Hilltop welcomes new faculty, staff members

SPARTA — Hilltop Country Day School in Sparta is pleased to welcome seven new faculty and staff members who join a seasoned, veteran group of experienced 21st Century educators for the 2016-17 school year.
Hilltop is committed to hiring top-notch faculty and staff each year. Hilltop’s faculty have an average of 20 years of experience among them. This year Hilltop is pleased to welcome:
Tara Guido, Grade 3: Mrs. Guido joins Hilltop with more than 20 years of teaching experience in first through third grade. Most recently, Mrs. Guido taught second grade at St. Virgil Academy in Morris Plains, a school noted as a STEM academy. While there, she provided a compelling experience in a 21st century classroom leveraging SmartBoard technology, utilization of Chromebooks to enhance the learning environment, differentiated instruction, and STEM initiatives replete with innovation and collaboration. Guido is a graduate of Rutgers University with a B.A. in English.
Daniel Timmermans, Vocal and Instrumental Music: Mr. Timmermans is a graduate of the University of Toronto with a B.A. in music performance. He also holds a teaching degree from Windsor University, and a Jazz education/performance degree from Humber College of the Applied Arts. Timmermans has 18 years of teaching experience in vocal and instrumental music, and in addition to teaching, he is a professional trumpeter. Most recently, he was the music instructor at the Sacred Hearts St. Francis de Sales School in Bennington, Vt.
Jane Chamberlain, Upper School Math: Mrs. Chamberlain comes to Hilltop with more than 17 years of experience as a math teacher, with her most recent position at Rutgers Preparatory School where she was a math teacher, advisor, and coach for the past 15 years. Mrs. Chamberlain holds a B.A. from Bowdoin College and has extensive professional development in math curriculum and technology from the Klingenstein Summer Institute, Dana Hall School, and Rutgers University.
Paul Solomon, Physical Education: With more than 12 years of experience focusing on kindergarten through eighth grade, Solomon has worked as a physical education teacher, sports specialist coach, wellness teacher, and summer camp athletic director. He has worked at the Quaker Ridge School, Charles E. Bullock Elementary School, Edward Hart Elementary School, Anna Silver School, and Elmwood Day Camp. Paul received his B.S. from State University of New York at Oneonta.
Lynn Rogers, Nurse: Rogers is a graduate of William Paterson College with a B.S. in nursing. For the past 40 years, she has worked as a medical/hospital nurse, family practice office nurse, insurance field nurse, home health nurse, and most recently as a substitute school nurse for Newton, Andover, and Sparta. Rogers is a licensed professional registered nurse for the State of New Jersey and holds a BLS certification for healthcare providers and certifications for CPR and AED.
Natalie Easter, Grade 2: A graduate of Brandeis University with a B.A. in sociology and philosophy and a master’s of education from Lesley University, Easter has more than 15 years of experience as a teacher. She has worked at the Brookwood School in Manchester, Massachusetts as a second- and fifth grade co-teacher, the Sylvan Learning Center as the associate center director, West Milford Township School District, Wanaque Borough Public School District, and Tuxedo Park School, in Tuxedo Park, N.Y., as the third-grade teacher and diversity committee co-coordinator.
Jean Donohue, Administrative Assistant: Donohue returns to Hilltop after having served for several years as a substitute teacher. Donahue has spent the last 14 years in education after serving as a senior credit analyst with BASF Corporation. Donohue has a B.S. in Psychology and Fine Arts Farleigh Dickinson University.