A Brief History of Our School
The Sydney Montessori Society (SMS) was established in 1975 and opened The Children’s House Montessori Pre-School West Lindfield – one of the first Montessori schools in NSW. Recognition of the high quality of education provided at West Lindfield continued to grow within the community and, in 1985, SMS established a second school at Boronia Park. In January 1998, the Boronia Park premises were moved to Cressy Road. North Ryde. In 2001 Parents from the West Lindfield campus initiated a split from SMS and from January 2002 the West Lindfield school operates as a separate company. The Sydney Montessori Society continues to operate the Cressy Road Pre-school with both a morning and afternoon class. In 2005 SMS Council contacted the four “Founding” members of the society for a thirty year celebration. Thirty Trees were planted in the surrounding bush to mark this occasion.
Our Mission
To cater for the needs of preschool children in a professional manner following the guidelines of Montessori Philosophy, with consideration of the needs of parents, staff and the wider community.
Guiding Principles
The Children’s House is run according to the Montessori philosophy and methods. Some of our guiding principles we aim for in the school are:
- To recognise the child’s innate capacity for learning and desire to learn.
- To love and understand and have respect for their dignity and worth as a person.
- To develop the total child with the integration of the intellectual, emotional, physical, spiritual and social aspects of life
- To develop the independence and adaptability of the child. Education is seen as an aid to life and preparation for it.
- To ensure that learning is active, experimental, individually paced and self correcting, independent and unlimited in scope.
- To create and maintain a safe healthy environment that will enhance our children’s autonomy, initiative and self worth.
- As a result of these principles the method of education is based on “following the child”.
- Complete philosophy can be seen here.
Structure of the School
Our Montessori preschool provides a three-year program for children aged 3-6 years. For the first two years, children attend a half-day session of three and one half hours each day for five days per week. During the third year or “when children are eligible to attend kindergarten”, the children attend the school for an additional two and one half hours each day.
In the kindergarten year, everything learned in the previous two years is consolidated and self-confidence, leadership and responsibility are developed.
We also offer Extended Hours for 3 and 4 year old children up to 5 pm each day.
We offer parent toddler sessions Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9.30 am to 11.30 am.
Morning Class: 8.30am to 12 o’clock.
Kindergarten class: 8.30am to 2.30pm
Extended Hours: 12 o’clock to 5.30pm or part of.
The children are grouped together much as a natural family is, with the full 3-year age range together. This provides good social interplay and the opportunity to learn from their experience and by observing each other. There are approximately 29 children in each class that has three adults.
The School operates on the four-term year following the term dates and breaks of the NSW public schools. However, there are a number of days in the year when there is no school for the children.
The first day of each term is a staff preparation day.
On three days per year, Montessori teachers’ training sessions are held and these are attended by our directresses and assistants. They are spread through the year and dates are notified well in advance.
