OSC Staff Bios
REGULAR STAFF
ROBERT has been working in Child Care for over 18 years. He started working with children with Autism while studying at Langara College. He is a certified Education Assistant. He recently completed his Early Childhood Education (ECE) and is now a certified ECE Educator. Robert favorite part of working with children ages 3 - 12 years old, is being a silly and fun child himself. Robert loves working in a diverse and ever-changing environment. On his off time, Robert enjoys trying out new exciting foods and travelling to find new adventures, mainly from food.
ESTRELLA is a proud mother and a grandmother. She has her ECE from MTI College and has been an auxiliary worker at Britannia Childcare since 2010. Estrella also works for the Vancouver School Board as a CTA 1. Estrella has supervised and coordinated the Kidsafe program at Grandview Elementary School. She also supervised the KidsFirst Project where she facilitated baking projects for students. She volunteers at Kiwassa Neighbourhood House, teaching ESL to new immigrants. Estrella has many years of experience working with children and families; “working with children is my passion”.
AARON started working with the Britannia Gymnastics program 7 years ago and realized her love of working with children. Soon after, she started working for multiple child care centres under the Britannia hub umbrella, all while expanding her knowledge through courses and school. She is currently a registered Early Childhood Educator Assistant and working towards her full ECE certification, though her focus remains on working with Elementary School aged children. Aaron is currently supporting other children's programs at Britannia and loves that she has joined the childcare team on site.
MAYA loves movies, soccer, and traveling. She has been working in the education field since 2006 in Mexico, London, Paris, and now, Canada. She has a Masters and a Ph.D. in Education, an ECEA certificate, and soon she will graduate with a Bachelor's of arts in Management. She is funny, friendly, and happy to start a new experience at Britannia. "Teaching is not hard work, is a HEART job."
SONJA lives in East Van with her four fur babies. She loves animals, crafts of all kinds, playing outdoors and getting lost in a good book. In her free time, she sews, reads and bikes all over the city and tries new foods. She LOVES food.
She believes in kindness, generosity and sharing knowledge whenever that is possible. She is extremely excited to get to know all our families.
Masuma is a certified ECE Educator. She enjoys doing sewing projects with children, besides playing badminton, cooking, baking, playing board games, reading, laughing and listening to children telling their stories. She believe in building safe and caring relationships. She is originally from Bangladesh and a mother of three children. She believes in listening to the children and following their interests which can best support their natural learning. She also encourages a welcoming and inclusive environment that inspires opportunities for children's freedom to explore and create.
AUXILIARY STAFF
MERANDA is originally from Thailand; she has been in Canada since 2013. She completed her Early Childhood Education Assistant certification in Canada in 2014. She has over 10 years of child care experience, internationally. Meranda has worked at many child care centres in Vancouver, with both toddlers and school age children. She enjoys working with all ages of children.
GISELA loves traveling and learning about different cultures. After exploring over 20 countries, she decided to move to Canada to pursue he postgraduate studies at UBC. After graduating from the Educational Administration and Leadership program, she started working in different organizations in a variety of roles to support child development and family wellness initiatives. Gisela likes facilitating activities where children can explore and develop their talents, creativity, leadership and social skills; meanwhile, they are having fun. She looks forward to getting to know the children and families.
JINGYI (NINA) has been working with children since 2013, throughout her life she has dedicated a lot of her time taking care of children from toddlers to school age. She has facilitated activities with children such as film making, group music classes and performance art, design and directing. During her career, she has worked in China, Singapore, Taiwan and Canada, and decided to stay in Canada. She is dedicated to the social and emotional development of each child and making it her goal to make sure each child receives the best care and love that they all deserve. She also feels very proud and lucky to be part of such a great group of educators in Britannia Child Care.
ZACH started at Britannia in February and is loving it. Zach has worked with children since he was a teenager. He is an avid fan, of theatre, history, and tabletop roleplaying games, and is keen to utilize his passions in his work. Zach briefly attended Britannia as a child, and is thrilled to have returned.
SENIOR SUPERVISOR (Britannia Preschool and OSC)
LORRAINE completed the Child and Youth Care Counseling (CYCC) program at Douglas College and third year CYCC courses at the University of Victoria. She has completed countless hours of professional development courses in the CYC and ECE field. She is also a certified ECE Educator. In addition to coordinating and planning many events, Lorraine has been at Britannia for many years and is honored to work in such a diverse, exciting and ever changing environment. Lorraine looks forward to getting to know all of your beautiful children.