SAMAcon 2026 Speakers
Allan Nguyen
Bio:
Allan Nguyen is an AMI 6–12 Trainer working with First Children in South Africa. He has spent the last two decades supporting Montessori communities across multiple continents, with a focus on cosmic education, the development of the human personality, and the unfolding powers of the second plane child. His work brings together Montessori theory, storytelling, music, and the arts.
Allan’s approach highlights the developing individual as an active contributor to the human community and the world. He is committed to expanding access to Montessori training and supporting educators in diverse settings as they prepare the conditions for meaningful growth.
Keynote Teaser – Flourishing Humanity: The Child’s creative task in an Evolving Cosmos:
This keynote explores the child’s place within the unfolding story of humanity. Montessori reminds us that adaptation is not limited to survival; human beings are capable of conscious contribution to the wider world. Through their creative powers, children shape supranature, participate in culture, and influence the environments they join.
We will consider the developmental forces that guide this journey: trust, movement, imagination, spiritual connection, and the search for meaning. Each of these expresses a natural and deep orientation toward contribution. Education, viewed through this lens, becomes the preparation of individuals who are ready to participate in the human community with clarity, purpose, and generosity.
Connecting these ideas to the conference theme “Flourish,” this keynote aims to invite us to recognise each lesson, each gesture, and each moment of guidance as a fold in the child’s emerging potential. It also reflects on the responsibility of the adult to prepare both the visible and invisible conditions in which the child can grow, act, and discover their unique place in the world.
Teaser – Music and Movement with the second plane child:
These workshops offer a practical introduction to music and movement in the Montessori 6-12 environment. Music in the second plane is not only an artistic experience; it is an opportunity for the child to explore pattern, expression, rhythm, and the creative order of the world. Movement supports coordination, confidence, social connection, and the joy of shared discovery.
Participants will explore rhythmic activities, embodied musical literacy, and approaches that help the children internalise musical ideas before encountering notation. The tone bars will also be presented, used not only as a material for understanding pitch relationships but also as a path toward composition and creative exploration. Through guided practice, attendees will experience how simple key presentations can give children opportunities for independent exploration, and to develop musical imagination, understand structure, and engage with music as a language they can create with rather than simply imitate.
The workshops are designed to be joyful, accessible, and directly applicable to classroom life. They will support educators in offering music and movement in ways that nurture curiosity, cooperation, and artistic expression, allowing the second plane child’s growing abilities to flourish within a rich and creative environment.
Kym Van Straaten
Bio:
Kym van Straaten is an experienced Montessori educator and Head of School at The Bay Academy in Hout Bay, Cape Town. With over 25 years in Montessori education, she has guided children from toddler through elementary and founded Randburg Montessori in Johannesburg, which she led for 18 years. Kym holds AMI 3–6 and 6–12 diplomas, a BA in Early Years Education, and a Diploma in Human Resources.
As a long standing member of the South African Montessori Association, she is passionate about empowering educators and fostering independence, creativity, and confidence in every child through authentic Montessori practice.
Art as a Foundation for Skill Development in the Montessori Classroom.
Sharon Caldwell
Bio:
The Role of History in the Montessori Curriculum.
Teaser – The Timelines and other Materials for Igniting an Interest in History in the Montessori Prepared Environment:
Using the Timelines and other history materials I will show how the imagination is engaged through story and impressions to engage interest and provoke questioning, demonstrating how history interweaves all the other areas.
IN ADDITION: I would be happy to do a History of Cape Town talk informally for adults wanting to talk about history beyond what they learned at school – maybe over a lunch or dinner? Just a suggestion. This is my field.
Autumn Engelke
Bio:
Autumn Engelke is a Montessori mom of 3, and a qualified speech and language therapist with over 20 years of experience. She specialises in literacy and language and currently works as an in-house therapist at Blue Moon Montessori in Cape Town.
Teaser – Phonological Awareness in the Preschool and Early Primary Child:
Phonological awareness is the foundation of strong literacy skills. Understanding the scaffolding of phonological awareness can help parents and educators support children in becoming confident readers. As we all know, a confident reader will flourish as an independent learner, which is the ethos of Montessori learning. For those who struggle with these early language skills, early intervention is the key to helping them bridge the gap to reading fluency.
Emma Medell
Bio:
Emma Medell has worked in Montessori Education her whole adult life, with 35 years of experience in the field. In 1987, Emma attended the Maria Montessori Training Organization, in Hampstead, London on a full-time two year training course, earning an AMI Casa Dei Bambini Diploma to work with children aged 3 to 6+ years. On her return to South Africa, Emma worked as a Directress and Principal, putting into practice all that she had learned in her training.
In 1998 Emma also attended Assistants to Infancy (Birth to 3) training over two summers in London at the MMTO again, earning her AMI Assistants to Infancy Diploma to work with children from Birth to 3years of age.
The next project was to start up a small infant Community under the umbrella of Rainbow Montessori School. This then morphed into the beginnings of Chameleons Montessori School, which she co-ran with her sister and partner, Claire. During its 20-year span, starting up from their family home and moving onto the Nitida Wine Farm, the school offered a Nido, an Infant Community, a Pre-school and Primary School. It was a gracious, Montessori Community that provided a safe space for many a child’s day to day life and learning as well as raising Montessori aware parents and Montessori staff.
This experience laid the foundation for the work that Emma now does as a Facilitator for Community Rooted Education. In 2022, Emma underwent the yearlong ESF AMI CoRE Facilitators training, along with her cohorts, with whom she now works. She has been involved in facilitating CoRE since 2023 in the Kraaifontein, Eerste Rivier & Mbekweni communities and currently (very happily) in Kayamandi, Stellenbosch. Emma continues to love her work of ultimately empowering children, through empowering the ECD teachers to see the child, themselves and their environments with new eyes.
During 2024 Emma had the amazing opportunity to be a National Examiner for the AMI Casa Dei Bambini 3 to 6 Diploma Course at Indaba. She continues to grow and learn in her much-loved role as CoRE Facilitator.
A Sensorial Exploration Through all Areas
Trusting relationships: the foundation for flourishing in a toddler environment.
Presented by Emma Medell & Claire Goffe-Wood.
Claire Goffe-Wood
Bio:
Claire Goffe-Wood: I worked in a toddler environment for over 20 years at Chameleons Montessori School in Durbanville, Cape Town. During this time I gained much experience in working with young children and have become a passionate advocate for the young child under three and the importance of the unique developmental needs of this stage of human development. In 2014 I attended the AMI Birth to three Certificate course at the Indaba Montessori Institute in Stellenbosch and in 2018 I completed my AMI Birth to three Diploma. In 2022 I joined Indaba’s Community Rooted Education (CoRE) Programme as a Facilitator-in-Training in the Klapmuts community. I found the programme to be impactful and meaningful and have worked as a CoRE facilitator in the Kraaifontein, Eerste Rivier, Heidedal and Kayamandi communities since 2023.
Trusting relationships: the foundation for flourishing in a toddler environment.
Claire Howie
Bio:
I am Claire Howie. I own and manage a small school in Wellington and I am currently training to become an AMI trainer for the 0-3 age group. I believe deeply in the creative powers that all young children possess and which work together to build the future adult. I am passionate about giving children environments specified to their needs, which will encourage wholistic and positive development of the child. I do believe that children become adults who are the legacy of their home, school and social environments. I am happy and honoured to be able to work to enact change, big or small, to the benefit of our children.
Creating an Inclusive Environment for all Toddlers to flourish.
Supporting autonomous construction.
Origami crane mobile for young babies.
Presented by Claire Howie & Joelene Draper
Joelene Draper
Bio:
Joelene Draper is an AMI-trained Montessori educator (0-3) and CoRE Facilitator. Specializing in special needs, focusing on behaviour management, MAKATON sign language, autism spectrum disorder, and Down Syndrome. She founded Moonrise Montessori, a preschool in Southern Paarl. Since 2023 she has served as a CoRE Facilitator with the Indaba Institute. In 2024 she joined the MELF team to lead Level 4 (0-3) training.
Joelene has consulted and mentored Montessori schools throughout the Western Cape. A dedicated advocate for early intervention and true inclusion, she is passionate about making Montessori accessible to every child and family.
Creating an Inclusive Environment for all Toddlers to flourish.
Supporting autonomous construction.
Origami crane mobile for young babies.
Shamiemah Jassiem
Bio:
Teaser – Story Telling Expression – The Power of Storytelling:
The talk will look at Practical Life across the different age spans, with a special focus on Baking. We would each present 15-20 mins per age group – Joelene (0-3
years); Shamiemah (3-6 years) & Sinéad (6-12 years) followed by a group discussion and Q & A.
Presented by Joelene Draper, Shamiemah Jassiem & Sinead Feely
Sinead Feely
Bio:
Story Telling Expression – The Power of Storytelling
Marietjie Van Zijl
Bio:
Marietjie van Zijl is a qualified remedial teacher, 6-9 Montessori directress, and founder of Boss Your Brain Dyslexia Solutions. She has spent over 40 years investigating the nature of, and solution to, dyslexia. As a Gr.2 teacher at Eikestad Primary in the early 1980s, she noticed patterns in the mistakes of certain children. While giving them after-school support, she began discovering a solution to dyslexia – though unaware of it at the time. Since 2010 Marietjie has been teaching her dyslexia solution from her home-office in Stellenbosch – updating it as she learns – and branched out to adults in 2017.
Helping Children (and Adults) with Dyslexia to Flourish.
Hawa Tayob
Bio:
Teaser – How Montessori principles are interpreted and implemented across diverse school contexts within the South African Montessori landscape:
Since the first opening of Montessori schools in South Africa, The South African Montessori Association’s tiered accreditation process, is the first attempt at gathering information around the nature of Montessori in South Africa. This collation of data, offers a unique window into how Montessori principles are interpreted and implemented across diverse school contexts. This research project draws on data gathered during SAMA mentor visits, where schools were assessed against the Association’s six fundamental Montessori principles and accredited at varying tier levels based on their level of implementation.
Using this existing data set, the study aims to explore emerging patterns, strengths, and areas of tension within Montessori practice in South Africa. Rather than beginning with a fixed hypothesis, the research adopts an exploratory approach, allowing the data to inform key questions around consistency, interpretation, and lived practice of Montessori principles across schools. This presentation will share preliminary insights from the analysis and reflect on what tier accreditation data can meaningfully reveal about Montessori implementation, professional support, and quality assurance within the South African Montessori landscape.
Presented by Hawa Tayob & Kate Rooseboom
Kate Rooseboom
Bio:
Teaser – How Montessori principles are interpreted and implemented across diverse school contexts within the South African Montessori landscape:
Peter-John Urban
Bio:
Peter-John is a Montessori guide who holds the value of telling a story as one of fundamentals of learning. Based on his studies and experience in theatre and dance, he incorporates story telling into presentations across the age groups of his students. He has delivered parent workshops both demonstrating the power of storytelling and providing tools for parents to incorporate this tradition in their homes.
Teaser – Story Telling Expression – The Power of Storytelling:
Storytelling can be described as one of the “golden threads” of human development. There is not a people or culture throughout history who have not held storytelling as a central focus of their identity. Oral storytelling has been used to enhance, engage and reflect society, engaging both tellers and listeners. In recognising this, Montessori education engages the child’s intuitive desire to engage in this tradition.
Storytelling is a living, relational exchange—rich with rhythm, repetition, gesture, and beauty. For the 3–6 Unfolding Child, this rhythmic and sensory-rich experience nurtures concentration, language development, emotional attunement, and the formation of inner imagery.
For the 6–12 Expansive Child, storytelling becomes a catalyst for imagination, moral reasoning, and intellectual curiosity. Through oral narratives, older children explore human experience, cultural history, and ethical dilemmas, nurturing the moral and imaginative growth that characterises this plane.
This workshop provides implementable tools and techniques on preparation for story telling in the class. Through the use of examples, attendees will experience the process of preparation and delivery of curriculum stories in order to build confidence to incorporate this rich tradition into the culture of their Montessori environments.
Shaun Dunn
Bio:
Shaun Dunn is an educator originally from Durban and now based in the Western Cape. After nearly eight years in secondary education, his professional journey expanded through almost a year spent in Tanzania, where he learned from traditional medicine practices and indigenous ways of understanding health, nature, and community.
His work later included focused learning in African Earth Jurisprudence, which deepened his engagement with African knowledge systems and human–nature relationships. He has also worked alongside indigenous communities in southern Africa in education-related contexts.
These experiences have shaped how Shaun understands learning, care, and connection to the natural world. He is particularly interested in how African indigenous knowledge can inform everyday learning and leadership spaces.
Shaun currently teaches an undergraduate Diploma in Sustainable Development at Stellenbosch University and enjoys spending time in nature through hiking and exploring a dormant photography hobby.
Flourishing in tolerance and understanding, with ourselves, each other and nature.
Yumna Hoosain
Bio:
I have been dedicated to Montessori education for 23 years, teaching children aged 0–12 and training Montessori educators across Europe and parts of Africa. I run a Montessori training centre in South Africa, directly affiliated with Waterpark Montessori (now European Montessori College). I am passionate about bringing Montessori to less affluent communities, empowering women to make a difference in the lives of children who need it most.
My vision is to expand access to quality Montessori education, nurturing both educators and children so that every lesson becomes a fold in a child’s growth, and every child carries hope for the future.
Flourishing Begins with the Adult: How Each Fold of a Lesson, Shapes the Child’s Becoming.
Dr Dorian Haarhof
Bio:
Once upon an ever after life: The Meaning of Stories in Montessori.
Helen Van Der Merwe
Bio:
Maximising the Potential of the 5-6 Year Old Child’s Mathematical Mind.
The Bells – Key to the World of Music.
Penny Taiton
Bio:
Heads of School Leadership and Management Day Speaker