Discover HarbourviewMontessori
Founded on the principles of individualized learning and nurturing environments, Harbourview Montessori has a rich history of fostering children's unique talents. Our vision is to create a supportive, joy-filled space where every child can thrive and grow into their best selves.
Our Story
Harbourview Montessori is a school that grew from a place of great love and respect for children. It was the brainchild of the founder, teacher and mom, Michelle Morrison.
Michelle's dream was to create a beautiful, calm and enriching environment for young children. It was to create a place in which children would be supported in their development, learn according to their individual learning styles and temperaments, and come to know that they have unique gifts to be developed and realized.
Maintaining a cheerful, accepting and loving environment would be the atmosphere essential to the development of each child’s unique gifts. For too long, the happiness factor had been left out of the education equation; it was time to make this a priority.
Almost two decades ago, Harbourview Montessori School began as Harbourview Montessori Children’s House with six 3-year old children. The following year, the school expanded to 20 children; the third year, 24. We had reached our capacity. After our 6th year, we purchased the old Westmount School, fully renovated it and expanded to include Elementary and, eventually, Middle School. Today, we have 4 beautiful classrooms, over 2 acres of wild and landscaped grounds, and a staff that is dedicated to our goal of nurturing, inspiring and supporting the social, emotional, physical and intellectual development of the children in our care.
As teachers, we feel a deep sense of satisfaction when we walk down the hallway, hearing and seeing signs of joyful learning. We feel a real sense of contentment when we hear, over and over again, parents praising us for our peaceful atmosphere, our open and professional communication, and the rich and varied curriculum we offer to our students. Finally, we feel a sense of humility when we realize that, together, we are helping to raise children to be kind, loving, intelligent and self-actualized individuals who will see and create beauty in our world. We are happy to say that, after almost 30 years, we are as strong in our core beliefs as we were in the beginning.
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Why Choose us?
Step into our classrooms and you will instantly feel an atmosphere of warmth and respect. Observe our children at work and you will see happy, self-directed learners. Talk to our children and you will hear about their experiences of collaboration, understanding and cultural awareness. We gently stress the importance of generosity, respect, kindness and a strong work ethic.
We begin with a deep respect for the child as a unique individual. We work from a deep concern for his or her social and emotional development because there is far more to education than mastering facts.
Harbourview Montessori School is a warm and supportive community of students, teachers and parents. You will not get lost in the crowd here!
We consciously teach our students to be kind, generous and peaceful. We include this in our daily routines.
Here, learning is not focused on rote drill and memorization. Instead, our goal is to help children to develop a true understanding of their work as well as to learn proper research skills in order to find things out for themselves.
Our students learn through hands-on experience, investigation and research. They become actively engaged in their studies, rather than passively accepting what is given to them.
Our students are not afraid of making mistakes; they see them as natural steps in the learning process.
Our Mission
To inspire a passion for excellence, promote exploration and innovation, and to ignite a love of learning.
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Dr. Maria Montessori
Maria Montessori lived from 1870 until 1952. She was the first female doctor of medicine in Italy. Through her work, she developed a philosophy and method of education based on what she observed to be universal principles of development. Montessori was an educational innovator whose ideas have greatly influenced modern views of education and parenting.
"Scientific observation then has established that education is not what the teacher gives; education is a natural process spontaneously carried out by the human individual and is acquired not by listening to words but by experiences upon the environment."
