History - Boundary Bay Montessori House

It was March of 1990 when I was interviewed by three representatives of the Montessori In Delta Society, Darcy Billinkoff, Sharee Proudfoot and Michaela Wooldridge, at the dining room table in Darcy's home. They described the Society's prior three year history and the series of formal proposals to the Delta School Trustees advocating for a public Montessori elementary program within the school district. Having fund-raised for all of the three years, the Society was now prepared to fully outfit a Montessori classroom with all the necessary learning materials. While disappointing to realise that these proposals were all unsuccessful thereby eliminating a tuition-free Montessori elementary program within the district, the focus of the Society had now shifted to the development of an Independent Montessori Elementary School: Boundary Bay Montessori House. Interested students (almost all with prior Montessori pre-school experience) were of an age to begin elementary school in September, hence the search was on for a facility, a teacher, and all the necessary materials. Following that meeting, I was entrusted with the privilege of opening Boundary Bay Montessori House, and acting as it's sole full-time teacher for the first two years of operation.

During its first two years, the school moved three times; from a private home to a commercial storefront, to the heritage church presently occupied by our pre-school. Each new space required significant renovation, so I learned very early in my Montessori career how to assess space for classroom purposes, how to pack and unpack, and the sequencing of all necessary trade and volunteer tasks so that the project remained on time. I also witnessed the enormous commitment these original eight families had to the creation an educational legacy for this municipality. In the Spring of 1991, they voted to operate the school for a 2nd year, even though at that time there was insufficient enrolment to even apply for provincial funding. I well remember the night they sat in a circle in the middle of the classroom and one by one each committed to financially honor my salary, and all expenses related to the school for the coming year. It was a humbling experience.

In the Spring of 1992, the MIND Board had another dilemma on its hands, whether or not to expand the program into the Intermediate level! The decision was made to increase our student population a year-at-a-time, and now with seventeen students (Grades 1 through 4 equivalency), and provincial funding, we hired Cathy Goss as my classroom assistant and Alii Wright as our Art Directress. Both of these talented individuals remain on staff to this day.

In the five years between September 1992 and September 1997, our program expanded to 36 Primary students, and 25 - 30 Intermediate students. The heritage church in which the school had been housed from 1991-1993 became too small, and the Intermediate class moved to a commercial storefront nearby for the 1994-1995 academic year, and then to Tsawwassen from 1995-1997. Pamela Abbott ably served as Intermediate Directress for 7 years, co-teaching for two of those years with Sharee Proudfoot. Heather Searle and I shared instruction of the 36 Primary children for two years, and Lize Hart joined the Primary teaching team in January 1997.

In June 1996 we celebrated our first graduating class of Grade 7 students. Many of the founding families were in attendance that night. The Society commemorated their leadership and dedication with a beautiful oak plaque which has a place of honor in the front hall of our Elementary location. In turn, the founding families gifted the Society with an original Raymond Chow watercolor of the heritage church at 5008 47A Avenue in Ladner, the location of our current preschool.

The Spring of 1997 proved a time of enormous geographic and organizational change. Since the school's opening in 1990, the Board and Society members had worked fevourishly to secure a permanent site for the school, all to no avail. Having families drive between Ladner and Tsawwassen (the location of the Primary and Intermediate classes for 18 months) was an understandable tension seeking relief. In January of 1997 MIND secured a lease with Century Holdings to occupy the building at 1717 56th Street, permitting the Primary and Intermediate classes to be together under one roof. Renovations were begun, and on a snowy day, March 15, all our furniture and classroom materials were transported to our new home. During that same Spring, the Montessori In Delta Society voted to open its own preschool in the heritage church, which we had just vacated in Ladner. Sheri Brekstad was hired to become the Preschool Manager; a position she held for the next five years.

Eileen Wilson and Kim Kilgore joined the Elementary staff in 1998 as Sharee Proudfoot became Head Teacher at the newly opened Montessori Adolescent Program at Gladstone Secondary in Vancouver, and I "retired" from day-to-day classroom instruction in order to give more time to the administrative needs of the school.

In January of 2003, our dreams of a permanent home for Boundary Bay Montessori House were realized by the move from 1717 56th Street to a newly renovated 4,000 square foot building in East Ladner, 3800 72nd Street. The elementary location of BBMH has been blessed with a remarkably pastoral setting, immediate accessibility to natural flora and fauna, as well as a wildlife hospital for injured birds just moments away. As in all previous school moves, the parents of children in this school were and have always been remarkable in the giving of their time, talent and financial resources to enable this dream to come true. Truly they have modeled the founders' dedication to commitment and service to their children and to their community. Thus...the journey of Boundary Bay Montessori House continues...

Heather Main, B.Ed., Dipl.E.C.E.

Principal

February 17, 2004