Sydney Montessori Training Centre

On all of our AMI Diploma courses we spend some time making materials. In this day and age when so many things can be purchased, why would we do this? Principally this enables us to consider and analyse deeply how each aspect of a material supports the child’s development and to create something that really meets their needs. This understanding stays with us each time we consider a new material or item for our environments.

Here the Sydney AMI 3-6 Diploma students are making aprons for 3-6 children, guided by a wonderful family member of one of the students, sharing her knowledge - thank you!

Our material making crew were hard at work today at the Balmain training centre. Thank you! Whilst we work, we chat, catch up, share morning tea and enjoy an all round great time.

If you would like to join us, our next session is Tuesday 23 June 10am to 1.30pm followed by Wednesday 19 August , Thursday 27 September, Friday 23 October and Thursday 19 November at the same time and place.

You don’t have to be a sewer, good at cutting or even good with a pen. We can find a job for everyone.

Do let us know if you plan to come so we can keep you updated.

We are excited to commence our next AMI 0-3 Orientation Certificate in one month from now- live online from Monday, 6 July 2026. Join AMI Trainer Julia Hilson over 11 evening sessions across 7 weeks (including a 3-week break) for an introduction to the principles of Montessori as they apply to the 0-3 age-level.

Delivered online outside of typical work hours and designed to suit parents, carers, educators and professionals working with young children who are keen to learn how to best support them through these highly important formative years.

To find out more and register: https://www.montessoritrainingcentre.com.au/courses/ami-montessori-0-3-orientation-certificate/

Save the date for our Material Making Morning Tea’s for 2026!

We sincerely appreciate all the volunteers that show up and put in the work to help craft the much-needed materials used by our trainers during the AMI Diploma courses. Every little bit counts!

Our next Material Making Morning Tea will be held at the Balmain training space from 10am – 1.30pm on Thursday 11 June.

Please RSVP to [email protected] if you can make it or comment below.

Thinking of an AMI Diploma? Join us live online on Wednesday 17 June from 7pm-8.15pm (AEST) for a free Information Session to hear directly from trainers and past students about their experiences on a course, the work involved and how it translates into practice. Get their perspectives on your questions to be better prepared when considering an AMI Diploma with SMTC.

Upcoming AMI Diploma courses covered will include all age-levels from 0-18.

Open to all educators, parent and other adults interested in Montessori training.

Register at: https://events.humanitix.com/2026-ami-diploma-course-information-sessions

Live online on Wednesday, 17 June, 7pm - 8.15pm (AEST), which is:
📍 9pm Auckland
📍 7pm Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane & Canberra
📍 6.30pm Adelaide
📍 6pm in Tokyo & Seoul
📍 5pm Perth, Singapore, Manila, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing & Denpasar
📍 4pm Jakarta & Bangkok

This evening is our June TiPS! AMI 3-6 Trainer, Kay Urquhart will guide a live online discussion considering how to respond to young children effectively and with understanding of their unique developmental needs.

Details:
Monday 1 June, from 7pm-8.30pm (AEST)
Cost: AUD $25 +GST
To Register: https://events.humanitix.com/3-6-tips-responding-to-children-effectively-practical-tools-for-everyday-moments
Audience: 3-6 educators (but all educators welcome)

Live Online: Monday, 1 June, 7pm - 8.30pm (AEST), which is:

📍 9pm Auckland
📍 7pm Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane & Canberra
📍 6.30pm Adelaide
📍 6pm in Tokyo & Seoul
📍 5pm Perth, Singapore, Manila, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing & Denpasar
📍 4pm Jakarta & Bangkok

As many have already shared, Megan Tyne sadly passed away on 28 May 2026.

Megan made a significant and lasting contribution to AMI training in Australia, New Zealand and globally. SMTC stands on the shoulders of this extensive work by Megan and others and we seek to honour Megan's contribution to training here.

Megan’s funeral will be held at 11am on Friday 12 June 2026 at Frenchs Forest Bushland Cemetery (1 Hakea Avenue, Davison, NSW 2085 Sydney).

Megan's Legacy in Training

We understand that Megan first came to Montessori through her children, who attended Forestville Montessori School in Sydney, where she later worked in administration. From there, she became deeply involved in supporting and strengthening Montessori education and went on to play an important role in the re-establishment and development of AMI Montessori training in Australia.

Megan was involved in supporting early work that made AMI training possible in Australia. This included working as an assistant and administrator in support of earlier AMI 3–6 courses. In the late 1990s, she was part of the efforts to rebuild AMI training in Australia after Patricia Hilson’s death some years earlier, with the 1999 AMI 3–6 Diploma course with Shannon Helfrich, which Megan also undertook.

Megan later held senior leadership roles in the organisations that carried this work forward, including as Executive Director of Montessori Australia and as CEO / Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Montessori Studies, an earlier Australian AMI training centre, where she served as a director for more than a decade.

During this period, in addition to the 3-6 training, AMI 0–3 and 6–12 training also became available in Australia for the first time through the Australian training centre, initially with overseas trainers and over time with Australian trainers. Megan played an important role in this work and progression. In 2007, the first AMI course directed by an Australian AMI Director of Training since 1993 was held in Sydney and then the following year in Melbourne. Megan was an important driver of these courses and of the broader work that made them possible.

Megan’s work helped place Montessori training in Australia on a stronger footing and connect it more clearly with the wider AMI community. During this period, in addition to training, work in Australia included the hosting of the 2005 AMI International Montessori Congress in Sydney, the development of national professional development, the government-approved National Montessori Curriculum, early forms of government recognition for AMI diploma training, and wider Montessori initiatives including supporting Indigenous communities. Early adolescent 12-18 training programs also began to run in Australia and Megan supported that too. The work and momentum were extensive.

Megan’s impact also extended to New Zealand, where her encouragement and commitment helped support the beginnings of the New Zealand training centre and AMI training in New Zealand. This laid a foundation for the close collaboration that continues today between Australian and New Zealand training centres, which both SMTC and MMEF value greatly.

Over many decades Megan contributed significantly to AMI internationally, bringing to it her relentless vision, drive and energy. In recent years, she served as AMI’s Chief Innovation Officer, helping AMI respond to a changing technology environment always with the value of training, and access to it, in mind.

Megan was a big-picture thinker and tireless organiser. Her work ethic was immense. Her energy, vision and determination changed what was possible for AMI training in Australia and New Zealand.

SMTC has deep gratitude to Megan for her work for training in our region and we acknowledge her immense and lasting contribution, from which we continue to build.

Our heartfelt thoughts are with her children, Katie, Jodi and Michael, her grandchildren, Ultan and Conan, and their families at this time.

Vale Megan

AMI

We are so sorry to share this news about Megan. Condolences to her family, friends and colleagues. Her deep passion for Montessori will be missed.

It is with great sadness that we are sharing the news that Megan Tyne passed on 28 May 2026.
Megan served the Montessori movement for more than forty years with intelligence, generosity, and unwavering dedication. She held the AMI 3–6 Diploma and believed deeply in Montessori education — not only as a transformative pedagogical approach, but as a path towards a more peaceful society. Quoting Megan, she would often stress that her continued inspiration and work ethic came from AMI’s mission to “uphold, propagate, and further the pedagogical principles and practice formulated by Maria Montessori for the full development of the human being”.

Her dedication to this vision was exceptional, marked not only by the breadth of her work but by the spirit in which it was carried out: insightful, supportive, and encouraging. She worked with extraordinary dedication and an unassuming sense of purpose, never seeking personal recognition. Everything she did was grounded in a profound commitment to children, education, and the mission of AMI. She possessed a rare ability to strengthen meaningful ideas and help them take root and flourish.

Since joining AMI in 1999, Megan played a significant role in shaping many of the organisation’s strategic and innovative developments. She was instrumental in encouraging AMI to support Montessori initiatives in Thailand and China, and she recognised the importance of the Sports and Dementia work through a Montessori lens. There, too, she made important connections, enabling others to grow and deliver, always with a sense of humour and gratitude. This aspect of her personality also encouraged AMI to be bold and to take pride in its leadership role and visibility, reflected in her contribution to reinventing major events such as AGMs and congresses.

In her final position as Chief Innovation Officer, Megan was widely respected for her clarity of vision, creativity, and remarkable ability to bring ideas into being. Her work on websites, digital initiatives, archives, libraries, and systems development helped preserve Montessori knowledge while making it more accessible to present and future generations. The Maria Montessori online archives are the latest in a long line of projects she helped create to make all things Montessori more accessible.

Over many years, Megan also served as Executive Director of the Montessori Children’s Foundation, Montessori Australia Foundation, and the Australian Centre for Montessori Studies. She worked tirelessly to support the growth and integrity of Montessori education in Australia, always with generosity and a collaborative spirit.

Her contribution to the wider international Montessori community was equally significant. As Chairperson of the International Montessori Centenary Committee, she helped bring together Montessori communities across the world in celebration of Maria Montessori’s enduring legacy. She participated in Educateurs sans Frontières assemblies and supported Indigenous Montessori initiatives in Australia, believing strongly that Montessori education should serve diverse communities with dignity, humility, and care.

Montessori was woven deeply into Megan’s family life as well. Our thoughts are with Katie, Jodi and Michael, Megan’s beloved daughter-in-law Miriam, and her two grandchildren, Ultan and Conan, who lit up her life.

The Montessori community remembers her with profound gratitude and affection.

Join AMI 3-6 Trainer Kay Urquhart at our June TiPS for Educators on Monday, 1 June from 7pm (AEST) as she considers how to effectively respond to young children in the 3-6 age-level based on understanding their specific developmental needs.

Designed for 3-6 educators, and open to anyone with an interest in learning how to best supporting children through everyday moments.

Cost: AUD $25 +GST
To Register: https://events.humanitix.com/3-6-tips-responding-to-children-effectively-practical-tools-for-everyday-moments
Live Online: Monday, 1 June, 7pm - 8.30pm (AEST), which is:

📍 9pm Auckland
📍 7pm Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane & Canberra
📍 6.30pm Adelaide
📍 6pm in Tokyo & Seoul
📍 5pm Perth, Singapore, Manila, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing & Denpasar
📍 4pm Jakarta & Bangkok