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A Brief History There has been a Montessori preschool in Huntsville since 1986. Licensed by the Ministry of Community and Social Services in 1997, by 1999, the Muskoka Montessori Preschool had 16 students, one teacher, and a classroom assistant.

 

In September 1999, the Muskoka Montessori Elementary School was established. There were 10 students ranging from Grades 1 through 4 with one Lower Elementary teacher.

 

In the 2000-2001 school year, the elementary enrolment grew to 22 students in Grades 1 through 8. An Upper Elementary teacher was hired at that time to teach the 6 children in Grades 4 through 8. A part-time French teacher was hired to teach all grades. In December 2000, the elementary school became incorporated as a non-profit organization with charitable status.

 

In the 2002-2003 school year, a half-time teacher was hired to teach the three Grade 7 / 8 students (in Montessori terminology, the “Erdkinder” class).

 

In the 2003-2004 school year, the Erdkinder teacher worked full-time, and a guided Community Service program as well as an extensive Outdoor Education component were added to the Grade 7/8 curriculum.

 

In the 2005-2006 academic year, Muskoka Montessori established a “sister school” relationship with a small school in the community of Corozal, Nicaragua.

 

In March 2007, the preschool and the elementary schools formally merged, creating the Muskoka Montessori School.

 

In January 2012, the Muskoka Montessori School partnered with the District of Muskoka in establishing the Montessori Toddler and Casa programs at Sabrina Park, a low-income housing development in Huntsville, Ontario.

 

In the spring of 2015, the administration of Sabrina Park was successfully transferred to Muskoka Family Focus, a provincially-funded children’s organization. This Montessori program was dissolved in 2017.

 

In the summer of 2014, the School added a portable in the back forest of the School property to hold the Erdkinder Program. This freed up space in the main building for a multipurpose/resource room for French, Cooking, a Library, and general storage. This was in response to increasing enrolment.

 

In April 2017 the School purchased the Brunel Community Centre property from the Town of Huntsville.

 

In March 2020, the Coronavirus pandemic was declared and schools across Canada and around the world shut down following government mandated emergency orders. On March 23, the first day the students would have returned from March Break, teachers began conducting lessons and providing work for families at home. Together, teachers and students developed new methods for staying in touch, for holding lessons and for completing independent work. On September 8, 2020, the School reopened for the first time since the start of the pandemic with new enhanced policies and procedures in place and a fresh desire to provide high quality Montessori education for children in Huntsville. 11Due to COVID-19 and the ongoing pandemic, the 2020-2021 school year was another year of challenge and personal growth for members of our staff and school community at large. The Ontario Government mandated that all schools close for 16 weeks, during January/February and again from April through June. Throughout this period, teachers provided one-on-one, small-group and whole-class lessons using the Zoom platform. Fortunately, as a licensed childcare centre, the Casa class was permitted to operate for in-person learning. Through it all, the Muskoka Montessori School focused on supporting students and families and holding true to its core Montessori values.

 

On September 7, 2021, the Muskoka Montessori School resumed in-person learning for all students. Ontario had one school closure in January 2022 and staff, students and families worked together to ensure the least impact possible on the students. Casa students were, luckily, still able to come to school in-person.

 

On March 21, 2022 the Ministry of Education lifted the masking mandates, cohorting mandates and physical distancing mandates. The year ended with our first “live” Grade 8 graduation ceremony and year end picnic since 2019!

 

The 2022-2023 school year saw the return to a traditional routine with few enhanced health and safety policies still in place. The Muskoka Montessori community enjoyed several special events including the holiday assembly, school play and end-of-year Grade 8 graduation.

 

On September 2, the School will reopen for the 2025-2026 school year. We are so pleased that our little school is able to keep providing high quality Montessori education to families in Muskoka!