Meet The Team

ANNARITA

Manager

My name is Annarita Gualtieri, I have been working at Petra’s Edu Play group for 15 years this year. I have been a part of this awesome school for the last 21 years as my two children also attended school here in their pre-primary years. 

I have a passion for teaching and I love working with children, seeing them develop and make strides forward. I have had the pleasure of teaching all of the age groups, starting from the babies all the way up to the 6 year Olds. I now am in the fortunate position where I work side by side with Petra, helping develop and further improve Petras Edu- Play, as we are always striving to improve in every single way we possibly can.

ILARIA

 Gr R Teacher

I have been an educator for 17 years. Teaching young children is my passion and I am grateful to be afforded the opportunity to guide young minds to realise their true potential in our beautiful school. I strongly believe that each learner has unique talents and capabilities. I love music and dancing, animals and languages of the world. I am the educator/ nurturer of the Gr Rs and we truly experience ‘where learning has no limits’. The children thrive and start to read and write without any pressure, through our play based way of learning.

HELEN

Teacher 4-5

I am a mother to two beautiful children, Georgia and Michael, I am a wife to my loving husband Angelo. I have an older brother and sister. 

I studied at J.C.E and qualified as a pre-primary/junior primary teacher. I also enrolled at U.J and have a B ED (Hons) Learner Support. I have been teaching for 13 years at some of the top private schools in Johannesburg. I have taught all the age groups. I am passionate about learning, teaching and children. Working at Petra’s Edu Play is a wonderful, fulfilling, happy journey, where teachers are encouraged to see each child as unique and extremely capable. We are guided by each child and build meaningful learning relationships with each one.

SONTO

Assistant

I am a mother of two daughters. I have been working at Petra’s Since 2004. I have enjoyed caring for children in all the age groups and have spent the last few years in the 4-5 group. I love coming to work each day and have realised that we learn with the children each day: we learn from the children, and they learn from us. We have a good sense of togetherness in a carefree environment. I like to know that everyone enjoys their day at school with us.  

TARNA

 Teacher 3-4

My name is Teacher Tarna, I have been a preschool teacher for 13 years and a primary school teacher before that. I studied at Wits and have a Bachelor of Primary Education degree. I have 3 daughters of my own aged 21, 18 and 15 and two stepsons aged 10 and 12. I love spending time with my family, reading, painting and mountain biking.

 I teach the 3-4 year olds at Petra’s and find this age group just perfect for me. Watching the delight in a child as they discover something new and then share their learning with his/her peers makes my day.

THANDI

Assistant

My Name is Thandi. The kids at the school call me Gogo Thandi instead of Teacher Thandi as I'm a granny to all of them too, I have 3 kids of my own and 10 grandchildren. I've been working for Petra's as an assistant teacher since 2009 and it has been a pleasant experience. Over the years I have been a part of growing little minds, seeing then grow each year and being part of their growth experience is heart- warming.

vanessa

Teacher 2-3

I am the Butterfly class teacher (2-3 year olds). Butterflies are my favourite insects.

I have a B.Ed degree and I started teaching in 2009. My two wonderful boys keep me busy in the afternoons. As a family we enjoy camping.

Being a facilitator/ educator in children's learning and seeing their joy and happiness makes me love coming to work. I am passionate about encouraging learning through rich, creative, play based learning and I go all out to ensure that our classroom is a space where learning through play is visible, interactive and creative. Building good, true connections with each child is the base of developing strong emotional skills which allow a child to trust, feel safe and be at ease to learn to their fullest potential.

FIFI

Assistant

My name is Refilwe, but I am known as Teacher Fifi. I am adventurous and artistic- love being creative and I enjoy sharing these strengths with the children. I feel privileged to be part of growing little minds and bodies, while enjoying creative and fun activities. I have two children of my own so I consider myself a 24- hour mom as I nurture my own children, as well as my school pupils. I have developed a strong love for and understanding of preschool aged children while at Petra’s since 2018.

NIKOLINA

Teacher 4-5

I joined Petra’s in 2023. I have learnt so much this year about how children can grow and develop in a beautiful stress free and play based learning environment where all skills are learnt without the children even realising it. I love that we have a set structure and routine and that within that we are free to enjoy each minute of every day in a loving and creative way.

I have two beautiful sons of my own and becoming a mom made me realise that I wanted to be an educator of young children. I have now finally followed my passion and have found my happiness as a preschool teacher. I cherish the simple things in life like good food and spending family time in the garden,

phumla

Assistant

I am a passionate and caring educator with a heart full of compassion and a genuine love for the little ones. My unique traits are patience and attentiveness. I have been at Petra’s Since 2019 and I enjoy learning and growing with the children each day having fun while learning through play.

PRUDENCE

 Teacher 1-2

I have worked at Petra’s since 2008. I teach the one- year- olds who turn 2 in my year and this is a very rewarding age group. These children grow so much, their independence and expressive language skills explode at this age. My favourite time is watching them converse with each other, starting to socialize as they express their new learnings with each other. Their independence on the other hand can be challenging at times, but as per our philosophy we do let them do as much for themselves as they can do, we assist a little but encourage their independence as this allows them to develop as strong, capable independent little beings. We share the love in the Rhinos class, being kind affectionate and loving to each other every day. These kiddies keep me young and active. I have two teenagers of my own and we love going for walks and watching movies together. 

THANDI T

Assistant

My name is Thandi Tshabalala. I have three children. My job title is an assistant teacher at Petra’s Edu-play preschool. I have been part of this amazing school for 13 years. My personality: I am an open person, outgoing and bubbly. My relevant achievements are to keep the children safe and secure, not hearing bad complaints from the parents. I am happy about parents compliment me on taking care of their children.

My hobbies are helping other people in need and I love spending time with my family.

LISA

Infant Teacher

Lisa Solimeo: I live with my husband and I have two grown up daughters. I have been working at Petra's since 2013, initially running the aftercare. A few years ago I took on the wonderful challenge of running the ' tiny' baby section! I enjoy every minute of taking care of these little ones: Singing, dancing, playing, painting, messing, caring, nurturing and having fun learning together. We realise the immense capability and intelligence of these infants and we encourage them to become the most independent and confident toddlers around!!

NELLY

Infant Caregiver

My name is Nelly Khabo Tshabalala. I have four children and eleven grandchildren. My job at Petra’s Edu-play is a teacher assistant. I take pride in school hygiene and keeping the environment clean. I have worked with Petra since 1996. What I love about my job is treating the children in a good way that brings joy to my heart. I am grateful about how my boss appreciates me.

CAROLINE

Infant Caregiver

I am a single mom of two grown up children. I have been here at Petra’s since 2019. I started out helping families with young infants and fell in love with this age group of children. I spend each day in the Infant class loving and caring for these little ones. My unique qualities are my patience, gentleness and calm demeanour. I am in my ‘happy place’ at Petra’s and feel that the infants love me just as much as I love them.

NOMPHILO

Assistant

My name is Nompilo but I am l known as Happy. I’m a proud mother of three boys. I love music. I have been at Petra’s since 2021. I have discovered that I have a big love for young children. Working at Petra’s feels like a second home to me- it makes me happy.

OLIVER

Guard

My name is Musungayi Oliver. I have been working at Petra’s since 2010.I enjoy every moment of been part of our little angels and I keep them safe every day. From a warm welcome in the morning with a high five and ‘sharp sharp’ greetings. I love the soccer games we play with them and some of the other daily activities. I am always happy with my colleagues and we respect one another.

JADOT

Guard

My name is Jadot, I have been keeping Petra’s School safe since 2010. I get to connect and spend time with the children through play at break times, getting to know them and helping them on the monkey bars, on their bicycles and playing soccer. The love, kindness and respect that everyone has at our school is amazing.

MZWANDILE

Chef

My name is Mzwandile, aka ‘Cheffie’. I am the masterchef of this amazing school. My passion is to cook and watch the children enjoy eating my delicious food. I started working here in the year 2021. I take pride in my cooking, and I always try my best to accommodate everyone. I am a quite person who prefers to be left alone in the kitchen, so that I can sing and whistle all day

BERNARD

 Maintenance

I am Bernard, I keep the school gardens clean and take care of all the equipment, maintaining it to ensure our children are safe every day. I spend time with the children planting seeds, watering our plants and am often assisted by some children in raking leaves and tidying up the school. I have worked here since 2018. I enjoy being outdoors and creating nice play spaces for the children.