Kate J.

Kate is a certified teacher in British Columbia, Ontario and Australia. She grew up in Toronto, Ontario and completed the Concurrent Education program at Nipissing University. Graduating with a Bachelor of Honors Psychology and a Bachelor of Education. As well, she completed a Postgraduate course in Special Education and is currently finishing her Masters of Education and Technology. It was during her volunteer teaching experience in Costa Rica that she grew a passion for Special Education and encouraging diverse learners.

Kate moved to British Columbia just over a year ago due to her love of nature, travel, and passion for continuing her learning. During the summer months, Kate does online and in-person tutoring and has previously worked running a horseback riding camp for children.

Kate believes that by building a strong relationship with her students and understanding their abilities, she is better able to meet their needs and grow their knowledge. She also places importance on developing the whole learner, incorporating social and life skills and student interests into her teaching. Kate’s favorite subjects to teach are math, art, and social studies. Kate finds education very rewarding, she greatly enjoys working with children and teens and hopes to continue growing her personal experiences and knowledge.

Arielle M.

With a background in teaching ESL and horsemanship, Arielle completed her Bachelor of Education at UBC Okanagan in 2019. She has specialized in teaching early primary K-2 for the past few years, and brings an intuitive, nature-based, hands-on, responsive approach to teaching, making learning fun and engaging. She also has a long-standing passion for literature and writing and is well positioned to support your teen as they develop their ability as writers in their final years of high school or in preparation for university. Arielle believes that building a safe and positive learning environment is key to students’ ability and desire to learn.

Arielle was born and raised on the west coast and moved to Summerland in 2005. She loves reading, art, photography, film, history, nature, and animals – especially horses! She lives with her husband and two children on a farm in Summerland, which they share with various animal companions.

Eileen H.

Eileen is a Speech Language Pathologist with experience working in the education, healthcare, and private systems across Canada and the United States.

She enjoys working with children and adults with various backgrounds in-person and virtually. Eileen uses creativity when collaborating with families in order to achieve overall speech, language, and communication goals. She holds a special interest in providing services to remote communities and bringing a positive experience to families.

In addition to her MSc. in Speech-Language Pathology, Eileen’s advanced training includes Canadian Hemispheres Level 1-8 (Stroke Competency Series), MBS IMP Certification, SCERTS training, Hanen’s Learning Language and Loving It, and she is currently studying towards her Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy certification. She has taken additional coursework in the areas of trauma practices, neurological approaches for self-regulation, and articulation and language treatments.

In her spare time, Eileen enjoys a variety of hobbies, except needlepoint. She has tremendous respect for those who engage in needlepoint. She is a published author and holds a deep compassion for others and their journeys.

Eileen is a member of College of Speech and Hearing Health Professionals of British Columbia (CSHBC), British Columbia Association of Speech Language Pathologists and Audiologists (BCASLPA), Speech-Language Audiology Canada (SAC), and is a Past member of the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA).

Lauren R.

Lauren is a Certified Teacher. She graduated from Mount Royal University in the spring of 2022, with a Bachelor of Elementary Education and a minor in Spanish Languages and Hispanic Cultures. She completed her final teaching internship with Calgary Academy, where she taught Grade 2 students. Throughout her field experiences and practicum placements, Lauren has experience teaching at every grade level. Lauren believes in the importance of decolonizing our classrooms, schools and curriculums and successfully completed her final capstone project titled “Roses of Reconciliation: the Art of un-Learning”. Through collaboration alongside Indigenous communities, authentically and respectfully incorporating Indigenous voices and resources into the classroom, and working with Elders and Knowledge Keepers, Lauren strives to model decolonization and teach students their role in reconciliation.

Lauren’s love for working with youth was fostered at a young age, when she became a camp counselor for 8 consecutive summers. Lauren spent her summers working at Camp Cadicasu, where she would instill love, wonder, curiosity and appreciation for nature with youth. She initially began her studies of Education at the University of Saskatchewan, where she studied for one year before transferring to Mount Royal University. After five years of pursuing her dream, Lauren made the decision to teach abroad. She worked as a grade one teacher at a private school in Guadalajara, Mexico and fell in love with the culture and school. Additionally, Lauren has experience private tutoring at varying ages and subject areas. While tutoring, Lauren fosters a safe and inclusive learning environment where the learner feels comfortable taking learning risks and exploring new challenges. Through hands-on, personalized instruction directed at the students interests and learning needs, students’ love for learning expands. Lauren believes in supporting students in expanding their self-confidence and self-esteem to support their development in the classroom and beyond.

In Lauren’s free time, you can find her climbing mountains, in a downward dog yoga position, reading books, creating art, or dancing in nature. She loves anything regarding creative expression and believes in the healing power of art and nature. With a holistic and interdisciplinary approach to the curriculum, Lauren finds overlaps within subject areas to create integrated learning for her students. Lauren is looking forward to tutoring with you!

Mikayla P.

Mikayla grew up and studied in Prince Edward Island, Canada. In 2017, she graduated from the University of Prince Edward Island with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and English. During this degree she took an Introduction to Education course as an elective; this is where her passion for education and teaching was born. She went on to complete a Bachelor of Education degree, specializing in Elementary, Indigenous, and International Education, also with UPEI. As a part of her Bachelor of Education degree she had the opportunity to travel to New Zealand to complete her practicum. This opened her eyes to new teaching methodologies and incorporating cultural awareness in the classroom. It also fostered a deep love of travel and openness to new experiences. Since 2018, Mikayla has taught in classrooms from K-9. She has experience with all subjects in the elementary curriculum, but her passion lies with literacy. This past year, Mikayla worked with students both in school and also after school as a tutor, with students who needed extra support in literacy. It was the favorite part of her day to meet with these students and build their confidence and skills in both reading and writing. Her approach is student centered, focusing on students strengths and interests. Her belief is that learning should be engaging, positive, and approachable. Mikayla loves teaching so much that she is constantly practicing at home teaching her dog, Gunner, lots of new tricks.

Stephen N.

Stephen Nowoselski is a teacher candidate in the Bachelor of Education program at the University of British Columbia Okanagan. In 2022 he graduated from the University of British Columbia Okanagan with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in history, and minoring in biology. Through his post-secondary life, Stephen has spent time tutoring students from grades 2-12. He plans to teach high-school social studies and biology.
Outside of academics, Stephen played 2 seasons of varsity soccer and shared his experiences through coaching. As a tutor and future teacher, Stephen hopes to make learning more enjoyable and accessible for students. Traveling has also been a passion for Stephen, most recently having traveled to Sao Paulo, Brazil in the Spring of 2022.

Lori P.

Lori Pollock is a Certified Teacher. She grew up in Alberta, then moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to complete a Bachelor’s Degree in Education in the teaching area of Secondary Sciences. As well, she completed a Bachelor of Science in Biology. Lori was given the opportunity to teach high school science for several years. Lori then moved up into higher education to work at the university level. For many years now Lori has assisted thousands of students to successfully transition from high school to university life. Lori has a passion for engaging and inspiring students to find success. She works with students to set goals and create their own personal success plans. Lori gives guidance on; time management, organization, decision-making, academic skill building, and exam taking. Lori believes that by building strong relationships with her students she is better able to meet their needs. As an experienced mentor, Lori has many strategies to work with students and continues to develop new and innovative ways to guide students to reach their full potential.

Lori now lives in West Kelowna and loves to spend time with her family, read novels, garden and travel. It is through these experiences that her love of life, nature, and science shines through. Lori has a passion for learning, lots of patience with a pinch of sense of humor, a great blend for a teacher!

Akshata P.

Akshata is a passionate tutor and a dedicated learner of the above academic disciplines. Akshata is presently a university student in pursuit of an engineering degree at the University of British Columbia. Akshata has taught English, Math, General Sciences, and other subjects to students from first to university level for the last 2 years. Furthermore, she helps student find their academic goals through rigorous practice and skill-enhancing word problems. Akshata has worked for a non-profit organization in India called HelpAge India in the field of helping disadvantaged senior citizens with their involvement in the community through working with neighboring schools and the growth of digital awareness and education for senior citizens that would love to be closer to their friends and family.
Akshata would want to teach students that making small mistakes in solving word problems is a big component of the learning process and teach them that there is better development from students making the problems themselves and pushing them to the limits to find the best opportunity for them to not only learn from their mistake however possibly teach others in perseverance and find the right solution.
Akshata was a competitive swimmer in upper-year high school. Nowadays, she loves to swim, play badminton, table tennis, and other sports in her free time, hone her skills through new endeavors, and approach new environments. “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think” is what she stands by.

Nackeshia B.

Sarah M.

Sarah MacDonald is a Certified Elementary and Core French Teacher. She is borrowed by the mountains, but belongs to the ocean, as she grew up on the East Coast in Nova Scotia. Sarah graduated high school with French Immersion and her DELF French Proficiency Certificate. She went on to complete both her Bachelor of Kinesiology (‘18) and Bachelor of Education (‘20) at Acadia University.

Sarah has 3 full-time years of classroom teaching under her belt, with a wide range of grade levels and subjects taught. Most of her time has been spent teaching grade 6 (all subjects), and grades 4-9 core French. She has also taught junior high social studies, art, and health, as well as K-3 English Language Arts.

Sarah’s teaching experience goes beyond the four classroom walls. She is also a certified swim instructor, and spent the summer working for WETS Kelowna, and she teaches highland dance.

With this range of ages and abilities, Sarah recognizes that building relationships and ensuring students feel they play an active role in their learning is a major key to success. She understands each child learns differently and makes it a priority to engage learners in ways that make sense for them.

Sarah’s goal when tutoring is to foster personalized, one-on-one interactive and engaging lessons. She believes in developing a deep understanding rather than memorization, and often incorporates the student’s curiosity and interests to make learning more meaningful (and fun!).

In her spare time, Sarah loves to play and watch sports, explore the outdoors, and spend time with friends and family. She loves a good punchline, her cat, Rhubarb, and will never turn down a snack!