Our Clergy and Staff
Clergy | Staff | Educators | ARS Teachers | TCEE Teachers
Dubim (Bears)
Rhona Maple
Rhona Maple is a graduate of the University of Hartford, where she earned a Bachelors Degree in Early Childhood Education. This fall she is entering her twenty second year as a Jewish preschool educator. Rhona worked for the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Boston for twenty years, teaching Toddlers, Preschool, and Kindergarten. Last fall she joined the inaugural staff of the Diane K. Trust Center for Early Education at Temple Ohabei Shalom where she is the Preschool Lead Teacher. Since 2005 she have also taught Religious School at a local Synagogue. Rhona loves visiting Los Angeles several times a year, so she can see her daughter, son, and daughter in law. In her spare time she enjoys reading, cooking, shopping, and watching sports. Her favorite teams are the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, and USC Trojans!
Edye Katz
Edye
Katz has always been interested in working with children and their
families. After growing up in Delaware,
she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from University of Hartford,
and then went further north to receive her Master’s in Early Childhood
Education from Wheelock College in 1995.
Edye has worked in various preschool settings and for the past 12 years
taught at the Jewish Community Centers in both Massachusetts and Manhattan.
Most recently, Edye was the Assistant Director of the JCC Preschool in Newton
where she experienced all aspects of the early learning environment. Edye believes in the importance of a child’s
self esteem, cooperative relationships between parents and educators, and that
the environment needs to reflect the learning and provide children with the
opportunities to discover and learn. Edye
loves to smile and spend time with her husband, Russell, and their 85 pound
golden retriever, Maximus. She enjoys
trying new restaurants, listening to music, playing tennis and spending time
with family and friends.
Dagim (Fish)
Steve Shimshak
Steve Shimshak comes to us from New
York City where he has taught for 5 years in the Jewish early childhood
field. Steve has a Bachelor’s degree from Boston University in
elementary education grades K-6. He also has a Master’s in Counseling and
Guidance from NYU and is completing a Master’s in Early Childhood General and
Special Education from Bank Street College. Steve has experience
designing various curricula in both Jewish and secular education with an
emphasis on students ages 3-5. He has served as a mentor for new teachers and
works with both parents and students in creating supportive and individualized
educational experiences. Steve and his
wife recently moved to Brookline and looking forward to getting reacquainted with
the Boston area.
Katie Pease
Katie Pease has been interested in Early
Childhood Education for as long as she can remember and has been working
with children for almost as long. Katie earned a B.S. from Ithaca
College in 2009, with a major in Speech-Language Pathology and a minor
in Deaf Studies. She is also certified as a preschool, toddler, and
infant teacher through the Department of Early Education and Care
(DEEC). In 2011, she will continue her education by pursuing her M.A. in
Early Childhood Education and Teaching Through the Arts at Lesley
University in Cambridge, MA. With her background in Speech-Language
Pathology and a strong passion for music and the arts, Katie will enrich
the curriculum at Temple Ohabai Shalom with language, literacy, and
vocabulary development, music and movement, and artistic expression.
Katie believes in using music and movement to build language skills, the
Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education, and in empowering
children with responsibility through choices. Katie lives in
Framingham, MA and in her spare time she enjoys writing music, playing
the guitar or piano at open mic, attending slam poetry, and spending
time with her friends, family, and her kitten Dreidel.
Tsavim (Turtles)
Larissa Halfond
Larissa Halfond has been teaching since 2003. She was inspired to enter the field by her mother and grandmother, both of whom were also early childhood educators. Larissa earned a B.A. from Wellesley College in 2003, double majoring in Psychology and French. In 2008, she earned an M.A. from Boston College in Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology, with a specialization in Early Childhood. Larissa’s professional interests include the use of cooking to build literacy and mathematics curriculum, the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education, and parent-teacher relationships. Larissa lives in Framingham with her husband. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, collecting cookbooks, and spending time with her family.
Kate Monge
Kate Monge came to TOS in the fall of 2004 as a grade 7 teacher in the Ansin Religious School. As a dedicated educator in both the grade 7 and High School programs and a youth group advisor, she joined the full-time staff in March 2006 as the Education Program Coordinator. Kate continued to add to our community as she assumed her new role as Director of Informal Education in the fall of 2007 where she served as the head of the High School Program, advisor to OSTY (the senior youth group), coordinator of all youth groups and youth events in the synagogue and B'nei Mitzvah Educator. Beginning this fall, Kate now acts as a teacher for the TCEE and ARS and is excited to transition to this new role.
Raised in Longmeadow, MA and a graduate of Ithaca College, Kate has taught and worked closely with Jewish youth for over 15 years at congregations in both New York and Massachusetts. She has spent eight summers working in different capacities at summer camps, including summer b’nei mitzvah prep as well as coordination and leadership of Shabbat activities and T'filah. She currently spends her summers as the Girls’ Head Counselor at Camp Micah in Bridgton, Maine. When she’s not teaching, Kate can be found settling into married life with her new husband, Stephen, enjoying the city with her many cousins and family members in the area, or relaxing at home in Brookline.
Enrichment & Extended Day
Jessica Ostroff
Jessica
Ostroff grew up in Needham, Massachusetts, and attended Beaver Country
Day School. She graduated from Syracuse University in 2007 with a B.S.
in Child and Family Studies. Jessica has been teaching preschool for the
past three years, most recently at Congregation Mishkan Tefila in
Chestnut Hill. Some of Jessica’s hobbies include traveling, reading and
spending time with her family and their Wheaten Terrier Kenzie. She is
extremely excited to join the Diane K. Trust Center for Early Education
team, and to be a part of the Temple Ohabei Shalom community.
Clergy | Staff | Educators | ARS Teachers | TCEE Teachers