Mr. Brian Burke
Mr. Burke has been teaching for over 25 years including the last five year at Pattison High school. He was born and raised in Toronto but has spent over ten years teaching abroad including South Korea and Japan. For the last 18 years he has been living and working in Vancouver. His experience includes teacher training as well as IELTS. He is now teaching social studies and economics. He believes that knowledge and an appreciation of the past is helpful to properly understand the present. In his free time he likes cycling around the parks and trails in the city or reading in the sun on one of the great beaches in Vancouver.
Mr. Christopher Catalano
Mr. Catalano studied at Emily Carr from 1984-88, and at Nimbus School of Recording and Media in 2011. He has a B.F.A. in painting through Emily Carr and Thompson Rivers University and a Diploma in Advanced Music Production from Nimbus. His creative work consists of allegorical/surrealistic painting, drawing, photography/videography, and music creation, production and performance. He has had over 20 solo exhibitions, has his music available for on Apple Music and Spotify. His main instruments are voice, guitar, and bass but he has also been exploring synthesis, sound design, percussion and drums for many years. Mr. Catalano integrates different media into all of his classes, and he encourages his students to find creative outlets that will enhance not only their academic studies but their lives in general. He feels that everyone can benefit from sharing the knowledge they acquire.
When he is not out on his bicycle or exploring the city with a camera, Chris spends much of his time in his project studio recording new songs and soundscapes, painting, and watching movies. In the summertime he loves to swim and in the winter he loves to chill.
Mr. Catalano’s door is almost always open; he has collaborated numerous times with large and small groups of students (and teachers) on school music productions, and he likes to answer questions (even when he has no answers). Please feel free to visit his room anytime.
Ms. Erin Pettinger
Ms. Pettinger moved back to Canada and started working at Pattison High School in 2019. She enjoys teaching academic readiness, career education, physical & health education and working with students from around the world.
Ms. Pettinger had lived in Jeju, South Korea for 15 years. She worked for the Public Office of Education teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to middle and high school students as well as teacher training programs. Prior to teaching in Jeju she also taught EFL in Japan.
She completed a Bachelor’s degree at the University of Lethbridge and a Master’s degree specializing in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from the University of Southern Queensland.
In her free time she enjoys hiking, biking, snowshoeing, swimming and playing volleyball.
Mr. David Truman
Mr. Truman is originally from Edmonton, but has lived in Vancouver since 2016. He earned a Bachelor of Arts with a major in English literature and a minor in Mathematics from the University of Alberta. He then spent four years teaching English as a Second Language in the Seoul area of South Korea before returning to Canada to complete his Bachelor of Education at the University of Alberta.
The experiences teaching overseas have taught him many things about teaching, as well as the many of the difficulties those from other cultures face when moving to and living in a different country and environment.
In his spare time, he enjoys travelling, reading, movies, watching sports, and experiencing the Vancouver lifestyle.
Mr. Tobin Sheldon
Mr. Sheldon earned his degrees in Astrophysics and Education from the University of Alberta. He has been teaching all levels of Science and Math for over 6 years. He is passionate about the sciences and hands-on experiments. He can often be found putting together an interesting experiment, or working on a do-it-yourself project.
Mr. Sheldon is also passionate about bicycles. He has completed many long-distance bicycle trips, including across Canada, the Pacific Coast, Mexico, and Europe. His passions also extend to art, music, and climbing. Come see Mr. Sheldon for a game of Chess, or to make something on his 3D printer.
Mr. Christopher Puckett
Mr. Puckett first worked as an archeologist after getting his B.A. in Anthropology from Grant MacEwan University. However, after working for several years in this field, including stints in Russia and Italy, he returned to school to become a teacher. After finishing his Education degree at the University of Alberta (2012), he taught at the Calgary Board of Education for four years before moving to Vancouver to teach for an additional three years. He then transitioned to the video game industry to help create two video games; one was downloaded more than 10,000,000 times, and the second one was an educational one, which inspired Chris to return to teaching.
He believes in teaching students to be empowered and self-motivated. He knows classic literature, mythology, and philosophy very well and teaches primarily in the Socratic method.
In his personal life, Chris enjoys fishing and the outdoors. He also is a competitive arm wrestler and competes internationally in this sport. On other personal days, he often hangs out in coffee shops downtown.
His counselling office door will be open every day after lunch – feel free to visit him!
Ms. Lydia Walker
Ms. Donnalyn Carpio
Ms. Carpio was born and raised in the Philippines, but her teaching journey has taken her to diverse corners of the world, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), before finally settling in Vancouver. With 11 years of teaching experience spanning Grades 9-12, she specializes in Biology and Science subjects, following the California Common Core Standards and Advanced Placement (AP) Biology. Ms. Carpio’s pedagogical voyage began in the Philippines, where she dedicated five years to nurturing young minds in her homeland. Seeking continuous growth, she ventured to the UAE, where she honed her teaching skills over another five years in a multicultural setting. This experience has equipped her with the unique ability to connect with students from various backgrounds, creating a globally inclusive classroom environment.
Education-wise, Ms. Carpio graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education, majoring in Biology, and is currently on the path to completing her Master’s of Science in Teaching, with a continued emphasis on Biology.
Beyond the classroom, Ms. Carpio finds joy in creative pursuits like baking, cooking, and handicrafts. She is genuinely thrilled to be a part of this educational community at Pattison High School, eagerly looking forward to guiding and supporting students as they strive to reach their academic aspirations.