Meet our teacher Kymberly
Kymberly Pedicelli is a Quebec and Ontario certified teacher, with a Bachelors of Education from Ottawa University, a college diploma in Creative and Dramatic Arts, and a Bachelors of Kinesiology from the University of Calgary. She has been teaching formally in both private and public schools in Ontario and Quebec, in the Arctic and in West Africa, for over 15 years. As an educator, she has had the opportunity to work with, learn from and support children and families from vastly different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, and with all levels of academic, emotional and physical abilities.
While Kym has formally taught traditional subjects as far ranging as science, math, French, history, anatomy, geography, drama, and visual arts, her specialization as a teacher is in experiential and outdoor education with a love of the natural sciences; specifically, connecting young people to the natural world and to the scientific, physical and emotional understanding of what is around and within them. She prefers to work on integrated, experiential projects such as: supporting students in applying for and receiving grant funding to develop a composting program including designing and building large scale bins; facilitating the creation of a greenhouse to be run by the students whose produce was then made available to the community; leading snow-shoeing and winter camping trips or canoeing and cabin building trips to teach children about outdoor survival skills; or organizing a vernissage to highlight students’ and local artists’ work, contribute to program fundraising and to form community connections. Kym has created and worked on countless classroom projects such as these in order to support and facilitate youth empowerment and leadership for all of her students. She is continuously motivated by engaging curious minds and nurturing impassioned spirits, and believes in integrated, hands-on, student-led inquiry and project-based learning across all subject areas.
In addition to her work as a teacher, Kym is an all-round naturalist, herbalist, food and medicinal plant conscious cultivator and respectful wild forager, with her own artisanal holistic health product line that she lovingly produces. She is also a writer and lover of music and creative expression in all forms. As an educator, she passionately believes in promoting service, global awareness and local involvement through supporting young people in becoming conscious, informed, critical thinkers, learners and leaders who feel what it is to belong to and contribute to a community. She is thrilled to have discovered Blue Whale and looks forward to her new adventure as part of the school’s extended learning community and family.
While Kym has formally taught traditional subjects as far ranging as science, math, French, history, anatomy, geography, drama, and visual arts, her specialization as a teacher is in experiential and outdoor education with a love of the natural sciences; specifically, connecting young people to the natural world and to the scientific, physical and emotional understanding of what is around and within them. She prefers to work on integrated, experiential projects such as: supporting students in applying for and receiving grant funding to develop a composting program including designing and building large scale bins; facilitating the creation of a greenhouse to be run by the students whose produce was then made available to the community; leading snow-shoeing and winter camping trips or canoeing and cabin building trips to teach children about outdoor survival skills; or organizing a vernissage to highlight students’ and local artists’ work, contribute to program fundraising and to form community connections. Kym has created and worked on countless classroom projects such as these in order to support and facilitate youth empowerment and leadership for all of her students. She is continuously motivated by engaging curious minds and nurturing impassioned spirits, and believes in integrated, hands-on, student-led inquiry and project-based learning across all subject areas.
In addition to her work as a teacher, Kym is an all-round naturalist, herbalist, food and medicinal plant conscious cultivator and respectful wild forager, with her own artisanal holistic health product line that she lovingly produces. She is also a writer and lover of music and creative expression in all forms. As an educator, she passionately believes in promoting service, global awareness and local involvement through supporting young people in becoming conscious, informed, critical thinkers, learners and leaders who feel what it is to belong to and contribute to a community. She is thrilled to have discovered Blue Whale and looks forward to her new adventure as part of the school’s extended learning community and family.
Meet our teacher Telsing
Telsing Andrews has always loved learning and helping other learners to nurture their own natural curiosity. She has taught primarily math, science and nature studies for many years to diverse groups, always working to enable positive, inclusive STEM experiences for learners of all ages and skill levels from elementary through secondary. Combining a love for all that's creative, Telsing also has training in drama and the arts and is a wonderful hobby painter and graphite artist. While she previously worked at Blue Whale for two years as a math, science and history teacher, she has recently rejoined the program to offer classes focused on her lifelong love of the arts including painting & drawing, theatre, dance, literature, poetry and mythology. In her ‘previous life’, she ran Aster Lane Edibles, a small edible plant nursery and seed company from her farm in Kinburn, where she lived with her family and ran workshops to share her knowledge and love of farming and nature. She is now living back in Ottawa and is excited to be sharing her passion, knowledge and love of learning with our older students.
Meet our teacher Marisa
Marisa Yeomans comes to the Blue Whale Children’s Centre with an extensive academic as well as professional background. She has a Bachelor of Education from the University of Ottawa with the Developing Global Perspectives Cohort and a Bachelor of Kinesiology with Nutrition from Acadia University in Nova Scotia. Prior to obtaining her Ontario Teaching Certificate, Marisa worked in the health and education fields as a Clinical Exercise Physiologist, an Outdoor Education and Leadership Instructor, and an Early Childhood Facilitator.
As a teacher, Marisa is qualified to teach children from K to Grade 6, and has classroom experience in areas as diverse as math, language arts, science, social studies, arts, and physical education and health. Her personal passion is outdoor nature and physical education. For the past year, she has worked with the Bonnenfant Outdoor Education and Leadership Centre where she facilitated experiential and curriculum guided programming and team building activities for school groups and community organizations, as well as with various public and private children’s camps where she planned and delivered programming and also trained, supervised, and assisted other employees and volunteers. Even earlier, through a four-year volunteer position with Acadia University’s Sensory Motor Instructional Leadership Experience (S.M.I.L.E.) Program, Marisa honed her teaching skills through her work with children and youth with special needs whom she supported in developing fundamental movement skills, confidence and social skills through physical activities, yoga, art and play.
Marisa’s diverse experiences as an educator and facilitator have led her to understand the profound value of creating and maintaining positive relationships with her students. Her extensive work with children both in and out of the classroom has ignited as well as deepened her understanding and appreciation of child-led and inquiry-based learning and the need to approach education with a holistic perspective, focusing on the needs, interests and overall well-being of individual students both in one-on-one as well as group settings. She has learned to thoughtfully differentiate instruction and accommodate diverse interests in order to support all students, and she has repeatedly facilitated the connection of her students to the many positive impacts of nature, movement, and outdoor experiences. Marisa is thrilled to be joining the Blue Whale community and excited for the adventure ahead in the 2020-2021 program year.
As a teacher, Marisa is qualified to teach children from K to Grade 6, and has classroom experience in areas as diverse as math, language arts, science, social studies, arts, and physical education and health. Her personal passion is outdoor nature and physical education. For the past year, she has worked with the Bonnenfant Outdoor Education and Leadership Centre where she facilitated experiential and curriculum guided programming and team building activities for school groups and community organizations, as well as with various public and private children’s camps where she planned and delivered programming and also trained, supervised, and assisted other employees and volunteers. Even earlier, through a four-year volunteer position with Acadia University’s Sensory Motor Instructional Leadership Experience (S.M.I.L.E.) Program, Marisa honed her teaching skills through her work with children and youth with special needs whom she supported in developing fundamental movement skills, confidence and social skills through physical activities, yoga, art and play.
Marisa’s diverse experiences as an educator and facilitator have led her to understand the profound value of creating and maintaining positive relationships with her students. Her extensive work with children both in and out of the classroom has ignited as well as deepened her understanding and appreciation of child-led and inquiry-based learning and the need to approach education with a holistic perspective, focusing on the needs, interests and overall well-being of individual students both in one-on-one as well as group settings. She has learned to thoughtfully differentiate instruction and accommodate diverse interests in order to support all students, and she has repeatedly facilitated the connection of her students to the many positive impacts of nature, movement, and outdoor experiences. Marisa is thrilled to be joining the Blue Whale community and excited for the adventure ahead in the 2020-2021 program year.
Meet our teacher Kelsey
Kelsey Walsh is an arts-educator who completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hons) in Theatre and Development through McGill and Concordia Universities. Through art making, Kelsey encourages her students to explore themselves and the world around them. She creates a space where children are supported in being 100% themselves and nurtures a learning environment where students fall into wonder, take fierce ownership over their creations, and are not afraid to express their most wild and wonderous ideas. Kelsey encourages students to use their lived experiences and individual perspectives in the creative process and carefully models behaviours that teach students to celebrate each other’s unique strengths and perspectives. Previously holding positions with Concordia University, the AOE Arts Council, and Joan of Arc Academy, Kelsey, in addition to teaching at Blue Whale, is the current Performance Company Director and Head of Youth Programs at Dandelion Dance, a uniquely holistic dance school for girls in Ottawa.
Meet Founders Ashleigh & Lillian
Lillian Domin and Ashleigh White are both mothers in the Ottawa area who came together because of their shared passion to create a truly alternative learning environment for their own children. They believe learning should be a joyful, deeply engaging and meaningful experience that allows each child to grow into his or her most secure and confident self.
Lillian is a former teacher with the Toronto District School Board, the Kasabonika First Nations Education Authority, and Ottawa’s Algonquin College. Her specialties have included working with at-risk youth and ESL children and adults, blending learning across areas as diverse as science, civics, drama, visual arts, and English language. She is now the acting director and one of the teachers for the Blue Whale Children’s Centre.
Ashleigh is one of the directors at Blue Whale. She has worked in non-profit, government and the private sector, and as a yoga teacher in Ottawa and Victoria, British Columbia. Passionate about birth and maternal child wellness, she has also supported families during childbirth and postpartum.
Meet co-director Nadia Sherstyuk
Nadia Sherstyuk joined the Blue Whale Children’s Centre in January 2018 to spearhead its expansion and the opening of an additional classroom for younger children. Her own educational experiences as well as the wonderful journey of parenting led her to seek out alternatives to the traditional educational systems. Nadia wants to see children to grow up with a deep sense of self-worth and purpose, with the skills and the desire to be life-long learners, and with their innate curiosity and imagination intact.
Nadia is now an active director for the second classroom of the Blue Whale Children’s Centre. Her background is in rehabilitation and women’s health, and she continues to have an active Physiotherapy practice in the Ottawa community.
Nadia is now an active director for the second classroom of the Blue Whale Children’s Centre. Her background is in rehabilitation and women’s health, and she continues to have an active Physiotherapy practice in the Ottawa community.