Vincent T.

Vincent is a certified teacher based in Kelowna, British Columbia. Vincent was born in The Netherlands and immigrated to The Okanagan in 1997 with his parents and three siblings. At four years old, Vincent began his Canadian education as an ELL student in Penticton, where he closely studied the rudiments of the English language. This was the first step in what would become a deep love for English literature and language studies. Vincent began creative writing at an early age, creating stories, writing poems or songs, and journaling on a regular basis. This love of the arts also inspired a longstanding love of music. Vincent was a drummer for nearly 12 years and continues to play guitar recreationally. Vincent likes rock music, in particular. Vincent completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at UBCO in 2018. He completed a B.A. in International Relations: a cross-curricular degree program which allows students to study a combination of Philosophy, History, and Economics. He started his teaching career in Victoria later that year, working with international students from all over the world. It was here that his love of teaching was ignited. Working alongside students to solve problems, ask and answer questions, and explore/discover new things became a favorite pastime. At the heart of Vincent’s pedagogy is building relationships with his students. In fact, his belief is that trust and connection are at the heart of all successful learning outcomes. Vincent completed his Bachelor of Education degree at UBCO in Kelowna in 2022 where he now continues to reside and work. While Vincent’s educational experience has largely been with middle and high school students, Vincent also has a keen interest in working in primary education. His main educational focuses include literacy development, language proficiency, creative thinking, and self-expression. In his free time, Vincent enjoys sports such as soccer, basketball, and golf. He is also an avid hiker and regularly goes camping to discover new places and enjoy quiet time away from the city.

ZOYA C.

Zoya received an Honours Bachelor of Arts and Science degree from the University of Toronto with a double major in English Literature and Geography and a Minor in Political Science. Zoya is currently pursuing her Master of Teaching degree at University of Toronto, where she is focusing on becoming an Intermediate/Senor teacher in English and Geography. Zoya’s passion for teaching and education shows through her teaching practices where she approaches every student as individuals who have unlimited potential for growth and success.

Zoya has over nine years of tutoring experience, with two years of teaching experience through summer camps, and teaching in the TDSB and HDSB. Zoya’s strengths lies in her belief in ensuring every student has an individualised lesson plan where they can flourish in their learning and improve their own confidence. Throughout Zoya’s life she grew up in China, Indonesia, Switzerland, and Singapore before deciding to continue her education in Toronto. Thus, Zoya truly believes that fostering an inclusive and open environment that is grounded in trust is of the upmost importance for all students. One of Zoya’s strengths is her experience with academic coaching and learning strategies, where she as a teacher focuses not only on subject related content but also on teaching students what different test/assignment tools and strategies they can use to excel in and outside of the classroom.

When Zoya is not teaching or learning herself, you can find her enjoying whichever book she is currently emersed in, travelling to visit her family, or listening to music. Zoya love for music started when she was three years old, and since then you cannot find her in any relaxing moment where she is not humming a random tune to a random song that is stuck in her head that day.

ANNABELLE K.

Annabelle is an Ontario Certified Teacher with a Transitional Certificate as she works towards completing her final year of the Master of Teaching program at OISE (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education). In her studies at OISE, Annabelle has been exploring accessibility through gamification and how to best ensure students are engaged and ready to learn in the classroom. Through her placements, Annabelle has had amazing opportunities to work closely with students to meet their various learning needs, including providing students with one on one support. Annabelle has always been passionate about education both inside and out of the classroom as seen through her work in museums. Before entering the classroom, Annabelle received her Master of Museum Studies from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Information. Annabelle’s museum work centred around making history accessible and engaging to students through creating interactive and informative exhibits, and school programming for students from Grades 3 through 12. Its her passion for history and the humanities that have led her to teaching and she is excited to share this passion with her students. Annabelle has been working with kids for as long as she remembers, growing up as a camp councilor and teaching karate, always looking for ways to make learning fun. In her spare time, Annabelle practices her karate as much as she can and is always looking for a new video game to play!

ANTHONY M.

Anthony Mayadunne is a multi-disciplinary educator up to the university level in Mathematics (ALM, Harvard), English (MA, UBC), and Business (MBA, U of T). He is passionate about delivering a focused and exciting learning experience to his students—whether they are in Grade 6 … or pursuing their PhD. He is also a SAT trainer (integrating both English and Mathematics sections), and University Admissions Coach for undergraduate and graduate programs, having placed many students in leading universities around the world. When invited to teach Calculus in Engineering Outreach programs (Gr 9 – 12) at U of T Engineering, he developed an engaging approach to teach a famously challenging subject: Calculus. Later, completing his Masters in Mathematics for Teaching, he specialized in teaching Calculus to meet rigorous standards: AP/IB Calculus, Engineering Mathematics, and Mathematics in Arts & Science. His warm and engaging manner has led him to mentor many students in their academic and professional careers. He hopes to persuade the world that all people (including parents) are innate mathematicians, and that Calculus can bring as profound joy as Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony, or Maurice Sendak’s Night Kitchen. So far, he has succeeded with about 50 people, and optimistically looks forward to the still 8 billion more people to go.
He has traveled extensively, living for many years in Japan, Australia, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, and Ethiopia, and uses these experiences to write short stories, essays and poems. He describes himself in four verbs: I teach, I travel, I read, and sometimes, I write.

HEATHER H.

Heather is an Ontario Certified Teacher with 10 years of experience teaching both privately and in classroom settings. She earned a Bachelor of Music Education from University of Toronto and a Master of Teaching from OISE. Heather knew she wanted to be a teacher from age 12, and she has experience teaching elementary math, English, Spanish, and violin. While she loves to teach in a classroom, she appreciates tutoring because she is able to build stronger relationships in one-on-one lessons. When she’s not lesson prepping, Heather enjoys bothering her cat, Momo, going to new restaurants, and attending concerts.

ASHLEY D. S.

Ashley is currently enrolled in her second year at OISE (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education) at the University of Toronto for her Master of Teaching in the Primary/Junior grade level. She has completed two teaching placements in a Grade 3 classroom at Hillcrest Community School, and a Grade 5 classroom at Norseman Junior Middle School. It is through teaching that Ashley has been able to foster her love of Science and Math.

During her undergrad, she spent her time volunteering with child-focused non-profit organisations where she mentored two elementary-aged children with Autism and ADHD through weekly cooking classes and collaborated in teaching a weekly conflict resolution and community-building program to a Grade 5 classroom at Swansea Junior and Senior Public School.

Through these experiences, Ashley has developed a deep passion for working with children and guiding them to reach their full potential. Ashley believes that by building a strong relationship with her students she is better able to meet their needs and grow their learning. She finds these experiences enjoyable and extremely rewarding. In her spare time, Ashley enjoys reading, spending time outdoors, watching anime, and spending time with her friends and family.

GRIFFIN H.

Griffin graduated from Humber College in 2022, receiving a Bachelor’s of Music with honours. Griffin is currently enrolled at the University of Toronto completing his Master’s of Teaching, where he is set to graduate in April 2025. Griffin is 24 years old and has been teaching music and mentoring students for over 5 years and has experience working with students of all ages.

Griffin graduated from Kelowna Secondary School in 2018 receiving a diploma with honours, as well as the Holland-Rusk Award, the BC Achievement Scholarship, and the BC District Scholarship for Fine Arts. During his time at Humber College, Griffin was awarded the Bernie Piltch Memorial Scholarship and the Yamaha Canada Music Award.

Griffin has recently completed two placements in TDSB schools and has extensive knowledge of the Ontario curriculum, with a focus on the Junior/Intermediate division.

EMMA M.

Emma received her honours history degree from Queen’s University this year. Emma is currently a Teacher Candidate from the Master of Teaching program at University of Toronto. She has two years of classroom experience teaching students from Kindergarten to Grade 6 in both TDSB and LDSB schools. Emma loves to ski, swim, and try new foods!

Emma recognizes the importance of providing students with individualized lessons and supports that suit their specific learning goals. One of Emma’s strengths is her ability to meet the child where they are by assessing what they already can do and developing a learning plan from there. Whether its dismantling ‘math anxiety’, fine-tuning reading and writing skills, or completing homework assignments, Emma can help young learners overcome any academic challenge by providing them with the tools they need to succeed.

Beyond learning, Emma enjoys travelling, listening to music, and trying new foods! She also loves doing crafts, piano, skiing, swimming, and camping.

JAMES S.

James Schultz found his passion for writing as the editor of his high-school newspaper. Under his direction, it fell prey to censorship battles and published only one issue. At university, he spent his time writing bad dystopian novels, and paid a heavy academic price for it. Returning to Toronto to pursue a career in screenwriting, he co-wrote ​Disappearance at Clifton Hill​ with director Albert Shin for Rhombus Media, starring Tuppence Middleton and David Cronenberg. After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2019, it was picked up for North American distribution by IFC Midnight and reached #1 on US Netflix. Between his screenwriting and story editing duties, he still finds time to work on his next bad dystopian novel.

Tangelica C.

Tangelica is an experienced and passionate educator.

Tangelica has a B.A. in English from California State University, Sacramento, a M.Ed in Multicultural Education from National University, a California Single Subject Teaching Credential in English with an ELD endorsement and Reading Specialist endorsement.

She has taught at the junior high school level for over 15 years and for three years as a Certificated Student Learning Coach (working with more than 1,000 students). Today, Tangelica is a full-time online English teacher and tutor.

Tangelica strives to help students achieve the self-confidence they need to succeed in school — and beyond. She supports students with their academics (reading, writing, and grammar), but also with their motivation, organization, study skills, self-reliance, and perseverance.

She thrives on helpings students learn how to fill in their learning gaps, because the skills learned in overcoming those “gaps” are often the ones that will help them succeed in all their future endeavors.