Welcome to our TCS Family!

Please give a warm welcome to our newest family members and staff.  This year we are blessed to have almost 37 new families and 51 students join our TCS community this week.  We are also blessed with five new staff members and one pre-service teacher.  

Dereka Nielson:  Grade 9 Math and Social Science
Hello TCS Community!  My name is Dereka Nielsen and I am very excited to be joining the Grade 9 team at TCS. I attended Bearspaw Christian School from Kindergarten through to Grade 12 and am thrilled to be joining the Christian school community now as a teacher. For the past two years I have enjoyed teaching Senior High Mathematics in rural Alberta, about three and half hours away from Calgary. I am very grateful for the opportunity to be moving back to Calgary and to continue to share my passion for math and sports. I love to be active and play any type of sport that involves an opportunity for me to use my gifts of teamwork and competitiveness. Some of my favourite activities are: volleyball, basketball, soccer, golf, spikeball, pickleball and slo-pitch. I am excited to meet everyone in September and join your vibrant school community. I am looking forward to all the fun and learning we will do together in the fall!

Emma Throness: Grade 9 Science and LA
Hello, my name is Emma Throness and I am very excited to be working at Trinity Christian School this year as one of the grade 9 teachers! I love the energy, fun and curiosity that students bring to the classroom. I am thrilled to incorporate inquiry and creativity into learning and am confident this will be a great year! I was raised on a small farm outside of Grande Prairie and love doing activities such as hiking, quading, and playing sports. What motivated me to be a teacher was working with kids at our local youth group. At our farm, we also started a drop in ball hockey night where kids play and hear a talk about faith in God. I believe that every child is unique and able to learn. Everyone in my class will be treated with respect and encouraged to work with others, collaborating and sharing ideas. I am excited to get to know each student and help him or her grow as a leaner and individual.

Ashley Boonstra: Educational Assistance Grade 4

Hello! I am very excited to be part of Trinity Christian School this year! I was born and raised in Edmonton, but just this week I moved to Calgary and am overjoyed to be part of a new Christ-centred community.

I have been an Educational Assistant for preschoolers and a nanny for triplets from when they were 2 months old to 4 years old. I enjoy seeing the world with childlike wonder and I have learned just as much from them as they may have learned from me. I truly believe that every child deserves equal opportunities and deserve to have the help they need to thrive and be the best they can be! Even though my experience is with young children I look forward to seeing how this plays out in the grade 4 classroom.  

I love baking and cooking, and love to try new recipes and share them with my friends and family. I also enjoy reading, especially historical dramas and non fiction novels; and I am always searching for any opportunity to learn something new. I strive to live out the calling God has for me and live through these words from Acts 20:24: “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me, the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” 

Cheryl Buckner: Educational Assistance Grade 6
I’m excited to be working at Trinity as an EA this year! I have been with Palliser since 2007 (minus last year) and have worked from preschool up to grade 12. Each grade has had its own unique aspects and I’ve enjoyed them all! I’ve had opportunity to expand on my skills teaching ELL as well as many other various subjects through continuing Ed. My education includes Mount Royal, U of C and Laval University. 

I was born and raised in Calgary and my husband, Paul and I have a blended family. Our son, Josh, is a dentist in Georgia. Our daughter, Michelle, is a microbiologist/professor in England and they just had their first daughter, who I was able to spend July with. Our daughter, Kristi, lives in Airdrie, and works at home with our 5 sweet grandchildren. And our youngest son, Liam, lives and works in Kananaskis and has just applied to the architecture program at Athabasca University. 

I feel blessed that the Lord has opened the doors for me to be able to serve in Christian schools. It is an honour to be able to work with children and I look forward to being with them each day. They are such gifts from God and it is amazing to watch them grow. It is a very rewarding career. 

This year I will be working with grade six and look forward to being a part of this team!

Robyn Schulhauser: Educational Assistance Junior High
Hi Trinity Christian School community! My name is Robyn Schulhauser, and I just relocated to Calgary from Nelson, British Columbia. For the past 4 years, I have been working as an Educational Assistant in Nelson. I studied to become an Educational Assistant at Selkirk College, and I hold a diploma in Contemporary Music and Technology. My favourite activities include going to cafes, singing and playing the piano, and playing all kinds of games. I love to get out in nature, especially if it means going for a walk with a friend.

Beyond academics and making learning engaging and fun, my heart’s desire as a Christian educator is to see children and youth fall in love with Jesus. It is my absolute privilege to be joining the Trinity Christian School team this year, and I’ll be spending most of my time with the Grade 8 clan. I am looking ahead with great expectation to what the 2021/2022 school year brings!

Ashleigh Barclay: Pre-service Teacher 1K
I grew up in Red Deer, Alberta with three younger siblings and attended Gateway Christian School. For university I successfully completed a Bachelors degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Calgary. During that time I worked as a companion for seniors with dementia and volunteered at a dance studio for children with special needs where I discovered my passion for working with children! I am currently in my last year of a Bachelor of Education degree at Ambrose University. I am excited to work with Cindy Kamphuis and Jen Muncton in Grade 1 for my final practicum before becoming an elementary teacher!