Together We Can Do So Much
"Coming together is a beginning; Keeping together is progress; Working together is success"
- Henry Ford
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Team
Team Members
Alissia Di Lonardo
Hi! My name is Alissia Di Lonardo...
Alissia Di Lonardo
Hi! My name is Alissia Di Lonardo. I completed my undergraduate degree in the Psychology honours program at McGill University. I have 3 years’ experience working with children with various needs and difficulties. I am fluent in both English and French, and I am also proficient in Italian! I am so grateful to be a part of the Atelier Fokus team as this program is a phenomenal service. What inspires me most about the program is the difference it makes in the children as it motivates me more and more every day to work hard and find new fun and innovative ways to help them thrive. My expectations as a special educator are to provide a positive, respectful, and welcoming environment for the child, their educators and guardians. The outcome I hope to gain for all my children is to prepare them to prevail and succeed as best they can once they leave daycare and start school. I generally like to engage in active learning though games that offer visual, auditory and sensory stimuli adapted to each child’s needs. My main approach is to make sure they are having fun through their learning by implementing strategies that invoke critical thinking and gaining independence. I hope to make as much of a difference in the children’s education as I can!
Cynthia Gargano
Hello my name is Cynthia Gargano...
Cynthia Gargano
Hello my name is Cynthia Gargano and I graduated from Concordia University in Child Studies, with a specialization in Exceptionality and Diversity in Early Childhood Settings. I have been in the field for five years. I am fluent in three languages; English, French and Italian.
Being a part of this program gives me the opportunity to positively impact the lives of many children. Having such an impact on them is a rewarding and fulfilling feeling. Most of all, it allows me to help children grow and reach their full potential. This program has allowed me to meet so many different children, families, and other professionals such as speech language pathologists, psychoeducators, and occupational therapists, etc. Being in close contact and having a clear communication with them has allowed me to grow as a person and as a professional in the field.
As a Specialized Educator, I aim to always create a fun, safe, and comfortable learning environment, accompanied with the appropriate accommodations for each child. I believe in acceptance, valuing human diversity, and providing ongoing support, regardless of the child’s individual needs.
In order to apply these values, respect, kindness, love, and equality are taught in and outside the classroom through free play, books, activities, and conversations.
My responsibilities with each child and family is to listen above all else. Every child is unique, therefore, it is my responsibility to adapt and be flexible to their individual wants and needs. Being a good educator goes beyond teaching. It is about establishing a bond with the child, acting as a role model, and being there to support them in more ways that they can imagine.
I believe in open and clear communication between all parties; myself, the educators, the children, and the parents. More so, I encourage parent participation as much as possible. I am committed to helping every child; however, I believe support from parents/guardians is just as important.
Faaeeza Tai
Hello my name is Faaeeza Tai...
Faaeeza Tai
Hello my name is Faaeeza Tai. I have been a specialized educator with Atelier Fokus for over a year. I am passionate about working with children and seeing them flourish. So here's a little bit about me to help you understand my methods of intervention. I have graduated from Special Care Counselling from Vanier College. I have over 3 years of field experience and I am fluent in both English and French. I am inspired by the ability to create a trajectory for observable and measurable growth in young children. In doing so, my sessions provide opportunities to build meaningful relationships while offering the necessary support to help reach their developmental milestones. You can expect me to actively participate to promote social integration and promote development according to my expertise and the best practices in the field. I will work alongside the family and educators to ensure that the goals are generalized and applied in all environments to promote success. You can count on me to establish a reliable and consistent relationship with the child. I see this as a foundation that will foster growth, trust and independence. My interventions are based around the child's interests and preferences, consistently providing them choices and creating opportunities to reflect and develop their voice. In doing so, my sessions are organized, structured and provide clear guidelines and boundaries to set them up for success.
Irene Pastras
My name is Irene Pastras...
Irene Pastras
My name is Irene Pastras and I am a Special Educator with Atelier Fokus. I completed a Bachelor’s degree in Pscyhology and am currently completing a Master’s degree in Child Studies specializing in children with special needs. From a young age, I knew I wanted to work with children from the joy I experienced interacting with them. I have worked with children with special needs for approximately three years. I speak English, French, Greek, and some Spanish. I believe programs such as Atelier Fokus, who provide school-based early intervention, are extremely important for helping children with special needs who may not have access to resources. As a professional, my goal is to create strong relationships with children based on trust, allowing them to feel comfortable and reach their maximum potential. In my opinion, every child has the ability to grow when provided with genuine care and support. I believe it is important to hold expectations for children that are tailored to their needs and abilities. I like to take on a gentle approach with children, characterized by age-appropriate activities which allow them to gain confidence and grow their skills. I believe children’s emotions should be seen, heard, and acknowledged to help them feel secure and understood. To me, all children are unique and special and should be treated as such. They somehow always find a way to leave a mark and touch your heart.
Melina Skafidas
My name is Melina Skafidas...
Melina Skafidas
My name is Melina Skafidas.
I have a certificate as a Registered Behavior Technician and I am currently completing the Special care Counseling course to enrich my learnings. I am trilingual in English, French and Greek.
I have been working in special education for several years focusing on supporting diverse needs for children. An experience in moderately and severely disabled children with a range of supports and requirements. I have worked with diverse client groups ranging from children ages two to five with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, cognitive disabilities, speech impairments and children on the autism spectrum disorder.
My years of experience have taught me the value of patience and encouragement to work with children in diverse environments. I work closely with each child, providing the individualized support they require. Maintaining a positive, inspiring impact on children's lives. I achieve this by being kind, caring, empathic and passionate. My organizational skills, creativity, intuitive soothing nature allows me to meet the needs of every child.
I promote independence, autonomy and inclusion by implementing various intervention approaches to ensure the integration of each unique child in a childcare facility. I apply my practice through evidence-based and theoretical intervention approaches based on the abilities, strengths, interests, challenges and needs of the child.
I collaborate closely with multidisciplinary teams, family members and/or people involved in the child’s development to ensure the success of each unique child, both in and outside of the classroom. I’ve truly appreciated and learned from every child and every family I have worked with.
Melissa Mamane
My name is Melissa Mamane...
Melissa Mamane
My name is Melissa Mamane, I completed a DEC in special care counselling and a certificate as a remediation specialist. I am a polyglot and speak English, French, Hebrew, Arabic and Spanish. Furthermore, I have been working in the field for eight years and directly with children with special needs for five years. My experience in various settings helped me develop many valuable skills to working with children and shaped me into the caring and empathetic person I am today. What inspires me the most about this program is being able to fulfill my passion through helping and providing children with the skills and tools needed to maximize their growth and achieve their full potential. My expectations as a professional are to promote a positive learning environment, independence, inclusion and diversity. My approach with children is to create a safe, fun and nurturing environment for them to strive in. I enjoy being creative and thinking outside the box to develop self-centered activities to assist all types of learners. Some of the strategies used include sensory activities, manipulatives, positive reinforcement, multi-sensory games and hands-on activities. Along with those, I combine with different forms of technology to accommodate the preferences of each child.
Nafisah Hosein
My name is Nafisah Hosein...
Nafisah Hosein
My name is Nafisah Hosein. I graduated in Special Care Counselling from CEGEP Vanier and am currently studying Human Relations at Concordia University. I speak both English and French and I have four years of experience, working with children.
As a professional, my expectations of myself are to advocate for the children I work with and use a strength-based approach in my interactions with them. This means that I look at the child’s abilities and strengths first and use them to support their needs and the goals that we are working on. The outcome that I expect from the child is a product of the teamwork from the families, the professionals, and the child’s efforts.
What inspires me the most about this program is how the interventions are specific to each child’s abilities, and each step they take is celebrated.