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.

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).

Saje R.

Saje 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, Saje has experience teaching at every grade level. Saje 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, Saje strives to model decolonization and teach students their role in reconciliation.

Saje‘Slove for working with youth was fostered at a young age, when she became a camp counselor for 8 consecutive summers. Saje 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, Saje 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, Saje has experience private tutoring at varying ages and subject areas. While tutoring, Saje 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. Saje believes in supporting students in expanding their self-confidence and self-esteem to support their development in the classroom and beyond.

In Saje‘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, Saje finds overlaps within subject areas to create integrated learning for her students. Saje 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.

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!

Keith R.

Keith Robinson is a professionally certified teacher with more than thirty years’ teaching experience. He grew up in Vancouver, where he developed a keen interest in marine biology. After earning a degree in Biology from UBC, he spent several years working on various research projects at sea, through the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo. In the mid-1980s, he decided to go into high school teaching, where he could share his love of science with young people. His teaching career has seen him engaged with students in high school laboratories in northern Canada, and more recently online. His repertoire includes all senior levels of Biology, Chemistry, Math, Physics, Earth Science, and Junior Science.

During his teaching career, Keith’s expertise has been frequently sought by the Ministry of Education on matters related to curriculum, learning resources, and testing. And recently, Keith returned to university, earning his MSc at Royal Roads in Victoria.

No longer in the school lab, Keith Robinson continues to author online courses and to teach senior Chemistry part-time online, where he greatly enjoys connecting with students virtually and helping them achieve their goals. When he is not teaching, Keith can be found cycling and skating the ski trails around Kelowna. During down times, he reads a lot—mostly Tolkien, CS Lewis, Orwell, and Russian literature in translation.

Darien K.

Janet D.