MARIA ARTERO CATHOLIC
PRESCHOOL & KINDERGARTEN
About Maria Artero Catholic Preschool & Kindergarten
Principal's Welcome
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Jesus loves the little children. All the children of the world, no matter what color or shape are precious in His sight. He said come to me; the kingdom of God belongs to you.
Maria Artero Catholic Preschool & Kindergarten opened on October 17, 1967 and on October 17, 2017 celebrated its 50th Anniversary of service to our people of Guam. Back then, we, the Mercedarian Missionaries of Berriz (MMB) decided to educate the children in all the basic skills for their future as good citizens and introduce them to God. The MMB’s tradition is for educators to participate in the mission of Jesus by introducing young children to the educational process in a Catholic environment (MMB Education Plan 1998).
As the saying goes, “It takes an entire village to educate a child”. We need to work together in striving to meet the goals and criteria needed to nurture the children to grow physically, academically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually.
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We are grateful for this opportunity to live our lives with you and become a part of your family through your children, whom we serve. Know that as Mercedarian Missionaries of Berriz (MMB), we strive to provide high quality services.

Dångkulu na si yu'us ma'åse! Thank you very much!
Our Philosophy
"Who is of the greatest importance in the Kingdom of God?" "I assure you, unless you change and become like little children...Whoever welcomes one such child for my sake welcomes me. See that you do not look down upon a single one of these little children. Their angels in heaven constantly behold my heavenly Father's face." (Mt. 18: 1, 10).
All children have a right to an education in keeping with their abilities, interests, cultures and ultimate goals in life. We provide an integrated approach to education as a total person - that is, a religious, intellectual, emotional, social, and physical formation within a Christian spirit. We offer a complete education program of religious formation, skills development, creative growth and social integration, with no discrimination on the basis of religion, although, we are a Catholic private school and therefore our teachings are based on the Catholic faith. We do not discriminate based on national origin, economic level, or special needs (if within reasonable accommodation the school could meet a child's needs).
Our History
On October 17, 1967, we opened our school under the name of Maria Artero Nursery. It was through the generosity of Maria C. Artero that we acquired the house and property. In gratitude to her, we named the school after her, that is Maria Artero Nursery.
The Sisters who founded Maria Artero Nursery are known as the Mercedarian Missionaries of Berriz (MMB) Our Sisters who passed through Guam to Micronesia in 1946 stayed at Maria Artero's house, as there were no convents on Guam at that time.
Some years later, Maria fell ill and needed medical attention. While recuperating, she was cared for by our Sisters in Our Lady of Mercy Home, Kansas City, Missouri. After recovering, she decided to return to Guam. She died some months later in 1966.
Maria knew we wanted and needed a Convent in Guam, so she willed us her house and property. At this time, Bishop Baumgartner, OFM, Cap., advised us to open a school. In 1968, we had our first graduation, with the children in white caps and gowns. In June 1993, we celebrated our 25th graduation year and some of our graduating youngsters were the children of our first graduates. In 1976, Typhoon Pamela destroyed our Convent and the school. That same year, both the Convent and the existing school building were built.
In May of 2003, we incorporated and amended our name to Maria Artero Catholic Preschool & Kindergarten (Maria Artero CPK).