Meet The Educators
Robyn Akehurst
Robyn Akehurst the Founder of Alpine Learning. She is a trained Education Assistant with a back ground in Special Education. She brings extensive experience with working with school aged children with all learning profiles. Robyn has training in both intellectual and physical learning differences. She works regularly with high performance sports athletes as well as students with specific medical needs.
Robyn brings experience working with students on the Autism spectrum and has specific training in POPARD. Robyn has supported her clients with behaviour intervention, social skills and work experience.
Robyn is certified as a Jump Math Specialist which supports students excel in their mathematics abilities. She has resources to enrich students math abilities beyond their grade level.
In addition, Robyn is trained in Orton Gillingham. Her training offers students the opportunity to learning through a remedial explicit multi sensory approach to literacy.
Feel free to contact Robyn directly to speak about your child’s learning objectives.
Aisling Woods
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With over twenty years of experience as a tutor, Ash is happy to share her passion for math education with learners in Whistler. After graduating from McGill and University of Toronto, she taught math full-time in Montreal and in the UK. She currently works as a teacher on call in the local school district and a tutor in Whistler. Ash has tutored students in remedial tutoring to enrichment. She is proficient in virtual and in person sessions. Ash can support students up to grade 12 in Foundations, Calculus, and Physics.
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Anna Earl
Anna has been working in education since 2008, gaining her Postgraduate Degree in Education at the University of New South Wales in 2010. Since then, she has worked with both children and adults, in middle, secondary and English language schools in the UK, Australia and Canada. Having worked in schools of an excellent caliber, she demands the highest standards of herself and the best from her students. She is passionate about learning and education.
She teaches all subjects to a middle school level and also specializes in high school Humanities subjects, particularly English, History and English as a Second Language.
Of British/French origin, Anna has spent her life traveling the world. Since moving to Whistler in August 2019, she has embraced the lifestyle here, enjoying hiking and snowboarding in her free time. She established Earl Education in 2020 in response to the tutoring and educational needs of local Sea to Sky residents. She offers tutoring for school students and English Language lessons for adults preparing for visa examinations.
Marie-Eve Cote
Marie-Ève Côté is originally from Quebec City and moved in 2020 to Whistler. She is a lover of the outdoors and understands the importance of enjoying the gifts that Whistler has to offer.
Working for more than 20 years in the financial field as an accountant, she quickly noticed since her arrival, the imminent needs for the French language tutor. As a mother of a 14 years old, she understands the needs and support that children require when it comes to their education.
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Moving across the country where a new language was imposed on her son, her role as a mother took another dimension. Not only did her son needed extra support for school but for social environment as well. Marie has a foundation of how to tutor school aged children in french. She can help build confidence in their written and spoken language skills they can bring back to their classroom.
Marie is driven, patient and giving, making the education of your children a top priority.
Rebecca Simon
Rebecca is passionate about working with children and helping them find their strengths and to develop confidence in all aspects of life. She began working in the children’s ski program at Whistler Blackcomb when she was still in high school and has maintained a connection to skiing with kids ever since.
Travel and working abroad opened her up to training in Waldorf Education and later Pre and Perinatal Psychology. In 2021 she graduated with honours from Selkirk College with a diploma in Child and Youth Care and as an education assistant and community support worker and Spectrum Autism Training. Through these programs Rebecca has gained a greater appreciation for the need to work with people where they are, rather than where they ‘should be’. We all learn and develop at our own pace and developing intrinsic motivation and a sense of confidence goes a long way for the social and emotional aspects of a child’s personal development. Rebecca has completed the Orton Gillingham for math course through OG Academic Math as well as the overview of Orton Gillingham through the Dyslexia Training Institute.
Rebecca is excited to be a part of the learning and growth environment that Alpine Learning fosters so well and looks forward to encouraging your children's enjoyment and success.
Val Chan
Val started her teaching career in PE/Outdoor Education in 2008, and graduated from the University of Technology Sydney with majors in Sport Management, Teaching and Honours in Sport Science. After a brief stint working in high performance sport in Australia, a desire to live overseas and love of mountain bike riding brought her to Whistler.
She values the important role teaching plays in shaping young minds and equipping students with the knowledge and character to succeed both inside and outside the classroom. Specifically, teaching students to be resilient learners, which will be helpful in classroom learning and life. She encourages students to apply a growth mindset to understand their comfort zone, and challenge them to extend themselves beyond these boundaries. Val is enjoying the challenge and transition of classroom teaching and bringing those life lessons into the classroom and Alpine Learning.
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Kieran Collingwood
Kieran hails from London UK and is a BA music and English literature graduate who has also recently completed his Masters in Music Psychology and well-being at the University of Leeds. He has experience of tutoring English to high school students and guitar to beginners and at music camps. He also worked in a mental health/ learning support role at an additional needs school this past year. He has a passion for helping students overcome learning obstacles and facilitating their growth in independence and confidence.
Tobi Henderson
Tobi is a certified teacher and long time Whistler local, is entering her 4th year of tutoring with Alpine Learning. She obtained her BC Teaching Certificate from UBC Okanagan, specializing in Math and Science, and has taught all ages and subjects in the Sea to Sky region since beginning her teaching career in 2004. Tobi’s personable and enthusiastic nature brings a positive approach to learning, engaging students in ways that make learning fun while enhancing a mindset of attainability and confidence. A strong proponent of creative learning, Tobi employs hands on and real world strategies as much as possible in her sessions. Most importantly, Tobi believes that every student learns differently and that must be met with diverse ways of teaching. Tobi looks forward to connecting with your child to personalize their learning and strengthen their future success.