CPMS GOES GREEN WITH UPCOMING SCHOOL BUILDING, FUTURE PROGRAMS

In line with the growing consciousness in protecting our environment, coupled with the continued pursuit for holistic education, Children’s Paradise Montessori School (CPMS) is embarking on several green projects and programs.

Green school buildings, promoting a healthy lifestyle in the school curriculum, and introducing healthy diets are among the plans of the multi-awarded CPMS.

According to CPMS Founder and President Marivic Bathan, they have seen the growing trend among parents of their schoolchildren becoming more environmentally concerned.

“Our direction as a school is to be a green school. Our approach is holistic; that is really transforming our current lifestyle to becoming more environmentally-friendly and healthy as well,” she said.

Earlier this year, CPMS broke ground for its new four-storey school building which will have a roof deck and will feature green elements integrated into the structure. It is targeted to be completed by July this year, in time for the coming school year 2019-2020. The new school building will be used for the Preschool and Elementary classrooms as well as admin offices.

The new school building is part of the CPMS 2025 Masterplan which was unveiled by the school’s management last January.

Under the Masterplan, four new school buildings will be built by CPMS, which will be undertaken in three phases of land development.

In 2025, CPMS will already be on its 20th year of operation and Bathan said they foresee a population of 400 to 500 students from Toddler to Senior High School. The Masterplan also aims to expand CPMS’ programs to open Junior High in school year 2021-2022 and Senior High after two years.

Seeing how this is a major investment and long-term plan for the school, CPMS has recently partnered with the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) in pursuing these

expansion plans. The school is already in talks with BPI to include their projects in their Sustainable Energy Finance (SEF) Program which aims to help fund green projects.

“Since this is a big and long-term project, we would need to source funds. BPI has been our business partner,” Bathan said. “We might just be the first school in this program of BPI,” she added.

BPI has partnered with the International Finance Corporation (IFC)-World Bank Group in providing free access to an application, EDGE Buildings, and providing its clients with technical support from green experts.

Last February 21, CPMS officials, led by Bathan, met with officials of BPI to formalize the partnership. Guanzon, Sanchez, Guanzon Architects, CPMS’ project architect, discussed the program with BPI Account Manager Donna Grace Lerio, BPI Vice President Jo Ann Eala, and Manager for SEF & Specialized Lending Team Bonn Palermo Capina.

Meanwhile, CPMS has also tapped Green Architect Joy Onozawa as consultant for their team. She has already started providing the school’s architects with inputs on the design and has conducted a workshop for their teachers and employees.

“Our thrust is really to live a green and healthy lifestyle to make it sustainable. Hence, we have enriched the curriculum with activities for children, teachers, and even parents for this purpose,” Bathan said.

On the other hand, CPMS has collaborated with Anne Dala of Toniq to help the school promote healthy living among their students, teachers, and their families. They plan to create a well-balanced, healthy menu for the monthly snacks being served by CPMS to their students starting this April.

Another green project being pursued by the school is teaching their students how to plant and grow food like vegetables and herbs and for them to prepare food to eat out of what they harvest from the garden.

CPMS has been a grand slam awardee for Montessori School of the Year in the Business Achievement and Recognition Awards for ten straight years since 2010.

Bathan credits this recognition to their adherence to the educational philosophy of Dr. Maria Montessori. Unlike traditional education, there are several aspects that make the Montessori method more conducive for child development. These include letting children learn at their own pace and follow their individual interest, having uninterrupted blocks of work time, being in mixed age classrooms, and employing the discovery model where students learn concepts from working with materials rather than by direct instruction, among others.

The classrooms of CPMS are fully-equipped with the prescribed Montessori materials while their staff are given trainings by internationally-trained Montessori educators.

The school also has a smaller teacher to student ratio at 1:15. This helps teachers follow a personalized and individualized approach which has been proven to be very effective in the students’ learning process.

About Children’s Paradise Montessori School (CPMS)

CPMS was founded by Marivic E. Bathan, who has been its President since its inception in 2005, with the mission of providing children with an education for life. CPMS has created a learning environment based on Dr. Maria Montessori’s philosophy and principles that guide and nurture the development of each child’s potential to become an informed, creative, compassionate, and lifelong learner who will make a positive contribution to the global community. For ten straight years, from 2010 to 2019, CPMS has been awarded as Montessori School of the Year in the Business Achievement and Recognition Awards. CPMS has exposed its students to real-world experiences and to the beauty and discipline of the arts. CPMS is located along Canduman St. in Mandaue City.