History

The first Bishop Hamilton Montessori School opened in January 1983 with six preschool children. The school falls under the jurisdiction of the Ottawa Anglican School Society. The Society was incorporated on October 7, 1981 by Anglicans concerned about the adequacy of Christian nurturing for children in an increasingly secular and materialistic society.

The school is named after the first Anglican bishop of Ottawa, the Right Reverend Charles Hamilton. After thirty years of ministry in Quebec and Niagara, he became the Anglican bishop of Ottawa in 1896. Among his other qualities, Bishop Hamilton is remembered for his happy relationship with children. In several addresses to the synod he stressed the desirability of denominational schools affiliated with the public system, where Christian faith and nurture could be part of a child’s daily education.

Elaine Hopkins was one of the founding members of the Ottawa Anglican School Society and Bishop Hamilton Montessori School’s first principal. She built the school up from a few pupils in 1983 to a student body of over 400 students in two schools by her retirement in 2004. As a committed Christian, Mrs. Hopkins made it her duty to see that the excellent education offered by Bishop Hamilton Schools would be available to all, regardless of income levels. To this end, the Edwin Lackey Endowment Fund was started. Mrs. Hopkins was the executive director of the Ontario Federation of Independent Schools (OFIS) and remains active in education.