Meet the FMS Team

Denice is an executive leader who specialises in assisting organisations to discover their true purpose and pathway to their preferred future.
As a passionate advocate for the power of education to enrich lives, Denice moved from classroom teaching to leadership positions in 1992 and since then has held international roles in Scotland and Australia as Principal, Head of Junior School, and Head of Learning Support. She has an impressive working knowledge of early learning, primary, middle, and secondary schooling including gifted education and special needs. Denice’s grasp of current educational realities is equally matched by her ability to design and implement strategy.

Following a degree in education from Stirling University, Scotland, she now holds qualifications in Special Education from the Royal Society of Arts, a Masters in Gifted Education from UNSW and a Certificate in Neuroscience from Flinders University. Denice was one of ten principals to join Principals’ Australia Institute as a member of the National Principal Certification Design Team in 2015. She has undertaken the AMI Introduction to Adolescents Course, audited the AMI 6-12 Diploma and is currently undertaking the AMI School Administration Certificate Course.

She loves working with educators, inspiring growth by applying holistic, innovative solutions incorporating her expertise in neuroscience, MBTI® and LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®. Denice is motivated by finding ways to ensure schools thrive.

“Montessori makes sense. It’s a powerful educational philosophy backed by well-considered teaching methods. The approach plays to children’s innate strengths-regardless of their age or abilities-without competitive pressure. It’s magical to observe the learning in action and the talented educators guiding children to embrace independence.”

Erica has over 15 years of education training and experience and has served as a Montessori teacher for almost a decade. She holds an AMI 6-12 Diploma, a Masters in Education from Loyola University, Maryland; a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from University of Illinois and is currently undertaking the AMI 12-18 Diploma at SMTC. Erica is dedicated to challenging academic pathways while bringing warmth and care to meet student needs. Outside the classroom, Erica enjoys sailing, mountain biking, and rock-climbing and unwinding with a good book.

Emma has over 15 years of experience as an Early Childhood educator in various Montessori settings. She has held leadership roles managing toddler and preschool programs, preparing the environment and mentoring staff in the Montessori philosophy and approaches.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Ecology from the University of the Philippines and a Master of Early Childhood Education from Macquarie University. She completed her AMI diploma (0-3) in Sydney in 2006 and her AMI Assistants Course (3-6) in 2016. She is currently in the AMI Training of Trainers Program for Assistants to Infancy level.
Emma will lead the full-day toddler program (Terrigal) while working alongside all staff in our Birth to 6 Community, continuing to ensure we offer exceptional quality, authentic Montessori programs for our students.
"It excites me to assist families that are committed to the Montessori philosophy and want to learn more about it. I find it a great opportunity to be able to contribute to the ongoing growth of the child from the foundation (Birth- 3) and see how it can continue all the way through the first plane of development. I have always been passionate about working with infants, toddlers and their families and finding ways to developing meaningful engagement and relationships."

Bec is a seasoned enrolments registrar with a rich background in Montessori education.

She brings years of experience in enrolments and community relations and a genuine understanding of Montessori methodology having worked as an Assistant Educator in the 6-9 environment.

Bec's passion for Montessori and ability to foster relationships, combined with her natural flair for events make her an integral and lively part of the FMS community.

Bec's zeal for spreading the Montessori philosophy mirrors the enthusiasm she exudes for her impressive shoe collection!

Agnesa Simcic joined FMS in late 2023 as Executive Assistant and quickly undertook responsibility for our school's Marketing and Communications also. She holds a Bachelor of Communications (Dip Media) from Griffin University, QLD, and a Diploma in Marketing from APM Business College. Agnesa has worked across various industries in office management, lead administration, marketing and communications. A trained yoga teacher and avid health enthusiast, Agnesa also holds an Advanced Diploma of Nutritional Medicine. Her work prior to FMS combined marketing and communications with running her own wellness business.
Agnesa resonates deeply with Montessori philosophy and is inspired by the learning offered to Montessori students. She thoroughly enjoys using her diverse skills and experience to support the staff, students and families at FMS.

Agnesa works within the FMS leadership team to ensure the implementation of ongoing strategic initiatives and day-to-day management and administrative requirements as well as planning and overseeing the school’s marketing and communications activities.
Agnesa lives nearby and enjoys spending time with her family, reading a great book and going for long walks with her dog!

Ellen has a Bachelor of Early Childhood Studies from Monash University and an AMI 3-6 Montessori Diploma, and is passionate about working with young children in Montessori settings.

Ellen recently returned from a year in Seoul, South Korea where she worked at the Kids of the Nations International School as the 3-6 Directress.

She is fluent in spoken and written English and Korean. Prior to joining our team, Ellen was a 3-6 Directress at CA Montessori Children’s Centre.

Ellen's personal interests include crochet and snowboarding and travelling.

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Bonnie Chiu believes in the importance of building relationships with children and their families. She provides an environment that supports children’s learning and empowers them to contribute to it, encouraging them to discover and problem solve through everyday play.

Bonnie has a Bachelor of Education (Birth to Five) with Distinction from Charles Sturt University. She has an AMI 3-6 Montessori Diploma and a Diploma of Children’s Services (Early Childhood Education and Care) with Distinction, as well as a Certificate 3 in Children’s Services.

Bonnie has over 21 years of experience working with children and has worked at Forestville Montessori School since May 2003. She loves to see the joy on her student’s faces as they explore their learning environments. Bonnie believes in the importance of embedding Indigenous perspectives in the children’s learning program, and enjoys guiding children to become creative writers.
Bonnie's love for early childhood education shines through in her classroom, in her students and in her connections at FMS.

Elma made a conscious decision to change careers from corporate finance to education when her son was born. Her passion for Montessori education started when she was looking for a pre-school for him. Since then, she has completed:
• AMI Diploma in Montessori Education- Pre-Primary, RTI- Netherlands
• AMI 0-3 Orientation, Julia Hilson, MIB, India, 2020
• AMI 6-12 Elementary Orientation, Madhavi G, MTRI, India 2020
• AMI 12-18 Adolescent Orientation, Tina booth, Train Montessori, USA 2021
Elma is the lead educator in our Buran 3-6 environment. Her passion for early childhood development and Montessori philosophy is evident in the care she takes in her classroom, and the time and attention she gives to each of her students, their families and the wider community at FMS.
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Xarifa Gabales is passionate about education and supporting others in finding their strengths and encouraging their interests.

As a child, Xarifa attended Montessori schools in the Philippines, USA and Australia. After graduating high school and beginning her undergraduate degree, Xarifa worked as an assistant in different 3-6, 6-9, and 9-12 classroom environments. As she worked with children of varying age groups, Xarifa found herself keenly interested in pursuing a teaching career as a Montessori teacher.

Xarifa completed a Bachelor of Science with a Major in Psychology and a Master of Teaching as her undergraduate and post graduate courses at the University of Sydney.

Xarifa is an AMI trained 6-12 teacher. She completed her 6-12 AMI course in Bergamo, Italy in the 2009/2010 training year. In her teaching career, Xarifa has taught in both 6-9 and 9-12 classes, though her current class is a 9-12 class.

Through her extensive experience of Montessori from the point of view of a former student, an assistant, and a classroom Directress, as well as her understanding of Child and Developmental Psychology, Xarifa works to support the educational needs of the students in her classroom.

The Montessori Philosophy is not just about educating children in academic ways, as many different kinds of education systems do, but it is about creating a content, functional, productive, and entire human being who can contribute positively to the society in which they belong.

As Maria Montessori said: “Joy, feeling one's own value, being appreciated and loved by others, feeling useful and capable of production are all factors of enormous value for the human soul.”

Adelaide has been involved in education since 2006, becoming a teacher's aide at a school for children for autism and working there for several years while she completed her education degree. She holds a Bachelor of Education (Primary) and International Studies from UTS. Adelaide continued to work with children on the autism spectrum as a teacher after finishing her degree, but her interests and heart lay with Montessori. She commenced her Montessori training, gaining the following AMI qualifications:

AMI Montessori Children’s House Assistants Course (3-6) 2015
AMI Montessori elementary Assistants Course (6-12) 2017
AMI 6-12 Elementary diploma, 2017-2020

Having completed her initial Montessori studies, she worked at Montessori East in Bondi first as an Assistant, then as a teacher. In 2021 she took a full-time role at Inner Sydney Montessori School as a Lead Teacher.

Adelaide likes the vision that Maria Montessori had for the multi- age group classroom and enjoys seeing how the children support and teach each other, eventually becoming leaders in each cycle. She also greatly admires the bold vision that Dr. Montessori had for the child as a hope for humanity.

“The child who has felt a strong love for his surroundings and for all living creatures, who has discovered joy and enthusiasm in work, gives us reason to hope that humanity can develop in a new direction.”

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Alison Carrabott is an Assistant Educator in our Lower Primary (6-9 Years) Koorowull classroom. Alison is dedicated to supporting Montessori philosophy in action for students in our 6-9 environment and in the FMS Kindergarten program.

Alison has been working in Montessori schools for over twelve years. She began at Inner Sydney Montessori School, Balmain where she gained experience in Pre-Primary (3-6 Years), Lower Primary (6-9 Years) and Upper Primary (9-12 Years) classrooms..
Alison obtained her AMI Elementary (Primary) Assistant Course (6-12 Years) in 2017.
As the assistant educator in 6-9 Koorowull, Alison works closely to support the lead teacher and children, ensuring smooth flow and function in the classroom and sharing her guiding hand to each child's learning.

"I am a passionate Montessorian who has worked alongside some of the most experienced teachers in the country. Taking up the opportunity to attend the Assistants Course with Rebecca Dallam has further enhanced my understanding of the role of the Assistant in the prepared environment.”

When not at work, Alison enjoys spending time with her family, exercising outdoors and taking her dog Ruby for a walk.

"The greatest gifts we can give our children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence."
Dr Maria Montessori.

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Born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, Rosalie first developed a love of caring for children looking after her family from an early age. After graduating high school, Rosalie pursued her interests in early education by completing her Early Childhood Care and Education Diploma.

She has worked in before and after school care programs and in various childcare centres. After completing her AMI 3-6 Montessori Diploma at the Montessori Training Centre of British Colombia, Rosalie moved to Hong Kong. Here, she was the Lead Educator for the 3-6 environment at the International Montessori School of Hong Kong for 4 years before moving to Australia.

Rosalie joined FMS in 2015 and has worked in both 3-6 and 6-9 classrooms, but primarily as Assistant Educator in the Wirra Wirra 3-6 classroom. Rosalie is flexible and adaptable to the needs of the class and believes that a fun, safe and nurturing learning environment is the key to developing the full potential within each child.

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Sun Mi is no stranger to Montessori, having attained her first Montessori Teacher Education more than 25 years ago from Sook Myung Women’s University in Korea. Sun Mi arrived in Australia in 1999 and completed Bachelor of Teaching (Early Childhood Education) at the University of New England.
She has held positions at Lindfield Montessori and Northside Montessori, and is now a permanent Assistant Educator at FMS in our Kutukulung Pre-Primary (ages 3-6) classroom.
Sun Mi is passionate about early childhood education and committed to Montessori methods, placing the child at the centre of their education. Her enthusiasm for the Montessori environment and achieving wonderful outcomes for children is evident in all she does.
In addition to sound teaching skills and years of experience working closely with young children, Sun Mi shares her kind, caring and positive nature to make learning fun for the children in her care.

Ayesha has worked in Australian Early Childhood settings since 2007. Her experience spans a variety of childcare settings with the most prominent being her 10 years of dedication at CA Montessori Children’s Centre, North Ryde, where she was part of the team implementing an Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) curriculum for children from 0-6 years of age.

Ayesha has worked at the Child Development Institute, Northmead where she brought her Montessori training to multi-disciplinary professionals working in teams to assist children with autism spectrum disorder and developmental delay. Her enduring respect for children was evident in her work that needed to adopt innovative approaches to learning, inclusion and wellbeing.

Ayesha's passion for an authentic Montessori environment led her to Forestville Montessori School. Ayesha has the ability to support independent learning, to guide and support children and to assist them in Montessori activities to stimulate and develop their intellectual, physical and emotional growth.
Ayesha's work at FMS is flexible, allowing her to share her time, experience and expertise across various classrooms, reaching, connecting and supporting students from our 3-6 preprimary classes to both lower and upper primary school.
Ayesha holds a Diploma of Children’s Services, a Certificate III and an AMI (Association of Montessori Internationale) 0-6 Assistants Course.

Born in Bangladesh, Ayesha emigrated to Australia in 2006 with her family. She has two children, both of whom attended a Montessori Centre from the age of six months. She practices Montessori at home and involves her children in practical life activities including cooking, cleaning and washing.

In her spare time, Ayesha likes nothing better than to take the family out for bike rides. She also likes to talk about her childhood and how it involved lots of practical life activities, just like the Montessori philosophy.

Meghan Andrew is an Assistant Educator in our Upper Primary (9-12 Years) classroom. Meghan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work and a Graduate Diploma in Youth Work. Her interests and experiences are in applied psychology so it is fitting that Meghan has taken the lead in implementing our student wellbeing program 'Grow Your Mind' for FMS students of all ages. A dedicated equestrian, Meghan also shares her unique Equine Assisted Learning program to FMS children in Upper Primary (9-12 Years) class. This program is a favourite among FMS primary students and is part of their leadership and personal development. In addition to her assisting role in upper primary and her contributions to student wellbeing, Meghan is an assistant in our After School Care program.
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Before emigrating to Australia with her family in 2010, Ishbel commenced her Early Years career in England where she was a Manager at Plus Three Nurseries Preschool. Ishbel worked as a Group Leader and Supervisor at Belrose Kindergarten for six and a half years before joining FMS.

Ishbel holds a CACHE Level 2 and CACHE Level 3 Diploma in Children’s Learning and Development and has completed her Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) training for Birth to Age 3.
Ishbel loves to read and has continued learning through Maria Montessori’s written work. She is continually inspired and amazed that Dr Montessori's work re mains so relevant to our present modern day lives more than 100 years later.
At FMS, Ishbel is a part of our thriving toddler team sharing her natural enthusiasm and energy to support the youngest members of our school community.

Yuko is originally from Tokyo, Japan. She studied Bachelor of English and American Literature and holds Certificate IV in early childhood from TAFE NSW. Yuko became a certified AMI assistant educator (Birth -3 years program) in 2016 and brings many years of Montessori teaching experience to her role at FMS.
Yuko has worked in various Montessori environments, including long daycare, infant-parent classes and preschools. She is a true Montessorian as she raises her 6-year-old son in a Montessori home environment.
Yuko will be working as an Assistant Educator with Emma in our Birth – 3-year community.

Angie moved to Australia in 2020 after working for six years in an International School in Hong Kong – the English School Foundation as a Teacher’s Assistant.
She graduated from Macquarie University with a Bachelor of Accounting in 2005 and in February 2022 completed a Certificate IV in Teaching Support at TAFE NSW.
Angie has two children and enjoys listening to music, cooking and the great outdoors. Angie is looking forward to getting to know all of our FMS families.

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Lau-Chi Stevenson has been the Languages Other Than English (LOTE) Teacher teaching Japanese from Level 1 Level 6 students.

Lau-Chi Stevenson has acted as substitute teacher for Japanese in Hobart, Tasmania in late 1980’s and early 1990’s working mainly with Level 7 & 8 students. She has started a permanent part-time position with Forestville Montessori School from 2003 to present, teaching Japanese.

Lau-Chi Stevenson holds a Bachelor Degree in Arts majoring in Japanese and Administration and a Diploma of Education from the University of Tasmania.

Lau-Chi Stevenson is a native Chinese, speaking Cantonese throughout her childhood and adolescent while acquiring English as her second language in primary and secondary school in Hong Kong. She used her second language to learn her third language (Japanese) in her university years in Tasmania.

She knows how to teach a language through learning it step by step herself and appreciates the difficulties in acquiring it. The aim of the LOTE program is to foster an interest in learning a language through fun and purposeful ways in order for the child to pursue it after primary schooling.

“Our aim is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his innermost core” Dr Maria Montessori.

Christine Wright considers the guidance of understanding and respecting of children and families from different cultures/socioeconomic backgrounds as a vital part of her work. She is an advocate for children’s rights and early childhood education. She believes it is important for herself as a professional, the parents and co-workers to join together for the development of the child.

Christine has a Bachelor of Education in Early Childhood Teaching at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, Sydney. She has a Certificate lll in Children’s Services. She has a Diploma of Education 0-12. She holds an AMI 3-6 Diploma from AMI in Australia. She looks forward to further Professional development in the near future.

She is married with four children and values Montessori education, therefore, invested her children at Montessori schools both in England and in Australia. She is proud that one of her daughters holds a Pre and Primary degree in Education and is also an educator at Forestville Montessori School. Christine feels privileged to be involved at Forestville Montessori School for the last 22 years.

The Montessori Method of education, developed by Dr Maria Montessori, is a child-centred educational approach based on scientific observations of children from birth to adulthood…It is an approach that values the human spirit and the development of the whole child-physical, social emotional and cognitive.

“The Montessori approach to education, inspires children towards a lifelong love of learning, by following their natural development trajectory. I have observed children becoming confident, responsible, independent learners, who trust in their own abilities.”