May 31, 2012

Dear Discovery Families,

On behalf of the faculty, staff and Board of Directors, I thank you for choosing Discovery
Montessori for your family. As we enter into Discovery’s 23rd year, I reflect on our journey as
an educational community grounded in the tenets of our Montessori philosophy and practice,
while creating a model for best practice in a 21st century mindset. Our students are academically
challenged in a safe and nurturing environment, they are respected members of our philanthropic
community, and they have the opportunity to follow their curiosities within a well-balanced core
curriculum. Our 2011-2012 academic year culminated in an outstanding accreditation process
with the Florida Kindergarten Council and the Florida Council of Independent Schools, as noted
in the summative statement from the final report, “The school enjoys an exemplary sense of
community and loyalty that extends from the top leadership of the organization, through the
staff, to the parents and students.”

Looking forward to the 2012-2013 school year, we will be entering into an inaugural whole-
school accreditation process with the American Montessori Society (AMS). Our curriculum
guides and mapping of our Montessori threads from our Toddler Program through our Upper
Elementary program will serve us exceptionally well in our work with AMS. Our entire
Discovery faculty will be attending the annual AMS conference in Orlando in March 2013, and
our school is participating in both a coordination and presentation capacity. This year will
certainly be a hallmark to our ongoing commitment to our mission, to inspire our children to
become passionate lifelong learners and responsible world citizens, in a challenging and
nurturing academic environment firmly rooted in Montessori principles.

Our professional development opportunities for our Montessori credentialed and established
faculty will begin in July 2012. Our entire Pre-Primary leadership team will be attending a
Comprehensive Reading Instruction & Classroom-Based Assessment workshop at the
Wilmington Montessori School, Center for Montessori Advancement during the week of July
24th - 26th, following in the footsteps of our consultancy work with Dr. Linda Zankowsky. Our
Elementary team will be traveling to Austin, Texas to participate in an overview and introduction
to the Primary Years Program, International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum at a public, accredited
IB High School during the week of July 22nd - 25th. Our elementary team is embarking on this
professional development journey as a component of a larger, Board of Directors driven,
feasibility study and investigation of IB World Schools and their associated integration potential.

This intensive and directed professional development work is the cornerstone of our growth and
viability as a 21st century, holistic and adaptive independent Montessori school.
As a Montessori community, we also practice good stewardship of our planet and support a
vibrant student body of globally minded citizens. Our Youth Philanthropy work will continue
with the International Rainforest Alliance, inclusive of ongoing curriculum development in our
classroom and interactive student-to-student videoconference opportunities with students in the
Maya Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala. In 2010, the Discovering Philanthropy program was
launched at Discovery Montessori School (DMS) to provide a wonderful enrichment to our
children’s authentic Montessori experience, one that would awaken the power we all have to
make a difference in the world. In 2011, Discovery Montessori School developed a partnership
with the White Oak Conservation Center and the International Rainforest Alliance as part of the
Youth Philanthropy Initiative: Conservation & the Environment. Discovery students raised
capital for the Youth Philanthropy Initiative, and to date, $1600.00 has been collected and
donated by Discovery to fund the White Oak Okapi Conservation Project in the Congo.

The tremendous foundation your child receives from an education based on Montessori
principles will serve as an intrinsic guide to foster their love of learning. The spirit of teamwork
present in our community of faculty & staff is exceptional, as we share your passion in ensuring
that the experience at Discovery will be meaningful and fulfilling. Our collective vision to
cultivate an inclusive and vibrant community that promotes knowledge, creativity, independent
thinking and mutual respect is tangible in Discovery's commitment to our student’s future. I look
forward to working with you throughout the 2012-2013 school year and excitedly await our first
day of school, Tuesday, August 21, 2012.

In peace & hope,

Kim Bednarek
Head of School