Special Edition
2026-27 Back to School
We welcomed children to the new school year on Tuesday, September 8, 2026. While the learners oriented themselves in their classrooms, parents and caregivers connected at Tears & Cheers. In her recent blog post, Michele Shane, Head of School, shared:
“Montessori defined orientation as “the innate human tendency to understand our place, safety, and role within our environment and community.” … Having the gift of uninterrupted time allows us to be responsive to the needs of each individual to feel safe, supported, and loved as they become settled into a new school year. And this solid foundation is the base upon which all of their learning this year will rest.”
Experience The Children’s House in a whole new way!
Join us on October 2 to celebrate children, education, and everything that makes us wonder.
The evening includes cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, live music by The Timebombs, an exquisite meal by our own Chef Andrea Deibler, auctions, and dancing! This elegant (and heated) tented event calls for elevated evening attire and practical footwear.
Come to connect with your Children’s House friends; give to support the joy and wonder our children experience every day.
What a Summer!
This summer at The Children's House was one for the books. Every program level filled to capacity, and our halls, gardens, and play spaces were full of energy for nine wonderful weeks. Campers explored, built, splashed, and made new friends on campus, and our Elementary campers got out into the region to enjoy Northern Michigan's natural beauty, resources, and summer festivals.
We were also thrilled to see so many families take advantage of our expanded lunch service. Over 100 campers a day sat down to a fresh meal together, which made for some lively and happy lunch tables!
A huge thank you to all of our summer staff for their hard work and care. They brought warmth and creativity to every single day, and it showed. And thank you, families, for sharing your children with us. We're already looking forward to next summer!
Harvard Update:The Prepared Adult and Our One Big Commitment
This June, members of our school leadership team traveled to Cambridge, Massachusetts, for a Harvard Graduate School of Education institute on leading culture change in schools. Working alongside school leaders from across the country, Michele Shane, Head of School; Andrew Lutes, Director of Operations; and Megan Fellows, Primary Guide, studied the research on how school culture takes shape and applied it to our own community, using input gathered from faculty and staff.
We found that our people care deeply about this place and about one another, and that trust among colleagues is very strong. What our data also showed is that staff want greater understanding of how decisions are made, how strategy is set, and how financial resources are stewarded. The institute challenged us to drill down to one starting point for the culture our organization seeks.
Our One Big Commitment:
We commit to growing a culture of organizational and relational transparency rooted in trust -- in decision-making, strategy, and financial stewardship, and in communication across staff sub-groups -- so that information and trust flow as widely as the trust between individual colleagues already does.
This is grounded in the question that guides everything we do: how does this decision or action best serve the children? The prepared environment depends on the prepared adult. When adults are unsupported or uninformed, the environment and the child are impacted.
Our leadership includes our guides and staff as well as our administrators, and each of us has a part in showing what openness looks like, in meetings, in hallways, and in hard conversations. Together, we are dedicating this school year to our One Big Commitment, and we started by sharing the data, the process, and the questions we are still working through.
Building a System of Care
Some of the topics explored at the Harvard training were: the social determinants of mental health, best practices for a systemic approach to wellness, building capacity for family-school partnerships, and integrating data to assess the strategies for social and emotional learning. Steve and Jen were thrilled to see MindUP listed as an effective evidence-based SEL program, and they left the training inspired to capture more data on its impact in its second year at our school. They are also actively cultivating more ways to engage with families in family-school partnerships. They hope to enhance the experience of families as collaborators with the school in their child's learning, leaning on families as having the most valuable insight and expertise into their children's well-being and needs.
At The Children’s House and Compass Junior High, we are deeply committed to fostering a school culture where your child’s emotional and mental well-being is prioritized alongside their academic growth. With this in mind, Steve Maas, Physical Education Specialist, and Jen Superson, Mental Health Specialist, had the privilege of attending Harvard Graduate School of Education’s conference: Mental Health in Schools - Building Systems of Care. The conference was perfectly timed with the creation of Jen’s new role as Mental Health Specialist. The plan for the new role is to support the adults and children throughout the school by integrating the preventive mental health program, MindUP, in every classroom from Primary through Junior High, and offering individualized one-on-one sessions as needed for staff and Junior High students. Staff, students, and families alike will learn shared skills and language for self-regulation, focus, and improved well-being.
Events Fall Festival & Classroom Picnics
This year, we combined our classroom picnics with the Fall Festival into one school-wide event. Families gathered for picnics and then came together for activities and live music on the soccer field. Thanks to the elementary students, room parents, and volunteers who organized all of the activities and picnics. And special thanks to Steve Stone, Chad Schrader, Emily Walton, Erik Burke, Andrew Lutes, and Josh Hoisington for sharing your music with us!
International Day of Peace
Dr. Maria Montessori developed her educational philosophy between two world wars. She understood that lasting peace could not be built through treaties alone; it had to be cultivated in children, from the earliest years, through the quality of their daily experience. On September 21, the children and adults came together in the courtyard as a school community to celebrate World Peace Day by singing “Let There Be Peace On Earth,” “Building Bridges,” and “The Peace Round.” We treasure these moments when our whole school comes together with a shared purpose.
By the numbers:
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New students either started with us this fall or will be joining us throughout the 2026-27 school year.
Nights spent in tents in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Compass Junior High traveled to the Keweenaw Peninsula during the first full week of school to bond as a community and learn about the geology of the Great Lakes.
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Our upper elementary summer campers participated in 43 excursions this summer! Lower elementary children in our “Discovery Grove” program took seven field trips during our nine-week summer day camp.
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Businesses have stepped up to generously support our school. These sponsors will be recognized at our Bright Futures Gala on October 2!
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Apples were pressed into fresh apple cider during the Fall Festival.
Independent studies have started in elementary. Inspired by the Great Lessons, learners have already begun research on topics from the Solar System to chocolate, and from The Great Wall of China to drones, and from cats to the telephone, and everything in between.
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