Faculty

Mr. Newton serves as Principal of Oak Hill Academy. Jesse received a Bachelor of Engineering & Society with a minor in Religious Studies and a Master of Applied Science, both from McMaster University, and concurrently received a graduate diploma from United Nations University INWEH. He then spent five years in consulting engineering in water and wastewater facilities, sewers, and overseeing construction. Jesse served in various ministries in the local church to children and youth, in evangelism and discipleship with Campus for Christ at McMaster University, Christian summer camp ministries (Circle Square Ranch and Ontario Pioneer Camp), and previously as an elder at his home church. His heart for discipleship, love of learning, and care for children all clicked together when he stumbled into the Wardrobe that is classical Christian education. Born and raised in Hamilton, Jesse and his wife Amy are raising their young family here. He reads widely. He loves being with his wife and children: reading, building, trying to grow vegetables, and trying his hand at home reno projects.

Mrs. Dekker serves as the Lower School Vice Principal of Oak Hill Academy, and has the pleasure of teaching most of the junior and intermediate students. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts and Education degrees from Redeemer University. After graduating, Allison accepted a teaching position at a local Christian school in Hamilton, where she remained for the next ten years. A few years ago, Allison was introduced to Charlotte Mason by a close friend; since enrolling her children at Oak Hill in 2020, she feels that she has just begun to unpack and delight in the wonder, truth and beauty of classical Christian education. Allison and her husband Paul have 4 children, and serve in their city and church in a number of roles. A perfect day for Allison would include resting, running, reading, and recreation; it would end with good conversation around a campfire. Allison loves exploring creation with her family and worshiping with them through music. She believes that God has lovingly created all children with minds to learn and bodies to serve, and feels incredibly thankful to be a part of their education at Oak Hill.

Mrs. Tamming teaches Junior Kindergarten at Oak Hill Academy. After studying at Redeemer University and then graduating from Calvin College, she taught for twelve years at Cairn Christian School in Stoney Creek (formerly John Knox) before homeschooling her own three children for another twelve years.

Rose and her husband Gary love the outdoors, long bike rides, and grandparenting. As a lifelong learner she loves to read and listen to audiobooks.

She feels incredibly blessed to be on this classical Christian education journey at Oak Hill Academy. As a Christian educator she knows God as a story-teller, with the Bible being God’s love story to a broken world opening our eyes to the wonder of His grace. Believing that education is fundamentally about “shaping loves” she cultivates a calm, peaceful JK classroom with beautiful children’s picture books, classical art and music that have stood the test of time. She nurtures a grace-filled classroom community and guides her students to learn about God’s world and discover their place in it. She spends her days in JK nurturing wonder, wisdom, and virtue in a balanced dance between discipline and delight. Some of her favourite times in a JK day are nature walks (especially in springtime), Bible stories and read alouds. And the laughing. Four and five-year-old’s can be very funny.

Mrs. Sloots is very excited to be teaching JKB at Oak Hill Academy. After travelling Australia for two years with a missions organization, Hannah completed her Bachelor of Arts and Music at Redeemer University, and then received her Masters of Community Music from Sir Wilfrid Laurier University. For the past three years, she has been working as a child and youth worker in Grimsby.

Hannah’s sister attended an information night for a classical education school plant, and called her right away, sharing that she thinks classical education would be a great fit for her. Hannah agreed.

Hannah has a deep love for seeing families thrive, and her experiences of being the oldest child of six, working as a nanny, and working closely with struggling families in her child and youth position have been wonderful opportunities to invest in the lives of young people around her.

When Hannah isn’t teaching at Oak Hill, you can find her drinking a quality cup of coffee, reading memoirs, writing and performing original music, and hanging out with her family. Hannah has been married to Nathan for five years. They live downtown in Hamilton.

Mrs. Koning teaches Senior Kindergarten at Oak Hill Academy. She graduated from Redeemer University with a BA in French and Phys Education and her BEd. While at Redeemer, she spent a semester living in Paris and travelled to many countries throughout Europe. Growing up, Adrianna always had a passion for working with young children and served for many years as a camp counsellor at Beacon Bible Camp which also sparked her love for outdoor education. Since graduating, she taught SK at Cairn Christian School, Grade 1/2 at Brantford Christian School and Grade 2/3 French Immersion for the Halton District School Board. Adrianna loves teaching the younger grades as they have such a curiosity and excitement for learning and the world around them. After having her own children she feels calls to return to teaching at a Christian school to help disciple and teach little children through gospel-centred education. She is excited to learn more about the classical approach to education.

Adrianna and her husband Matt have been married for 5 years and have two daughters. She spends her days hanging out with her girls, visiting Early Years Centres, libraries, parks, and having backyard play dates with friends. Adrianna also loves to hike, run, and play board games.

Julie Smith teaches the Kinder Plus class at Oak Hill Academy. She graduated from Calvin College with an honours degree in Special Education. She began her teaching career as a Senior Kindergarten teacher and transitioned to oversee the Learning Assistance Department in a Christian high school. For two decades, she had the joy of staying at home with her six children. She was blessed to homeschool for many of those years and explored various educational methods and curricula including the classical approach and Charlotte Mason. She also was trained as an Orton-Gillingham tutor and taught children with learning disabilities to read using this phonics-based, multisensory approach.
Julie loves to spend time with her husband, Kevin, and her children. In the summer, they go camping at Killbear Provincial Park in their tent trailer, or take a camping road trip to explore Canada. Julie also enjoys playing board games, going on hikes, and baking. She loves reading books to her children and is excited to share this love of books with her students.
Julie hopes to point each of her students to Jesus and the gospel message as they learn together and explore God’s creation.

Mrs. Randall teaches Grade 1 at Oak Hill Academy. She became an Ontario Certified teacher through Brock University after receiving her Social Work degree at the University of Waterloo. After several years of classroom teaching, and ten years of homeschooling her own children, she is back to teaching in the classroom. Since her youth, she has had a passion for children, for helping others and for teaching. She especially loves the opportunity to teach the Word of God to young children and see their faith grow. Amy has had the privilege to travel coast-to-coast across our great country with a music ministry group on a 5-week tour in her early 20’s. She has also had ministry opportunities in Romania and Ecuador over the years. Her passions are homemaking, canning, cooking, reading, singing, crocheting and spending time with her family. Amy and her family are also involved in foster care and open their home to children in need. She currently serves as Worship Director at Sojourn Church in Paris where she loves to engage in the worship of her God and Creator. Amy lives with her husband of 24 years in Brantford and has four biological children. She is greatly looking forward to all that the Lord has in store for her, and her students, this year at Oak Hill.

Mrs. Tatem teaches Grade 2 at Oak Hill Academy. She is a Registered Early Childhood Educator (RECE) and has spent the past 25 years teaching Preschool and Elementary aged children, including children with special needs. Ever since Jenn was a young adult, she has served in Sunday school, summer camp, and choir ministries in teaching and leadership positions. Jenn is an entrepreneur at heart, having run her own private preschool, a photography studio, and even an organic dog treat making and dog walking service. Born and raised in Markham, Ontario, Jenn is married to her high school sweetheart Paul, and together they have three beautiful children. In 2006, they moved to New Brunswick for 9 years before settling back in Milton. Jenn enjoys baking, hiking, camping, and spending time on the water. She loves animals of all kinds, but none more than her family’s rescue dog Victor. Jenn is a warm, nurturing teacher with a heart to see children grow, love learning, and know the deep love Christ has for them.

Miss Tigchelaar, is looking forward to teaching Grade 3 at OHA this coming fall. She completed a B.A. in French Studies and Music at Redeemer University, and recently graduated from Niagara University with a Masters in Science of Education. She grew up in the Niagara region on her family’s strawberry farm, but will be moving to Copetown this summer.

Mrs. DiMauro teaches Grade 4 at Oak Hill Academy. She completed her Honours Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance from Wilfrid Laurier University and studied and performed as an opera singer before obtaining her Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Toronto. Prior to joining Oak Hill, Sarah taught at an all-girls private Catholic school in Mississauga for eleven years. During her time there, she assumed many roles including being appointed as Chaplain and Mission Leader where she cultivated and supported the spiritual life of the school community. Joining its faculty in its fourth year, she gained the experience of growing with a young school.  As an educator, Sarah strives to nurture in her students a love for learning and inspire them to grow in virtue and live with purpose. Although born and raised in Hamilton, Sarah recently moved to Mount Hope from the GTA with her husband and their two daughters who attend Oak Hill. Sarah loves to compose music and try her hand at anything creative, travel, read, and spend time with loved ones. With many wonderful teaching memories and experiences held close to her heart, Sarah has loved embarking on a new teaching and learning journey of classical Christian education at OHA!

Mrs. Sommer teaches Grade 5 at Oak Hill Academy. Since her husband is a Christian school principal, there have always been opportunities to help out as supply teacher or to  fill in when no teacher could be found, so she has had a taste of every grade, from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12. With five little children, the Sommers packed up their family and moved to Papua New Guinea to work as missionaries for 7 years at Ukarumpa International School. On furloughs, Laura homeschooled their children. Years later, in Canada, the Sommers adopted twins and then another daughter on a three year assignment back in Papua New Guinea, serving at Highlands Christian Grammar School. There Laura got her first taste of full time classroom teaching, and loved it! Mostly recently, the Sommers, with their three youngest children, spent a year serving at the International Academy of Suriname. Laura enjoys reading privately and to her children, as well as quilting and hiking with her family.

Mrs. Dekker is currently serving as the Grade 6 homeroom teacher.

Mr. Kingma teaches Grade 7 at Oak Hill Academy. He received Christian education at the elementary, secondary, and post-secondary levels and feels called to spend his career in Christian schools where he can freely disciple his students. Graduating from Redeemer University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts and Education, he enjoyed a year teaching math and science at Hamilton District Christian High before joining Oak Hill. He delights in the natural order found within creation and watching children explore the awe found in it. Zach loves to be outdoors with nature as well as staying active playing a variety of sports. He has coached soccer for different organizations, including a short period with Reach Forth which was coincidentally at Oak Hill’s campus! Other interests of his include strategy board games, riddles, and spending quality time with friends.

Mrs. Hordyk teaches Music to JK to Grade 2 students at Oak Hill Academy. Joanne’s passion for music ministry has been a wonderful journey of discovery and fascinating opportunities that began in her pre-teen years. She followed the youngest of her five children into their Christian grade-school as a weekly volunteer which somehow morphed into a 25 year career. While there, she served as choir teacher, program writer and director, and accompanist. Though her brief foray into the Music program at McMaster University was cut short by illness, she feels God graciously provided a musical training ground much broader and more unique than any classroom could have offered. Joanne and her high-school sweetheart are grateful for the blessing of forty years of marriage and the gift of growing in faith and love for God alongside their married children and fifteen grandchildren – five of whom she bumps into here in the Oak Hill halls.

Mrs. Kent teaches Music & Drama to Grades 3-9 at Oak Hill Academy. Leslie has been teaching privately (voice, piano, brass), online, and in a choral setting since returning from The Moody Bible Institute (Chicago, IL) in 1999 with her Bachelor of Music, (Sacred music, vocal performance). Previously a chorister herself, Leslie joined the artistic staff of the award-winning Hamilton Children’s Choir in 2001 as training choir conductor, and currently conducts their beginner level, Kolibro. As a homeschooler, Leslie has been active in that community and conducted the Hosanna choir of Strings, Etc! for eight years. With only one of her five children left in her homeschool, Leslie finally pursued her life dream of further education in 2018, and completed her Master of Music Education from Western University in the fall of 2020. Leslie has been married to James for 25 years. They live just outside Caledonia on the Grand River.

Mrs. Zuidema teaches Art and Picture Study at Oak Hill Academy. Sandra graduated from Redeemer University College not only with her Art and Education degrees but with enough love for both to continue using them to this day. She taught at Providence Christian School (Dundas) for nine years and then homeschooled her own children Charlotte Mason-style for the past ten years. She speaks at various homeschool conferences and offers teaching workshops, teaches History of Architecture to high school students, and hosts and teaches at the Large Room Cottage School weekly. The rest of the time she runs her own pottery business – aSpire Pottery – from home and teaches individual and group pottery lessons. She is the mom of four, wife of one, teacher of many who finds great joy in noticing the small and living in the full. She loves clay, glass, earth and getting her hands into each. She loves churches in general and her church in specific. She reads incessantly. And she loves to notebook.

Mrs. Oldenburger was born and raised in Hamilton. She graduated from McMaster University with an honours degree in history and French. After graduating, she became the education director at an after-school learning program. She and her husband, David, moved to Senegal to develop an adolescent health curriculum. Jessica and David returned and had two boys. Since then, Jessica has written Canadian curriculum content for The Alveary, the Charlotte Mason Institute’s home education program, and leads a Mason-style Sunday school program at her church.  Jessica loves reading, particularly 19th-20th century British and French literature, music, languages, specifically grammar and syntax, and partaking in the wonder of creation with her children.

Mrs. Young is serving as a Tutor this year at Oak Hill. Laurie was originally a physiotherapist with a Bachelor of Science from University of Toronto with a specialization in pediatrics. She then left that career to raise her three children and in the process, discovered the beautiful world of Classical Christian education. She homeschooled her children for 10 years, and then began tutoring some neighbourhood children who needed extra support over the past few years. She has a deep love for children and has a long history of working with them through Camp Counselling, Swim Instruction/Lifeguarding, Sunday School Teaching/Coordination, Safe Families for Children, Homeschool Co-ops and Tutoring. She finds great joy in seeing the world through a child’s eyes and sharing their excitement as they gain new experiences and a growing understanding of the Creation in which God has made us co-heirs. Laurie lives in Burlington with her husband and two of her three children, the oldest (greatly missed) having recently been married and living in Halifax. Laurie enjoys reading in a hammock, listening to music, biking along the beach, swimming, crocheting, hiking, canoeing/kayaking, studying apologetics and always has time for animals for any sort. She is a strong supporter of Classical Christian Education and feels honoured to be a part of helping children plant their roots in the rich soil of the classical traditions of God-saturated knowledge, self-discipline and character development. For the King and His Kingdom. Coram Deo.