Welcome back to a new school year!
Welcome back to a new school year!
by SJMS Head of School, Brenda Huth
Our mission, as a Catholic Montessori community, is to provide a learning environment that respects the uniqueness of each child in reaching his or her full potential. It is our goal to address the intellectual, emotional, physical, spiritual, and social growth of each child entrusted to our care. We do all of this in the spirit of service and preparation through Montessori pedagogy and practice.
The program at St. Joseph Montessori School is designed to achieve the following Portrait of a Graduate Characteristics for our students:
Students will be life-long learners: Many of our learning activities are individualized. Each child is involved in work which holds particular interest because it is geared to his or her own pace, repeating a task as often as desired, thus experiencing a series of successful achievements. In this manner, the child acquires a positive attitude toward learning.
Students will be confident: At St. Joseph Montessori School, work is planned so that each new step is built on what the child has already mastered, thereby removing the negative experience of frequent failure. Success after success builds up an individual’s inner confidence and provides assurance that learning is possible. These confidence-building experiences, in turn, contribute to the sound emotional development of the adult.
Students will be independent: At St. Joseph Montessori School, we give each child the gift of independence. This lets them know we value them and know they are capable. Children grow up feeling empowered and safe in their abilities to make sound choices. When we trust them, they learn to trust themselves; ultimately, they become happy and productive members of their communities.
Student will be curious: In a rapidly changing society such as ours, we must all be students during our entire lifetime. Providing students with opportunities to discover qualities, dimensions, and relationships, amidst the rich variety of learning situations, we nurture the development of a natural desire to learn in such a way that the child acquires a habit of being curious, an essential element of creative learning.
Students will be global citizens: Each child is involved in activities and opportunities which broaden his or her vision of the world. Through collaborative work, care of the environment, global education, and conflict resolution, the child gains an appreciation of personal and social responsibilities and acceptance of human differences.
For fifty-two years we have been a highly respected school in the Columbus community, grounded in the Montessori philosophy. In 1968, Sister Anne McCarrick had a dream of offering the children of the Columbus area an authentic Montessori education. Sister Anne went on to become an influential trainer of teachers, an American Montessori Society Living Legacy, and I know she would be proud of the school she founded. (We will be celebrating our very first Founder’s Day on May 1, 2020!)
Here at St. Joseph Montessori School, we provide a rich learning experience for students ages 3-15; creating an environment of respect, love, trust, joy, high educational standards, independence, and responsibility. This is a place where learning comes to life! And you, as families, are our partners in the journey.
Dr. Maria Montessori stated, “The secret of good teaching is to regard the child’s intelligence as a fertile field in which seeds may be sown, to grow under the heat of flaming imagination. Our aim is not only to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his innermost core. We do not want complacent pupils, but eager ones. We seek to sow life in the child rather than theories, to help him in his growth, mental and emotional as well as physical, and for that, we must offer grand and lofty ideas to the human mind.” This is a quote concisely pulling together the main philosophy behind the Montessori methods, on which our school was founded.
Every child is unique, and our Montessori faculty is trained and committed to nurturing those unique qualities in each child. In our family-like atmosphere, strong relationships are built between the teacher and child and between the parents and school. We believe these partnerships are essential for a fulfilling educational experience.