Kia Ora Koutou MMEF Supporters
Once again, since our last newsletter, it's been a very productive time here at the Maria Montessori Education Foundation!
NZQA spent two days with us early this month to undertake their four-yearly External Evaluation Review (EER) of our organisation -- this is similar to the ERO visits that centres, have, only for training organisations. At the end, we did feel well and truly EER'd, and now we eagerly await the outcome of their review.
A huge thank you to many of you with whom NZQA made contact with to seek your feedback. We heard back overwhelmingly that MMEF is crucial to Montessori in New Zealand. We really appreciated hearing it from you -- our stakeholders -- through them.
AMI 3-6 Diploma - Commencing March 30th, 2020
One of the essential mandates for establishing MMEF 13 years ago, was to offer AMI Diploma Courses and consequently to prepare adults to support children's development according to authentic Montessori principles -- here, face to face, and in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Our next AMI Diploma to guide 3 to 6-year-olds is due to start in March.
From your recent communications, we hear there are many of you considering Montessori training with MMEF. Great news! And the time to get your application in for that forthcoming March Diploma course is NOW!
Download your application pack here complete it, and then email it to us with all required enclosures to mmefnz@outlook.com. Interviews for this next diploma course are already taking place.
To school owners: we appreciate the Montessori kaiako (teacher) shortage and the impact this has on centres all across the country. But if we look at the political and educational climate, this situation is not going to change for the better quickly!
To uphold and maintain your centre's unique Montessori pedagogy, consider supporting one of your ECE teachers to study for the AMI 3-6 Diploma (NZQA Level 7) starting next year. The timing of the next course is perfectly suited to you resulting in you having a thoroughly prepared Montessori trained kaiako before the end of 2021!
Therefore, why not take advantage of the Option 3 payment terms here and spread out your course payments for your next fully-trained Montessori kaiako in line with your funding payments.
A Note to You ALL:
We do require your applications to be with us by Friday, November 8th. Please contact us ASAP if this is going to be a hurdle for you or your centre.
Centres who have our graduates already say: "the rigour and quality of AMI Training is incontestable."
And students who have graduated from the course tell us, “It’s intense, it’s profound and it’s life changing!”
So download the course brochure today at mmef.org.nz/courses/diploma-course-overview/ or email mmefnz@outlook.com.
Ten-Day Course with AMI 6-12 Trainer Rebecca Dallam: July 2020
Are you making the final changes to next year's budgets?
Does this include your Professional Development spend for 6-12 teachers?
Don't forget to factor in the 10-day Assistant-Certificate Course with 6-12 AMI Trainer Rebecca Dallam from Sydney.
The course will be offered at Waikato Montessori Education Centre from Tuesday 7th - Saturday 18th July 2020. This is directly following the MANZ Conference 2020, where Rebecca Dallam will be the 6-12 speaker. The course is open to:
- teachers seeking to become supportive assistants in 6-9 & 9-12 Montessori environments
- Montessori primary trust members
- parents keen to understand the development of the 6-12 age child.
Download the course brochure and register at www.mmef.org.nz/courses/ami-certificate-course-2020. Don't miss out!
**STOP PRESS** MMEF and MANZ are offering 10% discount (for each event) to participants attending both the AMI 6-12 Certificate course and the MANZ Conference.
2020 is a year to celebrate Maria Montessori's amazing legacy, as well as her commitment to advocating for the human rights of all tamariki, a cause which is continued through the work of the Educateurs sans Frontières.
To mark the 2020 anniversary, there will be many events and activities, for more information please visit https://montessori150.org.
To celebrate the power of tamariki to transform the world, Montessori environments are invited around the world to sing, play, record and share a song, entitled My Hand in Your Hand by Kate Oliver. Listen here: https://montessori150.org/participate/sing-my-hand-your-hand
And with the hands of our tamariki in mind, here's a closing quote,
"Man builds himself through working, working with his hands, but using his hands as the instruments of his ego, the organ of his individual mind and will, which shapes its own existence face to face with its environment."(Montessori, The Secret of Childhood)
Nā mātou noa, nā,
Carol, Tia, Anna and Shirley - MMEF Management Team
