Teachers & Staff

Grace Li (Auntie Grace) 

Grace was born and grew up in China. Her interest in teaching started in university when she saw how much impact and positive energy she could bring to children's lives. After receiving her AMS (American Montessori Society) certificate and ECE License, Grace became a Montessori pre-school teacher. She is also a Mandarin teacher at Chinese schools. Grace enjoys learning and growing with the children as she expertly weaves her knowledge and previous experiences with continued research and practice. She is also an avid traveler and reader.

Serena Deng  

Serena has been a stable and reliable part of our faculty. Serena’s background allows students to truly delve into integration and immersion. She is fluent in Mandarin but she speaks the language of music as well. She has brought with her a deep sense of empathy and understanding of children. You will find her in the classroom with a crowd of children admiring her origami pieces or telling her about their day. Her nurturing and thoughtful interactions endear her to children, families, and colleagues alike.

Sarah Gao (Ms. Sarah) 

Ms. Sarah is a vocalist, composer, and voice teacher specializing in the Kodaly method. With her Bachelor of Music and over 20 years of experience, Ms. Sarah has spread her love of music to countless children in schools and community centers. She is currently the director of a choir and offers private voice lessons.

Duo Duo  jie-jie

duo duo jie-jie is a part-time assistant teacher at Busy Bird Child Care. She is currently a master student at UBC majoring in speech-language pathology. She loves working with children and seeing their development. Her specialties are helping children with their reading and phonetics.

 Ethan & Galin Ge-ge

A clear English accent starts from hearing proper pronunciation at a young age. That's why Ethan & Galin, our volunteer reading buddies, are here. They've been working with our children once a week for three years. They are currently studying at Lord Byng Mini School and Point Grey Mini School. Other than reading English stories to the children, the two ge-ge also aid other teachers in lessons, and help the children complete reading and writing exercises. Ethan is a very dynamic and fun person; he read stories with lots of humor and fun, making the children laugh all the time. All the children, without a doubt, love our reading buddies and very much enjoy spending time learning English and playing with Ethan & Galin Ge-ge!