Mount Olympus Christian Child Development Center is a full-time childcare and early education center with well-planned and structured Christian Preschool and Kindergarten programs. The Center operates on a year-round schedule, serving children aged three months through fifth grade.
Ms. Maddie has been working in Early Childhood Education for the past decade. Although she studied Elementary Education, she has found her passion with the little ones. She had been the school's Assistant Director for two years before taking on the role of Director. Prior to this, she worked primarily with two, three, and four-year-olds. She loved being able to teach the children new things every day and share in their excitement for learning. Now, she loves being able to play an active role in each of our families lives. She also enjoys learning from and mentoring all of our wonderful teachers, as well as expanding her own knowledge in the field. Currently, she also has a National Administrator's Credential (NAC) and is completing her Child Development Associates (CDA). She holds endorsements in Guidance and Emotional Wellness, Infant and Toddler care, as well as a Center Director endorsement. In her spare time, Ms. Maddie loves being with her family and pets. She has one niece who she adores. Maddie has a passion for reformer Pilates and instructs classes on the weekend. She is always up for a night of karaoke, enjoys DIY projects, board games, and paddle boarding.
director
Maddie Woodruff
Miss Jolie has been at Mt. Olympus since 2021 and has loved every moment! She stepped into the Assistant Director role in June of 2023, after two years of being the lead teacher in the Pre-School 2 classroom. Jolie earned her National Administrator Credential (NAC) in July of 2023 and is currently working on her Child Development Associate (CDA). In her free time, Jolie loves to hike and spend time outside, practice yoga and run, bake cookies, craft, and read a good book!
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Jolie Bawden
Bentley always worked behind the scenes at Mt. O, but with his love of free pets he recently made the change to Office Dog. His current responsibilities include sleeping under the desk, cleaning up food scraps, making sure all students receive enough love and kisses, and going to the bathroom every thirty minutes.
When he is not at work, Bentley enjoys high fashion, agility courses, and reading Twilight. He also enjoys relaxing on the couch with his mom watching Criminal Minds. If you see him around, make sure to say hello and call him a "good boy".
Office Dog extraordinaire
Bentley Woodruff, ESA
Ms. Yolanda has been with Mt. Olympus for eight years. She is originally from Oceanside, California. Her family moved to Virginia before settling in Utah in 1994. This is her first job in childcare. She absolutely loves it, especially working with the babies! Currently, she is working on obtaining her Child Development Associates (CDA), and hopes to complete that within the year. Ms. Yolanda is married with four beautiful children.
infants
Yolanda Munenge
Ms. Yanni (Jenny) was born in China and moved to Utah three years ago with her family. Before moving to America, she worked with young children for four years. She loves working with kids because seeing them play and smile brings her great joy. Ms. Yanni has been married for six years and has one son named William; Billy for short. He is the light of their lives.
Infants
Yanni Zeng
Ms. Brandy has worked at Mt. Olympus for the past eight years. She is currently at a level 3 on the Utah Career Ladder and is close to obtaining her Child Development Associates (CDA). She loves working with children. Her favorite things about her job is watching the little ones grow and seeing their personalities develop. In her free time, she can be found camping, hiking, fishing, and enjoying the outdoors looking for scenes to photograph. Most of all, she loves spending time with her son and her family.
toddlers
Brandy Zander
Bio coming soon.
Infant/toddlers Assistant Teacher
Claudia Juarez Osorio
Ms. Katelyn has always had a passion for working with children and helping them grow. She earned her Child Development Associates in 2018 and enjoys learning new things about children and their learning styles. She has worked with many age groups from Infants to Kindergarten. She has been a Twos teacher for the past 3 years and loves it. Her favorite part about it is watching them grow and meet their milestones! In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends, family, crafting and painting.
twos
Katelyn Petriess
Ms. Rachelle has been working at Mt. Olympus for over five years now. This is her first official job in childcare. She is holds an Associates Degree in Social Work and is currently working towards earning her Bachelors degree. Her goal is to earn her Masters Degree in Social Work. Ms. Rachelle has a son named Lyle. Rachelle is very artistic. In her free time, she loves working on art projects. She is also in the Utah Fire Tribe. She is very dedicated to her friends and family, and enjoys spending time with them whenever possible.
twos
Rachelle Black
Ms. Sarah is an assistant teacher in our Two's class. She adores them and all of the funny things they say! She loves to come up with fun activities and messy projects. In her free time, Ms. Sarah enjoys spending time with her four adult children and her granddaughter, Willow. She also enjoys paddle boarding with her daughters.
twos assistant teacher
Sarah Questereit
Ms. Day has been working in early childhood education for about two years. She studied ECE in high school and worked in the childcare on campus. She is very passionate about early childhood development. She enjoys spending time with her family and listening to music. Currently, she is finishing up her gap year and hopes to enroll soon in a pediatric nursing program.
preschool 1
Day Suarez
Miss Nanyal was born in South Sudan. She moved to the states in 2004 and was raised in Holladay, Utah. She is the oldest of four siblings, attended Olympus High School and Utah State University with a background in Social Work. She has worked in multiple after school programs ranging from elementary to High School, as well as young adult foster placements. Miss Nanyal enjoys running, traveling, and karaoking (alone). She is so happy to be at Mount Olympus and has enjoyed connecting with the wonderful children and parents at here.
Preschool 2
Nanyal Rout
Ms. Chloe was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. Being homeschooled by her mom sparked a love for seeing kids learn and grow. She started at Mt. Olympus in March of 2023; she’s worked in Early Childhood Education for almost four years. In 2022, she earned her Child Development Associates (CDA) in Infants and Toddlers. Chloe has worked with 18-month-olds, all the way up to school age! She’s found her passion in the Three’s class. She loves helping the kids grow in their confidence and independence, as well as promoting a safe, fun, and loving environment for them. In her free time, she volunteers with a BSA Scout Troop as their Scoutmaster. She loves helping her scouts grow into confident young leaders.
preschool 2
Chloe Baker
Ms. Katie took on the role as our Pre-K teacher this past year and loves spending time with our 4 and 5-year-olds. She is the 4th (and a twin) of 12 children, with five biological siblings and six adopted from the Marshall Islands. Her parents divorced while she was attending college, resulting in her leaving a degree in Early Childhood Education unfinished to help raise her seven younger siblings. Ms. Katie later went back to college and received her Associate in Business Administration, was a nanny for a family for a year, and then followed her passion to work with animals. After having her son, she took a career break to be a stay-at-home mom. When her son was two, she decided to go back to her dream of being a teacher, where she could also be with him. She is currently working on obtaining her CDA and loving all the extra knowledge and information that will benefit her students and help them to feel welcome, safe, and excited to learn. When she isn't in teacher mode, Ms. Katie loves spending quality time with her husband, their son and fur-babies - eight dogs and eight cats. She also enjoys woodburning, photography, and nature.
pre-kindergarten
Katie Pulley
pre-kindergarten teacher
Pauline Krum
We're excited to welcome Ms. Livy to Mt. O this year! Ms. Livy grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and moved to Utah when she was 16. While completing her Master's degree in Theatre, she lived in London and has just recently come home to Utah. She's always loved children and have worked in various preschools and childcares over the past decade. When she is not at work, you can find her reading (100+ books per year!) and attending as many theatre performances as possible!
pre-kindergarten Assistant teacher
Livy Little
Miss. Monica was born and raised in Utah. She has a B.S. in Elementary Education with a Theatre minor and Special Education program emphasis from The University of Utah (Go Utes!). She has been teaching for over 15 years. Her favorite part about teaching is watching the students' progress and listening to funny things they say. Miss Monica is married and has one son named David James. She loves to do artsy and geeky things in her free time.
Kindergarten
Monica Grindstaff Shamy
Miss Ana was born in Mexico but has lived in Utah for over 20 years. She has worked for the After School Program in the Salt Lake City School District for three years with ages kindergarten through six grade as a group leader and also a sub coordinator. Miss Ana loves crafts, spending time with family and her two dogs.
schoolage teacher/ summer camp coordinator
Ana Melgoza
Miss Eneida was born in Logan, UT. She moved to Salt Lake in her early 20s and found herself working at Mt. Olympus. After moving away for a couple years, she eventually called Salt Lake City home again, this time with her new family. Still having a passion for early childhood education, she was able to return to Mt. Olympus. She’s currently working as an afterschool teacher and helps to coordinate and implement a successful summer camp! She enjoys caring for, loving, and supporting each child in her class.
Afterschool teacher/ Summer camp
Eneida Rosas
Bio coming soon.
schoolage teacher
Leland Krallis
Bio coming soon.
schoolage teacher
Tawni Young
Bio coming soon.
schoolage teacher
Marcus Cody
Our kiddos love seeing our resident rockstar, Mr. Alex! He keeps our building and grounds in top shape, ensuring the health and safety of all of our students. He has a background in many different industries, which gives him a very wide skillset- he is able to do just about anything for our center and church. In his free time, Alex enjoys music and skateboarding.
Facilities Manager
Alex Woodruff
Meet Our Staff
Mt. Olympus is blessed with highly-qualified, dedicated, and loving teachers. All of our teachers must pass a thorough background check, fingerprints, and complete at least 20 hours of continuing education training per year. In addition, they are all first-aid and CPR certified.
contact us
learn more
mount olympus christian child development center is a S.E.E.D certified school
MOCCDC prides itself on using developmentally appropriate practices. By committing to being a S.E.E.D. certified school, you can trust that our teachers have the tools and knowledge to support your children through this critical time of social and emotional development using the Collaborative Emotional Processing (CEP) method. All staff have completed eight core workshops with training in emotional processing, boundaries and discipline, preventing burnout, anti-bias training, emotional regulation for children and adults, and connection with families. Staff have access to ongoing support and training for any issues that might arise. Parents benefit from access to the Tiny Humans, Big Emotions workshop for free (a $97 value). You can learn more about Seed and Sew by clicking the S.E.E.D. badge.
Located inside Mount Olympus Presbyterian Church
3280 E. 3900 S.
Salt Lake City, UT 84124
Monday-Friday: 7AM-6PM
hours
Location
New Year’s Day
Martin Luther King Day
President's Day
Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences- Half Day (March 28, 2024- Close at 12:30 pm)
Spring Professional Development Day (March 29, 2024)
Memorial Day
Juneteenth
July 4th and 24th
Labor Day
Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences- Half Day (October 10, 2024- Close at 12:30 pm)
Fall Professional Development Day (October 11, 2024)
Thanksgiving (and the day after)
Christmas Eve, Christmas, and the week after (this is a Christmas gift to our staff)
Our classrooms are designed to encourage learning in all that we do. We pride ourselves on maintaining safe, clean, and purposeful learning environments for your child.
Classrooms
The class your child is in will be determined by the Granite School District birthday deadline of September 1st. It is our goal to have your child grouped with the children they will enter school with. For children age 3 and up, we may only have one class rotation per year, following the school calendar in September. For ages 2 and under, a more individualized approach may be taken.
schedule a tour
Infant Classroom
We provide a loving and nurturing environment for infants from six weeks to twelve months old. We keep low student-teacher ratios, having one teachers for every three babies. This meets NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) standards for best practice. Our highest priority is caring for infants, being sure their primary needs are met: clean diapers, feeding, sleeping, nurturing, and social contact, as well as providing a clean and safe environment. Our dedicated teachers will work individually with each infant to help them meet basic milestones and support their parents and caregivers. Our goal is to be an extension of your family, providing a stable and secure environment where your baby can thrive. Our infant room teachers have worked with Mt. Olympus for over five years and have plenty of knowledge and experience to share!
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Toddler Classroom
Our Toddler room provides a stimulating, loving, and secure environment in which the children can develop a beginning sense of independence, social and emotional skills, and opportunities to work with learning materials. Our Toddler classroom includes a space for free play and a classroom environment where experimenting and learning take place. Teachers model effective communication, sharing, and encourage independence. Curriculum is taught through play and hands-on activities appropriate for the age group. There is plenty of time for gross motor development on the playground and in the gym. Our teachers have over 25 years of combined experience with toddlers and will be a loving support system for your family.
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Two Year Old Classroom
This room is arranged to facilitate individual, small group, and large group play. It is vital for children to feel good about themselves and confident in their abilities to learn. The children feel a sense of pride as they master new skills. We develop a weekly curriculum, enabling us to tailor it to the specific developmental needs of the class. Children begin using our phonics program, Zoophonics, which introduces them to letters and sounds on a basic level. Music and outdoor play are an integrated part of the program. Children will learn self-care skills such as dressing themselves, toileting, and making choices. They will also begin basic academic skills as well as the fostering of their social and emotional development. Our twos teachers have a love and passion for this age group and can help families navigate the challenges of a child's growing independence, while also learning to appreciate the amazing things your little one can do!
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Preschool Classroom
Our preschool class is full of excitement and exploration. We use hands-on curriculum that encourages children to learn and do through play. Our phonics program, Zoophonics, helps children identify letters and sounds by associating each letter with an animal. The daily curriculum will also encourage the development of recognizing patterns, number identification, science, and basic addition and subtraction. Art is creative, open-ended and gives the children the opportunity to explore different art techniques. Children learn strong social-emotional skills by learning to share, take turns, communicate their needs and feelings, and problem solve. Our Christian curriculum establishes an environment for children to grow and learn through Bible teachings. Morning prayer and mealtime prayer are also a part of our day. Music and outdoor play are an integrated part of the program. We prepare our students for Kindergarten and beyond by helping children to build a strong foundation of the required skill to succeed.
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Pre-Kindergarten Classroom
Our Pre-Kindergarten is designed to get your four year old ready for school! Our teachers plan age-appropriate yet challenging lessons each day to prepare your child in all areas of learning: Social, Emotional, Mathematics, Science, Art, Gross and Fine Motor, Literacy, and Christian learning. Our phonics program, Zoophonics, helps children identify letters and sounds by associating each letter with an animal. The daily curriculum will also encourage the development of recognizing patterns, number identification, and basic addition and subtraction. Art is creative, open-ended, and gives the children the opportunity to explore different art techniques. Children learn strong social-emotional skills by learning to share, take turns, communicate, and problem solve. Our Christian curriculum establishes an environment for children to grow and learn through Bible teachings. Music and outdoor play are an integrated part of the program. At Mt. Olympus, we also understand the importance of learning through play. Children are given time to explore and learn on their own. Our room is set up to promote learning in all we do. We are confident that each child will leave our program amply prepared for kindergarten and beyond.
schedule a tour
School-Age Classroom
Our school-age program is for children in kindergarten through fifth grade. During the school year, we provide a fun and safe place for your child to go. We pick up from Morningside, Eastwood, and Oakridge, and Canyon Rim Elementary. We offer an afternoon snack, homework help, reading time, and various activities to keep your child busy. We also provide full-day care during most of the school district closures.
During the summer months, we want children to make the best of their time off from school. We have a summer camp and group children by ages. We plan exciting field trips and activities throughout the months of June, July, and August. We also plan fun academic activities so that children will be prepared when school is back in session.
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Private Kindergarten
Mount Olympus Christian Child Development Center's Kindergarten has earned a reputation as an elite program.
Academic Excellence
Program Specifics
- 5 hour/day program
- 12 students per class
- A solid literary foundation to help students become competent readers by using both phonics and whole language applications.
- The teaching of appropriate handwriting skills.
- Eureka² Math program which focuses on a wide range of math concepts created to give your child a solid understanding and foundation to build on.
- Science, Social Studies, and Geography exploration.
- Self-expression with creative art.
- Physical fitness.
- Christian values that build self-confidence and positive social skills.
- Opportunities for parents to participate in their child's education.
- Graduates of our Kindergarten leave reading on or above grade level, usually reading at a 1.5 to 3rd grade reading level.
- Studies show kindergarteners who attend 3/4 day programs test higher in reading and math. These children enter first grade at an advantage.
- Low child/teacher ratio improves success.
- Implementation of Student Educations Plans (SEP). We use the child's individual strengths to plan their educational goals. Utah PTA has studies proving that SEP's are essential for academic success.