ABOUT US

OUR SCHOOL

Beachwood Pre-Primary has been around for many years.  It used to operate from the Boardwalk side of 2nd Avenue.  In 1992 Beachwood and Summerstrand Jewish Nursery school, which operated from what is now a church on Brighton Drive, decided to amalgamate.  The 2 schools then continued to occupy the 2nd Avenue building.  When the plans were drawn up for the Boardwalk it was realised that Beachwood would have to move.  Summerwood very graciously allowed Emfulweni, who built the Boardwalk, to use a piece of their land to construct the very beautiful school that we have today.  Beachwood moved into its new premises in the September school holidays of 2000. 

OUR STAFF

BACK ROW:  Chris Gubevu – Maintenance & Gardener, Gill O’ Connell – Aftercare, Lorraine Ngcelwane – Assistant & Cleaner, Jo Daniels – Aftercare

FRONT ROW: Debbie van der Riet – Secretary and Bursar, Savanah Scanlen – Grade 0 Teacher, Jenni-Lynn Robertson – Grade R Teacher & Principal,
June Marriott – Grade R Teacher, Grace Jenda – Assistant and Cleaner.

Beachwood must be a very happy place to work.  Our one cleaner Lorraine joined the team at Summerstrand Jewish Nursery School in 1989 and moved to Beachwood when they amalgamated.
Our other cleaner Grace joined the Beachwood team in 2005.

OUR TEACHERS

SAVANAH SCANLEN

Grade 0 teacher

I matriculated from Harvest Christian school and from there went on to study a BEd Foundation phase degree at NMU. The reason why I decided to study this specific course is because I absolutely love being around children and helping them grow and develop to reach their potential. They are excited to master new skills at this age and to see their faces light up when they do is something so precious to witness. After I graduated I worked at Goldwater Pre-primary for a year and 5 months. I did tutoring until the end of 2020 and then started working at Beachwood Pre-primary in January 2021. I thoroughly enjoy working with the younger children as we get to have lots of fun while learning and growing our knowledge, skills and understanding. Even though I am a teacher I find the children teach me a lot too. It has been such a blessing to teach the children that I have taught so far and I look forward to the children I will have the privilege of teaching in the future.

Jenni-Lynn Robertson

Grade R teacher and PRINCIPAL

After leaving school I attended Barkly House Teacher’s Training College to study a Diploma in Preschool Education.  Once that was successfully completed, I studied to do a Diploma in Special Education: Remedial Education at the then University of Port Elizabeth.  The reason for me studying those two Diplomas is that I absolutely love working with pre-schoolers, but I did feel that I wanted to be empowered to identify learning barriers before the children go to Grade 1.

I started my teaching career at Beachwood Pre-Primary in 1994.  In 1997 I worked in the UK where I taught 3–5-year-olds.  I returned to Beachwood in 1998.  In 2000 I went to St George’s Pre-Primary where I was tasked with setting up the preschool.  I stayed there for 13 years and then returned to Beachwood in 2013. 

I just love working with pre-schoolers as they are so innocent and eager to learn.  I believe every child has a talent and it is our privilege as preschool teachers to help them discover what this talent might be.  I love coming to work every morning and feel honoured to work with the children that cross my path.

JUNE MARRIOTT

Grade R teacher

Teaching truly is a passion of mine and I’ve been teaching since 2002. I have taught children from various age groups, social/emotional backgrounds and with different challenges.

I completed my B.Prim Ed at Nelson Mandela University (then University of Port Elizabeth) in 2001. I taught Grade R at Sydenham Primary School for 2 years before heading to the UK to teach various age groups in London for a year.  Next, I headed to Korea for three years where I taught English to children aged 5 to 12. Upon my return to South Africa, I taught Grade 2 and 3 at Settlers Park Primary for 2 years and Grade R at Saint Dominics Priory for 6 months while a teacher was on maternity leave.  In 2014 I applied at Beachwood Pre-Primary, and I’ve been here ever since!

Over the years I’ve gained a wealth of knowledge that has helped me form a teaching philosophy that helps children succeed in the classroom and beyond.  I believe that in building a loving relationship with each child, and setting realistic expectations, that all children can flourish.