Board

Angela discovered The Montessori School Kingsley in 2009 when she was looking for a school for her eldest daughter Ruby. The following year, Ruby started in pre-primary at the age of 3 and has continued at the school ever since, along with her younger siblings Zoe and Caleb. From the beginning, Angela was a keen volunteer at the School, serving on sub-committees and helping out at events. She worked tirelessly to increase parent involvement and volunteering at the school and was instrumental in bringing out-of-hours school care on-site. She also spent many years running The Montessori Playgroup Kingsley as a volunteer when her children were young. Angela joined the School Council in 2014 and was elected as Chair in June 2018.

Angela is a qualified Occupational Therapist specialising in Hand and Upper Limb Rehabilitation. She has experience working in both public and private health settings, and has also spent many years lecturing at Edith Cowan University. She previously served on the WA Occupational Therapy Association Board. The principles of Montessori and Occupational Therapy fit together very well, with value placed on the individual’s needs, the importance of a supportive environment, the development of interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, and the desire to look at complex issues from all perspectives. Angela is passionate about developing and sustaining the beautiful school community at The Montessori School Kingsley and promoting the incredible educational opportunities available for students there.

Outside of work and school Angela enjoys supporting her children’s love of their sports and can regularly be found at the tennis club, by the swimming pool, or out on the athletics oval – usually helping out or squeezing in her own exercise time! She also loves pilates, swimming, and catching up with friends for a brisk walk, a chat and a coffee.

Kate loves observing children as they discover, grow, and learn in their own unique ways. Kate was a student at our school from age three through to completing her International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma, and has been working here since 2010 between the Pre-Primary and Primary classes, as well as a brief stint in IB English. She took a break a few years ago to teach in Mumbai (India) and to have her twin girls, who are now students at our school. In addition to her teaching qualifications, she has a degree in Communications and English, so Kate is passionate about clear communication. She highly values honesty and kindness, and seeks to embed those principles in all her work. When she is not teaching Kate loves reading, hiking, gardening, and spending time with her family.

Michael is from a little country village called Glenmornan in County Tyrone (Northern Ireland). You can say that teaching is in his blood as his mum was also a teacher. His favourite word is ‘borborygmus’ and, don’t worry, we had to look that one up too! What he likes most about being a teacher is the ‘aha’ moment on a student’s face when they figure out something that a moment ago seemed completely alien to them - those are the moments he seeks constantly. When he is not at work, Michael likes to play casual netball, cycle, dabble in CrossFit, and occasional Strongman training, in addition, he also plays the guitar.

Ruth was appointed as Board Treasurer in 2022. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and Sociology, a Master of Finance, as well as a Diploma of Management. Ruth brings to the Board 17 years of financial planning industry experience and is currently the General Manager of a financial planning firm as well as a co-owner of a company providing outsourced solutions to financial planners.

Besides looking to apply her financial, management and strategic planning experience; Ruth is also keen to assist with the promotion of the School as well as the Montessori pedagogy. She is also passionate about improving the financial literacy of youth.

Ruth has two children and they both attend our school. In her spare time, Ruth loves to travel and hopes to be able to use her neglected sewing machines again someday.

Chloe joined the School Board in 2024 as the Board Secretary. Chloe is a Social Worker, working in the areas of Child Safety and Specialised Family Violence Services. She works therapeutically with children surviving family domestic violence in the not-for-profit sector as well as working as a trainer to deliver Protective Behaviours education to children, parents, and community groups.

Chloe has three children at the School who enjoy the rich community at The Montessori School Kingsley. During she spare time, she and her family can mostly be found on an oval of some description enjoying community sports.

Alex attended our school for his entire schooling, from age of three to the International Baccalaureate. He was taught by our founder, Mrs Duyker-de-Vries, as well as by some of our current Life Members of the School. He was the first in the school to receive an International Baccalaureate Bilingual Diploma (English and Greek).
Having graduated with a Commerce Degree, Alex has, since 2008, owned and run a boutique creative and marketing agency, working with many successful businesses in Perth. Along with his intimate knowledge of the school, he brings real-world marketing, communications and creative expertise, as well as business acumen to the Board.

Alex has two children, and both attend our school. He enjoys writing and is currently struggling to complete his first children’s novel. His childhood obsession with palaeontology has never really subsided and is now an avid fossil collector.

Jarrod brings to the Board two decades of experience spanning cyber security management, enterprise risk management, cyber strategy development, internal audit, technical assessments, and cybercrime countermeasures/response. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and an Accredited Mental Health First Aider; additionally, his formal qualifications include a Sherwood Applied Business Security Architecture Foundation Certificate and a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science & Computer Security).

In his role as a Region Lead for the Enterprise Security Architecture team at CyberCX, Jarrod leads a team of specialists and consults globally as a trusted advisor to all areas of industry. He is passionate about building operational capability to support business strategy, specialising in tailoring cyber secure digital solutions and services.

Jarrod attended our School from the age of three through to the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and was taught by our founder, Mrs Duyker-de-Vries, as well as by some of our current Life Members of the School. He is a parent of two children who attend our school and is a strong advocate for Montessori philosophy.

As a dedicated Board Director, Anmol Singh (Al) brings a wealth of expertise and formal qualifications. As a Certified Public Accountant and a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Al possesses a strong foundation in strategic finance, data analytics, business process re-engineering, and operational management. With over 20+ years of experience spanning Banking and Finance, Social Services, Management Consultancy, and Local Government Sectors, Al offers a comprehensive perspective.

Beyond his professional achievements, Al is well-rounded with diverse personal interests and activities and has one child at the School. An avid supporter of education and community engagement, they actively participate in charitable causes and fundraising events. Additionally, Al enjoys exploring the outdoors through activities like hiking, cycling, and golf, which align with their commitment to maintaining a balanced and healthy lifestyle.

Laila is originally from Canada, where she earned a Bachelor of Science as well as a Master in Soil Science from the University of Alberta, specialising in fate and transport of contaminants in soil. She has over 25 years of professional experience as an environmental consultant. Her experience includes contaminated site assessment and management; environmental strategic planning, options assessment and prioritisation; and environmental baseline and impact assessments.

She has presented and instructed in environmental science and business and has also authored and published peer-reviewed and conference papers within the soil and contaminated sites field during her career.

Laila’s connection to The Montessori School Kingsley goes back to 2011 when her son joined our school. She has volunteered with the Bushland Subcommittee since 2013 and joined the School Board in 2020.

Mahesh holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and a Post Graduate Certificate in Project Management. He brings over 14 years of experience working in the minerals mining sector as an IT  project manager for large scale projects. He has a diverse knowledge of the industry working for both engineering service providers and owner-operators. Mahesh has a deep understanding of technology, engineering design systems and information management, and he has a keen interest in generating value, improving quality and efficiency within organisations with the use of technology to enable positive step changes.

Mahesh and his wife Annette have one child enrolled at our school and are heavily involved in our events and fundraising activities. In his spare time, Mahesh enjoys camping and four-wheel driving.

Tash is a lawyer who specialises in Corporate Law and Corporate Governance and helps the Board with compliance and governance issues. In the past 17 years, she has worked for listed and unlisted companies in Australia and had a brief career in Mauritius, where she is from originally. For over 10 years, she has worked for the regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Tash has also guest lectured at university to law and business students on a few occasions.

She joined our Board in 2018, a year after her children became students at our school. Tash is a coffee addict and, in her spare time (which doesn't exist in her world), she is an avid learner and is always learning or trying new things.