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 School Philosophy Our school mission statement is:“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.” 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”. 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 hours each day for five days per week. During the third year or "extended-day year", the children attend the school for an additional three hours each day. In the extended day year, everything learned in the previous two years is consolidated and self-confidence, leadership and responsibility are developed.  The school at North Ryde operates two classes:
Morning Class: 8.30am to 11.30am
8.30am to 2.30pm (extended day)
Afternoon Class: 12.30pm to 3.30pm
9.30am to 3.30pm (extended day) 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.
 A Typical Day at the Pre-school 8.30am to 11.30am or 12.30pm to 3.30pm The day begins for each child with a personal greeting at the door. The children shake hands with the Directress, say good morning and enter the classroom. Each child has a space for their bag and a spot to place fruit for their snack. The children then choose the Montessori work they want to do. Each child is free to choose their own work from the materials and activities that they have been presented. They are able to work at each activity for as long as they desire. During this time they are also able to choose painting, creative construction or sand play. The environment of the classroom is especially prepared to meet the needs of the child at his or her appropriate level. The Directress introduces the child to the appropriate materials and observes his or her interaction within the environment. Most three year olds spend their time in the practical life and sensorial areas of the classroom. Practical life activities aim to give the child opportunities to develop skills for independence in his or her environment. Through doing exercises such as cleaning, buttoning, buckling, food preparation and other daily activities, the child develops hand eye coordination, fine motor skills, self discipline and the ability to complete a cycle of activity. Sensorial activities are designed to encourage the child to order his or her perceptions. Through manipulating the materials the child has concrete experiences of concepts such as size, shape, colour, weight and smell etc,. The child develops the ability to classify, seriate and discriminate and learn language to describe these concepts. When the child is ready they start work with the language and maths materials. The complete range of mathematics materials takes the child from an initial understanding of the meaning of numbers one to ten to a comprehension of the decimal system. The materials are designed to take the child from a concrete through to an abstract level of understanding of mathematical concepts. The language area involves exercises in oral language, reading and writing and increasing the child's understanding of the function of words. Language development also occurs throughout the classroom in as many and as varied ways as possible. Cultural studies are interwoven into the classroom. Subjects in this area include geography, animal and plant classification, science experiments, social studies and studies of the environment. The children undertake various small group activities. There is a different one for each day of the week. These include music, art, cooking, projects, grace and courtesy, movement and storytelling. All children have twenty minutes supervised outdoor play each day . There is a sandpit, climbing fort, slide and many gross motor activities set up. The children meet together at the end of the session to say goodbye and reflect on their session before they are collected by their parents.  Parent Involvement
The Children's House actively encourages all parents to be involved in their child’s education and provides numerous opportunities for parents to learn about Montessori education and assist in the running of the pre-school. (1) Parent Information sessions
Every term there is an information Evening for parents where an area of the Montessori Classroom is explained or other topics relevant to the children’s education is presented. Parents with their child on the waiting list are given an invitation to attend these evenings. Information evenings enable parents to understand how they can assist directly and constructively in the progress of their own child. (2) Parent Participation
The Sydney Montessori Society is a parent-run, non-profit organisation so parent involvement is essential. By helping in whatever way possible, parents are closer to their child's school environment, aware of the needs and dynamics of the school and, importantly, costs are kept down and the school kept viable. A Parent Participation Scheme is in place to allow all families to assist with the administration/maintenance of the school. If families are unable to, or elect not to participate, they are required to pay a levy to the school. This system makes it fair for all families, because the workload is spread evenly and families can contribute to the pre school in the manner they are comfortable with and have the skills to do so. (3) Parents in the Classroom
Parents with special skills in areas such as craft, drama, singing or with musical instruments can also become directly involved with the children by contributing these skills in the class. Parents are also given the opportunity twice a year to observe their child in the classroom. (4) Parent Teacher Interviews
Twice a year after observing your child, parents are invited to discuss their child’s progress with the Classroom Directress. The meticulous observation records and a written report are shown and discussed with the parents. If necessary, a meeting with the class Directress or Authorised Supervisor can be arranged at any time to discuss aspects of your child’s progress or development. What is Special about North Ryde Montessori?
 (1) Child Teacher Ratio
Montessori calls the teacher in charge of a class room a Director or Directress. The basic programme classes are staffed by a Director/Directress and 2 assistants. This gives a ratio of one adult to 8 – 10 children. Extended day classes usually consist of between 5 and 10 children and are taken by the Director/Directress of their basic programme class.
(2) Teacher Qualifications
Our two Directresses’ have Montessori qualifications. The preschool at North Ryde also has an Authorised Supervisor on site ( who is one of the Directresses) who has an Early Childhood Degree. In most other Montessori classrooms the only one with Montessori qualifications is the Directress, however at North Ryde one assistant in each class also has a Montessori diploma. Other qualifications held by Directors/Directresses and assistants vary but include university degrees, infant-primary training, early childhood education and childcare certificates. (3) Nut Free Policy
The North Ryde Preschool has a strict policy of no nuts or foods containing nuts being allowed on school premises. (4) Morning and Afternoon Class
Most Montessori schools offer the half day pre school programme in the morning only. At North Ryde parents also have the choice of an afternoon class. This can offer many advantages to families, such as: - Children can still partake in activities, such as playgroups, or swimming instruction and then come to school after lunch.
- Depending on where some families come from, an afternoon position might mean travelling to school out of peak hour times, which could cut down the travelling time considerably.
(5) Parent Library
A parent Library is run by the school which offers, not only Montessori books, but a wide variety of books on early childhood and parenting skills. These books can be borrowed by parents. The library is continually updated with an amount of money set aside each year to purchase new books. (5) Fundraising Children’s Artwork Auctions
There is a tradition in the school each year, of having all children complete a small artwork, either a self portrait, thumbprint sketch or handprint. These mementos are then framed and auctioned off at the annual major fundraising night. They are always beautiful pieces of work that sometime bring about serious bidding from interested parents hoping to obtain a “moment in time” from their child’s pre school years.
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