CMS Events

25 years ago, two adults, one vision and eighteen students occupied an old farm house on the outskirts of Caboolture in Brisbane’s Moreton Bay region.  Their goal was to bring a different way of learning to the area and to offer the community a change from the traditional context of learning and teaching.  In 2023, we celebrate 25 years of Montessori in Caboolture and to celebrate this auspicious year, we have an expansive line-up special events planned throughout 2023.

#1 Acknowledgement of Parents and Staff

Starting in Term 1, the first day of the new year appropriately started with an acknowledgement of parents and staff.  As our new (and previous) parents entered the school on the 23 of January, they were greeted with a special card congratulating everyone on this special achievement. Later in the week, during the first staff meeting of the year, our dedicated staff were given a Montessori gift of thanks for their work and efforts every day: earrings for the ladies and tie-pins for the gentlemen.

#2 New Parents’ Afternoon

#3 and #4 – Hive Mind Workshops

#4 Clean Up Australia Day

Because the environment plays such an essential role in the Montessori philosophy, we were determined that our school would support Clean Up Australia Day 2023 particularly having received our Mayor Cr. Peter Flannery‘s reminder to participate. We also wanted this event to be part of our 25th-anniversary celebrations. On Friday March 3rd, our 2B Dolphins class participated in Clean Up Australia for schools. They aimed to see how many groups of 25 pieces of rubbish could be collected in 25 minutes – keeping in mind 25 is a special number for CMS this year. The class estimated that perhaps two pieces of rubbish would be found, as everyone considered our school to be very clean. However, the Dolphins were surprised to collect five lots of 25 pieces of rubbish plus an additional nine pieces, totalling 134 pieces of rubbish. Most of it was tiny bits of plastic and paper, which our environment certainly doesn’t want.

Well done Dolphins Class! #moretonbayregion #caboolturemontessorischool #CMS25

In addition, the CMS community were eager volunteers at the Clean Up Australia Day event on Sunday 5th March. There were 18 volunteers including children from all cycles. They started early at 6:30am to beat the heat at Apex Park, Caboolture. The most frequent items collected were tiny bits of plastic party decorations and cigarette butts. Many volunteers said they felt the event was rewarding and a great way to give back to the wider community.
Well done CMS community volunteers.

On November 18th, CMS celebrated the graduation of nine senior students.  The night was joyful, tasteful and a touching tribute to these students and their families. The students were well prepared and speeches delivered were full of gratitude for their past and current teachers. We’d like to share some photos here:

On Thursday 17th, November, the CMS Music students performed some wonderful musical pieces for their parents during an end of year concert in the library. Under the guidance of teacher Erin Harrington, students performed on Ukulele, Guitar, Voice both individually and in group.  Students were presented with certificates on completion.

Well done to all involved!

October 28th is Grandparents Day at Caboolture Montessori School. Our school and community acknowledge the vital role that grandparents or those special people standing in as grandparents play in our students’ lives.  We see their special bond each time Grandparents visit the school, and it fills us with joy.  Grandparents day gives an opportunity for the grandparents in our community to engage with the school, to experience a little of what their grandchildren are learning each day and is a happy social occasion.

Following weeks of creative collaboration, finally on September 12th the Cycle three students and teachers presented their 2022 Arts Gala. The library became the school’s dedicated art gallery where the students’ art work was put on display and parents were invited to browse through the creative masterpieces, discussing the curated works and observing the research and depth of detail involved.  Outside, a delighted crowd was treated to performances of drama and song, dance and acrobatics, monologues and mimes. To end the show, some lucky parents were able to take home the beautiful flower arrangements and a cake.

Well done Cycle 3.

There are many CMS events held throughout the year, however a special CMS event was held on September 2nd, 2022.  It was that long awaited day of the year when our staff are treated to a day of fun outside of the classrooms and office.

Each year it’s a surprise, but this year our Principal had something extra special planned!

After a yummy quick breakfast in the office, staff were scurried away southbound on the Bruce Highway by the beloved Julie from Coast and Country Busses  who parked the bus at the Corso, North Lakes.  Our group of curious CMS staff was led inside and following a moment of confusion, the surprise was revealed.   After weeks of covert planning, CMS pulled-off an amazing collab – bringing together a group of almost 100 Montessorians right here in Moreton Bay.  For the first time, staff from both Caboolture Montessori School and from Brisbane Montessori School came together in a social setting to get to know each other.  This group with a shared vision and passion for education made for a powerful and memorable experience for all involved, while behind the scenes these two schools are mindful of ever increasing concern over the state of education in Australia.   Following morning tea, the participants shared a relaxing meditation session together, facilitated by Emma and Amit from The Australian School of Meditation and Yoga, then a short walk where lunch was served at North Lakes Hotel.  Here, staff from these two schools took the time to network and get to know their counterpart in the opposite school, chat about their different but similar situations and listen to each other’s stories. The collaboration rekindled old friendships and created new bonds giving hope and inspiration for the future of education in our region and state.

Montessori needs more of this!

See you soon again Brisbane Montessori School!

On 31st August 2022, we remembered Dr. Maria Montessori on her birthday.  The students received a special surprise of pikelets, grapes and strawberries – yummy treats in the colour of the Italian flag, delivered to their classrooms.

The Italian celebration was continued the following day, 1st September.  The students brought their special performance clothes to school and changed just before the assembly.  There was lots of excitement and lots of Italiano!

A bumper crowd of enthusiastic parents came to the school to see the performance and hear the children sing their Italian songs.

All students from Cy 1 (Kindy/Prep); Cycle 2 (Yr 1, 2, 3) and Cycle 3 (Yr 4, 5, 6) learnt songs in Italian.  The lyrics to each song told a story which students were able to convey through, dance and movement.  Many songs were chosen to represent everyday concepts and suit diverse ages groups.  Some of the topics included, animals, music and dance genres, food, folklore tales and birthday celebrations.   Students practiced their showcases over a number of weeks leading up to the assembly.  The students’ dedication and excitement was second to none and as always delivered a spectacular performance.

The songs included the names of fruit ‘Magiare la Frutta’; they sang about playing in the forest ‘Giochiamo dentro il Bosco’ wondering if a wolf was hiding there!  They had fun singing a song called ‘Ill Pulcino Cha Cha Cha’ – where a chick does the Cha Cha dance.  Other songs included the names of animals in the jungle, and a special performance called La Banda – about a gang of children in a Boot Camp, and finally the Happy Birthday song, in honour of Dr. Montessori ‘ Tangi Auguri’.

Well done all involved.

The CMS seniors had a blast at Seaworld! They had the opportunity to see several sea creatures from stingrays to sharks, dolphins to dance-breaks, jellyfish to jet coasters, polar bears to penguins…so much fun & excitement was had!