Background Information

Julia is the Founder Director of Julia Gabriel Centre, Chiltern House and the Julia Gabriel School of Education. She holds Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Early Childhood Education from the University of South Australia, and licentiate teaching diplomas in Speech & Drama from the both the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and the London College of Music. She is an Honorary Fellow of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, having been awarded life membership of the school in 1993 for her services to the field of speech and drama.

Julia is the author of three books, including ‘EduDrama’- A Guide to Speech and Drama. She believes education is for sharing and enjoys working with parents and educators. In July 2019, Julia passed on after a decade-long battle with cancer. Her legacy which she had built with love, dedication and generous spirit of sharing and teaching, will continue to live on in all the children who have walked through our doors to pursue a dramatically different education.

Background Information

Pau Lee was a parent at Julia Gabriel Centre Singapore when she first enrolled her daughter, Kate in PlayClub as she found the programmes and learning environment truly enriching and enjoyable. When her family returned to Malaysia, Pau Lee and her husband, Surachet made the bold decision of bringing Julia Gabriel Centre over to Malaysia to enable their daughter to continue her learning, thus establishing the Bangsar flagship centre in 2006.

She also started Chiltern House Preschool, a Julia Gabriel Education centre, under the same roof. Since then, the Kuala Lumpur centre has welcomed and nurtured many confident communicators under its roof. She now works with a young and dynamic team of more than 40 educators and staff.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (Specialising in Child Development), San Francisco State University
• Trinity Guildhall Foundation Teaching Certificate, Trinity College London
• Julia Gabriel Teaching Foundation Certificate, Julia Gabriel School of Education
• A Child’s World, Julia Gabriel School of Education

Background Information

Wendy first worked as a counsellor for two years in a non-profit counselling centre in downtown San Francisco before joining an early childhood development centre in San Francisco. When she finally returned to the Malaysian shores in 2008, she was welcomed into the Julia Gabriel family.

Currently the Head of Chiltern House, she was previously Bangsar’s Head of Centre and was instrumental in building the foundations of Julia Gabriel Centre’s PlayNursery programme. She has taught in Julia Gabriel Centre’s PlayClub and Bilingual PlayClub programmes, and is still presently teaching Speech and Drama classes for the Primary level.

She believes education is for sharing and enjoys working with parents and educators.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communications, University of Science Malaysia
• Trinity Guildhall Foundation Teaching Certificate, Trinity College London
• Julia Gabriel Teaching Foundation Certificate, Julia Gabriel School of Education
• A Child’s World, Julia Gabriel School of Education

Background Information

Shoby first started her teaching career in our organisation as an Assistant Teacher in Julia Gabriel Centre’s exciting and immensely popular PlayClub programme in 2008. There was no stopping Shoby since then as she has sung, performed, danced and taught her way to leading her own PlayClub class, Bilingual PlayClub, Speech and Drama, and PlayNest before taking charge as the Head of Julia Gabriel Centre Programmes. She also leads her team of specialist teachers for Julia Gabriel Preschool’s Speech and Drama classes and is part of the core Julia Gabriel storytelling team. In December 2019, she took on her second role as Head of Centre for CITTA Mall centre, before moving to Bangsar centre in January 2022 when she was appointed the new Head of Centre.

Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education, Open University Malaysia (on-going)
• Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, UCSI
• Julia Gabriel Foundation Teaching Certificate, Julia Gabriel School of Education

Background Information

Ashwini first joined the Julia Gabriel family back in January 2013 where she began her journey with us as an Assistant Teacher for the Julia Gabriel Centre programmes – PlayClub and Bilingual PlayClub. She then transitioned to Chiltern House Preschool in which over the course of her tenure with us, she has taught as a lead teacher across the levels from Nursery 1 to Kindergarten 2. She has also taught in Julia Gabriel Centre’s Speech and Drama programmes, and is at present the Readers and Writers specialist teacher. Ashwini’s passion for teaching, her zestful pursuit to continuously develop herself in the field professionally, along with her calm, cool and collected nature have earned her her place as one of our most experienced educators in the school. She currently serves as the lead teacher for the Kindergarten 2 level, and the Assistant Head of Bangsar Centre.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education, minoring in Special Child Education, University of Malaya

Background Information

Cannie’s background in Special Child Education has provided her with an invaluable insight into how she could best provide for children across levels with different needs. Her experience as an intern at an enrichment centre for the deaf prior to joining Chiltern House only proved to solidify her passion for educating young minds, fired by her passion and flair for the Mandarin language.

She first joined Chiltern House Preschool in 2018 as a Mandarin Teacher and has since taught children from the Nursery to the Kindergartens. Julia Gabriel Education’s EduDrama methodology, she believes, has inspired her to express herself creatively, keeping the children engaged in this language immersion journey through fun and interactive learning. She likens Mandarin words to building blocks and the enjoyment one can derive when composing different characters together to make a meaningful word.

In April 2022, Cannie was appointed the Head of Mandarin Department for Chiltern House Preschool. Whilst still continuing her passion for teaching, it’s been a beautiful and fulfilling experience so far, and she is thankful for the opportunity to share her passion for Mandarin language with young children.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood Education), majoring in Child Centre Management, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak.

Background Information

Zira first joined our Julia Gabriel family back in 2015 to take on her first preschool teaching role as a class teacher for the Nursery 1 level. Her year-long stint at KidZania, the edutainment theme park supervising the role-play department in the previous year had made her realise her passion for being a teacher which was how she’d come to embark on her journey with us at Chiltern House. She left in 2018 for a career break and to pursue other opportunities before finally making a highly anticipated return in 2022 to support the teaching team at Julia Gabriel Centre’s Speech and Drama programmes.

In 2023, she was appointed as the Bahasa Melayu specialist teacher for Chiltern House, thus forging a new path in her teaching career to teach Bahasa Melayu across levels from Nursery 1 to Kindergarten 2. Her natural affection for children and her sweet, bubbly personality are what magnetizes the children as they love their classes with Cikgu Zira!

Qualifications

• Julia Gabriel Foundation Teaching Certificate, Julia Gabriel School of Education

Background Information

Davinia first embarked on her journey here at Julia Gabriel in 2016 and throughout her early childhood teaching career, she has taught in both brands – in a range of Julia Gabriel Centre enrichment programmes and in Chiltern House Preschool. Having first started as a Teacher-in-Training, she has risen through the ranks to become a specialist in Speech and Drama. Davinia is also a graduate of the Julia Gabriel Foundation Teaching Certificate from the School of Education. Her lively persona, roaring laughter and love for children are what makes her such a well-loved member of our Julia Gabriel family.