The Old Schoolhouse Montessori School/Naíonra na Seanscoile 2.2

The Old Schoolhouse Montessori School is a purpose-built Montessori school, one of the first of its kind in Ireland. It was established in 1974 by Ms Eilis Collins, a native of Lucan. After Ms Collins retired, the school premises were acquired and modernised by Frances and David Carr in 2002. The Old Schoolhouse Montessori School has always been a place of learning and fun for small children. Please note that it is not a crèche. In 2010, Naíonra na Seanscoile was opened – it operates alongside the Montessori School. In this classroom, the children follow the Montessori programme through the medium of the Irish language, thus getting the benefits of both naíonra and Montessori preschools.

Classrooms

The school has two bright and spacious Montessori classrooms, allowing lots of room for the children to move around. One classroom operates through the Irish language, the other through English. Large windows and a good aspect mean that the school always seems to catch whatever sunlight is available in the mornings, thus adding to the cheery atmosphere.

Garden

There is a large astro-turf all-weather garden for the children to play in. Most days they can get out to play, even if just for a few minutes. This is a wonderful social occasion for the children as they unwind after all their hard work. Obviously playtime in summer is longer than in winter and sometimes ‘circle time’ can take place in the fresh air also. It is essential that once the good weather arrives, parents put sun screen on the children to prevent them from burning. Sun hats are also strongly recommended.

Materials and Equipment

There is an extensive range of Montessori materials at the school, thus ensuring that children are never short of activities to do. There are no TVs or computers in the classroom as all learning focuses on the child doing things for themselves, thus developing hand/eye co-ordination, concentration, an understanding of the task in hand and, ultimately, satisfaction at a job well done.

Materials are graded so that the child can learn important tasks one step at a time. This encourages feelings of success in the child and deepens their desire to move on to the next stage.

Teachers

The maximum adult:child ratio allowed in preschool services is 1:11. The ratio at The Old Schoolhouse Montessori School/Naíonra na Seanscoile is 1:7, thus allowing for lots of individual attention for the children. In addition, we often have Montessori students working with us throughout the school year. All staff are kind and caring with the children, as well as being excellent educators. At The Old Schoolhouse Montessori School and Naíonra na Seanscoile, the children really do come first and this is evidenced by the happy atmosphere in the classrooms

Parking

Parking is available at the school. However, caution must be exercised because the lane leading to the school is quite narrow. Please do not park on The Crescent as this can block our neighbour’s access to their homes.