Stacey Meyer has been a Montessori parent for 16 years.  She has Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Michigan State University (1992) and a Master’s degree in Social Work from The University of Michigan (1996).  While practicing social work she supervised home visiting programs that supported and strengthened families beginning prenatally through the child’s fifth year of life.  She spent many years as full time parent before joining the early childhood team at Waco Montessori School in 2013.  She received her Montessori Certification from The Center for Guided Montessori Studies in 2016.  Stacey enjoys being a mother to her three children, a CASA, and a kindergarten Sunday school teacher.

March 16, 2017   Chelsa Ressetar – “Navigating the Digital World with Children”

Click here to view a summary of information presented on March 16th.

If you are interested in watching a video recording of the presentation, please contact Tricia Meyer directly at tmeyer@wacomontessorischool.org.

Chelsa Ressetar is a WMS mother of 3 daughters.  She grew up in Waco and attended the University of Texas Business School. She has 15 years of Corporate Marketing experience with News Corporation in New York, Colorado, California, Texas, and Arkansas. For the past 3 years, Chelsa has worked as the Director of Advancement at Vanguard College Preparatory School.  After attending a few National Association of Independent School Conferences, she became passionate on the topic of social media and how digital media is affecting our children.   Chelsa has attended 5 conferences and read many books about the topic that is affecting so many families.  In preparation for this program, she also met with some child psychologists to review material and discuss impacts they see on children today.

February 9, 2017   Dr. Carrie Contey – “Intentional Family Life and Mindful Parenting”

 

 

Dr. Contey received her PhD in prenatal and perinatal psychology and is masterful at synthesizing and articulating the science, psychology, and spirituality of humanhood. She is the co-founder of the Slow Family Living movement and the co-author of CALMS: A Guide To Soothing Your Baby. She has appeared on NBC’s The Today Show, NPR, CBS radio and in many publications including Time, Parenting and The Boston Globe.  Click here to watch Carrie speak at TEDx Austin.

Currently she lives, works and plays in Austin, TX. To learn more please visit carriecontey.com.

November 10, 2016  Virginia Powell – “Children and Peace Education”

This talk was also a Student Assembly (Kindergarten through Elementary).

To read the poem Virginia wrote and recited to the children, titled Potential Peace, click here.

Virginia Powell founded the Austin Avenue Montessori School, presently known as Waco Montessori School, in 1976.  She was affiliated with the school for 17 years.  She received her Montessori primary training in 1976 from St. Nicholas in London, England. In 1982 she received her Montessori early elementary training from the Montessori International Training Center in Bergamo, Italy.  She was a teacher and Director of Parent Education at Bala House Montessori in Bala Cynwyd, PA for 13 years.  She is currently writing a peace education curriculum and is a national Montessori consultant.

Maria Montessori’s philosophy of peace resonated with that of Gandhi (the two conferred long and often while Dr. Montessori was living for a time in India).  She invoked a model for the learning process, formulated by a yogi master from India, when she talked about the mind and how it directs the brain.

Montessori’s concept of “the authentic child”, and how he/she is, by nature, positive and loving, is paramount to the concept of peace education.  We promote this side of children when we provide them with appropriate environments that reflect a respect for the child by reflecting a true understanding of the child.  We are able to raise a more peaceful generation when we enable them to understand the four parts of themselves – body, mind, emotion, and spirit.  We hope you will come listen to Mrs. Powell speak to our children about their powerful love and empowering peace.

OCTOBER 20, 2016 Featuring Dr. Janet Bagby – “The Latest in Montessori Research”

This talk was recorded, but we ran into some audio issues!  Dr. Bagby has kindly agreed to provide a recap of this talk, along with the slides she presented.

Dr. Janet H. Bagby is a senior lecturer in the Educational Psychology Department. Janet received her B.S. in early childhood education and her master’s degree in counseling and guidance from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. She received her Ph.D. from Baylor University in Educational Psychology.  In 2012, Janet founded Baylor’s Veteran Educational and Transition services (VETS) Program that promotes the academic success of student veterans at Baylor, and she served as the part time coordinator for four years.

Janet’s areas of teaching include human growth and development, learning theory and educational research at the undergraduate through doctoral levels. In addition she serves as the course instructor for the first field-based course for students who are pursuing certification in gifted and talented education. For four years, Janet also taught a new student experience course each semester to assist incoming student veterans with transitioning to Baylor. Janet has been recognized for her teaching by being nominated for several awards, most recently in 2015 when she was nominated by the School of Education for Baylor’s Outstanding Professor Award in the non-tenure faculty category.

Her primary research interests focus on quality learning strategies/environments, specifically executive function, Montessori education and military veterans transitioning to higher education. She is a member of the American Montessori Society’s Research Committee, having served as the chair for two years and also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Montessori Research. Janet presents at numerous professional conferences and publishes several scholarly articles a year.