LYDIA S.

Lydia is always searching for opportunities to integrate her love of writing with her ongoing visual arts practice. She believes that a holistic approach to academic disciplines is the most effective strategy toward fostering a lifelong love of learning in her students.

Lydia graduated summa cum laude from McMaster University’s Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts program with a minor in English. At the conclusion of her undergraduate degree, she was granted the Ignition Award for Distinction in her program. She went on to graduate from Western University’s Master of Fine Arts program, in which she was awarded the Dean’s Entrance Scholarship, Chair’s Entrance Scholarship, as well as three Graduate Research Scholarships throughout the program’s duration. She is currently a teacher candidate at Brock University with teachables in English and Visual Art.

Lydia has experience with lesson planning, differentiated instruction, and designing assessments in both senior/intermediate English and Visual Art. She is also familiar with the corresponding curricula at the junior level. Lydia’s priorities include: fostering writing strategies for legibility and conciseness, employing invisible and ongoing assessments for- and as- learning, rubric deconstruction, information chunking, and executive function reinforcement (organizational strategies, focusing techniques, task-shifting strategies, self-monitoring, etc.)

When she is not teaching or tutoring, she spends her time reading, making art, and volunteering for arts organizations in Hamilton and London, Ontario.

DEVON L.

Hey my name is Devon!

I am a recent graduate of the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Education Middle Year’s Stream but love working with early years as well! I have had experience teaching from Grades K-8 and I believe that at its core, learning stems from trusting relationships and understanding a students strengths, weaknesses and interests. I use these to personalize my teaching and make learning as fun as possible for the student.

I always loved school when I was personally interested in what I was learning and that’s what I strive to do for the student in every personally tailored lesson.

I look forward to working with you!

ALLIE M.

Allie is an Ontario-certified Primary/Junior teacher with additional qualifications in special education as well as Intermediate English and math. After completing both her Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education at Queen’s University, Allie was honoured with the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario’s Faculty of Education award. After graduating, Allie moved to England to work in a specialist setting for children with a range of needs. There, Allie taught small groups of middle school students their subjects in a primary-style classroom, catching them up on curriculum they had missed in their mainstream schools. Allie’s desire to engage students of all educational backgrounds stems from her volunteer work with organizations such as Holland Bloorview, Canadian National Institute for the Blind and Making Waves. These experiences have taught Allie the importance of tailoring learning to the individual student and incorporating their interests wherever possible. Allie also recognizes the role of resilience in learning, helping her students build both academic and emotional skills simultaneously. Like her students, Allie is always learning, collecting certifications from organizations such as the Geneva Centre for Autism, TRIBES and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). At present, Allie is pursuing her Master of Education, where she works as a Teaching Assistant for pre-service teachers studying inclusion. When Allie isn’t at work or school, she can be found reading, cooking, learning Braille, doing yoga, or hanging out with her dog Charlie!

SHANNON J.

Shannon is a caring dedicated teacher, who is motivated by the belief that all students can be successful learners.
She holds a Bachelor of Education through York university in the primary and junior divisions, as well as additional qualifications to teach all subjects of the intermediate division, Special Education and Physical Education.
Shannon is a proud teacher for the Peel District School Board, having taught Kindergarten through Grade 8, she currently teaches in the primary division, adapting her teaching methods and materials to meet her students’ varying needs and interest, focusing on development of critical literacy and numeracy skills. Shannon promotes mental, social, and physical development in her students and encourages them to be “their best self” through her support of classroom and school wide student involvement. When she is not teaching in the classroom, Shannon is helping students build their confidence and skills through her leadership of various teams, clubs and committees such as Chess Club, Basketball Team, Asian Heritage Committee, Recycling Club, and Lego Robotics Club to name a few.

NICOLLE B.

Nicolle graduated from Eastern Connecticut State University (USA) with an Honours Bachelor of Science degree and is entering her second year of her Bachelor of Education program at Brock University. She is specialized in teaching the primary/junior grades (k-6) but has qualifications in special education and English up to grade 12. Nicolle is familiar with EQAO and volunteers to scribe each year at different schools across Halton. This year, Nicolle taught all subjects in a grade 5/6 class, with a focus on grade 6 EQAO practice. Combining what she has learned at Brock and in her practicums, Nicolle has been able to develop different methods and styles of teaching to reach differentiated learners. Through her inclusive teaching practices and interactive lessons, Nicolle creates a fun and positive learning environment where students feel comfortable to explore new and different ways of thinking. She has tutored in the past and has also worked with little readers programs teaching students as young as 3 to start reading. Nicolle feels that it is extremely important to get to know her students and find out how they learn to forge a unique path to success for each individual student. On her spare time, Nicolle loves to read, watch hours of cooking shows and then attempt (and fail) at making the recipes and gardening. Tomatoes are her specialty!

Emily M.

Emily is a Bachelor in Child and Family Studies with Honours graduate with her Bachelor of Education and OCT in progress with Nipissing University. She also has her Early Childhood Education diploma from Conestoga College. Emily has 10 years of elementary school experience in a grade 1 classroom. She is also Strong Start certified. Emily also tries to incorporate interests of the students and relates lessons back to their interests. She would love to make a good relationship with the students which will lead to improvement in skills and lessons.

RYAN C.

Ryan is a passionate educator who believes in harnessing the unique interests and potential of each student. He graduated from York University with an Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts degree specializing in music, has conducted graduate research in music theory and education, and is currently a Junior/Intermediate teacher candidate in the Master of Teaching program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Ryan has been working with children as an educator and mentor since he was 14 and started as a hockey referee, which he still loves doing to this day. He has also worked as a lifeguard and swim instructor, where he learned that play and imagination are just as important as learning the skills. Ryan is also a trained SSAT coach, and he enjoys guiding students to achieve success in the test-taking process. For the last five years Ryan has worked as a private music instructor, working with children of all ages to foster a love and passion for music and the arts. It is his goal to always ensure that students leave each lesson with new ways of engaging with their music. These experiences have helped develop Ryan’s philosophies around education; that each student is unique and should be given the chance to engage and produce knowledge in their own way. When students feel a connection to knowledge that is made meaningful from their own experiences, the passion for learning will follow.