Our Facilities
The Almond Tree Nurture Nest
Our focus is to create as many opportunities for children to learn through play. We value the importance of building the fundamental foundations in all learning areas and have seen how an early childhood development curriculum can impact a child’s life in a positive way.
Education should tap into a child’s identity, give them a sense of belonging and teach them to become valuable members of society.
The pre-school was established to cater for our Village children and to include children from our local community. It is our heart for our school to become a bridge into the community and our desire is to build relationships within our local community.
We believe that all children should have access to quality education, despite their economical background.
We have a wonderful playground which has been set up in such a way to create learning opportunities for the children and to ensure the development of the ‘wholistic’ child.
We cater for Grade 000s (2.5/3 to 4-year age group), Grade 00 (4 to 5-year age group) and Grade R (5 to 6-year age group).
Nurturing the ‘wholistic’ child includes the importance of a healthy diet and therefore we are passionate about the health and nutrition of our children. Our school offers well-balanced menus and the children have a cooked breakfast, fruit & sandwich snack and cooked lunches, freshly prepared on site by our school cook. Children are encouraged to drink water at all meals and can always access fresh water.
Our children are taught the importance of hygiene and a toilet routine forms an important part of their daily schedule.
Angela McQueen
B Prim Ed (Foundation Phase)
SACE Certified
Angela McQueen graduated from Wits University with a bachelor’s degree in Primary Education, specialising in Foundation Phase (Grade R to Grade 3). She has been in Education for 18 years and has taught from Early Years, right through to Year 7, however, remains passionate about the fundamental foundations of early childhood development.
Angela has taught in local schools within the Benoni community and has taught in the United Kingdom for 5 years. She is a passionate teacher, thinks out of the box and values each child for their own ‘learning style’. She believes that all children should access a high standard of education despite their economic background!
Shirley Ntomane
B Ed (Foundation Phase)
SACE Certified
Power of Play Certifications
Shirley Ntomane graduated from UNISA as a teacher with a bachelor’s degree in Foundation Phase (Grade R to Grade 3). She has been teaching Early Years for the past 3 years. She is a passionate teacher who loves children and has a natural gift to connect with all children. She shows enthusiasm, patience and kindness towards her fellow colleagues and to all children in her care.
Teacher Shirley gained some of her experience at Red Cross Nursery School and taught Grade 1 at a local private school. She has been with the Almond Tree since January 2018 and has a heart for the organisation.
Thandi Kgalangobe
Power of Play Certifications
Teaching Assistant Thandi started as a Child and Youth Care Worker at our Benoni Child and Youth Care Centre. She worked in the baby home for a time and then expressed an interest in the toddler group and Early Childhood Development program.
Thandi worked through the Power of Play modules and received certifications in the Birth to 2-year age group, 2 to 5-year age group, Grade R and Grade 1-3
Thandi has a wonderful, calm disposition and is extremely attentive with the Little Robin’s toddler playgroup.
Ellen Nyosi
SACE Certified
Studying Foundation Phase Degree through Unisa
Power of Play Certifications
Ellen started at The Almond Tree as a Child and Youth Care Worker and expressed her interest in studying teaching at an early stage. She went on to complete the Power of Play modules and taught the toddler group for a year.
We managed to secure a bursary for Ellen to study a Foundation Phase Degree in teaching.
Ellen is currently in her 2nd year of teaching and is teaching alongside Teacher Shirley.
Ellen is a natural born teacher; she is discerning when it comes to children and their needs. She is a kind-hearted and determined young lady.
Betty
Betty joined the Almond Tree in May 2018 as a Child and Youth Care Worker. When the Nurture Nest was established, Betty attended various cooking courses and took on the position of school cook and cleaner. Betty prepares nutritional meals for the school as well as the Tree House.
She has a great love for children and the children love her, she is kind-hearted, hardworking and takes pride when cooking and maintaining the cleanliness of her environment.