Julia Gabriel
Julia Gabriel
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.
Wang Pau Lee
Wang Pau Lee
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. Soon after, a second centre at CITTA Mall Ara Damansara was established in 2011. Since then, the Malaysia centres have welcomed and nurtured many confident communicators under its roof. She now works with an ever expanding team of more than 70 educators and staff.
Sharon Roshini Jacob
Sharon Roshini Jacob
- Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood, University of Melbourne
- Diploma in Montessori, London Montessori Centre
- Speech Communication Arts Primary Teaching Certificate, Guildhall School of Music and Drama London
- Julia Gabriel Teaching Foundation Certificate, Julia Gabriel School of Education
- A Child’s World, Julia Gabriel School of Education
Background Information
Having taught Speech and Drama for over 15 years, Sharon still enjoys teaching the children the wonders of expressing one’s best self. Speech and Drama has and will always be, close to her heart, because she has gained so much from it and it has made her a better teacher over the years. She has also taught Julia Gabriel Centre’s adult-accompanied programmes, PlayNest and PlayClub.
Despite having to split her time running the school, the children’s early childhood education remain the paramount of her focus. She strives to ensure that the quality of teachers remain stringent, beginning with the training of teachers in the Julia Gabriel School of Education (SOE). With Sharon heading the SOE, she has witnessed the growth of many teachers and together develop and fortify the standards of the school.
Wendy Loh Pei-Wen
Wendy Loh Pei-Wen
- 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.
Nurhidayah Lod
Nurhidayah Lod
- Bachelor’s Degree in International Business, UiTM
- Diploma in Banking, UiTM
- A Child’s World, Julia Gabriel School of Education
Background Information
Hidayah first ventured into teaching in 2010 before joining the Julia Gabriel International family four years ago. She has served as a Senior Teacher in Chiltern House and interim Head of Centre in Bangsar before her appointment as Head of Centre, CITTA Mall. During her tenure in Chiltern House Bangsar, she has worked with children across all ages and she has been responsible for spearheading the Chiltern House Kindergarten or K’s preschool programme.
Hidayah is also serving as Julia Gabriel Centre’s specialist educator for its Readers and Writers programme.
Dheepa Christine Steven
Dheepa Christine Steven
- Diploma in Early Childhood Education, University of Malaya
- Diploma in Child Psychology and Learning Difficulties
- Julia Gabriel Foundation Teaching Certificate, Julia Gabriel School of Education
Background Information
Dheepa first joined the Julia Gabriel family back in 2014 where she began her journey with us as a Teacher-in-Training for Chiltern House Preschool before rising in ranks to becoming a Senior Teacher and most recently, our Head of Bangsar centre. She came on board with vast experience in the education industry having previously served as a primary school support teacher in an international school. Over the course of her tenure with us, she has taught as lead teacher across the levels from Nursery to Kindergarten, and is also a Speech and Drama specialist teacher for Julia Gabriel Centre. Dheepa’s warm and affectionate nature has propelled her to be a highly respected educator amongst the children, teachers, and her fellow colleagues.
Jessica Lim Wai Sin
Jessica Lim Wai Sin
- Bachelor’s Degree in Performing Art (Majoring in Music), University of Malaya
Background Information
Jessica graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Performing Art, majoring in Music from University of Malaya. A music enthusiast with a flair for playing a variety of musical instruments, she possesses qualifications from The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music and Trinity College London. She joined the Julia Gabriel International family back in 2013 and has since taught in Julia Gabriel Centre’s PlayNursery daily independent programme, and Chiltern House Preschool’s Nursery One to Kindergarten Two levels. With experience teaching children across all ages, she strives to enrich the cultural understanding of her young learners, and continuously refine the standards of Mandarin in Chiltern House Preschool through her performing arts background.
Aja Azman
Aja Azman
- Bachelor of Music Education (Hons.) (Major in Classical Piano) from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Shah Alam
- Diploma in Music, UiTM Shah Alam
- Julia Gabriel Foundation Teaching Certificate, Julia Gabriel School of Education
- ABRSM Piano Practical and Theory Grade 5 (Distinctions)
Background Information
Aja joined the Julia Gabriel International family back in 2017 as Julia Gabriel Centre’s specialist Music teacher for Chiltern House Preschool. She has taught Chiltern House Music for pre-schoolers of all levels – from Pre-Nursery to Kindergarten 2, and is also the specialist Speech and Drama teacher for Pre-Nursery level. Tapping into her fervent love for teaching and keen interest in music, Aja has been instrumental in maintaining the high standards of Chiltern House’s music education. Since 2019, she has been serving her new role as Head of Music Department. Prior to joining the organisation, she was a volunteer teacher with an NGO where she taught English to children, teenagers and working adults, in small and big groups.
Natalie Makulin
Natalie Makulin
- Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication, Curtin University
- Diploma in Multimedia, Advertising and Broadcasting at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology
- Trinity Guildhall Foundation Teaching Certificate, Trinity College London
- Julia Gabriel Foundation Teaching Certificate, Julia Gabriel School of Education
- Certificate in Learning Disorder Management
Background Information
Natalie is a highly trained, experienced Speech and Drama specialist teacher with teaching certification in Speech and Drama from Trinity College London, and the Julia Gabriel School of Education. An avid fan of the musical theatre, she has recently embarked on a personal pursuit of interest performing as a cast member of 2019’s ‘Euphrasia the Musical’. In our organization, she has written and directed multiple mini musicals for Picnic of Words, and is responsible for devising and directing children’s performances for Chiltern House’s Year End Celebrations and Young Performers Certificate assessments. On the teaching end, she is currently Julia Gabriel Centre’s lead teacher in their Early Learning Programmes – PlayNest and Bilingual PlayClub, Speech and Drama, as well as Chiltern House’s specialist teacher for Speech and Drama, Music, and Project! Project!
Tarang Jacob
Tarang Jacob
- Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Southern New Hampshire University, USA
- Julia Gabriel Foundation Teaching Certificate, Julia Gabriel School of Education
Background Information
Tarang first joined the organization in 2016 as a Trainee Teacher before swiftly moving up the ranks becoming a Specialist Teacher in 2018 and coordinating Speech and Drama for Chiltern House Preschool. With a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Southern New Hampshire University, USA and having successfully completed the Julia Gabriel Foundation Teaching Certificate from Julia Gabriel School of Education, Tarang went on to lead a multitude of Julia Gabriel Centre and Chiltern House’s specialty programmes. His teaching repertoire includes the full range of Early Learning Programmes, various levels of Speech and Drama, Chiltern House music, and Chiltern House Speech and Drama. Aside from his keen interest and talent in teaching young children, this die-hard Arsenal fan and former high school football captain also enjoys performing gigs outside of school, and keenly involves himself in plays and musicals – all for the love of acting and drama.
Lee Ying Ying
Lee Ying Ying
- Master of Education, National ChengChi University Taiwan
- Bachelor of Arts in Chinese, Tamkang University Taiwan
Background Information
With a Master of Education from National ChengChi University Taiwan, and a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese from Tamkang University Taiwan in hand, Lee joined the Julia Gabriel International family back in 2017 as a Mandarin teacher. She was amongst the pioneering team who spearheaded the introduction of Chengzhu Mandarin Centre’s enrichment programmes in Malaysia. In 2019, Lee is promoted to her new role as Senior Teacher and Programme Coordinator for Chiltern House’s Mandarin Full-Day Programmes – which consists of Chengzhu’s Language Learners and Chinese Cultural Arts. She is currently also enlisted as a lead Mandarin teacher for Julia Gabriel Centre’s Bilingual PlayClub programme for toddlers, and is also a part of Chiltern House Preschool’s Mandarin team.
