Our Team
At AMS, we take pride in the unique abilities, and experiences that each member of our knowledgeable and dedicated team brings to our environment. From having speakers of many different languages on staff to staff members with experience in the sciences, and the visual, culinary and performing arts, we feel that a variety of interests and abilities allows us to better understand and support the needs of our diverse group of students and their families.
All AMS team members have current First Aid Certification, Clear Criminal Record Checks and Child Abuse Registry Checks and complete regular professional development courses.
Analia Lowe
Co-owner, Administrator and Inclusion Support
Analia Lowe holds a BSc degree in Psychology from Dalhousie University, a Master of Science in Early Childhood Special Education from Johns Hopkins University and a certificate in Montessori for Special Needs from the Center for Guided Montessori Studies. Since 2003, she has been working in the field of early childhood education in Canada, the United States and Asia.
Analia enjoys family time with her husband and twin boys, who are both graduates of the AMS Casa program. She enjoys keeping up her fluent Spanish by staying in touch with family and friends in Uruguay and the United States.
Andrea Cavicchi
Co-owner, Administrator and Head Montessori Guide
Andrea Cavicchi received her AMI Montessori teaching diploma from the Foundation for Montessori Education in Toronto in 2007 and holds a certificate in Montessori for Special Needs from the Center for Guided Montessori Studies. Andrea has been working with young children since 2003, in Nova Scotia, Ontario and Asia. She holds a BFA degree from NSCAD University and is also a TESOL trained children’s English teacher.
Andrea loves to spend time with her husband and her daughter, who is a graduate of the AMS Casa program. She enjoys painting and writing and has published two books for children, The Good Luck Dragonfly and The Crow’s Voice.
Asma Begum
Casa Cardinal Montessori Guide
Asma Begum joined Atlantic Montessori School in summer 2022 and became our Casa Cardinal Guide in September 2022. She earned her AMI Montessori Diploma from the Montessori Training and Research Centre in Hyderabad, India. She has a Bachelor of Education degree from the Anwal Ul-Uloom College and a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from the St. Anne’s Degree College, also in Hyderabad.
Asma has been teaching in the field of early childhood education in India and Saudi Arabia for over ten years and is happy to have her own classroom in Canada! In her spare time, she enjoys reading and henna design.
Karen DeGuire
Casa Cardinal French Speaking Assistant
Karen De Guire joined AMS in September 2022. Karen grew up in a Francophone family near the Ontario-Quebec border and has an ECE diploma from Universite Sainte-Anne. She has over 12 years of experience working in French child care centres.
Karen has a Montessori Fundamentals certificate through the Center for Guided Montessori Studies.
Karen enjoys making her own soaps and cosmetics in her spare time and she is passionate about caring for the environment.
Maria Rondon
Casa Cardinal English Speaking Assistant
Maria joined AMS in October 2022. She has lived in a number of countries around the world and has a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education degree from the Instituto Pedagogico de Maturin in Venezuela, as well as a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from the Universidad de Chile in Santiago. Maria has a Montessori Fundamentals certificate through the Center for Guided Montessori Studies.
Maria has over seven years of experience working in the field of early childhood education. She enjoys hiking, camping and yoga.
Isla Morrison
Casa Blue Jay Montessori Guide
Isla Morrison joined AMS in September 2017 as a Casa Guide. Isla completed her second practicum placement in our Casa class and earned her AMI Montessori teaching diploma from the Foundation for Montessori Education in Toronto in May 2017. Isla is originally from the United Kingdom and through her travels and growing up abroad, she has observed a number of different styles of education. She feels that Montessori education offers children a well-rounded and natural approach to learning.
Isla also has an interest in the performing arts and has a degree in Theatre Studies from Acadia University.
Amanda Rooney
Casa Blue Jay French Assistant
Amanda Rooney joined Atlantic Montessori School as a French Montessori Assistant in 2015 and completed her Montessori Fundamentals training through the Center for Guided Montessori Studies. Amanda began French Immersion at the age of five and continued her French studies throughout university, graduating from Dalhousie University with a BA with Combined Honours in French and German. She went on to obtain her Master’s Degree in German from Dalhousie. She discovered a love for working with children during her time as a childrens’ gymnastics instructor.
In her free time, Amanda enjoys spending time in nature with her family and her dog. Her son is a graduate of the AMS Casa program.
Divya Varrier
Casa Blue Jay Assistant
Divya Varrier joined Atlantic Montessori School as a classroom assistant in winter of 2023. Divya has Montessori training and experience from her home country of India and also has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the KB College of Arts. She spent nearly nine years working as a tutor and an associate teacher for children and teenagers in Saudi Arabia. Divya has completed her Montessori Assistant’s training through Trillium Montessori.
In her spare time, Divya loves to read and paint.
Linda Boucher
Hummingbird Room Toddler Guide
Linda Boucher has twenty five years of experience in the field of Montessori education, following a twelve year career in Community Services. She has an AMI Diploma from the Montessori Training Centre of British Columbia, as well as a MACTE diploma from the Angela Martin Montessori Training Centre in BC. She also holds a BA in Child Study and Psychology from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax. Linda has spent time working in Toddler, Casa and Elementary Montessori environments in Ontario. After moving back to her home province of Nova Scotia, Linda joined Atlantic Montessori School as a substitute teacher in the fall of 2022. In January 2023, she was happy to join our team in the Hummingbird Room.
Linda enjoys travelling the world, music, art, sports and environmental studies. Her two adult sons both attended Montessori schools from the Casa to Elementary level.
Megan Kozlowski
Hummingbird Room Toddler Guide in Training
Megan originally joined AMS for the 2018/2019 school year, when she covered a maternity leave for one of our Toddler assistants, and re-joined our team in September 2022. Megan has an ECE diploma from the Jane Norman College and a Montessori Beginnings certificate from the Center for Guided Montessori Studies. She is currently enrolled in the MACTE accredited Infant and Toddler training program at the Canadian Montessori Teacher Education Institute. She has worked in the field of early childhood education for over 12 years.
Megan enjoys swimming, reading and spending time with her family.
Esther Zhou
Hummingbird Room Toddler Assistant
Esther joined the Hummingbird Room in December 2022 as a part-time staff member. Esther has a Bachelor of English Education from Sichuan Educational Institute in Chengdu, China and is currently completing her ECE training through the Nova Scotia College of Early Childhood Education. She has completed her Montessori Assistant’s training through Trillium Montessori.
Esther loves working with children and enjoys being part of a Montessori environment. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking and swimming.