The Sydney Montessori School (SMS), founded in 1981, is a

Montessori The Montessori method of education involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing real-world skills. It emphasizes indepen ...

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

, secular, day school, located in the Gymea suburb of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The school serves preschool, primary and high school; children ages 0–16.Feez, Susan
''Montessori: The Australian Story''. UNSW Press, 2013. Pages 203–204.
Accessed 30 August 2014. The school was formerly known as the Sutherland Shire Montessori School.

History

The Sydney Montessori School, like many other Australian Montessori schools, was first established by a small group of parents. Established in

Grays Point, New South Wales Grays Point is a small affluent suburb in Southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 29 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire. Grays Point is a sma ...

, in 1981, the parents were the school's first administrators, and to help fund the school, parents organised fundraisers and public events with guest speakers. The first classroom was in the home of a local parent in Grays Point under the direction of Kathy Kelly, an American Montessori teacher from

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. The first primary classroom opened in 1989 under the directorship of Elizabeth Catalfamo, an American Montessori teacher. By 2012, the school had established a pre-primary program for toddlers and small children aged 3–6, a primary school for ages 6–9. The school also operates (on site) a separate Montessori Long Day Care (15mths to 6 years). This operates from 7.00 a.m. until 6.00 pm, 48 weeks of the year. The school has seen increased enrolment numbers in recent years, with waiting lists for some year levels."Montessori enrolments up."
''The St George & Sutherland Shire Leader''. 20 August 2014.

Faculty

The school's current Principal, Peter MacLean joined the school in 2018 and was formerly Principal of Treetops Montessori School (Perth), a Montessori Primary School and International Baccaluarete high school. Former principals include Elizabeth Catalfamo and Hani Ghali and Raquel Charet. .Tejszerski, Eva
"School agrees to comply with rules." ''The St George & Sutherland Shire Leader''. 16 March 2013
Former teachers include Felicity Young, Greg McDonald, Elizabeth Piazza and Niamh O'Reilly.

Student-teacher ratio

The school retains a student-teacher ratio of at least one teacher per every 15 students and with assistants in most classrooms provides a ratio of approximately 1:10.

ICSEA ranking

In 2010, the New South Wales government's index of community socio-economic educational advantage (ICSEA) for the school was 180. The ICSEA ranking is a prediction of the school's score on

NAPLAN The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a series of tests focused on basic skills that are administered to Australian students in year 3, 5, 7 and 9. These standardised tests assess students' reading, writing, l ...

tests. The rank is based on school data as well as statistical results of the Australian census provided by the

Australian Bureau of Statistics The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for statistical collection and analysis and for giving evidence-based advice to federal, state and territory governments ...

(ABS) such as remoteness of school, proportion of Aboriginal students and the average household income in the area where the school is located.''Explaining ICSEA.''
New South Wales Department of Education. Accessed 30 August 2014.

Sydney International Secondary School

The Board and school administration is working towards a possible opening of a high school component: Sydney International Secondary School. It is seeking expressions of interest for a 2021 opening.

References

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External links

Sydney Montessori School Gymea
website Montessori schools in Australia Education in Sydney