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HIGHLIGHTS NEWS SEPTEMBER 9, 2013
New Year, New Staff
Highlights speaks to the newest faculty members on campus
Heather Goedin
Charlie Stansbury
Dr. Regina Zurbano
Dana Findley
After being a member of Beverly for the past 12 years, health teacher Heather Goedin officially became a faculty member this school year. Goedin was was first attracted to Beverly because of its convenient location and reputation. “I started here in 2001 as a teacher’s assistant,” Goedin said. “Then I got my credential in 2002 and I’ve been teaching health since.” Goedin enjoys working at Beverly and hopes to teach her students valuable life long lessons. “I love all my students,” Goedin said. “I just really want the kids to take what I teach them in class and apply it in [their] everyday lives to make the right decisions.”
Adapting to a new environment can be difficult. However, Coach Charlie Stansbury was able to transition to Beverly “because of the friendly faculty and students.” Rather than concentrating on teaching solely one subject, Stansbury teaches a wide range of subjects on camapus. “I teach work experience, sports marketing and entrepreneurship,” Stansbury said. “I am also the head coach of the football team and a co advisor of DECA.” Although it has not been long since he met his students, Stansbury has been quickly impressed. “My favorite thing so far has been meeting so many students who are so involved in extracurricular activities and have a focus and determination to succeed and go to college,” Stansbury said. Stansbury hopes that his students put forth their best and become the best they can be. Dr. Regina Zurbano was recently hired to take on the position of assistant principal for House B. As an assistant principal, Zurbano overlooks the overall school program and devises ways for students to maximize their academic ability. “ As a house administrator, I help to resolve questions or concerns that students, teachers, or parents may have about what goes on at school,” Zurbano said. “ I work to support everyone else do their jobs to the best of their abilities so that our students have the best experience they can as members of the Norman Nation.” One of the aspects about Beverly that stood out to Zurbano was the large number of alumni who had returned to work at the school. “They were influenced so greatly by their time here that they wanted to give back to the next generation of Normans that pass through these halls, Zurbano said. “What a great gift to share!” For this school year, Zurbano hopes to make Beverly greater while developing positive relationships with both the staff and students. After a long history with the Beverly Hills Unified School District, Dana Findley has returned as artistic director for Dance Company. Findley started her career teaching dance at Beverly in 1996. After seven years, Findley moved up and became the Assistant Principal to House A until 2005, only leaving to finish pursuing her goal of an addition of masters degree- one in Fine Arts and another in Dance. Halfway through her master’s program, Findley came back and worked at the District Office as the coordinator of visual and performing arts, only to leave to Horace Mann to become their assistant principal for the past four years. “I feel like I’m back home. I miss my Horace Mann family, but I get to still be part of Horace Mann as a parent. It’s fun being back at a high school level. I really feel like the students are mature and that I have great kids in all of my classes,” Findley said. Findley mainly teaches dance, both for Dance Company and as a general unit in P.E. courses.
Angelica Pineda
April Stalker
Rick Leece
Daneille Beaverson
Not all new faculty were interviewed by print date. Articles and photos by Aurora Hamner and Audrey Park. Ethan Smith
Attracted to the positive environment of Beverly, Spanish teacher Angelica Pineda decided to take on her sixth year of teaching at the high school. Although she was offered a permanent position at another school, Pineda decided to choose a part time position as Roberta Steven’s first semester substitute. “It’s a nice environment. The students are very nice and respectful. They’re very polite. They seem to be worried about their grades, they do their homework,” Pineda said. “ Even though they called me for a permanent position at another place I really like the environment here.” Pineda is currently finishing up her masters at Cal State Los Angeles and plans to become a teacher there at the end of this semester. Due to district changes, psychologist April Stalker recently moved to the high school after teaching at Horace Mann Elementary School for four years. Despite the sudden change, Stalker managed to adjust and become comfortable in her new environment. Although the issues students deal with at the high school are different from those that students deal with at Horace Mann, Stalker enjoys working with a more mature group of students. “I like working at the high school,” Stalker said. “It’s a nice change working with the big folks. The kids here are in high school so there are different issues. For the boys and girls its about graduating and dealing with the stress of school work.” Although coming to the high school was a change, Stalker was able to adjust quickly. Stalker is available for students to visit in House A. After graduating from Michigan College, culinary arts teacher Rick Leece took on his first year of teaching at Beverly. Leece became a faculty member after a mutual friend of his and the previous chef, Darrell Smith, introduced him to the position. “I’ve probably cooked for a total of seven to eight years. Whether you’re in a regular kitchen or a commercial kitchen, you get new cooks in all the time and they won’t know much. So, you have to teach them- and it’s kind of the same idea, but now I’m teaching the students instead of the cooks,” Leece said. Along with culinary arts classes, Leece aspires to get involved with the Track and Field program at Beverly.
After teaching in the New York City School District, the largest district in the country, for the past four years, special education teacher Danielle Beverson decided to take on her fifth year of teaching at Beverly. Beverson became a part of Beverly Hills Unifed School District because she wanted to work in a smaller district. “I just wanted to be in a smaller district where I could be part of a community,” Beaverson said. However, with every new job comes changes and Beverson was surprised by the general attitude of her students and the long 10 minute passing periods at Beverly. “My students, so far show up on time, they do the work, everyone did the reading last night, and their annotations. This is not something that people used to do in the South Bronx,” Beaverson said. “My kids are super responsible and on top of it and it seems to be the overwhelming motivaton here that everyone wants to succeed and do their best.” Despite these differences, Beaverson is learning to adjust to the new environment through the help and support of the Norman Faculty. After teaching for a total of 18 years across America, Ethan Smith now teaches Piano Workshop, Minnesingers, Concert Choir and Intro to Acting and Madrigals to Beverly’s students for his 19th year. Smith taught for the past five years at Horace Mann Elementary, preceded by three years in New Mexico and 10 years in Northern California. “In middle school, you’re kind of teaching students how to be students in a way... how to do homework, be responsible, etc, but by the time you get to high school they already know that, so we can really dive into our subjects more,” Smith said. “[Compared to other schools, students are more mature and settled down and know what’s required to succeed in class.”