Professional Staff

Director

Katherine Pasternak

B.F.A., B.ed.

office@autumnhillacademy.ca

Welcome to Autumn Hill Academy. My name is Katherine Pasternak. In 1996 I founded Autumn Hill Academy. My passion and interest in early childhood education began at the Faculty of Education at York University. Throughout the course of those years, while researching many different theories and teaching practices, I realized the importance of education for young children. My search led to two significant methods of education – the Montessori Method and the Reggio Emilia Project Approach. Both pedagogies are considered leaders in the field. My vision was to adopt successful, meaningful methods of early childhood education and surround myself with a team of educators and support staff who share my vision. I am proud to say that Autumn Hill continues to be a school that offers an advanced, enriched, well-balanced program for children ages 18 months to Grade 3. I invite you to visit Autumn Hill as we continue to “Promote Thinking and Excite the Imagination”.

Assistant Director/Supervisor

Jessica Vincelli - Currently on leave

R.E.C.E.

office@autumnhillacademy.ca

My name is Jessica Vincelli and I have been working at Autumn Hill Academy since September 2006. I am a Registered Early Childhood Educator. Working at Autumn Hill has been both a rewarding and enlightening experience. Being the Assistant Director enables me to assist families as they make important decisions regarding their child’s future. At Autumn Hill Academy, we provide a unique, safe and intellectually stimulating environment for children to thrive. I strive to accommodate all families and children’s needs, please do not hesitate to communicate any questions or concerns you may have.

Administrator/Co-Supervisor

AnnMarie Hickey

R.E.C.E

office@autumnhillacademy.ca

Hello, my name is AnnMarie Hickey. I have a diploma in Early Childhood Education and a Certificate in Montessori. In September 2000, I began my career at Autumn Hill Academy as a teaching assistant in a Senior Kindergarten class with Katherine Pasternak. I became a lead teacher in September 2001. I have taught Preschool to Senior Kindergarten. I believe that children thrive in a safe, loving and nurturing environment. As a teacher I find it very rewarding to watch a child learn and grow. I am a dedicated, approachable teacher and I look forward to working with you and your children. I feel very privileged to be a part of the wonderful team at Autumn Hill Academy.

Toddler Teacher

Jillian Semczyszyn

R.E.C.E

My name is Jillian Semczyszyn. I graduated from George Brown College where I obtained my Early Childhood Education Diploma. I joined the Autumn Hill Academy teaching team in September 2012. I have always had a passion for working with children. I believe that each child is unique in their different stages of development. I provide a loving and nurturing environment that allows for endless opportunities for fun, learning and growth. I strive for the success of each and every one of my students and look forward to working with your child and family. I am excited to be a part of your child’s early childhood experience.

Toddler Teaching Assistants

Josie Greco

Marcela Rodriguez

Deyontha Watson

Preschool Teacher

Felicia D’Elia

R.E.C.E

Hello, my name is Felicia D’Elia. I graduated from Seneca College in December 2013, where I obtained my Early Childhood Education diploma. I’ve always had a dream of becoming a teacher since a very young age. Over the last few years I’ve worked with infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarten aged children. I believe children should learn in a calm, loving environment where they can develop physically, emotionally, intellectually and socially. It gives me great joy that I have the opportunity of seeing my students achieve success through exploring their interests. I am excited to expand my career at Autumn Hill Academy and I look forward to working with a great team. I also look forward to working with you and your child through these special growing years.

Preschool Teacher

Lina Samanica

R.E.C.E

Hello, my name is Lina Samanica. I graduated from Seneca College where I obtained my Early Childhood Education Diploma in 2000 and have been working in childcare ever since. I have been a preschool teacher for Autumn Hill Academy since 2014. I believe that each child is a unique individual who needs a secure, caring and stimulating atmosphere in which to grow and mature emotionally, physically, and socially. It is my desire as an educator to help the children meet their fullest potential in all of these areas.

Preschool Teacher

Carmel Anne Trinidad

R.E.C.E

Hello! My name is Carmel Anne Trinidad and I am very excited to join the Autumn Hill Academy team. I am delighted to be your child’s teacher in the Preschool classroom and I look forward to get to know everyone!
I graduated from the Early Childhood Education program at George Brown College in 2015. Since then, I have worked with children from toddlers up to preschool in various child care settings. As an educator, I believe in supporting children’s development by creating opportunities for them to learn and expand on their knowledge and skills. I believe that my role as an educator is to support children’s individual strengths and needs for the reason that each child is unique and valuable. Being an early childhood educator for the past six years has provided me with invaluable skills and experience that I am excited to share with the children.
In my spare time, I love to exercise, cook, read books, explore what nature has to offer, and spend time with my family.

Preschool Teaching Assistants

Antonella Brace

Sofie DiMatteo

Sara Swan

Fataneh Taghepoor

Junior Kindergarten Teacher

Victoria Gneo

Hello everyone! I am a recent graduate from York University with a Bachelor’s of Honours degree in Psychology. I have always had a passion for working with children and teaching. I am a devoted, compassionate, organized educator with more than 2 years of valuable experience within a classroom environment working for the school board. I have also tutored grades 1 through 12 since September of 2018. I have a strong skill of developing meaningful relationships and positively impacting student lives. Promoting an inclusive and equitable classroom and maintaining a safe and healthy learning environment for diverse learners is my goal. I look forward to continually working closely with your children to achieve their academic goals and further their interests in various topics.

Junior/Senoir Kindergarten Teacher

Joceleen Jacome

R.E.C.E

My name is Joceleen Jacome. I graduated from Seneca College in April 2013 where I received my Early Childhood Education Diploma. I began at Autumn Hill as a co-op student from Seneca College in September 2012. In 2013, after graduation, I was very happy to join the Autumn Hill teaching team. I have been the lead teacher in a Preschool class as well as a Junior Kindergarten classroom. I have always loved working with children and I believe it is important to provide children with a loving and calming environment where they can develop cognitively, socially and emotionally. I also believe in providing an environment where they are encouraged to explore their interest through investigative play. I take pleasure in providing endless opportunities for my students to achieve success during their time with me. I look forward in assisting in your child’s growth and working collaboratively with you during these precious moments.

Senior Kindergarten Teacher

Lillian Wong

R.E.C.E

Hello, my name is Lillian Wong and I graduated with my Early Childhood Education Diploma from Centennial College. I have been working at Autumn Hill Academy since 1997. I started as an teaching assistant with Katherine Pasternak and have taken on many teaching positions since that time. I have taught Preschool to Grade One. What I enjoy most about teaching is seeing students learn, grow and flourish as they become their own individuals. All children have so much to learn and offer at such a young age and it is amazing to be a part of their learning experiences at Autumn Hill Academy.

Kindergarten Assistants

Jody Falcone

Samantha Silva-Gonzalez

Grade 1 Teacher

Cassandra Mecca

R.E.C.E & B.ECE

Hello, my name is Cassandra Mecca. I have always had a passion for working with children and knew from a very young age that teaching was what I wanted to do. I began my journey in 2016 at George Brown College where I received my Diploma for Early Childhood Education and continued my education at Ryerson University where I obtained my Bachelor of Early Childhood Studies Degree in 2017. I have had the pleasure of working with children of many different ages and needs. I believe as teachers we have the opportunity to change the lives of students and foster their future goals every day. We can set them up for success and high achievement by providing each child with what they need to grow and thrive. This is the special part of being a teacher and I am so excited to be part of the team at Autumn Hill Academy.

Grade Two & Three Teacher

Peyka Kalacheva

BEd

Hello, my name is Peyka Kalacheva and I am a teacher at Autumn Hill Academy. I was highly influenced by many of my elementary teachers and I knew from a very young age that I too would teach. I have been working with children since 1998 when I received my Teaching Diploma at Plovdiv University. In 2011, I graduated from York University with a Masters of Arts for Teachers. I started working for Autumn Hill in 2012. My experience spans from Preschool to Grade 3. This has taught me not only the importance of academics, but the importance of building relationships, teaching empathy, respect, self-reflection, and for nurturing the growth of the entire child. I strongly believe that all students have the ability to succeed in a safe, positive and structured environment, and I strive to engage my students through hands-on learning. It is my goal to encourage and facilitate each child to continue to view learning as enjoyable. I am thrilled to be a part of Autumn Hill Academy.

French and Music Teacher

Betty Aquino

BEd BMa

Hello, my name is Betty Aquino and I am the French Teacher. I have been proudly teaching at Autumn Hill Academy for over ten years. I received my educational Music and French degrees from the University of Western Ontario. I am very proud to be a part of the Autumn Hill family!

Judo Instructor

Rick Koglin

Instructor Rick Koglin is a fourth degree black belt registered with Judo Ontario, Judo Canada, and with the Kodokan Judo Institute in Tokyo, Japan. He has been practicing judo for over thirty years, and competed at the national level for seven years, with several Canadian titles to his credit. Koglin Sensei has been teaching for twenty years and is currently head instructor at Yawara Dojo. He also heads a program at Autumn Hill Academy and for Native Child and Family Services. Previously, he has instructed for North York Parks and Recreation, the Yamanaka Budo Life Centre, the University of Toronto, the North York YMCA, the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, the Crescent Boys Academy and the Centre for Martial Arts – Richmond Hill. He has written and edited the Toraki Judo Times for five years, and has been the editor of the Judo Ontario Newsletter for two years. Over the years he has produced a promotional video (“Judo: A Sport to Flip Over”), written a “Standardized Judo Curriculum” and served on The Junior Development and Aboriginal Development Committees for Judo Ontario. Recently, Rick has become a certified yoga teacher. He enjoys bringing the knowledge of proper body alignment and meditation to his judo teaching.

General Overview

Top Ten Reasons

Professional Staff

Philosophy

Contact us!

Address:

9050 Dufferin Street
Concord, ON L4K 5M4

Phone:

(905) 417-9779

Email:

office@autumnhillacademy.ca