Putting the Pieces Together
🗓️ Date: 3 & 4 May 2025
📍Location: Gold Coast, QLD, Australia
About the Conference
Join us for an inspiring gathering of educators, parents, and professionals to explore best practices in early childhood education.
Key Highlights
- Inspiring keynote sessions from renowned Montessori educators.
- Workshops on innovative teaching strategies, Montessori therapy, and mental health.
- Networking opportunities with educators and industry experts.
- Interactive presentations on the latest trends in early childhood education, including the role of digital technology and mental health.
- Conference Party: Food, networking, and dancing to celebrate the success of the conference!
May 3-4 2025
Saturday and Sunday
Gold Coast
Queensland, Australia
Conference Speakers
Jason Alexander
Siobhan Kennedy-Costantini - PHD
Susan Chahwan
Oliver Heatherington-Paige
Catherine Reed Holmes
Rhonda Livingstone
Lucette van Someren Boyd
Jane Newman
Mark Powell
Prof. Mark Williams
Program Schedule
Day 1 Schedule
Saturday, May 3, 2025
Conference Welcome – with our Mark Powell
9:15am – 10:30am
Prof. Mark Williams - The Importance of Real Connection
There is a lot of talk about 21st Century skills and what we need to teach students now so that they can thrive in the future. These skills usually include a group of “soft” skills like collaboration, cooperation, teamwork, communication, curiosity, creativity and leadership. One essential component of these and many other 21st Century skills is connection. Our ability to socialize and connect has catapulted our species to phenomenal heights of innovation, through collaboration and specialization. This ability is also our best defence against mental and physical health issues. We will explore how our brain has evolved to enable us to connect and why connection is so important for us all to focus on. By understanding human connection, we can use it effectively to work together towards a less divided, more sustainable, future.
Prof. Mark Williams
10:30am – 10:45am
Silver Sponsor Presentation: Your Child’s Day
10:45am – 11:30am
Morning Tea, Networking & Exhibitors
11:30am – 12:30pm
Rhonda Livingstone - Demonstrating and articulating best practice Montessori education in assessment and rating
The National Quality Standard (NQS) sets the benchmark for high quality practice in children’s education and care services in Australia. The NQS is not prescriptive and empowers services leaders to make informed decisions about their practice and pedagogy that reflects the unique contexts of their children, families and communities. It encourages service leaders and educators to develop and implement a service philosophy that draws on perspectives, theories and approaches to inform quality programs and practices that enhance outcomes for children and their families. The Montessori approach to education has strong alignment with the guiding principles of the Education and Care Services National Law and the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). Reflecting on this alignment has the potential to build confidence in demonstrating and articulating authentic, genuine, high-quality practices occurring in services.
Rhonda Livingstone
12:30pm – 1:30pm
1:30pm – 2:45pm
Siobhan Kennedy-Costantini - PHD - Delight as an Antidote: The Power of Presence in a Fast-Paced, Distracted World
In today’s busy, overstimulated world, many children experience disconnection and struggle to settle. The concept of delight—genuinely tuning in to each child with warmth and presence—offers a powerful antidote. When we slow down and attune to the child before us, we counteract the pressures of modern life: full schedules, screen time, reduced nature play, and fewer moments of true connection. In Montessori environments, where deep concentration and inner growth are central, this sense of safety and connection is essential. Increasingly, children arrive dysregulated and unable to focus. Delight, in the Circle of Security sense, builds felt safety and trust—it says, you are seen and celebrated. This paves the way for independence, focus, and joyful learning. Montessori reminds us that trust is the foundation of growth, and delight is one of the most powerful ways to nurture it.
Siobhan Kennedy-Costantini - PHD
2:45pm – 3:00pm
Connection Activity
3:00pm – 3:30pm
3:30pm – 4:30pm
Jason Alexander - The Connection Crisis
Jason Alexander
4:30pm – 5:00pm
Oliver Heatherington-Paige - Tales, Tunes and Trivia
Songs, anecdotes and a bit of a quiz (in limerick form) to send people off to the party in good form!
Oliver Heatherington-Paige
5:00pm – 5:30pm
Energy Count & Break
6:00pm – 10:00pm
Conference Party!
Conference Party
Join us for, some say, the highlight of our conferences, at our Conference Party! You’ll have a chance to network, talk to speakers, eat party food, then dance the night away. Food and beverages included.
Day 2 Schedule
Sunday, May 4, 2025
8:00am – 8:30am
Arrival, Networking & Exhibitors
8:30am – 8:45am
Connection Activity & Energy Count
8:45am – 9:45am
Lucette van Someren Boyd - Montessori Therapy
What is Medical Pedagogy? How is this related to the original work of Dr Montessori? What is a Montessori Therapist and who do they work with? How can you implement change in your environment and remain true to Montessori theory? How do you help children who may take longer to find peace in the classroom, those who face challenges and children at risk? Lucette takes us through a short history of Montessori therapy, Dr Theodore Helbrugge and Mario Montessori, the role of the therapist and ideas for practical help in the classroom.
Lucette van Someren Boyd
9:45am – 10:00am
Connection Activity & Energy Count
10:00am – 11:00am
Susan Chahwan - What’s the point?
Showcasing Dr Montessori’s theory in action, Susan will walk the talk through the Montessori School from 3-18 years. She will discuss how and why these model environments exist and their intended impact on social change. “Resting no longer on a curriculum or a timetable education must conform to the facts of human life.” (The Absorbent Mind).
Susan Chahwan
11:30am – 12:30pm
Catherine Reed Holmes - Nourishing modern minds
Risk is a fundamental part of life. Every decision we make, whether it’s deciding what to have for breakfast or what route to take, all choices have an element of risk. If we look back to the pivotal moments in history – taking (calculated) risks can lead to radical and innovative change – just think politically, environmentally, socially or medically. Radical change by critiquing the world, transforming broken systems and standing up to the people who need to do better, stems from taking risks. As our youngsters move through childhood, adolescence and into adulthood, how can we set them up with the skills to be professional (calculated) troublemakers to disrupt the status quo and make positive change? In this interactive presentation, we will reflect on our own risk-taking behaviours, dive into children’s everyday risks in the modern world and discuss ways of fostering independence through risk-taking.
Catherine Reed Holmes
12:30pm – 1:30pm
1:30pm – 2:30pm
Jane Newmann - The Prepared Adult: The Inner Work of Educators
As Montessorian educators, we are united by a shared belief in the power of self-awareness, intrinsic motivation, and the holistic development of the child. But in the fast-paced, high-demand environment of modern education, even the most dedicated practitioners can find themselves overwhelmed, disconnected, or pulled away from the essence of this beautiful philosophy.
Jane Newman will invite educators to return to their own inner compass—to reconnect with the ‘why’ behind their work and to reflect on how their own self-awareness and emotional regulation are just as important as the prepared environment in guiding children.
Jane Newman
2:30pm – 3:00pm
Afternoon Tea, Networking & Closing
conference venue & accommodation
Mantra on View,
22 View Avenue, Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast
Positioned right in the heart of Surfers Paradise just 160m from the beach, Mantra on View Hotel is an ideal choice when visiting Queensland’s famous Gold Coast.
Relax on your own private balcony as you take in the sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean and stunning Gold Coast skyline. While staying at Mantra on View Hotel, dine onsite at NOSH Pan Asian Restaurant, or wander into the nearby heart of Surfers Paradise for a great choice of Gold Coast bars and eateries.
With excellent shopping, famous beaches, the natural wonders of the hinterland and Gold Coast theme parks nearby, Mantra on View Hotel is the ideal Surfers Paradise accommodation.
10% DISCOUNT OFF THE BEST RATE AVAILABLE FOR CONFERENCE DELEGATES
- Book your accommodation directly with the hotel
- Buffet breakfast $25pp when booked with room
- Limited undercover parking $15 per day
- Additional parking 5-10 mins walking distance
- Check in 2pm Check out 10am
RESERVATIONS:
1300 987 604
(07) 5579 1000
view.res2@mantra.com.au