Our groups
We have three classes at Wise Owl, taught by qualified, passionate teachers (each of them mothers themselves). The children are grouped by age which allows activities to be tailored to their level of ability. It also ensures that any little friendships that develop will be long-lived as the children move up to the next class with their peers.
Yellow Ducklings
Grade 000
(children that turn 4 during the year)
Sneak peek
These little ones are growing up fast and are ready to make the move from a home or playgroup environment to our safe and fun little school where we place a strong emphasis on play.
The Ducklings classroom is bright and airy. It boasts a wonderful fantasy area where children look after their ‘babies’, clomp around in grown-up shoes and set up shop with friends. What a wonderful way to learn important social skills: solving problems, cooperating with others, taking turns and thinking flexibly.
This group has plenty of time to play both inside and outside, as well as exciting group activities such as art and creative times, music rings, drama lessons, baking, show and tell and story-time.
Adult : child ratio: 1 : 6
Times: 8.30 – 12.15, Monday – Friday, with early care available from 7.45 daily, and aftercare available until 14.00 Monday – Thursday.
Meet the teacher
Roz Brunner lives in Lakeside with her husband, her daughter and Yogi the dog. After realizing that there was nothing in the world that made her happier than being with children, Roz completed a teaching degree, graduating cum laude through Unisa.
Although she is qualified to teach from birth up to and including Grade 3, she keeps gravitating back to what she calls the “magical age” of three- to four-year-olds and loves watching the personalities and senses of humour of the children in her care develop.
In her spare time, Roz enjoys pottering in her garden, walking in nature and reading, secretly hoping to spot grammatical errors in published works.
Red Robins
Grade 00 / Pre-Grade R
(children that turn 5 during the year)
Sneak peek
As your child grows and develops, they are ready to gain new skills. Our Pre-Grade R group has many exciting things to look forward to at school and our programme finds just the right balance between stimulating a child’s intellectual development and providing plenty of time to play.
This classroom has recently been renovated to provide plenty of space for creative activities and free play. As the children become more skilled and competent at certain tasks, further fun activities are introduced, and extension activities are given to the children that would like more of a challenge.
Our Red Robin children are guided through the year to become increasingly independent and responsible and take great pride in their own development.
Adult : child ratio: 1 : 10
Times: 8.15 – 12.30, Monday – Friday, with early care available from 7.45 daily, and aftercare available until 14.00 Monday – Thursday.
Meet the teacher
Paula Wills fell in love with Wise Owl first as a parent when her three daughters attended the school. Paula has a teaching degree and after ten years of teaching at a local primary school, had taken a few years off to be a more hands-on mum to her young children.
Paula made such a good impression at Wise Owl that she was offered a class of her own, and a new classroom was built just for her! This dedicated teacher enjoys developing games and activities for her class and loves the way that teaching the pre-Grade R group makes use of both her teacher skills and her mom skills!
Paula lives in Kirstenhof and is an avid fan of rock painting and exploring the beaches of Cape Town. When she’s not playing ‘mom’s taxi’, she enjoys swimming, running, reading and amateur bird watching.
Bluebirds
Grade R
(children that turn 6 during the year)
Sneak peek
Grade R in a small, non-threatening group environment – preparing your child for ‘big school’. We work to the CAPS curriculum and with our small group size and truly dedicated teacher, we can ensure that each child will reach their individual potentials in preparation for primary school.
The Bluebirds classroom is large and open, providing plenty of space for desk-top work as well as a large mat for group activities, block and construction play, and imaginative activities.
During the year we follow the Muscle Mania® programme which has been designed by occupational therapists to strengthen the child’s fine-motor development. In the second half of the year we work through Number Sense – an age-appropriate Mathematics programme and we learn the alphabet through the adventures of Jolly Phonics and Letterland.
Adult : child ratio: 1 : 15
Times: 8.00 – 12.45, Monday – Friday, with early care available from 7.45 daily, and aftercare available until 14.00 Monday – Thursday.
Meet the teacher
Bonnie Seini grew up in Kirstenhof, just around the corner from Wise Owl, where her parents still live and has recently moved back into the area with her family. After completing diplomas in both Educare and Education, Bonnie threw herself wholeheartedly into teaching, which she has now done for over twenty years – a decade of which she has spent as a valued member of the Wise Owl family.
As our Grade R teacher, Bonnie has a special interest in helping children to develop the fine-motor skills that they will need at “big school” and has an affinity with children who learn differently.
Bonnie’s love of life is evident in the sound of her infectious laughter echoing through the playground each day. She is married and has a teenaged daughter. Bonnie enjoys trying out new arts and crafts, is an accomplished home cook and bakes up a storm whenever time permits.
Our teaching assistants
(the glue that holds it all together)
Tiffini Peterson
Tiffini has been a valued part of Wise Owl for many years and her kindness, patience and gentle nature have won over the hearts of all the families that have come to know and love her. Tiffini is Wise Owl’s resident artistic soul and delights in drawing customized colouring-in pictures for the children, acting as the unofficial school photographer, creating murals, face-painting and completing any hand-lettering that needs to be done around the school.
Tiffini is the teaching assistant in the Yellow Ducklings group and helps in the afternoons with the children who stay for aftercare.
Samantha Meiring
A few years ago, Sam’s young son came to Wise Owl, and after Sam helped us out with a few admin tasks we wondered how we had ever managed without her! This special woman has a knack for organizing and has proved invaluable to the smooth running of the school, so we were very excited when she agreed to join our staff.
Sam divides her time between the Red Robins and the Bluebirds classes and does a lot of ‘behind-the-scenes’ work at school, taking initiative and often completing tasks before the teachers even think to ask her.