Beyond Academic Excellence At The International Montessori School Hong Kong

Preparing Students for Life

IMS students are guided by their interests and set their own vision for learning. This includes not only planning and setting goals but also time management, tracking their progress and resolving conflicts.

Teachers meet weekly with students to review how their work is progressing so they become comfortable with receiving feedback and reflecting on their work. These transferable skills help students embrace continual learning and ups killing in any setting, and prepare them with the readiness to tackle changes that come their way to enter secondary school with enthusiasm and emotional intelligence.

From leading their own hobby clubs, running charitable sales of student-made products, conducting student assemblies, producing a talent show, or debating with other students at the Montessori Model United Nations, these students are continually engaged with their environment. Looking beyond the traditional markers of success, IMS prioritizes meaningful learning and connecting students with relevant and fulfilling work in their lives.

Curiosity Fuels Leaders of Change
The IMS elementary program focuses on developing critical thinking, iterative problem-solving, project management, and, above all, curiosity. “A curious student becomes a lifelong learner,” says [Ann]. “They gain the tools to adapt and thrive, no matter the challenges. From their earliest steps, IMS students are encouraged to make choices and take action. By age 12, they are self-starters, go-getters, and doers.

From Classroom to Community: Cultivating the Entrepreneurial Spirit

From these regular school experience, active lifelong learners emerge. In a rapidly evolving world, embracing growth is an essential component for this next generation. Last year, fifth graders Mackenzie, Kean and Timothy teamed up to produce and sell bespoke keychains to raise money for the NGO Ronald McDonald House, where their friend was a patient. While many admired their coasters, handmade with pressed flowers and butterflies, it was really the students' journey that was remarkable.

The trio of 10 year olds worked to submit a formal proposal to pitch their idea, wrote a business plan, spent weeks testing their products, designed the logo and packaging, organized the sale and analysed their profits.

Learning at IMS is not just about receiving information but applying it purposefully and seeing visible outcomes from ones own process.

Building Real-World Connections In Mixed-Age Classrooms

The three-year mixed age environment at IMS greatly enhances student growth and development. Learning together in the same classroom for three years fosters strong teacher-student connections built on mutual respect. The three-year cycle also affords natural opportunities to mentor and be mentored by peers, providing daily learning and leadership opportunities not available in other schools.

In a mixed age classroom, each child experiences being the youngest and the eldest of the community, a unique possibility otherwise impossible in a single-age setting. IMS emphasises the development of social skills, such as respectful leadership, active listening and empathy, alongside core subjects like reading, writing and mathematics.

IMS classrooms closely resemble real-world workplaces, where colleagues have diverse ages and experiences. This environment helps students appreciate that everyone is at a different stage in life, yet each has valuable contributions to make.