Who are We?

Private Schools registered with the Ministry of Education in Singapore, adopting the Montessori method (as prescribed and administered by the Association Montessori Internationale, founded by Dr. Maria Montessori in 1929), offering a Casa (pre-primary school) programme for children aged 2 1/2 - 6+ (or until they are admitted to Primary School).

Establishment: 1992 (at Newton Road) and in 1998 (at Broadrick Road). We are member schools of 'Montessori For Children' who have branches in Hong Kong (est. 1986) and in Toronto, Ontario Canada (est. 1995)

Location?

Newton: 43 Newton Road (situated on the left, after the overhead pedestrian bridge on Newton Road, northbound - towards the Novena/Thomson Rd area). Tel: 6256 3952 Fax: 6250 0872.

Broadrick: 11 Broadrick Road (situated at the junction of Mountbatten and Broadrick roads, south of Mountbatten Road. Tel: 6345 0087 Fax: 6345 7915.

Purpose and curriculum?

To educate children aged 2 1/2 - 6+ (or until they are admitted to Primary School), with a view to preparing them for Primary schooling over a period of 3 years, exclusively using the Montessori method as approved by the Ministry of Education. We prefer to admit children who after joining us, go on to complete 3 years of Montessori education until they are admitted to Primary/Grade 1. Medium of instruction: English with Mandarin or Hindi as second languages. Mandarin is offered within regular class hours while Hindi is offered within the ‘Hindi Milap’ programme.

Visitation?

Visitors are welcome either at 0930 or at 1330 hrs on school days, by prior appointment. We encourage parents to visit us during a 'presentation for parents' session. Presentations are held almost every month when the schools are in session. Dates for the presentations are known to the individual schools offices (please call, Newton: 6256 3952 and Broadrick: 6345 0087) for dates and schedules. Information packets containing General information about the school and the current school calendar, a brochure on the Method, Application forms for registration and school bus details are given at the presentation.

Registration?

Registration fees per application are: SGD 53.50 per application inclusive of (GST). Applications should ideally be submitted after a child's parent/s has visited the school. They may also be submitted via the appended shortcut - here.

Tuition Fees?

(July 2007 onwards): SGD 300.00 per month or SGD 3,600.00 per school year, + GST payable per term in advance. Refunds are made in accordance with the enrolment agreement. You may refer to the individual school offices for terms of payment, copy of the enrolment agreement and submission of withdrawal notices.

Building Maintenance Fund Contribution and Supplies:

• Building maintenance fund contribution: SGD 100.00 per month or SGD 1,200.00 per school year.
• Supplies: SGD125.00 per month or SGD1,500.00 per school year.

(All fees and contributions are subject to the prevalent Goods & Services Tax.)

Placement/ Security Deposits?

We continue our policy of 'no deposits required' indefinitely thus parents will only pay, in advance, for the term as has been the practice since inception. Withdrawals notices however, must be submitted in accordance with the Enrolment Agreement you have entered into, with the school.

All fees and contributions are subject to the prevalent Goods & Services Tax.

School Year is from mid-August to late July (the following year). Holidays are in August and December, approximately 4 weeks each. Mid-term holidays are in October, March and June. The last two coinciding with the Singapore school holidays. School days number from 190-195 per school year. Please refer to the current calendar by using the appended shortcut - here.

AM session 8.15am-11.15am and PM session 12.30pm-3.30pm, Monday to Friday. Morning placements require a 1 1/2 year waiting period at least. Most new applicants usually secure afternoon placements and are given the option of moving to the morning session when a placement in that session becomes available. Both sessions however are identical in content.

An Extended Day session is available for older children from 8.15am - 3.30pm. To be admitted to the Extended Day session, a child should be enrolled in either the morning or afternoon session as the content, curriculum within the extended day session, differs from the regular morning and afternoon sessions.

OUR EXTENDED-DAY & LANGUAGE IMMERSION PROGRAMMES

EXTENDED-DAY

The extended day is an ideal programme that affords children a longer day, in addition to their regular morning or afternoon session, offered singularly or as a combination, with a language immersion programme (please refer to the school offices for schedule). The programme involves content over and above what is done, during the regular sessions. It allows the child more time to explore parallel academic activities in the various areas of the Montessori curriculum and, in the case of the language immersion programmes, concentrated exposure to a language. Further, these programmes help a child to adjust to the full day at school he/she would experience in primary school.

LANGUAGE IMMERSION PROGRAMMES

‘BIAN DANG BAN’ AND HINDI PROGRAMMES

The curricula for the ‘bian dang ban’ and Hindi programmes are very similar to the extended day programmes where vocabulary building and communication skills are further enhanced through music, poems, drama, arts and crafts. The ‘languages’ are taken to a higher level when we discuss and present Botany, Geography, Zoology and units related to cultural activities and lots more, emphasizing on the conversational aspects of the languages. Stroke and character recognition in Mandarin and the Hindi Akshar and Manthra recognition together with writing skills are also part of the above. These programmes are also suitable for children who do not come from Mandarin or Hindi-speaking environments.

‘EARLY BIAN DANG BAN’

In response to requests we have had and given our continued efforts to offer to the students of Montessori For Children an alternative learning experience in Mandarin, we have introduced a programme - "Early bian dang ban" - for children who are between the ages of 3 and 4. This is to complement the existing 'bian dang ban' programme, developed especially for younger children to strengthen their spoken vocabulary skills through songs, poems, rhymes and through the use of the Exercises of Practical Life and Sensorial materials. Simple conversational phrases such as greetings, colours, parts of the body, number based activities, etc. will be part of the curriculum.

A pre-enrolment interview with the relevant language immersion teacher may be arranged, through the office.

Placements are offered, on application received date and number basis, as and when vacancies are available, to children aged 2 1/2 or older, subject to an evaluation to determine the emotional independence of the child to attend school for 3 hours a day. Children who are considered for admission must be toilet trained. Evaluations are conducted from April to July (for the late August - school year commencement intake) and from October - November (for the January intake).

All Montessori teachers are Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) trained personnel. The Mandarin teachers are qualified in Singapore (holding the locally recognised DPE-T) and, in China (PRC). All staff members are registered as teachers with the Ministry of Education, Singapore.