Happy 21st birthday, Montrose Pre-Primary School

The Montrose Pre-Primary School has, over 21 years, evolved from a small classroom hosted by the primary school, into a spacious, advanced early developmental learning centre at the heart of Parkmore.

The pre-primary school’s teachers and learners gathered in the school’s quad on October 11 to celebrate the school turning two-decades plus a year in 2024. Headmistress Fiona Niemand, who has been the pre-primary school’s principal since Covid, said that the institution prided itself on having evolved into a centre of excellence where children come for formal pre-schooling.

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“At present, we have 75 learners in four classes. Every class has a fulltime qualified teacher, as well as a class assistant,” Niemand said. “Our children learn reading, writing, and mathematics. We concentrate on sports, where we coach future cricketers and netball players from as early as three years old.”

Learners from Montrose Pre-Primary School also enjoy access to a music specialist, sports coaches who come and do both motor and ball skills with the children, as well as swimming lessons as part of their morning lessons – all included in the school fees. Reflecting on the school’s history, Niemand closed with a note on how the school was evolving with the times.

“The school opened in 2002 with one classroom at Montrose Primary School. [Now] we’re opening a two-year-old classroom for 2025. We already have our first pair of two-year-old learners,” she said. “We are hoping to expand towards having our own hall, and our own facilities for therapists – as they’re becoming more in-demand with the modern child since Covid days.”

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Pre-primary school teacher Lydia Ntshole has been with the institution since the very beginning. Ntshole shared how she first came to join the Montrose family, and how the school played a central role in becoming eligible to teach children in early developmental schooling.

“I started out working at Montrose Primary School in the kitchen, and as a cleaner, for two years. The school took me to college for three years, where I studied Grade R child day care,” Ntshole said. “We started this pre-primary in 2002 with 24 children, because if children lack the basics of Grade R, they experience problems when they go to Grade 1. I was so happy for this job, even now, I’m happy with my job.”

Many of the learners were colourfully adorned in each’s own representative articulation of the school’s mascot Graham the Giraffe. They sang happy birthday to the school, and made memories each may cherish for a lifetime of further learning.

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