{"id":19615,"date":"2024-06-12T13:51:01","date_gmt":"2024-06-12T03:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/midlandexpress.com.au\/?p=19615"},"modified":"2024-06-12T13:53:59","modified_gmt":"2024-06-12T03:53:59","slug":"macedon-ranges-montessori-preschool-faces-potential-closure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centralvic.com\/midlandexpress.com.au\/latest-news\/2024\/06\/12\/macedon-ranges-montessori-preschool-faces-potential-closure\/","title":{"rendered":"Montessori preschool&#8217;s plea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Parents and educators are racing time to boost enrolments and save Macedon Ranges Montessori Preschool from potential closure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>For almost 40 years the preschool has offered an alternative early education experience but the cost-of-living crisis and state government&#8217;s new free kindergarten offering have impacted the not-for-profit organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Preschool committee member Moya Grech said enrolments had dropped and reached crisis point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>&#8220;We are trying everything to keep the doors open right now,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>&#8220;Enrolment numbers are not where we need them to be and the committee is overworked with members taking on multiple roles as there are now less parents involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>&#8220;It&#8217;s so upsetting. It&#8217;s not going to make it financially past this year if it continues as it is. We really don&#8217;t want to see it closed.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>While other providers have become attractive options in offering the state government&#8217;s free three-year-old kindergarten, the preschool is struggling to compete. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Committee member Nicole Paola said the state&#8217;s free kindergarten model would require 50 enrolments to be viable for the not-for-profit and therefore was not an option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Our kinder is too small to have more than 50 enrolments and other services have different access to funding that we don&#8217;t,&#8221; she explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>The preschool&#8217;s committee seeks to double enrolments to ensure viability and has until August to make a decision on its future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, they are already seeking an early years management service to step in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>&#8220;We hope to attract the right early years management team to keep the preschool open as Montessori,&#8221; Ms Grech said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>&#8220;We didn&#8217;t want to give up without people knowing the current situation. There might be someone out there who would like to take it on.&#8221;<br><br>Located in Riddells Creek, the preschool offers a unique education experience that allows children to learn through their interests at their own pace. Children follow the same state curriculum, they just complete it differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>WHY MONTESSORI?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Current early childhood teacher \/ nominated supervisor Taia Ly described the Montessori model as &#8220;readiness for life&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>&#8220;Our Montessori classroom can be seen as a microcosm of society, the children are a mixed-age, diverse group, which reflects reality,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>&#8220;Their experience in it intrinsically builds acceptance into their psyche and they learn to be part of a group with peer-to-peer learning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>&#8220;In my years in education, I&#8217;ve found this structure the most reflective of how we are as social creatures. So, a child in such a natural, guided and supported environment, they can not only thrive, but have that gift to pass on to others in their later years.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A STRONG PAST<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Jeevanie Mirando was one of the preschool&#8217;s founding Montessori educators in 1985. She was devastated to hear its future was uncertain as it approached its 40th anniversary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The preschool operates from the former Riddells Creek Primary School site. Ms Mirando recalled a passionate community rallying to repair the derelict building to introduce Montessori education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>For Ms Mirando, establishing the new preschool was an exciting challenge. She watched it grow and thrive during her 18 years educating there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>&#8220;I would be devastated if it couldn&#8217;t continue,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>&#8220;In Montessori learning there are so many benefits. Children can learn according to their interests and it&#8217;s catered to each individual&#8217;s needs. Because the numbers are small, educators can really observe the children and direct them to help reach their potential.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" src=\"https:\/\/midlandexpress.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Montessori-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19617\" srcset=\"https:\/\/centralvic.com\/midlandexpress.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Montessori-2.jpg 800w, https:\/\/centralvic.com\/midlandexpress.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Montessori-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/centralvic.com\/midlandexpress.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Montessori-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/centralvic.com\/midlandexpress.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Montessori-2-696x464.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption>Jeevanie Mirando was one of the preschool&#8217;s founding Montessori educators in 1985.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>WHAT&#8217;S NEXT<\/strong>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><br>The current priority for Macedon Ranges Montessori Preschool is to boost enrolments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Committee members have had some promising enrolment enquiries since putting the call out, but need more. They have also been transparent about future uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The last thing we want to do is scare people away but we have had to tell them to have a back-up option in mind,&#8221; Ms Grech said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>The committee continues to seek an early years management service to continue running the preschool into the future and welcomes any interested parties to contact them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>An information session will be held at the preschool on July 25 from 7pm to 8pm. An online option is also available. For more information, contact the preschool.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Parents and educators are racing time to boost enrolments and save Macedon Ranges Montessori Preschool from potential closure. For almost&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":19616,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[5812,182],"ppma_author":[5227],"class_list":["post-19615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","tag-macedon-ranges-montessori-preschool","tag-riddells-creek"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Montessori preschool&#039;s plea | Midland Express<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Macedon Ranges Montessori Preschool faces potential closure\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/centralvic.com\/midlandexpress.com.au\/latest-news\/2024\/06\/12\/macedon-ranges-montessori-preschool-faces-potential-closure\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Montessori preschool&#039;s plea | Midland Express\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Macedon Ranges Montessori Preschool faces potential closure\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/centralvic.com\/midlandexpress.com.au\/latest-news\/2024\/06\/12\/macedon-ranges-montessori-preschool-faces-potential-closure\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Midland Express\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/midlandexpress\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-12T03:51:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-06-12T03:53:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta 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