High School Humanities Teacher

Our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students had an unforgettable time this spring at Echo Hill Outdoor School! Highlights included a Bay Studies course aboard the historic oyster boat Annie D., where students explored the Chesapeake Bay's unique ecosystem and fishing heritage, and an outdoor survival course that put teamwork and resilience to the test.

We're so grateful for our partnership with @echohilloutdoorschool, which allows us to give Oneness-Family students an immersive environmental education each spring.

EchoHill #ChesapeakeBay #OutdoorEducation #MontessoriInNature #OnenessFamilySchool #UpperElementaryAdventures #MontessoriOutdoors #PrivateSchoolLife #MontessoriSchool #LowerElementary #UpperElementary #PrivateSchoolExperience

We're proud to celebrate Oneness-Family School student Amara Shardanand, winner of the 2025 Politics and Prose Bookmark Contest! This year's theme was "Finding Joy," and Amara's vibrant design captured that spirit beautifully. Her artwork will be featured on official P&P bookmarks all year long—congratulations, Amara!

FindingJoy #StudentArtist #OnenessFamilySchool #PoliticsAndProse #BookmarkContest2025

Science Fair was an explosion of curiosity and creativity! From vibrant posterboard presentations to the balloon projects of our Primary program, intricate Rube Goldberg machines to hands-on chemistry experiments, every corner was filled with discovery and excitement.

STEMEducation #MontessoriScience #FutureInnovators #HandsOnLearning #MontessoriMethod #PrivateSchoolLife #ScienceFair #RubeGoldberg #CuriosityInAction #InquiryBasedLearning #OnenessFamilySchool

Wrapping Up X-Term with a Flavorful Finale

Oneness-Family High School students closed out X-Term, a one-month immersive term in March, with a field trip to Yekta Persian Market in Rockville. Students explored Middle Eastern cuisine and selected ingredients to prepare a traditional Persian stew—just in time for Nowruz, the Persian New Year.

X-Term is a student-driven, intensive learning experience where students vote on three in-depth courses to study throughout March. This year's courses included :

• ? Local Cuisine & Culture – Exploring the intersection of food, history, and culture through hands-on cooking, research, and storytelling.

Nutrition & Well-Being – Investigating how scientific research informs healthy dietary choices.

We are proud of our students for their curiosity, creativity, and engagement throughout X-Term. Stay tuned for more highlights!

XTerm #OnenessFamilySchool #MontessoriHighSchool #ImmersiveLearning #StudentLedLearning #ExperientialEducation #GlobalEducation #HolisticLearning #MontessoriAdolescents #Nowruz #persiancuisine

This week, our upper elementary Spanish class wrapped up their food and beverage unit with a delicious hands-on activity—making tacos! Students put their vocabulary and sentence structures into action while preparing and enjoying their own tacos with tortillas, guacamole, ground beef, beans, cheese, and tomatoes, all provided by the World Language Department. It was the perfect way to bring learning to life! ?

From chopping ingredients to assembling their tacos, students engaged in the full experience while practicing their Spanish skills. This interactive lesson not only reinforced their learning but also added a flavorful touch to the classroom. ¡Qué rico!

SpanishClass #HandsOnLearning #TacoTime #ImmersiveLearning #MontessoriEducation #BilingualEducation #FoodAsLearning #CulturalExploration #LearnByDoing #NutritionEducation #WorldLanguages #ExperientialLearning #MontessoriMoments

A huge shoutout to our incredible middle school alumni who have been working behind the scenes to help bring Willy Wonka, Jr. to life!

From guiding our 3rd–8th graders with dance choreography and line memorization to fine-tuning blocking and stage presence, their dedication has made a world of difference. Thank you for sharing your talent, leadership, and love for the performing arts with the next generation of Oneness stars!

WillyWonkaJr #OnenessAlumni #MontessoriEducation #MusicalTheater #MusicMatters #Community #OnenessFamilySchool #ArtsInEducation

A Week in the Life of the Sun Room!

In our Primary Program, children ages 3-6 explore, discover, and grow in a space designed for focus, creativity, and hands-on learning. Following Maria Montessori's "Absorbent Mind" philosophy, students dive into language, math, sensorial, practical life, and cultural activities at their own pace.

Highlights from last week :

Kali completes the Montessori Hundred Board

Willow practices putting words together with the movable alphabet ?

Willow & Kali explore place value with the 45 cards layout mat

Learning watercolor techniques and making Valentine's cards

With uninterrupted work cycles and personalized guidance from our dedicated teachers, Sun Room students build the focus and confidence that fuel a lifelong love of learning.

MontessoriMagic #SunRoomJourney #AbsorbentMind #HandsOnLearning #FollowTheChild #MontessoriPrimary #PrivateSchool #PrivateKindergarten #PreschoolLife #EarlyChildhoodEducation #MontessoriKids #IndependentSchool #PrivatePreschool #MontessoriMethod #MontessoriInspiration #KindergartenReady #progressiveeducation

Experience the transformative impact of Montessori education at Oneness-Family School, where high school students are empowered to explore their passions, think critically, and engage deeply with the world around them.

Join us for an Open House this February or March to discover how our dynamic, student-centered approach builds independence, creativity, and confidence, preparing adolescents for academic success and meaningful contributions to their communities.

Register for an open house : www.onenessfamily.org / openhouse

Bethesda #ChevyChase #highschool #Montessori #Admissions #PrivateSchool #EducationMatters #MontessoriLife #StudentLeadership #AdolescentDevelopment #STEMEducation #CreativeThinking #exploremontessori

Academy students (Grades 4-5) visited the National Museum of Asian Art in DC to celebrate the Lunar New Year and explore the rich artistic traditions of Asia.

This year marks the Year of the Snake —a symbol of wisdom, intuition, and transformation. As students explored intricate scrolls, vibrant ceramics, and detailed sculptures, they reflected on themes of renewal, prosperity, and adaptability. Engaging with these works deepened their understanding of cultural heritage and the connections between art and history.

Here's to a year of growth, creativity, and new discoveries!

LunarNewYear #YearOfTheSnake #MuseumExploration #AcademyOnTheGo #OnenessFamilySchool #CulturalConnections #MontessoriEducation #PrivateSchoolLife #ImmersiveLearning #handsonlearning

What a fantastic Montessori Night!

Thank you to all of our student and faculty presenters who brought the Oneness-Family School Montessori curriculum to life for current parents, visiting families, and friends of the school who attended!

Pictured : Head of School Karen Donovan gets a lesson on analogies from 5th graders Amartya and Caleb.

montessori #parenteducation #montessorisecondary #handsonlearning #privateschool

Big congratulations to Benji, Benjamin, and Sena for kicking off our first official Oneness-Family School Math Team event last week with the AMC 8!

The American Mathematics Contest 8 (AMC 8) is an annual, multiple-choice math competition for middle schoolers, hosted by the Mathematical Association of America. What an incredible opportunity for our students to challenge themselves and celebrate their love of math!

A huge thank you to OFS parent Kristin Regen for founding the OFS Math Team and to staff member Hans for proctoring the exam. Your support helps spark a love of learning and exploration in our students.

Way to go, OFS Math Team—this is just the beginning!

OFSCommunity #MathTeam #AMC8 #MathIsFun #OnenessFamilySchool #LoveOfLearning #MontessoriEducation #PrivateSchool #MiddleSchoolMath #MathLovers #HolisticEducation #MontessoriMiddleSchool #StudentSuccess #InspiringLearners

A huge thank you to everyone who supported our OFS Student Government Association (SGA) Compost Project this semester!

As part of this semester-long initiative, SGA students collected compost buckets from classrooms each week and added them to our school compost bin—turning food waste into nutrient-rich soil for our gardens.

This hands-on project empowered our student leaders to care for the Earth and demonstrated how everyday actions can make a lasting impact.

While composting is now on pause as SGA wraps up for the year, we're working with Montgomery County to launch an even stronger program next school year—stay tuned!

OFSCommunity #SGA #CompostProject #StudentLeadership #Sustainability #GreenSchool #FromWasteToSoil #MontessoriEducation #MontessoriLife #MontessoriInAction #MontessoriGreen #StudentLedInitiative #EnvironmentalStewardship #montessori

The OFS Math Team had a fantastic showing at the Carderock Math Contest on April 4! Sena and Benjamin competed alongside 164 students from 26 DMV schools in challenging individual and team rounds. They also toured two fascinating Navy labs : the Fatigue and Fracture Lab, where scientists test how cold ocean temperatures can crack the metal used in ships, and the Battery Lab, where they push batteries to their limits to test their strength and safety.

A highlight of the day was a talk from Ron White, two-time USA Memory Champion, who taught students how to boost focus and memory using techniques like visualization and mental "memory palaces"—tools that can help in all areas of learning, including math.

Benjamin placed 14th overall and advanced to the Countdown Round, an exciting live, bracket-style competition. We're so proud of both students for their effort, teamwork, and curiosity. Thank you for supporting our mathletes!

OFSproud #Mathletes #STEMinAction #MontessoriMiddleSchool #PrivateSchoolLife #MontessoriEducation #MathEducation #MiddleSchoolMatters #FutureEngineers #MontessoriSTEM #DMVstudents #HandsOnLearning #MontessoriInAction #MemoryTraining #MathContest #RealWorldLearning

Curious Minds at Work!

Shoutout to Cady and Petra, who took their learning into their own hands! After the upper elementary Academy class explored the cultural and ecological importance of wild rice (Mnoomin) in the Leech Lake Ojibwe community, these two fourth graders wanted to know more.

They revisited Smithsonian videos, did extra research, and created a poster to share their discoveries with the class—all on their own initiative! Inspired by our reading of Mnoomin Maan'gowing / The Gift of Mnoomin, their project is a perfect example of how curiosity leads to deeper learning.

Amazing work, Cady and Petra!

StudentLedLearning #CuriousMinds #WildRice #Mnoomin #OjibweCulture #FourthGradeExplorers #OnenessFamilySchool #MontessoriEducation #HandsOnLearning #WorldCultures #ElementaryExplorers #PrivateSchoolLife #ImmersiveLearning #MontessoriInAction #childlededucation

Exploring the World Through Spin the Globe!

Arbor Lower Elementary students are strengthening their geography skills with a hands-on mapping activity! In Spin the Globe, they start at a specific coordinate and navigate the world by moving a set number of lines either longitudinally (north-south) or latitudinally (east-west).

With each turn, they deepen their understanding of directions, map reading, and the global grid system—all through interactive learning. This activity also creates a meaningful opportunity for our international students to share where in the world they are from with classmates.

ArborAdventures #HandsOnLearning #GeographyFun #SpinTheGlobe #MontessoriEducation #GlobalExplorers #ImmersiveLearning #FollowTheChild #ElementaryEducation #MontessoriMagic #InquiryBasedLearning #ExperientialLearning #WorldCitizens #cosmiceducation

1st Annual Read-A-Thon Success!

We are amazed at the success of our first Oneness-Family School Read-A-Thon! Thanks to our students' reading voracity and the generous pledges of their supporters, our school community read 733 books and raised more than $2,400 for the Oneness Fund in February!

We look forward to sharing more information about our students' favorite books, and to planning next year's event!

Our Lower Elementary class enjoyed a refreshing hike at Muddy Branch, joined by school founder Andrew Kutt. Along the way, they searched for the first signs of spring, spotting snowdrops, Virginia bluebells, and trout lilies beginning to bloom. It was a great opportunity to connect with nature and welcome the changing season!

OnenessFamilySchool #OutdoorLearning #SpringSigns #MontessoriEducation #MontessoriElementary #NatureBasedLearning #PrivateSchoolLife #HandsOnLearning #OutdoorExploration #elementaryeducation

Valentine's Morning Circle in Arbor!

Last Friday, our Arbor students (Grades 1-3) celebrated Valentine's Day with a heartwarming tradition—exchanging cards with every classmate during Morning Circle! After a joyful Community Meeting, students shared handmade and thoughtful notes, spreading kindness and appreciation.

"I liked the music and getting lots of cards," said Taye.

"It was really fun and a lot of people made cards!" added Tova.

Valentine's Day is about more than just cards and candy—it's a time to celebrate all kinds of love : friendship, kindness, and the joy of making others feel special. Our students are learning that love is something we show through our words and actions every day!

ValentinesDay #LoveInAction #MontessoriMoments #OnenessFamilySchool #montessori #valueseducation #elementaryschool #socialemotionallearning

Our Children's Peace Garden students (ages 3-6) had an exciting in-house field trip with My Reptile Guys to support their studies on vertebrates!

Fred the Bearded Dragon was a particular hit. With his spiky scales and calm personality, he charmed the students as they learned how bearded dragons use their "beards" to communicate.

Fun Reptile Facts!

Reptiles are cold-blooded, which means they rely on their environment to regulate body temperature.

Tortoises can live for over 100 years! The Aldabra tortoise is one of the longest-living reptiles.

Some lizards can regrow their tails as a defense mechanism against predators!

Reptiles have been around for over 300 million years, even before the dinosaurs!

Through hands-on experiences, our young learners explored what makes reptiles unique, deepening their understanding of the animal kingdom in the most engaging way. Learning comes to life when you can see, touch, and discover!

OnenessFamilySchool #ChildrensPeaceGarden #MontessoriScience #HandsOnLearning #ReptileAdventures #MyReptileGuys #YoungExplorers #STEMforkids #FunWithReptiles #BeardedDragonLove

Each year before Winter Break, the Oneness-Family School community gathers for our annual Festival of Lights. We enjoy student performances surrounding our theme of light and joy in the darkest time of year and celebrate the end of a busy fall semester.

This year, we were delighted to welcome more than 33 former OFS students, as well as beloved former teachers and staff! Thank you to all who attended Festival of Lights – you remind us of the global family Oneness-Family School has become. ?

alumnireunion #festivaloflights #montessori #community #musicaperformances

J-18808-Ljbffr