EL BOLETIN

News From The Regions

An invitation to all members and friends of CIM

You are welcome to send information and updates about your school, teacher education program, association, conferences, events, etc. Send reports to Rittchell Yau via email at rittch...@netzero.com any time. Or, you can snail mail them to her at 416 N. Beringer Circle, Urbana, IL 61802. Photographs are welcome.

Region I: MEXICO

16th AMMEAC Conference May 12-15, 2006

La Asociación Montessori Mexicana, A.C. will host the 16th AMMEAC Congreso titled "Somos Un Universo de Posibilidades" in Cuernavaca Morelos. For more information contact AMMEAC by email at amm...@hotmail.com or amm...@prodigy.net.mx

Region IV: CENTRAL AMERICA

II Congreso Montessori Costarricense May 18-20, 2006

The Asociación Montessori Costarricense will host the II Congreso Montessori Costarricense: "La Escuela Maternal Montessoriana: 80 años de trayectoria" from May 18-20, 2006. The format includes keynote speakers as well as workshops on a variety of topics. For full information, contact Marcela Hio-Soto of the University of Costa Rica at a...@cariari.ucr.ac.cr.

Report from Gus Cadieux: Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica

In February of this year, I traveled from the United States to Central America and visited Montessori schools. In Honduras, I visited teachers Walterina Rodriguez in San Pedro Sula and Maria Consuelo Moncada in Choluteca. The schools continue to struggle with retention of students in the third year of preschool since parents there are so intent on getting their children into the "best" English-speaking elementary schools, where competition to register is stiff. They have expanded to the primary grades but so far few students have taken advantage of this. As always, the children I saw were enthusiastic, busy and happy.

In Nicaragua, the economic situation is so bad that nearly one hundred thousand elementary children are not in school. Martha Torres in Diriamba, Maria Lopez in Masaya, and Estrella Mercado in Managua had good enrollment in their classrooms and the children seemed very contented. Nora Medal's school in Km 40 was struggling. In the countryside, parents are having trouble getting shoes and notebooks to send their children to school. Georgina Gonzalez just opened a little school in a poor barrio of Chinandega. She deals with the dangers of the neighborhood, as well as with sporadic student attendance.

On my return I passed through Costa Rica and visited Gabriela Munante's beautiful private school equipped with materials from Indonesia. Then I visited the program of the teachers Marcela Hio Soto and Mabel Ovares in the daycare of the University. What a magnificent setting, with access to outdoor space and an expansive property! They have organized a Montessori congress in May. They are planning to offer a Montessori preschool course in the fall. They have given courses in Colombia and Honduras in the past.

For more information, contact Gus Cadieux at guscadi...@yahoo.com.

Region V: SOUTH AMERICA

Chile: IV Congreso Latinoamericano Montessori: May 5 and 6, 2006

The IV Congreso Latinoamericano Montessori will be held in Santiago, Chile at the Hotel Crowne Plaza. The conference theme is "100 Years of Education for Peace: Strategies for the Construction of the Man and Woman of Tomorrow." The meeting aims to bring together all who are interested in human development, including teachers, parents, professors, medical personnel, counselors and psychologists. The program and other information are available at the Centro de Estudios Montessori (CEM) website: www.centromontessori.cl. Or, contact CEM at: Av. Duble Alméyda 2865, Ñunoa, Santiago, Chile. Tel: 56-2-205-1358, Fax: 56-2-204-4761. Email: i...@centromontessori.cl. Registration information is also available through Carolina Hormazábal I at Interexpo, Av. Francisco de Bilbao 3771, Providencia, Santiago - ChileTel: 56-2-341-0900. Fax : 56-2-209-2134. www.interexpo.cl.

chormaza...@interexpo.cl.

Region VI: BRAZIL

III Encuentro de Líders Latinoamericanos June 30-July 1, 2006

The III Encuentro de Líders Latinoamericanos de Educación Montessori is scheduled to be held in Salvador, Bahía June 30-July 1. Brazilian Montessori Society (BMS) and Asociación Basileña de Educación Montessori (ABEM) are organizing the event. This leadership meeting has been convened in response to interest expressed throughout the region to dialogue on topics related to teacher education, certification and government recognition standards. Speakers, representatives, and participants from the Americas and Europe are invited. This meeting precedes the 4th annual OMB conference, described below. Information about this leadership meeting and earlier encuentros is available at the website: www.omb.org.br.

4th Annual Conferência Latinoamericana, OMBJuly 3-5, 2006

The 4th Annual Conferência Latinoamericana hosted by the Organización Montessori de Brasil (OMB) will be held at the Centro de Convenciones in Salvador, Bahía. Information about registration, reservations, and the program guide can found on their website: www.omb.org.br.

Additional information for both the leadership meeting and the annual conference is available through BMS/ABEM, Rua Marquês de São Vicente, 455- Gávea, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 22451-041 Brasil. Tel: 0-xx-21-25125636. Fax: 0-xx-21-2274-1253. Email: montess...@abem-educ.org.br.

TEACHER EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY

Opera Nazionale Montessori will hold an International Montessori Course for Assistants to Infancy (0-3) at their training center in Rome starting in September 2006 and concluding in January 2007 with the Montessori International Congress January 6-7, 2007, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Casa dei Bambini in San Lorenzo. The course will be conducted in English. However, translation will be available. Additional information is available at their website, www.montessori.it. Other contact information is: Office of Opera Nazionale Montessori, Via San Gallicano 7-001153 Rome, Italy. Telephone: +39-06-58-48-65 or +39-06-58-79-59. Fax: +39-06-58-85-434. Email: i...@montessori.it.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

We have the following opportunities for volunteers who would like to get involved in CIM and programs throughout Latin America:

• Work on a website
• Join the membership committee to help with outreach to both existing and potential members
• Assist with editing and translating the newsletter
• Participate in a school to school pen pal program

Volunteer with programs in Latin America for three months to a year

Sound interesting? For information about opportunities outside the USA, contact Elena Young, CIM Coordinator, by phone at 56-2-205-1358, or by email at eyo...@vtr.net .

For information about opportunities in the United States, contact Rittchell Yau, Region II Coordinator, by phone at 217-328-1341, or by email at rittch...@netzero.com.

RESOURCE UPDATES

Please let us know about new sources and resources that will be of interest to the Montessori community.

The International Children's Digital Library (ICDL)

Website: www.icdlbooks.org or www.childrenslibrary.org

The International Children's Digital Library is not new, but it has been revamped recently. It has a new URL address. It has been redesigned to be more child friendly. The goal is to create a free comprehensive online library of children's literature that represents the outstanding children's literature across the world. As of March 2006, the ICDL has 928 complete books in 35 languages with new books added regularly. Some are classics and some contemporary. Children ages 3-13, teachers, parents, librarians and caregivers are the primary audience. The site is "browse and read-only" as more than 60% of the list is comprised of copyrighted books. This means the complete books can be read online, but they cannot be downloaded, printed, copied or emailed.