Est. 2026 · Kigali, Rwanda

Rooted in Learning.
Guided by Heart.
Powered by Sport.

A Montessori school where every child, regardless of where they come from, is genuinely seen, deeply nurtured, and given the space and trust to become fully, beautifully themselves.

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Welcome to Karisimbi

A School Born From
Love and Deep Belief

Welcome. Whether you are reading this as a parent searching for the right beginning for your child, or simply someone curious about what education can look like when it starts with love and ends with excellence, I am glad you are here.

Every great school begins somewhere. Ours began on a porch. Long before Karisimbi had a name, there was a small circle of children learning together on my porch, crowded with plants and spilling into the garden, freely, curiously, and with great joy. I followed the Montessori philosophy, yes, but mostly I followed the children. It was unhurried. It was full of love, play, and wonder. And it was the children themselves who named it, The Garden School. Not me. Them. The fact that children felt so much life in that space that they named it never left me. Karisimbi is what happened when I finally gave that dream the room to grow.

I started this school with one conviction: that every child, no matter where they come from or what language they dream in, deserves an education that begins with love. Not love as a sentiment, but love as a practice. The kind that says, I see you. I believe in you. I am prepared to be patient with your becoming.

Like the mountain that gives us our name, we believe in the deep kind of growth. Steady. Unhurried. The kind that lasts. We welcome families from Rwanda, Africa, and around the world. We offer Montessori in its truest form, enriched by sport, French language, and a culture of emotional intelligence that honours the head, heart, and body equally.

If something in you is saying yes, trust that. Come and see us. Bring your child. And let us begin something extraordinary together.
Founder Signature Photo
Snežana Tomašević
Founder & Director · Karisimbi Montessori School
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Our Philosophy

Mission, Vision &
Core Values

Everything we do flows from a clear sense of who we are, why we exist, and what we believe about children, learning, and our place in the world.

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Our Mission

To Nurture the Complete Child

To nurture the whole child — mind, heart, and body — through authentic Montessori education, in a community where every child, from every background, is genuinely seen and deeply valued.

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Our Vision

A Generation Empowered to Lead

A generation of children who are as emotionally intelligent as they are academically excellent, and who lead their lives with kindness and courage.

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Our Core Values

The Principles That Guide Every Day

  • Kindness — in every interaction, every correction, every moment of difficulty. Kindness is not weakness; it is our greatest strength.
  • Respect — for every child, every family, every culture, and the natural world we share.
  • Trust — we trust children as capable, driven, and worthy of being believed in unconditionally.
  • Wonder — curiosity is a sacred gift we are entrusted to protect, not diminish.
  • Integrity — we do what is right, even when it is inconvenient. Always.
  • Community — across cultures and nationalities, we grow together. Our school is a village.
  • Excellence — not as performance for others, but as a quiet personal standard we hold with joy.
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Why Karisimbi

Education for the
Whole Child

We do not educate children in parts. At Karisimbi, the mind, the heart, and the body are treated as what they are: one living system. A child flourishes only when all three are nourished — in concert, with intention, every single day. This is what it means to offer an education worth giving.

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Rooted in Learning

Academics That Ignite

We do not fill minds. We light them, and we make sure the fire lasts. Our three-hour work cycles protect the deep concentration that real academic mastery requires. Montessori materials make mathematics, language, and science tangible before they become abstract, so children do not just memorise, they understand. They progress at their own pace, guided and observed closely by educators who know them well. The result is not a child who has covered the curriculum. It is a child who owns it.

"Academic excellence is not a destination we push children toward. It is a natural consequence of a childhood spent being joyfully, deeply curious."
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Guided by Heart

The Heart Before the Mind

Before a child can learn, they must feel safe. Before they can focus, they must feel loved. They need to know, with absolute certainty, that they belong. Every morning begins not with a lesson, but with a moment of real connection. Our guides are trained not just to teach, but to notice the child who is quieter than usual, the one whose eyes have lost a little of their light. They follow up. They sit down. They stay.
We teach empathy not as a subject but as a way of being. Kindness is not a rule here; it is a culture. A child who feels whole at school will learn anything.




"Emotional wellbeing is not preparation for learning at Karisimbi. It is the learning. And it is the most important work we do."
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Powered by Sport

Sport as Education

Twice every week, the Montessori work cycle expands onto the field. Not as a break from learning — as a continuation of it. Movement activates the brain. Sport teaches children to lose gracefully, win humbly, and lead under pressure. Physical confidence spills into intellectual confidence. A child who trusts their body learns to trust their mind.

"Sport at Karisimbi is not a reward for good work. It is the work — on a different kind of canvas."

Eight Reasons Parents Choose Karisimbi
01
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Authentic Montessori — Not a Label

We live Montessori; we do not merely advertise it. Every classroom, material, and interaction is philosophically coherent and true.

02
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Three-Hour Work Cycles

Uninterrupted morning work periods that develop the deep concentration research links to lifelong achievement and genuine self-direction.

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A Truly International Community

Families from Rwanda, Africa, and around the world. Children who grow up alongside peers with different stories become more curious, more empathetic, more complete.

04
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French From the Very Beginning

French is woven into every programme from Toddler through Upper Elementary — giving children a bilingual foundation that opens doors for life.

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Sports Twice a Week, by Design

Padel, football, basketball, and movement arts — professionally coached and Montessori-aligned.

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Mixed-Age Communities

Older children mentor younger ones. Younger children aspire to what they see ahead. Real leadership and empathy grow here, naturally.

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Kindness as Curriculum

Not a policy on a wall but a practice woven into every hour of every day. Children learn to be kind because the adults around them are.

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Parents as True Partners

Monthly workshops, open classroom observations, and genuine dialogue. When parents understand the why, they become extraordinary partners.

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Physical Education

Montessori & Sport:
A Natural Partnership

Montessori Sports-Supported School

Karisimbi Montessori School is proud to operate as a Montessori Sports-Supported School — a formal designation reflecting our commitment to integrating structured, philosophy-aligned physical education directly into the Montessori day. Sport here is not an extracurricular. It is a core pillar of our curriculum, designed with the same intentionality and care as any prepared classroom environment.

Our Approach to Collaboration

"In a pioneer partnership with Mamba Sports Club, our children will have professional training in padel, football, and basketball. The facility is the school's living classroom because at Karisimbi, sport is not separate from education, it is an essential part of it."

Official Sports Partners
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Mamba Sports
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Montessori Sports
Our Sports Disciplines
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Padel

A fast-growing racket sport combining skill, strategy, and teamwork. Develops hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, and the kind of focused attention that carries beautifully back into the classroom.

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Football

The world's game — and one of the finest teachers of collaboration, communication, and resilience. Children learn to read the field, support their teammates, and find their role within a larger purpose.

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Basketball

Coordination, agility, quick thinking, and teamwork under pressure. Basketball develops both physical confidence and the social intelligence to lead, follow, and adapt in real time.

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Physical Education & Health

Rooted in Montessori principles, our PE & Health programme develops body awareness, coordination, and healthy habits through purposeful movement, mindful breathing, and a joyful relationship with physical wellbeing, nurturing the whole child from the inside out.

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Termly Event

Sports Day & Tournaments — Each term culminates in a celebration of physical achievement: inter-house competitions, family tournaments, and community days where effort is honoured above all else. Every child participates. Every child belongs.

Why We Invest in Sport

  • Physical movement activates the brain — enhancing concentration, memory, and emotional regulation in the classroom hours that follow.
  • Sport teaches children to lose gracefully, win humbly, and persist courageously — life lessons no worksheet can deliver.
  • Team sport builds the social intelligence that Montessori mixed-age environments also cultivate: leadership, empathy, and shared purpose.
  • Physical confidence spills into intellectual confidence. A child who trusts their body learns to trust their mind.
  • Regular movement supports mental health and builds a lifelong relationship with joyful, active living.
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Shared Language

Sports coaches and classroom guides use the same observational vocabulary. A child's growth is one continuous story, understood and held by the whole team.

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Collaborative Planning

Weekly cross-team planning ensures physical activities complement classroom themes. Body and mind work on the same canvas, in the same week.

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Whole-Child Reports

Parent progress conversations include input from both classroom guides and sports coaches — giving families a genuinely complete picture of their child's development.

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Our Programmes

Learning at Every Stage

Montessori recognises distinct planes of development, each with its own characteristics and sensitive periods. Our four programmes honour these planes with purpose, beauty, and deep developmental respect.

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French as a Second Language — All Programmes From the Toddler Community through Upper Elementary, French is woven into every stage of the Karisimbi curriculum, through song, conversation, stories, and purposeful classroom integration. Children build a genuine, growing relationship with the French language at every age, in ways that feel natural and joyful.
Toddler Programme Image
Ages 2 – 3 Years

Toddler Community

The Builder of Self Begins Here

The toddler is not a small child waiting to become a preschooler. They are a person in a period of extraordinary, explosive self-construction — building language, will, coordination, and identity at a pace that will never again be equalled. Our Toddler Community honours this urgency with an environment that is beautiful, ordered, child-sized, and deeply kind.

Everything here has been chosen to invite independence. Children prepare their own snacks, care for plants, fold their own clothing, and choose their own work — not as performance, but as genuine participation in the life of the community. These seemingly simple acts are the foundation of confidence, concentration, and character that will carry a child through every year of school and every decade of life that follows.

French enters gently here — through songs, greetings, simple vocabulary, and the warm repetition of everyday words. A two-year-old absorbs language with a naturalness that older learners can only admire. We meet that gift with intention.

Key Developmental Focus
Independence Language Acquisition Gross Motor Skills Social Belonging Practical Life Sensory Exploration 🇫🇷 French — Songs & Vocabulary
2–3
Casa Programme Image
Ages 3 – 6 Years

Casa dei Bambini -Preschool

The Children's House — Where Magic Is Made Visible

The Casa is where the Montessori magic becomes visible. In a three-year mixed-age community, children between three and six encounter the full range of Montessori materials — Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics, and Cultural Studies — not as subjects to be taught, but as invitations to explore with complete freedom within a prepared and beautiful space.

The three-hour morning work cycle begins here. Children choose their work, carry it to their space, and return it to the shelf when they are finished. This daily act of self-direction is more than a learning choice — it is the cultivation of agency, responsibility, and the kind of focused attention that most adults spend years trying to recapture.

French deepens here: through conversation corners, picture books, role play, and French-speaking story sessions woven into the weekly rhythm. By the time children leave the Casa, French is already becoming a natural part of how they think and speak.

Key Developmental Focus
Reading & Writing Mathematics Foundations Sensorial Refinement Cultural Awareness Work Cycle Discipline Peer Community 🇫🇷 French — Conversation & Stories
3–6
Lower Elementary Programme Image
Ages 6 – 9 Years

Lower Elementary

The Age of Why — and the Beginning of Everything

Around age six, something profound shifts. The absorbent mind of early childhood gives way to a reasoning mind — hungry, searching, and deeply social. The Lower Elementary child does not want facts. They want to understand the universe. They want to know why things are the way they are, how they came to be, and where they fit in the story of life on Earth.

Through Montessori's five great lessons — the Story of the Universe, the Story of Life, the Story of Humans, the Story of Language, and the Story of Numbers — children ages six to nine are invited into the largest possible picture of existence, then given freedom to follow their fascination wherever it leads. Research, collaboration, and deep inquiry become daily practice.

French expands significantly here: reading, writing, grammar, and extended conversation. Children work in French across subject areas, building genuine academic fluency alongside their English learning.

Key Developmental Focus
Cosmic Education Research & Inquiry Advanced Mathematics Written Expression Collaborative Work Geography & History 🇫🇷 French — Reading, Writing & Grammar
6–9
Upper Elementary Programme Image
Ages 9 – 12 Years

Upper Elementary

The Emerging Citizen — Ready to Shape the World

Children ages nine to twelve are developing abstract reasoning, a passionate sense of justice, and an urgent desire to understand themselves in relation to others, to society, and to history. At Karisimbi, this is where the depth of Montessori investment truly pays forward.

Advanced mathematics, complex written composition, Socratic seminars, community service, entrepreneurial projects, and digital literacy are woven into a curriculum that takes each child's own questions as its starting point. Children who have spent years learning to direct their own work now engage in scholarship that looks nothing like schoolwork — and everything like real intellectual life.

French reaches full academic fluency here: literature, debate, project presentations, and cross-cultural research conducted in both French and English. By graduation, Karisimbi children are genuinely bilingual — a foundation that opens doors in universities and careers across the world.

Key Developmental Focus
Abstract Reasoning Advanced Literacy Algebra & Geometry Socratic Debate Community Service Digital Literacy 🇫🇷 French — Full Academic Fluency
9–12
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Parent Voices

Families Who Have Chosen Karisimbi

The truest measure of a school is not its facilities or its philosophy documents — it is how families feel when they become part of the community.

"

“Sneza ran a small school during the pandemic, and our then-4-year-old Luke was lucky enough to participate. The thing I loved about the school is that every single day was filled with wonder, social and emotional learning, and above all, a deep love of learning. These are habits that he has carried forward as he has grown older. He also advanced significantly in his reading and writing - and it was all driven from a place of interest and meaning. If Sneza ran a school in my city, I would join again in a heartbeat!”.

Parent Avatar
Andrew Youn
Parent
"

Ms Sneza is an amazing educator who combines wisdom about the needs of children with a deep kindness. Our son was initially very shy and withdrawn in class, and by the end of her time with him she had brought out his self-confidence and humor. She was always willing to discuss his education and schooling with us and went above and beyond to make sure that he would thrive. I highly, HIGHLY recommend her as an educator and leader.

Parent Avatar
Hermione Davies
Parent
"

We met Sneza during COVID when we joined her homeschool pod. While most children were falling behind during lockdowns, our daughter flew through milestones and re-entered school reading confidently. Having known Sneza as both teacher and administrator, we've seen firsthand how deeply she understands children as learners.

Parent Avatar
Eleanor Hartzell
Parent

Testimonials will be added as families join our community ahead of our 2026 opening.

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Our Team

The People Behind
the Prepared Environment

A Montessori school is only as good as the people within it. Our guides are not simply credentialed teachers — they are trained observers, patient companions, and deeply committed students of childhood. Each one is selected not only for their qualifications, but for their capacity to listen, to wonder, to be kind, and to believe fully in the children before them.

Snežana Tomašević
Snežana Tomašević
Founder & Director
.Harvard Business School — School Management & Leadership
.BA in Arabic Language & Literature
.International Montessori Teaching Diploma
.Certificate in Child Psychology
.Certificate in Children's Human Rights
.Certificate in Gender & Development
LanguagesSerbianEnglishArabic
Team Member 👤 Profile Coming Soon
Team Member 👤 Profile Coming Soon
Team Member 👤 Profile Coming Soon

Our Team Is Being Assembled

We are carefully selecting the educators who will bring Karisimbi to life. Every guide will hold Montessori credentials, receive continuous professional development, and be chosen above all for the warmth, patience, and genuine belief in children that no certificate alone can confer. Full profiles will be published ahead of our 2026 opening.

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Montessori Credentials
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Trained in
Observation Practice
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French Language
Competency
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Sports–Classroom
Collaboration
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Emotional Intelligence
& Child Development
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Join Our Team

Build Something
That Matters

We are assembling a founding team of educators who believe, as we do, that the most important work a person can do is help a child become fully themselves. If you hold Montessori credentials and are looking for a school where your values and your practice are finally in the same room — we would love to hear from you.

Montessori Guide

Toddler Guide

Programme: Ages 2 – 3 Years

We are looking for a warm, patient, and deeply observant guide to lead our Toddler Community. The ideal candidate understands the profound developmental significance of the toddler years and brings both Montessori training and a genuine love of working with the very youngest learners.

  • BA in Education or a related field; Montessori Infant & Toddler diploma a strong advantage
  • Experience in a Montessori or early years setting
  • Proficiency in English; French an asset
  • Patience, warmth, and exceptional observational skills
Express Interest →
Montessori Guide

Preschool Guide

Programme: Casa dei Bambini — Ages 3 – 6 Years

Our Casa guide will create and steward a prepared environment of extraordinary beauty and intentionality for children ages three to six. We seek someone who understands the sensitive periods of early childhood and who can hold a three-hour work cycle with calm authority and genuine delight.

  • BA in Education or a related field; Montessori Early Childhood diploma (3–6) a strong advantage
  • Classroom experience in a Montessori Casa environment
  • Strong language and materials knowledge
  • Fluency or working proficiency in French an advantage
Express Interest →
Montessori Guide

Lower Elementary Guide

Programme: Ages 6 – 9 Years

The Lower Elementary guide will bring Cosmic Education alive for children ages six to nine — connecting mathematics, language, science, history, and geography into one grand, cohesive story. We are looking for someone with both the intellectual breadth and the relational depth this age group demands.

  • BA in Education or a related field; Montessori Elementary diploma a strong advantage
  • Deep knowledge of the Great Lessons and Elementary curriculum
  • Experience facilitating collaborative, research-based projects
  • Passion for the reasoning mind of the 6–9 year old child
Express Interest →
Montessori Guide

Upper Elementary Guide

Programme: Ages 9 – 12 Years

Our Upper Elementary guide will work with the school's most senior students — children on the threshold of adolescence who are developing abstract reasoning, a sense of justice, and a hunger for real intellectual engagement. This role demands equal parts scholar, mentor, and community builder.

  • BA in Education or a related field; Montessori Elementary diploma a strong advantage
  • Experience with advanced Montessori materials and research-based learning
  • Ability to support secondary school transition planning
  • Strong community-building and parent communication skills
Express Interest →
Support Role

Teacher Assistants

All Programmes · Multiple Positions Available

Our classroom assistants are an essential part of the Karisimbi community. Working alongside our guides in the Toddler, Casa, and Elementary environments, you will support individual children, help maintain the prepared environment, assist with materials, and contribute to the warm, orderly atmosphere that makes deep learning possible. This is an ideal role for those pursuing Montessori training or those with early childhood education backgrounds who wish to grow within an authentic Montessori setting.

  • A background in education, childcare, or a related field
  • Genuine warmth, patience, and a love of children
  • Willingness to learn and commit to ongoing Montessori professional development
  • English required; French and Kinyarwanda an advantage
  • Montessori training or current enrollment in a Montessori programme preferred
Express Interest →
French Teacher

French Language Teacher

Programme: All Programmes — Ages 3 – 12 Years

This is a whole-school role spanning our Preschool through Upper Elementary communities. You will work closely with classroom guides to ensure that French is integrated meaningfully into the rhythms of each programme, from song and story in the early years, through conversation and grammar in the elementary years, to genuine academic fluency by graduation. You are not just teaching a language. You are giving children a second home in the world.

  • BA in Education, French Language, Linguistics, or a related field
  • Native or near-native fluency in French; strong working proficiency in English
  • Experience teaching French as a second language, ideally to children between the ages of 3 and 12
  • Understanding of second language acquisition principles and age-appropriate methodologies
  • Ability to differentiate instruction across a wide developmental range- from the playful wonder of a three-year-old to the emerging intellect of a twelve-year-old
  • Warmth, creativity, and the patience to meet every learner exactly where they are
  • Experience in or genuine openness to the Montessori philosophy
Express Interest →

Why Join Karisimbi as a Founding Educator?

To be part of a founding team is rare. It means shaping culture, not inheriting it. It means building the traditions, the rhythms, and the community that every future class will inherit. We are looking for educators who understand the weight and the privilege of that responsibility — and who are ready to pour themselves into it with joy, with kindness, and with absolute dedication to the children in their care.
To Apply send your resume and cover letter to sneza@karisimbischool.com.

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Admissions

Begin Your Child's
Journey With Us

Joining Karisimbi Montessori is a joyful, personal process. We take time to understand your child and your family — because a lasting partnership begins with genuine connection, not paperwork.

1

Enquire & Connect

Submit an enquiry or call us. We will reach out within 48 hours for an initial conversation — to answer your questions and begin understanding your child and your family's values.

2

School Tour & Parent Meeting

Visit our campus, experience our prepared environments, and meet your child's prospective guide. This is your space to ask everything. There are no wrong questions here.

3

Child Visit Day

Your child spends a morning in the classroom while you wait in our parent lounge. Our educators observe and interact gently — learning what no form can tell them about how your child comes alive in a Montessori environment.

4

Enrolment Offer

Where a good fit is confirmed, we extend a formal offer. Enrolment is completed simply and clearly. We guide you through every next step with warmth — this is supposed to feel exciting.

5

Family Orientation

Before the first day, new families attend our Orientation covering Montessori philosophy, school rhythms, and time to connect with other incoming families. Your child's first day is celebrated, not rushed.

6

First Day & Ongoing Partnership

Welcome to the Karisimbi community. From this day forward you are not a parent on the outside of your child's education — you are an essential part of it, always.

Admissions at a Glance

ProgrammesAges 2 – 12 Years
School Hours7:30 AM – 3:30 PM
Extended CareUntil 5:00 PM Available
LanguagesEnglish + French
Class SizeMaximum 24 Children
Academic Year3 Terms · 38 Weeks
IntakeRolling — Subject to Availability
Opening Year2026
Admissions Photo
admin@karisimbischool.com
+250 78 000 5531
KG 5 Ave, number 45 Kacyiru