A Fond Farewell

ANGEL ANN WATERS

Angel Ann Waters has worked with nonprofit businesses for over 20 years. Since 2014, Ms. Waters has brought her passion and love of event planning to Harbor Day School. A remarkably skilled planner and organizer, Ms. Waters planned countless events, including the Ladies’ Event, Men’s Event, and the annual Fall Benefit. Her calm demeanor lent itself to working with parent volunteers. Ms. Waters built such a good rapport with volunteers that many parent volunteers continued to help on other committees to continue their involvement with the school. Sadly, Ms. Waters moved to Austin, Texas, to be closer to family. We wish her all the best and hope she comes back to visit!

“From the moment Angel joined Harbor Day, she warmed the hearts of the parents and colleagues she worked with. As a parent volunteer for Grandparents' Day during Angel’s first year, I was fortunate to work closely with her, and in recent years, we became teammates. Angel made her work look effortless, yet so much time and care went into the work that she did. She made sure every event she worked on for The School was fun, unique, and as special as it could be. I was probably never more impressed than last fall when Angel produced the virtual Fall Benefit—in a matter of weeks! A live band, trivia contest, and teams that enabled families to socialize in small groups throughout the evening brought a much-welcome night of entertainment. We will truly miss Angel’s creativity, patience, sense of humor, work ethic, and complete dedication to our school. I, personally, will miss my friend.” — CHRISTI VEAL | Campaign Manager

HEATHER VICTORSON

Heather Victorson came to Harbor Day in 2018 after having worked for a youth-based nonprofit in Uganda. Since then, Ms.Victorson led the annual fund efforts for Harbor Day School. We will miss Heather’s cheerful demeanor and willingness to help whenever a colleague needed assistance. We wish Ms. Victorson all the best as she has moved to Northern California to work at Stanford.

“Heather and I worked closely on many annual fund related projects. Heather’s strong work ethic and helpfulness will be missed. She did everything from coordinating annual fund-related events to analyzing an endless amount of data. I wish her the greatest success in her new role at Stanford. Please keep in touch.” — ROSA CRICHTON | Database Manager

STACEY HAMMOND

By Moujan Walkow

To know Stacey Hammond is to love her. Thankfully, she is easy to get to know. Since 2010, her exuberance, warmth, connection with others, and sense of fun and creativity could be seen and sensed by everyone at Harbor Day School—her students and colleagues alike. Now, after 11 years at Harbor Day, Mrs. Hammond leaves to relaunch her former art studio, For Your Imagination, where both children and adults can experience her gifts of art and teaching.

Mrs. Hammond embodies the unique ability to create an atmosphere of joyful experimentation while providing the structure and discipline children need to learn and thrive. In the art classroom or outdoor space, Mrs. Hammond made sure to provide an environment where her students felt free to take risks and explore, thereby producing outstanding artwork that reflected their individuality. As one of her former students, Ava Walkow '19, recalls, “She let kids express their creativity and made every kid feel special, like a ‘funky monkey’!” The results of her instruction speak for themselves: Her students have placed first at state-level competitions for artistic excellence and have won numerous awards at Youth Art Month (YAM), Imagination Celebration, the Irvine Fine Arts Center 3-D, the Color It Orange Exhibition, and the Laguna Beach Festival of the Arts.

Taking inspiration from children’s literature, the art world, favorite artists, travel, and her students, Mrs. Hammond shared her love of art and instilled the same in her students. Her passion for multimedia and cross-cultural art influenced the projects she presented to her students, who were always encouraged to think “outside the box.” She famously fused pop art with digital photography, providing her students opportunities to use oil pastels, pens, colored paper, and other media to create unique, colorful self-images that made a splash across the school. She incorporated music in her instruction to inspire students and set the tone for the projects they were working on. For example, students would rock out to African music while creating African pinch pots. Another important factor in her teaching style is her sense of fun and humor, perhaps most evidenced by the quintessential Ugly Fish Ceramic project, based on the children’s book Ugly Fish, by Kara LaReau. When asked about this project, Mrs. Hammond beamed. “Hooking my little artists with an outlandish lesson promotes fabulous brainstorming sessions,” she said. “These fun themes ignite the imagination. Every crazy creature is unique, and every year is a surprise! That is what our Ugly Fish unit is all about!”

It’s no surprise that Mrs. Hammond’s love of art and teaching has taken her around the world—she has spent summers teaching art in Tanzania, Costa Rica, China, and Ecuador. And the world certainly is Mrs. Hammond’s oyster. We all wish her well on her next big adventure! n

DIANE BJELLAND

By Moujan Walkow

Diane Bjelland, first grade associate teacher, track coach, and beacon of cheer, kindness, and positivity, is retiring after nine years of teaching at Harbor Day School. If you asked Mrs. Bjelland from where she draws her joyful energy, love of children, and selfless service, she would say her faith. Enveloped in this goodness, Mrs. Bjelland spread it across the school. Through the many years, her students reaped the benefits of her gentle guidance and exemplar work ethic. The first grade teachers relied on her organization, foresight, experience, and consistency. All her colleagues counted on her for a smile, a kind word, or a warm embrace. Mrs. Bjelland was always there when needed, happily offering a helping hand. “Diane was a ray of sunshine in our first grade room,” says first grade teacher Megan Carter. “She started the day with a huge smile and always put our students before anyone and anything else. If you needed something, she was always five steps ahead of you; she had already thought of it and completed it.” Mrs. Bjelland’s assiduousness became evident in every aspect of her job: She entered school at 7:00 a.m., finished every project with efficiency and care, worked with students in small groups, collaborated with her team, helped manage the classroom, and utilized her artistic talents to lead children in various art projects. Every day, she exemplified the highest level of professionalism.

Mrs. Bjelland’s love for Harbor Day School showed in both her actions and words. At the end-of-year faculty lunch, she shared her feelings with her colleagues. “I’m going to miss it here,” she said. “We are all so lucky to work here at this wonderful school.” Mrs. Carter remarked, “She was the biggest cheerleader for Harbor Day School; she took pride in working at [The School] and loved her job. She will be sorely missed.”

As any teacher who has worked with Mrs. Bjelland would attest, she is a thoughtful and loyal friend and colleague who will be missed by all—teachers, parents, and students alike. We all cheer her on in this next chapter of her life. Happy retirement, Mrs. Bjelland! n