OUR TEACHERS

Catherine SGRO

FOUNDER, ARTIST

Founder of Woodbridge Art School, Catherine is an accomplished artist and teacher, who has been teaching fine arts to adults and children for over 23 years. Catherine, her staff and her students have been featured on City TV’s Breakfast television, Rogers Television, TLN and local Newspapers. Catherine was also honoured with York Regions 2004 “Woman of the Year” Award for Visual Artist & teacher.

Today, she has 22 of her works published and distributed in galleries and stores across Canada and the United States and is recognized as an exemplary artist for her accomplishments. Catherine strives to provide quality art instruction, opportunity and inspiration to all her students.

Nicole’s Hideaway

Sun KISSED

Sisters

ROGER FERNANDES

TEACHER, ARTIST

EDUCATION:

• B.A Spec. Hons. University of Waterloo
• Cert. Digital Media Conestoga College
• B.Ed. University of Toronto OCT Certified (Ontario College of Teachers)

Roger is a graduate from University of Waterloo with Honours and a studio specialization and a Digital Media Certificate program from Conestoga College. His passion for the arts has flourished not only towards teaching but also into graphic design and illustration. He illustrated two children’s books titled: “Blackflies to Blueberries: Wally and Deanna’s Wetland Adventure” and “Wally and Deanna’s Quartz Crystal Adventure”. He is also a graduate from University of Toronto’s Education Program (Junior / Intermediate divisions). Roger teaches our Secondary & Intermediate Classes.

The foci in his classes are to build skills in painting and drawing. Roger also, spends his time in multiple schools across the Toronto Catholic District School Board Teaching Lego lunchtime enrichment program. Roger has the belief that fine arts encourages and promotes self-discovery and exploration of the world.

Olivia Bagnoli

TEACHER, ARTIST

EDUCATION:

• BFA Spec. Hons. (York University)
• York University, Bachelor of Education (BEd)
• OCT Certified (Ontario College of Teachers)
• Yorkville University, Bachelor of Interior Design

livia is an artist who started creating as soon as she could hold a pencil. Her passion started from the influence of her artistic family, who were very versed in the arts. She started as young as four years old and became familiar in many mediums by a young age. Most interested in acrylic painting, she spent most of her time painting, following her vision and passions. 

After taking lessons during her childhood, she decided to take her art classes a step further and audition for St. Elizabeth’s Regional Arts Program, with a specialized education tailored to young artists. Her time at St. Elizabeth helped guide her to potential career paths in the fine arts. This time was challenging for Olivia, as although she always knew she wanted a career in the arts, and was undecided which path to take. Ultimately, she decided to pursue a teaching career with a bachelors in fine arts. Olivia enjoyed her time at York University, as she was able to experiment with new mediums. After graduating, Olivia gained certification with the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) and began working with the York Catholic District School board as an occasional and long-term assignment teacher. 

Although Olivia enjoys her position with the school board, she felt she needed to further her arts education and decided to pursue a second degree in Interior Design and Yorkville University.

Now with her bachelor of interior design complete, Olivia is exploring all her career options in teaching, freelance and interior design. 

Olivia is currently teaching adult painting and mixed media art classes and workshops for Woodbridge Art School. 

Harneet Sihota 

TEACHER, ARTIST

EDUCATION:

• OCAD University —  Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), Honours
• York University — Bachelor of Education (BEd), – Completion April 2027
• Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) Certification – Completion April 2027

From an early age, Harneet has been drawn to art as a form of self-expression and creativity. Throughout all four years of high school, she achieved the highest overall average in Visual Arts within her school. She later continued her artistic education at OCAD University, where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts and further developed her skills and creative practice.

Harneet specializes in realism, with a strong eye for detail, colour, proportion, and observation, while also exploring abstract and other styles of art. Throughout her artistic journey, she has worked with a wide variety of materials, including acrylic, oil, watercolour, gouache, clay, coloured pencil, charcoal, graphite, and mixed media. This versatility has become an important part of her teaching, allowing her to introduce students to different materials, techniques, and ways of creating.

As an instructor at the Woodbridge Art School, Harneet loves being able to combine her passion for art with her love of teaching. She strives to create a welcoming and creative environment where students feel comfortable experimenting, expressing themselves, and building confidence in their abilities. She brings a patient and encouraging approach to teaching, allowing students to grow and develop at their own pace. She believes in building strong artistic skills while still giving students the freedom to develop their own ideas and artistic voice.

Harneet is currently completing her Bachelor of Education at York University and working toward receiving her Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) certification.. As both an artist and educator, she hopes to inspire her students to create artwork that they genuinely love and are proud of, work that others can connect with, feel something from, and admire. Above all, she wants her students to find joy and meaning in creating and feel confident in the artists they are becoming.

SOFIA D’ONOFRIO 

TEACHER, ARTIST

Education:

      •  Ontario College of Art and Design University ( OCAD University)

      •  Majored in Drawing and Painting (BFA)

      •  Minored in Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation.

Sofia has been passionate about art for as long as she could remember. Her parents discovered her talent at a very young age and enrolled her into Woodbridge Art School when she was 8. She continued to study here for 10 additional years where she explored her skills, creativity, and learned many techniques. She specializes in narrative oil paintings, but is well versed in various mediums such as acrylic paint, watercolour, charcoal, oil pastel, scratchboard, pen and ink, and many more. Moreover, her passion for art has led her to experiment with digital painting, graphic design, and illustrations.

Sofia earned her Bachelor Degree in Drawing and Painting from OCAD University, with a minor in Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation. Her thesis work was featured in “GradEx 2026” at OCAD University. As well, she has exhibited her work in several galleries around Toronto, including Bau- Xi Gallery, Gallery 1313, Northern Contemporary Gallery, and the Ada Slaight Gallery.

Sofia has experienced many artistic achievements, including winning several first place awards here at Woodbridge Art School. She has also attained art awards during her elementary school, high school, and University years. Sofia hopes to be a source of inspiration for her students and would like to help nurture their love for art, just as her art teachers have done for her in the past. All in all, she encourages her students to always allow their unique creativity to shine through in their work.