Last day of HMS

Today was officially his last day as a student for Kieran at Humberside Montessori. He will be forever a Montessori educated student.
And we will be forever Humberside Montessori parents alumni.

We will miss this place. It was more than a building and more than a school, more than a place of learning. It had become a family community and a second home.    A consistent theme in this school is how involved the parents are with the children and with the school.  What differentiates HMS from other schools is how the parents allow the school to do what it does well, which is educate the students (and the parents - they provide many sessions on what it means to be a parent of a Montessori child, and how to do that - if they wish to attend and they should).

And the school protects this philosophy and keeps true to it as best it can.  And this is all because of Felix and Molly.

The lower elementary kids coming up are even more outgoing and engaged and caring and appreciative of their surrounds - and it was the best year end / graduation ceremony to date. It gets better and better every year, this year was an amazing display of musical expression by all the students.

I am glad i was able to get a front row seat. I've never had one before. Thank you Molly for taking care of us for all of these years. We will never forget it.


It's been nearly a decade since he first started here at age 3.  And i can remember those days clearly, because i have that day documented on this blog.  But mostly because we have been going  through the blog to help us answer the 18 chapters of  Kieran's last project assignment - his AUTOBIOGRAPHY, which can be summed up in 1 word - 'procrastination'.  We spent most of Saturday printing out photos of memories and Sunday writing about them.  We got it done by Monday.  It was supposed to be done before his grad trip.

And now I have his last day documented.
This day was both a happy day and a bit of a sad one.
But the choice was Kieran's.  And that's something to celebrate and Montessori trait of the child student wanting to choose and owning it.

No tuxedo this year. Because we couldn't find a suit. But the fedora hat and blazer jacket and bow tie were well received.   Many of the boys were dressed up.  It was really great to see how both boys and girls wanted to look good for this special milestone in their lives.

It was great that Tresa's mom finally was able to come see her grandson in his school environment.  I could feel both her parents pride.
 We also felt their hunger cuz we headed to the Mandarin after the graduation.
I'm glad it wasn't too hot.  The rains came a bit and kept the day cooler. It's usually on the warm side in the school gym.  But it was good today.  No sweaty shirt pits.

This is the GR6 graduating group doing their performance.
All the lower and upper elementary groups were terrific.  It was so much more than just putting on a music show for the parents.  It was a show case of what they have achieved together as individuals and as a group, and how they have grown and matured and what their next steps are.

Upper Elementary D - 3rd Years

Many from this group will be going off to other schools, and I'm excited for them to see what is beyond HMS.  They'll make new friends and begin new beginnings.

But they'll never forget where they came from.
They'll always be Humberside Montessori Students.


Photos: 2017-HMS-Grad-Ceremony-Elementary-Adolescent-Program