Even with masks and social distancing, Brilliant Star is celebrating an incredible 20 years of Montessori education in the community with students happy to be back in the classroom with their peers!
Brilliant Star is also celebrating the internal growth of one of their primary teachers, Miss Shanshan Li, as she continues to climb the ladder of educational advancement. Starting off in 2009 as a toddler room part-time assistant, then on to primary class assistant teacher providing Mandarin language classroom immersion, to obtaining her Montessori Teacher Certification in 2017, and now she is the lead primary teacher of the Dragonfly Room. The Brilliant Star community applauds her success and professional growth!
Mandarin Chinese is the world’s most spoken language, and with China a global economic power, the value of students gaining Mandarin language immersion at Brilliant Star cannot be overstated as the global market values multi-lingual skills. Professionals in any field have a competitive advantage if they are bilingual in English and Mandarin, as they are the primary languages of the world’s top two economies, which is a welcomed bonus in this uncertain pandemic era. Miss Shanshan Li is one of seven staff members that bring alive Mandarin immersion into the Montessori classroom experience at Brilliant Star.
After 11 years of training and mentorship at Brilliant Star School, Miss Shanshan is confident in the “Montessori philosophy that has become one of the most important parts” of her life. She is also thankful for the CNMI Taskforce and supportive parents that are making face-to-face learning safe with socially distancing. When asked what it is like teaching a bi-lingual classroom on a diverse school campus with at least 14 different cultures represented, Miss Shanshan has incorporated “modeling, repetition, and body language” when customizing learning styles to each individual student’s linguistic capacity. She also sticks to her top lessons learned from her Montessori teaching certification: remain conscientious of her body language & tone, adjust teaching styles for each student’s pace of learning, and by focusing on the holistic development of the child and not just academics. Miss Shanshan notices how the younger the student starts getting exposure to Mandarin, the easier it is for the student to learn the older they get, so she recommends getting your child exposed as young as possible.
Brilliant Star School is a private non-profit that has classes for infants up to 12-year-olds. The few remaining spots for our face to face instruction are closing out, so please contact us at 323-7827 or at principal@brilliantstar.org if you are interested or would like to see more of what we have to offer.
