Elonera Montessori has successfully made an uncompromising commitment to excellence in education for over twenty years.

The world-wide Montessori philosophy was introduced to our primary in 1987. Parents wanted a flexible child-focused method of education that has as its final outcome, a well-developed member of society. Montessori achieves this through the cultivation of a passion for excellence in everything the student does and a strongly developed set of values including self-respect, respect for others, honesty, integrity, responsibility, empathy, compassion, kindness, peacefulness, a sense of concern for others and a love of community.

Young people today are participants in a dynamic world characterised by an extraordinary expansion of choice and ever increasing complexity. The values and behaviours that we envisage describe the profile of highly successful members of the community, in all strata’s of society.

We offer:

• Fun (novel ways to learn)
• Freedom (balanced with rights and responsibilities)
• Friendship (connectedness and resilience)
• Flexibility (diverse learning styles)
• Finalisation (closure/pride and accomplishment of meeting goals)
• Fairness (ability to try things in a safe environment, without fear; understanding misuse of power)
• Function (learning practical life skills with the tools of technology, and how to take care of themselves as well as others)

Elonera Montessori is a school of 118 students and 24 teachers and staff and is located in the centre of Wollongong close to the University and TAFE. It is unique, as it is one of the few Montessori schools in Australia that offers a pre-school to high school education.

The small class sizes allowing for individual instruction by our knowledgeable, warm teachers, in open, ordered classrooms using our amazing hands on materials, adding a critical tactile sense to the “traditional” tools.

Montessori follows the standard school curriculum, however our students demonstrate happier attachments with their teachers, have better general knowledge, and are more able to initiate, understand and participate in conversation and debate. Students are cooperative, self motivated and learn skills of conflict resolution as part of the curriculum. It is all part of our motto of ‘Education in Harmony with Life’.”

Our parents, generally open minded thinkers, are motivated to give their children something special. As a result we have strong and committed group of parents, and we encourage all parents to participate in any small way in the building of a great school.

A study published in Science magazine in September 2006, compared Montessori education with other elementary school education programs in USA, and concluded that “Montessori education fosters social and academic skills that are equal or superior to other types of schools”.