Halfmoon Bay Elementary Community School

Mr. Ray Clayton, will be the new principal starting in the 2009/2010 school year. Mr Clayton is very excited to have been given the opportunity to once again work at Halfmoon Bay Community School. He completed his very first teaching practicum at the school 21 years ago. Mr. Clayton was very fortunate to have grown up in Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast, attending Sechelt Elementary, Chatelech Junior Secondary and graduating from Elphinstone Secondary School. After receiving his Education degree from the University of Victoria, Mr. Clayton began teaching on the Sunshine Coast at Madeira Park Elementary. He has taught all grades from K-12 and has also taught at West Sechelt Elementary, Pender Harbour Secondary and Chatelech Secondary as well as adult education courses. Mr. Clayton was the principal at Madeira Park Elementary from 2003-2007, and the Vice-Principal at Chatelech Secondary from 2007 through June 2009. Mr. Clayton is married with two daughters; one who attends Chatelech Secondary and the other heading off to College. He is excited to spend time cruising around on the water in his boat.

Ms. Katherine Kelly, our administrative assistant (also known as the Queen of HMB) is Scottish. She has been at Halfmoon Bay Elementary since 1978. Mrs. Kelly loves her job and has worked with (and trained) 14 different principals. She arrived in Canada from Scotland in 1960 where she worked on a ranch in Manitoba as a housekeeper with 5 children in her care, plus hand milking 2 cows, harvesting, and feeding pigs twice a day. She later moved to Calgary where she worked at the Royal Bank for 3 years. Later she worked as a topographical land technician, making maps for oil companies. Twelve years and 2 children later her family moved to the beautiful Sunshine Coast and has been here ever since.

Mrs. Sandy Magnussen is the Support Services Teacher at HMBCS. She has also worked as a primary teacher and in Special Education at Roberts Creek, Chilliwack and in Montreal at a private school for children with autism. She grew up in Alberta and attended the University of Alberta and McGill University in Montreal. She has two sons who attend our school and a daughter at Chatelech. She loves to spend time in the woods, biking, running and walking her yellow lab. She thinks HMB is a great place to be!

Mrs. Elspeth Grant-Smith teaches grade 1/2 at our school. She has taught for eighteen years, most of her career at Halfmoon Bay. Elspeth recently completed her masters in Education. She loves teaching at HMB and feels very lucky that her two sons attend Halfmoon Bay School.

Mrs. Nancy Rowland teaches grade three and has taught primary at HMBCS since 1989. She was born in Fort Langley, moved to the Coast when she was 15 and graduated from Elphinstone. She attended Capilano College and Simon Fraser University and has a degree in General Studies and Special Education. She has two daughters, Katie and Sarah who attend Chatelech and attended Halfmoon Bay Elementary. She loves to read, ski, swim, bike ride, travel and kayak in her spare time.

Mrs. Patsy Anthony, our grade three/four teacher has taught for 27 years on the Sunshine Coast. She grew up in Vancouver and graduated from UBC in English Literature and Education. Her son is at Chatelech now and her daughter attends university in the Maritimes. Mrs. Anthony enjoys introducing her students to Shakespeare and directs a Shakespeare play every year with her class. When not teaching, Mrs. Anthony enjoys fishing, gardening, cooking, kayaking, and spending time on her boat with her family and golden retriever.

Mr. Raun Desharnais has been teaching on the Sunshine Coast Since 1994 and is this year's 4/5 teacher. He is very excited to be teaching at Halfmoon Bay

and looks forward to sharing his love of learning, especially for science and technology. Mr. Desharnais attended the University of Victoria, where he received The President’s Scholarship for academic achievement. He recently completed his masters degree in Education from Simon Fraser University. If he’s not in his classroom, you might find “Mr. D” bike riding the beautiful trails on The Sunshine Coast, reading historical fiction, or hanging out with his two wonderful boys, daughter and wife.

Ms. Cynthia Norman teaches Grade 5/6 this year. She was previously our kindergarten teacher and also worked as a French Immersion teacher in our district. Ms. Norman recently completed her masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction at Simon Fraser University. She is bilingual and from Quebec. Ms. Norman enjoys many sports and has coached volleyball and track. She has a daughter at our school.

Mr. Doug Andrew is our P.E., Art and Grade 5/6 teacher. He has been teaching at Halfmoon Bay for 17 years. He grew up in Vancouver, traveled the world for eight years and owned a gym before becoming a teacher. He graduated from UBC. in 1980. Mr. Andrew is a master woodcarver and enjoys running, weight lifting and telling jokes in his spare time. He has one son, Zach who recently graduated from Chatelech.

Mrs. Jill Short teaches grade 6/7 at HMBCS. She and her husband Laurie have taught together for 30 years and here at HMBCS since 1989. Mrs. Short taught grade one for many years. She graduated from SFU and has two children who also attended HMBCS.

Mrs. Barb Robinson has been a SETA at Halfmoon Bay since 1991. She enjoys the variety of working with children from K-7. She has lived on the Coast since 1984 with her husband and two sons who attended HMBCS. Mrs. Robinson enjoys walking, hiking, skiing, and quilting in her spare time.

Mrs. Naomi Brand joined our staff as a SETA in 2004 and is glad to be a part of this fabulous team. She just completed building a house here in HMB and is enjoying the outdoor community. She grew up in Gibsons, moved away and returned to the Coast 15 years ago. Her children also attend HMBCS.

Mrs. Anne Fraser joined our staff as a SETA four years ago. She has worked in the school system for six years, previously running Serendipity Preschool in Madeira Park and was a partner in a quilting store there. She is an avid quilter and enjoys teaching quilting classes. She has three daughters and has lived in Madeira Park for 27 years.

Ms. Dawn Dickeson is happy to be on the Halfmoon Bay staff as a SETA again this year. Ms. Dickeson is passionate about music and loves working with children. She has two wonderful grandchildren who bring her great joy during the times when she is not at school.

Sue Lamb is our community coordinator here at Halfmoon Bay. She began working here in June of 1994. Sue's background as a registered nurse brings a focus of community health to her job. Sue is an avid bike rider, volunteering with Sprockids. She also serves as secretary for the Halfmoon Bay Citizens Association. She is married to a hardball fanatic, Dave, and her daughter Madison attends Mount Royal College in Calgary. Her son, Gary, is a recent graduate from Chatelech. Sue loves her job here at HMBCS and believes healthy communities are the key to raising healthy children. She is the secretary of our provincial community education association (ACEBC) and is a strong advocate for the community school model in BC.