Miss Barbara
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Barbara Lindsley enjoyed a fruitful 19-year career as a school librarian before coming to MCP in 2006. Miss Barbara had a wonderful kindergarten teacher who sang regularly, and now she feels called to continue the mission of sharing a love of music with children. Lindsley also maintains the importance of introducing new languages to young children to enable them to form a clear accent. Her grandparents spoke French to her from an early age which helped her develop an ear for the language. Miss Barbara believes in the value of preschool to prepare children for life and proper school. At MCP, they learn how to listen and cooperate with others in group activities. Miss Barbara shares songs of the holidays, protest songs and folk songs with MCP on Mondays.
She loves the very loving and creative atmosphere at MCP and is thrilled to pass along the basic skills that the children will need as they enter kindergarten. Miss Barbara earned her B.A. in Theology from Smith College, during which she spent her junior year in Geneva, Switzerland, studying in French. She also holds a Masters of Library Sciences from SUNY Albany. |
Miss Heather
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Heather Holohan-Guarnieri is a Dance, Music and Theatre Arts Educator as well as a professional performer. She holds a BFA in Acting and Dance Minor from Ithaca College. Heather is the Creative Director and Founder/Owner of Millbrook Performing Arts & Sports, LLC. She has taught both dance and musical theatre at many schools and institutions around the US. She also enjoys directing and choreographing in the realms of dance and theatre. Heather has performed on and off Broadway as a Tap dancer and in countless Musicals in Regional Theatres across the TRI State area. She was a member of The New American Tap Dance Orchestra with Tap mentor, Brenda Bufalino. She has been trained in many areas of dance including: Rhythm and Broadway Tap, Traditional Jazz and Jazz Funk, Musical Theatre Dance, Modern (Graham and Cunningham Techniques) as well as Lyrical, Ballet and Pointe. Her intensive training at Ithaca focused on the Acting methods of Stanislavski, Meisner, Hagen as well as the movement techniques of Laban, Feldenkrais, Yoga and Pilates. Heather is also a certified Personal Trainer. In addition to her work with Millbrook Performing Arts, Heather is a part time Instructor at the Kent School in Kent, CT and Director of the Grace Church Youth Choir, the Gracetones.
Heather loves her work with the children at Millbrook Community Preschool! She aims to teach children about Dance and Creative Movement while also providing them space to express themselves emotionally as well as physically. Through the incorporation of Meditation, Yoga, Dance and other Movement and Music based methodologies, Heather strives to educate her young students in a fun and enjoyable environment! |
Father Matt
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Rev. Dr. Matthew Calkins has been the rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Millbrook, New York since September of 2014. As of 2018, he is now also the Spiritual Director of Grace Year, a yearlong fellowship for young adults. Although Matt has only been rector at Grace since 2014, he is not new to this area. He built a timber-frame home in nearby Lagrangeville when he was in business as a carpenter and general contractor and he and his family attended Grace. He heard a call to ministry and went off to Union Theological Seminary in NYC. After graduating with a Master of Divinity degree and being ordained in the Episcopal Church, he served in two churches in Connecticut and earned a Doctorate of Ministry degree from Hartford Seminary, Hartford, Connecticut along the way. Now he’s back, and delighted to be part of a vibrant faith community with strong social justice ministries.
He loves visiting the preschool each week to read Bible stories to the children, sing songs of faith and love such as This Little Light of Mine and share reminders with the children to listen, love and learn with open hearts and minds. |
