About Orchard Lyceum

Holly completed degrees in English, Psychology and Social Work before switching tracks to work in an advertising agency. In 2000, she took over as Managing Director of Three in a Box Illustration. Implementation of an in-house design department that specialized in creating unique print promotions saw the agency expand to become the largest in Canada, representing over fifty artists from Canada and the UK to key international clients in advertising, design and editorial markets.

Her daughter’s experience in Montessori proved transformative and in 2012, she co-founded The Orchard Montessori School with Melody Incledon. In 2015, Holly completed her training, co-developed the elementary programme at The Orchard Montessori School and devoted herself to teaching full time. She has since received her Model UN and Model UN Bureau qualifications, World Peace Game Facilitation and restorative yoga teacher training.

Holly enjoys leading her students, aged 11-14 years, on rich, immersive, practical and academic investigations at The Orchard Lyceum, a school and gallery she co-founded on Queen Street West in September, 2019

Holly ‘s interests include writing, music, visual art, travel, pilates and gardening. Her favourite subjects at school are poetry, botany and geometry.

After completing her B.A. in Literature and Classical Studies, Melody began her career in Early Education in 1990. She has worked with children from infancy to school-aged in university and college lab schools, literacy groups and Montessori schools. In addition to teaching and guiding children, Melody was a college instructor in Early Education.

In 2004, Melody earned her Association Montessori Internationale Casa teaching certification from the Foundation for Montessori Education. This evolution in her career was the result of a growing frustration with traditional early education programs and philosophies and an increasing awareness of alternative educational theories and outcomes garnered through her extensive travels and research.

In 2012, she co-founded The Orchard Montessori School in an effort to create an environment that honours Montessori theory and embodies a true spirit of peace and respect for all children.

Sam combines years of experience as a chef in Toronto, London, Switzerland and the Caribbean with an artistic flare and genuine empathy for youth from differing backgrounds. With his rich diversity of interests in food that stretch from garden plot to table, every day is a banquet of of opportunity to learn, both in the kitchen and in the school’s garden plot at Garrison Common.

Supporting Holly’s lead in the classroom with wisdom, humour and a sense of adventure, Sam also brings his interest in sequential art, collage and sketching to enrich The Lyceum’s art offerings in our daily work and after school progams.

Sam works with Holly and other collaborators such as Hollywood Suite to create unique culinary events such as The Beast Feast, Bakers Half Dozen, The Creative Uncommon and a recipe called For the Birds Pot Pie. Sam’s work is a culmination of many years spent cooking in diverse kitchen settings and in creating dedicated food experiences for small audiences.

Click here to get the For the Birds Pot Pie Recipe: https://hollywoodsuite.ca/for-the-birds-pot-pie-from-orchard-lyceums-sam-higgs/.

Check out the Beast Feast and other culinary explorations with the Orchard Lyceum kitchen and garden on our instagram @theorchardlyceum.

Samuel Choisy is a French visual artist and educator who nurtures creativity in learners of all ages, from Kindergarten to High School and University. For the past year, he has been collaborating with Orchard Montessori and Orchard Lyceum to design an innovative program that teaches French through artistic practice.

@choisyacademy

@samuel_choisy