A birthday party was held on Wednesday, August 9, which celebrated Maria Montessori's birthday.
After 20 years on the site, Whanganui Montessori Pre-School will be on the move at the end of 2024, with the parent-led committee that operates the facility looking for a new home.
“We are having to move out of our wonderful building in Virginia Rd,” said manager Julie Hudson.
The Montessori Pre-School had previously been situated at Aramoho and Westmere.
“We’re looking for a suitable commercial space that will be big enough to house 50 children,” said the president of the Montessori Committee, Tori McDonald.
“If an investor was to build us a brand-new purpose-designed facility, that would just be the icing on the cake,” she said.
A birthday party was held on Wednesday, August 9, which celebrated Maria Montessori’s birthday.
“She was a remarkable woman who founded Montessori Schools,” said Hudson.
“She was the first female doctor in Italy. In 1907, she opened her first ‘Children’s House’ for children with special needs in Italy. Her philosophy spread from there, and it became a worldwide phenomenon.
“This is being continued in Whanganui, with some changes, demonstrating just how much of a visionary that Dr Montessori was,” she said.
The facility is being run as non-profit, with a parent-led committee of six in charge of the school’s decision-making.
“Parents have a lot to do with Montessori. We encourage the kids to be more independent in day-to-day life in their activities,” McDonald said.
“One of Maria Montessori’s quotes was ‘Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed’. At Montessori, children typically put away their own lunchboxes and button up their own shirts.
“Montessori children are always well-prepared, with notable high achievers being billionaires Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. and Whanganui’s own councillor, Josh Chandulal-Mackay,” said Hudson.
■ History:
Between 1909–1915 there was international recognition and growth of Montessori education. As early as 1909, Montessori’s work began to attract the attention of international observers and visitors. Her work was widely published internationally and spread rapidly. By the end of 1911, Montessori education had been officially adopted in public schools in Italy and Switzerland and was planned for the UK.
By 1912, Montessori schools had opened in Paris and many other Western European cities, and were planned for Argentina, Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Switzerland, Syria, the US, and New Zealand.
Public programmes in London, Johannesburg, Rome, and Stockholm had adopted the method in their school systems. Montessori societies were founded in the United States (the Montessori American Committee) and the United Kingdom (the Montessori Society for the United Kingdom). In 1913 the first International Training Course was held in Rome, with a second in 1914.
In 1919 Wanganui Central Infant School was opened and in 1992 Whanganui Montessori was opened in Westmere Church - then it moved to Jubilee Hospital Grounds in the early 2000s, finally opening in the current location (88 Virginia Rd) in 2006.