Peggy was born in Rawal Pindi, Pakistan, of Austrian and British parents.  She grew up in many different countries including Britain, North Africa, Cyprus, Germany, and Austria.  After attending the University of Austria, in Vienna, she moved to the United States where she spent ten years living on the East Coast in New Jersey and North Carolina. 

Peggy qualified as an Early Childhood Education teacher in Caldwell County, N.C., and worked as a Kindergarten teacher for the Head Start programme.  After ten years in the United States, Peggy immigrated to Canada and opened a preschool in Maple Ridge which she operated for twenty years.

Peggy is married, with four children and two grandchildren.  Her favourite place to vacation is in Hawaii where her oldest daughter lives!

Until 2005, Jayme lived all of her life in the West Kootenays where she worked in a variety of Early Childhood Education programmes as a preschool teacher.

Jayme then moved to Maple Ridge where she reconnected with and married her soulmate.  She enjoys walking, reading, gardening, and music.  Jayme’s favourite colours are the colours of the rainbow, and her favourite saying is, “We all smile in the same language.”  Jayme loves teaching the youngest children of Greybrook Academy and being part of the Greybrook ECE team.

Emma graduated from Douglas College with a diploma in Early Childhood Education. Following graduation she accepted a job with Norwegian Cruise Lines as a Youth Councilor. During this time, Emma enjoyed being able to work with children aged 2-13 whilst traveling to places such as Alaska, Central America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda (her favourite!). 

After deciding to settle down at home, Emma spent a year as a preschool teacher in Maple Ridge. Now she is happy to be part of the Greybrook staff and is loving working with all of the Junior Kindergarten children.

Emma grew up in Pitt Meadows, where she loves to go hiking and kayaking.

Simona was born and raised in Vancouver, B.C. She knew from a very young age that she loved animals and children, and began babysitting at age 12.  Simona graduated with her Early  
Childhood Diploma in 1990.  Since then, Simona has run her own  daycare, run an Emergency Care home for children faced with  behavioral challenges,  been the Manager for a quite a few daycares, and now is very proud and enthusiastic about taking care of the youngest of Greybrook Academy's students!

Simona loves to be silly with children and loves to nurture and teach them.  She is absolutely amazed at how bright and intelligent they are and how much they learn in the space of a year. Reading, singing, and doing arts and crafts daily just makes Simona's day!

Simona is the mother of one son, who attends Greybrook. They enjoy being outdoors and traveling as well as eating cultural foods! Simona’s plans include getting even more involved with the community and helping others.

Melissa is a graduate of the Early Childhood Education Diploma Programme at Vancouver Career College, and started her ECE career here at Greybrook when the school first opened. Melissa particularly loves teaching Junior Kindergarten Science and circle time.  She believes in encouraging children to learn through guidance and positive reinforcement, and is dedicated to providing quality care and instruction for the children in her class.

Melissa's favourite things are her daughter's soccer games, snow, and the color pink. If she had her way it would be Christmas year round! Melissa knew she wanted to work with children when she put her daughter in preschool when she was three; she has enjoyed watching her daughter grow with Greybrook over the years, and looks forward to years to come.

Hilary was born and raised in Staffordshire, England. After studying to become a teacher at Madeley College, specialising in Education and English Literature, she continued her education with the Open University. During her teaching career she taught children aged 3-11 in primary schools in England for over 28 years. She also worked at the Dyslexia Institute in Staffordshire teaching children with learning difficulties, and enjoyed working as the art and design specialist at her last school. Hilary believes that educating children is the most important and rewarding job of all. 

Hilary's mum always knew she would become a teacher – from the time she was 3 years old she used to line up her dolls to give them instruction! 

In 2007 Hilary moved to Canada with her husband and two children, and now lives in Maple Ridge.  She loves music, art, theatre, reading, travel, and walking in BC's amazing forests and countryside. Her favourite colour is blue.

It was Kay's mathematics teacher who first encouraged her to look at teaching as a career (our thanks to him!).  She began teaching after studying at Bulmershe College of Higher Education, a teacher training college in England.  During her career, Kay has taught children aged 4 to 14 at various schools in the UK and Canada, and has acquired a vast wealth of experience and insight. 

Kay feels it is important to provide her students with a positive, attractive environment in which to learn, and she does this by highlighting their achievements in her vibrant classroom displays.  She also believes that developing strong foundations in literacy and mathematical skills are vitally important.  In addition to her Kindergarten duties, Kay is currently teaching Greybrook’s gifted math programme.

On coming to Canada, Kay continued her education by taking several university courses.   Kay is married and has a grown up daughter and two grandchildren.  She is passionate about Playmobil, and her favourite colour is green.  She likes pottering around in her small garden, reading, and listening to tenors, especially Russell Watson.  Oh, and she adores her Smart Car!

Carla was born and raised in Maple Ridge. She moved away to attend university and graduated from the University of Waterloo with a major in History and a minor in Drama. Carla received her Bachelor of Education from the University of British Columbia, and promptly moved up to the Okanagan to join her husband after a beautiful fall wedding at her family's summer home on Shuswap Lake.  Although she misses the Okanagan sun, Carla is happy to be back in Maple Ridge.  She counts herself lucky to have found such a perfect fit at Greybrook Academy!

Carla is an outdoor enthusiast and loves a good trail run. Carla also plays soccer and has coached mini-soccer to children aged three to five – an experience that still brings a smile to her face when she think about it.

Amy studied at Bishop Grosseteste College in Lincoln, England and graduated with a Bachelor of Science with Qualified Teaching Status. She has had over 6 years professional teaching experience working with children aged 3-11 in primary schools across England and Australia, as well as her time teaching in Canada. She specializes in the teaching of Mathematics and IT and has had a wide range of experiences working with children who have learning difficulties.

Newly married, Amy is settling in well to life in Canada and is taking advantage of the great outdoors. She is becoming an avid camper and hopes, one day soon, to take to the slopes and learn how to snowboard. Her other interests include traveling, hiking and trying tasty new foods (that someone else has cooked).

Jenny Slinn moved to Canada from the United States 5 years ago. She agrees with BC's motto that it is the most beautiful place on Earth!  Jenny lives with her husband, two boys and mother-in-law in Coquitlam, and she enjoys gardening, reading, swimming and photography when she isn't in the classroom.

Jenny came to Greybrook from York House School in Vancouver, where she taught Grade 5 for 4 years. Before that, she taught in the California Public School System at a variety of levels for several years. Jenny has her Masters in Education in differentiated education and is thrilled to join the Greybrook team and the IB Programme.

Sarah earned both her Anthropology and Education degrees from the University of Victoria. She has experience teaching grades K-8 on Saltspring Island and in Victoria, and most recently taught grades 1 and 4 before moving over to the mainland. 

Sarah is new to the mainland and loves what it has to offer.   Sarah enjoys spending time with her husband and friends, improving her ice hockey skills, camping, reading and making homemade food.

Megan Walker, Greybrook’s Grade 5 teacher, is originally from a town in the Pacific Northwest of BC called Terrace.  After completing her BA and the professional teaching program at SFU, Megan worked for two years on the Nisga’a First Nations reserve before deciding to work overseas.  Two years ago she returned to BC after teaching at American and international schools abroad.  For seven years she loved living in, working in, and learning about Colombia, Turkey, Poland, and Mexico.

Megan’s favorite place to be is near the ocean, but she loves anywhere with an interesting history or anyplace sunny.   She loves teaching kids, but she also loves yoga, horseback riding and jumping, reading, baking, rock climbing, and traveling.  Megan is very happy to be back in B.C., and is greatly enjoying working and learning from the kids at Greybrook Academy.  Megan is especially excited to be expecting a baby with her partner Paul in February! (But she will miss her fabulous grade 5 students a lot!)

Lisa has recently returned to Maple Ridge after living abroad for the past eight years.  She spent seven years in London, England and one year in Caracas, Venezuela, teaching and traveling.  Lisa has worked within the International Baccalaureate school system for the past three years and has traveled all over the world to attend conferences; her favourite was in Cairo, Egypt.   Lisa loves teaching within the International Baccalaureate system and is excited to be the Primary Years Program Coordinator at Greybrook.