Under the ComaroScope with Melissa and Hayley
The CHRONICLE gets up close and personal with these sisters who opened up the Little Crackerjacks Montessori Preschool in January.
MELISSA Fernandes (35) and Hayley Mulder (36) make a strong sister duo as the owner and principal (respectively) of Little Crackerjacks Montessori Preschool on 97 Vorster Ave in Glenanda.
With eight staff members, the preschool teaches and grooms a total of 45 children aged between one and six years. The school is strong on cleanliness, being cleaned every day and disinfected once a week.
The CHRONICLE gets up close and personal with the sisters, who opened the Montessori Preschool in January.
Both sisters were born and raised in Brackendowns. They attended Glenview Primary and Bracken High. After studying at the School of Modern Montessori in Linbro Park, both sisters left with their diplomas.
We speak to Melissa
Melissa went on to teach at a school in Auckland Park and then left to be a personal trainer at a gym in Meyersdal.
“It has always been a dream of mine to open up a nursery and there were about two years of planning before we actually opened up but since we have opened it has been amazing. We work one on one with the children and focus on each one individually,’ said Melissa.
Melissa is a proud mother of two three-year-old French bulldogs named Chloe and Ramsey. She married Christopher Fernandes in 2013 and lives in Aspen Nature Estate.
We speak to Hayley
Hayley taught at a school in Melville for about 16 years. She married in 2008 and has a five-year-old son and a nine-year-old daughter. The family lives in Newmarket Park.
“I have always wanted to be a teacher and it has always been mine and Melissa’s passion, because we love children,” said Hayley.
How the school operates
The school has the capacity to take up to 75 to 90 children. All meals are served by the school.
Little Crackerjacks Montessori Preschool offers its little learners music lessons, gross motor development training, physical exercise lessons, extra activities such as Soccer Stars (children who play soccer), playball (develops all ball skills for the learners), Gym Kids, Computer Techno Kids, Lil’ Chefs and an activity called “Fun To Be One”, which promotes group work.
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