Why CHMS?

The CHMS community is a second home.

At CHMS we have four main pillars that support who we are as a school and community. The most important pillar is safety. Our school facility and learning environments are designed from top to bottom with safety at the focus. At CHMS, you will hear us talk extensively about community. Building a sense of community starts with our school-wide and classroom specific events. Developing a child’s character is something we foster in young children, so students leave CHMS with grace and courtesy skills. Finally, the Montessori component of CHMS is the glue that holds our pillars together. As a Montessori school, we live and breathe the foundational principles of the Montessori philosophy.

Four Main Pillars

Safety

Safety is the most important pillar at CHMS. We teach our families and students how to be safe before and during your child's educational journey. You might think, “I already know how to keep my child safe.” However, what does being safe really look like? It can begin by ensuring your child wears closed toed shoes. It can also mean remembering that we walk inside the CHMS building and run on the CHMS playground. Inside the classroom, it means that all classroom furniture and lessons are made of natural materials that allow children to safely and productively use each lesson. When your child is safe, s/he is ready to learn.

Character

Developing character is more than just encouraging your child to take turns, share with others, and say, “Please” and “Thank you”. While teaching your child to practice these phrases and actions is important, our Montessori Guides focus on educating students to learn deeper skills that allow children to become respectful, compassionate, and responsible community members.

Community

Throughout the year, we focus on building community with our CHMS families and students. Scheduled playdates, our Back to School night, parades, musicals, and many other events and celebrations are examples of ways we bring our parents and students together. We know that it takes a village to raise your treasure(s), so that’s why fostering a community is so important to us. Oftentimes, our CHMS alumni families email us and visit us saying they have remained friends with one, two or more CHMS families since their children graduated from CHMS.

Montessori

While at CHMS, children develop independence, a love of learning, and a strong academic foundation. The majority of our CHMS graduates who enter Kindergarten or 1st grade are reading and writing on a 1st and 2nd grade level and doing addition and subtraction. These accomplishments tend to come from the child’s self motivation and intuitive desire to learn, rather than the Montessori Guide's instruction.

Why Montessori