Joyful Noises Preschool, Topsfield Congregational Church

Teachers

Rev. Maryanne McPherson-Boynton Director		Rev. Maryanne McPherson- Boynton – Director I am the founding Director of Joyful Noises Preschool. This is my twelfth year as a Preschool Director and ten of which was at Joyful Noises Preschool. I have been in the field of education for over 35 years. I have my Masters in English Literature and I have taught all levels of Public School, specializing in Secondary English teaching. I became an ordained minister in 2007. Besides facilitating all ministry practices I teach Chapel to all the children at Joyful Noises. I have two children. My daughter lives in New York and is an actress and a playwright. My son is studying for his Masters at Boston College. I live with my husband, Phil, a musician and divinity student, our dog Spirit and two cats. I am so proud of our Joyful Noises staff who love to learn and approach teaching with energy and passion transforming our classrooms into places of Joyful Noises and meaningful learning. Also, I feel so fortunate to have excellent education standards and developmentally appropriate foundations at Joyful Noises that will impact our students throughout their lifetimes. Joyful Noises is committed to a meaningful interactive curriculum that nourishes, enriches and educates our young children, their families and collaborates with the community to create joyful life long learners. “We are richly blessed.”

Preschool Teachers
Ms. Judy Pre-K Teacher – Lead Preschool Teacher		Ms. Judy Pre-K Teacher – Lead Preschool Teacher I began teaching in the Beverly Public Schools. I taught there for eleven years as a third, fourth and sixth grade teacher. I also taught for the Department of Defense in their overseas schools, two years in Germany as a second grade teacher at Bitburg Air Base and two years in Japan as a third grade teacher at Johnson Air Base near Tokyo. During this time I traveled extensively throughout Europe, the Middle East and the Far East. I enjoy sharing my travel experiences with my students. After my two sons were born I stayed home with them when they were young. When they were in pre-school in Mrs. W’s class in Boxford, I helped in the classroom and started substituting at the pre-school level. I found I enjoyed this age group, was asked to teach a Pre-K class there and have been teaching Pre-K ever since. Mrs. W. and I became good friends and we now enjoy teaching together at Joyful Noises. My husband, a retired dentist and I are now enjoying living at Brooksby Village. We have two married sons and a long awaited one year old granddaughter. My interests are reading, music and theatre, playing the piano and needlework. I continue to enjoy traveling and look forward to annual summer reunions with the Overseas Department of Defense teachers. I enjoy preparing our class socially, emotionally, physically and academically for kindergarten. I like to share my love of music in our thematic units and the Chapel program. My favorite part of the school year is the spring when I realize how much progress the children have made since September.

Mrs. W. Pre-K Teacher		Mrs. W. – Pre-K Teacher I have 40 years experience teaching Pre-School and two years teaching First Grade. Through my many years of teaching experience I have come to believe that children learn through all their senses and this learning is best achieved in a loving environment within a structured setting. My interests outside of teaching are nature, gardening, reading, biking, swimming and doing classic car and street rod events with my husband. My favorite classroom theme is whatever we are currently working on.

Ms. Anne Preschool Teacher		Ms. Anne – Preschool Teacher Teaching in a Preschool environment happens in the moment, refreshing and unpredictable in the classroom filled with the unexpected and genuine love from the children in my care. It is hard to believe seven years of teaching has passed by, the days and weeks fly by much too quickly but the memories last a lifetime. In addition I have the good fortune to be working with dedicated teachers with an abundance of compassion. Outside of the classroom some of the best times on my favorite things to do lists include birding on Plum Island, dedicating time to locate as many herons or eagles as possible in any season and taking in the sites while leisurely biking along the coast line in Newburyport and surrounding areas. Also on the list is my passion for gardening, working the soil while discovering new species of plants and last but not least daily work outs at my local health club as I recently discovereda new form of Latin dancing, Zumba; it’s the best.

Ms. Jill Preschool Teacher		Ms. Jill – Preschool Teacher I began teaching in a Toddler classroom 7 years ago after graduating from the University of Rhode Island. After moving to the North Shore in 2004 I started working at Joyful Noises as a floating teacher and then a preschool teacher. I believe in keeping a safe and stimulating environment for children to learn. Children love to learn through positive experiences and by teaching mutual respect for one another; I feel they can all work together to get the job done! My favorite theme to teach is the season of fall. We go on pumpkin and apple picking trips and we love to bake fall goodies! I have been married to my husband Luke for 3.5 years now and we live locally with our Pug “Tito.” We just gave birth to our first child, Hudson John. In my free time I love making greeting cards, which I sell at my friend’s vegetable farm. I also love spending time with friends.

Ms. Nina Preschool Teacher		Ms. Nina – Preschool Teacher My Teaching philosophy consists of having the students learn and teach to their full extent. Being a student is not just about learning, but teaching what you know to others. Students learn, explore, create and grow from being the teacher. Being involved is the best way to ensure they are learning to their full capacity. Most importantly, I want my students to grow and learn from me as well as their peers and to see the joy in their faces as they do so. The classroom is a place where they can strive to be who they want to be as children. It is their safe haven away from home. We can all grow a little bit by learning from each other; teacher to student, student to teacher and student to student. I love to sing and dance. Teaching dance is my favorite activity and when I am not active with that I am singing. Something people may not know about me is that I have recorded a song a couple of years ago and just recently won 3rd place in Relay For Life’s American Idol. I love to sing and my best friend is trying to make me try out for American Idol. I teach children because they are my life. I have been babysitting since I was 12 years old and have always wanted to be a teacher so I can be with children. I love seeing them laugh and have fun when I show them something new. They bring me into a whole other world and my outside stresses fade.

Ms. Terry Preschool Teacher		Ms. Terry – Preschool Teacher I have been teaching Preschool since the spring of 2000. Before that, I taught flying and test prep courses at Beverly Airport. I was the oldest of five girls, so I was teaching at a young age, but my sisters just said I was bossy. My teaching philosophy is the children are learning all the time (John Holt) and they learn what they live. I believe that they should be an active part of all that is happening in the classroom so that each child can participate in his or her own way. In my personal life, I spend a lot of time at the beach, mostly just walking or beachcombing with my son. I try to catch the sunrise and the sunset each day. My favorite theme is based on the book, The Mitten by Jan Brett, because of the many ways that the children can become involved in the story.

Ms. Beverly Preschool Teacher		Ms. Beverly – Preschool Teacher I have been involved in the education of young children off and on for over 25 years. I worked at the first grade level for several years in a Christian School and worked with a readiness class there before leaving to home school my youngest son. After his graduation ten years later, I joined the Joyful Noises team. Soon the antique bug bit me hard and I wanted to open a shop, so after a few years of learning the ropes, my sister Terry and I joined forces and opened a little shop in Hampton…had a lot of fun, learned a lot, but didn’t make much money! As fate would have it, a job opened at Joyful Noises and her I am. To me, a teacher is a facilitator. Learning happens every day, all day and is never confined to a classroom. As an Early Childhood Educator, I see each child as a true individual, created by God to fulfill a purpose here on earth that no other individual can fulfill. One of my most important jobs is to honor that individuality. Besides having antiquing in my bones, I enjoy writing, spending time with my kids, my grandkids (who are awesome musicians by the way) and my gorgeous daughters-in-law. I am also involved in promoting Chimps Incorporated, a true chimp sanctuary in Bend Oregon, where my daughter-in-law Kristin and son Luke spend most of their time. My other son, Brian, a webmaster and his wife Kristi, a Stampin’ Up Instructor, enjoy playing in their Worship Team at their church. My husband Frank, a computer nerd…I mean geek….I mean IT Telecommunications Manager also plays in a worship team at church. I love animals and still spend a lot of my time trying to convince my husband that we need chickens. I enjoy any animal related theses that we do at school. I have had the pleasure of talking with kids about God in Sunday School classes for over 30 years.

Ms. Cathy Toddler/ Preschool Teacher		Ms. Cathy – Toddler/ Preschool Teacher I have been at Joyful Noises for six years. I am married, have two teenage daughters, and a dog. My interests outside of work include reading, tennis, and volunteering. I enjoy teaching because every day is different. Everything is new to the children, and they are so excited to learn. The children also help me to see the world through their eyes. I enjoy singing songs, reading books, playing games, doing art projects with the children, and just listening to them. Some of the themes that the children have enjoyed are the Ocean, Farm, Circus, Zoo and the Alphabet. The themes are literacy based, meaning that the curriculum is based on literature and the ideas for songs, games and art spin off from the books we read to the children.

Ms. Suzanne Spanish Teacher		Ms. Suzanne – Spanish Teacher I was born and raised in Texas. I attended the University of Texas as a foreign language major. However, I pursued a career in public relations until 1979 when I met my husband to be “Sib”, a musician from Boston. We have been married for 30 years and have three beautiful children, Aja (28), Lauren (24) and Adam (20). I also have two four legged children, Lucky (13) a spaniel and Kansas (7) a Dachshund. I have been teaching Spanish at Joyful Noises for six year now. I believe that learning a language should be fun and hands on. I like to bring the Spanish culture to the classroom with music, dancing and the food from these countries. I have found the enthusiasm for learning at this age is simply exhilarating! In my spare time I love to travel, go to movies, dance (I was in the Action/Dance Theatre Co. for 15 years) and spend quality time with friends and family. The staff at Joyful Noises is extremely dedicated to their profession. It is a family environment. The only better place the children could be is with their parents. The teachers love what they do and they love the children. It’s always hard when they move on!

Ms. Mary Lou Music and Yoga Teacher		Ms. Mary Lou – Music and Yoga Teacher For more than 40 years I have been working with young children. I have been working at Joyful Noises for six years as the music and yoga teacher. It is so much fun going into each classroom with my guitar and teaching songs to the children and having them accompany me with musical instruments. I really enjoy being able to share my interest in yoga with the Preschool children, doing poses based on classroom curriculum themes. In addition to yoga some of my other interests outside of work are family, downhill skiing, golf, target shooting and reading. I feel that positive reinforcement, response and direction help a child to gain self-confidence and to feel good about him or herself. It is a joy to work at Joyful Noises!

Toddler Teachers
Ms. Dot Lead Toddler Teacher		Ms. Dot – Lead Toddler Teacher My name is Miss Dot. I have been married for 38 years and have two wonderful children. Our yellow lab is a rescue dog. He is totally spoiled and enjoys our attention on a continuous basis. Activities that I enjoy are reading lots of books, walking with our dog and spending time with my family. I have been teaching Toddlers for 33 years. I have found this to be a happy and rewarding experience. My philosophy is to be patient, respectful and help each child to reach his full potential. I enjoy working on themes such as summer, beach, ocean life and exploring our outside environment.

Ms. Jo-Ann Toddler Teacher		Ms. Jo-Ann – Toddler Teacher I have had a career in Early Childhood Education for many years, enjoying countless little people, wonderful personalities, and the loving support network of teachers and parents at Joyful Noises. Working closely with co-teachers, Ms. Sue and Ms. Cathy we have created an age-appropriate curriculum rich with songs, dance, good books, and art everywhere. My outside interests include international travel, hiking and biking in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, and an established career as an award-winning fiber artist and teacher. I live in the quiet community of Boxford with my husband of 30 years, three daughters, and two silly cats, named Bubba and Kitchy.

		Ms. Linda – Toddler Teacher My name is Linda and I have been working with the Toddlers at Joyful Noises for over 7 years. I enjoy walking and reading and I love the beach! My favorite time of year is the spring and summer when we can spend more time outside in the warm weather.

		Ms. Sue – Toddler Teacher I have been teaching the Toddler II class at Joyful Noises since 2003. Teaching is my passion and I have consistently proven to have the ability to provide a fun, engaging and age appropriate literary-based curriculum for the children in my class. For seven years I have also taught art to grade school children at The Art Room in downtown Topsfield; I also have a B.S. degree in Interior Design from Drexel University. I currently reside in Topsfield with my husband, two grown children and one very spoiled dog.

		Ms. Deb – Toddler Teacher My name is Debra but the children call me Miss Deb. As of September 2009 I will have been with Joyful Noises for six years. I have been working with young Toddlers for the last two and a half years. It doesn’t matter what the weather I like to be outside. Each season offers the opportunity for discovery and learning. We incorporate the wonders of nature in the classroom through art and in our sensory tables.