A PERFORMANCE by Italian opera singer Stefania Di Masi was the highlight of a special birthday party at Beehive Montessori in Mosman Park.

The school was celebrating the life and legacy of Dr Maria Montessori, who was born 153 years ago and passed away in 1952 aged 81.

One of the first female medical doctors of the time, the trailblazing Dr Montessori graduated from Rome University in 1896 and opened her first Casa dei Bambini or ‘Children’s House’ in 1906, educating kids from three years of age.

It was there she started developing her revolutionary Montessori Education model, giving children freedom to choose work based on their developmental needs and interests.

Encouraging independence and treating pupils as individuals, teachers guide and build core values of respect and peace.

For the special birthday bash, all the pupils wore Italian colours and decorated their Mosman Park school.

• Beehive Montessori pupils in Mosman Park are captivated by opera singer Stefania Di Masi.

“To start the celebrations, all of our students, three years to 15, sang Happy Birthday in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Englis, and Australian Sign Language,” school principal Bronwyn Hope said.

“Stefania Di Masi, a special guest and Italian opera singer, sang Ave Maria accompanied by Orson Yaman, a student from the adolescent programme, who played the piano. 

“Following this, the upper primary students presented a play about Maria Montessori’s life which was narrated in Italian and English.”

After the performances, the celebrations continued with more singing in Italian, then parents and friends of the school joined a community lunch at the school’s piazza, enjoying pizza from the local Maestro Pizzeria.

There are more than 22,000 Montessori schools around the world, educating children from early childhood through to high school. 

It incorporates mixed age groups to enable children to develop socially, intellectually and emotionally, promoting exploration and independence and expecting respect for self, others and the environment.

To find out more about Beehive Montessori see beehive.wa.edu.au.