About Senior Elementary Program (French Immersion)

Our Senior Elementary program is a continuation of the Montessori educational experience.  The Senior Elementary program builds upon the skills acquired during the Junior Elementary years but is designed to lead the students from concrete representation to abstract work and thinking hypothetically. The Senior Elementary Montessori program specifically targets the developmental needs of the children from 9 to 12 years-old as they move towards adolescence.  There is a great emphasis on organization skills, work habits, abstract understanding, time management, responsibility, interpersonal skills, self-confidence, and cooperation.   By the end of the Senior Elementary Montessori program, students are expected to be independent learners who have developed strong academic skills, a genuine love of learning and sense of global awareness.

At Parkdale Montessori, we recognize the importance of learning a second language.  Therefore, our Senior Elementary program is a French-immersion environment.  The learning environment is carefully structured for challenge and success at all levels.  The children’s curiosity, imagination and social skills are used as natural motivators for learning.  Students are encouraged to pursue particular interests, investigate, question, draw conclusions, communicate proficiently, and work cooperatively with others. Group discussions, research work, and oral presentations are very prominent in all areas of the curriculum.  Over a three-year cycle (equivalent to grades 4, 5 and 6), children complete a core curriculum that exceeds the standards of the Ontario Ministry of Education.

Our Senior Elementary environment is being conducted by a Montessori-trained directress with special qualifications for the elementary level.  The elementary teacher mostly gives small-group lessons in all academic areas, and guides the children in direction and methods of their own research.  We provide the individualized attention necessary to ensure that every student achieves success.  Students work at their own pace, and the learning environment is designed to accommodate a wide range of interests, abilities, and learning styles.  The Senior Elementary environment is a mixed-age group setting with learning materials appropriate for each age.   A sense of community is enhanced within the classroom through peer teaching, collaboration, mentoring, and leadership experience. 

Our Senior Elementary students are encouraged to learn how they can make a difference and to “think globally, act locally” by participating in community service such as organizing fundraisers, collecting clothes for people in need, volunteering for a local charity, and many more.  Students also explore the wider community through field trips.  They are responsible for planning activities within and outside the school.   Students are encouraged to apply the skills that they have acquired to real life situations.  Each day (weather permitting), the children spend time outside in our playground or at our large neighbourhood park.  In the spring and early fall, our students go on picnics and nature walks. 

Our Senior Elementary curriculum emphasizes the importance of arts, physical education and the factors that contribute to health.  Students participate weekly in music, drama and gym classes.