Search Results for: benefits of a montessori education

2016/01/26 by Natalie

The Importance of French and “Le Carnaval de Rowntree”

Canada is one of only a handful of officially bi-lingual countries in the world. As a result, French education plays a very important role in preparing students for successful careers. Not only do we teach French at all levels at Rowntree, starting from Kindergarten Montessori to the higher grades, but we also expose our students to varied activities where they get to explore the value of learning French, and master the skills in each of the four interconnected strands: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing.

“While the knowledge of any language has value, French is not only a global language but the mother tongue of many Canadians and an integral part of the Canadian identity.” This essentially summarizes the many benefits of learning French as a second language. The transmission of the Francophone culture and identity is also an integral part of our entire curriculum.

Opening Ceremony French Carnaval — Opening Ceremony at the Carnaval de Québec

Further to this, our French Department has been busy preparing for a French Carnival, “Le Carnaval de Rowntree.” We actually scheduled this to coincide with the carnival “Carnaval du Québec” held at the end of January in the province of Québec, and lasting for 2 weeks. Our “Le Carnaval de Rowntree” is taking place in the last week of January. Both students and French teachers are very excited about this first carnival, where numerous French activities have been planned! Throughout the “Le Carnaval de Rowntree”, students are scheduled at different stations of the carnival, ranging from crafts to café’s. The main goal for all these numerous activities is to bring awareness of the French culture and to gain knowledge of the many words and expressions students have learned. We are also excited and eager to announce the name of our special guest! Stay tuned for more information about the success of the “Le Carnaval de Rowntree”!

To see more posts about French at Rowntree Montessori Schools, click here .

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 9:00am-3:00pm. If you prefer, call to book an appointment for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:00am-3:00pm.

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

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

2015/10/30 by Natalie

Bullying Prevention Awareness

As we approach the month of November, we again turn our attention more directly toward the prevention of bullying in schools. Bullying awareness initiatives have become increasingly important in our schools and communities. At Rowntree Montessori Schools, our anti-bullying initiatives have been very well received, and we continue to be mindful of them every day.

In the first week of November, during our annual bullying prevention week, several activities will be aimed at increasing awareness of bullying in all its contexts. This includes challenges faced when encountering bullying, both in person and online, as well as reinforcing the identification and prevention steps to which we are all committed. Assemblies, classroom assignments, and presentations by our RMAAC (Rowntree Montessori Athletic and Academic Council) student leaders will be scheduled so that every student and staff member in the school has a chance to stay up to date with current initiatives, and address any concerns or questions they may have. Additionally, we are also happy to welcome our designated Peel Police Constable from the Youth Education Bureau to take part in presenting workshops for all students, ranging in topics from “Everyday Hero” through “Kind is Cool” and “Cyber Citizenship”.

At RMS, we strive to create a respectful learning environment where students are taught the benefits of kindness, consideration, and inclusiveness. These are school-wide beliefs, and we enforce these behaviours all year long. Bullying prevention week allows us the opportunity to work with our staff and students, as well as parents and the community, to consider new strategies for the prevention of bullying.

A wealth of information on our policy and its implementation can be found in our “Parent/Student Handbook”, but we would also recommend having a look at a couple of great, recently published articles; one from the Ontario College of Teachers “Professionally Speaking”, and the other from “Edutopia”.

http://oct-oeeo.uberflip.com/i/461668-ps-march-2015

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/cultivate-a-bully-free-community-megan-mccarter

We encourage all and particularly parents to consistently build your child’s confidence at home through positive energy and feedback, and encourage open conversation on the topic of bullying prevention everywhere!

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 5 welcoming, friendly and family oriented campuses for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:00am-3:00pm. If you prefer, call to book an appointment for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:00am-3:00pm.

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

2015/03/05 by Natalie

The Way of the Debater

Language and literacy development are central to students’ intellectual, social, cultural, and emotional growth, and are thus seen as key components across the curriculum at RMS. We believe that when students learn to use language, they do more than simply master basic skills – they learn to value the power of language and to use it responsibly; they learn to respectfully express feelings and opinions and to support those opinions with sound arguments and evidence from research. Essentially, then, a primary goal at RMS is to develop language and literacy skills, whereby learning to communicate with logic, clarity and precision will help students to not only achieve academic success, but also thrive in the world beyond school.

A student defending his position during the RMS Debate Night

To thrive in today’s digital age, young people must develop competencies vastly different from those required of us in the past – in all reality, the young people of today are being educated for an unpredictable future; they are essentially being trained for careers which are yet to be imagined, let alone to exist. With this inspiring, yet somewhat daunting reality in mind, it is increasingly important for us educators to facilitate what educational literature is calling the development of 21^st century skills, namely, critical thinking, creativity and innovation, and above all else, perseverance. It is in the face of this unprecedented reality that we turn to language and literacy development here at RMS.

On March 3 and 4, in addition to the traditional orations done heretofore at RMS’s annual Speech Night for Grades 1-6, which require avid research, writing and oral communication skills, our Grade 7 and 8 students were further challenged by having to take a position on a controversial or arguable topic and clearly, logically and persuasively support that position in the context of a debate. RMS parents, teachers and administration congratulate all of our students for their diligent efforts to develop well-written compositions and to deliver them with confidence and pride, but moreover, we feel inspired about what participation in this literacy event, among the many others underway at the Academy, will mean for the future of our young people.

Students listening and using critical thinking to evaluate and prepare a response to an opposing opinion — Listening and using critical thinking to evaluate and prepare a response to an opposing opinion

Debate is essentially “critical advocacy.” It is advocacy in that the debater must advocate, propose, and defend ideas. It is critical because the debater must not ignore the advocacy of others, but must engage them and use the tools of critical thinking to evaluate the ideas of others. This process of critical advocacy has been shown to involve students in important behaviours, skills and emotional intelligences that we strive to cultivate in Rowntree’s citizens of tomorrow.

BENEFITS FROM DEBATE INVOLVEMENT IN RELATION TO 21^ST c. COMPETENCIES:

Debaters become better critical thinkers and communicators.
Debaters improve their social interactions and personal expression.
Debaters develop the capability to confront the seemingly infinite volumes of information on any topic and select relevant data.
Debaters become creative problem-solvers who can “think on their feet” to bring existing information to novel situations.
Debaters develop the comfort of working with others and knowing when to lead and when to follow.
Debaters develop the capacity to persevere through setbacks.

Debaters tend to become citizens in the real sense of the word – informed, active, participating, a force to be harnessed for the betterment of all.

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

We invite you to please drop by any of our campuses for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:00am-3:00pm. If you prefer, call to book an appointment for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:00am-3:00pm.

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

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

2014/12/19 by Natalie

Why does RMS believe French is Important?

Very often, students think that French is not something that they will use in the future, and stop prioritizing it as an important and valuable subject. Little do they know that those who study a foreign language earn increases in their performance of math and reading, and even their language arts test grades are considerably higher than those who don’t learn another language. Let’s look at a few of the extensive benefits of learning French as a second language.

Communication
An obvious reason to learn a new language is to be able to communicate with the people who speak it. Canada is a bilingual country and French is one of its official languages. It is exceptionally convenient to know French in order to be able to communicate with French speaking people, whether at home, travelling throughout Canada or visiting a country where French is spoken. Speaking another’s language shows respect for that culture, and people are delightfully pleased when tourists make an effort to speak the local language, even if all you can say is “hello” and “please.”

Cultural understanding
Speaking a new language helps you get to know different people and exotic cultures, but surprisingly they have more in common than you think! Learning cultural literature, film, and music in the original language will expand a person’s knowledge and creativity, including the historical relevance of where it is now. Additionally, contrary to English, the French language distinguishes between tu (familiar) and vous (formal/plural). The fact that many languages have both the familiar and formal way of saying “you” indicates that most cultures place a great emphasis on being courteous and polite when need be.

Business and careers
Speaking more than one language is a skill which will increase your marketability. Employers tend to prefer candidates who speak one or more other languages because it opens up business opportunities and transactions with a wider range of clients. Someone who speaks French will especially have an advantage over someone who doesn’t, so it’s key to know how to improve yourself to be even more successful.

Language enhancement
Learning another language can help you to understand your own. When students learn any grammar or structure of another language, they understand it through the prism of their own language. In order to learn new things in French, the students ascertain the knowledge of their own, which clearly shows them connections between the two.

Children who study another language often have higher standardized test scores in math, reading, and language arts. Additional language study can help to increase problem-solving skills, memory, and self-discipline. If you are a native English speaker, one of the best reasons to learn French is to help you understand your own language. For those whose English is not their first language, you have double benefits: learning English and French at the same time!

To summarize, contrary to common misconceptions, learning French is just as important as learning math or language arts. People think that just because a student won’t need French in the future, it’s useless to acquire it now. But even though it might not seem like it’s affecting them that much, it brings a lot of benefits, presently-stretching their thinking and helping them to do better in all other subjects. “There is a lot of research that confirms that learning a second language gives a boost to their brain.” said Betty Gormley, the Executive Director of the Ontario branch of Canadian Parents for French (CPF). She also pointed to data that links language education with improved cognitive development in young students. Who said a student needs mathematic equations and learning how to solve trigonometry in the future anyways? Just like math expands logic in the mind, a new language opens up activity in the brain, trains your memory and magnifies skills.

At Rowntree Montessori Schools, students are given a “head start” in French Studies , as they begin to study in the Core French Programme during their Junior Kindergarten year. Click here for more details.

Mr. J. Essaye

Mr. J. Essaye, the Managing Director, holds degrees in Economics, Accounting and Finance. He started his business career with the international Accounting firm of Price Waterhouse. Following that he held a number of national and international executive positions with U.S. banking and Swiss property Development companies. Learning from his own experience about the great benefits of Montessori Education (his eldest son received a head-start in education in a Montessori School), Mr. Essaye welcomed the opportunity to take on the responsibilities as Managing Director of Rowntree Montessori Schools in Brampton.

Go to Rowntree Montessori Schools Faculty Page

Search Results for: benefits of a montessori education

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

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

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

We invite you to please drop by any of our campuses for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:00am-3:00pm. If you prefer, call to book an appointment for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:00am-3:00pm.

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

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