OLIVIA M.

In 2019, Olivia graduated from Dalhousie University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and History. In 2021, she completed her Bachelor of Education degree from Queen’s University with Intermediate/Senior qualifications, as well as a concentration in Exceptional Learners. She is looking forward to be working as an Occasional Teacher for the Toronto Catholic District School Board, come September.

She has considerable experience working with ELL students, and intends on taking Additional Qualification courses in Teaching English Language Learners, as well as Special Education and Primary/Junior courses in the near future. She has taught for both the Catholic and Public School Boards across the GTA, as well as virtual school settings. Her goal as an educator is to lead with compassion, tailoring instructional strategies to suit the individual needs and learning styles of her students. Olivia genuinely loves to learn, and hopes her enthusiasm will inspire her students to succeed. She values the unique perspective that every student brings to the lesson, and strives to create a positive rapport with every session. When Olivia is not teaching, you can find her playing the piano, finding her zen doing yoga, or spending quality time with family & friends!

Michael G.

Michael Guglielmi-Wheeler is a secondary school English, Alternative and Special Education teacher with the Dufferin Peel School Board and has been with the board for over five years. Michael has been actively tutoring secondary school students, between the grades of 9 – 12, for just over four years. He is qualified to teach English, Drama, Special Education, English as a Second Language, History, Careers and Civics.

Michael began his career as an English as a Second Language Teacher in Costa Rica, and assisted in the co-creation of curriculum and pedagogy for the Costa Rican non-profit educational organization, Maximo Nivel. Michael then returned to Canada and soon found a permanent position with the Dufferin Peel School Board as primarily an English & Alternative Education teacher; teaching senior level English and alternative programs for learners who require a modified approach to normative styles of learning. Michael´s strengths lie in adapting and tailoring his instructional approaches to best meet the needs of his learners.

Magdalene S.

Magdalene graduated from OISE’s Master of Teaching program and holds her Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto. Magdalene has been teaching in professional and social settings since 2015 and has experience working with diverse learners. She has taught grades 1 through 12 with a focus on English, math, and the social sciences. Magdalene also has experience teaching English internationally.

Magdalene seeks to advance students’ self-confidence and self-efficacy while cultivating a love of learning and empowering students on their journey to academic success. She embodies and exemplifies an ideology that centres around self- discovery and personal growth, with an emphasis on critical thinking, adaptability, and resiliency.

When Magdalene isn’t in school or tutoring, you can find her curled up with a good book, visiting the animals at the Toronto Zoo, or taking pictures of different foods she’s tried around the city.

REBECCA A.

Becca is an enthusiastic educator with bachelors degrees in Education, Psychology and English. She has taught in various elementary schools, namely in English, ESL, Social Studies (History and Geography), Visual Arts, and Science. Using her university studies in child psychology, she also created and taught a specialized course in Meta-Cognitive Skills that taught students different learning techniques and helped them to assess their needs in various subjects. This was geared towards all students, including students with disabilities. Becca has really enjoyed volunteer teaching in Special Education classrooms in elementary schools, teaching students with varying abilities (including students on the spectrum) core curriculum, life skills and learning techniques.

From the time she was 16 years old and worked her first job as a Tae Kwon Do instructor, Becca has had a passion for teaching. Since then she has appreciated every opportunity to educate children and adults in a wide variety of subjects, from jewelry making and yoga to outdoor survival and wildlife! Her teaching philosophy is to support students with learning techniques and skills needed to give advocacy, build confidence and find joy in learning – ultimately to better understand themselves.

Becca also enjoys crocheting stuffed animals, playing D&D, bugging her cat named Merlin, and teaching dog training classes.

TANYA P.

Tanya P. is an Ontario Certified Teacher. She graduated from Trent University with a Bachelor of Arts in History with Emphasis in Education in 2015. While at Trent University, Tanya tutored two students for the student-run-organization, Trent Students for Literacy. In addition, she was also the coordinator of the Reading Circle for Trent Students for Literacy, where she supervised university students, who promoted literacy to children between the ages of two and five. In 2017, she graduated from Western University with a Bachelor of Education with Emphasis in Urban Education in the Intermediate/Senior grade levels. Having been a teacher candidate in Ontario, Tanya has volunteer experience within the Toronto District School Board and the Thames Valley District School Board.

Shortly after graduating in 2017, Tanya was given the opportunity to teach in a grade eight classroom on a fly-in reserve in Pikangikum, Ontario. Tanya accepted the position due to her passion for Aboriginal education and her strong desire to understand and support students by promoting a positive self-representation of themselves and their culture. While in Pikangikum, Tanya led a school group called, Girls Club, where she supervised and led weekly activities for girls in grade seven and eight to overcome barriers, build confidence, and develop positive relationships. Tanya invited guest speakers from within the reserve to share resources with the students. Through these experiences, Tanya recognizes the importance of incorporating students’ perspectives and knowledge into lessons and school community in order to make learning meaningful and relatable. Tanya currently teaches high school for a private school in the North York area. She teacher history, geography, civics, careers, drama, and a few social science courses.

GERROD H.

Gerrod Harris has been teaching in a wide variety of classrooms and learning environments for the last seven years. While teaching music both privately and in community centers throughout Markham, Gerrod received his Bachelor of Fine Arts and Education at York University. Certified to teach music and history at the intermediate and senior levels, Gerrod has experience teaching a range of history courses along with English, civics, business, and senior level social studies. Since graduating in 2017, Gerrod has continued extensively teaching music, while also volunteering and working in high schools throughout the YRDSB; joining the Prep Academy Tutors team is his latest step forward into a well steeped career in education.

KATE B.

In 2017, Kate received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Development with an honours distinction from Saint Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia. She is currently a student at the University of Toronto working towards her Master of Teaching at OISE, specializing in Primary/Junior grade levels. Over the last ten years, Kate has gained a great deal of experience working with children. Kate has spent her last 7 summers leading kids aged 7-15 on canoe trips lasting between 2-50 days throughout Northern Ontario. In the winters, Kate taught kids aged 2-12 how to ski. Kate completed her first practicum placement at Toronto Urban Studies Centre in which she led programs to a different class and a different grade everyday. Kate completed French Immersion and graduated high school with a bilingual certificate. In her third year of university, she spent six months abroad in France studying at an elite political science school, Sciences Po. Kate loves spending time getting to know kids and helping them reach their full potential. She focuses on building the students’ confidence and creates a positive learning environment in which kids are able to make mistakes and learn from it. Kate is positive, enthusiastic and loves teaching kids in a fun and engaging manner. In Kate’s free time, she loves to travel, hike, canoe, play guitar and sing.

CARINA C.

Carina is a teacher candidate in the MT program at OISE (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education). She completed her BSc in life sciences at the University of Toronto, majoring in both cognitive science, and ecology and evolutionary biology. Her past eight years of tutoring have given her an appreciation for individuality and a better understanding of differentiated instruction. Her experience is mainly in elementary subjects, grade 9 and 10 math and science, and grade 11 and 12 biology. However, Carina considers adaptability to be her greatest strength, and is confident in her ability to help learners realize their potential with any subject matter. She believes in teaching personal management skills in addition to content. Outside of an academic setting, Carina is a dog-lover who enjoys photography and music production.

KAROLINA F.

Karolina Fila is a recent graduate from York University with both a Bachelors of Education and Bachelors of Arts degree. Her teachables are in language and humanities courses, however she is also available to assist with mathematics from grades 1-10.
During her French teaching practicum, Karolina worked with students from kindergarten to grade 8. Here she used a variety of teaching styles that included individual studies, student-led group discussions and pairs. Each lesson focused on introducing new vocabulary words and was built on prior knowledge. The fundamentals such as grammar, conjugation, sentence structure and oral communication were introduced and reviewed with each grade, so that by the end of the year, the intermediate classes were creating presentations and writing short paragraphs on their own.
Karolina’s practicum for her History teachable took place in a High school and focused on the grades 10-12. Here she created interactive lessons that included open-dialogue, technology and developing important writing skills. Karolina prepared students for seminar presentations and assisted with writing essays and creating proper citations for research papers.
Karolina also enjoys playing sports and traveling. She believes that playing sports and participating in extracurricular activities is essential for successful studies and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Karolina participated in summer language programs both in Quebec and France, where her passion for teaching French became even more evident. She tries her best to incorporate the francophone culture into her lessons through music, videos and literature.