About us

Learning to Love. Loving to Learn.

We aid the natural development of your child. Our learning environment nurtures inner intelligence for unfolding the true potential of the child. Our work aims to spark natural curiosity and encourages the children to follow their interests and personal passion by developing their talents and turning them into enviable skills, values, understanding, engagement and knowledge to create a better and more peaceful world.

We trust the deep inner drive your child has to grow and self-construct his personality and create environments that allow your child to joyfully discover the world and their unique place in it we collaborate with you in the loving service of your child.

Our purpose is to treat every child as an individual and nurture every aspect of their development, providing guidance, inspiring curiosity, and fostering the knowledge, resilience, and love of learning they need to thrive.

When the school year begins?

A school year consists of school terms, school days and school holidays. Each school year has duration of 12 months and starts on 15 September and if 15 September is a holiday, it starts on the next working day. For the Children house  the school year is between 1 September and 31 August with 1 month of summer holiday included at the choice of each family in the months of June, July or August. Otkrivatel Montessori School is closed for National holidays, school holidays and the period between 23rd of December and New Year. The Elementary and Secondary school programmes include the school days between 15 September and 15/30 June, as well as opportunities to take part at sports, green and forest school programs during the summer – between 15/30 June and 15 August. For each school year, the Minister of Education determines with an order the beginning and the end of school holidays, except for the summer holiday, non-attendance days and Otkrivatel Montessori school complies with them.

What are the school’s hours?

The Core School Day is between 8:00am and 4:30/5:00pm and there is a possibility for Extended School Day until 6:00pm.

Is “Otkrivatel Montessori School” licensed by Ministry of education?

Otkrivatel Montessori School has been accredited by the Ministry of education and science in Bulgaria, since the school first opened its doors in 2013. In 2016 the Elementary program (1st – 7th grade) is licensed by the Ministry. In 2017 Otkrivatel Montessori School is licensed as Innovative School by Bulgarian Council of Ministers. In 2023 Otkrivatel Montessori School receives the status of “secondary” school and candidate IB school. We are dedicated to provide holistic education, fulfilling and exceeding the national standards set by the State for every level.

What аре the qualification of the teachers in “Otkrivatel Montessori School”?

In additional to their university degrees, all community guides at every school level hold diplomas from the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), the organisation founded by Dr. Maria Montessori, and are qualified AMI Montessori teachers. The Assistants teachers are also AMI trained. Every year, teachers attend a variety of refresher courses to support their professional development and participate regularly in international conferences. We know that the best way to ensure children learning is to hire and retain good professionals whose desire to meet students’ needs is only matched by their dedication to continuous professional growth. Consequently, we invest heavily in professional development and in program development in accordance with the latest innovations in education.

What is your health and illness policy?

Children’s health index is monitored on a daily basis. It is our policy that children who are sick remain at home. It is most important that children who are sick are not sent to school. This is for your child’s good as well as for the welfare of the other children in the class. Sick children do not benefit from being in school, and can cause other children to become ill.

Do you provide lunch and snacks for the children?

Every child benefits from the school menu. A variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables, water and herbal tea are offered throughout the day. The School menu offers broad nutritionally balanced diet which represents a vital part in the healthy growth and development of children. The menu is balanced, nutritional and delicious which contributes to children’s energetic and full-spirited wellbeing. Healthy food means a healthy body and a healthy brain. Otkrivatel Montessori School recognises this link and complies fully with nutritional standards. It is prepared by a child nutritionist and executed by a licensed kitchen that has not only all the necessary sanitary permits, but a passion to prepare an exciting food. Students participate in preparing some of their food / drinks. We encourage our children to respect the food, to be excited about food and develop good eating habits and table manners. Children are given plenty of time to eat and enjoy the social interaction attached to mealtimes.

Do you offer sports?

All children are physically active every day. They participate, initiate and organize sports games, hikes and walks. Additionally, the students choose age appropriate activities by their interest in Extended school day. We have a variety of clubs and classes – tennis, swimming, dancing, yoga, sport games. Activities are inclusive and accessible to all students who want to participate.

How does Otkrivatel Montessori School support children’s connection with nature?
Our children have the opportunity to play in the fresh air every day throughout the year. We strive to educate them in healthy lifestyle and encourage them to be as physically active as possible every day. There are many occasions where we use the nature as an extension of our classroom. When the weather is appropriate we organise nature walks to our nearby parks, trips and picnics to the mountains, nature hiking, horse riding and animal farms’ visits. Regularly we organise camps in the mountain or the sea coast.

What sets you apart from other independent/private schools?

We have the knowledge, skills and experience to apply Montessori principles according the highest international standards of Association Montessori Internationale (AMI). Otkrivatel Montessori School is a sample school of Montessori Society Bulgaria, affiliated to AMI, and we are mentoring future Montessori teacher on their journey to support child natural development. We are the only place in Bulgaria providing a quality Montessori education for children aged 14 months through 18 years. Regularly we have an international external supervision, ensuring that our Montessori setting meets the global best practices in applying Montessori pedagogy.

Every aspect of our organisation is set up to support children’s natural growth. Each and every one of our team, regardless of his/her job title, is dedicated to the superb education of our children, and when it is necessary to decide on something, it is enough to ask: “Is it good for the child/children?” If the answer is positive, we do not need anyone’s approval because we do the best for our children and families.

Our first commitment is to the development of the true potential within the child. Cognitive development and a solid academic foundation are important, yet they represent only one dimension of our aspirations for every child. Equally important is the child’s social, emotional, spiritual and physical development.

The educational path of the child through different communities and programmes, and at each stage the learning environment supports his developmental needs. Interaction and cooperation, joy, self-driven learning and the hunger for knowledge are sensed in the air. The child’s progress is individually-paced for allowing students to explore their interests and acquire the mastery of their skills and knowledge. The children feel supported to develop into adults who possess the intellect, integrity, compassion, strength of character, skill, and creativity needed to seek common ground and establish mutuality with others.

Otkrivatel Montessori School helps parents to raise children who are socially, morally and emotionally prepared for real life. We believe in the unique potential of the child. Otkrivatel provides the child with the necessary guidance so that his unique personality develops to its full potential and grows up as a capable and valuable person.

What information channels do Otkrivatel Montessori School use?

Communication is of key importance in our community. We make sure that the parents are always informed about their child’s development, as well as current and future plans and events in our community. In addition to the personal communication that our pedagogical and administrative team and the parents, we offer the following communication channels. Our online platform gives parents access to classroom observations and anecdotes, information and resources, opportunities to communicate with the team and other parents. We have a calendar of parenting events and seminars to support family dynamics and parenting. In addition, all members of our community receive our weekly newsletter, Week Ahead and Monthlink, where we share news and details about upcoming events.

Each member of our staff of educators, teachers and psychologists has their own answer to the big question “What is most important for a child’s education?”