The entire staff at Moonstone Preschool has been hand selected for their love of children, learning, and creativity. Every teacher has something unique to offer our students through their varied educational backgrounds….
Sandy Robin- Director
Sandy is the founder and director of Moonstone. Moonstone has been around since 1983. She has a Masters in Education Leadership from The Bank Street College of Education and an undergraduate degree from Antioch University in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. Sandy also has a certificate from The Penn Academy of Fine Arts, where she studied sculpture and drawing for 4 years. Outside of Moonstone, she regularly practices and teaches Ashtanga and Bikram yoga. Sandy has two sons named Christopher and Ben, who both attended Moonstone in its early stages.
Tod Yoder- Assistant Director I
Has been with Moonstone since 1999. He is a freelance artist, having studied commercial art and communication in his home state of Indiana. His extensive experience with children draws from being an uncle to a large family. He became an uncle when he was 8 years old. For ten years, Tod traveled the world, working as a flight attendant.
Kim Carter- Assistant Director II
Kim has always wanted to be a teacher and has extensive experience with children. She has previously worked with children in a range of positions, such as nanny, camp counselor, and academic tutor. After starting at Moonstone in April 2005, Kim graduated from Drexel University with a BA and Certification in Elementary Education and a minor in Psychology. In May 2007, she received a Masters Degree in Special Education from St Joseph’s University. In September of 2008, Kim traveled all the way to Guyana, South America to volunteer at an orphanage that houses HIV children with emotional issues and physical disabilities. As the Head Teacher at Moonstone, she has gained many responsibilities as the ABC teacher, fieldtrip organizer, and student evaluator.
Shannon Roscoe – Program Coordinator
Shannon has worked at Moonstone since June 2004. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in the spring of 2003 with a BA in Film Studies and a minor in Spanish. In June 2006, Shannon graduated from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in New York City as a Certified Holistic Health Counselor, and is now a member of the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. She has been around children for a long time, being the oldest of four girls. Before moving back to Philly in 2004, Shannon worked as a teacher at the Children’s Center of Pittsburgh.
Mishaun Johnson- Administrator
Mishaun has been a part of the Moonstone Family since 2001. She started out as a parent and then began working at Moonstone in January 2004, as the assistant administrator. She has three children, two of whom are Moonstone alumni. Before working at Moonstone, Mishaun worked at the Warner Brothers Studio Store for 5 years, as an Assistant Manager, and at Maxercise for 2 years, as an Office Manager. She also proudly served in the US Air Force for two and a half years before moving to Philadelphia in 2004.
Rebecca Twumasi Boateng- Hygiene Specialist
Though Rebecca currently lives in Philadelphia, she is originally from Ghana in West Africa. She use to work at Glory Daycare in Sunyani, Ghana as a childcare aide. After moving to Philadelphia, she worked as a babysitter for Miss Michelle Williams. Rebecca is a high school graduate from Pentecost Secondary School in Kumasi, Ghana, and has a daughter named Dorcas Boateng who is 15 years old.
Christi Hensler -Head Teacher
Christi Riley Hensler started working at Moonstone in November 2004. Since then, she has had two children of her own, Nadiah and Savanna. Christi has been a member of Girls Scouts since 1985. Within that time, she has been a Girls Scout leader since 1997, and has received the Gold Award, which is the highest award in the organization. Christi is also a member of the Ancient Ladies of Hibernia (#87). Christi came to Moonstone because she loves working with children and she looks forward to being here for a long time.
Johnny Buckley - Curriculum Specialist
Started at Moonstone in July of 2005. Initially working with our youngest group, the New Moons. He collaborates with Sandy Robin on many story & puppet plays (The Nutcracker, Alice in Wonderland, The Snow Queen and The Little Prince). Together they regularly read numerous chapter books to the Full Moons. Johnny studied acting at Temple University, garnering a BA in 2001. He writes our weekly newsletter, teaches art classes, takes photos and organizes our first Friday art shows.
Michelle Mullaly - Head Teacher
Michelle has worked at Moonstone since January 2006. She has a BFA in Furniture Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design. She exhibited work at The International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York City in 2001. Upon moving to Philadelphia, she worked for Urban Outfitters Inc. as a department manager. Looking for a change of career and wanting to work with children in an artistic environment, she came to Moonstone. Her sister, Caroline, had previously been a lead teacher and was moving to San Francisco. Michelle is currently working towards her certification in Teaching.
Meg Tremble – New Moon Teacher
Started working at Moonstone in June of 2007. She is from New Jersey. Before Moonstone, she worked as a lead teacher and staff manager for the Garden State Discovery Museum. During her four years there, she designed and taught several art and science classes, created activities for museum visitors and played with countless children. She has been babysitting since she was eleven, and is one of four kids in my family. She studied drawing and sculpture at Camden County Community College. In her free time she sews, make art, and bakes. She is happy and excited to be a part of Moonstone.
Terrence McGinn- Teacher
Dedicates his life to education in the arts. He brings to Moonstone his 20 + years experience with the piano and all aspects of visual arts but among other things, his culinary talent. Prior to Moonstone Terrence is a chef with years of industry experience. He has also worked with various children’s programs through the Philadelphia Dept. of Recreation, such as Summer Art Camp and other summer programs. He looks forward to teaching and growing with your children.
David Lackner – Music Teacher
David started playing music in first grade. When he started piano lessons and took up the saxophone in fourth grade. Although he continues to play piano, David graduated from Rowan University with a degree in Saxophone Jazz Performance in 2007. Before coming to Moonstone in 2008, David was performing and teaching private music lessons. He continues to perform in and around Philadelphia.
Maura Ambrose – Teacher
In 2006, Maura earned her BFA from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). She grew a love for textiles and completed her major in fibers. While at SCAD, she traveled to Lacoste, France and studied art history. Upon graduating, she took a job at Urban Outfitters Inc. as a creative assistant for Free People in Philadelphia. After a year and a half, she felt a need to work with children and connect to the community around her, while photographing preschoolers for Lifetouch Photography, Maura desired to plant herself somewhere and develop relationships and that’s how she found her way to Moonstone. In her free time, Maura loves running, quilting, decorating, making small crafts, and cooking for her husband.
Jef Kolman – Teacher
Jef is a Philadelphia native, who came to Moonstone in the fall of 2008. He has a background in art education from the Tyler School of Art. He loves everything from high art to kitch, but especially sequential art.
Gina Polite – Teacher
Gina is a South Jersey/Philadelphia native who loves children and music. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Voice Performance from The University of the Arts. Gina has performed with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, members of the Philadelphia Opera Company, and also was a featured performer at the 2005 Barrymore Awards. Aside from teaching at Moonstone, Gina loves to nanny and volunteer with children of all ages to continue her love of all things fun and musical.
Jami Marshall-Lively – Teacher
Jami has been working at Moonstone since January 2009. He grew up in South Philadelphia and was himself a young student at Moonstone Preschool many years ago. He is a recent graduate of Bennington College in Vermont, an artist and performer working in many media including paint, dance, drawing, and puppetry. Jami is very excited to be working with the Moonstone family once again!
Irene Repik – Teacher
Irene is a native of Kiev, Ukraine. While in Kiev, Irene studied music (vocal, conducting and musical education) at a musical conservatory. After completing her studies, Irene taught music to children ranging from preschool age to high school. She also spent time performing at a musical theater, where she won several opera competitions. Twenty years ago, Irene and her family moved to Philadelphia, stopping in Germany and Italy along the way. After settling in Philadelphia, her family owned and operated a traditional eastern european bakery and cafe. After the cafe closed, Irene began nannying full time. She has been nannying for the past seven years, which ultimately led her to Moonstone. Here at Moonstone, Irene works with the New Moons, and often times has featured solos in music class!
Theresa Sparkes – Teacher
Theresa grew up in the woods of northern New Jersey. She went on to study Linguistics and German Language & Literature at Rutgers University, of which she spent one year in Munich. While at Rutgers, she also spent time studying Spanish and Dutch. Through her studies, this love of languages developed into a specific interest in language acquisition and bilingualism. She had been a babysitter for many years, but from this point she knew she wanted to dedicate herself to working with children. She is amazed every day at how quickly kids learn and is enlivened by their high energy. She feels at home at Moonstone.
Enilda Greco – Receptionist
Enilda came to Moonstone as the receptionist during the transition into the new building. Looking for career change from commercial real estate, she’s always wanted to find a position in early childhood development. Also, being a mom to 3 boys, the youngest of which attends Moonstone, she wanted to be closer to home and Moonstone was the perfect fit. She brings to Moonstone years of office administrative experience as well as the personal “mom” touch. Enilda also has become apart of the mentoring program to parents of the newest children attending Moonstone.
Alyssa San Valentin – Teacher
Earned her BA in Fine Arts from Rowan University, which she thought she would use to take over the world. Instead she found it was more useful for teaching kids art, especially the kind that gets messy. She volunteered as a workshop leader at the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls in Brooklyn, NY teaching young girls how to screen print t-shirts. These days she still screen prints and makes books and still likes teaching these things to kids of any age and gender but she also plays guitar in a two piece band.
Alexis Macrina – Teacher
Grew up in the Philadelphia area. She recently earned a B.F.A. from the University of the Arts, where she majored in Crafts with a concentration in jewelry/metals. Alexis continues to make jewelry in her spare time at her studio. She is also experienced in printmaking, costume design and sculpture. In addition to her artistic experience, Alexis has been a nanny/babysitter for over five years. She is inspired by the free spirited creativity that children have; they are a reminder of our ability to learn something new every day. Alexis is also a proud member of the Mummers troupe, Vaudevillians Comic Brigade, and a certified yoga instructor. She has a twin sister and a serious collection of rocks.
Moonstone Preschool
750 S. 11th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147.
(t) 215.574.9157
(f) 215.940.2841
learn@moonstonepreschool.org
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