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Our Mission & Philosophy

“The child is both a hope and promise for mankind.” Maria Montessori

Montessori Noosa

At Montessori Noosa we help our students acquire the essential knowledge, thinking skills, and depth of character required to flourish as joyous children today, and as successful adults tomorrow, who strive to leave the world and the people on it in a state that is better than what we received from our forebears. Our core means to this end is the educational philosophy of Dr Maria Montessori.

Children are imprinted by everything they sense around them – not just the academic curriculum they are exposed to, but how that curriculum is delivered and assessed, how they are encouraged or permitted to relate to one another and to the adults around them, and how they are encouraged or allowed to relate to the environment. Everything children experience is stored in memory and will have the ability to create norms which influence their expectations for the future. For this reason we are careful and deliberate about the culture and learning choices which we engage and don’t engage in at Montessori Noosa.

We believe this mission comprises three inseparable parts:

MISSION #1 - Emboldening Children to Change their World

For children to be both a hope and promise for humankind, as Maria Montessori wrote, we can’t just hope the world brings the best to our children, we need to prepare them to bring their best to their world. To embolden them to do this we recognise that their educational environment should be full of awareness of issues and opportunities for creating positive change by encouraging engaged, bold and responsive actions.

There’s an idea in popular culture called the “butterfly effect” – the idea that a small change somewhere in the world could have a large effect in a seemingly unrelated part of the world. The child’s world includes their physical and natural environment, their family, and their immediate community, all places in which an individual can act to make a positive difference, no matter how small. We seek to create a culture where children are emboldened by their passions and interests to be “butterfly” change agents in their part of the world, no matter what resistance they may encounter or inhibitions they may feel.

MISSION #2 - Emboldening children to serve their community

In changing the world the place to start is the local community. Be it the school, family, neighbours or the regional population, recognising that the community operates like an ecosystem is central to creating positive change. A healthy community with varied and dynamic relationships, where people feel connected to a variety of others, supports the health of all members of the community. Successful change makers need to be able to recognise and consider the effects of their changes on others whom they are connected to. In a natural ecosystem, the more diversity there is the healthier the individual species are because there are more sources of habitat and food. Montessori wrote that humans are unique among animals in having the capacity to love and care for others who are from other communities and even those who are different within our own community. We believe that it is the individual’s humility, empathy and generosity which makes the community thrive. We seek to create a school culture where these traits are emphasised.

We believe that conflict is an inevitable part of human existence since independent individuals will always have different needs and goals. Our discipline process revolves around nurturing mutual respect between the parties concerned, with restoration of the relationship and sense of community taking precedence over unrelated consequences or punishment. This applies as much to our parent community as it does to our students. Conflict is therefore a normal and necessary part of any vibrant learning environment; it need never involve aggression, exclusion or violence. When children are able to empathise with another’s point of view and think clearly and creatively, they can seek or create win-win solutions for their community.

MISSION #3 - Emboldening Children to seek their individual purpose

Without a sense of individual purpose, human beings are easily tossed about by social and emotional tides created by crowd-think and the media. Therefore a key purpose of our school is to ensure that each child is able to recognise their purpose and, as they mature and clarify their passions, is championed and emboldened by the school to use their individual passions and interests to positively change their world. We strive to create both a school culture where students habitually experience the values of seeking positive change, serving community, and seeking individual purpose, and also an educational environment that prepares each child for leadership in the field of their passion.

The mission to change the world does not come without challenge. It is important that, over time, students become familiar with the process of facing a challenge, at times failing, and learning to find resources and resilience to overcome challenge. If children come to enjoy the sensation of overcoming a challenge they are likely to become adults who are equipped to change their world despite the difficulty of doing so. Our world needs resilient and respectful citizens. We strive to nurture independent thinkers who possess the knowledge and skills to succeed, confident communicators who write and speak with ease, motivated learners who eagerly embrace new challenges, and benevolent and morally grounded individuals who respect themselves and others. We believe these are the kinds of individuals who will find their purpose and positively change the world.