 Miss Mandi
Miss Mandi has attained her Diploma of Early Childhood Education, Diploma of Nursing (RN) and Diploma of Beauty Therapy. Mandi and her husband Pete have been in Early Childhood Education for almost 20 years, they have 3 children who have grown up in the industry and are now all in their late 20's. Mandi has always been engaged in artistic pursuits, as well as her Nursing and beauty therapy careers. She found Yoga and meditation and has taught Yoga for a number of years as well as having a diligent practice. Mandi passionately believes that children who start learning literacy and numeracy in the early years of life, build a strong self-esteem and self-concept and continue to excel throughout their school years and beyond. "All people should have the opportunity to be supported, educated, and loved from the time they draw their first breath until they take their last". Since arriving in Castle Hill in 2013, to take over The Discovery House Preschool, Mandi has seen the positive effects that have been achieved by the passionate and professional staff at the Preschool. "At The Discovery House Preschool, we have worked very hard as a team to bring excellent Early Childhood Education to the Castle Hill community. We are excited to prove, that this exemplarily educational system that has been created at TDH Castle Hill, can be successful in the Long Daycare environment. We are excited to be offering Long Day Care Education in Kenthurst in 2018". |
 Miss Maddy
Maddy Joined the Discovery House Team, full-time in 2018. She has come to the TDH Group from a Human Resources corporate background. Maddy is a wonderful asset to our team, as she has been around the childcare industry since she was 8 years old and has a very clear understanding of the industry and how it works. During her high school holidays and Uni semester breaks Maddy has worked in a number of the other Centres, coordinating the office and management, as well as assisting on the floor as required pre-2014. She has worked and supported a family owned 90 place LDC Centre, with 30 before and after school care places, until it was sold in 2014, which is a testament to her excellent organisational skills. Maddy has brought The Discovery House Preschool into the 21st Century, and the Preschool is now completely online, offering a simple and seamless communication service with our families. You are able to access The Discovery House Preschool Castle Hill, on Facebook, Instagram, through our new Website, and parent secure portals, detailing group and individual observations for your child through HubHello, our new data interface. Maddy has commenced her Diploma of Early Childhood Education and is hoping to complete this in 2019. 2018/2019 Maddy will be supporting Mandi and Pete to re-structure the Long day care Centre at Kenthurst, teaching the staff the detailed TDH program and implementing this within the Long Day Care Centre, as well as managing both centres as part of the TDH management team. |
 Miss Jan
Miss Jan is the heart of The Discovery House, having been with the centre since she started in childcare in 1995. Mss Jan’s incredible energy and passion for developing children’s early learning is infectious! She has a natural ability to settle the young Bumble Bees when they take their first steps into preschool and make them feel safe and secure in their environment, allowing for them to find their confidence and express themselves. Jan has a Diploma in Children’s Services and is room leader of the Bumble Bee’s Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Jan’s passion for growing the foundation of children's learning is evident, she enjoys being part of a team, building friendships and strong bonds. She values having close ties to the community and loves bumping into past Discovery House children, as it shows the centre has made an impact in their lives. Jan’s two sons graduated from The Discovery House preschool and family is an important part of her life. |
 Miss Kat
Miss Kat has been in the childcare industry since 2004, and The Discovery House has been lucky to have her onboard since 2010. Kat has a wealth of knowledge in early childhood teaching, starting on the floor and working her way through her Diploma in Children’s Services and is in the final stages of completing a Bachelor of Education, Majoring in Early Childhood Education. This early experience in the industry has taught Kat the way she would like ‘her children taught’, and she inspires all those who work with her at The Discovery House. Kat has put together an exceptional program with the support of the team at TDH, and we are proud to send our children to primary school with skills that allow them to excel throughout their entire school life and beyond. Kat is deservedly the centre's educational leader and room leader of the Lady Bugs room(4-5yr group) Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Kat is working not only with the staff at Castle Hill TDH, but also with the team at Kenthurst TDH Early Learning Centre. Along with management, she is excited to extend the program’s success into the Long Day Care world, allowing all children to experience the benefits of our Early Childhood Education preparation for Kindergarten and Primary School. Miss Kat is a mother of two beautiful boys. She loves being with her family, drawing, painting and shopping! She loves being around children and believes that “watching them learn and grow is pretty special”. |
 Miss Larissa
Miss Larissa has been with The Discovery House Preschool since 2015 and has been teaching in early learning since 2008.
Larissa joined the team in a maternity leave one year position. When her year was completed TDH decided to ‘find a role’ for her, as the children, staff and families had fallen in love with her warmth, caring and passion for educating children. She has been trained by Miss Kat and implements the educational system that she supported Kat in devising for the TDH children. Together they have changed what we have been able to teach children in the early years of their education, and give the children the opportunity of literacy and numeracy during their final 18 months at Preschool. This foundation builds children’s self-esteem and strong self-concept as they move into the much larger world of Primary School education.
Larissa has a Diploma in Children’s Services and is room leader of the Lady Bugs room (4-5yrs group) on Thursday and Friday. Larissa is passionate about providing children with the right environment to promote their confidence, be able to express themselves as individuals and find their own identity.
Larissa loves playing netball, reading and going to Broadway theatre. She wanted to join The Discovery House Preschool after seeing the centres warmth, strong ties to the community and family values. |
 Miss Gillian
Miss Gillian joined The Discovery House Team in 2016 after the youngest of her two daughters graduated from the Discovery House Preschool. Gillian works across the Lady Bug and Bumble Bee rooms. She is able to engage the children of all ages and inspires the children to do their best work while having a playful and fun day. Her incredible creative gift coupled with her desire for perfection has led the whole team to further our creativity, which has influenced the children as well. We are seeing amazing educational craft being produced by all the age groups and the 4-5-year-old, Ladybugs group is benefiting greatly from Miss Gillian’s wonderful innovative educational craft. Gillian is working towards her Diploma qualification in Child Services, which she will finish before the end of 2019. We are very fortunate to have Gillian on our team, she is a wonderful educator and we believe she has found her calling here at The Discovery House. I know the children all agree with us, that Gillian inspires joy, fun and laughter. |
 Miss Jenny
Miss Jenny joined The Discovery House Preschool in 2016, bringing to the Bumble Bee’s room a wealth of skills from teaching in China. Jenny has a Certificate III in Children’s Services and is passionate about teaching and giving children the tools to grow their confidence and self-esteem through learning. Jenny is a mother of one boy, and one girl and when not teaching loves spending time with friends. She is fluent in Mandarin, a language taught to the children of The Discovery House. |
 Miss Linda
Miss Linda has been with The Discovery House since 2016 and has a Certificate III in Children’s Services. Prior to the Discovery House, Linda taught children in years four and five English in China, she brings these teaching skills to the Bumble Bee’s room. Linda is fluent in Mandarin and enjoys teaching the children Chinese songs and greetings. Linda is a mother of two boys and loves hiking, cycling and playing badminton with her children. Now her children have grown up, she loves working with young children and watching them grow. |
 Miss Stephanie
Miss Stephanie joined The Discovery House family in 2018 as a trainee, studying a Certificate III in Children’s Services. Stephanie is fantastic with the children in both the Lady Bugs and Bumble Bee’s rooms and will be training under Miss Kat and Miss Jan. She commenced her career in childcare in 2017 and we look forward to seeing her grow at The Discovery House. Stephanie has younger siblings that inspired her to pursue childcare as she loved teaching them, watching them learn and grow. |