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GPATEACHING STAFF Coming home, staying home Early School teacher with deep Grosse Pointe Academy roots is right where she belongs, says the most important part of her job is having a safe, secure, and welcoming classroom for her children. Growing up in the Pointes, GPA Early School teacher Peggy Varty (below, with husband, John) and her family were well aware of that big school building on Lake Shore Road. Varty attended the Academy of the Sacred Heart through eighth grade when ASH occupied the campus and buildings now operated by GPA. Her two children attended GPA, a great aunt graduated from ASH in 1909 and her sister finished at ASH in 1967. But it was her brother, Bob, whose experience at Sacred Heart in its stillnascent Montessori program first convinced her of the value of the innovative teaching program founded in Europe in the early 1900s by Maria Montessori. When Varty was a freshman in high school at St. Paul, her grandmother became quite ill and her mother was spending a lot of time at the hospital. Varty’s mother called Mother Bayo, who was the principal of ASH at the time, to see if there was an opening at ASH’s Montessori school for Varty’s then four-year-old brother. Fortunately, Varty said, he was able to get into the school’s afternoon session, which helped the situation at home quite a bit, but also made a profound impact on her little brother. “In our family of five children, we were very impressed with what Bob was learning at Montessori and what he could do at such a young age,” Varty said. “None of us had gone to preschool, so it was a new experience for our family. When visitors would come over to the house, we would have Bob do all of his ‘learning tricks’ and he was more than happy to show off his skills. He loved school and he loved learning.” What was interesting, said Varty, was that her brother’s first teacher at ASH was from the Netherlands and did not even speak English. “But in a Montessori classroom, especially for the younger students, you really don’t need many verbal instructions,” she said. “And most Montessori teachers in the early ‘60s received their training in Europe.” From those early days on, her brother’s Montessori experience was always in the back of her mind, Varty said. Varty recollects walking from St. Paul after school to pick up her little brother from ASH. “The boys wore gray wool short-alls, white shortsleeve shirts with Peter Pan collars, gray knee socks and red tie oxford shoes,” she said. “They looked adorable.” As an aside, Varty wants it known that her brother has been extremely successful in his life. “And I attribute that success directly to his GPA Early School teacher Peggy Varty, left, is with husband, John. 26 FALL 2015 / THE ACADEMIC
Varty is with daughter, Meg, who attended The Grosse Pointe Academy. later she became a certified AMS Montessori teacher. Varty pointed out, though, that Montessori teachers are not really called teachers. “We are Montessori directresses,” she said, with a smile. early experience in a Montessori school,” she said. “Bob has always been self-directed, focused, and up for any challenge, which I attribute to his Montessori beginnings.” HUMANISTIC STUDIES ‘PERFECT MAJOR’ FOR MONTESSORI TEACHERS When Varty went to college at St. Mary’s in Notre Dame, Ind., she did not go to be a teacher. She was a humanistic studies major, which involves the study of literature, music, art and cultural history—from feudalism to present time. It’s an interdisciplinary program that encourages students to think across traditional departmental lines. “It was a fascinating major because it encompassed such a wide range of learning,” she said. “We read the literature of that time, studied the art during that time frame, and by studying the history through the culture, it explained why certain events happened. In hindsight, it was the perfect major for a Montessori teacher since a Montessori teacher tries to develop the whole child and expose him or her to a wide, wide range of learning.” It was during her time in college that Varty became more fascinated with Montessori and even more so as she got closer to graduation. As a senior, she managed to get into an independent study program at a Montessori school in town where she worked three afternoons a week. “I loved it! I worked at the sound table and taught the children their sounds. Children love that one-on-one time and I loved helping the children learn their sounds and then learn to read.” When she graduated from college, Varty immediately took Montessori training and a year FULL CIRCLE Soon after graduation from St. Mary’s and right after she completed Montessori training, Varty got married. Her husband, John, worked in advertising and marketing, and his job took the couple across the country for a number of years. But her Montessori training was never far from wherever she called home. She taught at schools in Cincinnati, Dayton and Kansas City, and even started a new Montessori school when she lived in Denver. She took a break from teaching when her two children were young, but Varty eventually got back into education while living in Dove Canyon, California. “I taught art to grades K through six at four different public schools in southern California,” she said. “I would travel to a different school each week. I did that for three years.” When it looked like her family was moving back to Grosse Pointe, Varty contacted the principal of the Early School at GPA to find out about possible openings. Fortunately there were, she said, and in August of 1995, she came back home and began to teach Montessori at the Academy. “Since ASH was part of my childhood I already knew the layout of the campus and the buildings,” she said. “I had fond memories of my time at ASH, so getting to GPA was like my life had come full circle. We were gone from Grosse Pointe for 23 years, so it was kind of ironic that when we came back to town, I was teaching at a school that I actually attended. And we bought a home two doors down from the home in which I grew up. My children went to GPA as well, so I got to experience the school again through their eyes.” Continue on page 31 THE GROSSE POINTE ACADEMY / FALL 2015 27
Page 1 and 2: THE Academic FALL 2015 THE GROSSE P
Page 3 and 4: Contents Fall 2015 Volume 1 No.1 pg
Page 5 and 6: ALUMPROFILE FORMER ACADEMY STUDENTS
Page 7 and 8: Arts and academics FOUNDATION OF AC
Page 9 and 10: “I attended GPA from preschool to
Page 11 and 12: ISACS TEAM CONCLUDES IMPORTANT RE-A
Page 13 and 14: THE GROSSE POINTE ACADEMY NETS BIG
Page 15 and 16: ACADEMY A BIG PART OF DETROIT CHILD
Page 17 and 18: GPA MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS ATTEND D
Page 19 and 20: A summary of GPA student results ar
Page 21 and 22: SOCCER-PLAYING ROBOTS AND ‘SQUISH
Page 23 and 24: “My first assignment with State w
Page 25: “Since the economic situation is
Page 29 and 30: Academy alum earns big scholarship
Page 31 and 32: called World Views and Civilization
Page 33 and 34: Mad for Montessori What do you call
Page 35 and 36: of her birth in New York City. But
Page 37 and 38: emainder of my teaching years at th
Page 39 and 40: ight choice CURRENT PARENTS DISCUSS

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