From Sports Club to School
November 06, 2001 — Visitors to the new Montessori Academy on the old National Sports Club site on Middle Road, Devonshire will find few semblances of what was once one of the Island's premier sports grounds.
The transformation has been impressive, with games and meeting rooms, the bar and canteen all converted into rooms more suited to a school. Two new classroom buildings were also constructed on the field to accommodate the 75 more students that enrolled this year, which increased the student body from 135 to 210.
Renovation work by Correia Construction began in mid-April and the school was virtually completed. For the first time, there was space galore for the ten-year-old school that had outgrown its old home at the National Trust property at 'Tivoli' on Middle Road, Warwick.
Now, with a middle years programme added so that students can continue at the school through the age of 16, the school is well equipped to serve the needs of both the students and the teachers.
"We're just incredibly grateful to the people of National Sports Club, that they were willing to go ahead with the negotiations to make way for this facility here on the Island," said principal Margaret Hallett.
Mrs. Hallett has been with the school since its formation in Bermuda in 1991, first as a teacher and for the last four years as head of the school.
The school opened its doors to 72 children in 1991 and by 1997 the maximum capacity of 135 children had been reached. They knew more space was needed and after searching for five years, the perfect location became available.
"They (Nationals) can rest assured that their decision has been a welcome one in the community," added Mrs. Hallett.
"We've had positive responses from people in the neighbourhood, saying they are pleased to see the property looking all spruced up and well used, and I think beginning to be well loved."
And while the field can no longer accommodate cricket because of the new buildings, the other two sports which use the ground extensively - rugby and field hockey - have not been greatly affected, though the latter has changed the position of its field.
"One thing that was very important to us when we went into this was we would be able to support and go into partnership with some of the sporting bodies on the Island and we are able to do that with the rugby and field hockey," said the principal.
"Field hockey serves somewhere in the region of 500 people on the Island, so that's a lot of people coming and going here on weekday evenings and during the weekends. We're absolutely delighted to have the place used, we only have limited space in Bermuda and we need to be sharing it and having flexible use of land."
The Montessori approach to learning was developed by an Italian Doctor, Maria Montessori, who opened her first school in Italy in 1906. Today, the Montessori approach is embraced throughout the world and many of its basic tenets are followed in both public and private schools.
The Montessori approach is best described as a philosophy that places the child at the centre of learning. The environment, teaching materials and the teacher all interact to allow the child to actively learn in a meaningful and independent way.
Children are supported in their freedom to make choices, are guided to develop personal competency and self-confidence and are challenged to build strong foundations for understanding. The classroom is a community of learners where cooperation and care for one another are a natural part of the daily experience.
All of that was taken into consideration with the renovations, with wooden flooring put down and more windows installed to make use of natural lighting.
"We got into the building at Easter time and were able to come in with children in September, so that was an incredibly fast construction job," said a pleased Mrs. Hallett.
"They did a magnificent job of getting it completed."
Last weekend, parents helped with landscaping around the grounds which included planting trees and beautifying the entrance of the school which has been designed to accommodate the morning and afternoon flow of traffic when the children are dropped off and picked up again.
"The other thing about the renovation is it has proven more effective and with a better use of space than we could have ever imagined," said Mrs. Hallett as she gave a tour of the building yesterday.
"We had originally come here thinking we would do a very quick renovation and then possibly review what we would do with this building in the future. But as it stands now it works perfectly, it's an ideal building.
"We looked at this place and saw that it had lots of bathrooms and that's just what a school needs. It had big, spacious rooms and that was what we needed, so the infrastructure was here before we came in.
"We had to completely rewire and redo a bit of the plumbing. Our investment here is quite sizeable, a considerable investment. It is something we believed in and we didn't want to do it half way."
The school accommodates tours twice a week so the students are well used to having visitors around as they go about their work.
"The children in the Montessori setting are encouraged to develop their own independence and confidence in doing things and that's why you don't see a teacher leading the whole class," said the principal.
"Children are going around making their own decisions and choices at very young ages. Heaven knows, when they get older they will have to think for themselves, so we start now rather than waiting until 12 or 13.
"However, they are guided to make responsible decisions and responsible choices. As you can see the teacher is working with one child and the others are going about their work."
There is a complete staff of 25 which includes admissions officer and school secretary. Class size is limited to about 11 students (maximum of 15) while the bigger classes will have two teachers. The French classes are small and with more personal attention.
"This is absolutely above and beyond what we could ever have possibly dreamed. It's such a wonderful place for kids," Mrs. Hallett said.
"As you can see in our classrooms, there are happy teachers and happy kids who are working hard and learning. That's the important thing.
"It really, really feels like a school and in fact some of our teachers have said it is such a pleasure to be teaching here. Our old facility at 'Tivoli' is a charming property but not so much an official school place.
"We opened our doors there in 1991 and here we are ten years later having made this transition."