Rayleen Onishenko

English from Canada

I'm Ukrainian Canadian, born in Canada with maternal and fraternal grandparents that immigrated to Canada from Ukraine in the early 1900's... and same for my husband.  Both of our families were raised with strong Ukrainian values, and lived and learned the traditions and customs of Ukrainian culture.   We are all very proud of our Ukrainian heritage, we love everything about it... and the delicious Ukrainian food is the best.  We learned how to prepare our favorite Ukrainian foods from when we were young... we make them all the time, and our children love them too.  In Canada, we have a large Ukrainian population... especially in the province of Saskatchewan where we live.  There are  many celebrations throughout the year where we come together with great Ukrainian food, Ukrainian dancing, and Ukrainian music... such a wonderful time!

One of my passions is travelling - mostly to warm places to get away from the cold Canadian winters  - even if it's only for a week.  I also enjoy teaching fitness classes, hiking  in the mountains, hockey, music, gardening, cooking and being together with family.   Spending time in nature is also very important to me as it is very nurturing for the soul and helps to harmonize the mind, body and spirit. 

I joined Svitlo school in March 2022  and am so grateful for the opportunity to be able to connect and interact with these amazing students. They are always so eager to learn and are very thankful for the lessons.  The topics in class are always changing, as I try to keep it fun and interesting for the children.  We discuss and learn about a variety of different things, and also interact in some fun activities and games to help with building English skills.   It has been so very wonderful getting to know  all of the children .. they are all so incredible and  always very appreciative.  It is my dream to travel to Ukraine one day and meet the Svitlo students in person.  Слава Україні!

Other people of Svitlo School

Oleksandra
Administrative and communications coordinator
Gianfranco Catanzaro
English Language
Gavin Hepherd-Hall
Director of Academics