Ngoko Montessori is based in Mapuzi Village, Coffee Bay, Eastern Cape.
The school was opened in 2018 with one teacher and seven children. We grew over the years to 35 children and two teachers. This year we are proud to say that we have taken on another teacher and have now grown to accommodate 50 children. We have registered with the DBE and are grateful to be receiving some funding from them.
At the end of last year, 8 of our learners graduated to Grade 1. Our graduation ceremony was a wonderful celebration of their hard work.
We strive to keep our school sustainable for future generations and to maintain a safe learning environment.
The children enjoy two nutritious meals a day, including vegetables harvested from our vegetable garden on the school premises.
We participate in 8 teacher workshops per year, 4 of them are Montessori workshops and 4 of them are with the Wild Coast ECD Community of Practice. These workshops equip teachers with the necessary skills that they then implement in the classroom.
We hold 4 parent meetings per year to discuss ways to help the child at home. Last year we covered topics like health and hygiene, how to have positive interactions with your child (how you can help your child at home as a parent by showing grace and courtesy), and nutrition. Topics are chosen based on the needs that seem to be present in the community or parent body. Over the December holidays we tragically lost one of our little learners, who drowned in an unused, uncovered pit latrine. As a result of this, our first parent workshop topic for 2025 will be safety, providing a basic refresher on the important role that parents need to play in keeping their children safe.
2024 was a very interesting year for us as we took on more responsibility for the running of our school. Thanks to generous sponsorship, we were able to install running water to our school. A big thank you to Red Cherry Bikers for funding the renovation of our building so we now have space for 2 classrooms, a sick bay, office and storeroom.
We are striving to be able to send more children to Grade 1 and to keep our school a safe, clean and stimulating learning space.
