The Children's House

Montessori Model United Nations (MMUN) Club
7th - 8th years

Deadline to register: September 12

Cost: Approx. $2,000 per participant

Junior High learners have a chance to participate in the Montessori Model United Nations as an extracurricular activity again this school year. Participants will travel to New York City to the MMUN conference on Tuesday, February 20, and return on Saturday, February 24, 2024. The work will be completed outside of school hours beginning in late September either at home or during our optional weekly after school meetings on a day of the week to be determined by the group. More information about the program is available here: https://montessori-mun.org/conference/year-long-program-plus-nyc-conference-feb-21-24-2024/

The delegates that participated last year found this work much easier than their sixth-grade year, having already completed it once. 

Registration: email Steve Maas with questions and to sign up no later than September 12, 2023, steve@traversechildrenshouse.org

Battle of the Books
4th - 5th years

Deadline to register: November 17
Season: This is a program that takes place from December until the competition in March. 

It is Battle of the Books time again! This is a great opportunity for your students to engage with others over their love of reading books! The Battle of the Books is a book-based quiz competition for fourth and fifth graders in the Grand Traverse community. Kids read incredible stories together and then experience heart-pounding moments in competition. Teams have a chance to win prizes for sportsmanship, team spirit, the most creative team name, and more.

Here is more information on important dates and details. A Zoom meeting for general information will be on November 12.

If your child is interested in participating, please let Julie Boss know by NOVEMBER 17.  If you are interested in COACHING a TEAM, please contact Julie Boss by NOVEMBER 17.

If you have any questions, please email Julie Boss at julie.boss@tchlearners.org or call her at 248-535-1713.

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Battle of the Books is a great way to get children reading and being part of a team. Each team has 4-6 members and read either 5 books or 10 books. The books are chosen by The Battle of the Books committee and range from novels to graphic novels. Visit the Battle of the Books website more information. 

Coaches are needed! Please reach out to Julie Boss (248-535-1713 or at julie.boss@tchlearners.org) if your child is interested and if you are interested in coaching a team.

The workshop will run April – May 2024

Back by popular demand, Jaime Janiszewski will be working on another production with your young thespians this year! 

A Note to Parents from the Director: I am so excited to begin the process of our 3rd full-length production at The Children's House! In the past, I have been able to take on the majority (with help from a couple of parents) of the work on the production side (set, costumes, props, etc.) in addition to directing.  This year, I will need more support from parents on the tech side to be able to pull this off. 

The needs of this show are: 

• Set - Last year we built the flats and turned them into periaktoi.  This year, I will need someone to construct and paint them. My husband, Ed, can support in constructing them.

• Props - These are minimal this year, but I need someone to take on this process.   

• Costumes - Either: 

• Each parent buys their child's costume from an Amazon link (I can put all the costumes in an Amazon List), OR

• Someone takes on costuming and OTP and Interlochen are willing to let us pull from their costume shops.  I won't have time to do this. 

• Doing makeup and hair on site this year unless a parent wants to take this on and teach some students.  Students will need to do their own hair and makeup at home. I'm happy to provide pictures. 

The Enchanted Bookshop
by Todd Wallinger

During the day, A Likely Story may look like any other used bookstore. But at night, it’s a place where magic happens. That’s when the characters inside the books come alive.

Six characters — Dorothy Gale, Robin Hood, Pollyanna, Sherlock Holmes, Heidi, and Tom Sawyer — long to help Margie, the scatterbrained owner, save her struggling store.But they’re not allowed to leave the building or be seen by human eyes.So, when a pair of smugglers comes looking for a stolen necklace hidden inside one of the books, the characters are torn: Should they warn Margie and risk disappearing forever?Or can they find a way to defeat the crooks without being seen?

Featuring additional appearances by such beloved literary characters as the Queen of Hearts, Long John Silver, and Doctor Dolittle, this charming comedy celebrates the joy of reading in a fresh, fun-filled way.

 Run Time: 60 minutes (a play in two acts with a short intermission) 

 23 characters (actors) 

• 1 stage manager 

• 1 sound tech 

• 2 lighting techs 

• 1 run crew 

Total: 28 students 

Important dates:

Sign Up: February 1 – 28, 2024
Once students sign up, they are welcome to drop by my classroom at carline to check out a script to read before auditions, if they would like.

Auditions: Tuesday, March 12, 2024 – 3:45 pm – 5:15 pm

Casting Posted & Emailed: Wednesday, March 13, 2024, 2023

Read Through/Script Pickup: Tuesday, March 19, 2024, from 3:45 pm – 5:15 pm

Rehearsals: Tuesdays & Thursdays from April 2 – May 9, 2024, from 3:45 pm – 5:15 pm
No Rehearsal – April 11th – School Closes at 11:30am - April 10th instead
April 25th, rehearsal starts at 4

Tech Week (daily rehearsal): May 11 – 16, 3:45 – 5:15 p.m. (Saturday and Sunday rehearsal during tech week TBA).

Performances: May 16 - 18 (May 16 – school performance, May 17 and 18 @ 6 pm OR 7 pm for friends and family performance)

*Dates are subject to change
**Not all actors called for every rehearsal
***All actors and crew required for ALL tech week rehearsals and performances

Sign Up

Navigators Robotics Club
6th - 8th years

We are getting ready to launch our Spring Sessions of Robotics for 6th-8th years. This will be a continuation from the fall, and we look forward to applying what we have already learned together. 

This email will be used for correspondence — NavigatorsRobotics@gmail.com — allowing the coaches to field questions and keep everything organized. Please use this email for any questions and to sign up. 

For the spring, we will be repairing and rebuilding robots, forming new brands and competing at a regional tournament.

Robotics Club will be hosted at Compass from 3:30-5:00 on Mondays.

• March 4 – **Starts at 3:45**  We invite parents to attend this first Club meeting to review the season, discuss parent support that will be needed, sign up for carpooling and coaching, review the weekly curriculum, and discuss tournament options. 
• March 11 
• March 18
• April 1
• April 8
• April 15 
• April 22
• April 29

• Regional Tournament – May 4  or May 11  (We will survey our parents/participants to see which date works best for most teams.)
• State Tournament – June 1  (We have to qualify to be invited to State. We will provide more info.)

Please let us know if you (or your student) will be joining the Spring Session before February 27th. We are not planning to charge a fee for those who participated in the fall. 

It's going to be an exciting season! Thank you for your support and participation!

Coaches:
Jen Lake
Tom Young
Jeff Stewart
Renee Mittlestaedt

Comets Robotics Club
3rd - 5th years

Love ROBOTS? Have a passion for MAKING? Ready to dip your toe in the world of CODING? This weekly club for TCH 3rd through 5th-year learners will focus on building and coding unique robots in an after-school setting that is non-competitive, hands-on, and always fun. TCH parents, Caroline Maier and Jennifer Smith have volunteered to coach a Robotics club for younger students to share that STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) is accessible for all. 

The Club will meet on Mondays from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.  

• November 6, 13, and 27
• December 4 and 11
• A showcase for families and friends will be on Wednesday, December 13.

If interested, please complete this Google form. If you have questions, you can contact Jennifer or Caroline directly at nathanandjenn@mac.com or carolinekovasmaier@gmail.com. 

Fall session = 16 students max. If more than 16 students sign up, they will have the first right to participate in the spring session.

Chess Club
4th - 8th years

You are invited to join Compass Chess Club! We’ve had so much fun first semester practicing our chess skills and getting to know each other, we’d like to expand to include Upper El students and parents who have an interest and already have experience with the game. 

Upcoming Dates:
Weds, Feb 14, 4-6 pm
Weds, Feb 28, 4-6 pm
Weds, Mar 13, 4-6 pm
Weds, Mar 20, 4-6 pm
Weds, Apr 10, 4-6 pm
Weds, Apr 24, 4-6 pm
Weds, May 15, 4-6 pm

We order pizza and serve it mid-way through. We charge $5 and you can either bring cash or Venmo @scottmwick (last 4 digits 5699).

To sign up to attend and order pizza, please fill out this form each week.  

Regards,

Megan Wick