OB Montessori Sta. Ana Branch - Feedback please

[baby_ni_chunks022]

Hi Mommies & Daddies,

Share naman po ng experiences ninyo with the school.  We're planning to send our daughter this school year.  After July pa daw pwede i-admit anak namin once she turns 3.  Am hearing few feedbacks pa lang sa ibang mommies mostly pa sa main branch nila sa Greenhills.  Working aboad kasi ako so sa recommendations lang talaga ako nagdedepend as of now. 

Thank you vey much mommies.

[xlammer]

Me too. I would also like to receive some feedback regarding this school... Aside from the usual considerations (tuition fee, acads, religious instruction, environment), I was wondering if nagbabaha ba lagi sa may Sta. Ana? Also, does OB Montessori Sta. Ana share the same academic quality as the ones in Greenhills and LP? Thanks!

[ullala]

I studied in OB, and based on my experience I can whole-heartedly NOT recommend this school. Academically speaking, they tend to focus more on memorization and writing down notes as a means of comprehending the material which, quite frankly does not work if you want your kid to comprehend the subject. Half-day is also not enough to instill a sense of discipline for the kids, nangyayari sakin before after getting home, I would do my assignment then watch TV for the rest of the day.

Btw, I entered OB in the 5th grade. I was shocked at how bad the grammar and diction of my classmates were. As well as their English comprehension, grabe. In my class it was unheard of to speak in straight English.

[xlammer]

^ thanks for your feedback, ullala. i was wondering if your feedback is limited only to OB Sta. Ana? or does this apply as well to Greenhills and LP branches? tia!

[diannecheryl]

Just want to share my experience with OB Montessori - Sta ana.  IMHO, wala silang pinagkaiba ng traditional school.  In fact, they are not even forward thinking.  They are so stuck in their ways, they have not risen to the challenges of today.

1.  They have minimal books.  Most of the subjects rely on a child's note-taking abilities.  So kung tamad anak mo, hindi nya macomplete notes every subject everyday pag dating ng term exams - walang pagaaralan anak mo.  I get that this about discipline but surely there are more modern methods to teach it than discouraging overtime and photocopy to instill discipline in note-taking.  My child's new school now....traditional school nga but incorporated ng Ipad sa curriculum Grade 4 palang.

2.  They have this concept about non traditional teaching materials and to be honest, i think that thats all that they can boast about.  But really big floor puzzles and the like aren't the only creative ways to teach a child.  while others have clubs and sports - they offer nothing but COCC.

3.  No sports programme imbedded in the curriculum considering how much their tuition costs.  Sports teaches teamwork and discipline which to me is a key factor in developing children.  Kaya siguro sila hindi maka pagmove on sa note-taking....

4.  Their students are fairly average and they don't have enough bright students to challenge already intelligent kids.  If you are Bergamo, that's it - walang mechanism to push them even further.  Wala pang recognition day kaya siguro hindi highly motivated kids dun.

5.  They only look like their systems are in place, orderly sila but if your child gets in trouble - madaming loopholes.  They don't know what they are doing, they will recommend you to a psychiatrist costing Php1000 per hour pero constant communication sa psychiatrist how they can help the child in school.  They said the feedback is to the parent , huh?  What use is the information to me if it was the school that recommended.  They will call a case conference then with the psychiatrist which could take months because dapat on the day the counsellors, advisor, Greenhills head, psychiatrist and parents are available and oh parents will pay Php7000 for this conference to the psychiatrist.  Recommendations are made and changes to help the child is implemented pero may nagmonitor and feedback to the psychiatrist if its working - nada

My child is now in a new school - and I have never regretted that decision at all.  It has a more academic feel, the teachers speak better english, they have a great sports programme and clubs every Wednesday.  They a better feel of value for money because you can see even with the facilities they have invested it back in the school.  Sta Ana has a space problem I admit but in the years with them with all the tuition paid parang no major renovation made.  OB Montessori is a business and a brand - a brand that capitalizes on Montessori way of teaching.  And like consumer products - a brand doesn't neccessarily mean quality.

[momto2cuties]

I agree with diannecheryl.  I would not recommend to any parent enrolling their kid at OB. Currently, both my children go to OB, but not at the Sta. Ana branch. I would definitely transfer my older child to another school next school year. If my younger kid were not too close to his friends and pleaded me to stay there, I would transfer him too to another school. My comment is a bit long, so I'm going to separate them into several posts.

1. Main subjects at OB are: Language, Mathematics, Geometry, Filipino, HIstory (taught during 1st and 2nd Quarters), Geography (also 1st and 2nd Quarter), Botany (taught during 3rd and 4th Quarters) and Zoology (also 3rd and 4th Quarters).  As diannecheryl had mentioned as per her post 3 years ago, there are minimal books. That has not changed. Currently, except for Filipino, there are no formal text books.

Diannecheryl's review was 3 years ago. There is an "improvement" with regards to note taking. Now they supplement the notes with pages (printed on paper slightly small that notebook pages) which students paste in their notebooks. But, this is a big waste of paper (pasting printed notes in their blank notebooks). I don't know why the school just doesn't want to assign textbooks or just put the printed notes in a binder.

But that's not the worst part. The worst part is the parents are the ones providing the content of the lessons, specifically pictures / images, in the guise of an assignment, homework, project or "datafile".  Yes, THE PARENTS!!!  who have no other choice but to do that so that their kid can finish his / her homework. FEELING KO TALAGA INUUTO KAMI.

Take for example a homework in Zoology:  A notebook entry on "Class Mammalia" would have a blank square next to written notes.  In the following days, there would be a homework instructing the student to cut and paste a picture of an animal belonging to the different orders under Class Mammalia on the blank square. So, the parent would search for pictures on the internet, print them and have their child cut and paste the pictures in their notebooks. 

I told the school that they should teach the student how to research safely on the internet. The teachers said that that is not the Montessori way for grade school, because they want to instill the basics to the students. What???!!! So, if that?s the case, they should not assign these types of cut-and-paste homeworks. (The latest requirement of the school for these types of schoolwork is for the parent to also write the source of where they got the picture.) The school should be the one providing the pictures or buying copyrights for the pictures.

My husband and I have spent nights and weekends researching and printing for projects and homeworks, time we could have spent on quality time on ourselves or with our kids. 

I believe the lessons are also not age appropriate. But they use it so they can say that their curriculum is "advanced". But it's all about memorization. The lessons are not interesting enough such that most kids do not retain the lessons after the quarterly exams.

More to come . . . .

[MsCharlie]

I totally agree and can relate to posts relating to OB Montessori.  This is not just in Sta. Ana branch.  Sa Las PInas branch ganun din same manner of teaching.  OB Montessori Casa / Preschool is good.  But grade school sucks.  Sent my two kids but decided to transfer.  Their tuition fee is too high 140k above for grade school.  In OB Montessori Las PInas schedule for Grades 1-6 is  Half day!  That means most school work the kids have to finish at home. Bugbog sa homework.  Kids don't get to interact with teacher as much too dahil nga half day.  They do self study at home.  As parents we found ourselves researching printing photos so our kids could comply without having a full grasp / knowlege of what they are doing.  Kids are like robots.  They key to passing is memorization.  Thats it.  This is no way to learn.    Their manner of teaching is somewhat old school and very traditional.    Scrap booking research using old newspaper and old magazines for reference are very common.   

When I transferred my kids to Veritas Catholic school in BF homes they were taught powerpoint presentations in Grade 4. Veritas uses  e-books on android tablets.  Homeworks and presentation are mostly digital.  All rooms have AVP.  This is way  far more advanced than facilities in OB Montessori.  The tuition fee is 50k+.  Thats half of what I paid for in OB!   My eldest graduated Grade 6 in OB Montessori and I feel it is such a waste of money.  He also experienced bullying because some kids are brats.   So in my opinion  and experience OB Montessori may have established name and more popular but the quality of education is so-so.  Its not worth it.