Top News Archives - Rowntree Montessori Schools

2018/06/01 by R.M.S.

Showcasing Sportsmanship

Recently our students participated in the yearly SSAF (Small Schools Athletic Federation) track and field events with over 30 other independent and private schools and 700 students from across the GTA and southern Ontario, held at the Terry Fox Track and Field Stadium in Brampton. Students had an excellent time showcasing their physical talents, and were encouraged to participate in activities that helped teach fair play and sportsmanship. We are proud to announce that multiple medals were won at the Grade 1 to Grade 4 event. One of our students won the silver medal for the 400m run, while another won bronze at the standing long jump and one student won bronze at the running long jump.

Group Track and Field photo from RMS BRampton Private Schools

Students from Grades 1 to 4 at the SSAF Track and Field Meet

Many medals were won from our Grade 6 to Grade 8 private school students, as RMS had its best ever results with multiple gold medals in different events, from running long jump to triple long jump. Not only was success achieved, but so too was a crowd full of cheer and excitement. Our students came together in a wonderful display of sportsmanship to support each other, as they cheered on their relay teams and their peers throughout the day. It was an exciting track and field meet for everyone, and we look forward to next year!

Students showcasing their winning medals at track and field

Research published by the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute states that exercise can lead to a unique state of short-term relaxation. That relaxation can promote increased concentration, better memory, enhanced creativity, more effective problem solving, and an improved mood — all benefits that will extend into the classroom.

Track and Field 2018 at RMS Private School

Student doing running long jump

To learn more about Rowntree Montessori Schools (RMS), continue browsing our website and ideally drop by any of our welcoming, friendly and family oriented campuses for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:30am-3:00pm. If you prefer, call to book an appointment for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:30am-3:00pm.

More details about Rowntree Montessori Schools‘ approach to education can be seen by clicking here .

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2018/05/25 by R.M.S.

Learning about Butterflies in Kindergarten

Since early Spring, Pre-Kindergarten to Prep-ONE (SK) Kindergarten students have been learning about the lifecycle of a butterfly by caring for these creatures through each stage of the metamorphosis. This has been a great interest based project, as our students were eager to learn about all of the stages of this change. This learning experience gave students the opportunity to observe nature, learn collaboratively, take turns and communicate with peers about what was happening.

Kindergarten student at RMS private School Brampton looking at butterfly

Kindergarten Montessori students looking at butterflies eating

The video below shows the release of our butterflies back into natural habitat. Our release ceremony started with students telling us about the life cycle of butterflies, and then included a poem recited by our Prep-ONE class. All students made a wish as we released the butterflies. Students enjoyed learning about how all things change during their lifetimes. Just as the butterfly develops through four stages of metamorphosis — egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), and adult (butterfly), so too will our Kindergarten students change during the year. We are very proud of our students for participating in this project together, and thank the many parents who participated in the release ceremony.

For more information about the Butterfly Life Cycle, click below to read more from the National Geographic Kids Canada website.

The Butterfly Life Cycle!

To learn more about Rowntree Montessori Schools (RMS), continue browsing our website and ideally drop by any of our welcoming, friendly and family oriented campuses for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:30am-3:00pm. If you prefer, call to book an appointment for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:30am-3:00pm.

More details about Rowntree Montessori Schools‘ approach to education can be seen by clicking here .

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2018/05/24 by R.M.S.

Teaching Financial Literacy Early

Recently our Grade 3 students at the Academy Campus had the opportunity to learn some fundamental skills to support their learning of financial literacy through the use of currency calculations on interactive whiteboards. Below is a video of students working in pairs to count money spent on purchases, then calculate the change from a given amount. Teaching the concept of spending and saving through the interactive whiteboard and corresponding applications is very enjoyable for students, and extremely useful to start at a young age in preparation for more challenging financial concepts taught in later years at RMS.

We believe it is very important for students to learn the first skills necessary for financial literacy as early as Kindergarten here at Rowntree Montessori Schools private schools. Experts such as Toronto financial literacy analyst Tricia Barry agree that these types of lessons need to be introduced to students at a young age. In fact, for public schools, Barry suggests that “mandated financial literacy lessons need to be introduced by Grade 6, including incorporating the concepts into math class.” However here at RMS Private Schools, we teach these concepts even earlier, giving students a head start towards perfecting their ability to succeed in their futures, when it comes to the topic of finance and related management. For more on this topic, click here to review an article by The Toronto Star.

To learn more about Rowntree Montessori Schools (RMS), continue browsing our website and ideally drop by any of our welcoming, friendly and family oriented campuses for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:30am-3:00pm. If you prefer, call to book an appointment for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:30am-3:00pm.

More details about Rowntree Montessori Schools‘ approach to education can be seen by clicking here .

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2018/05/04 by R.M.S.

Coding is Vital in Education

Hands on knowledge of how to code is becoming increasingly more important to employers, and as a result is a vital part of a well-rounded education. Coding skills are used in many different career paths, including Information Technology Workers, Data Analysts, Artists and Designers, Engineers and Scientists. According to a report written by Burning Glass Technologies, programming jobs are growing faster than all other types of jobs. Review the full report by clicking here.

Here at Rowntree Montessori Schools, we start teaching the foundation of coding skills very early in Pre-Kindergarten Montessori as part of the private school education. Our Kindergarten students use Dash and Dot robots to learn how to block code, by giving command instructions to robots, making them follow a path, light up different colours, throw a ball and complete other actions. Take a look at these Grade 4 students working on a challenging online game called Code Monkey. With this learninig game, the students solve problems on a map to the left of the screen by typing in the commands to the right. We use this to transition students from block coding in preparation for more complex coding languages that will be taught after Grade 4.

Grade 4 student at Rowntree Montessori Schools using coding application on a computer at his private school

Grade 4 student using coding game

We look forward to seeing you and sharing with you the private school community of which we are so proud!

To learn more about Rowntree Montessori Schools (RMS), continue browsing our website and ideally drop by any of our welcoming, friendly and family oriented campuses for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:30am-3:00pm. If you prefer, call to book an appointment for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:30am-3:00pm.

More details about Rowntree Montessori Schools‘ approach to education can be seen by clicking here .

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2018/04/27 by R.M.S.

STEM Projects Solving Problems

Every year our Grade 1 to Grade 8 students participate in the Annual STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Fair. This is a great opportunity for our Private School students to enhance their problem solving and public speaking skills. Students start working on their STEM projects in early January, and those in Grades 1-4 are judged upon their use of the scientific process, where they must observe something and try to hypothesize and explain why is has been seen. We had many great projects this year, including one that reviewed the density of objects such as raisins by seeing how they floated in water. Another looked at how well plants would grow depending on what they were given, whether water, milk, pop and other liquids.

Grades 5-8 RMS private school students are judged upon their use of the engineering process, which often times means designing a product (like a machine or computer code) that meets certain criteria and/or accomplishes a certain task to solve a problem. Some of the noteworthy examples this year included one group that engineered the idea of a peanut detector, whereas another set of students redesigned the standard garden rake to be more efficient.

Students explaining their project at RMS STEM Fair 2018

Grade 6 students explaining their winning project at RMS STEM Fair 2018

Students were judged from parents and experts from multiple fields, and it was clear that they put in a lot of time and effort into their projects this year. Selecting the winners is not an easy process, but it allows us to recognize the exceptional efforts and creativity of those that followed the scientific process and the engineering process. Following the STEM Fair is a day of learning and fun for everyone! To celebrate the efforts of the students involved in the STEM Fair, on the second day we enjoyed a school wide bake sale and outdoor learning activities.

RMS Private School students in Brampton at the bake sale

Students at the RMS yearly bake sale

This was especially exciting for our Grade 4 students, who dressed up as scientists and helped take our younger students to the bake sale and to the learning stations outside. All students were able to participate in many learning games and stations, such as learning about density of multiple objects at the water station, learning about how to clean the ocean at the magnetic station and more! In many ways, these two days are some of the most exciting days of the year, as students look forward to showcasing their work, followed by a delicious snack and outdoor learning activity!

RMS Private School students at RMS learning about the density of various objects at school activity

Students learning about density and what will float at an outdoor learning activity

We look forward to seeing you and sharing with you the private school community of which we are so proud!

To learn more about Rowntree Montessori Schools (RMS), continue browsing our website and ideally drop by any of our welcoming, friendly and family oriented campuses for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:30am-3:00pm. If you prefer, call to book an appointment for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:30am-3:00pm.

More details about Rowntree Montessori Schools‘ approach to education can be seen by clicking here .

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2018/04/25 by R.M.S.

Spelling takes Perseverance

Recently Grade 2 to Grade 6 students from Rowntree Montessori Schools participated in the 31st Annual Peel Region Spelling Bee Competition. We are very proud of our students for their hard work and dedication, and would like to share the good news that one of our Primary students came in 3rd place overall and one of our Junior students came in 4th place.

RMS Private School students in Brampton competing at spelling bee

Students showcasing their Spelling Bee Certificates

Succeeding in this type of spelling competition is not easy for any student. Our Private School students here at RMS start practicing for the spelling competition in January every year. Learning to spell is not simply about memorizing words, but rather learning about the origin of each word by breaking it down into parts that can be understood. From here our students can go on to learn advanced words, and be proud of their achievements. Congratulations to all of our students who participated in the Spelling Bee Competition!

RMS Private School student in Brampton at spelling bee competition

RMS student spelling a difficult word at the recent Spelling Bee Competition

We look forward to seeing you and sharing with you the private school community of which we are so proud!

To learn more about Rowntree Montessori Schools (RMS), continue browsing our website and ideally drop by any of our welcoming, friendly and family oriented campuses for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:30am-3:00pm. If you prefer, call to book an appointment for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:30am-3:00pm.

More details about Rowntree Montessori Schools‘ approach to education can be seen by clicking here .

Please kindly SHARE this post with others by clicking onto one or more of the icons below. We would appreciate it and thank you in advance.

2018/04/19 by R.M.S.

Students Solving Real-World Problems at Brampton Private School

Recently Grade 3 students at our award-winning Brampton private school at the RMS Academy Campus were posed with a question of what they would do with the increasing number of plastic water bottles and plastic bags that generate large amounts of garbage in our communities. Teachers and students discussed how some of this plastic garbage is dumped into the oceans, harming marine life, polluting soil and compromising the quality of earth. According to research conducted by the plastic pollution coalition organization, by 2050 the oceans will contain more plastic than fish by weight. This is a concern, so we asked students how to help reduce or eliminate plastic, and assigned them the task of creating structures using plastic water bottles and plastic bags.

Private school students in Brampton at RMS working on solving a real-world problem of pollution

Brampton private school students working on solving a real-world problem about pollution

Using the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics) approach, each student stuffed plastic bags into plastic water bottles to strengthen the bottle and to build stable and useful structures. Each group sketched the structure that they wanted to build, and together they built a couch, a bookshelf, a step stool and a coffee table! The science component included building stable structures, the math component involved measuring and weighing the structures. With this project, students researched the effects of plastic pollution and they prepared a Google slide that displayed their research. In art class, they painted, and decorated their structures.

These are the types of problems that we challenge our students to solve. This year we will be holding the Annual STEM Fair with the theme “Mad About STEM” on Friday, April 27, 2018. We invite our RMS parents to this activity, and the agenda can be found on myRMS. We will also be holding a bake sale in order to purchase new science materials for all grade levels. This should be a great learning opportunity for all and we look forward to seeing all of the great experiments from our students.

Image of Student at Private School STEM Fair

Student showcasing project to a judge

We look forward to seeing you and sharing with you the private school community of which we are so proud!

To learn more about Rowntree Montessori Schools (RMS), continue browsing our website and ideally drop by any of our welcoming, friendly and family oriented campuses for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:30am-3:00pm. If you prefer, call to book an appointment for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:30am-3:00pm.

More details about Rowntree Montessori Schools‘ approach to education can be seen by clicking here .

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2018/04/09 by R.M.S.

Shaping Values in Private School

As a 21st Century Private School in Brampton, we pride ourselves in shaping students with strong values that will ensure a successful future for our students and our world. The Student of the Month assembly is one of our many school-wide initiatives that foster good values. Each month we celebrate a value and we recognize students who demonstrate that value on a daily basis. Students also present a skit or a song that depicts the value of the month. Below is a video of the Grade 3 students performing a song about Determination, entitled ”The Climb” by Miley Cyrus.

This month we are focusing on building “Leadership” among our students at the Academy Campus. Students can be recognized for demonstrating this value when we see them 1) Thinking for the future, learning from the past, and acting in the now 2) Influencing others to participate 3) Being able to deal with and overcome failures, mishaps, and mistakes 4) Understanding the importance of setting goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound 5) Pushing oneself to learn more, work harder and compete for the greater good 6) Being effective at delegating to all members 7) Being open to working with all channels 8) Listening before speaking 9) Continually asking questions or 10) Knowing the rules. Not only do we focus on ensuring that our academic curriculum is challenging and always 1-2 years ahead of the Ministry set guidelines in each subject, but we also make sure that we are supporting the overall well-being of each child, offering well rounded opportunities to grow and develop into good citizens of the world.

We look forward to seeing you and sharing with you the private school community of which we are so proud!

To learn more about Rowntree Montessori Schools (RMS), continue browsing our website and ideally drop by any of our welcoming, friendly and family oriented campuses for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:30am-3:00pm. If you prefer, call to book an appointment for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:30am-3:00pm.

More details about Rowntree Montessori Schools‘ approach to education can be seen by clicking here .

Please kindly SHARE this post with others by clicking onto one or more of the icons below. We would appreciate it and thank you in advance.

2018/04/03 by R.M.S.

Hands On Learning in Grade 1 – Private School

Whenever possible at Rowntree Montessori Schools, we encourage the use of manipulatives and hands on materials in the classroom to problem solve, especially in mathematics. According to Small (2009), “there is a strongly held belief in the mathematics education community that when students are actively engaged in constructing their own understanding of a concept through hands on materials, they better understand what is being taught”. In fact, Canadian researchers of education in Kindergarten to Grade 8 classrooms often suggest that children who are encouraged to focus on how to solve problems over how to complete exercises, better understand concepts. Click here to read Chapter 1 of Making Math Meaningful to Canadian Students, K–8 by Marian Small.

Grade 1 stuents at RMS private school in Brampton problem solving through the use of manipulatives

Grade 1 students at RMS Central Park Campus showcasing their playgrounds in science class

Recently, our Grade One students at the RMS Central Park Campus completed a unit of science about Materials, Objects and Structures. To complete the unit, students needed to build their own playground out of available materials, such as cardboard, paint, pipe cleaners, tubes and other supplies. Prior to building the playground, each student needed to create a blueprint of what he or she was planning to build, outlining what materials would best support his or her structure. Not only did this challenge encourage students to visualize and problem solve, but when presenting their projects they needed to verbalize their creations. This was a great learning opportunity for each student, and we are proud of their results.

A proud Grade 1 student showcasing her work

We are currently still accepting applications to our Grade 1 programme, but space is very limited. Click here to Apply Now or Contact the Admissions Office at 905-790-3838 for more information today!

We look forward to seeing you and sharing with you the private school community of which we are so proud!

To learn more about Rowntree Montessori Schools (RMS), continue browsing our website and ideally drop by any of our welcoming, friendly and family oriented campuses for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:30am-3:00pm. If you prefer, call to book an appointment for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:30am-3:00pm.

More details about Rowntree Montessori Schools‘ approach to education can be seen by clicking here .

Please kindly SHARE this post with others by clicking onto one or more of the icons below. We would appreciate it and thank you in advance.

2018/03/08 by R.M.S.

Math Day a Success at RMS Private School in Brampton

Over the past week students of all grades at our private school campuses have participated in Math Day activities to engage in learning mathematics through numerous hands on simulated experiences. At the Academy Campus, students were able to shop at the mock “Rowntree Central Mall.” The students from grades four to seven were assigned the responsibilities of setting up stores, the grade eight students took on the responsibility of organizing the finances, and our kindergarten to grade three students had the privilege of being shoppers! Rowntree Montessori School’s Athletic Committee, “RMAC”, also volunteered their services as mall security. Over the course of the day, the grade eight students did an amazing job of explaining the banking system to our shoppers. Plenty of guidance and advice was offered to the younger students, who excitedly spent their Rowntree dollars! It was indeed interesting to watch how the students shopped, some went through their money even before their shopping spree had ended. Others were more thoughtful and careful in their spending! Take a look at the video below for a preview of an exchange being made between buyer and seller.

Grade 7 students at the Academy Campus participated in the Real-Estate Fair, where they acted as real-estate agents, trying to showcase and sell their properties. This gave them an opportunity to learn how to calculate commission rates, understand mortgage rates, mortgage contracts and all the necessary steps to sell homes. Students at our Preparatory Campuses also participated in Math Day. Those at the Central Park Campus participated in a mock ice cream shop, making delicious purchases with mock money. They also had a money trivia room and a money arcade, to keep learning exciting and fun. Downtown Campus students participated in grocery shopping, ran a book store and enjoyed a math games room, while students at the Mayfield campus made pizzas in order to learn about fractions, had multiple counting games to participate in, and made a math craft activity.

This was another successful Math Day at our Award Winning Private School in Brampton, where teachers witnessed a kaleidoscope of virtues and values, from dedication, responsibility, co-operation, commitment, leadership and unity. Watching our students lead each other, and guide each other with such confidence and ease, makes us realize that this is truly a one of a kind student community. The sheer potential of our Rowntree Montessori School students never ceases to amaze us!

Students at Rowntree Montessori Schools private school in Brampton selling real estate in math day 2018.

Students showcasing a property for sale

We look forward to seeing you and sharing with you the private school community of which we are so proud!

To learn more about Rowntree Montessori Schools (RMS), continue browsing our website and ideally drop by any of our welcoming, friendly and family oriented campuses for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:30am-3:00pm. If you prefer, call to book an appointment for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:30am-3:00pm.

More details about Rowntree Montessori Schools‘ approach to education can be seen by clicking here .