ERICA L

Erica will be an Ontario Certified Teacher specializing in the Primary/Junior division at the end of March. She currently attends the University of Toronto for her Masters of Teachings, and has completed her honours in English and Anthropology. Erica has worked in both the Catholic and Public School Board, and has experience teaching Grades 1-5, 10, and 11. Erica has experience working with students who have Special Needs, and those who require Reading Recovery. Erica is dedicated to helping students grow academically, and enjoys creating engaging activities for her learners. Furthermore, Erica explores different methods of teaching to engage various styles of learners, and works towards creating inclusivity.

In addition to helping educate young learners, Erica has interests in baking, spending time with her family, watching movies, horseback riding, and painting.

JESSICA G.

Jessica is a recent graduate of the Master of Teaching program at the University of Toronto (OISE). Jessica currently works as an Occasional Teacher for Halton District School Board with Primary, Junior and Intermediate Students. As an educator Jessica strives to support students in developing their knowledge, skills, and values for active citizenship. As a new teacher, Jessica is passionate and dedicated to the implementation of research-based practice, innovative learning, and student inquiry. Jessica is certified for the elementary panel. As a native of Etobicoke, Jessica has grown up with a passion for the outdoors and walking alongside the lakeshore with her dog Snooks, this passion for exercise has inspired her to also be qualified for Intermediate Physical and Health Education. In addition to being an Ontario Certified Teacher, Jessica has over 6 years of experience working with children two to twelve at Ryerson Early Learning Centre as an Early-Childhood Educator. With her passion for research and twenty-first-century learning, she is certainly an innovative and exciting candidate.

Throughout Jessica’s work as an early-childhood educator and teacher candidate, She has developed a sincere desire to inspire innovation and build challenging but supportive learning environments for her students. Within her work, she has used differentiated instruction and experiential learning opportunities to support learners with exceptionalities as these opportunities for learning are invaluable for promoting student engagement and supporting the individual needs of students. Throughout the Masters of Teaching program, Jessica had devoted her research to exploring the way teachers incorporate Aboriginal perspectives and environmental education to support the whole child. With this research experience, Jessica is passionate about implementing teaching strategies that have proven effective and efficient throughout educational research to best support her students.

Throughout Jessica’s experience, she has planned lessons that promote personalized learning opportunities to meet the needs of students. It is important to Jessica that her students feel valued and have a sense of trust and value in their learning. Professionally, Jessica’s has a strong interest in working with students with various exceptionalities and has had experience working with students in enrichment programs and students with executive functioning needs. Jessica strongly believes that students can and should look forward to learning in a safe space where it is recognized that their individual differences make the learning experience come alive. A part of this is building strong relationships and knowing her students. Jessica believes that in order to personalize learning opportunities, you truly need to know your students.

Through Jessica’s combined experiences learning from and working in the field of education, specifically the early years, she has discovered her passion for special education and early intervention. Jessica’s desire to learn more about how to appropriately adapt instructional tools for such a diverse population of learners has allowed her to make the decision complete her qualifications for Primary/Junior Special Education Part 1 and Reading. Personally, along with lakeshore hikes, Jessica has played volleyball, figured skated and has a strong passion for literacy and reading. Her favorite genre of books is non-fiction as she enjoys learning about the world around her. With a strong passion for reading, she aims to support students love or learning and discover the ways to best support students with exceptionalities. Throughout Jessica’s undergraduate and graduate studies, she has engaged in several professional development workshops to better equip herself as an elementary teacher to provide an effective and sustainable education for her students.

CASSANDRA M.

My name is Cassie and I am a Junior/Intermediate/Senior certified teacher with the Ontario College of Teachers. I am currently an Occasional Teacher with the Toronto District School Board and Durham District School Board.

I completed my Bachelor of Music at Queen’s University, specializing in Education. I then completed my Bachelor of Education from Nipissing University specializing in Music and Outdoor and Experiential Learning. From there I went on to complete and my Master of Education at the University of Toronto, specializing in Developmental Psychology and Education with a special interest in mental health in the classroom. My interest in the field of mental health in the classroom has led me into the area of academic coaching. I enjoy working with students on time management, organization of school materials, proper note taking skills and overall mindfulness in an academic setting.

In addition, I have had several opportunities to work with children outside of the classroom. I worked as a camp counsellor, coordinator, and director for the University of Toronto, the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka, and the Kids Cancer Foundation of Alberta.

Oustide of teaching, I love reading, horseback riding, playing recreational softball, travelling, photography, being outdoors, and spending time with my family.

JENNIFER Y.

Jennifer is a Certified Teacher who holds an AQ in Special Education and specializes in working with students using Assistive Technology. As a Technology Consultant, she has supported over 180 students in the past year, by integrating learning strategies with specialized software in the York Region District School Board (YRDSB). Jennifer empowers her students through rapport building and differentiated instruction to effectively overcome learning barriers. She has worked with students with various exceptionalities including autism, ADHD, CP, dyslexia and auditory processing disorder.

Jennifer’s expertise in leading educational technology include: Google Apps for Education (GAFE), Google Read & Write, Kurzweil 3000, WordQ/SpeakQ, Dragon Naturallyspeaking and Smart Ideas. As software designed to support cognitive processing, teaching students how to effectively integrate them with authentic practice can help achieve better communication, writing, organization, comprehension and test-taking skills.

The combination of her Ontario curriculum knowledge from K-12 and familiarity of technology in education makes Jennifer effective in targeting individual student needs to boost self-confidence and independence. Recognizing the importance of family and community involvement, she values connections with parents and teachers/administration to keep communication about student progress open.

Since 2013, Jennifer has experience working with learning and literacy engagement programs in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and independent schools. The program she specializes in is a STEM-focused integration of social justice and literacy/numeracy. In addition to working with K-8, she also teaches grade 10-12 Ontario credit courses including English, Business and Social Sciences.

Jennifer holds a B.Ed. in the primary/junior divisions from Lakehead University as well as a B. Design from Ryerson University. She was certified by the Ontario College of Teachers in 2012. In addition, she also has AQs in Music and Intermediate History.

As a world traveler, Jennifer also has experience teaching ESL in South Korea for 3 years, running sewing and tailoring workshops in Sri Lanka and was involved with a literacy engagement camp in Onigaming First Nation, near Thunder Bay. Jennifer loves learning just as much as teaching. She is inspired by travel, photography and cooking. Her personal learning pursuits include becoming Google Certified, becoming better at plant identification and making time for crafts.