About me
Peggy: I'm from Taiwan. My family immigrated to Canada when I was 12 years old. When we moved to Vancouver, I couldn't speak any English. As an EAL student in grade 8, I experienced first hand all the difficulties of being in a foreign country, as well as all the challenges and nuances of learning a new language and culture.
In my five years of high school in Vancouver, I had to intensively study to catch up while nurturing my passion for music, eventually earning a Bachelor of Music from McGill University. While pursuing my musical interests, my growing dedication to EAL education led me to obtain a TESOL degree during my four years in Montreal. My educational journey has been diverse, including a Bachelor of Education from UBC and a Master of Arts from Columbia University's Teachers College in New York.
In the past 23 years, I've accumulated diverse teaching experiences across various settings. I spent seven years teaching in Division 2 within the VSB (Vancouver School Board). Following that, I spent seven years teaching and owning my own EFL Language Centre in Taiwan. This experience helped me gain invaluable insights into language education and management. After that, I came into the CBE and taught Div. 1 for the past 8 years. Currently, I am an EAL teacher and Learning Leader at Colonel Irvine School. It's an immense privilege to guide middle school students undergoing similar experiences to mine at their age.
Brenda: I am in my 25th year of teaching and throughout my teaching career, I have had the privilege of teaching in many diverse learning environments. I started my career by teaching on a Hutterite colony in Saskatchewan, where I first learned the importance of supporting students whose first language was not English. Throughout my career, I have taught in Taiwan, Houston, Texas, Saskatchewan and Alberta and I have worked for the Calgary Board of Education for a total of 14 years. While living and teaching in Taiwan and trying to learn the Mandarin language myself, I quickly saw the importance of scaffolding learning, building vocabulary, and the need for support in language development. I participated in the Summer Institute for English as a Second Language training with CBE, had the privilege of being an EAL lead teacher for 2 years, and currently I teach in the Mandarin program as a Humanities teacher, a Literacy Learning Leader, participating in the Open Leadership Development series, and attending the University of Calgary Interdisciplinary Master of Education program. I have a passion for learning and helping students find success.
Ruby: graduated from the University of Alberta and completed my Bachelors of Education – Minor: Health and Major: Social Studies. I am in my 14th year of teaching and throughout my teaching career, I have had the privilege of teaching in many diverse learning environments. I started my career by teaching a specialized program – PLP and then teaching in the Bridges program. From there I was head of the Health department and breakfast program. Currently, I teach as a Humanities teacher and a Literacy Learning Leader. I have completed the Indigenous Canada course through University of Alberta Faculty of Native Studies. I love to learn and challenge myself, I am currently registered in the HLAT Writing Network and the Open Leadership Development.
