MMEF Retains Top Rating

Kia ora Koutou MMEF Supporters 

We are very happy to tell you that MMEF will be closing the year on a high note!

Our recent External Evaluation Review (EER) summed up by two ratings of Highly Confident for Educational Performance and Self- Assessment resulting in the highest NZQA rating possible: Category 1.
So we remain a Category 1 training organisation this time offering a Level 7 Diploma programme on the NZQA framework. 
This means that students can study with MMEF with complete confidence.
We are truly thankful to those of you who played a part in this outcome. We couldn't be happier! 

AMI 3-6 Certificate Course  
23rd March - 3rd April, 2020 -10 days

And to celebrate, we have another training course all ready to go! Enrol now to book your place on the next 3-6 Certificate Course, delivered in March 2020. The early-bird special price will be available until February 21st, 2020 - don't miss out!
The course will be offered over 10 days (60 hours) with 9 hours of observation to be completed after the course. 

Who can enrol? 

-  ECE qualified kaiako working in a Montessori environment. 

-  Those in a supporting role, in a Montessori environment.

-  School owners, administrators and parents.

-  ECE professionals seeking an understanding of the Montessori approach to child development.

- Anyone considering studying for the AMI 3-6 Diploma starting in June 2020. 

You can download the course brochure here.  Online registration is now available here. Alternatively, email mmefnz@outlook.com or visit mmef.org.nz/courses.   

AMI 3-6 Diploma - NEW Course Dates 

June 2020 - October 2021

"Train not to teach" - this caption from the Maria Montessori Institute, London really caught my eye! What a refreshing concept and one that truly encapsulates the principles of the AMI 3-6 Diploma programme. 

"It is necessary to take this treasure and to cultivate it. … But in true education, in real education, not only is there the child who is   educated, but also the adult undergoes transformation".                                                                                                                                  Montessori India, 1939

Part of that transformation comes from the genuine belief that children are born with immense potential. This fundamental understanding impels us to provide optimum environments and experiences to support the physical, intellectual and spiritual development during the first six years of life. 

You could be one of the next transforming cohorts of students!

MMEF is interviewing now for the next AMI 3-6 Diploma programme, now being offered over six 4-week modules plus 10 weeks of Observation and Teaching Practice. 

It was also extremely heartening to receive your positive comments about the consistency of the amended format. Click here to download the course information today!

Enrolments to be received by March 1st, 2020.

Reminder - 6-12 Certificate Course 
 Hamilton - July 2020

A wee reminder to register for the 10-day Assistant-Certificate Course, with 6-12 AMI Trainer Rebecca Dallam, before the 21st February 2020. 

The course will be offered at Waikato Montessori Education Centre, Hamilton from Tuesday 7th - Saturday 18th July 2020. This is directly following the MANZ Conference 2020,  where Rebecca Dallam will be the 6-12 speaker.  This course is ideal for:

• teachers seeking to become supportive assistants in 6-9 and 9-12 Montessori environments.
• Montessori primary trust members.
• parents keen to understand more about the development of 6-12 age children.

Registration Details

Download the 6-12 Course brochure here. Please send the completed registration form plus a 50% payment by February 21st, 2020. You can register online here.
MANZ and MMEF will offer a 10% discount (on both events) for participants attending the 6-12 Certificate and the MANZ Conference. 

Holiday Reading

Membership to AMI is open to everyone. MMEF arranges an annual AMI membership for subscribers from Aotearoa, New Zealand. If you would like to support the work of AMI globally, please email mmef.alumni@gmail.com. Membership runs from January to December.
Here's a wee taster, courtesy of the latest AMI newsletter - a thought-provoking read for the holidays entitled 'Learning from Apps and Objects - The Human Touch'

"The rise of touchscreen technology has transformed children’s media use, making it more flexible and interactive through applications that respond contingently, in comparison to traditional media like television. Consequently, many apps are designed to teach children: more than 80% of the top-selling apps in the Education category of the Apple App Store are aimed at children". 

Read the new article in which Sierra Eisen and Angeline Lillard examine children’s geography learning from a physical puzzle and an app designed to mimic the puzzle.  

And finally, we thank you for your on-going support of our endeavours to champion the cause of all tamariki.
We wish you all a healthy and happy Christmas and a joyous and prosperous 2020.  

"In the child is much knowledge, much wisdom. If we do not profit from it, it is only because of neglect on our part to become humble and to see the wonder of this soul and learn what the child can teach". 
                   Maria Montessori, Reconstruction in Education 
                                                    
The image of a koru is courtesy of Glendowie Montessori Preschool, Auckland 

Meri Kirihimete, ngā manaakitanga ki a kotou katoa. 

MMEF Management Team

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.

Enroll now and pay just 50% by February 2020. 

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

Courses, Workshops & Conferences. Coming Up!

Kia Ora Koutou Friends of MMEF

We hope you are all enjoying the cooler days and the beauty that comes with the changing colours of Autumn.

For those ready for more Montessori learning – or to dip your toe in for the first time – there are several upcoming MMEF courses and workshops offering you that exciting opportunity. Read on to learn more!

AMI 3-6 Certificate Course
The first course coming up is the AMI 3-6 Certificate Course in Auckland from September  9th – 19th. Ensure to book before Friday, August 2nd to receive the early bird discount.


Who is this Certificate Course for? This course is ideal for any of you who are seeking a formal introduction to the Montessori system of education. For new Montessori centre owners, this is an ideal introduction to the Montessori pedagogy for ALL your ECE qualified staff.  And for any of you who are considering studying for the next AMI 3-6 Diploma Course (Level 7) commencing March 30th, 2020—this really is a must!

Find out more by downloading the course brochure at goo.gl/P2BYNF and book online at goo.gl/VuiLbS

                                                  

Above: Students practicing Grace and Courtesy groups, which also feature during the Certificate Course

MMEF/MANZ 0-3 Workshop on 12/13 October 2019
Your next opportunity is the October Workshop in Auckland. Once again, MMEF is joining forces with Montessori Aotearoa NZ (MANZ) to bring you:


'The Montessori Professional – Sometimes a Mentor, Always an Advocate for the Child’  with Pam Staton, AMI 0-3, 3-6 from Sydney, Australia.

Many of you told us how much you enjoyed last year’s 0-3 workshop with Sarah Breckenridge. Pam Staton was Sarah’s mentor, and she joins us to deliver this year’s workshop.
Pam (left) comes with a wealth of experience: both from her years of mentoring teachers, and from her collaborations with parents and support of young children’s development.
Pam is the mother of three Montessori children and five Montessori grandchildren. She joins us with 28 years of Montessori teaching experience—27 of those at Inner Sydney Montessori School during which time she established the under-3 programme for the school. Pam holds both AMI 0-3 and 3-6 qualifications, and we are thrilled to be welcoming her soon! Register here: http://bit.do/eR7fz.


Montessori Aotearoa Conference, July 2019 – See You There!

Just as many of you will already be preparing to attend the MANZ annual Conference, MMEF is preparing our stand to welcome you all. Do come and say hello. We always love talking to and meeting all our readers and supporters—and we do love answering your questions.

This year we’ll be able to give you information about all our forthcoming AMI courses, along with exciting news for our 6-12 Montessori community – watch this space. 
We will also have several insightful Montessori publications for sale, and a delightful new book called Little People Big Dreams – Maria Montessori, which (quite frankly) no self-respecting Montessori environment should be without. Also on the stand will be some inviting, affordable and functional Preliminary Practical Life materials. So do make sure you come and check us out! 

Brass Polishing

And finally, for those of you considering studying for the next AMI 3-6 Diploma course March 2020 – October 2021 Below is a wee glimpse of our current students at work. Just think, next year this could be you!

Introducing the Conjunction

Division with the Golden Bead Material

The AMI 3-6 diploma is the qualification introduced by Dr. Montessori herself, which only MMEF is affiliated to deliver here in Aotearoa NZ. 
Become immersed in the world of Montessori, and experience for yourself the transformative process that all our students say happens to them in training for their own AMI 3-6 Diploma—the Montessori diploma delivered here that is recognised worldwide.
Research increasingly demonstrates that online study is incomparable to face-to-face learning—and this is so much more the case for the hands-on Montessori pedagogy. The AMI face-to-face course we offer (delivered over several 3- and 4-week modules so that you can work and study) allows you to get hands-on experience with the Montessori materials in a beautiful, supportive environment, while enjoying the camaraderie of your fellow students: to engage with, to be motivated by, and to reflect with. 
It really is a life-changing experience!


Visit mmef.org.nz to download the course information for the next AMI face-to-face Montessori diploma delivered here in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Students who have graduated from the course tell us, “It’s intense, it’s profound and it’s life changing!” – download the course brochure today at mmef.org.nz/courses/diploma-course-overview/ or email mmefnz@outlook.com.
We look forward to offering you your first considered steps on the Montessori adventure!

PS: Calling all Entrepreneurs and Philanthropists MMEF is Seeking Premises

As many of you know, MMEF has been on the hunt for many-a-year for the perfect permanent home for our training centre. Perhaps you may know of somewhere that is just what we’re looking for? Or know someone, or some organisation, seeking to offer such a space? The ideal space would be around 150 square metres, in a major centre, and with close connections to nature and to public transport—and of course at least as beautiful and welcoming (and economical!) as our present space. Any pointers any of you can give us will help us with our hunt. 
Please contact us at mmefnz@outlook.com if you have any ideas or for any further information about this, or about anything else in this newsletter. 
And let us leave you with this final thought:

“If education is it be reformed, it must be based upon the children. No longer is it enough to study great educators of the past…further I protest against myself being hailed as the great educator of this century. What I have done is merely to study the child, to take and express what he has given me, and that is called the Montessori Method”.                             Montessori, The Child in the Family.

        Noho ora mai - MMEF