Philosophy
Marigold Community Learning fosters a love for learning through exploration, self-discovery, and interdisciplinary projects.
We believe that play is the highest form of research, and our teachers act as companions as children discover their interests and are encouraged to collaborate with classmates to take an idea from inception to creation. We provide children with the opportunity to create, think critically, make decisions, and work through disagreements, in a supportive, relationship-driven environment.
Our whole child approach to education focuses on the growth and well being of a child’s academic, physical, and social-emotional development. Marigold’s learning methodology and curriculum are based on understanding the different phases of child development and mental readiness to take on new concepts and ideas. We celebrate the unique capabilities of each child and weave creativity into every lesson. We regard artistic activity and development of the imagination as integral to learning.
Core to our program is social emotional development with an emphasis on personal connection as a foundational building block of education. From younger years through primary, children are empowered with age appropriate methods to help them self regulate, navigate conflict, and work as a community to solve problems. We believe that nourishing a child’s sense of self enables them to lead lives of purpose and direction and to cultivate meaningful relationships.
Approach to Learning
At Marigold we do not give excessive amounts of homework as we believe that outside of school children should have unstructured time and activities that promote learning through creativity and play. In some cases our primary school children are provided with the opportunity to do home projects, further strengthening the ties between home and school and enabling parents to participate in a child’s learning journey. We also offer optional homework to students that want it. Yes, you heard that right, our children love learning so much that our older students actually asked for homework! In the spirit of our learner centered approach, we created a home project station in our common space which enables students to take worksheets for math and literacy home to work on.
We do not believe that learning environments should be competitive and as such we do not grade students. Teachers do make corrections and provide alternative approaches to student workbooks and other class work, however the feedback is given individually and without comparison to other students. Children are assessed by teachers throughout the school year through a number of methods including:
Detailed records of student progress with learning fundamentals
Working with a student one-one for casual assessment of knowledge recall and understanding of concepts
Parents are provided with detailed information on a student's progress as well as math and literacy levels in the end of semester report which is provided twice a year.
Homework and Grades
*applicable for primary school
Learner Centered
Every decision that we make at Marigold has the children at the center. We encourage new ideas and allow the children to express themselves in a supportive way. Our learner centered approach to education nurtures children who are more confident, are better able to articulate their thoughts and opinions, are better leaders, and find joy through educating themselves.
Lead Teachers are very tuned into their students’ needs and at times may create a “Learning Adventure” if a child needs a bit of extra support to level up in academics. Learning Adventures provide students with consistent one-on-one time and attention with our educators to focus and practice with academic fundamentals, assisting them to progress with confidence.
Children’s voices are meant to be heard and we empower students to speak up when they need to say something. Students are also provided with the opportunity to give feedback and offer solutions for areas or actions within the school that need attention. During “Community Meetings”, held once a week, children discuss topics that parents, teachers, or the children themselves have been noticing. An issue is brought to the forum and the children discuss as a community how to collectively solve it - proposing ideas, new agreements, or solutions. This Montessori based approach allows children to have a voice in their learning environment and gives them accountability in creating new agreements for the community.