The Assisting Montessori Guide - Waterpark Montessori

Sarah Kennedy-Berge

College Director

Trainer 3-12 years

Sarah is the director of the Waterpark Montessori International College and co-manager of Waterpark Montessori, Ltd. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a focus on education from Central Connecticut State University and is currently pursuing a Master of Education in Advanced Teaching. She holds Montessori qualifications for Early Childhood (3-6 years), Lower Elementary (6-9 years) and Upper Elementary (9-12 years). In addition, Sarah is a certified Montessori trainer for the same age groups.

Sarah has worked with children since 1994, and as a Montessori kindergarten and elementary school teacher from 2005. Sarah currently works to develop curriculum, oversee the college, and advise Montessori schools and preschools.

Sandra Bio

Sandra is a qualified midwife and has a PhD in Nursing & Midwifery from the University of Limerick, Ireland. She earned a Montessori diploma for Early Childhood 3-6 years and has many years experience working with children of this age. Sandra works as as the Business & Course Development Officer at Waterpark Montessori and is also the Additional Locations Liaison.

Marianne Apold

Marianne has been the principal of Hamarøy Montessoriskole since 2016, and was also involved in founding the school. She has a teacher qualification (adjunkt med opprykk) and a Montessori qualification for 6-9 years with Waterpark Montessori. She is also currently studying Montessori for 9-12 and 12-15 years.

Before finding her way to the Montessori approach, Marianne was a producer for the national centre for the Norwegian author Knut Hamsun, as well as a scenographer, production designer, and pyrotechnician in a number of Norwegian films and TV series.

Clare Walls Cole

Waterpark Founder

Clare Healy Walls is the founder of WMI. She spent over 20 years as a Montessori pre-school teacher and a Montessori school teacher. Since 1981 she has been training adults as Montessori teachers.

Clare has been extensively involved in the research and development of training programmes. Her personal interest in Jungian psychology and BodySoul Rhythms (as developed by Marion Woodman, Canada) has encouraged her to use Maria Montessori’s philosophy for people of all ages, highlighting the common themes of life from birth to adulthood.

She received an MA in Education (Management) from the Open University where she learned how to make flexible and online learning support Maria Montessori’s philosophy for life and learning. She also holds Montessori St. Nicholas teaching diplomas for pre-school and school. She lives in Ireland.

Aleksandra Zarosa

College Coordinator

Trainer 3-9 years

Aleksandra holds a MA in Psychology from the University of Opole, Poland. She feels that these studies have prepared her well for her role as a Montessori guide and tutor. Apart from Montessori qualifications, she also holds a Diploma in Crèche Management together with a Certificate in First Line Management from The College of Progressive Education, Blackrock, Ireland.

Aleksandra has been working in the Montessori field since 2004. She has a broad pedagogical experience from Montessori pre-schools and schools in Ireland and in Norway. She has always been passionate and actively involved in the inclusion of children with special needs, her experience focusing on Autism, ADHD and Down syndrome. In Waterpark Montessori Aleksandra works full time as a College Coordinator and a trainer for ages 3-9 years. Her role includes student support and advisory service as well as Classroom Practice coordination.

Fergus Healy

Fergus is a senior member of the management team of Waterpark Montessori and has been with the company since 2007. He is our Finance and IT director. His role includes developing and maintaining all of our websites, learning platforms and a Montessori planning and recording system known as Flex Record. He is qualified as a computer programmer and in computer hardware repair and maintenance.

Nicole Hermann

Trainer 6-9 years

Nicole is a WMI trained Montessori teacher for the age groups 3-6 and 6-9 years and is close to completing the WMI tutor training programme.

Nicole has worked at a Montessori school in Bergen for eight years, where she is a group leader and educational supervisor. Nicole also completed a one year teacher training programme (English) in Bergen.

Nicole Hermann, a wholehearted Montessori Trainer and Expert in Cosmic Education.

Montessori Education is her passion and has accompanied her for many years. And because she does not want to keep this joy to herself but want to share this knowledge with as many as possible, she works with Montessori enthusiasts throughout Europe.

After her education as an Early Childhood Educator in Germany and her studies (English and German as a foreign language, ongoing master’s degree in Democracy Development) in Norway at the UIB, she discovered the Montessori pedagogy for her. She fell in love with Montessori and then immediately began to further her education. With her Montessori training focus 3-6 and 6-9 and also her subsequent training as a Montessori coach 3-6 and 6-9, she has been finished since 2015. The Montessori educations at WMI International and Akademie Biberkor have shaped her and there is nothing more beautiful for Nicole than seeing satisfied children working independently and concentrated in a prepared environment. During her further education, she worked at the Montessori school in Bergen, where she took over a classroom management (1-4 class) and the pedagogical guidance of the employees of the entire school. In total, she has over 15 years of experience from the school and 7 years of working as a teacher.

Bríd Walls

Trainer 0-3 years

Bríd Walls first studied Montessori pedagogy in New York in 1981. Later, she worked in Denver as a Montessori guide and school directress. She was involved in the development of Infant Toddler (0-3 years) education in Connecticut and Colorado in cooperation with AMS (American Montessori Society) and AMI (Association Montessori Internationale).

From 1997 to 1999, Bríd was a tutor with St. Nicholas Montessori in Oslo and with Clare Healy Walls developed WMI’s Infant Toddler study programme. Bríd has also lectured on behalf of WMI at St. Nicholas Montessori College of Ireland.

Kajsa Olsson Falk

Trainer 3-12 years

Coordinator for WMI Sweden

Kajsa har diplom för åldrarna 2,5-6 och 6-9 från St Nicholas collage (via SMI) och för åldrarna 9-12 från Waterpark Montessori International. Hon har också svensk grundskollärarexamen för åk 1-6.

Kajsa har även konstnärlig utbildning och har utvecklat och skapat eget montessorimaterial.

Kajsa har arbetat som montessorilärare sedan 1994 och har erfarenhet från både förskola och skola för åldrarna 0-12 år.

Mellan 2000-2019 har Kajsa arbetat som klasslärare på olika montessoriskolor runt om i Stockholm.

Sedan 2019 arbetar hon som rektor och skolchef på Stockholms Montessoriskola Anne Frank.

Kajsa är färdigutbildad tutor för åldrarna 6-9 och 9-12 år på Waterpark Montessori International.

Ronny Lyseggen

Trainer 6-12 years

Ronny has diplomas for ages 6-9 and 9-12 from Waterpark Montessori International. Ronny also has training in Special Education Pedagogy AD / HD, Asperger and Tourette from the University of Harstad and School Leisure Management from CSI.

Ronny worked at Drøbak Montessori Skole (Norway) from 2005 – 2015. There he had responsibility for physical education and home economics and SE / NO substances.

He has co-written a textbook in home economics for middle school, Kokeboka mi.

Ronny lives in Stockholm since 2015 and works as a teacher at the Albatross Montessori School, and now at Stockholms Montessoriskola Anne Frank with the 6-9 age group.

Ronny is a fully qualified tutor for ages 6-9 and 9-12 with Waterpark Montessori.

Astrid Schmidt

Trainer 0-6 years

Astrid is a trained Montessori teacher for children 0-6 years. She has obtained her credentials at Høgskolen i Agder, and at Waterpark Montessori International.

She has worked in Montessori pre-schools for more than 20 years as an owner, educator and manager (Villa Snøringsmoen Montessoribarnehage and Veslekollen Montessori Gårdsbarnehage).

Astrid has been in the Waterpark Montessori team since 2012.

Halvor Berge

Trainer 0-9 years

Halvor is a trained Montessori educator and tutor for ages 0-9 years. He has worked with children since 1996 and in a Montessori kindergarten and school since 2005.

Halvor also has a Bachelor’s in Early Childhood from Queen Maud’s College in Trondheim.

Vaida Zebra

Trainer 6-9 years

Vaida is a WMI trained Montessori teacher for 6-9 years and has worked in Holmestrand International Montessori School since 2009. She also has Higher Education Diploma in Music and is currently completing a bachelor’s degree in music at the University of Educology in Vilnius. Vaida joined the WMI tutor trainee programme in 2012.

Before Vaida came to Norway, she taught at The Performance Arts in Kaunas Food Industry School in Lithuania (High School Level). From 2007 to 2009 she was a teacher’s assistant at London Stoneydown Primary School.

Yumna Hoosain

Trainer 6-9 years

Yumna is the coordinator of Waterpark Montessori International in South Africa. She is a mother of four beautiful children and has a love for the Montessori way of teaching.

She holds a Bachelor Degree in Education from the University of South Africa. She also has Montessori diplomas for Early Childhood (2.5 -6 years), Lower Elementary (6-9 years) and is in the process of completing her Upper Elementary (9-12 years). In addition, Yumna is a certified Montessori trainer for the 6-9 year age group.

While coordinating WMI SA, currently Yumna is the principal of a Montessori Primary school in Cape Town, South Africa.

Jyoti Senthil

Trainer 3-6 years

Jyoti Senthil is an educational consultant and trainer in K-5 schools. She worked for an IB school as Management Advisor, as a Director for a Montessori Pre-school and Training Institute in India and continues to consult and train. She has more than a decade of experience in Educational leadership. She completed her Master’s in Education from the University of Bath, United Kingdom with Primary Years Program (PYP) International Baccalaureate as her specialization and acquired the IB Learning and Teaching Certificate. She holds a Trainer’s Award from Waterpark Montessori International, Norway and is a visiting faculty and examiner with them. She is also a doctoral student at the University of Bath, United Kingdom pursuing a Doctorate in Education. She is privileged to work with educators from different parts of the world and is grateful for this learning process. She is from India, living in Las Vegas with her family.

Shreya Shah

Trainer 3-6 years

Shreya has studied Montessori 3-6 and has taught in Montessori schools in Nairobi, Kenya for the past 3 years. She had been working with 4-6 year olds. She has been the college coordinator and lecturer for Montessori Plus Center – WMIs Kenyan center for the past one and a half years.

Vera Flynn

Trainer 0-18 years

Vera is a Montessori Trainer for 0-18 years and a member of Waterpark Montessori Board of Examiners.

She is a highly experienced multi-skilled coordinator with a strong background in Education with over 25 years of professional experience, including tutoring skills established at Montessori Advanced, College and University level.

Her qualifications include a Master in Education and a Master in Online and Distance Learning, both received from Open University.

Claire Crimmins

Trainer 6-9 years

Claire is a graduate of St. Nicholas Montessori College Ireland having passed all her diplomas from birth to three years, three to six years, six to nine years and nine to twelve years.

She opened her first Montessori school for children up to six in Ireland in 1992 which exists to this day.

She moved to France in 1996 to gain experience with primary-aged children (over six) and worked in a large Montessori school in west Paris which catered for children from the ages of 3-18 until its closure in 2011.

She then co-founded an association for language and school help using the Montessori method as much as possible. During this time, she also worked in a small school in Maison Lafitte in both Nursery and primary classes.

In 2013 she started to work in a new school which is doing very well in West Paris, with again both Nursery and primary aged children in English.

In 2014 she started training as a Trainee trainer with Waterpark Montessori International which is based in Norway and has trained most of the Montessori guides in Norway. She has also for two years run workshops in France.

She is a mother of three Bilingual children who were all raised using the Montessori principles and attended Montessori schools.

About

Montessori Training

Classroom Resources

Professional Development

Flex Record

materials

Printable Materials for your Classroom

Meet The Team

Clare Healy Walls

Sarah Kennedy-Berge

Fergus Healy

Sandra Healy

Aleksandra Zarosa

Vera Flynn

Kajsa Olsson-Falk

Ronny Lyseggen

Bríd Walls

Astrid Schmidt

Halvor Berge

Nicole Hermann

Yumna Hoosain

Claire Crimmins

Shreya Shah

Jyoti Senthil

Vaida Zebra

Marianne Apold

Waterpark Montessori International

About

Montessori Training

Classroom Resources

Professional Development

Flex Record

materials

Printable Materials for your Classroom

Books

Books on the Montessori Method

Meet The Team

Clare Healy Walls

Sarah Kennedy-Berge

Fergus Healy

Sandra Healy

Aleksandra Zarosa

Vera Flynn

Kajsa Olsson-Falk

Ronny Lyseggen

Bríd Walls

Astrid Schmidt

Halvor Berge

Nicole Hermann

Yumna Hoosain

Claire Crimmins

Shreya Shah

Jyoti Senthil

Vaida Zebra

Marianne Apold

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