The Viduni School, Balapitiya, Sri Lanka

About the School.

Having been completely rebuilt, the Viduni Pre-School is now able to offer a wide and exciting range of facilities according to the Montessori method of education.

The aim is to help every child realise his or her full potential to become a happy, loving, and fulfilled member of society.

The school was established in 1985 and despite the buildings being destroyed by the tsunami in 2004 there are now 70 pupils aged between 3 and 9 years old. The children work in mixed age groups, which enables them to learn how to become part of, and contribute to, a group. Skills are taught daily, individually, in small groups and as a whole class.

One of the strengths of the school is the diversity of the families that make up the community. Local families represent a wide range of cultures, beliefs, races, and ethnicities. This diversity is celebrated through the weekly observance of a multicultural calendar. In the Montessori environment the child will develop a caring attitude to him/herself, those around, and their surroundings.

The school has a long and close relationship with the Montessori Training Organisation in Sri Lanka. This keeps the school in very close contact with any new developments and requires a very high standard of teaching to be maintained as an example.

The children at the school learn by using a full range of subject areas:

Sensory activities - various activities and materials are used to develop all the senses; for example, cylinder blocks, colour tablets, sound boxes, sandpaper tablets;

Mathematics - our Montessori Teachers carefully design material to give the child a sound understanding of numbers and their relationships;

Language - Sinhala, Tamil and English are learned at the school;

Science - children learn all the basic laws of light, gravity, sound, magnetism and simple electronics;

Geography - globes, maps, flags, land and water forms and country "topic" weeks all introduce the child to the idea that he or she lives in a wide and wonderful world!

Art and Craft - painting, drawing, stencilling, collage and various levels of sewing are available every day. Weekly art and craft projects give the children an opportunity to print, make simple objects, cards, clay models etc;

Music - during a child's time in school he or she will be encouraged to work with all areas of music, such as matching notes, percussion, rhythm and singing.