Management Team
Teaching Staff
Preschool
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Katinka Laithwaite
Head of Preschool & Nursery Directress Katinka Laithwaite's Montessori journey began 9 years ago when her daughter joined a Montessori school in the Southern suburbs of Cape Town. Blown away by the philosophy and the impact it had on her own children, she decided to persuit a career as a Montessori directness and studied at Headstart Mercy Montessori. Katinka believes her greatest teachers have been the children themselves, and that we, as adults, should never underestimate a child's ability - a lesson she learns daily in the nursery environment!
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Linden Harding
Preschool Directress Linden has a passion to educate and guide children through the philosophy and principles of Maria Montessori. Linden has always had a natural love for children and after visiting Hout Bay Montessori as a Chef in 2012, Linden changed her career path and graduated in 2014 with both a national and international Montessori qualification. Linden is now the directress of the Periwinkles class.
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Justine Norman
Preschool Directress Justine has a love for children and discovered this during her experience as an au pair eight years ago, and she continues to au pair. She shows her love for children by working closely with a local emergency foster home. Justine started studying at Headstart Mercy Montessori Training college in 2011 and finished in 2013. Justine assisted in the Turtle class for two years and is now the Directress of the Dolphins class for the second year
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Monique Du Toit
Preschool Assistant Monique is the new Dolphins assistant. She first started out in Interior Decorating but soon discovered her love and joy when working with children. She is a much older sister to 2 younger brothers who contributed massively in her decision to change careers. She is currently finishing her second year of training at Auburn House and is very excited to be part of the team.
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Simone Fester
Preschool Directress Simone fell in love with the Montessori Philosophy. After observing in a Montessori environment she studied at Headstart Mercy Montessori Training College. She was an assistant at Hout Bay Montessori for 3 years. She decided she wanted to travel and worked as an au pair in the United States for a year. Living overseas has definitely made her love and appreciate where she came from. She now runs the Turtle class as the Directress. She feels it is vital to encourage independence, kindness and help build each child’s self-esteem.
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Nolundi Ntwasa
Preschool Assistant Lundi is the assistant in the Turtle class and has two beautiful children, one of which goes to HBM. She has always worked with children, first as a nanny, and then she discovered the Montessori method through a parent at HMB. She started working in the Nursery classroom and loved nurturing the young children. She is currently furthering her studies to gain her level 5 Montessori qualification.
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Teaching Staff
Primary
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Clair Simpson
Head of Primary and Junior Primary Directress Clair is the Head Directress in the Junior Primary Class. She has been with Hout Bay Montessori since 2009 and has worked in the Pre-School and Primary Environments. She loves the Montessori teaching method and the emphasis on virtues and self-esteem that the school provides. She is a compassionate and dedicated team member and always gives of her best. She enjoys spending time and staying active with her family.
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Arianna Merluzzi
Junior Primary Assistant Arianna was born and raised in italy, where she got her master degree in Industrial Psychology. It was after her daughters were born, that she took an interest in the Montessori method and she decided to take on formal studies. She received her International Diploma in 2013 through the Montessori Center International. Arianna is very excited to have been offered the opportunity to join the Junior Primary classroom where she is in charge of the cultural area. This is her passion and where she can express herself at her best.
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Kerin Goosen
Principal & Junior Primary Directress Kerin has been teaching in Montessori schools for the last 22 years. She is both Principal and a Junior Primary Directress. Her special interests are the development and nurturance of self-esteem in children and Montessori curriculum development. She is passionate about Hout Bay Montessori - the very unique mix of Montessori principles, positive discipline approach of the adults and character education running through the entire school.
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Estela Ferreira
Senior Primary Directress Estela is a Directress in the Senior Primary class. She started studying at Headstart Mercy Montessori Teacher Training College in 2013 and finished in 2015. Estela has always wanted to become a teacher, and knew that she loved working with children from a very young age. Her Graphic Design background has allowed her to create really engaging materials and find new ways of enticing the children in the 9-12 age group. Estela has a strong passion for the Montessori Method which has driven her to seek out Hout Bay Montessori as her home to further her journey as a Montessori Directress.
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Merli Piers
Senior Primary Directress Merli has a bachelor of arts in Education, teaching children from grades 1 up to 7. She studied at the Centre for Creative Education, a predominantly Waldorf based teacher training institute. She is also a Waldorf child herself, however found herself drawn to the Montessori Method of teaching. Her strengths are that of the arts and language so she hopes to bring that into the classroom as directress of the Nautilus class.
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Misty MacLachlan
Junior Primary Assistant Misty started teaching at Hout Bay Montessori in 2016, making her a bit of a newbie at this well-established school, but not when it comes to nurturing children. A mother of 2 (mostly) delightful and different children aged 6 and 8, her parenting skills are challenged on a daily basis. This makes guiding a group of 6-9 year olds a breeze. Besides being a mother, all of her experience in childcare, from growing up at the first ever aftercare in Camps Bay (that was started by her mother back in 1989), and then babysitting in High School, au pairing after school, child minding on film sets and then au pairing (again) and tutoring during her studies at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, has contributed to her knowledge and understanding of children. After seeing how well her children have flourished in the Montessori environment and implementing the Montessori philosophy at home, Misty has decided to venture forth with her NAMC online studies while assisting in the Orca class alongside Kerin Goosen. Her specialities are art, peace and practical life, and Misty believes that these subjects are essential to bridging the gaps between all areas of learning. On a spiritual level her focus is on developing a deep respect for the Earth and its inhabitants and she is so grateful for being able to witness the kindness and love that is exhibited by these bright young beings on a daily basis!
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Teaching Staff
Nursery
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Phindiwe Zondani
Nursery Assistant Phindiwe is the assistant in the Seahorse class. She is passionate about working with children and being in the nursery environment, which she feels provides a solid foundation for children. Phindiwe has worked with children for the past 10 years, and came across the Montessori method through a parent at HBM. She decided to follow her passion of teaching and is currently furthering her studies to gain her level 5 Montessori qualification.
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Support Team
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Nobantu cleans and maintains the buildings at the school AND cooks our delicious lunches. Always ready with a smile, she has been working at Hout Bay Montessori since 2004.
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Cynthia cleaned and cooked for Kerin at the Children's Workshop for many years. Their paths crossed again in 2011, when Kerin was looking for a stand-in at Hout Bay Montessori. She readily took the job and now cleans and cooks the delicious lunches. She has attended Montessori assistant lectures and is a natural with the children, who adore her.
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Scott was working as a gardener until the family he was working for moved overseas. He joined Hout Bay Montessori as a maintenance man in 2011. He especially loves to work in the garden and answering the children's many questions!
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Lennox is the first staff member you see in the morning - always smiling, he greets us at the gate during his gate duty. He maintains our beautiful property, both the garden and the buildings. The children naturally gravitate towards him, and he always takes the time to chat to them and explain what he is up to! Lennox has been with us since 2000.
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