Our association has produced a magazine for many years.

In 2008 the magazine is undergoing a complete redesign – a fresh look, a new name

and greater accessibility for the parent and professional audience.

The magazine is now called Montessori Voices and is being redesigned in full colour with 4 additional pages.

The focus will be making the magazine more attractive and readable with Montessori philosophy, values and practice woven throughout and more contributions from Montessori parents, professionals and children.

Look out for the first issue of Montessori Voices in April 2008.

The Executive Officer of the Montessori Assocaition of New Zealand attended the inaugural International Montessori Conference in Hangzhou, China in late October, 2007.

The Zhejiang Provincial Government, which oversees the education of some 20 million children, has recently negotiated with Association Montessori International to begin Montessori teacher training in the capital city of Hangzhou.

The conference was opened by the General Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial government  and included three days of lectures from AMI trainers and Chinese officials and professors including one professor who has translated ‘’The Secret of Childhood’’ by Dr Montessori into Chinese. Over 1000 Chinese delegates attended a small number of delegates from other Asian countries such as Japan and Korea, the USA, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Montessori schools have existed in different parts of China for some time. In Hangzhou, a government kindergarten established in 1954, began introducing Montessori education in some of it’s 18 classes in 1999. Teachers from the Montessori Association of NSW have been assisting with the growth of Montessori at Wulinmen Kindergarten and since September 2005 all classes have practiced Montessori education.

This growing interest in Montessori education lead the principal and other provincial government officials to seek a Montessori organisation that could deliver quality Montessori training in China. The first training will be for infant teachers with Judi Orion AMI starting in early 2008, followed by 3-6 training with Shannon Helfrich AMI in late 2008 and in 2009 6-12 training Jean Miller AMI.

China currently has much to learn from the international Montessori community, but in a few years the rest of the world may be learning from the Montessori movement in China.

Children from Wulinmen Kindergarten at the Opening of the International Montessori Centenary Conference.

The hopes of Montessori children and students were taken to the NZ Parliament on Friday August 31. An estimated six hundred children, staff and parents from the Montessori early childhood centres and schools in Wellington joined a parade through the city to the lawns of Parliament.

The parade was lead by an African drumming band and children carried placards with messages like ‘Montessori – 100 years and still going strong’’. Many children in the parade were raising money for providing clean water for the children in drought stricken areas of Niger.

The parade was met by Sue Kedgley, Green MP and she was presented with a book of wishes for the next one hundred years. Ms Kedgley told the festive crowd that she would take their wishes to Parliament and share their wonderful ideas with other MP’s.

Wishes from the children included:

I wish my house is full of love - 4 yrs, I wish the tiger would be able to  live in the jungle - 4 yrs, We don't want dirty air, we want clean air - 4  yrs, I wish more people would donate more money to the poor and needy - 9  yrs, My wish for the future is: more parks for the children - 12 yrs, More forests for the next generation - 10 yrs, My wish is to have more hospitals  and disease research centres - 11yrs, I wish for an end to child abuse - 10  yrs, I wish the whole world was safer - 6 yrs, I wish that we all didn't fight - 6 yrs.

A group of Montessori students read aloud the centenary declaration.

Dr Maria Montessori’s birthday was marked with the cutting of a cake by Sue Kedgley and Julia Rowe, 7 from Otari Primary and the singing of Happy Birthday in English, Italian and Maori.

The children, parents and staff then enjoyed a picnic in the beautiful Wellington sunshine.