Educators

Rebecca (Bec), CO DIRECTOR (Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday)

Qualifications- Advanced diploma in children services and Food Safety Supervisor.
Employed At Cuddly Bear Templestowe: since- 1999
Languages- English
Interests- my family, daughter Charlotte and husband Karl, shopping, social media, spending time with my family and friends and supporting the Lions!

I love co leading an amazing and dedicated team. Assisting educators fulfil their passion in the early childhood field. Working alongside families to provide the best care and education to their beautiful children in a high quality centre in the Manningham area.
Jenna, CO DIRECTOR (MONDAY, WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY)

Qualifications- Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care. and Food Safety Supervisor.
Employed At Cuddly Bear Templestowe: since- 2011
Languages - English
Days: Monday, Wednesday & Thursday
Interests - My Family: Ari (son), Levi (son) and Frank (Husband), music, movies, food, spending time with family and friends, sewing and supporting Carlton AFL.

I come from a very big family and have always been around children. I love leading the wonderful team of educators at Cuddly Bear. I am passionate about educating, nurturing and caring for young children and love to inspire and encourage children’s interests and individual personalities.
Natalie, 2IC, Educational Leader & Qualified Educator in al

Qualifications - Advanced Diploma and Diploma of Children services
Employed At Cuddly Bear Templestowe: since- 2013
Languages - Arabic and English
Interests - Shopping, Friends, Brands, Food, Coffee Dates with Friends

I love helping children and watching them develop and grow, it is the biggest reward. Helping children reach their full potential and learning with them is very gratifying. I enjoy collaborating with educators and providing curriculum direction and guidance. I enjoy supporting educators to effectively implement the cycle of planning and enhancing programs and practices. I like to ensure that the children’s learning and development is guided by the learning outcomes of the Early Years learning framework/and or the framework for school aged children.

I support educators in conjunction with the director to develop and review professional development plans to challenge educators to reflect on pedagogical practices.
Pas, Qualified Room Leader Pre-Kinder Room, OH&S Office

Qualifications - Diploma in Children’s Services
Employed At Cuddly Bear Templestowe: since-2003
Languages - English and Italian
Interests - family, catching up with friends, Netflix and long walks

I’m Passionate about encouraging children to explore their surroundings and watching their curiosity grow, building relationships with children and their families and working with talented team of Educators to exceed the high on going performance to the best of our abilities.
Chloe, 3/4 yr old Kindergarten Teacher

Qualifications - Bachelor of Teaching and Learning Early Childhood, Bachelor of Education (Honours) (Primary) and Diploma of Children’s Services
Employed At Cuddly Bear Templestowe: since- 2015
Languages - Mandarin and English
Interests- Travelling, cooking and watching movies

I love guiding children to achieve their full potential, it is the most rewarding job I can think of! I have genuine passion for children because I admire children’s honesty, creativity and resilience. Watching children grow and learn is amazing. I love that no single day at work is the same.
Garima , Four-year-old Funded Kindergarten Teacher

Qualifications- Bachelor in Early Childhood Education
Employed At Cuddly Bear Templestowe: Since May 2024
Languages- English, Hindi, Rajasthani
Interests- Music and Yoga
Why do you love working in the Early Childhood Field- I love working in the early childhood field as it gives me the opportunity to be an essential part of their crucial age and to be able to support their initial development and skills.
Jenny, Qualified Room Leader in the Babies Room

Qualifications - Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care.
Employed At Cuddly Bear Templestowe: since- March 2018.
Languages - Croatian and English
Interests - Travelling, being outdoors/nature/bushwalking and gardening.

I love watching the children grow and develop especially if I have been with them since they have been in the babies room and seeing all their milestones/achievements.
Rosy, Qualified Educator in all rooms and Lunch Reliever

Qualifications - Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care
Employed At Cuddly Bear Templestowe: since- 2005
Languages - Arabic, French and English
Interests - Catching up with friends, Coffee, Laughing, Food, Gardening, Travel

As an educator I strive to provide the best care and nurture for all children. I enjoy interacting with families to work together in gaining knowledge to further extend on children’s development. I like to keep all families involved in decision making and part of our community. I like to build a sense of community by helping families feel comfortable.
Luisa , Educator in all Rooms & First Aid officer

Qualifications - Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care
Employed At Cuddly Bear Templestowe: November 2006
Languages - Italian and English
Interests - spending quality time with my kids Allegra and Massimo and of course my husband, shopping, going to our beach house, baking cakes.

Working with kids is a very rewarding job. I love watching the children learn, grow and develop and enjoy spending time helping them achieve their best.
Daphne, Qualified Room Leader in the Toddler Room

Qualifications - Diploma of Early Childhood and Education
Employed At Cuddly Bear Templestowe: June 2017
Languages - Greek and English
Interests - Spending time with family and friends, and reading.

I love seeing children interact with one another whether it's in their play or through conversations. Engaging in conversations with children and listening to them when they speak. Also, I love seeing children being happy and my favourite is when I hear children's laugher- can't help but laugh with them.
Rebecca W, Qualified Educator in the Toddler Room

Qualifications - Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care
Employed At Cuddly Bear Templestowe: since-2012
Languages - English
Interests - Music, Gardening, Camping and seeing the world.

I LOVE working with children. Where else can you go to work, play and laugh and have fun all whilst making a difference in someone’s life. To walk into work and be greeting by smiling faces and big cuddles, you just know it is going to be a good day. To form bonds and have children let you in and trust you enough to share their world with you is just magical.
Fotini, Qualified Educator in all rooms

Qualifications - Diploma of Early childhood Education and Care
Employed At Cuddly Bear Templestowe: since- June 2018
Languages - Greek and English
Interests - I love to travel and spend time with my husband and my two children Maki and Elefteria.

I really enjoy my job, getting down on the children's level to take part in lot of exciting experiences with them. My greatest satisfaction is seeing how much children grow and develop during a year and knowing I played an important part in that.
Ellen, Qualified Educator in all rooms

Qualifications - Cert III in Early Childhood Education and Care and Studying Diploma
Employed At Cuddly Bear Templestowe: since-2018
Languages - Mandarin and English
Interests - reading, cooking, singing

Every child is unique and all are special. I love children and I enjoy working with children because I love the way they look at the world. I love to see them grow and I love to see all the things they learn and how surprised they are at things.
Clare, Educator in all Rooms & Sustainability Officer

Qualifications - Diploma of Community Services (Children's Services)
Employed At Cuddly Bear Templestowe: since-Feb 2018
Languages - English
Interests - travel, country music, spending time with family.

I love to know the care we provide may help nurture them into kind, resilient, respectful and accepting individuals as they grow older.
Katarina, Qualified Educator in all rooms

Qualifications: Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care
Employed At Cuddly Bear Templestowe: since December 2019
Language spoken: English
Interests: Love spending time with family which includes my 5 adult children; and especially my four grandchildren Ari, Harper, Levi and Addalyn. Like to watch movies, watch AFL footy and my husband and I definitely have the travel bug and love to explore the world as much as possible.

I love working with children as they are always honest and have a unique perspective of the world. They can make you laugh with the funny little things they say, do and tell you; and it is a very rewarding job to be able to nurture, care and develop their individual personalities and interests.
Yafit, Chef/ Centre Cook

Qualifications - Certificate 5 in hospitality management, commercial cookery & patisserie, food safety supervisor, child protection in early childhood and first aid
Employed At Cuddly Bear Templestowe: since June 2019
Languages - English & Hebrew
Interests - cooking & baking, music, traveling in Australia & overseas, and spending time with my family.

I love cooking and I love seeing the children enjoying the different meals. I enjoy creating a variety of dishes that are colorful, nutritional and tasty that support the children throughout their busy days at Cuddly Bear.
Julia, Qualified Educator in all rooms

Qualifications - Diploma of Early Childhood education.
Employed At Cuddly Bear Templestowe: Employed at Cuddly Bear Templestowe since 2022
Languages - English and Chinese
Interests - Sewing reading and dinging in my spare time.

I love working with children, I love everything about children during their early childhood years, and I like to communicate with young children. I think its so wonderful for me to be involved in the centre that is passionate about children’s development as I know I make a differences.
Danielle, Qualified Educator in all rooms & Cook

Qualifications - Diploma of Early Childhood education.
Employed At Cuddly Bear Templestowe - Employed at Cuddly Bear Templestowe since 2003
Languages - English
Interests - Spending time with family, Travelling, Beaches, Gym , cooking and nature.

I love working with children –I love enjoy working alongside and supporting families by caring and educating their children by providing a range of learning experiences. I enjoy watching children grow and develop in all areas. I believe I learn as much from the children as they do from adults.
Laura, Qualified Educator in all rooms

Qualifications - Diploma of Early Childhood education.
Employed At Cuddly Bear Templestowe - since October 2003
Languages - English
Interests - Writing Books, Rading, Video games and travelling.

I work with children because it is such a joy to watch them grow and experience the world. It’s nice to be part of their journey.
Helen, Educator in all rooms

Qualifications – Certificate Three in early Childhood Education and care.
Employed At Cuddly Bear Templestowe: Since November 2023
Languages- English, Greek and French
Interests- I love being with my family, and like reading books and singing too.

I love working with children, Seeing them grow and develop and to support each child to become independent. It is such a rewarding profession that I feel blessed to be part of the children’s lives in the first 5 years of their lives.
Cassia, Childcare Assistant in all Rooms

Qualifications- Certificate III Early Childhood Education
Languages- English, Portugese

Why do you love working in the Early Childhood Field: I love interacting with young children and really enjoy helping them to develop and grow.
I'm married with three adult children.
I have been working in Early Childhood Education for many years and have had the chance to work in diverse educational settings.
My key strength as an educator is my interaction with children, getting down to their level, really listening and spending high quality time with them.
I genuinely enjoy working with young children and love to see their growth and development.
I understand the importance of strong collaboration between home and the centre. I'm looking forward to building a positive relationship you and your family.
Saoirse, QUALIFIED EDUCATOR IN ALL ROOMS

Qualifications- Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care
Employed At Cuddly Bear Templestowe: Since August 2024
Languages- I speak English and some Farsi
Interests- my interests include Irish dancing, running, dressing up, and cats.

I love working in childcare because I love supporting children to be confident and independent and to feel free to express themselves in their own ways. I enjoy hearing what children have to say and seeing all their unique personalities and emerging senses of humour. The first few years of life are so important and I love that we get to play a role in creating as many happy, positive and fun memories as possible for them in their early years
Maureen, EDUCATOR IN ALL ROOMS

Qualifications- Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care
Employed At Cuddly Bear Templestowe: Since June 2024
Languages- Mandarin
Interests- Gardening & Painting

Working in early childhood is the opportunity to impact the youth and get significant inspiration from them positively. I like to get along and grow together with the children.