In ‘Education and Peace’ Dr. Montessori wrote “Averting war is the work of politicians; establishing peace is the work of education.” Creating an atmosphere of respect and understanding of others is a core value of the Montessori pedagogy. What better way to honour everyone’s equal value than to celebrate the rights that all humans share and to learn about the special rights that belong to children?
A new school year has begun and the children in the first grades are slowly becoming more confident at IMS. There is so much to discover: the schoolyard and the school building, the quiet garden, and the full-day program after school.
On Saturday, September 13, 2025, the International Montessori School Berlin opened its doors to its new first graders—a special day full of joy, excitement, and festive cheer, lovingly prepared by the entire school community. It was a moment that marked the beginning of a wonderful educational journey.
As part of our after-school program, chess club takes place once a week. There, for an hour and a half, the participating children have time to get to know this strategic board game and to learn about a wide range of strategies. On March 5, 2025, female students took part in the Berlin School Championship and achieved third place together. Congratulations! With a lot of commitment and joy, they qualified for the German School Championship in Osnabrück.
In the first few weeks of each school year, the children elect their class representatives within the learning groups. Taking on such a task is a great responsibility and often raises many questions. A first meeting of these representatives will take place in November 2024, initially led by one of our teachers. The focus will be on getting to know each other, finding a name for this group and planning and conducting the election of the school spokesperson.
On Thursday, November 21, 2024, Reading Day took place at IMS. All learning groups enjoyed participating in various activities and were able to let their creativity run free. The students received an overview of the activities a few days before and were able to decide what they were interested in on Reading Day.
St. Martin “Lantern, Lantern, Sun, Moon and Stars” – that's how it sounded on Wednesday evening in the courtyard of the IMS for all kindergarten children and for all younger school children. Mr. Delport opened the traditional festival with a few words and briefly explained the story of St. Martin. With joy and singing, all children and parents made their way to the Wannsee. The lanterns glowed among all the people, young and old, creating a magical atmosphere. After sharing many St. Martin's croissants, the procession made its way back through the streets to the schoolyard, where some parents were waiting with punch. The festival will remain a happy memory for many children, and we would like to thank all those who helped to make it a success.
Our school's invention fair was a great success! Students in grades 4-6 explored famous inventors and inventions as part of our first fall semester unit. They then designed their own inventions to address global challenges. Each student created a prototype and a bilingual English German poster explaining their invention. Parents and younger students from grades 1-3 joined us on October 18th in the Tourmaline and Aquamarine classrooms to see the creative solutions firsthand. We had a fantastic turnout, and the students proudly presented their projects with enthusiasm.
Twice a year, the after-school care educators at the International Montessori School Berlin send a large survey about the all-day program to the students. Once in the spring and once in the fall. The results always surprise us with regard to the creative and funny ideas of the children.
Dear children and guests, we will sing a song in a moment, the chorus of which says: We want to get up, approach each other, learn from each other, and interact with each other. Get up, approach each other and not walk away when we don't understand something. I wish you all the same for the next four years at our school. Get up happily every morning, make new friends, learn together, even if you argue, make up and look for solutions.
