Welcome to Spruce Class!
In honour of World Teachers Day yesterday, we would like to kick off a new blog series called “Teacher Tuesday”. Each week, we will feature one of our classrooms and introduce you to the amazing teachers inside.
This week we will be going into one of our Pre-Primary 2 classrooms – Spruce Class at our Midtown Junior Campus! Spruce Class is home to the dynamic duo of Ms. Diana Katsoras and Ms. Marina Ortelli-Christopher.
Ms. Diana Katsoras is the incredible head teacher in our Spruce Classroom. Ms. Katsoras has been with The Clover School for eleven years and has taught at the Pre-Primary level for five of those years. Ms. Katsoras has an undergraduate degree in sociology from Ryerson University, a bachelor of education from the University of Windsor and completed her Montessori Teacher Training from the Toronto Montessori Institute.
When she isn’t doting on her beloved Spruce Class students, she loves spending time with family and friends, playing board games and going on shopping trips to Target (which is something she looks forward to doing when we are once again able to travel safely). Ms. Katsoras is a huge fan of reality television and 90s pop music – her favourite being The Backstreet Boys. She adores Italian food and could eat pasta all day everyday! She is a passionate dancer and has even previously run dance and glee clubs for our students of all levels here at The Clover School. It was a huge hit for all who participated.
Her partner in all things Spruce Class is the amazing Ms. Marina Ortelli-Christopher. This is Ms. Marina’s second year with the Clover School and she has spent both years working with Ms. Katsoras in the Spruce Classroom. Ms. Marina has a diploma in Early Childhood Education and a Bachelor of Education in Primary Education.
During her free time, Ms. Marina loves to cook and bake, whipping up delicious vegan meals and baked goodies in her kitchen! One of her yummy meal creations is a pizza with extra tomato sauce, tons of red pepper flakes, vegan cheese and fresh basil. Another of her favourite pastimes is doing yoga with her husband. She loves to unwind by watching one of her favourite television shows – her favourites include Golden Girls, Murder She Wrote, Big Bang Theory & Little Fires Everywhere. A very fun fact about Ms. Marina is that she speaks four languages – in fact, she’s using her knowledge to help teach French to her Spruce Class friends! Currently, they’re learning the letters of the alphabet and the seasons of the year and they are absolutely loving it!
In the Spruce Class, Ms. Katsoras, Ms. Marina and their students love working with the Montessori materials, reading stories, going on nature walks and continuing to grow and develop the bonds and friendships within the classroom.
Spruce class is looking forward to some very exciting activities this year. In October they will be doing some Halloween-themed crafts and working on lessons about weather and the changing of seasons. Ms. Marina says it best: “Every day is a new day in Spruce Class! There’s something new to look forward to every day!”.
Thank you to Ms. Katsoras and Ms. Marina for giving us a glimpse into the wonderful world of the Spruce Classroom. Check back each week for our newest Teacher Tuesday post! Next week, we explore our Pre-Primary 1 Classroom: Elm Class with Ms. Grose and Ms. Kreisel!
