Kayla Benoit
(B.A., B.Ed.)
Director of The Gritty Classroom.
Kayla is passionate about teaching outdoors and inspiring students to learn from the land. She has a love for all things nature with a deep love of plants, turtles and bee's.
In her spare time, you can find Kayla kayaking on Rice lake with her dog and partner, going on nature walks, identifying native and invasive plant species in her area as well as gardening. Kayla teaches Grade 3 French Immersion in Courtice and hopes to one day return to Peterborough to teach. Kayla frequently takes her students outside to learn in the "forest" at Avondale park and sees outdoor education as a priority and necessity for a child's mental and physical wellbeing. Kayla loves to tie curriculum to outdoor education and provide learning through an Indigenous lens.
"There is so much a child can learn outside and I love fostering outdoor learning experiences".
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Sidney Judd
(B.A., B.Ed.)
Sidney is currently a French primary and junior elementary school teacher in Baltimore, Ontario. She grew up in a rural area, spending her free time exploring the creeks, forests and farmland outside and creating art. She strongly believes in the connection of people to nature through food and often spends her free time in the garden. Sidney aspires always to share her enthusiasm for the natural world with young children and to encourage a life-long connection to nature. She believes that nature and the little ones are our greatest teachers! When she’s not at school, she is hiking with her dog, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, foraging, traveling, or learning a new skill. She looks forward to spending time outside learning and exploring alongside your kids!
Jesse Lisle
(B.A., B.Ed.)
Jesse is currently a Primary/Junior teacher for the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. She has had Long Term Positions in various Kindergarten classrooms where she has created and implemented an inquiry based program alongside her teaching teams. Jesse has enjoyed merging outdoor education into her Kindergarten curriculum and welcomes opportunities to utilize the environment as the Third Teacher.
Currently, Jesse resides in Millbrook where she enjoys exploring various nature trails, the community garden and the thrift shops. Over the years, Jesse has been expanding her knowledge and understanding of gardening. Mostly, she enjoys growing herbs and vegetables that can be used for various pasta recipes.
Jesse aspires to teach and learn through nature, our community and the environment. She understands the importance of creating outdoor classrooms where students can learn the curriculum without being confined to four walls. Jesse believes that we need to be able to teach children that nature can be used as a mindfulness tool to help their social and emotional well-being. She believes that it is important to foster positive relationships with nature in order to promote exploration, curiosity and wonder about our world.
Jesse looks forward to learning alongside your children as we immerse ourselves in our environment.
Paige Emms
Paige is a teacher candidate at Trent University. She grew up in Brampton, Ontario playing in the forest behind her house and going to camp herself! She has been an emergency supply educator with the Peel District School Board for four years, from kindergarten through grade nine and has worked as a camp counsellor, immersing kids in the natural world around them.
During her undergrad, Paige majored in Indigenous studies and was inspired by a land based course to focus on outdoor and land based education in her teaching practice. She has completed teaching placements in junior and intermediate grades, where she worked to integrate Indigenous knowledge and outdoor learning as often as possible.
As an educator, Paige strives to cultivate an experience for students that allows them to be themselves, develop important life skills as well as build their confidence and capacity for academics, through the natural environment!
When she’s not teaching, you’ll find her kayaking on Little Lake or walking the trails of Peterborough. Paige looks forward to joining your children on their learning journeys and especially learning from them this summer!
Bre Vestby
(B.A., B.Ed.,M,Ed)
Bre has been a teacher for the past 7 years in the Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes and Clarington area, teaching Primary-Junior aged children. In university, she majored in Indigenous studies and learned about the importance of giving back to Mother Earth and protecting our plants, animals and the environment. She grew up spending her summers as a camp counsellor, and camping with her family. She now continues that tradition with her husband and two dogs. She enjoys going for hikes, canoeing, swimming and enjoying the beautiful outdoors and all it has to offer. She believes spending time amongst nature, and seeing all it has to offer is important for everyone's mental health and overall well-being. She often takes her classes outside for “Forest Fridays” so her students can get the spiritual, physical and emotional outcome of all the outdoors has to offer. She is looking forward to spending a fun filled summer with your children, exploring all that nature has to give!
Sarah Almeida
(B.A., B.Ed.)
Sarah is a primary and junior elementary school teacher in Ontario. She grew up in the woods of Haydon, Ontario, spending her free time wandering her backyard woods and observing salmon in her creek. A few of her pastime activities is identifying frogs in the ponds, birds in the trees, mushroom photography, needle felting and making dream catchers with wild grape vines. She has recently moved to Peterborough and loves exploring the waters and trails of Peterborough with her dog and partner.
Sarah loves playing outside and planting seeds of curiosity, creativity and wonder in young people. She has worked in Summer camps and her two favourite experiences were up north in Fort Albany, working for the Lieutenant Governor's Aboriginal Summer Reading Camp for Indigenous children, and working in Newfoundland for Echo Pond, using principles of Experiential Learning, Earth Education, and Forest and Nature School.
Sarah is looking forward to providing young people opportunities to grow their relationship to the natural world while growing their friendships with each other.
Looking to join our team?
If you think you would be a good fit to join our team of educators, please send your resume and references to grittyclassroom@gmail.com