Bannockburn Nursery School

Angie Zeidenberg

Administrative Director
BA in Childhood Education, University of Texas
MS in Education/Administration, University of Virginia

It’s such a wonderful feeling to be back at BNS. Several years ago, my daughter attended Bannockburn Nursery School and I still have fond memories of those special days. Being a co-oping parent provides you the opportunity to work with experienced teachers, meet your child’s friends and develop wonderful relationships with other parents. I will always treasure the incredible friendships that I made during our time at BNS. Today my daughter is in 5th grade at Bannockburn Elementary School and my son is in 7th grade at Pyle Middle School.  

I was an elementary school teacher for many years. My first experiences were in Houston, Texas and then later in Fairfax, Virginia. Although I took time off from work while raising my two children, I have been actively involved with their schools for the past several years. These have all been wonderful years and the experiences have proven to be invaluable to my life now.  

Lynn Brownell

Teacher – five day four-year-old class (5x4)
BS in Early Childhood Education, Wheelock College
MS in Special Education, University of Maryland

My introduction to BNS came when I visited there with my son Sam. Both Sam and his sister Katie attended BNS before heading to pre-K at Key school in DC. I was an early childhood major and had taught first grade in Southeast DC for twelve years until I had Katie. I remember being in awe of the teachers working with these ”little” kids and could never imagine myself not in a class of at least 6 year olds. But a position opened up and I was asked to apply for it. I really wanted to continue teaching and it was part time so I went for it. Probably the best career decision I ever made, since I’m still there 20 years later!

Why do I continue? It’s like having a new job each September. The children are always different and the families keep changing and/or returning and it never gets old. I love this age because they are so curious and interested in EVERYTHING. They ask great questions and inspire me to follow up on things I don’t have the answer for. I love the flexibility I have in teaching this age group. Although I follow many of the objectives for MCPS I think both the children and I benefit from a less restricted curriculum. The challenge is preparing the class for the increasing demands of kindergarten but still encouraging building critical social skills that play such a huge part in a child’s long term school success. In my class success is not just writing your name or counting to 20, but being able to talk out a problem or help a friend with a project or empathize with a peer who is sad.  

I also really enjoy and appreciate the parent aspect of BNS. Having the parents as aides/partners in the childrens’ education presents a unique opportunity for all of us. I try to model appropriate strategies to deal with the many situations that play out during a school day. Both children and parents benefit as I do from their input. I have been so fortunate to have had continued relationships with so many of my families once they have left BNS, whether seeing them compete on the Bannockburn swim team or meeting up in the neighborhood. It’s always great to meet and catch up. Outside of school I am a Master swimmer, summer swim team organizer and gardener.

Meghan Kelliher

Teacher - five day four-year-old class (5x3) and Lunch Bunch
BS in Social Work, Siena College
MSW SUNY Albany

I was raised in Boston, Massachusetts, but came to the Bethesda area from Rhode Island when my husband accepted a job as a biochemist at the National Institutes of Health.  

In Rhode Island I enjoyed working with the Head Start program helping parents and children. In coordinating IEPs, conducting home visits and encouraging family participation in the educational process, I had the opportunity to really engage with these families' lives helping them to achieve the best educational experience for their children. 

I also loved working in the classroom teaching three and four-year-olds in full day programs at the Shattuck Child Care in Jamaica Plain, MA, as well as at the Westwood Children's School in Westwood, MA.

Meghan and Mike share their Rockville home with their black labrador retriever, Shadow.

Chip Squier

Teacher – three day three-year old class (3x3), two day two-year-old class (2x2) and Lunch Bunch
BS in Elementary Education, Ohio Wesleyan

I am very happy to be at BNS. For most of my students it is their first time being dropped off, spending time without their parents. I try to create a classroom environment that is warm and welcoming, while furnishing it with materials and toys that are familiar. I love when my little ones come in, drop their tote bags (in a perfect world their totes make it to their cubbies!) and head off to the blocks, play-doh or puzzles.

After obtaining my undergraduate degree, I worked in Washington DC for two non-profit organizations on their individual giving campaigns. More recently, I co-taught a parent-toddler class for Montgomery County and worked at a Montessori based preschool before coming to BNS.

I live two blocks from school with my husband, Mac, our two children, Emma and George, both high school students at Whitman, and our feisty dog, August. When I am not thinking about songs and activities to do at circle time, I love walking on the canal with August, sampling goodies from new bakeries and spending time with my family (I have eight brothers and sisters) and friends.

Donna Collins

Teacher - Creative Movement and Music and Lunch Bunch
BS in Child Development and Early Childhood Education, University of Delaware
Maryland State Certification in Early Childhood Music

As far back as I can remember, I played school with my dolls and stuffed animals. I taught them with great authority and joy. My young girl playmates (NO icky boys!) and I devised a plan for our future. We would purchase a farm and together run an orphanage. We would all be expert in some field: one of us farming, one nursing, one housekeeping, and I would be the teacher. It was a marvelous plan to exclude icky boys from our lives, help orphans, and have a great family life, too -- or so we thought.

I was born and raised in Washington DC and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School. My favorite subjects were music and home economics. I graduated from the University of Delaware with a BS degree in Child Development and Family Life from the College of Home Economics. I did my student teaching in the University Lab Pre-School and also had a certificate to teach Creative Drama to children. My first teaching job was at the University of Delaware in the Lab Preschool, the semester before I graduated. After college, I returned home to Washington DC and taught in the DC area as a substitute in three very different schools: Beauvoir, a private kindergarten and part of the National Cathedral School; Primary Day School, a Montessori based school; and Bethesda Community School, which was a day-care. The plan to exclude icky boys did not last; I married and had a daughter and a son. It was while my children were at Wood Acres Elementary School, that I saw a small ad in the school paper advertising for a teacher's aide at a school named Bannockburn Nursery School. The aide was to work in the afternoon in a program called Stay Day. I got the job and started in October of 1983. By November of 1983, I was teaching a music class at BNS and enrolled to take the few credits I was missing to become a certified preschool music teacher for Montgomery County.

My association with Wood Acres Elementary started a long friendship with another mother who was organizing a newspaper and classes to help parents. She called her organization The Parent Connection. Over the next decade, I worked in various capacities for The Parent Connection. I taught a summer camp for 2 to 3 years olds (Young Discoverer Program), wrote a short column on craft ideas for children for the newspaper, taught a Babysitter Training Course, and wrote a chapter on choosing a good babysitter for The Parent Connection sponsored book, Raising Your Child in Washington. I also taught private study piano in my home for 22 years.

How wonderful it has been to be associated with such a terrific school as BNS and to have made so many life-time friendships while pursuing my life-long joy to teach young children.