SEPTEMBER 2005
NEWSLETTER


We are looking forward to working and sharing with you, the parents. Thank you for entrusting your children to our care.
From all the GLM Staff

“You have very truly remarked that if we are to reach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with children, and if they will grow up in their natural innocence, we won’t have to struggle, we won’t have to pass fruitless idle resolutions, but we shall go from love to love and peace to peace, until at last all the corners of the world are covered with that peace and love for which, consciously or unconsciously, the whole world is hungering.”


“When will we teach our children in school what they are? We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the world there is no other child exactly like you. In the millions of years that have passed there has never been another child like you. And look at your body – what a wonder it is! Your legs, your arms, your cunning fingers, the way you move! You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity of anything. Yes, you are a marvel. And when you grow up, can you harm another who is, like you, a marvel?”




We will begin holding Back-to-School Nights next week. These nights are for parents only and will be an opportunity for you to meet with your child’s teacher and get any questions you might have answered. Here is the schedule:

Friday, Sept. 2 Redwood Thursday, Sept. 8 Mulberry & Jacaranda
Tuesday, Sept. 6 Magnolia Friday, Sept. 9 Camellia
Wednesday, Sept. 7 Juniper & Live Oak Monday, Sept. 12 Ginkgo

The Elementary and Primary evenings start at 6:30 and end at 8:00 pm. Mulberry class evening is 5:30 to 7:00 pm; Camellia’s is 6 to 7:30 pm. Refreshments will be served.

Childcare provided by GLM staff. Please RSVP to the school office if you will need care for your child.



HELEN CAMPBELL – HEAD OF SCHOOL
Helen Campbell grew up in Southern California. She trained at the A.M.I. International Institute of Los Angeles and took elementary teacher training at the Montessori Education Center in San Leandro and again took Montessori elementary teacher training in Savannah, Georgia in a special public school program. She co-founded a Montessori school in San Diego and then accompanied her husband for a year of elementary Montessori training in Italy. She founded Grand Lake Montessori 27 years ago. She has 31 year’s experience teaching toddlers, preschool and elementary. Helen was selected to participate in an 18 month pilot program, “Every Director Counts”, funded by the Prop. 10 cigarette tax monies. GLM is one of 25 Early Childhood Centers in Alameda County developing shared leadership in the field of Early Childhood Education. She has 3 children who all went through Montessori schools. For recreation, she and her husband enjoy the Bay Area folk music and dance community and they attend contradance (an Americanized form of English Country Dance) workshops.

MARY AIMA – GUIDE (MULBERRY)
Mary grew up in St. Louis, Missouri with a brother and four sisters. She attended Florisant Valley College as a psychology major while working at the St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf as a House Parent. Later, Mary traveled to Haiti and spent 3 1/2 years working in an orphanage as the Activity Director and House Mom. Mary has been teaching 17 years, 14 of them at GLM! She believes in creating an environment that embraces the whole child, allowing them to express themselves through exploring the classroom. Mary’s hobbies include sewing, cooking, collecting folk dolls. Her daughter, Samantha, is a graduate of GLM and presently attending Julia Morgan.

VALERIE BASOM – ROVING SUBSTITUTE, CLAY STUDIO
Valerie has been a teacher for over 20 years. This is her 4th year at GLM. She was the assistant to the curator at the Junior Center of Art and Science making exhibits and teaching art and science classes for 9 years. She attended CCAC, Diablo Valley and Solano College, majoring in Art and Education. She is a lamp and shade maker and has had work in various galleries showing sculptures, collages and jewelry. Valerie is a fine and folk art collector and states her home is a small museum of visual aids. She continues her education taking philosophy and practical life at the Montessori Institute of Advanced Studies. Her philosophy is “Let the children teach you! “

ALLISON BROOKS – CO-TEACHER (LIVE OAK)
Alison has 3+ years of preschool classroom experience and 8+ years of Montessori experience as a parent. She made the transition from the Brown Cottage to the Live Oak class at the beginning of summer. She is currently taking Montessori training at the Montessori Institute of Advanced Studies in Castro Valley.

AWA DIA – CO-TEACHER (MAGNOLIA)
Awa was born and raised in Senegal, West Africa, coming to the U.S. 11 years ago to study journalism in Washington, D.C. She changed her major and obtained a B.A. in Business Administration. After moving to Oakland and getting married she tutored children in French while in college. Awa has been at GLM for 3 years, but has taught for 13. She believes that every teacher should give his/her best to the children. Besides spending time with her two children she enjoys cooking, reading and traveling, and speaks four languages!

JOYCE EDINGTON - CO-TEACHER (CAMELLIA)
Joyce studied early childhood education at Merritt College, and participated In a Round Table innovative teacher’s project at Mills College. For 13 years she operated a family day care in her home, and another 12 years was the Program Director/Teacher in a preschool. She is the mother of 2 sons, the first of which has 2 energetic boys ages 5 years and 16 months. Joyce’s younger son will be getting married next June. She enjoys music, cooking, reading and sketching.

NANCY HASKINS – BUSINESS MANAGER/DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS
Nancy is a Bay Area native, born in Berkeley and raised in Richmond. She has over 30 years of experience working in Business environments. She began working at GLM in 1984 and enrolled her youngest daughter as a toddler student. She lives in Piedmont with her husband Bill and loves to hike, cook, read, spend time with family and friends, and loves blues and jazz.

ERIN HENNIGAN – CO-TEACHER (JUNIPER)
Erin attended Ojai Montessori from kindergarten through the 6th grade. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from U.C. Santa Barbara in 2001, and is presently finishing the Montessori Early Childhood Education certificate program at St. Mary’s College. This is his intern year at GLM. In his spare time Erin enjoys being in the outdoors: backpacking, fly fishing and snowboarding.

FRANCISCA HERNANDEZ – CO-TEACHER (MAGNOLIA)
Francisca was born in Mexico and grew up in the northern Sacramento valley. For 2 years she worked at Head Start. She is currently majoring in English Literature at C.S.U. of the East Bay. She was married just 3 weeks ago, and is enjoying her recent move to the Bay Area. Francisca feels it is a privilege to work with young children.

PENNY HOLBROOK – ASSISTANT BUSINESS MANAGER
Penny is a familiar face to GLM families. She has spent 17 years working in the office and is one of the key people who help to keep our school running smoothly. Penny is a Bay Area native and has spent most of her adult life living in Berkeley. She graduated from U.C. Berkeley with a degree in Anthropology. Penny has two children, Adam and Jennifer. Penny's great love is the English language and reading and writing.

ANDREW KEATING – CO-TEACHER (JACARANDA)
Andy was born in Sherman, Texas and came to California in 1993. He has been teaching for 4 years, all at GLM. To Andy, children are most successful when their own natural choices are valued and reinforced in the classroom and the home. His children, Clare and Grant, are GLM students. An interesting aside about Andy: he and his wife, both vegetarians, met as teenagers in a steakhouse in Denton, TX!

BIRTUKAN KEBEDE – CO-TEACHER (MULBERRY)
Birtukan is from Addis Abada, Ethiopia, where she was a Police Officer for 20 years. She has been living in the United States for the past 4 years, teaching for 1 year. She loves embroidery, sewing, knitting, and smiling. Birtukan especially loves being around the children; guiding them and helping them develop their many skills.

LETA KOERBER – GUIDE (JUNIPER)/EXTENDED DAY COORDINATOR, JUNIPER AND JACARANDA
Leta was born in Seattle, Washington. She started school intending to become a pediatric physician's assistant, but changed her mind and instead went on to receive an Associate's Degree in Early Childhood Education, and now has her Montessori Certificate. She has been at GLM for 15 years, and teaching for 25 years. She believes that teaching is like a triangle: the child at the head, parent(s) on one side, teacher on the other, together helping the child develop their skills in a supportive environment. She is the proud and busy mother of two daughters, Krystal and Marquesa. She enjoys singing, music, and traveling with her family.

VELDA LAU – CO-TEACHER (CAMELLIA)
Velda was born in Macao, China, and graduated from high school in Hong Kong. She moved to San Francisco where she operated a day care center in her home, and took Early Childhood classes at S.F. City College. She has been teaching for 5 years and likes helping children develop their self-help skills and sharing her culture with them.

SIDNEY LECK – GUIDE (JACARANDA)
Sidney was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa. She has lived and taught in the United States for the past 12 years, over 9 of them here at GLM as a head teacher in one of our Primary classes. She believes in teaching mindfully, artfully, and creatively with the whole child in mind. She has traveled extensively and lived on other continents. Her other interests include hiking in nature with her dog, Florabella, yoga, and sailing.

DESERAE MC CLINDON – GUIDE (GINKGO)
Deserae graduated from a future teacher’s program at Skyline High School, received units in Early Childhood Development and Human Development, and has been teaching for 5 years, 4 of them at GLM. June 2005 she finished her training at the Mountain View A.M.I. Teacher Training Center. She believes learning should be fun. “We should look at the child as a whole and teach in a way that works best for that individual child.” Deserae was born and raised in Oakland. She loves music and plays the piano.

ELAINE MEZZIO – FLOATING SUB
After graduating from the University of Buffalo in 1967 Elaine joined the migration to San Francisco. Following a few years in Early Childhood education she joined her late husband in his artsy-craftsy candle company and spent 20 years creating millefiore art wax for the global market, as well as Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley. She enrolled her daughter, Lia, in GLM in 1992, and Elaine joined the staff. Lia, a graduate of GLM’s elementary program is now a senior in high school and applying to Stanford! Wish her luck.

CORINNE MICHAEL – CO-TEACHER (LIVE OAK)
After living in San Francisco and studying at S.F. State University, Corinne moved to Los Angeles where she is originally from. There, she was introduced to the Montessori method of teaching. She worked at Glendale Montessori before moving back to the Bay Area. Corinne has recently finished her Montessori teacher training and is very excited to have found a position at GLM. In her free time she enjoys reading, traveling, yoga, running, and finding new earrings at thrift stores. This October 8th Corinne will be getting married!

SINCERE NITONDE – EXTENDED DAY MONTESSORI GUIDE – LAKE PARK CAMPUS (GINKGO)
Sincere Nitonde (pronounced ne-tone-dey) is from Burundi, in East Central Africa, which bears the source of the Nile River. She became an elementary teacher in 1990 and continued her studies at University. Sincere came to America in 1994 and completed her Montessori training. She has now been teaching over 12 years, 8 years in Montessori schools. She loves traveling (has been to 10 countries and 10 states in the U.S.), reading, and movies. She hopes to make a difference in your children’s journeys at GLM by being a light that guides them to explore their knowledge in daily life. Teaching children is something Sincere feels is very fortunate to be doing.

MICAELA OLIVARES – GUIDE (MAGNOLIA)
Micaela is a native of California and grew up in Gilroy. She graduated with a B.A. in nursing from San Jose State University and received her American Montessori certificate in 1996. She has been teaching ever since, and has been part of the staff here for over 4 years. She now resides in Concord with her many adopted pets, including the latest addition, Chango, a 5 year old Chihuahua. In her free time Mica enjoys gardening (year round), reading, cooking, crocheting, and is a Pilates enthusiast.

FAYE OWENS – ART TEACHER/ROVING SUBSTITUTE
Faye grew up in Mississippi, but one visit to an aunt and uncle in California convinced her to move here for good. She began working at GLM shortly after she arrived and, nearly 15 years later, she is still with us. Faye has her certificate in Early Childhood education through U.C. Berkeley Extension. All in all she has taught for more 20 years. Faye teaches on an individual basis and believes in bringing creativity to all aspects of education. Faye loves to travel and eat in restaurants. In fact, she and her family opened their own restaurant in Mississippi.

JENNIFER PALMER - CO-TEACHER (MULBERRY)
Jennifer began her career in childcare at a corporate facility, starting out as an assistant teacher. She got her Early Childhood units and worked her way up to becoming the assistant director. She left the corporate world and moved to Atlanta, GA, for 3 years; however, she missed her family and the California diversity and moved back. She wanted to do something rewarding and when she walk onto the GLM campus in May, 2005, she fell in love with the children and the Montessori philosophy. Jennifer looks forward to many happy years with us!

JOANNA PUGLIESE - ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Joanna was born in Ohio and grew up in the Bay Area. She started at GLM over 4 years ago. She has worked many years as an administrative assistant in an eclectic assortment of work places. She does stained glass work, loves animals, collects antique furniture, and used to ride a motorcycle. Joanna shares her home with her daughter, 2 rescue dogs, and a Mozart-whistling cockatiel named Pickle.

TANIA RANKINS – ELEMENTARY GUIDE (REDWOOD)
Tania is a native Californian and grew up in Eureka. She received her degree in Multicultural Studies and Psychology. She has completed her Masters in Education with an emphasis on Montessori education, receiving it from St. Mary’s College. She has taught for 10 years and is in her 6th year with GLM. Tania is the mother of Nacalah and Jaquez, both GLM students. She loves to take on challenges and feels education should be adapted to fit each child’s individual learning styles. “Learning should never be a laborious process!”

VIKA ROBERTSON – SPANISH TEACHER
Vika was born, raised and schooled in Russia. She studied math and planned to be a school teacher, teaching for 2 years in a junior high school. At 21 she moved to Spain with her parents, studied Spanish and taught Russian in a language school. After marrying she came to the U.S. and settled in Moscow (yes!), Idaho. She attended the University there and got her Master’s degree in Spanish, then a PhD at the University of Washington in Seattle.
She settled in the Bay Area where she lives with her daughter while her son is studying at Whittier College.
Her hobbies include the study of languages, as well as folk music and dance.

SHAHIDA SALEEM - CO-TEACHER (JACARANDA)
Shahida was born in Pakistan, where she attended Lahore College. In 1994 she received her B.A. in Economics, and in 1996 her M.A in Urdu (Lit.) from Government College in Pakistan. She has 4 brothers and speaks 4 different languages! She came to the U.S. in 1996 and took Child Development classes at the Association of Childhood Services in Oakland, with the aim to help children become better human beings. She loves reading and listening to music, and wearing clothing from her country.

VICTORINA SANTIAGO – CO-TEACHER (MAGNOLIA)
Victorina comes from Jalisco, Mexico. She has been living here for 16 years, teaching for 3 years. She’s mom to 5 children, ages 23 through 30. She attended American College and obtained an Early Childhood Education Certificate. She likes reading, dancing and playing with children. She feels working at GLM has been a good experience for her, and hopes she is helping the children become good human beings and learning to be kind.

ALLISON SMITH – CO-TEACHER (GINKGO)
Allison is very excited to have recently joined the staff. After receiving her BS degree in the field of Agroecology and Sustainable Development from U.C. Berkeley she has been furthering her education in the field of Early Childhood Education and is currently enrolled at S.F. City College.
Outside of school, Allison is a painter and fashion designer. She spends her free time immersed in projects. Allison loves children, animals, writing and being outside as much as possible.

DANNY TIEN – GUIDE (CAMELLIA)
Danny has been teaching for 10 years, over 5 with GLM. He was born in Beihai, China and came to the United States when he was 9. He first lived in San Francisco and then moved to Oakland in 1989. He is devoted to his family and wants to have a lot of children of his own. He loves to socialize and considers himself a work-a-holic. He especially enjoys the energy level of young children!

RORY VAN NEST – CO-TEACHER (REDWOOD)
Rory Van Nest, a native to the Bay Area, grew up close by in Piedmont. She recently graduated with honors from the University of Southern California with a degree in Communication and Children and Families in Urban America. She has been working with children off and on for the past 8 years. She is well adapted to working with children of all different personalities and learning styles and is excited to start her first year here at GLM.

SU-WEN YANG – CO-TEACHER (JUNIPER)
Su-Wen was born and raised in Taiwan and moved to America in 1997. She attended Saint Mary’s College to complete her master’s degree in Early Childhood Education and Montessori training in both primary and elementary levels, and has been teaching for 6 years. She hopes to one day write a children’s book. Her teaching philosophy is simply “Inspiration". An interesting thing about Su-Wen is she cannot eat watermelon!