a Family-Connect Folder that travels between home and school. Families will want to check them regularly for school-wide communication, invitations to school events, communication from your child’s teacher, learning activities, and more. Our goal is to ensure every caregiver has the information and connection to support their child’s learning and development, as well as having a chance to be an active George Watts Montessori community member. We welcome your feedback as we implement this—are there things you would like to see in the Family-Connect Folders?
New to Montesorri
Are you new to Montessori? We want to share some “lingo” to ensure you know what we mean. Over the next several updates, we’ll share each one of the five core components of Montessori Education.
This week’s core component of Montessori education is the uninterrupted work cycle. American Montessori Society explains it as follows:
“In Montessori classrooms, the “uninterrupted work period” lets students work at their own pace, respecting their individual learning styles. During this time, students select and complete tasks without interruption, building coordination, concentration, and independence. The cycle involves choosing an activity, engaging with it, cleaning up, and selecting a new task. Teachers support and monitor students, providing individual and small-group lessons.” (https://amshq.org/the-ams-difference/core-components-of-montessori/)
At George Watts Montessori, this uninterrupted work cycle grows in length over the course of elementary school, increasing to more than 3 hours by the time students reach Upper Elementary. During the work cycle, students work both independently and collaboratively through learning activities. As students navigate the work on their individualized work plan, they have agency to determine what they want to work on in the moment, with the structure to know all works on their work plan must be completed by week’s end. Throughout the work cycle, teachers and instructional assistants provide lessons individually and in small groups to set students up for success on the works on their work plan. Through lessons and works, students grow in their mastery of the standards.
We invite you to take an inside look at one of our lower elementary classrooms through this photodocumentary project in Ms. Bogue’s class: https://wondersofwatts.com/stories/weiyee_mock.html.