private school – Rowntree Montessori Schools

2019/11/08 by R.M.S.

The Importance of Learning Values at Rowntree Montessori Schools with the Golden Boot Award

Rowntree Montessori Schools,

Nurturing Tomorrow’s Achievers Since 1969

Our AHA! Moments take place in our classrooms, every day!

At the First Student of the Month Assembly this year, the “clean-freak” Grade 4A students were the proud recipients of the First Golden Boot Award for the 2019-20 Academic Year at Rowntree Montessori Schools’ Academy Campus.

These grade 4 students were thrilled beyond words as they rejoiced during the Student of the Month Assembly after being announced the proud recipients of the Golden Boot Award! But let’s rewind a little, back to the year 2007. At this time, Rowntree was having a difficult time keeping our students’ shoe and boot racks neat and tidy and as an incentive, the Rowntree’s management came up with a brilliant idea, the infamous ‘Golden Boot Award.’ Since then, every year, the grade 4s have been diligently working towards the goal of being the first Golden Boot Award recipients. The competition is stiff and the feat is not small, but after years of dedication and hard work, the 4A class defeated their opponents, proudly!

So what’s this victory mean? It means a badge of honour and bragging rights in the hallways at Rowntree. It means proudly displaying the Golden Boot trophy until next month’s Student of the Month assembly. It involves keeping the shoe and boot rack clean, being involved in the regular maintenance and tidiness of all shoes and boots on a daily basis.

But more importantly, this award signifies the importance of being respective of your school environment and cleaning up after yourself and helping out. School is a place where our children are not only educated academically, but they are also educated in the wellness of life. This includes the importance of maintaining a tidy, organized and clean working environment. Congrats to Class 4A on this well-deserved award!

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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2019/10/08 by R.M.S.

2020/21 Kindergarten Enrollment Opening Soon!

Promoting critical thinking and self-management skills, our Kindergarten (Junior Kindergarten) Montessori programme allows children to experience the joy of learning in an academic environment. Rowntree seeks to develop a lifelong love of learning and unlock the potential in everyone.

Your child’s education is one of the best investments you, as a parent, can make to help them succeed in the future. Make 2020/21 the academic year that your child reaches their full potential and fosters a love of learning. Rowntree Montessori Schools has been voted Brampton’s BEST private school for the past eight years. We provide a strong academic programme, with a focus on 21st century learning and our award-winning STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) curriculum, as well as French, Music, Arts and Physical Education. Our motto is “Nurturing Tomorrow’s Achievers”, and we’ve been doing this since 1969.

Due to an overwhelming interest in our 2020/21 Kindergarten (Junior Kindergarten) Programme, we are pleased to inform you that we will be opening enrollment for registration (for children born in 2016) in the next week or so, to those whom have shown interest in this programme in the past. Please note that this is for enrollment for September 2020, into our Kindergarten (Junior Kindergarten) programme.

Please stay tuned for further details! If you know of any other family members or friends whom would be interested in enrolling their Kindergarten child at Rowntree Montessori Schools, please ask them to touch base with me as soon as possible. To register for a Kindergarten Enrollment Notification, please click here.

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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2019/09/27 by R.M.S.

Preparing Students for Future Jobs

Rowntree Montessori Schools recently had the opportunity to engage with educational technology leaders and educators from around the country, at a leading technology conference. One key take-away that seemed to resonate with everyone was the agreement that as educators, in the absence of knowing the precise occupational landscape of the future for our students, teachers must focus on supporting students in building a skill-set made up of 21st Century competencies, such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, creativity and innovation. Not only will this approach equip students to solve the problems of the future, but it will lead them to become personally successful, economically productive, and actively engaged citizens.

Young student utilizing a Google Chromebook in class

Many analysts predict that jobs of the future will drastically change, as the workforce loses many general labourer jobs and will have new requirements for areas related to computer programming, design, internet security, anti-cyber crime and multiple other areas we cannot yet fathom. It is crucial that we teach our students how to use their learned skills to problem solve and adapt to future work environments. We need to ensure that our students are prepared to take on a whole new set of challenges that come with these future jobs.

As Jaime Casap, a pronounced Google Evangelist in the Education space says, “Don’t ask a student what she wants to be when she grows up, ask her what problem she wants to solve…then give her the environment to build the knowledge, skills, and abilities she needs to solve that problem!”

Want to learn more about 21st century learning? Click here for a great article from TED Ed.

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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2019/09/20 by R.M.S.

RMS is Celebrating 50 Years as an Award-Winning Private School

Rowntree Montessori Schools for many years has been selected as the BEST private school in Brampton by local residents, and since 1969 has offered a progressive, well-rounded curriculum that is ahead of the Ministry set guidelines. We are proud to announce that we are now celebrating our 50th anniversary, and thank all of the families, students, teachers and staff that have helped grow our school community into an award-winning private school in Brampton, educating children from Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 8! Some of the highlights of our programme include our French, Coding and Robotics curriculum, that begin as early as Pre-Kindergarten Montessori. We are often praised for our small classroom sizes, which means low teacher to student ratios and more one-on-one instruction. Our code of conduct supports discipline and security with positive reinforcement and praise. Plus the great news is that we accept children any time during the year to our private school, as we are always looking for great new families to join our community!

It is our pleasure to share with you some video highlights made by our students to celebrate our 50th Anniversary, who wanted to share what they love most about the Rowntree Montessori Schools community.

Click here to find out why Esha loves RMS!

Listen to Vansh talk about his favourite memories of our private school.

Keira’s favourite things about Rowntree Montessori Schools.

Find out why Balshar is proud to be an RMS student!

To help celebrate our 50th anniversary and display our Rowntree Montessori School pride, we have some special, limited-edition, commemorative gear for our parents, grandparents, teachers and past alumni. We invite you to purchase your very own Rowntree Montessori Schools Athletic Gear. We have available for purchase both Mens’ and Womens’ full-zip jackets.

Full-Zip Athletic Jacket, available in Mens and Womens: $49.95 plus tax.

Please note that InSchoolwear is supplying these pieces so they very high-quality pieces that will last you for years to come.

The following Mens’ and Womens’ sizes are available:

X-Small, Small, Medium, Large, X-Large and 2X-Large.

To order and purchase your Proud Parent or Proud Grandparent 50^th anniversary commemorative gear, online, please visit: InSchoolwear

InSchoolwear will deliver your purchase directly to your child’s campus for pick-up. These are great Christmas and birthday gifts! Please place your order soon to ensure that you receive it in time for Christmas.

Help us celebrate this milestone in our history by wearing your 50^th anniversary gear!

Again, we thank all of our families who have helped us grow into the largest and longest serving Montessori Private School in Brampton over the past 50 years.

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.

2019/09/13 by R.M.S.

A Hands-On Approach to Learning at Rowntree Montessori Schools with Cross-Curricular Teaching

**Our AHA! Moments take place in our classrooms, every day!**

Brought to you by Rowntree Montessori Schools.

Nurturing Tomorrow’s Achievers Since 1969.

Grade 3 students planting new plants in their classroom as part of a cross-curricular activity

At Rowntree Montessori Schools, our focus is on 21^st century learning, which utilizes a variety of teaching methods. This week, the grade 3 students took a break from their notebooks and Chromebooks to do some indoor gardening. Inspired by our cross-curricular real-world issue of deforestation, students had the pleasure of tending to the classroom plants by re-soiling old pots and starting new pots for some fresh new plants for the classroom.

This classroom activity helped to reinforce the positive impact that plants have on our planet while providing students with the opportunity to engage in hands on learning.

Gardening is known to be a very therapeutic activity. Students who are exposed to this type of activity can benefit from the peace and calm that it brings. Additionally, this activity allows the students to take in their classroom space and helps to add to the ambiance of their class, which is their home for the day!

For a great little article about the benefits of growing plants in the classroom, please click here.

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.

2019/09/09 by RMS

Less is More – Class Size Matters!

With all of the media coverage over the past few weeks about further cuts to education and a looming elementary school teachers strike, this article is timely. Concerned about the size of your child’s classroom? Read on.

The community of Rowntree Montessori Schools is rooted in a value system which focuses primarily on the safety, well-being, academic growth, and overall happiness of each student. We are a faculty who acknowledges that each student is an individual, with specific learning needs, challenges, strengths, and skills. We aim to teach the whole child, in order to nurture academic and personal growth and development, so that each individual student will be better prepared for a secondary and post-secondary education, career establishment, and global citizenship. At Rowntree, our educators’ goal is to ensure that each student is engaged, supported, and challenged because this sets the standard for comprehensive, sustainable school improvement, and provides for long-term student success. But in order to be able to teach the whole child, we must know our students, and know them well. This is harder to address with large class sizes. This is why, at Rowntree, our commitment to keeping our student to teacher ratio low better serves the needs of our students.

Class Size Matters

A major parental concern brought to our attention, especially during our Open Houses, is the complaint over class sizes in the public system, and in some other private schools. Parents are extremely concerned that their children are being overlooked, not being supervised safely, that individual needs are not being addressed, and that their teachers do not really “know” their child. And how can they? It is very hard to meet the needs of each child when they are placed within a large class group. The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (a professional organization made up of elementary teachers) has tried to influence legislators for smaller class sizes because research has shown that when placed in small class settings, students receive higher grades on reading and mathematics tests, participate to a greater extent, and require less disciplinary measures. This may be due to the teacher being able to structure lessons and differentiate evaluation approaches based on individual needs, which can be better determined when there are fewer students in a class to assess. Student-teacher bonds can be better established, and thus students may feel more comfortable and willing to contribute their ideas and answers more independently in class, which also allows for further evaluation. The teacher is also able to better monitor the class, and address areas of concern with regards to behaviour and social interaction, if and when needed.

However, the Ontario government has not adopted the ETFO’s proposal for smaller class sizes. Furthermore, the government has not even put a cap size on the new Full Day Early Learning Kindergarten Program (ELKP). The government has only suggested that there be an average of 26 students per ELKP class across the school boards. It is very pertinent to point out one major problem with such a regulation based on averages is it results in class sizes often not being equal in board schools; they vary between different school boards and between individual schools within a board as well as from school year to school year. For example, one class could have a significantly larger number of students, while in contrast another class may have a disproportionately smaller number.

At Rowntree Montessori Schools, we pride ourselves in maintaining small class sizes whereby our educators can identify, meet, and challenge each student’s individual learning needs. We know our students well, and we engage with parents regarding the academic and social success of their children on a frequent basis through notes in the students’ daily agendas, phone calls home, and meetings which are welcomed and encouraged at any time, not just on parent-teacher evenings. Here, we function as a tightly knit group—a family—as many of our students, parents, and staff fondly refer to us. Our low student to teacher ratio allows us as educators to develop meaningful lessons, teach to each student’s learning requirements, identify areas which need improvement, further student learning, provide a well-disciplined and safe learning environment, and create lasting and meaningful bonds with our students.

For another great article about classroom size, please 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 4 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.

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.

2019/08/02 by R.M.S.

Problem Solving in Lego Works

At Rowntree Montessori Schools, we provide activities before and after school that allow students to explore additional extracurricular talents and interests in fun and engaging ways. One of the activities that our students enjoy is called Lego Works. This activity gives students an opportunity to collaborate on creating 3D structures in an imaginative way out of Lego. According to experts, playing with Lego has eight educational benefits. Firstly it promotes fine motor skills and encourages teamwork. It also helps improve creativity, develops problem-solving and mathematical thinking, and can help improve communication skills. Playing with Lego has also helped children develop skills to become persistent, improve self-esteem, and can help develop lateral thinking and planning skills (as noted by A. Akotva at the Scot College from Sydney, Australia in 2017).

Students during after school Lego Works activity.

The use of Lego during our activity time often helps students (especially younger students) learn and improve on many important skills. For example, we often see that the usage of Lego helps to improve fine motor skills with young students. As they learn to connect different sizes and shapes of these pieces using varying amounts of hand pressure, it seems to help the child control the pressure they assert when using a pencil to either write or draw. During our activity time with the Lego, we also see students learn about teamwork, especially as young students learn to share the pieces, while negotiating about their roles and responsibilities and the idea of how to extend the construction of their ideas. Our Lego Works activity also promotes creativity, as we allow the students to explore their imaginative side without limitations and fear of failure. Students also learn problem-solving skills related to mathematical concepts when using Lego, by understanding that certain smaller pieces can be fitted to larger ones to explain fractions.

Lego helps improve communication skills as students need to explain their ideas, their process, their work and the challenges they faced to create the structure or model. Plus we see that the use of Lego during our assigned time helps students develop persistence and grit, as they must keep on working even when the structure falls over. When students complete their final structure with the Lego during activity time, they often proudly show off their work, which helps to boost their self-esteem and confidence. Finally, time with 3D Lego constructions seems to help students develop lateral thinking and planning skills, as they face many challenges when constructing their ideas and often have to retrace their steps in the process and figure out a solution to any problem that arises. Overall, we see that allowing students to explore their creative ideas through Lego construction increases their ability to think critically, and helps students to improve their problem-solving skills, which is important for our 21st Century learners.

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.

2019/07/26 by R.M.S.

Collaboration has No Age Limit

At Rowntree Montessori Schools, our students are very familiar with the art of collaboration. Walk into any classroom, and you will see the children working together to accomplish a common goal. This does not only happen during regular school day work time, where our children can be found making wonderful things together, but it also occurs in our before and after school activities. In the Kindergarten rooms, there are many different hands-on resources to work with and explore. These resources may look like ordinary toys to a passer-by, but when someone takes the time to sit and observe children working and playing with them, they will soon realize that they are so much more than that!

Kindergarten and Grade 1 student at Rowntree Montessori Schools collaboarating on a STEM project bridge. — Kindergarten and Grade 1 student collaborating.

A very exciting example (as seen above), of a collaborative creation between a Kindergarten Montessori student and a Grade 1 student happened recently during an after school activity. Two students began building their own connecting structures, and then soon began to take their thinking one step further. Our Kindergarten student started to talk about his plan to make something that could span from one table to the other. The Grade 1 student then followed along with the idea, and soon after their collaboration began. Their goal was to build a bridge that could connect their two tables. The Grade 1 student was able to offer many valuable insights as an older child, such as helping build supports to keep the bridge up in the middle space between the two tables. Their conversations were full of rich ideas and kind words, and the two were able to work together to accomplish their goal. It was truly an amazing situation to witness!

Older students teaching a younger student how to read at Rowntree Montessori Schools in Brampton. — Older student helping a younger student learn how to read.

This particular situation shows the value of having hands-on manipulatives in the Kindergarten classrooms, and in allowing students of various age ranges to work together. It also highlights the wonderful STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programme that we have at RMS, starting in our youngest classrooms, which carries forward from learning to everyday life, as children integrate the skills that they have learned into their imaginative play. Lastly, it helps shine a light on the great sense of community that Rowntree Montessori Schools helps to foster. It does not matter what the age difference between the students is, they all get along and can make wonderful, creative, insightful things together, when given the opportunity. Collaboration has no age limit!

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.

2019/07/19 by R.M.S.

Exploring a Pioneer’s Life in 3D

“Hooray! It’s the project we’ve been waiting for in Grade 3, and it is here!” These were the words echoed by our Grade 3 students this year, as they were assigned the much awaited project of building a “3D Pioneer House”. The project assigned to them was done in three parts, where students were expected to research 1 of 4 types of pioneer homes, build a model of the home with a surrounding landscape, and prepare an oral presentation of the finished model in front of classmates and a green screen. The Grade 3 students could barely contain their excitement as Presentation Day began. Within minutes, the classroom started to take the shape of a mini gallery, with intricately decorated projects on display. Seen below is a student presenting her 3D shelter in front of a green screen.

Projects (whether a homework project or a classroom project), offer children the chance to be imaginative. They open the door for students to fully discover their artistic talents and creative skills, and to demonstrate their knowledge of the material learned in class. The oral presentation component of this project encouraged the generally timid children to build-up their public speaking skills, as they presented to a familiar audience of classmates.

As the students explored the lives of early settlers in Canada, it was evident by their enthusiasm and curiosity, that the 3D Pioneer House project was the highlight of their yearly learning experience. Their positive attitudes and yearning for active hands-on learning, was a clear indication of the success of Rowntree Montessori Schools’ award-winning approach to teaching, and our continued commitment to educating the next generation.

Student presenting his 3D shelter project at RMS

It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.

– Albert Einstein

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.

2019/07/12 by R.M.S.

5 Ways We Build A Strong School Community at RMS

When parents and schools work together to build a strong sense of community, everyone benefits. Parents feel more welcome and are more willing to take on an active role in their child’s education and teachers feel appreciated. Here are some of the ways in which we ensure that we build a strong sense of community within Rowntree Montessori Schools.

Welcoming and Inclusive Environment

Each morning before school begins, teachers greet our students and parents to ensure that everyone starts the day off right with a positive attitude and eagerness to learn. However, being welcoming goes further than just saying “Good morning.” Teachers and students are welcoming to all newcomers to the school as well. Starting a new school can be frightening, but we always work to make the transition as easy and comfortable as possible. Children will succeed better when they feel welcomed into a new school, so they feel confident and able to succeed.

Students proudly showcasing their Student of the Month awards.

Accessible Communication

Using multiple methods of communication can also help to build the school community. When teachers are accessible, it helps to open the line of communication with parents. At our school, we use an online communication platform called myRMS as a primary means of communication, where parents can not only communicate with their child’s teacher directly, but can also see pictures and videos of what is happening at school, get access to newsletters, important documents and many other important items electronically. This platform allows parents to check in on their child’s progress, as well as see what is coming up on the school calendar. Daily agendas are another form of communication that is used at our school. The use of the agenda helps to teach students independence, self-monitoring and responsibility, and gives parents and teachers the option of communicating with the school in a written format.

Appreciate Many Cultures

Rowntree Montessori Schools is a very multicultural environment, and truly mirrors the world that we live in. At our school, we are accepting of everyone and strive to build a community of inclusivity, awareness and respect. All year long, and especially in April when we run our International Day, we celebrate our wide range of heritages. Students are encouraged to dress in traditional clothing and to contribute a food dish that best represents their family in our large international potluck. This is truly an exciting opportunity for the entire school to come together to celebrate our multiculturalism.

Students dancing for the Grandparents on International Day at RMS. — Students dancing for the Grandparents visiting RMS on International Day.

Bring Families Together

Bringing together different groups of people for a common purpose can also help to build a sense of community within the school. This is done at RMS on many levels. Campus-wide activities, such as Movie Night, Skating, Disney Disco and a Year-End bar-b-que and beach day bring together children and parents from all four of our campuses. Various school-level activities also take place throughout the year, such as dances and field trips that allow students, teachers and parents to truly interact and make meaningful connections and memories.

Community Involvement

Involvement in the surrounding community is a vital element in each student’s school experience. Throughout the year, our school aims to serve our community in a variety of ways, whether through Food Bank donations, monetary collections for various charities, or participating in the Toys for Tots program with the Region of Peel Police services, where we help children in need. In addition, we have participated in activities such as singing at Retirement Homes, and cleaning up nearby parks. Everyone benefits from giving back to the community. We also make an effort to teach appreciation and good citizenship, as we raise money and awareness for a maternity ward in Kenya, through our school’s participation with Free the Children charity.

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 .