With an uncompromising desire for excellence, we deliver a rounded and complete educational experience, building the foundation for the child’s intellectual, emotional, social and physical development. Our strength lies in the expertise and dedication of our teachers and staff, in the uniqueness of our learning environment, and a constant desire to be the best.
We will continue to meet the needs of our students, parents and community by delivering a truly unique educational experience, while always maintaining our integral values and adhering to the spirit of our vision.
Enrolments are accepted throughout the school year.
Our Administration Staff
Pattie London – VP of Education
A seasoned Educator with over 28 years of experience in child care, Pattie has devoted her career to nurturing, leading, and growing child care centres through curriculum design and implementation of developmental and research-based best practices in early childhood education.
As the newly appointed Vice President of Education, Pattie oversees The Montessori Country School, and nine Centres for Early Learning locations, serving over 1,200 children in the Greater Toronto Area. With Pattie’s shared passion for children, and in working closely with the Education Staff, she aspires both children and staff to reach their fullest potential while Inspiring Smiles and Building Community. Each day, Pattie motivates over 240 Educators to fulfill their purpose of Enriching Lives of children and their families.
Rosalie DeFrancesca – Director of Admissions
Early Childhood (CASA) Ontario College Diploma (AMS, Sheridan College with Honours); Silver Medal Recipient. B.A. (York University) with a major in English.
Rosalie taught for 16 years at the CASA level, including 15 years at MCS, and moved into Administration here at MCS in 2018. Rosalie is a passionate Montessorian and enjoys reading, scrapbooking, and spending time outdoors with her 2 children. She loves to stay organized and filter her creativity in her work.
Janet Zaharchuk – Director of Academics
Janet has joined the Montessori Country School as our new Director of Academics. With over 30 years in the field of education, where she began as an elementary and Junior High classroom teacher, she then moved into administration as a Vice-Principal and eventually as School Principal. Janet enjoys all art forms and is passionate about competitive Ballroom Dancing. She has studied dance for the past 5 years and continues to do so to this day. Her professional goals include receiving her Doctorate in Education and authoring children’s books.
Janet advocates for the importance and relevance of continuous professional development. She has attended and participated in numerous conferences over the years across the USA and Canada. She broadens her scope of knowledge through extensive reading, researching, and by her willingness to continually learn and grow; a role model for students and staff.
Milton Campus
Melissa McGregor – Principal
Melissa is joining MCS with over 16 years of teaching experience and a strong passion for Montessori education. She started her journey in education as a Casa teacher and over the years have taken on various administrative roles. Watching the children thrive socially, emotionally, and academically in their classroom environments brings a smile to her face and reaffirms just how amazing the Montessori philosophy truly is. She is passionate about continuing to develop herself professionally and believes that learning is a lifelong endeavour.
Growing up, she learned to ski and snowboard right around the corner from MCS at Glen Eden. From the age of 3, she was a competitive dancer and has enjoyed sharing her dance background and passion for the arts with students and educators. In her spare time, she loves spending time with her family on the water or golfing with friends. She is always up for a new challenge or adventure and recently learned to surf in Costa Rica.
“The greatest gifts we can give our children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.” Maria Montessori
Katrina Myall – Administrator
Katrina has worked in the childcare field for many years as an ECE. She started out in the classroom working in the Toddler program and enjoyed creating bonds with the children and their families. Katrina wanted to continue working through the field of education and sought after the administrator position at the Montessori Country School where she could further her passion for interacting and acting as support to the staff, students and their families. Katrina enjoys to spend her free time reading and going on hikes with her dog.
Nobleton Campus
Elsa van Staveren – Principal
Bachelor of Arts –Environmental & Health Studies (Seneca College), Bachelor of Education – Primary/Junior Division (York University)
Elsa has worked in various capacities within the Montessori Country School and Centres for Early Learning. She is a Registered Early Childhood Educator and is passionate about enriching lives of children. Elsa’s favourite quote is, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” from Maya Angelou.
Kyara Thomson – Administrator
Kyara has worked in the childcare field for many years. She started as an early childhood assistant in various aged classrooms and moved into an administrative assistant position in the head office of a before and after school program. Kyara wanted to further grow within the field of education and pursued the administrator position at The Montessori Country School so she could interact with staff, students and families and further Enrich the lives of children. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and creating memories that will last a lifetime.