Our Small Team
Trisha Pleass - Owner
Trisha is mum to young adult twin boys and a teenage girl and is the owner of Glenalbyn Montessori Preschool. Having trained with the London Montessori Centre, 1994-1996, Trisha is qualified to teach this method to children between the ages of 2 years 6 months and 12 years. Trisha holds a First Class Honours Degree in Early Childhood Care and Education Studies - Teaching and Learning from NUIM and an MSc in Work and Organisational Psychology from DCU. Trisha has lectured in one of our leading colleges delivering the FETAC level 6, Early Childhood Care and Education with Montessori Programme.
Trisha's philosophy is to ensure that the child is a the centre of everything we do in Glenalbyn Montessori and that all children are treated equally, with respect and dignity. She believes that as an Early Years' practitioner it is her duty to provide an environment that offers rich and stimulating experiences to children that will spark curiosity and nurtures a love of learning and discovery. It is Trisha's belief that this should be achieved in a caring, home from home setting where each child feels safe and secure and can develop loving and meaningful relationships with their teachers and friends.
Laura O’Reilly
Laura is a mum to two little boys and has worked in Early Years for over 15 years. She is passionate about uncovering each child’s unique interests and talents and works with the team to provide stimulating activities that further extend these interests. She is committed to giving each child in her care the best possible early years experience through child-led, mixed curriculum paly-based learning. Laura loves to provide lots of sensory and messy play opportunities for the children and is an advocate for the benefits of this type of play in young children’s development.
Laura has a QQI level 6 qualification in Early Years Education with Montessori and Special Needs Assistant.
Breffni Leeson
Breffini is a busy mum of two and a very dedicated teacher. She has a deep knowledge and love of the Montessori Method of education and provides a wonderfully rich and engaging curriculum for the children in her class.
After graduating with a degree in Social Science from UCD, Breffini received her initial Montessori training at the London Montessori Centre in Dublin. Her first teaching experience was in Chicago where she worked as a Montessori assistant teacher and obtained an additional Montessori Teaching Diploma from the American Montessori Society (A.M.S). For 12 years Breffini developed her Montessori career in the United States as a lead teacher in a variety of school settings, before moving to China where she taught for 2 years at a large International Montessori school. She has tutored with one of our leading colleges in Early Years Education with Montessori, while simultaneously running Montessori based parent-toddler classes. Breffini, together with Trish and Maria drives the Montessori Curriculum.