During the 2021 lockdown in NSW, VIC, and ACT, Montessori Academy, Australia’s largest Montessori early learning provider, supported absent families by voluntarily waiving gap fees and providing complementary daily online classes for preschool children.
Despite industry debate around the viability of childcare providers waiving gap fees, Chief Operating Officer Rami Nassif expressed his heartfelt solidarity for the Montessori Academy community:
“We’re incredibly grateful for all of the support we have received, that we have been able to retain all team members, waive gap fees, and also provide a bonus online curriculum during this time.”
For many preschool and kinder prep families, 2021 is a critical year ahead of primary school.
Lockdown restrictions have put many children’s in-person learning on pause, but Montessori Academy has remained optimistic, innovative, and determined to bridge any school readiness gaps that lockdown has imposed.
“We wanted to make sure that our soon-to-be preschool graduates are equipped for big school, have something to look forward to, and stay connected to their peers. It has been so wonderful to be virtually greeted by hundreds of smiles and waves every morning”, shared Montessori Trainer Ms. Zac Zachar.
Montessori Academy’s daily Online Series have been thoughtfully designed and led by Ms. Zac. The classes, hosted daily at 9am, cover topics including numeracy, science, letter recognition, handwriting, and more.
“The online course provided during lockdown was an amazing additional service provided that came unexpectedly but wholly welcomed, shout out to Miss Zac!” – Rhye C.
As lockdown restrictions ease across Australia, COO Rami Nassif said, “The safety of our community is our utmost priority, so extraordinary health measures will continue to be in place as we welcome families back into the classroom.”
ONLINE CLASS FEEDBACK
“Thank you, Montessori team, for organising such a great opportunity for the kids. Miss Zac is a superb educator. Kiara loves her a lot… (and) is excited everyday to join the class and we can see her learning a lot from these online classes. Kiara even asks on Saturday and Sunday if there is class today. Thanks a lot.” – Ragi N.
“Thank you for the wonderful online lessons! Miss Zac is wonderful and so engaging. We love having Montessori style lessons in our home. It’s MUCH better than what I was trying to teach! Thank you.” – Elizabeth G.
“My little one looks forward to attending Montessori each morning, not just at school but even during lockdown! Thank You Entrada Montessori Academy for all the care and special thanks to Ms. Zac for the enthusiasm and energy during the recent online classes. She is an outstanding teacher!” – Adarsh R.
“I want to say a big thank you to all the staff at Belmore Montessori Academy for going above and beyond looking after all the children during this difficult time. I also wish to thank Zac for your engaging lessons over the past few weeks on Teams. Mason (my son) and I really appreciate all the time that you put into planning these lessons for everyone during this lock down period. Thank you!” – Evelyn X.
“I can’t speak highly enough for Castle Hill Montessori Academy for their top-notch environments/training and friendly staff as well as Management Team. Vanessa is quite professional, caring, and responsive we experienced in our interactions over couple of years. Also, would like to thank and appreciate Ms. Zac for her online classes for last couple of weeks during lock down … it was above and beyond our expectations… thanks all.” – Max F.