I am a poetry writing facilitator and Speech Arts teacher passionate about unleashing the creativity of my students through student-centred and mindfulness-focused instruction. I founded my company 9 Creative Lives Studio in 2020 with the goal of turning on its head the idea that there’s a ‘proper’ way to write or public speak, and to support my students to allow their imagination, life experience, and insight to shine through in a genuine way — whether they’re approaching a blank page, or stepping onto a stage to speak.For all of my classes and programs, I design captivating lesson plans that feature the delights of writing, speaking, and reading poetry at their centre. With that said, you should know that poetry can expand out to include all sorts of mediums including: scripts, monologues, stories, and essays. I love metaphors, so here are a few to describe my classroom. My classroom is… a playground, an enchanted forest, a budding tree, a skydiver sailing through the clouds (with a parachute).Through my studio, I offer:- Group poetry writing classes (max. 6 participants per class).- Private Speech Arts classes for school-aged students (4-18). You can also: Invite me into your workplace to facilitate a writing workshop with your team! My writing workshops support team-bonding and will help create a warmer/ more compassionate work environment. Topics include, relationship to: work, purpose, belonging, community, play.---“A mind that is lively and inquiring, compassionate, curious, angry, full of music, full of feeling, is a mind full of possible poetry.” - Mary Oliver, A Poetry Handbook