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Denise
Conner (Director & Teacher)
As
the director of the school for the last 17 years, Denise is a well-known
figure in Sunland. Many of her past students still come to say hello.
Denise supervises the day-to-day operations of the school from teacher
schedules to curriculum planning.
Her
day begins at 6:30 A.M. sharp, welcoming the early morning students.
As the chief liaison with parents, many have come to know and trust
Denise. They can go to work with the comfort of knowing that they
have entrusted their children to someone who will do everything
to protect, nurture and educate their children.
Virtually
all her students achieve very high academic standards and continue
to excel well after they leave our school. But her class is not
all-academic work. It's full of fun, special treats, stickers, an
illicit game of Bingo perhaps or a really nice homemade cake. We
like to think of her class as the finishing class, where well-rounded
children with a wide variety of skills from math, reading and strong
social skills are given a head start to handle the rigors of elementary
school and beyond.
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Cecelia
De Los Reyes (Infant Care Teacher)
Cecelia has been
with the school for 21 years and counting. As the principal
infant care teacher reports to work for the afternoon shift from
12-6:30 pm. Cecelia has perfected the art of infant care. She does
have a routine, which must be followed to the letter. Cleaning has
to be done at set times, Infant food needs must be met immediately
and diapers changes done promptly so no rashes develop.
But
when it comes to infants she caters to their every need without
spoiling them. She is also receptive to parents needs, following
their instructions, providing gentle advise when needed and a strong
sense of empathy for the child’s needs. She enjoys her quiet
times with them in the play yard, painting and making arts and crafts
and reading stories to them. Year after year she manages to build
little jewels of delight with her nurturing attitude.
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Martha
Ross
Marti
as she is known, is our lead infant care teacher in the mornings.
While she will be leaving us in September to pursue her nursing
degree with a full scholarship, the school decided to employ her
even temporarily because of her outstanding infant care experience
and warm personality. This will also allow the school more time
to look for a morning infant care that has that certain " je
ne sais quoi " quality Marti has in spades.
She
also has two teenage children of her own which adds to her wealth
of first hand experience and straight " A " credentials.
But mostly Marti has a special aura and gentleness about her that
is compelling in an infant care setting.
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Adreneh
Hesmati (Teacher Aide)
As
a teachers aide, Adreneh is employed on a part time basis to learn
about children as she goes to school for Early Childhood Education
classes. Always reliable and hardworking, Adreneh is above all,
gentle with children, a quality that is highly valued by the school.
She is also a great asset to the school in terms of doing the hard
work such as helping with diaper changing, cleaning and vacuuming,
helping with the lunch program and many other activities that can
be tedious, but an essentiual part of the school program. |
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Hasmik
Matevosian
The
lead teacher in class 1, Hasmik brings a quiet touch to the school,
which blends in well with the Montessori system. Because she is
a young mother of two teenagers, Hasmik brings a good combination
of youthful exuberance and physical stamina to the school while
retaining the maturity to handle a very busy class
Although
relatively new to the school, Hasmik, has worked hard to implement
and learn the Montessori teaching system. She is also an accomplished
musician and plays the violin and piano for the kids during our
music circle time in the afternoons.
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Sandra
Zavala
Sandra
is a well qualified teacher who has rapidly built up her practical
experience in child development. As a result she was promoted, given
a full time position and has overall responsibility for closing
the school everyday. As one of two teachers in the 2-4 year old
class, Sandra generally handles the younger group of children. She
has a warm loving personality that the kids just adore.
Her
responsibilities include taking turns leading our morning circle
time, diaper changes, tracking in teaching progress, help with giving
lunch and snacks, ensuring that children wash hands and go to sleep
smoothly during nap time and supervision of children during play
time. As one of the closing teachers she also has to ensure that
the school is shut down for the day in an orderly manner, inspect
classrooms for tidyness for the next days start and check that children
are released to authorised people only. A heavy responsibility she
conducts with aplomb.
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