National Newsletter...National Newsletter volume -14 issue -8 Page 6 of 22 SAMA Con 2015 By Jenni...

National Newsletter volume -14 issue -8

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National Newsletter

May 2015

Dear Members

Yet another very successful

conference, proudly presented to

our members, will be fondly carried

in our memories for some time to

come. Dr Steve Hughes, our keynote

speaker, spoke with frankness and

passion of the benefits to brain

development in young children in

Montessori environments and the

development of the executive

functions of the brain, enthusing us

to the core. He reiterated often:

“Why mess with what Maria

Montessori, the greatest

developmental genius in human history, gave us” -

referring here to changes Montessori educators

unfortunately often make to Montessori

environments and practices. It was an honoured

opportunity for all who were able to participate.

My other highlight, apart from an

annual catch up with friends, was the

powerful presentation by Naretha

Pretorius on ‘Considered Leadership.’ I

can confidently say that every person

in the room was emotionally moved by

her presentation.

We also give thoughts to Pru Ramsey

and to the Nepalese community at this

time. The day before the recent

earthquake in Nepal, she shared with

us her incredible experiences with the

children and teachers in Kathmandu

whilst there last year. All the speakers left us with

ideas upon which to reflect and bring more of

ourselves to our tasks. A big thank you to them all.

An appreciative thanks to a hard working team behind

the scenes in bringing all of the parts to make the

Letter from the President

By Jacquelyn Price

Letter from the President 1 Montessori in Brazil 10

Modderfontein Thank You 2 Montessori in Malawi 11

Facebook Comments 4 Quality Assurance: IQAA 12

SAMA Con Experience 6 Personal IQAA Experience 14

Manager’s Details 6 New Montessori FB Group 15

Montessori in Albania 7 Members feedback 16

Montessori in Namibia 9 Bread Tags feedback 17

Montessori in the Global Context 9 Vacancies & Classifieds 18

IN T

HIS

ISS

UE

SAMA EXCO and Dr Steve Hughes From left to right: Jacky Price, Kym van Straaten, Steve Hughes, Xanthe Bester, Nicky Rodseth, Peter Williams, Mariana van Niekerk and Jenni Petersen


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conference a successful whole. We highly value the

energy behind the generous giving from each of you.

We are thrilled to now have employed two dedicated

women who will reach out to our member schools,

offering support through guidance and understanding,

so that we may work together and cooperate through

sharing, giving, contributing and reaching out. We

welcome to our team: Natalie Gröss in Johannesburg

and Debi Mc Arthur in Cape Town.

As some of you have

heard from me

before, you all know

how valuable

Montessori

education is. But do

the rest of South

Africa know? I could

ask, do we shout

about it loud enough,

do we band together

and collectively create more, much more of what we

have, within our communities? In keeping with the

theme of the conference: we are not separate from

the rest of our nation, we are this nation. Come out

from your Montessori houses. Become involved, put

your energy behind growing more of what we

appreciate, what we do really, really well. Go out and

share those good stories, not as brags, but as humble

offerings, express your passion for what you do

beyond your prepared environments, reach out

further, give out more of what you do. Don’t wait for

others, initiate projects!

A special mention goes to the good work in Coffee Bay,

Eastern Cape, by Dawn Brochenin and Irene Gaqa of

Ikhaya Labantwana and all those who have stood

behind them in support, to achieve their awards from

the National Development Agency (NDA).

Enjoy the stories in this edition and remember we

would love to hear yours!

Warm regards, Jacky

2 Harley Street,

Modderfontein, 1609

P O Box 423, Modderfontein,

1645

Tel: (011) 608 3956/0902

Cell: 083 229 1247

www.modderfonteinmontessori.co.za

Thank You

Dear Jacky, Irmgard & the SAMA team

Wow does not begin to describe the experience that

you provided for all of us. I know that it took an

incredible amount of effort and teamwork to pull a

weekend like this together - the result was

astounding. The SAMA team and conference

organisers were absolutely top notch and

professional.

I cannot begin to express my admiration and

gratitude for all your hard work in hosting the 2015

conference ‘Montessori, Education for the Nation’. I

loved every minute of it, from beginning to end. The

speakers were exceptionally well chosen and a delight

to listen to. They were inspirational, powerful,

motivating and enlightening. Steve Hughes was a

breath of fresh air and music to my ears. He

confirmed in his emotional way that Montessori is

definitely the best education in the world for our

children. There was a fantastic combination of

storytelling and wise advice about how to understand

children of all ages.

Thank you for reaffirming why we do what we do and

reminding us that all children can connect when given

the right opportunity. Reuniting with fellow

Montessorians is something I always look forward to

at this annual event and hope to be doing so for many

years to come.

Thank you for recharging my batteries and thank you

to everyone once again for a great conference.

Kindest regards, Shineen Klein

Dr Steve Hughes and SAMA president, Jacky Price

http://www.modderfonteinmontessori.co.za/


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Mariana van Niekerk - With so much food for thought, I

feel that my pantry is completely stocked ... and the

best is the left-overs, those things that I marked to

follow-up, the reading list..... And that's the pudding.

Thank you SAMA, thank you Steve Hughes and thank

you Maria Montessori.

Back home after an exhilarating

Montessori conference in Durban. Steve

Hughes, a top paediatric

neuropsychologist from Minnesota,

referred to Maria Montessori as the

greatest developmental genius in

human history as so many of her

observations and so much of her

method and philosophy is now verified

by sophisticated research. He said that

reading Montessori is like drinking water

from a fire hose! Lovely metaphor....

there is just so much about Montessori

that makes perfect sense.

Met soveel kopkos en padkos....

het ek nou ook sommer

oorskietkos (left-overs) om te

geniet. Nou kom die opvolg-

poedings, daardie steretjies in jou

nota's wat opgevolg moet word.

Dankie SAMA.

Die Montessori konferensie was

ongelooflik. Die hoofspreker,

Steve Hughes het talle

navorsingstukke aangehaal en

verduidelik dat daar nie 'n beter

manier vir kleuters is om 'n

"brein te bou nie" as deur

kleuters aan Montessori bloot te

stel nie. Weet net, by

Montessori-skole word dinge reg

gedoen en julle besluit om vir jul

kinders Montessori te gee, is 'n

regte besluit!

Jacquelyn Price -

we were left

inspired with

much to share.

Thank you.

So pleased to be part of a larger

Montessori Community. Interesting

discussions all day long. Looking

forward to hearing more tomorrow.

Kym van Straaten - The SAMA conferences get better

every year please plan for Cape Town next year

around the 30th April

Sunette Brooks - Thank you! Thank

you! Thank you! Wow does not begin

to describe this experience. Super

blessed to be part of such a wonderful

group of amazing people! See you all

next year.

Jenna Kempster - Wow what

an absolutely incredible

conference this weekend in

Durban!!! Thank you Kym van

Straaten and Steve

Hughes what an amazing

journey it has been these

past few days! So inspired!


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Debbie Mauerberger - Explore and discover

Thank you so much for such an inspiring conference - it was so lovely to meet all of you in person- and a wonderful opportunity for sharing our stories / experiences in our environments. This conference has had a significant impact on both Sophie and myself. The talks have inspired me to think about my personal values and goals and also about the quality of Montessori education our schools are providing and how there is room for lots of improvement - with the setup of IQAA it can allow us to grow and improve. It also made me question how important Montessori education is to me / do I believe it is the only education system for children? What other studies have been done on child centred education and looking at other models and their findings? Do studies looking at models of education have different findings that are based on countries / culture / religion? Is being 'pure' Montessori the only way to run our schools? What is the effect of watered down (“Level 2”) accessible Montessori for outreach programmes ? Are there benefits of 'watered down' Montessori? Many of our children enter mainstream schools from age 4 to 5 and don't get to do the three year cycle. Is our physical space / classroom and outside layout currently set up? How can it be set up to allow for the kids to have more space - freedom of inside and outside areas - whilst focusing on safety as one of our key principles? How can I also develop my professional qualifications and guide and train my staff in my schools to ensure we are offering high quality Montessori education whist I manage my time with all the tasks required.

Sophie Phete - Attending the Conference allowed me to question… Is Montessori just a 'white person’s’ education?

What impact can SAMA have on both privileged communities and outreach communities?

IS IQAA just set up for schools that can afford the process?

Is SAMA and IQAA available to schools that do not have the financial means to buy into this?

What will happen to schools that join SAMA and don't manage to reach three tier because they can't afford the process?

Will the government take SAMA seriously as Montessori schools seem to have very few black owners?

Is the SAMA EXCO represented by different groups within our society?

How can informal / village schools be shown how to open a Montessori school and be able to make affordable materials? (Pru's talk was inspiring to see how Montessori equipment can be made available in third world countries)

Are colleges following up with all their students - tracking them once they have left college to see what they have done with their Montessori qualifications?

Can courses offer advice on how to set up Montessori classrooms with alternate materials if there is no budget to buy Montessori materials (that are very expensive)?

Could any school that has the space, have a store room and get all Montessori schools to donate equipment with items missing or other - so sets can be built up so this equipment can be second hand and made available to schools that don't have the budget for the expensive materials?

What would I need to study so that I can become a lecturer and offer Montessori to communities, courses in Sotho and Tswana, outreach communities and practical advice on alternate Montessori materials, or projects that support Montessori? (overseas based and other)


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SAMA Con 2015

By Jenni Petersen, Stepping Stones

Montessori pre-school.

I missed the last SAMA

conference in KZN and so I

was grateful to be able to visit

the beautiful, humid province

again. The conference was

truly wonderful. There was a

strong feeling of community

amongst the delegates. Our

Durban host, Nikki Rodseth,

went out of her way to

provide SAMA EXCO members

with a warm welcome and

lovely lunch for our pre-

conference meeting at her

beautiful little school,

Montessori Life.

Keynote speaker Dr Steve

Hughes was exceptional in his

quiet but passionate intensity

and the often emotional

delivery of his content

contributed to this. Dr Hughes

validated from a brain

development specialist’s

perspective why the

Montessori Method is so

effective: we are in the

industry of developing brains,

not teaching information! He

also emphasised and

reinforced the shift in the

education format for the

future.

I was particularly moved by

presenter Naretha Pretorius’

“Considered Leadership,” as I

could identify so deeply with

her journey from the

protected bubble of my

childhood to the

transformative era we live in,

with all its triumphs and

challenges. Being fully

conscious of the layers that

make us who we are is

essential as educators who

deal with those very sensitive

and formative minds.

A balanced range of speakers

on both days presented topics

that had something to offer

for everyone.

Many thanks to everyone who

contributed to this great

conference.

To top it all, the food was very

good!

Maria Erasmus - Montessori Africa

I just wanted to extend my congratulations to all involved in

making the SAMA Con 2015 a huge success. Dr Steven

Hughes was phenomenal and his passion for Montessori

certainly inspired us, confirming that what we are doing, we

are doing well and certainly always meeting the

developmental needs of the child.

The other topics presented were fabulous as were the

presenters.

The appointments of the Regional Directors is exciting as is

the accreditation process.

SAMA Manager Gauteng PTA and

JHB

Natalie Gröss

Email:

[email protected]

g.za

SAMA Manager Western Cape

Deborah McArthur

Email:

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]




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Montessori Albania:

One School and Lots to Do

Observations by Carmen Meyer

My journey into the International World of Montessori teaching only

began about eight months ago when I decided to leave the comfort of my

classroom in beautiful Cape Town at the foot of Table Mountain, my

second home, and move my life to a country I had never heard of before.

Albania. All I knew was that it was in Europe.

The months leading up to my move consisted of running to and from

embassies, police stations, lawyers (most of whom had never heard of

Albania either) and trying to figure out as much as I possibly could about

this country that bordered

Greece.

To understand the school that I

am currently working at, one

must understand the history

and culture of the country. So,

in a nutshell - Albania fell under

the Ottoman Empire and once

the empire collapsed, Albania

became independent and was

led by the dictator, Enver

Hoxha, who drowned the

country in communism and

isolation. Eventually and

thankfully, the socialist republic

was dissolved in 1991 and Albania became a republic. As Albania tried to

pull itself out of the communism memories, people were excited about

the possibilities and opportunities that were being presented to them. The

people of Albania then fell prey

to a terrible pyramid scheme,

and lost everything… really,

everything!

Much like a ping pong ball being

flung back and forth, so was the

future of Albania. To this day

people struggle to make ends

meet and while there is growth

and good things are happening

with Albania being on the list for

EU status, it is still very poor and

a lot needs to change. The mind-

set of the older generation is

closed and while they enjoy the

freedom, they still stick to the

communist ways of thinking. The

younger generation is proving to

be a little more open-minded,

yet it is still not easy for them.

I live in Tirana, the capital city,

which is a mixture of old meets

new with a splash of colour here

and there. One would think that

with Albania being right next

door to Italy where Montessori

began, it would have caught on

here. However, the International

Montessori School of Albania is

the only Montessori school in

Albania. Founded in 2008, it

continues to grow. The school

seems to attract the wealthy

Albanians as well as expats from

all over the world and therefore

consists of about 50% Albanian

and 50% internationals.

I must say that when I arrived, I

fell in love with the gentleness

and calmness presented to me

by my classroom. They seemed

to ‘get it’. No colourful walls or


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posters of Mickey Mouse in sight… instead there were cream walls, light

wooden flooring, mats, and replicas of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” on the

walls at child level – I felt I had walked into my dream classroom. The

materials turned out to be from China, but when you live in a country like

Albania, you take what you can get.

Coming from South Africa, where the Montessori movement is so big, and

being in Albania where it has only been around for seven years, I was

knocked down a few inches. I had to completely lower my expectations of

parent education and of the children. The international parents are a lot

more relaxed and understanding of the Montessori philosophy, but for

some of the Albanian parents, it is difficult.

Seeing as they were raised in a communist society, believing that sweating

makes you sick and children cannot be independent but need to carried up

and down stairs (especially boys!), one can imagine how hard it must be

for them to hear me say, “leave your child, he can do it by himself.”

It is a constant, daily struggle for me to keep my ‘Montessori hat’ on and

to stick to my

principles as

parents here

like to get

what they

want, which

makes my job

frustrating.

The beauty of

it, though, is

when parents

start to slowly but surely see what the environment is doing for their child

and they start to understand a little more about what is going on; that

little light bulb moment - like when a child reads for the first time and you

see them ‘click’ - it clicks for some parents too, and it is wonderful.

It is not easy to see so many children with gross motor and behavioural

problems, especially knowing that these home-made problems could have

been avoided with some freedom and boundaries. But the problem is that

the parents do not want their children to get hurt and suffer like they did

during communism, so they give them what they want and do everything

for them (especially the grandparents!).

I have never met such a fussy group of children when it comes to food.

Most of them only eat pasta, bread, pancakes and rice. No vegetables, no

fruit, no colour. This has become my daily focus… getting 4-year-olds to

walk up and down stairs by themselves as well as getting them to try new

foods; I know once they have a healthy diet and exercise, they will

function and concentrate much better. Then the classroom environment

will normalise and the inner-

peace and self-discipline will

start to come through.

This school has done a lot for

promoting Montessori, from a

series of YouTube video clips

about the method (dubbed over

in Albanian), to helping staff with

professional development.

Because there is no teacher

training here for Montessori,

once a year, the school chooses

an assistant who proves to be

committed to Montessori and

sponsors training for them in

London or the US. The thing is,

though, that once these

assistants are qualified, they

remain assistants as the lead

teachers need to be native

English speakers and it is not

easy for Albanians to get jobs

outside of Albania.

My vision for Albania is that as

the school grows (we are

expanding and getting another

toddler and 3-6 Casa

environment), so will the

training. The children here

desperately need the

independence, freedom of

choice and boundaries that are

incorporated into the daily

routine and the parents

desperately need that ‘light bulb’

moment.

Albania is a wonderful and

friendly country with hidden

gems of beautiful and natural

scenery. The people have

suffered, much like many South

Africans. And while South Africa

will always be my home, Albania

has a special place in my heart.


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The people and the country deserve the knowledge that Maria Montessori

wished for all mankind, and I feel privileged to be a part of a movement so

sound and perfect for this country.

So, if you have read this far, thank you – I obviously have much more to

say about Albania and the education system here, but to conclude my

little essay… I have agreed to sign another year contract and will continue

to do my bit for Montessori in a country that truly needs it. Montessori in

Albania is getting on. After seven years with only two qualified

international Montessori directresses a year to help maintain the quality,

we will now have three qualified international directresses and two

qualified Albanian directresses; which means growth and a positive

outcome for Montessori in Albania in the future.

(If you want a good look at the

school, classes, school grounds

and how they are promoting

Montessori, have a look at the

“Femijet Montessori” series on

YouTube (there are about

seven). These were filmed about

a year ago, before I moved here,

and while it is in Albanian, one

can still see the school and

gather what they are saying.

https://www.youtube.com/watc

h?v=aVqBn6fD0DY )

Montessori in Namibia

Observations by Laura Callard

Four years ago I knew nothing about Montessori. Then, by chance, I got the opportunity of working for Casa Montessori in Walvis Bay. Coincidentally, the campus of the only Namibian Montessori training centre, Headstart Montessori, happened to be in the same building. The course was affordable, the qualification internationally accepted – off I went.

I have never in my life had such an eye opener. That very first seminar opened up a whole new world – a world where children could become all that they can. Since then, I have, along with a number of others, finished my pre-primary qualification and started with elementary this year.

In the last few years, Montessori in Namibia has grown tremendously. There are a number of established pre-primaries across the country and more are or will be opening up soon. By next year, yet another Montessori elementary school will open at the coast. In such a big country with comparatively so few people, we really can make a difference!

The Global Context of Montessori Education

– as seen in our SAMACON 2015

I was privileged to attend the annual SAMA Conference recently and

besides leaving replete after a fill of “brain food”, I felt I was one of an

international group or member of a special club. The Montessori Club.

Our method of education is so unique because it transcends international

boundaries and succeeds in being relevant in each and every nation states’

context. It truly has a global Zeitgeist. How very impressive is that!

Listening to our keynote speaker, Dr Steve Hughes, who reinforced the

way we

Montessorians do things, shows

us how united we are! Our

Montessori way of teaching is

just the same as the Montessori

way of teaching in his native

USA. Dr Hughes went on to tell

us how scientifically fabulous the

Montessori method is for the

optimum development of our

children’s brains, and how Dr

Montessori was so ahead of her

time that modern neural

research is only empirically

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVqBn6fD0DY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVqBn6fD0DY


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understanding how apt and how correct her methods were and still are.

Listening to Pru tell us of her experiences in Kathmandu again showed me

the relevance and feasibility of Montessori there. How impressively she

was able to set up classes with so very little. Of course we were also

impressed with the Best ECD award given to our coffee bay school, Ikhaya

Labantwana, and by a non-Montessori body, the National Development

Agency. (NDA)

The global reach of Montessori really impresses me when I admit a foreign

Montessori child to our school. Durban has a large expatriate community

and Montessori Life has a number of foreign children, mostly from France,

the UK, the Netherlands and North Africa. These children join our school

and often cannot speak English yet, but they seamlessly blend into our

environment as they recognise the work and the structure of the day and

they just carry on with their own individual Montessori journeys. After a

while they become fluent in the language but all the while they have never

had to stop learning, as so much of the learning for them continued

uninterrupted. This impresses me and it truly shows me just how global

we are. Of course this benefits the children most of all.

When I was young I attended a Montessori school in Rome where I grew

up. I then moved to South Africa and could not continue with Montessori

as there was no Montessori school where we lived. Many years later,

however, when I went on to train as a Montessori teacher, I recognised

the equipment and the lessons

and realised I had never

forgotten them too- even though

I had learnt them all in Italian!

Organização Montessori do Brasil (OMB)

The Brazilian Montessori Organization was founded in 1996, and it aims

to spread and strengthen Montessori education around the country by

promoting meetings among schools and professionals who adopt this

methodology.

Besides bringing together Montessori schools, its main objectives

include to provide annual study and promotional meetings, release of

articles, books, translations that serve as references for an in depth

knowledge of the Montessori Education and create awareness of the

Montessori System in universities through live talks.

Currently, the Brazilian

Montessori Organization

supports four existing training

centers in Brazil: two in the city

of Rio de Janeiro (RJ), one in

São Paulo (SP) and one in

Florianópolis (SC).

We are on social networks via

our website and our Facebook

page.

www.omb.org.br

https://www.facebook.com/Org

anizacaoMontessoriDoBrasil

From left to right: Jacky Price, SAMA President; Nicky Rodseth, Principal Montessori Life Pre-Primary, and Bhavna Nathoo, Principal Mighty Minds Montessori

Heard in the classroom: A young five-year-old had

just been taught to cross stitch. On completing the

task, he was asked about his experience – His reply:

“I liked the angry stitches!”

http://www.omb.org.br/

https://www.facebook.com/OrganizacaoMontessoriDoBrasil

https://www.facebook.com/OrganizacaoMontessoriDoBrasil


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Montessori in Mzuzu, Malawi

Malawi is a small, landlocked country in central Africa

with a population of 16 million. It is one of the

poorest countries in the world. At present only 39%

of children have access to any form of Early Childhood

centre. Having spent some nine years working in

Malawi, Diane Cusick,

who is originally from

Ireland, went to the

College of Modern

Montessori in

Johannesburg and

completed the 2 ½ -6

years course in 2004.

She then returned to

Malawi and trained the

teachers in the nursery

school in Zomba where

she was working at the time. Although parents found

the Montessori Method strange, they began to see

how quickly their

children were

learning and a

great support for

the school grew.

In 2007, Diane

moved to Mzuzu in

the north of

Malawi, where she

was asked to assist

in a nursery

school, which was

being run by the

Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP). Diane

found about 50-60 children crammed into a small dark

room, with two

teachers who

were doing rote

learning with

them all day

long – either

singing songs or

reciting the

alphabet and

numbers 1-10. This is very typical of schooling in

Malawi.

Gradually things

began to

change. New

premises were

found with

much more

space than in

the previous

building and

there was enough room

to make an outdoor

playground.

Diane trained all the teachers and acquired some Montessori materials. Realising that perhaps this would not be sustainable in Malawi, she began to think of using locally available materials in the school. Activities are made using natural things like seed pods, maize cobs, beans and wood. The school

moved again to bigger premises in 2013, and now has 65 children with a Head Facilitator in place. In 2009, Nicolas Mwakasula did his Diploma through Montessori Centre International in London by distance learning, and joined the team. Three times a term, the teachers have classes with Diane and Nicolas to enable them to progress in their learning.

Both Diane and Nicolas are involved in a Community

Based Childcare programme with the CCAP, where

they have over 500 centres under their care. Although

they are not all

Montessori

schools, the

Montessori

Method is used

in training the

caregivers.


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Quality Assurance: IQAA

Montessori Pre-schools in a Mirror

Quality assurance for

Montessori pre-schools is

cardinal if the Montessori

brand is to remain credible in

the domain of early childhood

development in South Africa.

At the recent SAMA

conference in Durban,

Montessori Pre-Schools in a

Mirror, was launched. This is

a collaboration between

SAMA and the Independent Quality Assurance Agency

(IQAA) to assure quality in Montessori environments for 3 to

6 year-olds.

Who is IQAA? It is an independent body that operates

throughout the Southern African region with important

relationships with schools, independent school bodies and

various education authorities such as the South African

Montessori Association (SAMA) and the Independent

Schools Association of Southern Africa (ISASA). IQAA

provides quality assurance through the self-evaluation of

schools.

IQAA has developed a model of internal self-evaluation by

schools, guided and assisted by external mentors. IQAA’s

model and the School in a Mirror guide have now been

adapted to accommodate Montessori Pre-Schools with their

unique ethos and the fundamental principles of the

Montessori philosophy. Specially assigned Montessori

mentors will assist each school during this process.

At this stage, IQAA offers a core evaluation model to

Montessori Pre-Schools that have reached the SAMA

progressive membership level. The core model focusses on

two areas of operation: firstly the teaching, learning and

attainments; and secondly the functioning of the school.

This is done within the Montessori context, based on

fundamental Montessori principals.

“I am excited at the level of interest shown by Montessori

educators at the recent SAMA conference,” said Michael

Hosty, executive director of IQAA, who attended the

conference. “IQAA is not only excited at the prospect of

assisting Montessori pre-schools with quality assurance, we

are also very proud to include the Montessori pre-school

community in our drive to assure quality early childhood

development. I, personally, find the Montessori philosophy

one that creates a learning environment which truly

nourishes and encourages a child’s natural development.”

To date, more than 600 schools have done this self-

evaluation and among these are about ten Montessori

schools, he said.

Michael explained that this process entails onsite training by

a Montessori mentor; a survey of the school constituency

be means of opinion surveys designed for Montessori

parents and Montessori educators with detailed positive

and negative feedback; and extensive evaluation of the

school based on information obtained from observations,

interviews, focus groups, mission and vision statements,

reports to parents, planning and work records, school

policies, records of health and safety records, registration

with relevant authorities, staff contracts and job

descriptions, budgeting and financial management;

maintenance plans; indoor and outdoor resources; security

and safety; health and nutrition, sustainable practises;

communication; conduct; leadership and management;

staff development and the quality management system of

the school.

This is an all-encompassing process that is done over a

period of up to three months. A time-table is drawn up by

the school in consultation with the Montessori mentor. All

the steps are explained in the Montessori Pre-School in the

Mirror guideline.

“Ideally schools should do the Montessori Pre-School in a

Mirror self-evaluation every six years. Quality assurance is

not a once-off exercise, it is an on-going mind set, and it is

about finding ways to be the best you can be. It’s about

discovering your strengths and weaknesses, formulating

strategies for improvement and setting long and short term

goals,” Michael stressed.

There are presently two cost structures for Montessori

schools that will embark upon the evaluation in 2016:

For schools that are members of ISASA, the cost of

the evaluation process is covered in the annual

subscription that the school pays to ISASA,

excluding training (in the region of R6000), and the

optional choice of an on-line survey (in the region

of R800 per phase).

Non-ISASA schools will pay an all-inclusive fee of

R25 000, which will cover all aspects of mentor

coordination, training, site visits, focus groups, the

provision of survey forms, the capturing and

analysis of the survey data, overseeing of the


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evaluation report and a concluding letter from the Executive

Director.

Currently there is no fee differentiation for small schools,

principally because the extent of the mentoring process and

the administrative support are the same, irrespective of the

size of the school and its community.

Consideration will be given to the potential saving of the

training component of the evaluation, should small schools

in close proximity to each other combine for this purpose.

It should be noted that schools will only incur these

(inflation related) fees every six years, and as such the cost

of the IQAA evaluation can be incorporated into a school’s

annual budget.

To facilitate this new and exciting venture for Montessori

schools who wish to embark on their evaluation in 2016, we

request that you contact the IQAA office preferably by the

end of September this year. The relevant contact details are:

IQAA Administrator, Mrs Carolyn Hamilton-Smith.

[email protected]. Telephone 021 555 3718. Carolyn will

gladly guide you through the process and answer any

queries. IQAA looks forward to what promises to be a most

rewarding and enriching partnership with Montessori

schools, Michael concluded.

In my own school, Blue Moon, we begin our IQAA process

this month of May and we are really excited about, the self-

evaluation and self-reflection part. As like everyone, we

want to make sure we are providing our best, keeping it

fresh and be guided towards excellent management skills.

I would like to thank Mariana van Niekerk for her

dedication to this task and bringing it to fruition for all of

our pre-school members.

Jacquelyn

Craft kits for kids!

Looking for a gift or something to keep your kids

busy visit www.facebook.com/sensationelcreations for

loads of lovely crafts.

Available for boys and girls!

Contact me for a copy of the catalogue

Price: R25 – R50

Contact: Sylvia Cell: 082 938 6262

Email: [email protected]

I was doing sandpaper

letters with three-year-old

Mishke. Two letters into the

third period of the three

period lesson, Mishke

decided she'd had enough.

"I've had enough,"

she announced,

dramatically, "I'm

going to vomit."

With that in mind she

managed to perform some

spectacular lurching

gestures.

"This is the last one," I said.

"Okay," said Mishke,

graciously, and promptly

ceased undulating. Interesting link: Montessori education was so ground breaking

because it was the first, scientific education method.


http://www.facebook.com/sensationelcreations

http://www.forbes.com/sites/pascalemmanuelgobry/2014/01/22/the-future-of-education-internet-one-laptop-per-child-ted-sugata-mitra-montessori/




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My Experience of

Looking into My

School Mirror

By Mariana van Niekerk, owner and

directress Somerset Montessori

Looking into a mirror is not

always an easy and comfortable

thing to do, especially at my age.

Yes, I’ve earned every single grey

hair and not all the wrinkles are

from laughing. But, this is who I

am. Looking at my school in a

mirror, was also an interesting

experience. Somerset

Montessori is now 18 years old,

full of wrinkles from good and

bad habits.

Somerset Montessori’s IQAA

experience started in April 2014

and was completed in

September 2014 – six months of

introspection, self-evaluation

and hours, days and nights of

discussions and thinking how to

do things better, how to be the

best we can be. It all started with

a training session with our

mentor, Sue Gardener. Kate

Tolson, English directress from

Somerset Montessori, and I

attended. During this session the

process was explained, we were

instructed on how to gather

information and how to write the

preliminary report. We then had

to give our parents and staff (all

five of us) the opinion surveys

about the functioning of the

school. Fortunately all our

parents completed the opinion

surveys as did all the staff.

The detailed feedback on the

opinions of the parents and the

sentiment of our staff gave us

quite a few pointers on which

areas we had to give some

serious thought. In July our Sue,

our mentor, came to visit the

school. Despite our initial

reservations, we were quickly

put at ease. Sue understood the

Montessori philosophy and was

focussed on the basic Montessori

principles. By 12 August a

preliminary report was written

about our strengths and

weaknesses and it was sent to

Sue. On 19 August Sue came to

visit the school for a full day,

observing the environment, the

work cycle, presentations, the

level of freedom and

independence of the children

and conduct of staff. Sue also

looked at our policies, financial

management, staff development,

indoor and outdoor

environments, and parent

communication.

The final report with all the

recommendations for

improvement was completed on

12 September. On 15 September

we received our mentor’s report

and on 3 October the final report

was published. We were then at

liberty to share our findings with

our staff and with our parents.

It was a luxury to be forced to

face quality issues within this

time frame. So often we are so

emerged in the day-to-day

running and teaching at our

schools that we don’t afford

ourselves time to sit and think

about the big issue. The IQAA

evaluation and the support of an

informed mentor, made this a

worthwhile exercise.

So why did Somerset Montessori,

a small independent pre-school

with only 40 children do this

internal evaluation? Running and

teaching such a small school is

often an insular experience. As

an active member of SAMA we

do receive input and feedback

from other Montessori

educators, but we were set in

our ways and we needed to have

somebody from the outside to

help us look within. We needed

to find ways to do things better,

while staying true to the basic

Montessori principles.

It is also important to look at the

society in which our school

operates. We are surrounded by

established mainstream primary

schools such as the private

schools Somerset College,

Somerset House, The

International School and

Helderberg College Primary; and

the government schools

Beaumont Primary, De Hoop

Twice a year we walked

through the fynbos in

our local nature reserve.

"When are we going to

the Naked Reverse?"

asked three-year-old

Jonathan.


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Primary, Hendrik Louw Primary

and Somerset Primary. There are

also the Waldorf School on the

Spier Estate and Newberry

Montessori on Lourensford

estate. Parents in the Helderberg

Basin are spoiled for choice. We

needed to up our game and we

needed to be seen as playing in

the same league as the private

schools.

The enthusiasm and interest with

which our parents received the

final report of the evaluation

process was immensely

rewarding. They not only took

pride in the positive feedback,

but were also reassured that we

were addressing our

weaknesses. They felt they were

part of the team because their

input, via the opinion surveys,

were noted and taken to heart.

Suddenly issues such as

punctuality, parent education,

parent communication and

explaining and marketing

Montessori to the public,

became their responsibility too.

Yes, looking at your school (and

yourself) in a mirror is not always

a pleasant and comfortable

experience. But, when you look

long enough and you think deep

enough, the school that looks

back at you after this self-

evaluation process, is definitely a

better looking school.

Somerset Montessori is also a

member of ISASA, the

Independent School Association

of Southern Africa, and as a

member of ISASA we were

compelled to undergo the

Quality Assurance. As an ISASA

member, our IQAA evaluation

was paid for through our ISASA

membership subscription and

Somerset Montessori had to pay

for the onsite IQAA training by a

mentor. At the time it cost us

R2 764.50. All ISASA members

are required to do this self-

evaluation every six years.

New Facebook Group: Montessori Alumni in South Africa

By Jenna Kempster

This group is for all the Montessori Alumni in South Africa, including all the Montessori “Elders” who have taught these Alumni. We as Montessori Alumni have been given the opportunity to think differently and this allows for creativity in our approach, which enhances our entrepreneurship abilities. We need to show the South African Educational Department that we can; and are creating business opportunities to lead South Africa forward. We have identified the first step in achieving this as the compilation of a data base of Montessori Alumni who exemplify these characteristics.

A paediatric neuropsychologist, Dr Steve Hughes has said that Dr Montessori was the greatest developmental genius in human history. The use of the Montessori materials by the developing brain help to build a child’s cognitive capabilities to its fullest potential. This group aims to show that the Montessori children who are now adults, are living proof of the fact

that having had a Montessori education gives us the ability to think differently. We need to show that the use of the Montessori Method in our education and upbringing has developed innovative, self-motivated individuals who contribute meaningfully to themselves, their communities and the economy.

If you would like to be a part of this group, I encourage you to please step forward and post what you are doing with your life now. Please share your Montessori experience and how having a Montessori education helped you to get to where you are today, with this group, as all of this information will

“We, the human teachers, can only help the great work that is being done, as servants

help the master. If we do so, we shall be witness to the unfolding of the human soul,

to the rising of a New Man who will not be the victim of events, but who will have the

clarity of vision to direct and shape the future of human society.”

(Montessori, M. The Absorbent Mind, 2012).


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be useful in helping us to compile this data. I ask the Montessori

“Elders” to help me to build this data base by adding names of the people that you have taught, who you think will be willing to be a part of this group.

Member feedback from Montessori Life: Ancient Civilisations

On 25th March 2015, Montessori Life went on an outing to consolidate our learning of our first term theme: Ancient

Civilisations. We visited the Umhlanga beach and contracted Lukas Duma, a sand artist, to create some ancient

structures for us. He made the Egyptian pyramids, the Sphinx and a Greek temple, as well as a Viking long boat.

The children were thrilled to experience everything they had learnt in such a brilliant visual way. There was even an

article in the newspaper about our trip!

Nicky Rodseth

Principal, Montessori Life


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Member feedback continued: Ten Years

Montessori Life is proud to announce that it is

celebrating its’10th year anniversary this year

Montessori Life had their annual Pyjama Story

Time Evening. The children just love this event as

they come to school in their PJ’s together with

their parents and teachers and listen to their

favourite stories.

Bread Tags for Wheel

Chairs feedback

A well-known Cape Town School

that has collected bread tags for

many years now needed a

wheelchair themselves for a

disabled learner – so they asked

for two. When the children play

sport, the able bodied learners

take it in turns to use the second

wheelchair on the opposite

team. This evens the teams up

and gives the able bodied

learners the chance to really

experience and understand their

friend’s perspective on life.

Regards, Jane Cope on behalf of

Mary Honeybun


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Vacancy: Beehive Montessori Pre-School,

Durbanville, Western Cape

The Beehive Montessori Pre-School is looking for a qualified 3 – 6

Bilingual Class Directress. Applicant needs to have at least 3 years’

experience as a directress of a classroom. The candidate also needs to

be flexible, creative and passionate about Montessori Education.

This position is available from Friday, 17 July 2015 – December 2015.

The position is a temporary one with the possibility of being

permanent.

Please contact Debbie for more details on [email protected]

VACANCIES

Jubilee Montessori Academy: Intermediate and

Senior Phase Teacher

If you have a desire to leave the rat race of busy living to come our

way here in the Klein Karoo, we have such an awesome school Jubilee

Montessori Academy (School) is looking for a fully qualified

Intermediate and Senior Phase Teacher. Having partly or fully

completed a Montessori Course is a bonus. He/she must have had

some experience working in a Montessori Environment, have

Christian beliefs and be fully bilingual.

To start as soon as possible.

Email your CV to: [email protected]

Discover Montessori:

Assistant

Discover Montessori in Roodepoort,

Johannesburg is looking for a

qualified Montessori assistant from

August 2015. Although this is a

temporary position until December

2015 there is a strong possibility of

permanency for 2016. The school is

small and opened its doors in

2014. We are looking for an honest,

open-minded person that is keen to

learn skills beyond Montessori for

advancement of their own career

aspirations.

Please submit your CV with

contactable references to Yolanda on

[email protected].

O’ Summit: 6-12 Directress

O’Summit Montessori has a position available for a gentle soul who is passionate about the philosophy and enlightening children. Montessori qualifications and experience essential. The position is to start soonest. Please email CV to Nikki: [email protected]

Aftercare/holiday club supervisor

O’Summit Montessori is looking for a caring and fun-loving person/directress/student to run aftercare and holiday club. Montessori experience would be an advantage. Please email Nikki: [email protected]







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Creative Explorers

Qualified

Montessori directress needed

for our toddler group (age

group: 18 months to 3 years)

at Creative Explorers

Montessori Pre-School

(Edenvale).

Applicant must be able to work

with the toddlers as well as

display a passion and love for

them.

Please email

heather.creativexplorers@gma

il.com with your CV;

qualifications and teaching

practice as well as contactable

references.

Hout Bay Montessori

We are looking for a qualified

Montessori Primary assistant

to join our dynamic and

dedicated primary team.

Experience in a Montessori

primary/pre-school is

preferable. Applicants need to

be creative, flexible,

passionate and energetic team

players. The position is

possibly available in July 2015,

but definitely from January

2016.

Please contact Mary/Kerin for

more details

([email protected]) or

021 7903309.

Ikhaya Labantwana Montessori

Ikhaya Labantwana Montessori Early Learning Centre is a project situated in the beautiful, rural, coastal village of Coffee Bay in the Eastern Cape (former Transkei). It is in its 6th year of operating and we are looking for a hands- on Directress/Principal, with a minimum of 5 years Montessori experience.

There are currently 50 children attending the centre (of which 98 % are Xhosa) and they enjoy 2 meals per day at school. Due to our rural location, the candidate must have a valid driver’s licence, be very flexible, easy going and be able to deal with curve balls. You must have a minimum of 5 years Montessori experience, be passionate about Montessori, have a good dose of energy, love nature and want to work at grassroots level. You will be leading a team of 3 Xhosa (soon to be qualified) Directresses, a student, a cook and a gardener. Main duties of the job include:

Managing the day to day running of the centre – environments and office

Managing the record keeping of the children

Liaising with current sponsors of children and sourcing new sponsors

liaising with the DSD and other government bodies

You will not get rich coming to join this project, but you will live in a beautiful place and have an amazing life experience, giving the young, rural Xhosa children the same opportunity that is normally reserved for city children. If you meet the above criteria and are ready for a life-change, please send an application letter, with your CV to Dawn Brochenin at [email protected]

Also check out the blog at www.sustainablecoffeebay.org.za

Nakakela Montessori

We are looking for a qualified Montessori directress for our 3-6 environment,

the school is in the Rivonia area. Please contact Joanne Mayes should you be

interested or forward your CV to email: [email protected]






http://www.sustainablecoffeebay.org.za/



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Primary Directress/Director & Assistant positions

After 30 years as a pre-school, Stepping Stones Montessori, situated at the foot of Table Mountain in Cape Town’s

City Bowl, is establishing a primary program in January 2016!

We are looking a professional and dynamic team to join us in this exciting new phase.

Directress requirements:

B Ed/ PGCE OR similar, plus Montessori 3-9 OR 3-12 training

Relevant experience in a Montessori elementary environment

The ability and skills to establish a firm foundation for this program

Interpersonal and intra- personal skills and a fun approach!

Self- driven with initiative, organisational and classroom management skills

A thorough understanding of the developmental and holistic needs of elementary aged children

An in-depth knowledge of the continuum of the Montessori elementary program

Knowledge/experience of environmental matters and sustainability will be an added benefit

Assistant requirements:

Montessori 3-9 or 3-12 training, with B Ed or similar, OR in process

Relevant experience in at least a Montessori pre-school environment

The ability and skills to support the Directress in establishing a firm foundation for this program

Interpersonal and intra- personal skills and a fun approach!

Self- driven with initiative, organisational and classroom management support skills

A good understanding of the developmental and holistic needs of elementary aged children

Knowledge of the continuum of the Montessori elementary program

Knowledge/experience of environmental matters and sustainability will be an added benefit

Closing date 15 September, 2015. Send CV to [email protected]

Jubilee Montessori Academy: Foundation Phase Teacher

If you have a desire to leave the rat race of busy living to come our way here in the Klein Karoo, we have such an

awesome school Jubilee Montessori Academy (School) is looking for a fully qualified Foundation Phase Teacher.

Having partly or fully completed a Montessori Course is a bonus. He/she must have had some experience working

in a Montessori Environment, have Christian beliefs and be fully bilingual.

To start as soon as possible.

Email your CV to:

[email protected]




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CLASSIFIEDS MONTESSORI

SCHOOL FOR SALE

CAPE TOWN AREA

Property: R2 400 000 (1

181 square meters)

Business: R1 500 000

(well over a decade of

successful running)

Business may be bought

on its own but not the

other way around.

For further information

contact -

montessormary@gmail.

com

ONLY SERIOUS BUYERS

PLEASE.

Montessori Language Material for sale

Complete Pink, Blue & Green Series

Ready to shelf – Saving you time

Available for collection 4 weeks after date of order

Each set also sold separately

Email for more details: [email protected]




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The August newsletter will focus on ‘Creativity in Montessori – How to incorporate arts and music’.

We value your contributions so please send any interesting snippets, funnies, quotes, photos, article

ideas and questions to Irmgard at [email protected] or post them on our Facebook page.

Contact: Mohamed Amra Tel: 0312073871 Cell: 0828069121

Children’s House Official Distributors of Nienhuis and Montessori Outlet Montessori Materials Tel: (021) 788 3160 Fax: (086) 619 5182 Email: [email protected]

Quality Educational Material at affordable prices Anthea Henderson Cell: 084 777 6655 or 081 471 8590

Email: [email protected] www.kid-ease.co.za

Montessori Supplier

Janinne Morrison on 082 644 6965 or Email her at [email protected] www.montessorisupplier.co.za

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