Mrs. Cristina McAllister Cristina.Mcallister@burnabyschools.ca
Mrs. McAllister has had the joy of teaching at Alpha for the past three years. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in English Literature and minoring in Theatre, only six credits short of the double-major because she couldn’t very well stage manage at the same time she was contracted to perform in a show. Her BA and subsequent Bachelor of Education were both acquired at UBC. Before heading to UBC, she was also in the Theatre Diploma Program at what is now Capilano University. Theatre has been a great part of her life, working through University starring in Vancouver’s longest running theatre show “Tony ‘n’ Tina’s Wedding”. She also developed the Drama program at Saint Thomas Aquinas for 14 years before finding her home in Burnaby. When not running the Drama program here at Alpha or teaching English, Mrs. McAllister is a married mama to boys and a Labradoodle and is an avid crafter. She also loves planning a good theme birthday party!
Cristina teaches Drama 8-10, Acting 11/12, Theatre Production PM, English 8, Leadership/Peer Mentoring and is also the Department Head of Visual and Performing Arts.
Ms. Madeline de Shield Madeline.DeShield@burnabyschools.ca
Ms. de Shield grew up in Burnaby and loved dance as a child. She went on to pursue her studies in contemporary dance at SFU earning her BFA while also completing a minor in kinesiology. After graduating from the dance program, she continued at SFU to go through teacher training. At the same time, she started to pursue her interest in other dance styles. After some time, she settled on samba and has been training and performing in the style for over 4 years now. She recently completed another program at SFU for special education and also took the opportunity to learn more about drama education. Outside of class time she likes to visit cat cafes, go to film festivals, and eat tons of ramen.
Madeline teaches Dance 8-12 and Drama 9.
Ms. Kendra Fehr Kendra.Fehr@burnabyschools.ca
Ms. Fehr was born and grew up in Santa Cruz, Bolivia and completed her Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education at the University of Saskatchewan and her TESOL diploma at UBC. Kendra spent nine years teaching Visual Arts at an international school in Beijing, China and has now taught art with the Burnaby district for four years. Kendra also has her Master’s of Museum Education from UBC and has worked at the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon, the Alberta Art Gallery in Edmonton and the Museum of Surrey in British Columbia. Kendra is passionate about teaching art and creating a space for the enjoyment of culture and moving to new places and studying has been a way to ensure she has always had a career that allows her to be an educator in these areas. When living overseas, Kendra was an avid traveler and back-packer and has visited 48 different countries. Before meeting her 5 star hotel/foodie husband, Kendra was a champ at finding $20 hostels and cheap street food, trusting in her ear plugs and iron stomach. Kendra is now a new mom and is passionate about sleep and spends her free time doing laundry and cleaning food off of the floor.
Kendra teaches Art 8, Photo 10, 11,12 Drawing and Painting 10, 11 &12, and AP Art.
Ms. Marlene Lawrence Marlene.Lawrence@burnabyschools.ca
Marlene Lawrence studied studio art at Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design and has a Bachelor of Fine Art, a Diploma in Graphic Design, and a Teaching Certificate from SFU. She has a great love for art and loves to inspire creativity in her students by teaching a variety of skills using many different materials while exploring a wide range of subject matter. When she isn’t teaching, she’s busy with her family, enjoying the outdoors, painting, or taking an art class for fun in her spare time.
Marlene teaches Art 8/9/10, Art: Drawing and Painting 10-12, Ceramics and Sculpture, and AP Art.
Ms. Stella Teng-Davis Stella.Teng-Davis@burnabyschools.ca
Stella Teng-Davis teaches yearbook design and media arts/digital literacy. She has a Bachelor of Commerce degree as well as a Bachelor of Education degree, both from the University of British Columbia. She also has a graduate diploma from Simon Fraser University. Ms. Teng-Davis loves all thing design, spending time with her family, hot yoga, and her golden doodle.
Stella teaches Media Arts/Design 9/10 and Yearbook 11/12.
Mr. Jesse Branter Jesse.Branter@burnabyschools.ca
Jesse Branter grew up in Burnaby and is an alumnus of Alpha Secondary School (Class of 2012). Mr. Branter teaches a mix of instrumental and vocal music through Choir, Concert Band, and Jazz Band. He has a Bachelor of Music and a Bachelor of Education from the University of British Columbia. Outside of teaching, he is a member of the Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble, a Vancouver based community Concert Band, where he plays clarinet.
Jesse teaches Concert Choir 8-12, Chamber Choir 8-12, Concert Band 8-12, and Jazz Band 8-12.