About.

A Montessori Education

Montessori East is a centre of excellence for quality and authentic Montessori education.

It is the only accredited Montessori school in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney.  The school was established in 1979 and has strong community connection.

It is a non-denominational and co-educational primary and pre school with an under 3 parent and child program.

The school’s mission is to nurture the child’s natural love of learning and to partner with the family as co-advocates for the child’s education and wellbeing. 
Bruce Russell

Bruce Russell has 30 years experience as an educator in both leadership and teaching roles across three continents. He lived and worked in London for 21 years, spending the first 12 teaching year 5 and 6 students. He moved on to become Deputy Principal at St Stephen's Church of England Primary School. Bruce spent the last four years in London as Principal of St Paul's Church of England Primary School before returning home to Australia, where his teaching career began in inner-city schools such as Redfern Primary and Eskinvile Primary. Bruce got his teaching degree at Sydney Kuring-gai College Advanced Education now Lindfield Learning Village, he went on to get his Masters in Education.

From the Principal.

 
"Above all else we respect the innate, individual capability of each child to learn." 

Bruce Russell, Principal, Montessori East

 

Montessori East has recently celebrated its 40th year offering quality education to a diverse Eastern Suburbs community. We pride ourselves in being one of Sydney's most well-established Montessori schools.

You'll find Montessori East is a happy place where students are living the ways of a functioning society – following the principles of social cohesion, creative problem solving, collaboration, strong personal values and a deep sense of purpose in the world. 

Children thrive within a nurturing environment made up of inclusive multi-age classroom communities rich in learning. We are blessed with a team of highly skilled educators dedicated to the full development of the children under their care.

Years of experience have shown us that parents are the first educators and are an integral part of the school's united approach – to nurture a community environment that properly supports children from an early age to adulthood.

I invite you to visit Montessori East, question us, and find out for yourself. I look forward to meeting you and your family. 
Dr Maria Montessori

Dr. Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori.

"An education capable of saving humanity is
no small undertaking." 

Dr. Maria Montessori.

 

Born in 1870, Dr. Maria Montessori graduated from medical school in 1896 as one of the first female physicians. Based on scientific observations of children from birth to adulthood, Dr. Maria developed an innovative educational approach that builds on the way children naturally learn and nurtures intellectual and emotional development.

During her lifetime Dr. Maria was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times. Her legacy continues ever more strongly and pertinently.

Today, Montessori East is one of over 150 Montessori schools in Australia, and part of one of the single largest education systems in the world with over 22,000 schools in 117 countries.

The curriculum.

The Montessori East curriculum is based on the highest standard Montessori program which is internationally recognised. It fulfils all syllabus requirements from the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA). The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) recognises the Montessori National Curriculum as an alternative national curriculum. Children may sit for NAPLAN tests in year 3 and year 5.

School history.

School History and Accreditation.​​

 

Montessori East started in 1978 as a pre-school in a church hall in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. As demand grew the school opened a primary school. In 2001 the two schools moved to Wellington St, Bondi, where the school is located today. The KIN Parent Child Education Centre was established in 2018 as part of its outreach to bring a Montessori education to the wider community.

Montessori East is registered by the Montessori Quality Assurance Program (MQAP).  The school is currently seeking global accreditation through AMI (Association Montessori Internationale). 

Governance.

Montessori East is run by the Eastern Suburbs Montessori Association (ESMA), a not-for-profit company. The members of ESMA are the parents of the school. The ESMA Board of Directors oversees the management and operation of the school and supports the Principal in the school’s growth and development. For more detail please see our Annual Report.

Meet the board.

The Hofman family.

President

Sara Hofman

BA Law (Hons), AICD

"My children benefit from the unique education provided by Montessori East which has proven to be responsive to their individual personalities, needs and interests and supportive of our whole family. As a Director of the Board I am fortunate to be able to assist the school to expand its impact.”

Sara has worked as a commercial lawyer, specialising in intellectual property for 15 years. She worked in law firms in Sydney and London and in-house at the University of Sydney. Sara and her husband’s four children attend Montessori East and are enrolled in the KIN 0-3 program, Cycles 1 and 2 classrooms. 

Liz Cundari and family

Vice President

Elizabeth Cundari

BA Biology, MBA, GAICD

“Joining the ME board has been a wonderful opportunity to combine my passion for the school and my professional interests in general management, strategy and brand development.  In a board capacity, I have gained an even deeper appreciation for the ME staff and management team who have demonstrated tremendous creativity, perseverance and open-mindedness to their roles."

Elizabeth and her husband moved from New York City in 2012 where she worked as a management consultant in the healthcare industry and later the chief of staff in a multi-billion dollar healthcare services organisation.  Since moving to Sydney, Elizabeth has founded a consultancy.  She is a Montessori alumnus and daughter of a Montessori educator and quite eagerly found Montessori East for her two daughters who have been part of the community since birth.

Kevin Mitchell

Treasurer

Kevin Mitchell

CA ANZ, ACCA, ACT

"We chose Montessori East for our family because we instantly felt the strong community presence and how much the children are valued and cared for. The teachers and staff have created a warm and welcoming environment while maintaining a high standard of Montessori education." 

 

Kevin is an experienced Chartered Accountant and treasury in Australia and the UK, including JP Morgan, BNP Paribas, AMP and Rathbone Brothers. His expertise spans end-to-end accounting functions, including financial control, system analytics, hedge accounting, financial statement preparation and treasury operations.  

Phil Freeman and family

Secretary

Phil Freeman

BA (LLB)

"I see the Montessori East Board as an extension of the wonderful and diverse Montessori East community of families and friends. I've enjoyed bringing my background in strategy and environmental not-for-profits to the Board, and taking the opportunity both to learn and contribute to the school's progress."

Since 2012 Phil has worked for WWF (the World Wide Fund for Nature), where he brings together his formal education in environmental law and visual arts. Through his work Phil has come to appreciate how much education is the cornerstone of positive change. Phil and his partner Kristina have two children at Montessori East.

Suan Yeo and family

Director

Suan Yeo

BSc. in Business Administration

"The Montessori culture fosters a sense of independent, self-directed learning, and I have witnessed the tremendous personal growth of my two children; starting out as shy toddlers to the confident tweens they are today. I like that ME has a very collaborative relationship with parents, alumni and the surrounding Bondi community.”

After stints in the US, Europe and Asia, Suan moved to Australia in 2008 to head up Google’s Enterprise SMB business for Asia-Pacific. Six years ago, he took on the challenge of starting the education business unit for the region. This has proved to be his most challenging yet rewarding effort to date. Google has been his home for the last 16 years, working in 7 offices, 5 countries and 3 product teams. Suan resides in Sydney with his wife and two children both currently at Montessori East.
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