REVIEW OF Fredericton Montessori Academy BY parent, Sahar Saied

(5) Student Experience

Before joining FMA my son was in a playschool that followed the "learning through play" approach. Moving to FMA with a more structured education was a bit challenging for him, but they were amazing during his first year because their approach is to deal with each child in the best way they could learn. They encourage kids to know more, ask more and learn more in a way that truly benefits them in the long run. They want them to think for themselves and be themselves. They provide kids with a large variety of study materials which will lead the kids to learn what they need to learn, yet give the child a chance to choose which study material or tool to use. I see my son growing with them in a beautiful way, I see him talking about art, geography, and the map of the world. They are a great environment to learn in, they have a good set of rules and manners to deliver to the kids and are treating parents and kids as a family. They are great at communicating with the parents so I'm always connected with my son's educational updates. I can't forget to say the feeling of "Safety" as a mother it's the most important thing to feel safe in the place I leave my son in. It's truly a great school!

(5) School Leadership

They are great with school leadership. They try to always communicate with us if there are any concerns. They encourage parents to always contact them if they need to discuss anything regarding their child or school. They listen to ideas and suggestions and it's a good thing for the students. They handle discipline issues really well as their goal is to always teach the kid what happened wrong and how to avoid it and how to apologize and they do it very fairly.

(5) Teaching

I am communicating with teachers often to follow up on my child's progress and I have to say, both KG and G1 teachers are amazing. They evaluated my child and then they start to determine the learning plan for him. I like to help and be involved, they encourage that and give me the feeling that we are working together although they are doing all the work. If there is any area that needs more work for my son, we usually communicate during parent-teacher meetings, via, email or face-to-face at school. They support my son's education and help him achieve more in comfortable ways. They are very open to discussions, giving updates, and working with parents to create amazing bonds with kids.

(5) Academics

They follow the Montessori curriculum, at the end of each year, students should have studied the same subject as the public school curriculum plus the additional subject they teach the kids to give them more knowledge. They respect diversity and they encourage kids to do the same, so they introduce kids to different cultures and if the time of the year has a special celebration for any religion, they introduce this knowledge to the kids too. As a Muslim, I had the opportunity during Ramadan (a holy month for Muslims) to introduce it to the kids in a session with their teachers. My son felt very happy that he can share that with his friends, it's amazing when you have a school that is keen to make all the kids feel included.

(4.5) Extracurriculars

They are trying to get more programs for the kids to join after school if they wish, They have robotics, art, and drama classes along with trying to take them to new shows in the playhouse and also a day in the week they go to the gym. I wish they would add more physical activities that would be a great addition.

(5) Students

They have students from 3 to 15 and they have 3 age groups in each class, so when my son joined casa (3-5), he was in the 5-year-old kid's group but he also had 3 and 4-year-old friends in the same class and that helped him a lot as he was trying to help them and play with them. I saw that in the way he was treating his little sister at home, now in lower elementary(6-8) he is in the 6th-grade group and as the youngest, he benefits from his older friends 7 and 8. The kids are very helpful together One day, he was not feeling good and wanted me to stay for a bit and as his teachers were waiting for him, I found one of his older friends approaching us. She said, "It's ok to be sad, let's go to class together and we can read and play and we will have a good day." She was truly very nice, he felt calmer and went to his teachers and friends right away, kindness is very important.

(5) School Life

I see student life there is very good. My son loves going to school as he loves his teachers, he is very social and has a lot of friends of different ages. The fact that each class has 3 different age groups makes it always fun for the kids and more interesting. Also, they have a big playground where kids can play with a play structure, play soccer, and a special place for younger ages to partake in safe play. Sometimes, I see my son play soccer with the older kids, really enjoying it! Teachers are watching the kids, always smiling and interacting with the kids in class and in the playground, they are fun with the kids too which makes the kids feel connected.

(5) Community

Parents are involved in the school community if they wish to. They always try to involve parents in school plans and new ideas. Last year, there was an auction made inside the community and the money was used to get a school bus - the process was amazing because it was all between parents and school management. We organized the auction together, parents gave away great items for the auction, it was successful, and a great way to bond. I feel it's not just a school, it's a community you are involved in, and seeing the results and the school bus taking the kids on field trips was amazing. They have gatherings for the families to bond together like a tea party for kids to celebrate mother's day and many other events like this.

(3.5) School Location

It's a bit far from where I live but the area itself is nice. They have a farm nearby where they can go to for field trips in the summer. They have a fenced playground and a sidewalk so the kids can go to their parent's car safely too. The parking lot is big too. It's a rather quiet area and they keep it secured for the kids.