School News

We currently offer immersion programs in French, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese for our six to nine year olds.  Students continue their Montessori education through language immersion and are able (and expected) to communicate with their teachers and classmates in the target language throughout the school day.  Most instruction throughout the week continues to be provided in the target language.  However, English instruction provided by a dedicated English teacher in a separate classroom increases in the Lower Elementary program to build strong reading, writing, comprehension and language skills in English.  Physical education, music, and art are important components of the program as well, delivered through classes once a week from a specialist in the particular area.

Students of this age are more attracted to understanding their place in the universe, to understanding connections between ideas, and are able to begin thinking more abstractly.  To align with this developmental stage, the Elementary program is based on five connective narratives called “Great Lessons” that provide inspiring stories and points of departure for deeper study in all areas of the curriculum.

The Five Great Lessons

1. The Creation of the Universe and Coming into Being of the Earth which tells a story of how the universe and, specifically Earth, were formed leading students to explore topics of earth science.
2. The Coming of Life which tells the story of the beginning and evolution of life on Earth.
3. The Coming of Human Beings presents a story of human history and the progress of civilization throughout time.
4. The Story of Communications in Signs piques their interest in communication and language from the early Egyptians to present day languages and communication means.
5. The Story of Numbers introduces the idea that people needed a means to communicate quantities and measurement to provide a language for invention.

Studies are integrated not only in terms of subject matter but in terms of moral learning as well, resulting in appreciation and respect for life, moral empathy, and a fundamental belief in progress, the contribution of the individual, the universality of the human condition, and the meaning of true justice.

In the Primary program, students spend large amounts of their time in identifying, classifying, describing and comparing concrete objects through the carefully prepared materials and Montessori works in the classroom. Students in the Elementary program continue to have access to the Montessori materials to support their transition from the world of the concrete to the world of the abstract.  Some of the same materials as well as new materials support a spiral approach to learning in science, mathematics, language arts, and geography. Students revisit similar Montessori works, but now investigate them with a desire for more depth of understanding and with greater complexity. The subject of focus, depth of study, and order of study is driven by student motivation and academic readiness.  Therefore, the role of the teacher is to support a student’s or small group of students’ academic journey.

Integrated
Integration of the arts, sciences, geography, history, and language evokes the native imagination and abstraction of the elementary child.