Early Childhood Faculty
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Mary Huggard (she/her) Director and Facilitator of Parent and Child Programs and Parent and Infant Programs, Early Childhood Faculty Chair Mary has a B.A. and B.Ed. from Queen’s University. She has completed Foundations in Anthroposophy Part I and an intensive week of Waldorf Early Childhood training through the Rudolf Steiner Centre Toronto. Mary joined the Mulberry Waldorf School faculty in 2001 and is an alumni parent. |
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Elissa Smith (she/her)
Morning Garden Lead Teacher Elissa has a Bachelor of Science from UBC and completed her Waldorf Early Childhood Training in 2014. She has been working with children birth to six years old and their families for 12 years. She has taught at Mulberry since 2019 as a Kindergarten Assistant and enjoys reading, knitting, being in nature and spending time with her family. Her daughter is a current Mulberry grade school student. |
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Janie Jang Morning Garden Assistant Teacher Janie has a B.A. from Concordia University, a Culinary Certificate from Niagara on the Lake, and a diploma in Early Childhood Education from St. Lawrence College. She completed Foundations in Anthroposophy Part I through the Rudolf Steiner Centre. Janie joined the Mulberry Waldorf School faculty in 2014 and is an alumni parent. |
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Julia Miranda Morning Garden Assistant Teacher Julia has a B.A.H. in History and Spanish from Queen's University, a B.Ed. in Primary/Junior Education also from Queen's University, and a certificate in Foundations of Early Childhood Music Pedagogy from the Royal Conservatory of Music. She has completed Foundations in Anthroposophy Part 1 and has completed a Grade School intensive training week at the Rudolf Steiner Centre (RSCT). She has worked with young children for over 10 years, including a summer of experience in Carlina Heins's Waldorf home childcare initiative, and four years of experience teaching music to young children. She is a returning member of the Mulberry faculty, having worked previously in Kindergarten, Morning Garden, KinderCare, AfterCare, and Grade 1 & 2. |
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Jenny Taylor (she/her) Pedagogical Director and Human Resources Chair Student Support Teacher Jenny has a B.Sc. (Biology) from McMaster University, and a B.Ed., M.Ed., and Ph.D. in Education from Queen's University. She has completed Foundations in Anthroposophy Part I and II. Jenny joined the Mulberry Waldorf School faculty in 2010. She started as a Parent and Child facilitator and Kindergarten Assistant, and was a Kindergarten Lead Teacher for over seven years. Previous leadership roles have included Early Childhood Pedagogical Chair and Governance Chair. She is an alumni parent of two children, and has one child in the grade school. |
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Tammy Caldwell (she/her) Lead Kindergarten Teacher Tammy has a B.A. from Brock University, and a B.Ed. and Certificate of Experiential and Outdoor Education from Queen’s University. Tammy completed Foundations in Anthroposophy and Waldorf Early Childhood Teacher Education at the West Coast Institute for Anthroposophy, as well as Collaborative Leader Training and Part I of the HEART training through the Rudolf Steiner Centre Toronto. Tammy is a member of the Faculty of Part-Time Waldorf Early Childhood Teacher Education at the Rudolf Steiner Centre Toronto. She joined the Mulberry Waldorf School faculty in 1999 and is a former Faculty Chair. Tammy is an alumni parent of two daughters. |
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Claudia Lama Kindergarten Assistant Teacher Claudia has a B.S in Psychology from Universidad de las Americas-Puebla in Mexico and a Certificate of Waldorf Early Childhood Teacher from Rudolf Steiner College Canada . Claudia became passionate about Waldorf education when she homeschooled her children in a Woldorf inspired way, which led her to began studying Foindations in Anthroposophy and to complete her Waldorf education ECE in 2022. Claudia and her family (two children ) joined Mulberry in 2021. |
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Tasha Latimer
Kindergarten Assistant Teacher Tasha has a B.A. in History and Theatre from the University of Ottawa, a B.Ed. in Primary/Junior Education with a focus on teaching through dramatic arts from Queen’s University and a Diploma in Advertising Marketing Communication from St. Lawrence College. She has also completed an Introduction to Assistant Teaching in a Waldorf Setting from Sophia’s Hearth. Tasha joined the Mulberry Waldorf School faculty in 2022. |
Grade School Faculty
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Claire Ree (she/her) - currently on maternity leave Grade 1/2 Lead Teacher Claire has a B.A. and Postgraduate Certificate in Education from Sheffield Hallam University, and obtained her Qualified Teacher Status in the U.K. She has a Foundation Diploma in Art and Design Studies and has completed an intensive training week with the Rudolf Steiner College Canada (RSCC). Prior to moving to Ontario Claire was a Class Teacher, Senior Year Leader and Deputy Curriculum Team Leader in London, England. Claire joined the Mulberry Waldorf School faculty in 2020 |
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Maureen Mellor (she/her) Grade 1/2 Assistant Teacher Maureen has a B.A. and B. Ed. from Queen's University. She completed Ministry of Education courses in Music, Reading, and Intermediate Education during her 29-year teaching career with the Upper Grand District School Board. Maureen joined the Mulberry Waldorf School faculty in 2018. |
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Sue McCoubrey Grade 1/2 Educational Assistant Sue has a diploma in Early Childhood Education from St. Lawrence College, a Developmental Service Work Diploma from Algonquin College, and a certificate in Infant Mental Health from York University. Sue joined the Mulberry Waldorf School faculty in 2018. |
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Shelsey Taylor (she/her) Grade 3/4 Lead Teacher Shelsey has a Bachelor of Science from Royal Roads University and a Bachelor of Education from Queens University. This past summer she completed the Grade 4 Intensive Training at the Toronto Waldorf School. Shelsey joined the Mulberry Waldorf School staff in 2019-2020 as an Assistant Teacher, then from 2021-2022 was the Physical Education and Handwork Teacher. Prior to teaching at Mulberry, Shelsey was the Outdoor Education Facilitator for the ALCDSB at the H.R. Frink Centre in Plainfield,ON. |
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Mhairi Gray (she/her) Grade 5/6 Lead Teacher Mhairi has a B.A. from the University of Toronto and completed Waldorf Teacher Training through the Rudolf Steiner Centre Toronto. She has an AMI Montessori Teaching (preschool) Diploma. She completed Foundation Studies in Anthroposophy and one year of Visual Arts Studies at Emerson College in the U.K. Prior to joining the Mulberry Waldorf School faculty in 2012, Mhairi was a Class Teacher at The Acorn School, a Waldorf-inspired school in the U.K. She is an alumni parent of two children. |
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Heather Wark (she/her) Grade 7/8 Lead Teacher Heather has a Bachelor of Arts in English and Sociology from Trent University and a Bachelor of Education from Queen's University. She has completed Foundations in Anthroposophy part 1 through the Rudolf Steiner Centre Toronto, and has begun part 2. Heather joined the Mulberry Waldorf faculty in June 2019. |
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Carlina Heins (she/her) Handwork and Woodwork Teacher Carlina has a B.Sc (Mechanical Engineering) from Queen’s University and she holds a Honourary Waldorf Teacher Certificate, Waldorf Applied Arts Teacher Certificate and New Adult Educator Certificate from Rudolf Steiner Centre Toronto. Carlina is a co-founder of Mulberry Waldorf school, is a former Faculty Chair and Grade School Teacher, and is an alumni parent. |
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Remira Pryce Music Teacher, Kinder Care Teacher Remira has a B.A.H and B.Ed from Queen's University, and is OCT certified as an Intermediate/Secondary teacher in Music and History. She has worked in Early Childhood care for eight years, and has been making and teaching music for many more years than that. She joined Mulberry Waldorf School as an After Care teacher in 2019, and the Music Specialty Teacher in 2022. |
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Maria Biasotti (she/her) French Teacher Maria has a B.Ed at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, a M.Ed. at Mount Saint Vincent University. She has taken multiple courses at University of Ottawa for French Methodology and has taught French, English and Spanish as second languages. She has completed Foundations in Anthroposophy part 1 through RSCT, and has begun part 2. Maria joined the Mulberry Waldorf School faculty in 2018 and has a child in the grade school. |
Administration
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Peelu Hira (she/her) Administrative Head Peelu has a B.Sc. (Biochemistry) from Laurentian University and a M.Sc. (Biochemistry) from Queen’s University. She worked for nine years in a number of federal government departments and central agencies. She and her family joined the Mulberry community in 2001, beginning in the Parent and Child program. She was the Board Chair from 2004 to 2008. Peelu joined the Mulberry Waldorf School staff in 2008. She is an alumni parent of two children, who have graduated from Queen's University. |
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Lois Bulch (she/her) Finance Officer Lois has a Business and Marketing diploma from St. Lawrence College. She worked in the banking and financial services industry for almost 15 years. Lois joined the Mulberry Waldorf School staff in 2012. She is an alumni parent of two children. |
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Christine Chapman (she/her)
Administrative Assistant Christine has a B.Sc. (Chemistry/Physical Geography) and a M.Ed. from Queen’s University, and a B.Ed. from Lakehead University. She taught Middle School Science in South America and the Caribbean for six years and worked with educational research groups at Queen’s University for eight years. She and her family joined the Mulberry Community in 2011 when they started in the Parent and Child program with their son who is now enrolled in the grade school. She has completed Foundations in Anthroposophy part 1. Christine joined the Mulberry office team in 2018 and she is the current Chair of the Community Development Committee. |
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Gema Balderas (she/her)
Marketing Coordinator Gema has a Bachelor of Communications from ITESO, Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara in México. In 2022 she completed the Digital Marketing Communications and User Experience Design diplomas from St. Lawrence College. Gema and her family arrived in Canada in 2021, and her child is a current Mulberry grade school student. |
