December 2025 PA Post
End of Year Gratitude
We made it to the end of the year! We are so very grateful to be part of this incredibly fun and generous community of families.
What an amazing fall semester it has been at AMS! Our community gathered to celebrate Latin America for our fall festival. Community led gatherings like Crafternoons are bumpin’ and consistently bringing AMS families together. The PA Bake Sale was sweet in every sense of the word. And the school continues to offer opportunities to further integrate Montessori principles into our lives through the Positive Discipline series that just wrapped up, the ongoing L.I.F.E. series (which are literally changing my life 🙂), and so much more!
The PA is looking forward to 2026 in a big way. Hopefully you had a chance to peek at Grae’s email announcing the upcoming Strategic Vision unveiling for our school on January 15th @ 7PM at Gaines Creek. We hope to see you all there - it’s going to be epic! See below for more fun stuff coming up in the new year.
As you close out the year, keep in mind the Annual Fund which supports our beautiful school in ways our tuition can’t. Remember you are part of an incredible community that cares about you and your family. And your PA cares SO much that we will leave you with some holiday jokes to help you spread Holiday cheer.
Why do reindeer like Beyonce so much?
She sleighs
Did you hear about the ski trip?
It started off fine then went downhill
What does a Gingerbread man put on his bed?
A cookie sheet
Recap of PA Happenings
Fall Festival PA Booth
The PA booth at the Fall Festival was a joyful central hub filled with crafts, excitement, and the irresistible smell of popcorn!
Children enjoyed planting Kindness Seeds (marigolds) to take home, and our Gratitude Tree was quickly filled with words of thankfulness, love, and connection. The popcorn machine is always a hit and as usual became a happy meeting place for both kids and parents. We rolled out some new colors for our AMS Merch, which were well received! Thanks to everyone who made purchases or shared feedback!
Thank you to all the families who stopped by the PA booth, participated in the fun, and shared in these moments with us and to our wonderful faculty and staff for their support throughout the day.
PA Bake Sale
The Bake Sale was a heartwarming gathering — drizzle, cold, and all!
After rescheduling once due to rain, the irony of a steady, misty afternoon certainly wasn’t lost on us. And yet, families still came out bundled up and smiling, ready to support. Beyond the baked goods (which were AMAZING!!!), children played and enjoyed some holiday crafts, parents chatted, and faculty and staff stopped by to join in the festivities. The whole event felt sweet, joyful, and the perfect way to kick off December. We were over the moon by the generosity of our bakers. The care, creativity, and time that went into each donation filled the booth with warmth despite the chilly weather. The PA is excited to make the Bake Sale an annual event.
Thank you to everyone who braved the drizzle and supported the Bake Sale. We are grateful for each and every one of you!
PA Prez, Claire Neeley swimming in merch!
Grab your AMS Swag
Don’t walk, RUN to grab the latest AMS swag in brand new colors!!
If you missed your opportunity to buy these cool tees at the Fall Festival, they are now available online on the AMSPA Merch Store.
Community Spotlight
This will be a recurring section in the PA Post to celebrate the amazing things happening in our AMS Community!
First up….
Crafternoons!
This lovely gathering was envisioned and is curated by Petta Chua, Phoebe Yeager, and several other creative community members. The group meets once a week in the Backyard at Sunset Trail after school. Everyone is welcome to join!
“One morning, after a particularly fun and spectacularly unsuccessful night of pottery, I woke up with the chaotic idea to offer a pottery workshop to the whole school. I just wanted to share a “let’s give something new a go — why not?!" Our motto is simple: Crafts, Snacks, and Togetherness.”
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“Last year I plucked up the courage to ask Phoebe, the handwork goddess, what she was working on. I had been admiring her work from a distance. Turns out Phoebe is as welcoming and warm as it gets! and the Parent Handwork Group she runs entirely reflects that. So, with no real crafting ability under my belt, I joined! And it is the warmest group of creative, sharing, fun parents I’ve ever met. I love the way Phoebe creates community through craft. A better writer than me would have come up with an elegant analogy about how she weaves us all together.”
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“I’ve always admired craft from a safe distance. It felt like the antidote to this 5G life we’re all living. Asoft rebellion against speed. The joy in (1 ) doing things ourselves and (2) doing them slowly.
When I joined the handwork group, I was immediately and irreversibly infected with a crafting addiction. In my single year of knowing Phoebe, I’ve picked up felting, embroidery, calligraphy, papermaking, and a long list of “how did this become my personality?” hobbies.
Phoebe unlocked something in me: the belief in my own hands-that I can watch, learn, do, and make. that perfection is highly overrated and totally unnecessary. Her warmth, her optimism, and her gentle guidance have been kind of…… life-changing?! This wasn’t meant to read like fan mail… and yet, here we are!
But the desire to do didn’t stop with me. It doubled with my children. Crafting together has become a way to approach challenges side by side- to envision, fail, laugh, achieve, and make things with questionable structural integrity. Busy hands, it turns out, open the door to conversations we’d otherwise never find our way into.
So one morning, after a particularly fun and spectacularly unsuccessful night of pottery, I woke up with the chaotic idea to offer a pottery workshop to the whole school. I just wanted to share a “let’s give something new a go — why not?!” experience with the AMS community. And I thought If it fails spectacularly it’ll be a superb way to set the bar extra low for someone else’s event 😆
I was thrilled though — 60 people showed up! And we made all sorts of wonderful creations (promise, they’re still drying; yes, they’re coming!).
At the next Friday handwork meet-up, Phoebe suggested, “Maybe this should be a weekly crafting thing?” Brent, Natalia, and Steph agreed, and just like that, Crafternoons @ The Backyard was born!!
Our motto is simple: Crafts, Snacks, and Togetherness.
A weekly chance to gather, be outside, try something new, or just create and let our hands lead our minds into something slower, sweeter, mod-podgier.
We didn’t want to be a committee or anything too official, so we named ourselves The Support Crew. We gather snacks and supplies… but we are hoping this will continue as a community-led, joyful, relaxed, and welcoming event.
And if I can be cheesy for a second — I have seen in my own life that curiosity, creativity, and crafting lead to genuine moments of connection and growth. Elmer’s does some heavy lifting!
If you haven’t joined one we hope you can make it one day. And thank you to the wonderful crafters who have joined! It has been delightful to craft with you.”
Upcoming Events & Initiatives
Spring Festival Sneak Peak!
The PA is beginning early planning for our first Spring Festival, and we’re excited to bring a new community gathering to campus this spring.
As planning continues, we’ll be reaching out for parent volunteers to help bring the Festival to life. If you’re interested in getting involved, please reach out to us. More details to come — we can’t wait to grow this new AMS event together! 🌱💛
Community Cookbook
We’re so excited to begin creating a Community Cookbook — a beautiful collection of favorite recipes shared by families across all of our AMS communities. This cookbook is more than meals on a page; it’s a celebration of culture, tradition, and the everyday rhythms that nourish our children and bring us together.
The cookbook will be available for families to purchase, and all are invited to contribute. More details coming soon on how to submit recipes and how to get your hands on one of these gems — we can’t wait to build this together.
Community Business Directory
We’re excited to begin creating a Community Business Directory that highlights and celebrates the incredible families, talents, and businesses within AMS. This thoughtfully curated resource will feature parent-owned and family-connected businesses, making it easy to support one another and turn to familiar faces for trusted services.
Our community is full of generosity, talent, and heart. The directory will be available for purchase, with proceeds supporting PA initiatives that directly benefit our children and school. More details coming soon!
Coffee with the PA
Coffee with the PA is kicking off in the New Year! Join members of the Parent Association Board for a casual, come-as-you-are morning to sip coffee, connect, and build community.
This informal gathering is a chance to meet the PA Board, ask questions, share ideas, and learn more about how the PA supports our families and school.
Whether you’re interested in getting involved, sharing your ideas, or simply want to put faces to names, we’d love to see you there.
Additional events coming up:
12/11 - Holiday Bazaar! - Sunset Trail Clubhouse 4:00 - 6:00 PM
12/12 - Holiday Bazaar! - Sunset Trail Clubhouse 3:30 - 5:30 PM
1/9 - Breakfast with Nadine Gardener - Great Northern 8:30 - 10:00 AM
1/9 - First Fridays in the Backyard - Sunset Trail backyard 4:30 - 6:30 PM
1/15 - AMS Strategic Plan Unveiling - 7:00 PM - Gaines Creek Campus - book your sitter soon!
2/21 - AMS Fiesta! - 6:00 - 10:00 PM
Community Building
Sign up to be a PA Volunteer!
In order for the Parents Association to achieve our goals & live out our mission, we will need volunteer support from our community of parents. Whether it’s a tiny bit, a whole lot, or somewhere in between, we are so grateful for any amount of time you are willing to contribute!
Our WhatsApp community is thriving!
We have several subgroups, including "AMC Parents Handwork Group", "AMC Buy/Give/Sell/Swap", "AMC Positive Discipline Parenting", "AMC Pledge WaitUntil8th", and MORE! The subgroups often have meet-ups, playdates, advice, and are all-around a great resource for AMS parents and caregivers.
Community Care
We all know it takes a village for each family and child to thrive. Do you know a family welcoming a new baby? Is there a family that could use a little extra nourishment right now? Fill out the Community Care request form below and we will take care of the rest!
Giving
AMS Annual Fund
Donate to the Parents Association
100% of the proceeds from your donations are used towards PA events, staff appreciation, the printing of family photo placemats, meal trains, and more. The PA accepts Cash, Check, and Credit Card. Your purchase is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your support!