Olga Poyner

Hello! I am a mother to two amazing twin toddlers, Ellie and James. We live together along with my husband, Sam, in beautiful Nanaimo, BC. We live close to the beach and we like going on nature walks and enjoying the outdoors as much as we can. We have been busy exploring Vancouver Island since we moved here two years ago (hate those ferries!), but we also love traveling to far-away places. If you would like to see photos of our travels and adventures, click on the Instagram button below.

In my professional career, I am a teacher in the Nanaimo school district. I am currently an English Language Learner teacher at two different schools. Before returning to Nanaimo (I am originally from Nanaimo, but moved away after high school), I taught for several years in the Surrey School district as a Kindergarten teacher and Early Learning teacher. I also taught ESL at a language school in downtown Vancouver and in Japan for a couple of years after graduating from UBC. Teaching in Japan gave me an amazing opportunity to learn about Japanese culture and I was able visit other countries in Southeast Asia, such as the Philippines (where my parents are from), Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

In 2015, I completed my Masters in Education at UBC in Language and Literacy Education with a focus on teaching diverse learners. I was able to combine my love for music and young children in my final research project, “Using songs to teach phonemic awareness skills to young children.” You can find the resource I created for teachers by clicking on the button above.

I hope that this course will give me the knowledge, skills and confidence to better assist my colleagues and the families at my schools in regards to assessment, evaluation and planning. I am very excited to be taking an online course again and continuing to be a life-long learner!