Dear Parkside Families and Friends, First, we want to say THANK YOU for your past support and donations to Parkside. We couldn't do this beautiful work without you! Soon it will be time for Amplify Austin , a 24-hour online giving initiative for Central Texas non-profit organizations - and Parkside's primary annual fundraiser! - and we hope you'll be moved to give again. This is our ninth year to "Amplify Parkside," and your tax-deductible donations to our annual fund will benefit our students, our staff, and our campus now and in the future. With heads up and hearts open, we will carry on the legacy Joe and Claire Bruno created in 1991, giving thanks for Parkside and all of you every step of the way. Current and former families and all friends of Parkside are invited to contribute to our efforts during Amplify Austin from 6pm Wednesday, March 1st to 6pm Thursday, March 2nd . Please note that Amplify Austin uses a giving platform called GiveGab to collect and process online donations, so make sure to donate through the Parkside link on the Amplify Austin site and not the Parkside website. To get the children involved, we will once again collect Pennies for Parkside! Beginning Tuesday, February 21st, the children are invited to collect and donate spare change to help support their school community. We want to show them that every penny - and every one of us - can make a difference, so start searching those couch cushions and washing machines for your Pennies for Parkside! If you have any questions - or you are interested in becoming a MATCHING DONOR - please contact Courtney . Every gift is much appreciated and gratefully received - thank you for your continued support!

We are so excited to announce that we have a date for the best party of the year - Parkside's 30th Anniversary! On Saturday, April 9th, we will celebrate Joe and Claire's 40+ years of dedication to Montessori education and 30+ years of love, support, and Simple Gifts at Parkside. You won't want to miss the chance to say thank you to the guests of honor and reconnect with Parksiders from across the years, so make sure to SAVE THE DATE! Saturday, April 9th 10am-12pm - We're hosting an Open House on the Parkside campus and all are invited! Come see us down on Slaughter Lane to tour the classrooms, catch up with current and former staffers, and join us in everyone's favorite Parkside tradition, Simple Gifts! Bring your voices, instruments, and dance moves, and let's start the day off right - together! 7:30-10pm - To continue the fun, we're having a party on top of the Austin Central Library, just across the river from the Toomey Road campus. It will be a night of reminiscing and rejoicing with Joe and Claire, as well as raising funds to help sustain their dream for the next 31 years and beyond. Such special people deserve a special night, and your presence will certainly make it so. Tickets go on sale February 1st - stay tuned for purchase information coming soon!  It takes the whole community to pull off such a big endeavor, and we are looking for helpers of all sorts. Whether or not you are able to join us in person, here are ways you can support this event right now: - Event donation or corporate sponsorship - Donate auction items - goods, services, experiences - Alumni outreach - help spread the word to fellow Parksiders - Join the planning committee - we'd love to have you! - "30 Seconds for 30 Years" - this is your opportunity to share a message with Joe and Claire - through photos or video - and we will compile them for presentation at the evening event. Start gathering your Parkside-era memories, and we'll post instructions for submission in the coming weeks. If you have questions or would like to help in some way, please contact Courtney Moore , our Head of School. We have been looking forward to this night for an extra long while, and we know it will be a Parkside party to remember. See y'all on April 9th!

Further proof you've made the right choice for your child's education! A new paper published in Frontiers in Psychology provides more evidence that a Montessori education may be superior to traditional methods of education, especially on measures relating to students’ long-term psychological health and well-being. Renown Montessori researcher, Angeline Lillard, and her team found their study to be "one more data point in a growing body of research suggesting Montessori pedagogy is better for humans than is the common model.” Read more about their work here in Pyschology Today .

January 6th is a historical date on the Montessori calendar as it marks the opening of the first Casa dei Bambini in 1907 . What those first Case dei Bambini demonstrated so clearly, while Maria Montessori was developing her ideas, is that the environment is one of the major players in her approach. Click the link to learn more about what happens inside a Montessori classroom (links to information by program) and see how beautifully these unique environments serve children.

It's hard to believe the fall semester is nearing its end! Over recent weeks, we've been enjoying beautiful weather and special events on campus, some old and some new. The Elementary children once again presented two wonderful "living wax museums" for Ghosts of the Past, and we were all delighted and impressed with their work. We always leave having learned something and looking forward to next year. A few of the ghosts who stopped by were Beverly Cleary, George Washington, Kobe Bryant, Fred Rogers, Princess Diana, and many more!

We had a glorious morning with so much to celebrate! We started with Simple Gifts, where we love to sing and dance together - including a few special songs for Halloween and Joe and Camille's birthdays. The children made banners and cards for Joe and then we gathered on the patio for one more surprise for both Joe and Claire. In honor of their 31+ years in creating, nurturing, and inspiring the Parkside community, and in recognition of their well-deserved retirement, we have dedicated and renamed the Community Room. It shall here and ever after be known as The Joe and Claire Bruno Community Room . This space speaks to the love they have for coming together with the Parkside community, and they can't wait to do that again.  Thank you, Joe and Claire, for dreaming the impossible dream and making it come true for all of us. We love you!

One of the more common misconceptions about Montessori education is that we let children run free to do what they please all the time. It is true that we let the children make choices for themselves, but those choices are made within carefully crafted parameters. In this one-pager from Montessori Thrive , you can learn more about how we do this at Parkside and how you can do it at home.

The 31st school year at Parkside is underway, and all systems are a go! We have welcomed back 97 children to our campus and to the open arms of our incredible guides, so the classrooms are humming with activity, and happiness abounds. As we begin the second year of pandemic-era operations, we see again the capability and flexibility of the children, and we feel the trust and support of our community. We know this makes a difference in our work and in our relationships, and in this moment especially, it makes a difference in our efforts to keep ourselves and each other healthy and safe.