Bonnie has 28 years of experience in Early Childhood Education and has been an administratopr for the past 13 years. She has a Bachelor's degree in Education, a certification in Preprimary and is working on her Master's degree. Bonnie has two grown sons and two grandchildren with another on due in July 2010. She lives in Rockaway with her three cats. (See longer version below)

Mary Beth has lived in South Orange and been a parishioner of Our Lady of Sorrows for 21 years. She lives with her husband of 27 years and has 4 children---Meghan--26,Max-24,Katie-21 and Jack-17. Mary Beth taught nursery school for 4 years after college but then started her own sewing, decorating business as a way to work from home while raising  her children. After closing her business 2 years ago she began a job as a companion to an older woman and then heard about the day care center opening. She LOVES her two jobs and is SO HAPPY!!

You will find Mary Beth working with the toddlers in the afternoons. She loves to sing and read with the little ones. Mary Beth is also very active running the Parish’s food pantry.

Miss Johanna is one of the afternoon caregivers in our toddler room, as well as being a substitute caregiver during the rest of the day. Miss Johanna often comes to the rescue very early in the morning when one of her fellow Caregivers calls out sick.

Johanna is a resident of South Orange, a parishioner of Our Lady of Sorrows and a graduate of OLS school. Johanna attended Seton Hall University and received a degree in art education in 2007 with a minor in Applied Music for Vocal Performance.

 When not working at The Nursery, Johanna substitutes in many of the local elementary schools including OLSS, South Orange/Maplewood and Milburn districts.

Johanna has been a summer camp counselor at The Baird center for 10 years. She is the oldest of 3 siblings and was the first girl out of 23 grandchildren.

 In her spare time Johanna likes to spend time with her cousins, going to the movies, concerts, working out going to the beach and most importantly shopping!

Miss Sarah is one of our toddler Caregivers. She joined The Nursery as one of the original staff members and helped to open the center early this fall. Sarah brings with her a background in Early Childhood Education. Her experience includes working with toddlers. Sarah has begun taking college coursework in Early Education at Union County College.  She has also participated in many workshops focusing on various aspects of Early Childhood Education.

Sarah enjoys reading with the children and especially enjoys doing fingerplays and puppet time. Sarah also likes to go on adventures with the children, discovering new things through out the OLS campus.

Sarah grew up in Livingston and she attended William Paterson University where she studied anthropology.

When not working at The Nursery, Sarah’s hobbies include cooking, reading, walking and writing.  She has a dog named Lady, with whom she loves playing .

Kathi is the proud Mom of Gabriella  who is seven and Michael (Mikey) who is five. She is also honored to be a special needs parent.  Since Mikey was 6 weeks old they have been in and out of the hospital trying to figure out his health issues.  Now that Mikey is stable enough for Kathi to return to work in the field that she loves most, Kathi is delighted to be working at The Nursery with the toddlers. Kathi has taught children for  12 years  including toddlers and elementary aged children. Kathi says the toddlers are her favorites, for that is the age when most learning occurs.

Kathi’s education includes a bachelor’s degree from American University and an Early Childhood Education certification.

Kathi has learned so much from having a special needs child and it has helped her realize that all children are special in their own way. Kathi’s priority is children come first and her philosophy is that all children are equal based on their strengths and weaknesses. Every child is unique and can be successful. Kathi treats all children with respect  so parents can feel a sense of security knowing their child is being well cared for during the day.

You will find Miss Maria working in the infant room in the mornings.  Maria was the first Caregiver hired for The Nursery. She was working with the preschool summer camp and kept checking in on the progress of the  renovations. When I found out that she was available to work at The Nursery we jumped at the chance to get such a caring, responsible woman as an employee. Maria helped me through all of the open houses during the summer.

Maria has worked at Our Lady of Sorrows School (the elementary school) for  years as well as being a parent of a seventh grader at Sorrows. Maria grew up in South Orange and lives in the house she shared with her parents for many years. Maria has one daughter, Alexis. Maria attended business school and also went to school to be a licensed manicurist. Maria has found her true calling of working with young children.  Maria loves all of “her babies and gives them so much TLC. Maria makes The Nursery a home away from home for the infants.-              

Miss Gail is one of our afternoon  infant Caregivers.  Her nickname is Pat. Gail grew up in a small town in Tennessee. She and her daughter, Robin moved to Teaneck, NJ in 1980 which was a culture shock for both of them but was also very educational. Gail left New Jersey five years ago to spread her wings in Chicago where she attended Olive Harvey College studying Child care and development.. Then after receiving great news from her daughter that she would soon be a Grandmother, Gail ventured back to New Jersey. She now has a Granddaughter named Raven who is her heart! Raven is four years old and very talented and smart. Raven is the youngest praise dancer at their church in Newark, Gail enjoys spending weekends together with Raven playing school, visiting parks and dramatic play.

Gail feels very fortunate to be working at The Nursery at Our Lady of Sorrows. She truly loves working with children because they are so honest.  Gail also enjoys her coworkers.

Some of Gail’s pastimes include jazz, cooking and plays.

My name is Aisha Harper and I am an Infant room Caregiver at The Nursery at OLS. I am very excited to be teaching and caring for your children. I am an avid crafter as I take photographs and make scrapbooks frequently. I love to get creative with different art mediums, so look forward to lots of memories as your children learn through sensory experiences!

I have three and a half years of experience working at the Diane Lindner Childcare Institute in Hempstead, NY, working much of that time in the Infant and toddler classrooms. I also worked at The Holy Innocence Daycare in Uniondale, NY for a year. There I worked with children from infancy to twelve years old. More recently I worked for over two years at the Richard Blake Children’s Center in Cedar Knolls as a Group Teacher.

Presently, I work full time for Children’s Home Society housed in a Hudson County DYFS office. I am pursuing a Post Bachelor’s Certificate from Montclair State University as well as a Master’s Degree from Seton Hall. I am adequately qualified and well prepared to make sure that your children have a safe and fun time at The Nursery

Miss Shanequa is one of our morning infant Caregivers. She joined The Nursery team in October.  Shanequa has over nine years of experience working with young  children and was highly recommended.   Along with in classroom experience, Shanequa is a Mom to three children and a brand new Grandmother.

You will often find Shanequa sitting on the floor with babies all around her listening to her beautiful singing voice and sharing fun fingerplays.  Shanequa is instrumental in helpingour older infants prepare fopr the toddler classroom through her circle times and reading activities.