JUNIPER EARLY LEARNING CENTER
JUNIPER EARLY LEARNING CENTER
Holly has recently been nominated for the 31ST ANNUAL 'WOMEN OF INFLUENCE RBC CANADIAN ENTREPRENEUR' award. The RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards is the premier national awards program celebrating the achievements of the most successful in this inspiring group.
Holly Schafer, Director/Owner
Holly is a licensed Early Childhood Educator and Montessori Primary Teacher with over 25 years of experience working with young children in many different capacities.
Prior to attending the Early Childhood Education Program at Okanagan University College, Holly taught preschool in New York, NY where she ran a program for two to three year old's called the "Two Group." Upon completion of her studies in the Early Childhood Education field in 1993, she was hired as an Assistant Teacher at the Okanagan Montessori Preschool in Kelowna, B.C. This was a wonderful experience! Having been exposed to many preschool and daycare environments, Holly found, what she believes, to be excellence in Early Childhood Education. Holly found her niche in the Montessori classroom and could never imagine a career that could be as fulfilling and inspiring as working with children in a Montessori environment. Holly went on to take her St.Nicholas practical training and examination at the Pacific Montessori School in Victoria during the summer of 1995. In March of 2002, she completed The Montessori Foundations Level 1 Certificate at the Western Montessori Teachers College in Port Moody, B.C. Because of her dedication and love for children, appreciation of the Montessori Method, and the desire to offer such a program to the families of Kamloops, she made the decision to open the Kamloops Montessori Preschool/ Kindergarten and Kamloops Montessori Academy in 1998. After 18 years of providing excellence in Child Care in the Aberdeen and Sahali areas of Kamloops, Holly was excited to extend her Childcare Centers into the Juniper community.
Holly-Ann Fraser - Administrative Assistant
Holly-Ann is our Administrative Assistant. She came to us at the end of the summer 2018, and brings with her many years of administrative experience, from working in several medical offices, as well as many other capacities. She moved to Kamloops from Alberta, shortly before starting work in our office. She has also worked with children in many capacities over the years. She has 4 grown children of her own and 5 grandchildren; has acted as a Sunday School Teacher, Youth Group Leader, and provided childcare from her home at different times, over the past 35 years. She and her husband were Directors of Torch Trail Bible Camp in Northern Saskatchewan for 3 years, where she also gained extensive experience in Administration and working with children of all age groups.
Grace Gorman, Manager/Head Teacher in 3-5 Full Day Program (ECE/IT)
Grace was born in Kamloops and attended Kamloops Montessori as a child herself. From a young age Grace knew she wanted to pursue a career with children. After graduating from South Kamloops Secondary School, Grace completed her Early Childhood Education diploma at TRU and has received her Montessori level 1 training. Grace is very interested in the development of children and learning how their creative minds work. Going through the Montessori program as a child, Grace knew that she wanted to work in a Montessori classroom and share her knowledge and experiences with her students. Grace is the Manager at Juniper Early Learning Center, as well as, the Head Teacher of the 3-5 Full Day Program.
Buriga A (Eric), Teacher (ECEA/Masters of Education)
Kinder Prep Extended Day/School Age
Buirga A (Eric) was born and raised in Inner Mongolia, China.
Buriga has years of experience working in the education system, with children between 2 and 12 years old. He began his teaching career at his hometown public school in 2014. In 2016, he joined the Preschool program, as a teacher, at Rise English School, the most prominent private school (with 34 centres) in Beijing, China. At the beginning of 2020, because of the pandemic, he joined VIPKID, the most prominent online teaching education company in China, as a learning partner. It was Buriga’s dream to further his study in the field of Childhood Education, so in September 2021, he moved to Canada, where he attended Thompson Rivers University and attained his Masters Degree in Education. During this time, he also completed his Early Childhood Educator Assistant Certification. Buriga is passionate about education, and Juniper Early Learning Center is very happy to have him as part of our teaching team in the Kinder Prep Extended Day program, and in the School Age program.
Sara Alavi, (ECEA) Masters of Industrial Engineering
Sara came to Kamloops alongside her husband and adult daughter. They are thrilled to be part of the Kamloops community. Over Sara’s 15 years of experience in the field of Early Childhood Education, she has developed a deep passion for nurturing young minds. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physics and a Montessori Certificate from the UK. Sara also holds a Masters Degree in Industrial Engineering. Sara’s love for working with children has been a driving force in her career. She strives to expand her knowledge and improve her approach to teaching everyday, ensuring that she is always up to date with latest educational methodology. Her patient and kind nature shines within the classroom, where she fosters a caring a supportive environment for children to thrive. Sara has attained her ECEA Certification and is currently pursuing further studies in Early Childhood Education & the Montessori Method. She is excited about her journey with Juniper Early Learning Center and is committed to being an impactful and dedicated teacher by bring her extensive experience in Montessori based learning to the children that she works with.
Heather Arcand (ECE) Teacher Full Day (3-5 year olds)
Heather was raised for most of her life in Kamloops and has chosen Kamloops as the place that she and son, Kolten, call home. Heather always knew she wanted to be a teacher and began volunteering at childcare centres right out of high school. In 2004 she began working in private care nannying, where she had the opportunity to work with children aged 0-17, some of whom were children on the Autism spectrum. In 2017 she began a program at Sprott Shaw Community College to attain her certification as an Early Childhood Educational Assistant (ECEA). Then in 2019, wanting to take on more responsibility and broaden her learning, she went back to college, and got her full Early Childhood Educator (ECE) certificate. She worked at Curious Minds Montessori for five years before venturing into other forms of childcare. She has found J.E.L.C. to be the right fit for her career path, and began settling in here at Juniper Early Learning Center early summer 2022. She started out as a substitute, doing break coverage and working in the School Age program. Heather worked mainly in the Kinder Prep program last year, and has moved to the Full Day program this year.
Eloise Bartram-James (ECE)
Eloise grew up in a large family with seven siblings; her parents are Social Workers and instilled in her, a passion for working with children from a very young age. Eloise was born in Stoke-on-Trent, England and moved to the small community of Paul like, outside of Kamloops, when she was 4 years old. After graduating high school Eloise attended Thompson Rivers University where she did her 1st year in psychology and sociology, While attending University, she also filled her days with private nannying and taking additional courses in Behavioral Intervention of Children, at Sprott Shaw College, alongside her mother. Eloise did her practicums here at Juniper Early Learning Center, where she fell in love with the Montessori Philosophy, and is thrilled to be added to our team of staff, now that she has her Early Childhood Educator Certification. She will mostly be working with the 3 to 5 years old children in the Full Day Program.
Pyper Currie-Boyle, Teacher (ECE-IT) in Full Day (3-5 year old) Program
Pyper has always loved being around children and has a passion for helping others. She decided to pursue her dream of teaching and working with children in 2016, when she moved from her hometown of Squamish to Kamloops, where she attended the 'Early Childhood Education' Program at TRU. She then went back to school to attain her Infant and Toddler Certification as well as her 'Special Needs' certification. Pyper was previously the Head Teacher in our Preschool Program and has just recently returned from a Maternity Leave as a new Mommy to a son!, She will be working in the Full Day program with the 3-5 year old children. Pyper’s favourite moments throughout the day are seeing the results of each child’s exploration and discovery in ordinary happenings.
John Fraser (Bus Driver)
John has lived in Kamloops for several years, after living in many parts of BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. John was in the banking industry for over 30 years, after a career driving truck in his young adult years. He has worked extensively with Youth, volunteering over those 30 years and then as the Full Time Director of a Children/Teen Camp for 3 years. For the last 5 years he has been dispatching trucks for a fuel company here in Kamloops. John recently joined our team as a volunteer Bus Driver, and is enjoying being part of Juniper Early Learning Center team!
Rachel Inglis (R.A.)
Rachel joined Juniper Early Learning Center in September 2023, and is working mainly with the School Age program, but works with all of the age groups, here at Juniper Early Learning Center. She has had experience with children who have special needs/exceptionalities and has grown as a teacher over this last year. We are happy to have her as part of our team!
YounNam Lee, Teacher (ECEA/Bachelor of Education)
Full Day Program & School Age Program
Youn Nam has been honoured to work with the young children in our community. Youn Nam is a Montessori trained staff member who holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education, an Early Childhood Educator Assistant Certificate, a Teachers Aid Certificate, Montessori Foundations Level 1 Certificate and a Diploma in Applied Linguistics. She obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and taught kindergarten, elementary, and adults for many years back in Korea. She has been working in Juniper Early Learning Center since 2016 and has found her joy of working with pre-schoolers and school age children. She loves being a part of children's learning, growing their own potential, and sharing countless loving moments. She is planning on completing the her ECE Certification in 2025, and continues to contribute to each child's success and happiness. YounNam will continue to work with the 3-5 year olds in the Full Day Program as well will be teaching in the School Age program.
Sepideh Nasiri (ECEA/Masters of Education)
Sepideh was born and raised in Iran, where she dedicated years to running her own playground for children. She became a certified daycare teacher in her home country, which allowed her to gain valuable experience in early childhood education. Sepideh moved to Canada in 2021, to pursue her Master’s Degree in Education. She worked as a private Nanny in here, in Kamloops, while she completed her Masters Degree at TRU, as well, she completed certification as an Early Childhood Educator Assistant. She works mainly in the Toddler program, here, at Juniper Early Learning Center, and is passionate about fostering each child’s unique potential within an enriching learning environment.
Margarita Ochoa-Fernandez, Head Teacher (ECE)
Kinder Prep Extended Day Program
Margarita was born and raised in Colima, Mexico. She holds a Psychology degree and a Kindergarten Teacher's degree, back in her country of origin, with 20 years of experience working in education with young children between 2 to 6 years old. Margarita taught and coordinated the academic preschool and kindergarten program in a private elementary school in Colima, Mexico, for ten years. At that time, she decided to train in Montessori, which she did in the Pierre Faure Institute in Guadalajara, Mexico, attending the teachers' summer school for seven summers. In 2012 Margarita founded and ran Colegio Arbore, a private preschool and kindergarten that works with the Montessori philosophy of education, for seven years. In April 2019, she moved to Canada with her husband and three sons to pursue her Masters of Education at TRU; in April 2021, graduated. Since coming to Canada, Margarita attained here ECEA certificate and started working in Childcare. She recently completed the Early Childhood Educator Certification as well. Margarita has always been very focused on balancing the educative system's expectations with the respect for every child's individuality and unique personality.
Kaitlyn Piccini, (ECE)Toddler Program
Kaitlyn worked as a Responsible Adult, while attending Sprott Shaw College to attain her ECE certification. Upon completion of her ECE Certification, she worked at a couple of childcare centres, before coming to Juniper Early Learning Center, where she worked mainly in our Toddler program. We were sad to see Kaitlyn leave when she moved to Kelowna for a few years. While in Kelowna she worked as an ECE. She recently returned to Kamloops and to Juniper Early Learning Center, where she is, again, working in the Toddler program. We are so happy to have her back with us!
Francesca Ross, Head Teacher (ECE) School Age Program
Francesca was born and raised in Kamloops. She lives here with her husband, 2 daughters and their family dog. She has many years of experience working with people – such as retail and customer service settings. In 2013, Francesca decided to make a career change and began to pursue the field of Early Childhood Education. She completed courses at TRU in the ECE field in order to obtain her ECE-Assistant status. In 2017, Francesca began working as a Child Care Support Worker for Children’s Therapy & Family Resource Center. She has worked with children with exceptionalities and behavior challenges, in many types of childcare settings. At the end of 2021, Francesca made the transition to working at Juniper Learning Center as an Assistant in the Full Day classroom. She completed her certification as an Early Childhood Educator at Vancouver Island University last year! Francesca recently took over as Head Teacher of our School Age Program
Lin Roth, Head Teacher in the Infant/Toddler Program
A friend introduced Lin to the Montessori Method when her sons were preschoolers. She identified with the philosophy and began using many of the Montessori activities at home. Lin began teaching the Montessori method at Kamloops Montessori Preschool/Kindergarten in 2000. She brings many years of experience to Juniper Early Learning Center, where she continues to delight in sharing this positive method with the children at school, and finds it very rewarding as the Head Teacher of the Toddler Program.
In addition to a Bachelor of Arts degree, Lin holds a Diploma in Early Childhood Education, including specialties in Infants, Toddlers and Children with Special Needs, which she completed in 2002 at TRU (formerly UCC). Lin has a Montessori teaching Diploma and a Library Aid Certificate, and has experience in elementary school libraries, and a background in teaching music. She has been a member of the ECE Program Advisory committee at TRU since 2000 and is a recipient of the Childcare Award of Excellence for the Interior Region, 2012.
A highlight for Lin was a trip to Italy in 2009 where she visited several Montessori schools in Rome and Naples. It was inspiring for Lin to see the site of the original Montessori school in the San Lorenzo district of Rome, which Maria Montessori began over 100 years ago. She even had opportunity to observe the classes there. Montessori truly is a universal philosophy of education dedicated to the whole development of children in all areas of life!
Amy Utz, Teacher (ECE) Extended Day Montessori Kinder Prep (3-5 year old Program)
Amy came to Juniper Early Learning Center, as a practicum student, while completing her Early Childhood Educator (ECE) certification. Upon, completing her certification, she took on the position of Teacher (ECE) in the Full Day (3 to 5 year olds) program. Amy has now moved in to the Extended Day Montessori Kinder Prep class. It is joy to have Amy here, and the children love having her as well!
Lisa Wiseman, (RA) Substitute Bus Driver & Teacher of School Age Program
Lisa has been with Juniper Early Learning Center since fall of 2021. Originally from Newfoundland, Lisa moved to Kamloops seven years ago. She is married and has an adult child. Lisa has had her bus license since 2003 and has many years of experience driving School Bus for different School Districts. Before coming to Juniper Early Learning Center Lisa was driving bus for a Seniors Living facility. She really enjoyed working with children previously and is very grateful to have been given the opportunity to get back into the childcare field, with Juniper Early Learning Center. Lisa always greets the children with a smile and a cheerful attitude!