Brisbane born and bred Roelie has lived in Katherine, in the Northern Territory, since February 2020. After 13 years of living in western Queensland, she is really enjoying the different landscapes and shades of green that the Top End has to offer. She has also discovered the joys of fishing for barramundi (a very popular sport in the Top End).
Primary teaching was Roelie’s first profession and she holds a diploma of Teaching (Primary) and a Bachelor of Education. Roelie came to Montessori through her children and has been involved in the movement in some way or other since the mid 1990s. Whilst a stay-at-home mum with two young boys, she completed the MWEI Diploma of Montessori 3-6 and later completed both the AMI 0-3 and 3-6 Diplomas. Her final course was the Master of Education (Montessori) from Loyola University, USA.
She was the founder of the Montessori Infants’ Playgroup in Brisbane and ran a Montessori program for the Indigenous teenagers at Wadja Wadja High School at Woorabinda, outside Rockhampton, Queensland. Roelie is a long standing board member for the Caboolture Montessori School.
Roelie is working part time again for Montessori Australia and when life settles after Covid, she is looking forward to getting back to the work she truly loves – designing tours around Maria Montessori’s history and legacy for her own business, “Montessori Tours and Travel”.
Roelie is your ‘go to’ person at Montessori Australia, should you need any help. She assists with administration and events. You can contact her at: roelie.hartwig@montessori.org.au