| People keep asking us excitedly if we are going to move the school. The answer is, “We certainly hope so!” But this is old information; we’ve been wanting to move to larger facilities for several years. The school is growing – not rapidly, but steadily – and we’ve just about reached our limit at the current location. Our original location on Cedar Street lasted only one year (it was quite small); we’ve been here on Old Hartford Road for almost two decades. We have been looking at potential properties for a couple of years, and we’ve found one that is very spacious and has ample parking. . Another change is coming up too: we’re changing the name of the school. Back in 1988, the founders, Tennie and Rick Triplett, thought it would be nice to use their name for the school. As time has passed, we’ve realized that a more sensible name would be one that described the school rather than named its founders – something with “Montessori” in the title would be good. We also prefer the term “academy” over the term “school.” We think our method of education is outstanding and the term “academy” reaches back to the high ideals of ancient Greece. But there is also a man we’d like to recognize and honor, a Christian who was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, but did not survive it. His name was Maximilian Kolbe. Kolbe – known to those who admire him as Maximilian – fled his native Poland when it was under Russian domination, joined the Franciscan Order, earned doctorates in philosophy and theology, and eventually returned to the newly independent Poland in 1919, where he dedicated his life to justice, humanity, and service to others. After WWII broke out, he sheltered thousands of refugees, most of whom were Jews, and was one of the few people to speak out against the Nazis, even on a radio program he had created. When the Nazis invaded Poland in 1941 Maximilian was promptly arrested by the Gestapo and sent to Auschwitz, where he did the best he could to be of comfort to the others imprisoned in that horrible place. It was the policy of the prison to execute ten prisoners for every one prisoner who escaped. One day, when ten were selected, one of those selected cried out in anguish for his family’s loss. Maximilian asked if he could take the man’s place, and the guards let him. The guards starved and finally killed him August 14, 1941. He was widely described as having never lost his faith nor failed to be a source of strength and encouragement to others. We think the name of a school is not very important, but we like Maximilian Montessori Academy, which honors the personal courage of Maximilian Kolbe, the educational brilliance of Maria Montessori, and the commitment to excellence of the classical Greeks. |