Thomas More Christian Montessori SChool STAFF

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Mrs. Donna McCulloch M.A. B.A. MFCC.

Donna is a Mentor Teacher who served with Poway Unified School District in San Diego, California from 1988 to 1998 where she taught Kindergarten for seven years and Second Grade for three years. She earned her Teaching Credential at the University of San Diego in 1988, and a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology from the National University, San Diego in 1985. She completed the National Centre of Montessori Education (NCME) Diploma for Early Childhood Education through Cincinnati, Ohio in 2002. She is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the State of California and had a private practice in Counseling from 1985 through 1993. She earned her AMS Montessori Elementary 1 Credential through the Maria Montessori Teachers College of San Diego, CA. in May of 2013. Donna is married to co-founder Kevin McCulloch and is step-mother to his 3 children and grandmother to 10 grandchildren. She presently serves as Principal and is training the Cycle 1 Staff in the Montessori Method.

Ms. Jane Guest B.A., GradCertEd

Jane grew up in a small village in North Essex, England, with her five siblings. She became a teacher in her mid-twenties after volunteering in a primary school in one of the most deprived areas of the UK. On completion of her teaching qualification, Jane went back to work at the same school. Later, she moved on to work at a small school in Frinton-on-Sea where Jane became a senior leader working to develop the curriculum, support children with special educational needs and social/emotional difficulties and train new teachers. 

Jane made the move to the Bega Valley last year to join her sisters that already lived here. She worked with TMCM as a casual teacher before taking on the role of Cycle 1 Teacher.

David Foster

David first called Bega home over 20 years ago when he started his teaching career at St Patrick's Primary School. After working throughout Eastern Australia as an Education Officer at various organisations, including Questacon, the RACQ, and the Brisbane City Council, David returned to the Bega Valley 10 years ago. As well as his work creating education programs as an Education Officer, David has a varied teaching background having taught at many local schools including SCAC, Bega High and Mumbulla Steiner School, Marist College in Canberra, and more recently at Bombala Primary School. Together with his lovely wife, Sally, David has four children.

Ms. Nikki Wagner

Nikki has undergraduate degrees in Biomolecular Science and Chemistry, as well as a postgraduate degree in Public Health & Human Nutrition.  Over the past year Nikki has been learning the Montessori Method and will also pick up additional professional learning courses for specific learning difficulties in literacy and numeracy through the rest of this year.

Nikki runs a business, Nikki Wagner Nutrition, where she teaches traditional cooking and conducts private nutrition consultations.  For the past seven years Nikki has run the cooking portion of the Kitchen Garden Program at Mumbulla School. She homeschooled two of her children through most of high school and ran a homeschool group for several years with up to twelve children, focusing mostly on the sciences, literature and ancient history.

Additionally, Nikki offers art classes in local, natural materials for colour and fibre, including watercolours, ink, cloth dyeing, basketry and more.  She posts articles, how-to guides and essays on all these skills, as well as cooking and gardening, on Substack.