St. Mary’s Montessori Children’s House to expand for fall  

SWORMVILLE — St. Mary School is expanding its Montessori Children’s House in order to welcome more 3-6 year old children into the program. Principal Tristan D’Angelo states, “Since its inception eight years ago, St. Mary’s has had waitlists each year for our Montessori Children’s House. We are excited to be committing additional space and staff to the expansion of our unique program.” Krista Jelsovsky, St. Mary’s Montessori director, has been with the program since the beginning and has taught in other Montessori classrooms over her 17 year teaching career. Jelsovsky shares, “The benefits of Montessori can be endless. Montessori is an individualized education; as teachers we follow the child. All of the materials in a Montessori classroom are ‘hands on’ and support the children’s independence and natural curiosity. Strong social skills are developed by being around peers of different levels in the mixed age classroom as well as leadership skills from the older children teaching the younger children. Montessori creates a love of learning when a child can repeat a piece of work they enjoy and are curious about.”

Lauren and Jason Suttell, parents of children who are currently in second grade, traditional kindergarten, and Montessori 4, have been at St. Mary’s since their oldest started in the Montessori Children’s House as a 3 year old half-day friend. They summarize their experience this way, “We chose St. Mary’s Montessori because we were looking for more than just day care or a traditional preschool program. The Montessori program here (at St. Mary’s) goes above and beyond to teach the school’s youngest students more than just numbers, alphabet and typical learning experiences. The teachers meet each kid at their learning level and introduce and help them learn, through experience, real and meaningful concepts and skills. We also really liked that the classroom includes 3, 4 and 5 year olds. They made friends of all ages and learned from the older students. We loved knowing our kids were part of the broader school day, events and activities. They especially love their “buddies” from the middle school classes. Our 4 year old gets high-fives in the hall from eighth graders almost every day. The inclusion of the youngest students really makes St. Mary School feel like a whole family.”

Jelsovsky explains, “St. Mary’s Montessori Children’s house differs from other Montessori programs in many ways. Not only is this a Montessori program but, as part of a larger school, we get to interact with children in other grades and use amenities such as the playground, art and music rooms, and my favorite, the gym.” 

All Montessori friends receive instruction from the St. Mary School art, music and physical education teachers. In addition, Montessori kindergarteners can participate in bowling and join the St. Mary School track and swim teams.

St. Mary’s Montessori Children’s House is located at 6919 Transit Road, East Amherst. They offer 3 and 4 year old morning sessions and full-day instruction for 4 and 5 year olds/kindergarten age. After school care is available when a child is 4 years old. 

To learn more or apply online, visit the school website: stmaryschoolswormville.org. Schedule a tour at 716-689-8424.