Inside Richmond Montessori School

From service projects to cultural feasts, RMS students, faculty, staff and administrators interact freely with parents to foster a warm, community atmosphere throughout the campus. Multi-age groupings in the classrooms encourage younger students to learn from older ones while allowing older students to experience the joy of being role models.

"Diversity" is something we take for granted at Richmond Montessori. Our large international community makes it possible to celebrate cross-cultural festivals and holidays with food, costumes, music, and games from countries all over the world.

The plight of survivors of Hurricane Katrina touched our students deeply; many care packages found their way to New Orleans and South Mississippi.

Ongoing community projects sponsored by Physical Education Coach, Chris Cappiello, include the Blood Mobile and Jump Rope for Heart, which allows Toddlers through Middle Schoolers to demonstrate rope jumping talents for the American Heart Association.

The RMS Math-a-thon (sponsored by 4th and 5th graders) supports St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, while the youngest extended care students participate in a trike-a-thon for St. Jude's. To support CARITAS, our primary level students donate toiletries and sundries for the homeless and needy families in the metropolitan area.

Trick or Treat for UNICEF is sponsored by our 6th graders in October. These students also manage the RMS Manatee Market (school store), which is opened Wednesday mornings and whose profits go to a charity of their choice.

Pizza Fridays! The 7th and 8th grade Middle School learns valuable life skills by managing the day-to-day operations of accounting, marketing and customer relations for this school-wide business. Proceeds allow the students to travel as a group during the year, including a trip to Mexico where they are guests of a Montessori Middle School in Monterrey.

Middle School students also volunteer at the Central Virginia Food Bank.

RMS parents are very visible on campus as they volunteer for everything from field trip chaperones to morning carpool greeters. Parent Education evenings include box suppers, "Discovery" nights and academic discussions on topics like the Binomial Cube and Geography from Primary to Middle School levels.

Additionally, parents offer both time and talents for one of the year's most anticipated events: the RMPA Annual Auction.