Designing facilities

Designing Facilities for Montessori Schools

Montessori Classroom Design

By Tim Seldin

Classrooms should provide enough Size of the Classroom Space: We
floor space to comfortably accommodate strongly recommend that schools allow
the total number of children enrolled a minimum of 35 square feet per student
along with the complete collection of enrolled, which complies with many
Montessori educational apparatus, jurisdictions in the United States.
tables and shelving, and related activity
areas, such as art. Ideally, the Foundation recommends
a ratio of 50 square feet per student at
Number of Students in a Class: the early childhood level, 75 square feet
The Montessori Foundation per student at the elementary level, and
recommends an ideal class size of 25 to 100 square feet per student at the
30 students at the early childhood and secondary level.
elementary level,
representing a three-
year age range
(traditionally ages 3 to 6,
6 to 9, 9 to 12, etc.).
Naturally
circumstances, such as
room size, local
regulations, or the
challenges faced in the
early years when a new
class is being
established, may lead
schools to set up classes
with a smaller group
size.

Charlotte Montessori School, Charlotte, North Carolina

Page 387 © 2001 The Montessori Foundation


We recognize and anticipate that an appropriately sized kitchen,
few schools will be able to attain this classroom library, science area/lab,
ideal, with many factors coming into
greenhouse, and art studio. A small
consideration, most especially local
woodshop or hobby workshop is also
conditions and climate. For example,
highly desirable.
schools in crowded urban environments
may find it financially impractical to
secure larger facilities, and recognize For each class of 25 to 35 students,
that their children and adults are we recommend the provision of a large
accustomed to smaller amounts of 3 compartment sink for dish washing in
personal space. In warmer climates, the kitchen, and within the classroom at
schools may be able to take excellent
least two individual bathrooms to allow
advantage of shaded and semi-shaded
privacy. Avoid multi-stall restrooms.
outdoor environments adjacent to each
classroom. Ultimately the final test is
how well the children function within Traditionally Montessori classes are
their environment. designed to create an uncluttered and
beautiful homelike atmosphere. Spaces
The need for a self-contained with an institutional feel are avoided if
Environment: Classrooms at the at all possible or their sterile look and
Primary and Elementary levels should feel is softened by a conscious use of
ideally include within each environment design elements.



Access to the Outdoor
Environment: Ideally, each class should Windows: Montessori classrooms
have at least two walls facing the should have an abundance of natural
outdoor environment, which again light brought in through an abundance
ideally should be a natural setting of of attractive windows that can be
gardens, forest, or fields. At least one opened to allow the air to flow. In
door should lead outside, allowing classes designed for younger children,
children to freely go in and out to a windows should be selected that reach
prepared outside environment. down to almost floor height or mounted
lower to the floor to allow small
The Children’s Garden: Ideally, children to see outside without
each classroom should have a small stretching.
garden and outdoor environment
enclosed by a picket fence or perhaps a Avoid Clutter and Traditional
Mediterranean style garden wall. Again School Posters and Displays The
ideally, the children should be able to go Montessori class is not supposed to look
outside as they wish to work in the or feel like a classroom in the traditional
garden, observe nature, paint, or work sense, but rather a comfortable and
outside. inviting home. We do not teach group

Century House Montessori School, Tortola, British Virgin Islands



many lessons in the first place, so we go a long way to making your
don’t need to use blackboards or classroom feel like a Children’s House.
bulletin boards as decorative elements
on the walls. Floors: Traditionally Montessori
Children’s Houses had wooden, tile, or
A few more suggestions: stone floors because that was the norm
in European and North American
! Don’t try to add color to the room buildings at the time. Today wall to wall
with eye catching educational carpet is so pervasive, that we tend to
posters. see a normal pattern of a space divided
! At all costs, don’t create a display of between carpeted space and a practical
twenty five identical art projects life and art area that is tiled. It is
! Avoid cartoon-like posters important that at least the area where
! Never feel compelled to hang an the children work on their practical life
alphabet up along the wall skills and art have a tile or other non-
carpeted floor to avoid damaging the
Instead select carefully chosen rug and to provide a hard surface as a
highly quality art reproductions or control of error (the little glass pitcher
original art and hang them around the should break, not bounce, if dropped).
room at the children’s eye level. Even Avoid bland institutional looking tile or
better, provide the children with mattes wall to wall carpet. Create the most
and frames and allow them to select and attractive and harmonious look and feel
display individual pieces of their art or that your budget and creativity allows.
work in an attractive manner. Create Consider the possibility of wooden
attractive areas for displaying floors or one of the new imitation
individual sculptures or projects. Take a wooden flooring materials. The look is
fresh look at how art is displayed in a just what most of us dream about
fine gallery or art museum. creating in our schools.

Lighting: Fluorescent lights can Toxic Substances: When selecting
create a harsh light. Soften the glare any paint, carpeting, or flooring
with the light from your windows and material, take care to avoid introducing
by introducing several attractive floor or something into your indoor
table lamps with shades. Just a little environment to which chemically
incandescent light from some lamps can sensitive children and adults might
react. Some carpets and paints give off



chemicals that can be real, if not visible,
environmental pollutants. Don’t allow your outdoor
environment to look neglected. Keep
Plants: Use as many large and small your buildings painted, equipment in
plants in your environment as possible. good repair, and grounds carefully
Large ferns, palms, and various tended.
decorative but nontoxic plants help to
soften your environment, create a warm Find space somewhere for a faculty
cozy feeling, help keep your indoor air lounge. Teachers and administrators
healthy, and provide a host of practical should take pride in keeping it neat and
life activities. clean.

Arrange for basic janitorial service to Many school offices need cleaning,
every room on a daily basis: vacuuming, junk removal, and fancy little touches to
tile areas cleaned, bathrooms. make them comfortable for visitors and
the school staff.
Train your support staff to be
sensitive to the needs of a Montessori It takes a great deal of money or
program. donated labor and materials to create
and maintain a first-rate Montessori
Throw out all of that junk from the environment.
school and storage areas. Create order
out of what remains. Schools should be aggressive in
getting parents to help fix things up:
parent work parties, special projects, etc.
Develop a written plan for educating
your parents to the need to help.



Creating a Modern Campus With a
Timeless Quality
by

Christopher Gallagher, Vice President
Rampart Homes, Sarasota, Florida

The Field School, Washington, DC

“These principles are so much in sync with the Montessori principles. All of the
members of the community become active participants in an ongoing process.”
— Lorna McGrath
Assistant Headmaster
New Gate School



What if it were possible to create a since the 1960s. The founder’s simple,
school building or even an entire bucolic vision of a learning environment
campus that was as wonderful and as gently intermingled with nature has
memorable and as vibrantly alive as any been slowly disintegrated by the
of the most traveled to, timeless demands of an ever growing
destinations of the world? And, what if population. In order to stem the tide,
it were possible to do this in a way that New Gate has created a vision and a
invited the participation and process for guiding all future design
involvement and tapped the creative and construction activity.
powers of the entire school community?
New Gate’s vision is of a lovingly
Empowered with the idea of these cared for, nurturing campus with a
possibilities becoming reality, the New timeless quality that is aesthetically,
Gate School in Sarasota, Florida, has ecologically, and practically appropriate
embarked on a great experiment based for its subtropical Florida setting. Just as
on the award-winning research of important, however, is the unique
architect Christopher Alexander and his process that will deliver this vision.
team of designers at the Center for
Environmental Structure in Berkeley, The newly adopted planning process
California. mandates that the users of any new or
renovated spaces shall be the designers
Countryside’s challenge is to set in of those spaces. The process assumes
motion a process of repair, renovation, that people have within themselves the
redesign, and new construction that: power, wisdom, and insight to create
beautiful spaces for themselves. The
▲ creates an ongoing, adaptable plan further requires that a shared set of
plan of action for a quickly powerful design patters shall provide
expanding ten-year-old campus; the framework for the expression of
▲ upholds a high standard of individual design ideas.
exemplary design excellence; and
▲ accomplishes all of this through a This exciting new process is modeled
method that is fundamentally on a plan described in a book by
consistent with the Montessori Christopher Alexander called The
philosophy. Oregon Experiment. The unique character
of the plan is rooted in six
During the course of the past couple “revolutionary” key principles.
of years, rapid growth has brought the
same problem to New Gate that has
occurred at countless college campuses



1. The Principle of Organic Order are very precise, very powerful
descriptions of recurring spatial
A cohesive whole campus develops configurations. In a process which
gradually, the product of countless favors design by user, the possibility
small individual projects. This principle exists that the resultant campus would
suggests that the school grows like a be a chaotic mix of individual
giant oak. When we plant the tiny seed, expression within the context of a
we have a general idea of the character shared vision.
of what the mature oak will look like.
Along the way, an infinite variety of Most of the work of creating an
factors influence the shape and individual pattern language for the
dimensions so that each oak is unique. school is already complete. Alexander’s
The character, however, holds true to second book, A Pattern Language, is used
the vision inherent in the seed. as a model. The community’s task is to
fill in the patterns appropriate to its
2. The Principle of Participation particular site and setting.

This principle states the 5. The Principle of Diagnosis
fundamental concept that the users of
spaces shall be the designers of those Typical master plans show a colorful
spaces. Nobody else knows better the map of what a campus will look like
subtle, intricate issues so intuitively five, ten, or twenty years in the future.
obvious to the user. This plan works very differently. The
Design and Planning Committee
3. The Principle of Piecemeal Growth prepares, on an annual basis, a set of
conceptual drawings that outline which
Annual construction budgets shall spaces are alive and healthy and
be weighted in favor of smaller projects. working according to the “pattern
The idea here is that the community language.”
consciously and practically establishes a
priority system that does not allow the On the same drawings, the Committee
old part of the campus to deteriorate indicates where repair is needed in
while each year’s construction budget is order to bring other spaces to life. The
spent on new buildings. diagnostic maps are used in conjunction
with each new design proposal. Every
4. The Principle of Patterns proposal must include a description of
how it will work toward bringing the
The community shall adopt a proposed spaces to life as described by
mutually agreed upon set of planning the pattern language. The idea is that
guidelines called patterns. The patterns with each increment of new



construction, no matter how small, the most memorable spaces resides within
community is always working its way us, capable of being called forth to
toward a comprehensive shared vision design our spaces today.
of wholeness.
The second awareness is that human
6. The Principle of Coordination beings are affected by their
environment, that places that are alive,
The plan establishes a process by whole, and free will be settings in which
which the Design and Planning we can feel alive, whole, and free.
Committee shall guide the steady flow
of ongoing projects, initiated by the The same glorious sense of life that
users, through the funding process draws us to walk along the crashing
toward completion. seashore or sit before a roaring fire is the
force that draws us to the medieval
In the timeless, picturesque European European village or the scenic Greek
village, built over the course of island town. We feel alive, whole, and
generations, a shared set of basic connected to the world around us in
fundamental design images and these places. The goal of the New Gate
construction practices created the plan is to recreate this same quality — to
framework that assured that each new create a setting where our children can
project built upon the past in a way that feel alive, whole, and free.
worked toward completing the whole.
During the course of the last 100 years, ➟➟➟➟➟
our shared set of design values and
images have evaporated. This is the Christopher Gallagher, Vice
reason we must create a new “pattern President of Rampart Homes in
language.” And, to the extent that our Sarasota, Florida, is an architect and
proposed “pattern language” is alive, builder and the parent of two children
whole, beautiful, and nurturing, so shall at the New Gate School.
be our built environment.
The last ten years of his practice have
All of this work falls back on some incorporated and built upon the
fundamental concepts about the nature research and writing in Christopher
of men, women, and children. First is Alexander’s books, A Pattern Language,
the assumption that the creative process The Timeless Way of Building, The Oregon
is alive and well and waiting to be Experiment, A New Theory of Urban
revealed in every individual and that Design, The Production of Homes, and Das
the same spirit that created the world’s Linz Cafe.



Simple Steps to Transform or Create
A Beautiful Campus

By Chris Gallagher
19. Divide the campus into "outdoor
1. Keep your campus litter-free rooms"
2. Sweep your drives and walks 20. Add gateways into each "outdoor
3. Add fresh paint. Caulk open joints room"
first 21. Build simple paths where children
4. Clean windows and screens walk
5. Weed landscape beds and trim plants 22. Invite birds and butterflies
6. Simplify, Unify and Beauty your 23. Add indoor plants and fill vases
signage. And please make it polite with cut flowers
7. Add outdoor sculpture 24. Take everything off the walls except
8. Add fountains meaningful, beautiful, framed
9. Add a pond pictures and paintings.
10. Simplify and unify your exterior
building colors Chris Gallagher, Associate AIA is
11. Provide benches to sit on in available for minor school design
comfortable places. Use wood consulting projects and complete new
benches campus master planning.
12. Stain untreated wood.
13. Add operable window shutters You may reach him at
14. Upgrade to small paned windows The Center for Beautiful Places
15. Plant trees 1715 Stickney Point Road, Sarasota,
16. Grow climbing plants Florida 34231 941-926-7518
17. Grow potted plants in clay pots and mailto:cggdesign@aol.com
wooden boxes If you would like a copy of his
18. Create enclosed gardens and grow newsletter, send a note to the address
vegetables, flowers & herbs above.



The Perfect Look For Your
Montessori Classroom Building

By Chris Gallagher

At some time in your involvement someone is going to ask the most
with your Montessori school you may dreaded of all questions, “Well, what do
be faced with the challenge of creating a we want our school to look like”?
new classroom. You may even be
handed the opportunity to participate in If the question is directed toward
the making or the re-making of an entire you, you will most probably get a mixed
campus. There will be much to do and up, queasy feeling in your mid-section
hundreds of decisions to make. And, as a parade of ever more perplexing
somewhere during that process, questions come marching to the front.



You think, “Oh no, how am I supposed what I have observed to be the simple
to know what it should look like? What principles for creating beautiful places.
will your parents expect the school to
look like? And, what will be best for the SEEK NOT PERFECTION
children? You wonder what Maria had
to say about the look of a school? Sorry, I know I threw you off course
a little with the title, but there is no
Let’s spend some time together single perfect design, style, or look for
talking about what your Montessori your new school. It is no more
school should look like. I will assume reasonable to expect that you can design
that, given that your buildings and a perfect building then to expect that
grounds make up a very significant part you can lead a perfect life. My
of your prepared environment, and that suggestion is to search not for the
you have at this point witnessed the perfect design, but for the most
absorptive nature of the young human common, simple, vernacular solution.
beings in your care, you will want your Expect that your beautiful place may
buildings and grounds to be, well- even be a little awkward at times,
beautiful. What you want, is to create a maybe even a little clumsy or funny.
beautiful place. Think of the most beautiful places you
have ever been. Building after building
Now, before going any further I of simple repetitive elements mixed up
must share what I mean by a beautiful in all kinds of straight, crooked, and
place. We have no word in the English irregular ways. So, aim for wonderful
language that means the same thing as but don’t worry about perfection.
the phrase, beautiful place. What I mean Remember the painter, Edgar Degas,
by a beautiful place is a place that who in his search for beauty identified
possesses qualities that serve to “that hint of ugliness without which
enduringly comfort, delight, and nothing works.”
ennoble us. Comfort, delight, and
ennoble us—enduringly; that’s what a SEEK NOT ORIGINALITY
beautiful place does.
Throw off the weighty curse of
The way that I would like to talk to originality as quickly as you can. Forget
you about what a Montessori school about designing a building that looks
should look like is to share with you like a cube, a cone, a hexagon, or an
inverted pink tower. Maria Montessori


developed a method of teaching painting or a sculpture to sit and stare
children based on what works. She was at. It is a place where children’s lives
not in search of some new method for unfold.
the sake of a new method. The best Inside, the vase of flowers, the
question is not, “What can I do that will simple cloth curtains, the colorful
be different,” but, “What can I do that materials, and the children themselves
will work”? My advice: observe what serve to complete and animate the place.
works and use it as a model, copy it, or Outside, it is the sky and the trees, the
use the parts that work and toss the rest. flower boxes, the gardens and fences,
the trellises and climbing plants, and the
The most “original” buildings of the joyful children who will complete the
twentieth century are, in many cases, image.
the most difficult and costly to heat and
cool, the most difficult and costly to So, keep it simple, do not complete
repair, and the most difficult and costly the picture. The incompleteness helps
to add on to – and the roof probably to call forth the vase of flowers.
leaks.
SEEK COMFORT
So don’t worry about being original.
The fact that you have a unique site and Now let’s talk about the qualities we
a unique building program will should be looking for in our buildings
guarantee your building is original and grounds. What are the things we
enough. Besides, children don’t care can do in the design of a place that will
about being original; they simply are. serve to most comfort us and out
Good advice for your building. children – mind, body, and spirit. Begin
with the simple things, like a
SEEK NOT COMPLETION comfortable place to sit under the shade
of a tree and eat your lunch, or a
Leave your building incomplete. comfortable chair or bench that is just
What I mean by this is, do not expect the right height for your little legs; and
your physical building, all by itself, to oh, don’t forget the soft comfortable
complete the picture. The building is a cushion. How about a comfortable,
backdrop, a setting for the activities that easy-to-turn doorknob.
will happen there. Building and activity
come together in the creation of a place. When trying to decide between two
The building is not an object like a alternative solutions, ask yourself,


unique son or
daughter of the spirit
of the universe.
Make your places
worthy of their
presence. This does
not mean stiff and
rigid and formal.
Imagine that each of
your noble guests is
visiting you for a
vacation. It is your
responsibility to
“Which will be more comfortable for the provide the setting
children, for their hands, for their skin, that acknowledges their supreme
for their sense of security and peace of importance as individuals, but in a
mind”. light-hearted, joyful way.

SEEK DELIGHT SEEK LOVE

What are the characteristics of a The ultimate test is this – does it feel
place, which most delight the human like love. Before you begin to evaluate
animal – especially the younger any particular aspect of your project,
members of the species? We know that conjure the memory of love in your
children find delight in color, rhythm, heart. Remember your most vivid
and patterns of order. They love caves, experience of what it felt like to love or
hiding places, and tunnels. They like be loved. Remember the feeling. Feel it.
mud, sand and water so simply include Really feel it. Now, as you evaluate
these qualities and features. your design alternatives see which one
feels more like this feeling. The single
SEEK ENNOBLEMENT final question is always, “What would
love do here?
Do not lose sight of who you are
creating your school for. Think of each Your understanding of these
child as a divine prince or princess, a principles allows you to keep focused
on what is ultimately important. Do not


allow yourself to be intimidated by parcel is 6 miles from interstate 75, a
strange design concepts or quick talking route that defines the urban border of
architects that don’t make sense to you. Sarasota County.
Remember – does it work?
Our long-range plans are for 600
Now, having said all that, let’s take a children in a beautiful, rural setting with
look at the process that allowed us to room for farming, animals, and an
arrive at an agreed upon look for the equestrian program.
New Gate School in Sarasota. Here are So, as we began, what we were in
our givens. A one hundred acre campus search of was a look, a style, or a design
on a
partially
wooded
site in the
sub-
tropical
location of
South West
Florida.
The
property is
now used
for cattle
grazing
and pine
tree image that would embody the seven
farming. There are wetlands, open principles in a simple, efficient, and cost
fields, a stream, tall pine trees and a effect way.
dense canopy of very old oak trees. If
you stand on any one of the four Before I share with you our results;
property lines of this rectangular piece there is one more factor that you should
of land you will not see another consider. You need a vision for your
building. One property line is adjacent place – a powerful, evocative,
to state road 72, a two-lane road that enchanting image that will 1. Muster
stretches across the peninsular of the resources of you and your
Florida from west cost to east cost. Our


community of supporters. 2.Capture
the attention of your customers, the What ultimately captured our
families who will enroll at your school. imaginations were the simple, one story,
And most importantly, 3. Provide a white stucco, tile-roofed horse ranches
memorable, positive, life-enhancing, of South America. Easily constructed
place that will form the backdrop for buildings, built of readily available local
your children’s lives. labor and materials, cool shady
courtyards and colorful gardens, lush
In our search for an image we talked sub-tropical plants and section after
of the great places of learning. We section of three- plank- high, painted
studied the Greek Academy and Oxford horse rail fences along tree- lined drives.
and Cambridge in England. We studied
the early seats of education in America, Having described the big picture
places like Harvard, William & Mary, and answered the question of what our
and Jefferson’s University of Virginia. campus would look like, much remains
As wonderful as the buildings on these to be done. Every detail down to the
campuses are we learned how walkways, window frames, and
important the spaces between the doorknobs must be identified and tested
buildings can be. We leafed through against our seven principles.
hundred of pages of photographs of
beautiful buildings and places from Perhaps once in your lifetime you
around the world. will have an opportunity to create a



place such as this. Do make it a Editor’s Note: Chris Gallagher is the
beautiful place. Create a place that will, director of The Center for Beautiful
for now and ever after, comfort, delight Places, a design, consulting and research
and ennoble the young men and women company located in Sarasota, Florida.
placed in your care so that they will His two children have been enrolled at
forever know that they are important, the New Gate School for six years. He
they are loved, and that, they too, are served as board president for three
beautiful. years. Mr. Gallagher oversees the
ongoing beautification of the New Gate
School’s Ashton Road Campus and is
the Master Planner for New Gate’s new
100-acre campus.


THECENTERFORBEAUTIFULPLACES
1715 Stickney Point Road Suite C7, Sarasota, Florida 34231 941-926-7518

Principles for Creating Beautiful Places
1. Seek Not Perfection
2. Seek Not Completion
3. Seek Not Originality
4. Seek Comfort
5. Seek Delight
6. Seek Ennoblement
7. Let the Feeling of Love Be Your Test

Patterns for Creating Beautiful Places

1. SITE PATTERNS 6. ROOF PATTERNS
101 Outdoor Room 101 Sloped Roof on Varying Wall Heights
102 Gate, Path, and Goal 102 Textured Roofing
103 Sunny Places/Shady Places 103 Chimney, Finials, and Spires
104 Protected View of Life 104 Cupolas, Dormers, and Domes
105 Connected Buildings 105 Rafter Tails and Brackets

2. PLANT PATTERNS 7. COLUMN PATTERNS
101 Tree Canopy 101 Columns and Beams
102 Climbing Plants 102 Column, Capital & Base
103 Potted Plants 103 Colonnade
104 Enclosed Garden 104 Pilasters
105 Wall of Plants 105 Penmeter Columns

3. FOUNDATION PATTERNS 8. DOOR PATTERNS
101 Building Base 101 Door Hood
102 Building Base Extension 102 Doorway Surround
103 Building Wall Extension 103 FrontDoor
104 Cascading Stairs 104 French Doors
105 Wall, Path, and Tree Line 105 Glass Doors and Solid Wood Doors

4. FLOOR PLAN PATTERNS 9. WINDOW PATTERNS
101 FrontEntry 101 Small Paned Window
102 Main Building With Wings 102 Swinging Window
103 Interior Privacy 103 Low Window Sill
104 Comer Rooms 104 Operable Window Shutters
105 Connection to Outdoors 105 Prepared Window View

10. ROOM PATTERNS
5. FACADE PATTERNS 101 Defined Rectangular Room
101 Top, Middle, & Bottom 102 Visible Doorway
102 Rhythmic Facade 103 Room Connections
103 Bays & Arches 104 Alcove
104 Gables & Parapets 105 Seat By A Window
105 Towers & Buttresses

11. WALL PATTERNS 19. WATER PATTERNS
101 ThickWall 101 Bathing Place
102 Window Wall 102 ShoweringPlace
103 HalfWall 103 Swimming Pool
104 Wall Niche 104 Fountain
105 Textured Wall 105 Natural Water Feature

12. CEILING PATTERNS 20. ORNAMENT PATTERNS
101 Varied Ceiling Heights 101 Connection Ornament
102 Beamed Ceiling 102 Gravity Ornament
103 Discontinuous Ceiling 103 Shadow Ornament
104 Wall to Ceiling Connection 104 Symbolic Ornament
105 Vaulted Ceiling 105 Repeating Shape Ornament

13. FLOORING PATTERNS 21. COLOR PATTERNS
101 Varying Floor Heights 101 All White
102 Wood Floors 102 Monochrome
103 Stone Floors & Tile Floors 103 Raw Matenal Color
104 Sod & Gravel 104 Color With White Trim
105 Rugs & Carpets 105 White With Colorful Accents

14. LIGHTING PATTERNS 22. HARDWARE PATTERNS
101 Balanced Daylight 101 Visually Appropriate Hardware
102 Sunlight Through Trees 102 Tactilly Engaging Hardware
103 Candle Light 103 Hand Crafted Hardware
104 Varying Light Levels 104 Durable Hardware
105 Task Lighting 105 Delightful to Maintain Hardware

15. VENTILATION PATTERNS 23. FURNITURE PATTERNS
101 Operable Windows 101 Sitting Circle
102 Ceiling Fan 102 Tables & Chairs
103 Exhaust Flue & Make up Air 103 Built In Seats, Counters, & Shed
104 Non-toxic Materials 104 Variety of Sitting Places
105 Exhaust Fan 105 Simple Wood, Metal, & Wicker
Furniture
16. AROMA PATTERNS
101 Fresh Air 24. FABRIC PATTERNS
102 Garden Scents 101 Canvas Shades
103 Incense and Scented Candles 102 Window & Door Cloths
104 Potpourri 103 Table & Chair Cloths
105 Scented Food 104 Bed Cloths
105 Bath Cloths
17. SOUND PATTERNS
101 Indoor Quiet 25. ACCESSORY PATTERNS
102 Water Sounds 101 Indoor Plants & Flowers In Vases
103 Wind Sounds 102 Family Photographs
104 Animal Sounds 103 Paintings, Drawings, & Sculpture
105 Soothing Music 104 Books
105 Mirrors
18. THERMAL PATTERNS
101 Fireplace 26. MAINTENANCE PATTERNS
102 Place In the Sun 101 Litter-Free Ground
103 Soft Materials on Hard 102 Healthy Plants
104 Place By the Water 103 Fresh Coat of Paint
105 Place in the Shade 104 Swept Walks & Drives
105 Clean Windows & Doors


Modular Buildings

ByTim Seldin

Need a new building at your school? the same size as a "double-wide" trailer
On a tight budget? Then you ought to unit. Each module is typically 14.5 feet
consider modulars! wide and 54 feet long. Each piece has
outer walls along three sides, with one
Modular buildings? Aren't they
long side open. Two modules fit
those really ugly trailers turned into
together to produce a modular building
"temporary" classrooms by public
29 feet wide and 54 feet long.
schools all over the country? Well, yes
and no! Want a bigger modular building?
Simple! Just ask the factory to add in
Modulars are typically built on top
some more units with the 2 end walls in
of a trailer frame. Traditionally they are



place, but both long ends open. These cedar shingle siding, some mature
units can be placed in between the two bushes, a well planned deck, and a
end modules to create addition interior modular building doesn't look half bad.
spaces, each 29 feet wide by 54 feet long. At the Barrie School in Silver Spring,
There is no limit to how many modules Maryland, we used modulars to give us
can be placed together. another 15,000 square feet of long-term

The New Gate School, Sarasota, Florida

Unfortunately, the result is usually a "temporary" structures for our upper
fairly boring rectangular building with a school library, computer center, foreign
flat roof. Modular buildings can be language, art, and music classes, along
made more interesting by adding on a with some additional office space.
mansard roof, bay widows, more
But modular buildings don't have to
windows, or a more interesting exterior
be limited to rectangular boxes. In 1993
finish. With top grade doors and
the Countryside Montessori School
windows, a nice mansard, and sheet
(today known as the New Gate School)



in Sarasota, Florida, built an octagonal finishes. A typical rectangular modular
central structure to house their library building will probably cost 25-30% of
and serve as a meeting area. To four of the finished cost of more than $100 a
the eight walls they fit standard square foot common today in traditional
modular classroom units. Three walls school construction.
are used for glass entryways, which,
Another distinct advantage is
with a central skylight, give the
construction time. Modular buildings
library/common's room a light and airy
are normally built inside a factory using
look. One wall is used for bathrooms
efficient assembly-line principles,
and janitor's closet. Large exterior
construction is not dependent on good
decking provides convenient outside
weather. Depending on how back-
workspace for the children in this warm
ordered a modular supplier is at a given
weather climate. While this building is
time, it is quite common for a project to
still inherently limited by its modular
be finished and ready for delivery on-
construction, it is much more attractive
site within six-weeks from the date of
than many school buildings.
order.
Altogether, this 6,000 square feet
classroom building cost Countryside
Another plus is the minimal
just under $200,000, or approximately
disruption to your building site from
$33 a finished square foot.
start to finish of the new construction.
Modulars are set on steel reinforced
concrete footings, which are not very
Why would you want to consider difficult to prepare. Utility hookups are
modular construction? brought to the site. Then, when the
modules are completed, they are driven
Cost is the most obvious factor. At
to your campus on their trailer bases
$33 a square foot, Countryside spared
and lifted up onto the footings by a
no expense. Their custom designed
portable crane. The entire process rarely
commons area and decking are
takes more than a few days. Once
something that most schools have not
assembled, the connecting walls and
considered in modular construction.
roofs are sealed, utilities connected, and
Also, Countryside, concerned about the
the interiors finished off. Normally most
health impact of their interior
of the interior work was done at the
environment, took great pains to
factory, with bathrooms, sinks, interior
customize their heating/cooling system,
walls, carpeting, electrical outlets, and
carpeting, paints, and other interior


such more or less complete on delivery you have a choice, definitely order
to your site. This can be a tremendous everything extra heavy duty, especially
advantage if you are building next to or the roofs and sub-floors.] Eventually
close to existing classrooms. Where you can expect leaks along the roof
traditional construction can take joints and other signs of wear and tear
months, it is conceivably possible to from active day-to-day use. On the other
schedule the final assembly of your hand, let's define temporary. Many
modular structure over a weekend or temporary modular buildings have been
holiday. Future additions are equally in use for twenty, thirty years or more.
simple and convenient. If your master No, they are not built to last down
plan design provides for eventual through the ages, but if your school s
expansion to four classrooms, but you still young and working with a limited
only need two at the beginning, you will budget, modulars may give you
be able to add the last two modules on adequate to excellent service for your
at any time with minimal disruption. first twenty years or so. Isn't that long
enough to get you started?
One final advantage to keep in mind
is that while modular buildings are not If not, then you might want to
all that easy nor inexpensive to move, consider one of the high end modular
they can be taken apart, moved, and set units. Built entirely of steel, concrete
up in a new location. There is even a and brick, these units are definitely not
market for used modular buildings. So your typical trailers! They are
build them, use them until you're ready rectangular boxes built under roof in a
for more expensive permanent factory at prices that are still below the
construction, then sell them to a cost of traditional construction. But
worthwhile school that is just getting these modulars are built to last! They
going. have all the advantages of modulars in
terms of speed of completion and
Are there any disadvantages to
convenience, but the cost savings may
modular construction?
not justify the boxy look inherent in all
present day modular construction.
Modular buildings are most often
made of wood framing built up on a
Keep in mind that you are
steel trailer bed. While the final result
inherently limited by the size of your
depends on the quality of the modular
basic module. Your building will be a
supplier's product, these are not
maximum of 54 wide along one end and
intended to be permanent buildings. [If


the ceilings will be the standard height.
If you want to add on a gym with 20
foot high ceilings you'll need to look
elsewhere.

Any other disadvantages? Just one.
How do you feel about your new
buildings arriving in a long line of
tractor trailers? I wonder if there's such
a thing as modular building rustlers?
Can you just imagine thieves driving
away with your buildings in the night?



Facilities Planning Worksheets

Abundance
Balance and Beauty
Clarity • Creativity • Confidence
Ease • Freedom • Givingness • Growth
Harmony • Joy • Life • Love • Order
Peace • Power • Unity • Vitality • Wholeness • Wisdom

Circle the qualities that you would like to manifest in your school’s facilities.

Summarizing, it is our goal to create a plan for the development of our school’s facilities
that will give our school community a sense of:

__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

Describe the ideal campus to support your educational vision

__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

Describe the limitations created by your present facilities

__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________



Describe the ideal Montessori classroom for each level of your school

__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

Describe your ideal outdoor environment

__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

What spaces do you have for indoor play?

__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

Where do you hold adult meetings? How appropriate are they?

__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________



Defining your Space Needs

How many children would you like your new facility to accommodate? _____________

How many square feet do you believe you will need in your new building? __________

What is your budget? __________________________________________________________

How will you be paying for your new facility? _______________________________

Which of the follow types of spaces will your new facility need?

Different types of space

_______ self-contained classrooms

_______ shared special purpose spaces

_______ media centers

_______ computer labs

_______ science centers

_______ a school museum

_______ language labs

_______ music and dance studios

_______ art studios

_______ gym and other physical education facilities



_______ large group spaces

_______ theater

_______ multi-purpose room

_______ dining hall

_______ a commons area

_______ office space

_______ reception areas

_______ teacher work areas

_______ small group meetings

_______ tutoring rooms

_______ conference rooms

_______ board rooms

_______ bathrooms

_______ sinks

_______ storage

_______ classroom storage

_______ central shared educational resources

_______ janitorial supplies

_______ maintenance tools and supplies

_______ hazardous materials

_______ nurse’s infirmary or area where sick children can be kept comfortable in
isolation



_______ kitchen facilities

_______ living facilities for residential students and staff

_______ outdoor work spaces contiguous to the classrooms

_______ outdoor play areas

_______ greenhouses

_______ gardens

_______ entrances to the main street

_______ drive ways through the campus

_______ parking

_______ footpaths/walkways

_______ signage on campus

_______ Telephone intercom system (in classrooms?)

_______ Phone lines or cable modem access for the Internet?

_______ Will your building be wired for satellite TV? Cable TV? Cable Modem?
Computer Network?



How will the spaces need to relate to each other?

What functions need to be close to each other?

What functions need to be kept far apart?

Which spaces need easy access to doors where deliveries can be received?

Which functions will tend to create considerable noise?

Will anything on campus be potentially dangerous or toxic? How will it be secured?

Will any functions tend to create unpleasant aromas?

Existing buildings

_______ Can they be used for your purposes?

_______ Will your local government even allow you to use them as a school?

_______ At what cost?



Will you be required to put in:

_______ Fire escapes?
_______ Metal doors?
_______ Sprinkler systems?
_______ Fire walls?

How much will their limitations affect your program’s future?

Are the rooms small, dark, and gloomy?

Are bathrooms located where they’ll be needed?

Is there any hazardous material on-site? Cost of removal?



Defining a Vision of Your School's
Future

A Vision for the Future of New Gate
In the pages that follow you will find a first draft of a vision of the educational center
that we believe New Gate can become. We hope that it will both kindle your interest and
stir up a few thoughts about education in general. Now the ball is your court as
members of the New Gate community. This is simply a first draft, based partially on my
previous experience, and partially on the ideas that we are evolving together. I want to
invite your thoughts and suggestions. This school is rapidly becoming a dynamic
community, committed to world-class education of heart, mind, and body. Please feel
free to contact me personally by phone, in person, by e-mail, or in writing if I can answer
any questions and when you are ready to offer your first input. We will work on this
vision together over the months ahead, much as the school did with my blueprint last
year. Hopefully, before too long, we will have defined a vision far more refined than this
initial draft.

Introduction
Learning the right answers will get you through school. Learning how to learn will
get you through life! Our goal at New Gate is to lead our students to think, explore, and
reflect back on what they have learned. We want active, self-disciplined minds, rather
than students who memorize, feedback, and promptly forget.

The basis of our approach is based on the simple observation that children learn
most effectively through direct experience and the process of investigation and
discovery. No two students learn at the same pace, nor do they necessarily learn best
from the same methods. We believe that a fine school must be flexible and creative in
addressing each student as a unique individual.

Before students can take advantage of a challenging education, they have to discover
their innate abilities. They need to develop a strong sense of independence, self-
confidence, and self-discipline. They must be willing to make and learn from countless
mistakes.

Ideally, our sons and daughters will develop into people who are fascinated by the
universe, and feel compelled to understand something of life’s secrets. Hopefully, they
will come to see that we all belong to the earth and to the family of Man. Our dream is
that they will live lives filled with quiet dignity and compassion for all of mankind. We
hope that their lives will leave a positive mark on the world.

New Gate is designed to be a school where children can blossom! We seek to



cultivate renaissance men and women who follow in the intellectual tradition of Thomas
Jefferson. Our goal is to nurture and stimulate the spontaneous curiosity within us from
birth. New Gate has been designed to not only to give students a fine education, but to
prepare them for life.

Granted, this lies beyond the scope of traditional education, but then New Gate is a
rather unusual school.



The Proposed Expansion Of The New Gate School by the year 2000

Student Population: An enrollment of somewhere between 350 To 600 students
organized into four divisions

The Primary School

Toddler class Age 2 to 3 20 students

Primary Classes Ages 3 to 6 120-150 students ages two and a half
to six

The Lower School Grades 1 to 3: 90-120 students ages six to nine

The Middle School Grades 4 to 6: 60-90 students ages nine to twelve

The Upper School Grades 7 & 8: 30-45 students ages twelve and
thirteen

Grades 9 -10 20-45 students ages fourteen and
fifteen

Grades 11 – 12 20-45 students ages sixteen and
seventeen



Organizational elements

The New Gate School

The Ashton Road campus (Primary School ages 2-6)

The Main Campus
Lower School (Grades 1-3)
Middle Scholl (Grades 4-6)
Upper School (Grades 7-12)

The New Gate Studio Program (After school and weekend programs for children)

Summer at New Gate (Summer programs for children)

The New Gate Parenting Center
Parenting Resources • Educational Toys
Parent Forums And Educational Programs
“Infants, Moms And Dads” - New Parents Parenting Education Program

The New Gate Center for Montessori Teacher Education
Teacher Training Center
Conference Center

The Montessori Society of Sarasota
Public Forums • Public Information Center
Curriculum Lab And Professional Library • Book Store
Speakers Bureau • Support For Educational Reform



A Tour of New Gate in the Year 2000
At New Gate, classes are organized dance, theater, second language study,
to encompass a two or three-year age computer science, sports, fitness,
span, which allows younger students to personal development, and career
experience the daily stimulation of older interests.
role models, who in turn blossom in the
responsibilities of leadership. Students A typical day’s school work is
not only learn “with” each other, but divided into “fundamentals” that have
“from” each other. We find that most been assigned by the faculty and self-
often the best tutor is a fellow student initiated projects and research selected
who is just a bit older. by the student. Students work to
complete their assignments at their own
Working in one class for two or pace. Everything is completed with care
three years allows students to develop a and enthusiasm. Homework comes in
strong sense of community with their the form of extensive independent
classmates and teachers. The age range reading and research and weekly
also allows the especially gifted child intellectual challenges that students
the stimulation of intellectual peers, work on at home. There is a
without requiring that she skip a grade considerable expectation that students
and feel emotionally out of place. and families will often work together,
pursuing areas of intellectual interest,
Teachers closely monitor their reading together, exploring ideas, taking
students' progress, keeping the level of trips to learn more first hand,
challenge high. Because we know our interviewing experts, etc. As students
students so well, our teachers can often reach the elementary years, they should
use their own interests to enrich the expect to continue their reading and
curriculum and provide alternate independent studies over the summer.
avenues for accomplishment and Expectations for both creative writing
success. and the preparation of research reports
will be fairly challenging.
At the Primary, Lower, and Middle
School levels, students are typically Our system will have built in
found scattered around the classroom, procedures to give students and parents
working alone or with one or two ongoing feedback. The overall effect
others. They tend to become so involved will be to help students to learn how to
in their work that visitors are pace themselves and take a great deal of
immediately struck by the peaceful personal responsibility for their studies,
atmosphere. It may take a moment to both of which are essential for later
spot the teachers within the success in college.
environment. They will be found
working with one or two children at a We encourage students to work
time, advising, presenting a new lesson, together collaboratively, and many
or quietly observing the class at work. assignments can only be accomplished
through teamwork. Students constantly
Our days are not divided into fixed share their interests and discoveries
time periods for each subject. Teachers with each other. The youngest
call students together for lessons experience the daily stimulation of their
individually or in small groups as they older friends, and are naturally spurred
are ready. In the afternoon, students on to be able to do what the big kids do.
choose from a wonderful collection of
courses and programs in art, music,



At the Upper School (Grades 7 - 12), the years relationships grow strong,
students will follow a laboratory friendship run deep. Surprisingly, there
approach which will balance seminars, will be few if any cliques among New
tutorials, field study, internships, and Gate's students. Older students who
independent work. All students will enter the school in the upper grades find
participate in on-going seminars, themselves warmly welcomed. New
debates, lab work, and team projects. Gate is an international community in
As a school focused on teaching which students and teachers have
students critical thinking skills, classes learned to collaborate on the process of
will be set up to reflect a high level of education rather than compete.
discussion and analysis. We will focus
our teaching around both the great While New Gate is itself a
issues of our time and those that men community apart from the outside
and women have been wrestling with world in which children can first begin
throughout history. to develop their unique talents, we are
also consciously connected to the local,
One of the best things about life as a national, and global communities. Our
student at New Gate will always be the goal is to lead each of our students to
ability to progress at your own pace. explore, understand, and grow into full
Students can move on to take advanced and active membership in the adult
courses as soon as they are academically world.
prepared for them, not simply when
they reach a given grade level. Going to school in Sarasota offers
marvelous possibilities. Naturally we
You will often hear the word make extensive use of all the natural,
community used to describe New Gate. academic, and arts resources found
Its used with good reason, for New Gate throughout the community. Field
is an authentic community of studies will be an essential element in
people—young and old—living and our curriculum.
learning in peace and harmony. Over

Our Facilities and Programs
Our second campus (Grades 1-12)
sits on a large site with mature trees,
Together, New Gate's two campuses
fields, and ponds. It is hopefully located
will constitute a unique environment for
less than five miles from our Ashton
learning in today’s world. The students
Road campus. Our facilities include
and families of each campus will
spacious and comfortable learning
frequently use the facilities of the other
environments, science labs, three
for all sorts of programs and activities.
libraries, a fine arts centers, a computer
facilities, a large fitness center with
Our Ashton Road campus is home
indoor pool, stables, athletic fields, and
to our youngest students from ages two
tennis courts.
through five. The setting is a five acre
farm in the midst of suburbia. Our
Surroundings have a great deal to
buildings are warm and comfortable.
do with the creation of an atmosphere of
We have retained a sense of being part
learning. Our classrooms are our
of the natural environment, rather than
student’s homes away from home—and
closing ourselves off from it. Our
we strive to make them as attractive and
facilities include a young people’s
comfortable as possible. They are
library, a small fitness center, an art and
warm, colorful, carpeted rooms filled
music studios, and a children's farm.
with plants, animals, art, music and
books.


charts, fossils, historical artifacts,
You will not find rows of desks in computers, scientific specimens and
New Gate's classrooms. Instead, you apparatus, and animals that the children
discover seminar rooms, interest centers are raising.
filled with intriguing learning materials,
fascinating mathematical models, maps,

Our Ashton Road Campus:
The entrance into the school is floor is covered with oriental rugs.
through an impressive gateway. The Despite the big bold awnings providing
campus is surrounded by a solid wall, shade, the large French doors and
ensuring the security of the children windows let in lots of natural light.
within. The wall and gate are not heavy There are large green plants and flowers
and imposing, but the cocoon within every where, give the room a light and
which our children work a play in the airy feeling. There is a table filled with
safety of a prepared Mediterranean fruit in bowls made by the students. A
garden atmosphere. The look of the special blend of “New Gate” coffee and
wall, gate and buildings is carefully herbal teas are served in mugs
considered and striking. It might be the emblazoned with the school logo. Our
soft flowing lines of Bermudan large visitor’s bathrooms have a baby
architecture or “Old Florida.” The changing station. Everywhere we turn,
intention is not to look pretentious and there is evidence that someone has
larger than life, but small and absolutely given a great deal of thought to this
beautiful. school.

Our administrative offices include a The staff in the adjoining
waiting area large enough to hold 20-30 Admissions office does nothing but try
people comfortably. It looks like a large to help find the “perfect fit” between
room in a nicely designed home parents, child, and school. Our goal is to
(perhaps you might imagine a room in find child who will blossom at New
the Field Club) with large comfortable Gate and parents who profound hare
chairs, children's art work matted and and support our mission and values.
framed, large photographs of the The Admissions offices (at Ashton and
children at work and play, and Kitty's our second campus) have enough space
portrait on the wall as Founder. The to meet with several families at once.
receptionist’s desk is tasteful and There is a synergy that develops when
dignified, not institutional. You are three or four families gather together in
greeted by our receptionist whose lilting one room; a subtle competition
French or soft British accent begin to regarding who's going to be the lucky
convey the message that this is an one to get in.
international center. He or she is
extremely competent and charming, Beautiful covered walk ways grace
welcoming people and presenting an our paths to the classrooms and other
atmosphere of calm and warmth. buildings, student grown wild flowers
sing while the banners and flags of
The outer perimeter of the reception every nation wave gently in the cool
area is a place for entertaining children autumn breeze.
who are visiting the school or waiting
for parents to pick them up. This is
temporary transitional spot with books
and educational toys. The cool stone



A tour of a typical class room for French doors opening to the outside.
children age 3-6 years. Our gardens include flower beds,
vegetable gardens and fruit trees which
New Gate follows the traditional are cared for by the children under the
Montessori model of 25 to 30 children guidance of our staff horticultural
age three through five. Each class is led educator. Botany and observation of the
by two fully certified Montessori natural world are strong elements in our
teachers. A third adult is a classroom classroom curriculum.
aid who speaks a foreign language.
During the day she speaks that Our classrooms are all lavishly
language only and presents a formal equipped with the complete Montessori
conversational and cultural second materials and educational resources and
language program.. Some classes run all equipment, particularly computers with
day, from 7 am to 6 PM. In this class, CD-roms and video disk and tape
faculty members overlap, with one players. Classroom furniture is
teacher arriving at 7 Am and leaving in beautifully built natural wood, and the
the afternoon, another arriving at noon entire room communicates care,
and staying until six, and a third who attention, order, quality. Framed art
stays for the normal school day. This prints hang on the walls. Indoor plants
offers children who need to come in are everywhere, giving the room a true
early and stay late the highest quality Florida room atmosphere. The
experience. Our normal classes offer a classroom storage area is the size of a
full day program from 9 am to 3 PM. large walk-in closet. In addition, the
Many two year-old go home after lunch, campus has one master storage center
but three year old normally stay all day. from which teachers can borrow our
By age four, we ask all students to stay cultural artifacts like the Chinese
all day, which is necessary to complete dragon, menorahs, draedels, African
their preparation for the Lower School masks, etc. Classrooms have private,
at age six. encouraged at age two, child-size bathrooms and a full child-
although half-days are permissible. We sized kitchen with dish washer and
are selecting families looking for a full small clothes washer and dryer.
day model. When Montessori, a Cooking is taught in conjunction with
children's house, takes root in the child's true nutritional education. Kids are
mind and heart, they don't usually preparing snack and lunch in the
want to go home at half day because classroom and have bins of Cheerios,
their school is providing them small pitchers of milk, toasters, fruit,
intellectual and artistic intrigue. and a little sink to wash the tomatoes
they've grown. We have a library and
Our Montessori classroom has at puppet theater in each classroom.
least 50 sq. ft per child; between 1500 to
2000 sq. feet of space, which is two to Adjacent to the rectangular shaped
three times larger than our present main classroom are four smaller work
facilities. We accomplished this when areas, with French doors connecting
the school moved the older children to a them to the main environment so the
second campus by combining children are easily visible to the adults.
classrooms in the exiting buildings and
through some additional construction. In one alcove there is a small
This expansive space has had a dramatic classroom art studio where children can
effect on the tone of the classes and the draw, paint, and work with clay or
impact of the physical environment is other media whenever they choose to do
striking. Classrooms have floor to so. Our curriculum includes art history
ceiling windows, bay windows, window and art appreciation as well as
seats, numerous plants and trees with sculpting, weaving, basketry, painting,



and other artistic mediums which are taught in a small shallow enclosed
correlated with classroom studies. For teaching pool graduating from 2 to 3
example, when studying Japan, children feet deep. Drown proofing classes are
may choose to make cherry blossoms, held, for a fee, for small children from
Japanese dolls, or handicrafts. (The the greater Sarasota community on the
Waldorf school art curriculum offers the weekends and in the summer months.
quality and an adaptable model in this
area.) Another alcove is our classroom The Young Peoples’ Arts Center:
carpentry area. Fully equipped with Our school is proud of its commitment
child size tools, the children build and to music education. We specifically hire
bang without disturbing the class; they teachers, aids and assistants who play
are visible, but their work sounds are one or more of the common sing along
muffled. The classroom rest area is instruments such as piano, guitar,
another, larger, alcove where children dulcimer or auto harp. We have made a
can go to rest, meditate or just be quiet. concentrated effort to make music a
When children are napping, an adult large part of our children's lives. As
can darken this alcove and stays nearby. with art education, music is interrelated
to the classroom curriculum; we teach,
Our classroom and community for example, traditional Japanese songs
animals are kept in a final alcove, closed when studying Japan, and the children
off from the main room. Breeds of learn Thai dances when studying
animals to which children with allergies Thailand. We have a trained chorus and
are unlikely to be sensitive are selected, every child sings every day from our
such as the Rex cats and bunnies, along school songbook which includes songs
with fish, tadpoles, iguanas and other from our summer camp and traditional
appropriate animals. Instruction in songs about peace, love, family,
proper animal care and feeding is community and world harmony. Our
incorporated in the curriculum. Each curriculum includes music appreciation,
animal is child-friendly and selected for international cultural music, the lives of
their stability in order to minimize any the great composers, the parts of the
risk. orchestra, and how music is made. Our
instrumental program and music theory
Our after-school programming is a program is based on the work of Karl
continuation of the Montessori day; not Orff utilizing specialized instruments
day care, an enriched Montessori day made for little children. Children's
school. theater and drama are available as well
as classes for parents on teaching
Fitness Center: Each campus has an children how to sing.
indoor fitness center. The one on Ashton
road is 80 by 40 ft. with a 15-20 ft ceiling This thoroughly prepared
and a floor covered with rubber-like environment has been designed for the
material. A running track is inset along safety, comfort and education of our
the perimeter using a contrasting color. youngest children, enriching their
The windows are plexi-glass, and the intellect, as well as their physical,
exercise equipment is tailored to small spiritual, social, and emotional well
bodies. There is weight and exercise being.
equipment including: small exer-cycles,
pulleys with sandbags, weighted
buckets to carry, etc. Drown proofing is



Our Second Campus:
Located on 50 to 100 acres, this but in appropriate and positive ways as
campus has become the heart of the big brothers, tutors, and classroom
evolving New Gate School. On this assistants. The classrooms within each
beautifully wooded campus, buildings division are organized as semi-
are spread apart with up to 1000 feet independent learning centers. complex
between the various schools. We have a is an independent s have cathedral
lovely dining hall on campus which is ceilings, expansive windows, and
used as the main dining room as well as French doors. Each has at least 1500 to
for parties, receptions and fundraising 2500 square feet. The older students
events. On Friday nights, the Upper naturally need even more room. Each of
School students and a group of talented the main classrooms has several smaller
parents run a Coffee House which work spaces off in alcoves spaced
features intimate musical performance, around the sides. Here you will find a
wonderful coffees, teas, fruit drinks and kitchen, small art studio and craft
deserts. It provides a place to be for workshop, a seminar room, private
many parents and older students. tutorial room, a teachers’ office and very
well equipped science lab with
The offices, classrooms, and grounds chemistry tables, science equipment,
reflect the same care that we described animal cages, telescopes, a wave table
on the Ashton Road campus. Buildings and attached green house. Each student
are lovely, but not pretentious. As you owns an inexpensive notebook
walk through the grounds, the computer, which she can plug into the
impression that you get is that of a network built in to the building.
beautiful conference center. The Wherever she is on campus, she can
architecture might be the strong, bold send and receive e-mail, access the
lines and colors of traditional Bermudan central library computer, or access a
great houses, or the look of old Florida. printer. Modems placed in the central
Each building will look like it really libraries allow students to access the
belongs. There will be high ceilings, inter-net.
French doors, bay windows, and lovely
gardens and verandahs. Quality art will Each division has its own central
be found throughout the school, hung at library/research center with a full time
adult and children's height, librarian. This quiet work place was
reproductions and the very best designed as a stimulator of curiosity to
children's art work are properly framed pique kids interest. We have a collection
and mounted; there are pedestals with of well over 20,0000 bound volumes,
sculptures, and beautiful bowls in the CD-Roms, and videotapes and disks.
classrooms and public spaces. Living We have truly made a substantial
plants create a more lovely and healthier investment in children's research books.
environment, so there are indoor plants, Our multi- media commitment is second
flowers and greenery everywhere. to none. We have a satellite connection
for television so children studying
The Classroom Buildings: The Russia, for example, can watch
three divisions of the school on this television originating in Moscow. Each
campus are separated from each other student has her own power book, with
to allow the children the space to decide internet and E mail connections; and
whether or not they want to be around computers with laser printers are
the younger and older students. The available throughout the building. We
various ages groups definitely interact, have a wonderful collection of models:

Designing facilities

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Was ist angesagt?

Was ist angesagt? (20)

Ähnlich wie Designing facilities

Ähnlich wie Designing facilities (20)

Designing facilities