Teachers: Samantha Derbyshire and Nargess Foroughi

Samantha Derbyshire From an early age, Samantha (Sam) Derbyshire was very clear about two things: she did not want an office job and she wanted to work with children. That foresight has been DMPPP’s good fortune. In joining DMPPP in early 2008, Sam attained a third “clarity” - she could once again immerse herself in an inclusive neighborhood.
“I grew up in a very small town and I had really been missing that small town feeling,” says Sam. “What I love about Dunbar is the neighborhood and how you get that small town feeling. And I love that DMPPP is a PPP because the parents are so dedicated to their kids and so involved in the community. That was definitely why DMPPP was a good choice for me.” Prior to taking on DMPPP’s Co- Supervisor role, Sam held a variety of early childcare education positions including providing one-on-one support to children at Douglas Park’s kindercare program and teaching in an inclusive center on the east side for children with developmental disabilities. She was the head teacher at a West Vancouver junior kindergarten where she also had the opportunity to teach theater to the students. A natural fit for DMPPP, Sam is extremely child-focused, articulate, organized and creative. Her personal magnetism not only easily attracts children to her for educational play, it makes it hard for any parent to not want to get involved in their child’s educational experience. And as a mother herself, she carries the same vision for DMPPP’s children as her own. “I view the children as future adults,” says Sam. “We’re not just raising kids, we’re raising adults who are going to be making very adult decisions. My hope for DMPPP is that the children learn to have really strong values rooted in love for their family and their community because I think that is a really important foundation for everyone to have.” DMPPP is extremely lucky to offer and to learn from such an amazing talent. Nargess Foroughi
With more than 20 years experience as an early childhood educator and a background in ECE and Montessori, Nargess Foroughi brings expertise, dedication and talent to our Dunbar Memorial Preschool teaching team. Over the years, Nargess has successfully created play-based curriculums based on children's interests, including book storytelling, music and movement, art, puppetry, games, cultural experiences and educational fieldtrips. She created “Felt Creative”, an interactive felt story program that is used by children’s librarians in Vancouver. She has a warm and caring personality and is a perfect fit for our Dunbar preschool. “I'm most excited about teaching at Dunbar because of the strong sense of community here,” said Nargess. “Having parents in the classroom gives you an opportunity to get to know them on a much different, and closer level.” Nargess added, “What I love about being a teacher and teaching is that no two days are ever the same. I love knowing that something I do could make a difference in a child's day. I love that I have just as much to learn from a child as they could from me. I love incorporating music and movement in my group times.” When she’s not teaching, Nargess also enjoys photography, music and cooking. We are very fortunate to have Nargess as a part of the teaching team at DMPPP for our 2-, 3-, and 4-year-olds.