I recommend this school to everyone that is looking for a serious and true Montessori program. In…read moreMD any school that claims to be Montessori has to be approved by the state and has to have at least one Montessori-trained teacher. However, I have heard parents complain sending kids to Montessori is a waste of money because it's just a name to sell the school. So, not all state-approved Montessori programs have good quality of education. So being aware not all schools are the same, I toured 3 Montessori schools: Lone Oak, Manor and the Woods Academy. I found the Lone Oak Montessori on AMI website and Woods academy on AMS website. Manor was recommended by other parents and it seems to be a popular choice when it comes to Montessori preschools in Bethesda area. I took my 3-year-old son with me to all the tours and he loved the Woods the best because we were allowed to walk into the classroom and had very brief interactions with the students and teachers, to observe and also play some toys in the classroom while parents were talking to the director, Mrs. Gerber- who is very knowledgeable and experienced about Montessori programs and part of the reason we chose Montessori is because of her expertise and experience. After the tour, my son wanted to go back the next day because the classroom was just so fun and interesting for little kids. My son is happy every day and cannot wait to tell me what he learned in school. The teachers encourage independence, good manners, trying new things/food, healthy snacks, and creativity. They are caring and loving but also very firm when giving instructions. My son learns new things/facts each day and not just merely playing with expensive toys. For instance, he came home one day start singing "The family of the Sun," and talked about all the facts he learned about planets and I was amazed. And three weeks later, he started to learn the sounds of alphabets and try to read! The teacher told me she would advance any student if s/he is ready so there is no need to wait till 4 or 5 to learn how to read. The other pluses but not major factors are- 1) facility, it's a school so it has it's own gym, music/art classrooms, library, and playground. It's very spacious, clean and well-maintained. 2) it has PE, music and art classes once a week for 30 minutes. The school has a very strong art program. 3) faculty and staff are very friendly and they know student by names. I felt that students are given a lot of attention because of its small classroom size. The only downside is the tuition. It is about $2K more than other schools I checked/toured. We've been happy with our choice and would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good preschool in Bethesda. If you want more information about the Montessori program, check out the blog: http://woodsmontessori.blogspot.com/

This is a very good private school in the Potomac and Bethesda area. I went here for Montessori…read morethrough 8th grade and loved my experience here. There were incredible resources and the teachers were awesome! I definitely recommend looking here for your child.

Quick - which American literary lion and icon of twentieth century literature is buried at the end…read moreof Rockville Pike? Only 4 novels, but he chronicled - and coined - the Jazz Age. Yes. F. Scott Fitzgerald's grave is here bang in the middle of Rockville. I took Thing 1 and Thing 2 to see it today. It is a lovely spot, the graveyard itself is beautiful, small, with lots of old graves to mull around. There is a magnificent weeping cherry blossom in the graveyard. I noticed just tucked in between the tombstone and the headstone that there were a lot of pens and some folded up pieces of paper. Without thinking too much about it I grabbed one and unfolded it and read it. " FSF - from one Lieutenant to another - wish me luck - JSA" JSA, I am wishing you luck too, and I hope a lot of other people will as well. There is another martial link between that note and the grave's story. Fitzgerald was in the Army towards the end of the First World War and when he died he was buried in Rockville Union Cemetary as his parents were originally from there. Zelda was also buried with him when she died in 1948 ( in a fire in a sanatorium). Then in 1948 the Women's Club of Rockville started lobbying Scottie and Zelda's daughter Frances to have them buried with other family members in St Mary's. This was finally done in 1975. The Church itself is also worth visiting. Built in 1817 it is one of the oldest working churches in Maryland, and probably in the Top 100 in the USA I would guess. It is tiny, probably only 10 pews on each side, 150 capacity in all. Each pew has a family brass plate on it. If you are a traditionalist Catholic you will enjoy the layout of the Church- they did not screw around with it in the 1970s as they did with most churches, and the tabernacle is old school, the altar rails are old school. The baptismal font is new school and up in the front - I 'd like to think that might be an original feature due to the small size of the church. A new Church was built for the parish in the 1960s - and it is fair to say that the new Church is a complete and utter monstrosity by comparison. They had a permit to demolish the old church and thank God the citizens of Rockville did not let them do it. Now it is the go-to venue in Rockville for Baptisms and weddings - and the old Church is so small, beautiful original and unique it looks like it came straight out of Hollywood Central casting for a cinematic church - another fitting link to Fitzgerald. "His was a great sin who first invented consciousness. Let us lose it for a few hours." "What will we do this afternoon, and the next, and for the next 30 years?" "So we beat on, boats against the currents, borne back ceaselessly into the past" "There are no second acts in American lives" This is an absolutely splendid place to come and visit. The next time you are on Rockville Pike cursing the big box stores, the traffic and the corporate chain restaurants, come straight here and sit and reflect and admire.

If you're into architecture and history, St. Mary's is worth a visit. A historic parish, the 1817…read morechurch still stands next to a uniquely designed modern building. Park in the spacious lot outside and walk to the cemetery. Buried there is the great American author F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda.

We're finishing up our fourth year at PGDS, and my son is going to start soon (my nephew is there…read moretoo). I can't say enough good things about this place (and I even waited four years to write a review just to be sure). For starters, though, there is a good chance you need to know this: the preschools in this area are fantastic. Your child will be fine, and you're doing a good job. I looked at 12 schools before choosing this place for my daughter who has a September birthday and misses the MCPS cut off (little did I realize how big a deal this is). I almost didn't consider this school because it has a Christian affiliation and my family is half Muslim and also not religious. Surprisingly, I found this school to be just the right amount of religious (do charity, be a good person, take pics with Santa) and non of the crazy things I thought it would be (like the documentary Jesus Camp). I was also surprised to find that the student body was very ethnically and even a little religiously diverse. When I was looking at schools, I really wanted a preschool as opposed to a daycare, and that is what this school is. My daughter would start class in September and stay there and have the same teacher all year. (Camp was more flexible, but we also loved that experience too!) The teacher retention at this school is incredible. Another thing, they are not strict about potty training by a young age in order for your child to move up a grade. (This is an important thing, but I didn't realize it would be when I was looking at schools.) So, back to my point about the September birthday, this school has a fabulous transitional kindergarten for kiddos born too late to go to MCPS, but too old to be in pre-K again. It was the perfect thing for my kiddo, and I'm grateful that her teachers (in all the grades) focused on not just learning but fun, kindness, understanding emotions and being a good community member. The families that attend here are fun too, and an added bonus to my daughter making friends is that I did too.

My son has attended PGDS from 3 years old - Transitional Kindergarten. My daughter is currently…read moreattending Pre-K here. I am so glad I found this school. The most important factor to me is that I feel comfortable leaving my kids here and I know that they are in good trusted hands. All the teachers they have had so far are amazing. Our favorites are Miss Gina, Leslie, Indira and Megan. The office staff (Bekah, Jackie and Angela) are very accommodating to our needs. Miss Karen who runs the aftercare is a gem. My children come home with a good balance of learning and playtime. There is a good mixture of History, Geography, Math, Science, and Reading in the curriculum. Their facility is clean. Their tuition rate is competitive as well. My daughter gets extremely excited when she knows she is going to school. The only con is that their Spring and Winter breaks do not align with MCPS.

Antioch Orthodox Festival geographical area covers following countries -Syria, Lebanon but the…read morebest description would be defined as Middle East Festival. Good place to sit in peace and eat. Affordable cost. Free and plenty of parking Playground for kids and extra games provided. Amazing church - worth of touring - hosts will gladly take you there. Additional vendors selling jewelry. Food was very good and they do not run out of it in this place. There is something for anybody - even a picky eater. Arab music played on the speakers so your eating cultural experienced is sort of enhanced. They have the menu printed on the fanciest paper out of all the festivals I have ever visited. They care... In 2016 the festival is Sept 23 - 25.

We chose Mercy for our two young children as they entered PreK 4 and 1st grade because of the…read morestrong academics, Catholic principles, and welcoming community that it has. We moved to the area not knowing anyone and without family nearby, which was very challenging. We quickly this learned area has many good options, but after touring Mercy twice, once with the principal and once with the admissions counselor, it was a very easy choice to make. Mercy is the only three-time blue ribbon school in Maryland, and they pride themselves on education which is completely transparent. The teachers all have professional degrees in education and work very closely with their students. We were excited to learn the young grades have small groups for reading and math, (and as the daughter of a teacher) the levels of work they do has been impressive. We were greeted with friendly parents and our kids made new best friends very easily. One of our favorite things about the school is the enrichment programs they offer which have included Spanish, art club, Wondermakers, and chess. The art and music teachers are incredibly incredibly talented and would encourage anyone thinking of this school to meet them and learn about their projects. The principal, church, and school leadership are professional, welcoming, and open to new ideas that will encourage the best school community possible, including the current playground and school construction. The community has been wonderful to be a part of, and we've been grateful for such support and kindness. Recently, a group of fathers and some staff play soccer on Fridays, and there are fun events throughout the year which fosters the school community. As any school, it's the most of what you make of it, and we've found there are lots of opportunities here which make it a very special place.

Horrible!!! I was told my children had a place in the school and then suddenly they didn't. Not…read moremuch of an explanation and very indifferent.

What an impressive campus and faculty at Bullis. The grounds are beautiful the buildings and…read moreclassrooms are a site to see. The students are polite and well mannered. Bullis seems like an ideal place to learn and grow as a young person. A very impressive school.

Bullis has a new Head who is phenomenal. It's a school that is innovative and moving forward.read more

This is church is so warm and friendly. Rev. Ryan Phipps is an amazing minister. His sermons are…read morerelevant, bible based and great for kids and adults alike. The table time is a wonderful reminder and time for service. We feel at home in this church. Very diverse and welcoming for everyone! Please visit!

I wish this church focused more on the Bible. The music is…read moregreat and people are nice, but I don't really agree with the messages I have heard or read from their main pastor. The messages often are more focused on life and less on what the Bible teaches us. This church does what they can to take the Bible and society and bend the Bible a little to make society feel more comfortable. I believe you have to be careful when compromising the Bible's message and using verses out of context. We are warned about this in the Bible. if the beach is the Bible, the tide is society, and the church is the person in the water then this church has been swept away from the Bible as their context towards righteousness and has lost their way a little. Churches need to make the Bible their guide not what feels right. This church wants everyone to just be happy, and they do a disservice by compromising the message of the Bible to try to make it what people want to hear. They use a lot of emotion, but you should never have to compromise the Bible to meet societies desires. I think they are great people, but they have let politics come into their message too much, and I wonder if their focus is more towards politics than equipping members to have a deeper relationship with Christ through his message. I wish them the best, and I hope the new pastor the best. There are some other great alternatives around that are more upbeat and modern, but they maintain their commitment to the Bible a little better.

This is the blessing to the Catholic people and to other religions in McLean Virginia ZIP code…read more22101 the church is located on don't fight Catholic Church I want to thank you to the office manager Miss Judy Warner for helping less fortunate in the rich town of McLean for providing humanitarian aid and time long time Catholic for 10 generations morning but since 1989 got a lot of famous parishioners belong to this church like for my speaker of the house Gingrich

I have had 3 kids attend Saint Luke 2 now in college one at Saint Joseph's in Philadelphia after…read moregraduating from the Heights School and the other a freshman at Virginia Tech after graduating from Bishop O'Connell High School and one still here in the 8th grade. It has been an amazing, nurturing place to grow up with meaningful traditions and caring teachers, staff and parents. Kimberly B

Best school in the town! Great leadership, great staff, great students! Friendly front desk staff!…read moreFriendly atmosphere all around! People actually say hi to each other! And when you are the one to say hi first, they reply to you!!! Highly recommend this school to any parent who wants the best for their child and to any career seeker in public schools! Go bulldogs! I am a proud teacher and parent at Churchill!

My youngest received a Merit Award last night. The event consisted of middle school age children…read morefrom all over Montgomery County. The award ceremony took place at Winston Churchill HS. I truly believe any facility dedicated to the education of our future (our children) should be given five stars. I was a little perplexed about the size of the lockers. They look like they belonged in an elementary school. In this day and age where high schoolers are 10 feet tall, I don't think they should have to get on their knees to get in and out of their lockers. Maybe that is their exercise for the day. Who knows. The school was very clean and their trophy case was loaded. I would have taken a picture, however I hate to be in pictures (via reflective glass).

Geneva day school is an expensive glorified daycare. My child is okay. But, I wanted to post this…read morereview to alert other parents because most have no clue what is going on in the school. I was impressed by the brochure and website. But, when I asked my child if you did this...or did you do that?....based on the brochure. Answer was no, no...nothing, none of those! So, they are very good at marketing with fancy flyers and brochures but sadly nothing is going on. If your child is underdeveloped....can i assure you it is likely due to this school. We had made this mistake before when we thought oh...we are paying solid $$$, so probably kid will have solid fun and development. We paid solid $$$, but we got just minimum daycare from Geneva. We have seen some really good programs....so we have very good perspective on when schools are just for minting money and when school really put 100% or 200% effort to help with child development. Cmon guys....it is not hard. At least, do what you say in your brochure. How hard is it to give some bubbles, playdoh, slime or bug catching kit to kids? They cost pennies. If you will just leave the kids in the playground for free play all day....that does not help with their development. My child just reported me that some kids were CRYING ALL DAY!!!! Seriously? Where is the money going?

How my heart sings when I think of Geneva Day School! The warmest, most kind, caring, and…read moreconscientious environment for little scholars to learn and grow. . . Am proud to have family as "graduates" of both the preschool and extracurricular activities. Am thrilled to have visited on many occasions, most especially for family events. I love the emphasis on Art, Mindfulness, Environmental Education, and Physical Education. Such traditional, pre-academic training (known to us as the "Geneva Method") is shaped by passionate professionals who love what they do and, yes, love the children. . . I am especially touched by the beautiful curation of Monarch Butterfly gardens; this Maryland Green School campus promotes environmentalism and invites exploration at every turn. . . I cannot recommend more highly this hidden gem of Potomac. Much gratitude for all you do!