The story of Central Montessori Schools starts with the vision of our Co Head of School – Mrs Minoo Mohajer. Set up to serve the North York community over 25 years ago, the first group of students started in September 1995 in a converted church space. Within a few short years the school name and reputation grew to encompass another location, again in North York and before long 5 campuses were catering to children as young as 9 months old up to Grade 6 level.

Taking a tour with Mrs Mohajer around any of the 4 campuses is a privilege. As she proudly showcases the purpose built and designed Montessori spaces, greets each of her over 200 staff  (many of whom have worked alongside her to build CMS into the strong traditions that are today) and to hear children recognize and greet her warmly is a testament to the leader she is; observant, kind and there to serve her community above all else.

Incredibly humble, she is dedicated to serving the needs of all her community. When parents shared with her how difficult it was to do drop off their children at 8:30am in the morning due to their work commitments, she changed the school hours to include early morning club and after school club to help accommodate them. When parents shared their interest in summer camps run at the school, she devised a whole program with her colleagues to offer interesting and engaging summer camps for the duration of the holidays. When she observed that some of the meals the children were bringing from home were not as nutritious or as filling as they should be, she set up the hot lunch and snack routines offered to every child.  The parents will often write with suggestions to improve their children’s experience, she will always listen, discuss it with her team and respond accordingly.

Mrs Mohajer’s main drive remains the happy faces of the children she sees as she walks through the campuses. She also places a heavy emphasis on the enjoyment of learning through the Montessori Method. Parents have been trusting the CMS family with their children for the past two decades and never has it been more true that we belong to a family than it has been in the last  year living through the pandemic.

Rising to the challenge of a blended learning approach, our students have continued to succeed with the endless support of our parents and the dedication of our committed and loyal staff.

We welcome you to our website and hope you will take a tour and experience for yourself the magic we have witnessed in the last 25 years.

With more than 25 years of experience in education, Dr. Marjan Giahi knows that each child is unique and would learn and thrive at their own pace. However, she believes that resilience is the key factor for the success of all students and thus advocates it whenever she gets a chance among the students by teaching them strategies to become resilient. She holds a B.A. in Translation and both an M.A. and Ph.D. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from Azad University in Tehran, Iran. She began her educational career as an elementary English teacher in a private school in Tehran. She has had the opportunity to work with all K-12 age groups as an English teacher during her career. She worked at Mahdavi Educational Complex for 10 years where she had different roles such as the head of their middle school’s English department and the supervisor of their International School. She has also been a university instructor for more than ten years in Iran where she has taught different courses to B.A. and M.A. students mostly majoring in teaching. In 2008, she was awarded as the best instructor of News College in Tehran. Recently she completed a CGMS course in Overview of Montessori at the Elementary Level and got her TEFL certificate from Seneca College. She moved to Canada in 2016 with her daughter and husband and has proudly been part of CMS’ administrative team since then.

An integral part of the elementary team at York Mills Dr. Giahi brings a wealth of knowledge to any educational discussion and does it with a smile and an encouraging word.

With a passion and strong belief that children learn best when they are having fun – Ms Fariba Farsadi epitomises the Montessori Philosophy. As head of the Casa program at the York Mills Campus she brings her strong relationships with parents and her love for nurturing children to work each day. Part of the CMS family for over 15 years, Ms Fariba received her Montessori trainings at AMI and the TMI. She has worked in a variety of Montessori schools before coming home to work with like minded educators here at CMS. Armed with a love for mathematics and enjoying science and literature she has taught up to the secondary level in her native country of Iran. A member of the Math curriculum developers for gifted children with TDSB she loves to promote critical thinking and learning in young learners of all ages. She continues to enjoy taking children on a wide range of educational visits and developing learning in the outdoor environment. Consequently, these aspects of school life are very important to the fabric of CMS.

CMS enables children to succeed, to achieve and to be who they want to be.