A new era of educational advantage has been unlocked for the community of the Hex River Valley.
The SunnyKids Trust Montessori School officially opened its doors in the beginning of last year in the community of Orchard. This was done in partnership with the Grape Community, who funds the school.
The school was established as a quest to alleviate the pressure off the current primary school and to bring in a completely new teaching method which would be advantageous to Orchard Primary.
According to Mache Joubert, the idea for the pre-school dates back to 2016 already when she and her husband approached Orchard Primary School to inform them of the idea.
She shared that her husband had worked for the Grape Community and when he pitched the idea to establish a school in Orchard he was given the funds.
“We told them we have a vision, which is to provide children who hail from underprivileged communities with world class education.”
Coupled with that, the school is also rooted in a Christian foundation as the couple wishes the children who walk though the school doors can find their identities in Christ.
“There are so many children playing in the street with no-one really believing in their abilities,” Joubert said. “It is easy to tell children that God loves them and there is a purpose for lives, but what does it help if they cannot read and write?”
The couple then decided a Montessori approach would be the most suitable method of teaching.
“We base our teaching, especially at this school, on basic life skills. We want to plant seeds of courage in our learners. We want them to be able to go into the world knowing they can become anything they want to be, nothing should stand in their way of achieving their goals.”
At SunnyKids Trust children are stimulated far above their abilities. According to Joubert, the school accommodates children aged between 3 and 6 years.
By the time they leave the school for Grade R they would be able to read and write, which gives them a big advantage.
“I know we won’t be able to change every single child, but knowing we made a difference in at least one child’s life is enough to keep us going.”
In the neatly packed and spacious classroom, Joubert points at the different learning corners. There are language, culture, practical life, arts and crafts, sensorial and mathematics corners.
On the wall is a progress sheet where teachers have to indicate the progress of each child on a daily basis.
Each class has 30 children with three teachers and the school currently has two classes.
“The teachers are all from the community. All they needed to have was a passion for children and love the Lord. We offer Montessori courses and once they complete that, they are able to come back to the school.”
Asked what has kept them going through the obstacles they have encountered she says: “Definitely prayer. We know that this is something that God put in our hearts. It is not easy but God has been really faithful. Even in the way he protects this property has been very assuring.”
The goal for the future is to extend the school to the different farms as well as grow the number of classes at the current location.
