People
6 Editor: Brianne De La Ossa Asst. Editor: Rachel Jue
1+1=2, Teacher Love at Mountain View by Jenny Payne
How long have you been together? CQ: Since February 2002 – 9 years. How did you meet? JM: We met at the school. Sr. Morgan & CQ: I started Sra. Quinones teaching here in Spanish Teachers 1998 and he started in 1999. We met when he came to our first meeting. From 99-02, we became very good friends. JM: We became very good friends, and then we became very good friends. What’s it like to work together? JM: It’s really great both professionally and socially, because we can collaborate so much and we get to know the kids so well. We can reflect on our day together because photo courtesy of Sr. Morgan and Sra. Quinones we have the same interests and the same passions. People sometimes ask us if we ever get sick of each other and we never understand that, because we don’t. I think one of the biggest benefits is that it makes it very easy for us to get close to the students. CQ: I truly enjoy working together. The most beautiful thing for me is that we share a passion for teaching and for helping kids, and we get to discuss how to help students when we’re at home. We can go home and talk about school, but it doesn’t feel like work to us. What’s your family life like? JM: Our family life is wonderful because teaching and parenting go very well together. It’s so nice that we have the exact same schedule because we get to spend so much of our time with our family. CQ: We’ve been able to give Dante a bicultural world – he is a mixture of both Sr. Morgan and my own cultures. It makes us appreciate our own cultures even more than before. When you see him [Dante] speaking two languages, it’s such a treat for us.
How long have you been together? JL: We’re about to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary next weekend. Did you meet before or after you started teaching at Mountain View? How did you meet? JL: Mr. Lee was already teaching at Mountain View when we met…I wasn’t even involved in a teaching program yet. BL: We met at a Bible study group. JL: We’d known each other for more than a year before that, but we hadn’t actually noticed each other. It was just the timing – it took about a year before we actually said “Oh, I know you!” When you meet the right person, it’s not always a magical instant; it can take a while sometimes.
Mr. & Mrs. Huizing English & Drama, Broadcasting, Stagecraft Teachers
Mr. & Mrs. Lee Math & ELD Teachers
photo courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Huizing
photo courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Lee
What’s your family like? JL: Our [three] kids all attended this school. BL: The oldest one felt a little awkward, especially when we have to monitor dances and Winter Ball. JL: We told him that when he saw us in the hall, he didn’t have to say hi to us. Ultimately, they all felt comfortable enough to ask us for things and come to us for help. What is the best part about working together? BL: At the end of the day, you can air out the stuff you have going on at work, and the other person will understand that you’re saying. Sometimes days are very frustrating, or sometimes they are very good – when the students have accomplished something, you can share that. Do many students know you’re married? JL: They don’t know that we’re married. It’s kind of fun when you see them and they say something about the other…Our disciplines are different, so the paths don’t cross very often.
How long have you been together? MKH: We’ve known each other for 39 years and have been married for 37. How did you first meet? MKH: We first met at a class in college called “Practicum in the Aesthetics of Nature.” RH: We were in a class together the semester before but didn’t notice each other there. What’s it like for you to work together? MKH: We’ve always worked together, and it’s really great – we don’t see each other during the day because we’re two different disciplines, but it’s great to be at the same place and know the same kids. RH: We share a lot of students. MKH: A lot of students don’t notice that we’re related and they think he’s my brother! They do associate us with one another. Kids are always asking me where Mr. Huizing is and what he’s doing – we’re not Velcroed together! What’s your family like? MKH: We have two kids. Jordan, our daughter, teaches English at Gunn High School. Nicholas, our son, he’s in the film industry in L.A./Hollywood. We had them both in our classes when we taught at Yosemite High School. RH: It was great to have them in our classes. For me, sharing my work and artistry with my kids was great. MKH: We forgot being mother and child and they eventually stopped thinking of me as a parent and enjoyed noticing me in a different role.
What is your New Years Resolution?
by Kelsey Carlson photos courtesy of Kelsey Carlson
Sam Wong Freshman
“To watch football and eat pie and get fat.”
photo by Naomi Cohen
Annie Ashmore Sophomore
“Have a more positive outlook on life and be less judgmental.”
Emily Schneider Junior
“Stop breaking previous new year’s resolutions!”
1. Donna Peltz is naughty. "I was a rotten teenager," Peltz confesses. "Everything that kids do today to get in trouble in school and get in trouble at home--I've done all of it and more. I am not proud of it. So there's not very much that kids can do that I don't know about. It helps me understand why kids do what they do, and motivates me to help kids not make mistakes that I made, and help kids to get the most out of their education and their lives." Even in her adult life, Peltz has achieved some pretty mischievous deeds, like stretching the rules in a foreign country. "I went to see the Pyramids of Giza (near Cairo, Egypt) at night and paid the guard two Egyptian pounds so that I could climb inside the Cheops Pyramid." 2. Donna Peltz operates heavy machinery. "My husband, Chuck, and I live in a small apartment in San Francisco, so we like to get away. We have a ranch in Placerville called Lion Loop...and we use a chainsaw to cut down branches of trees that have died, to chop wood for the fireplace and to clear brush," Peltz says. She can also drive a tractor, a motorcycle and an ATV. Ranch life is exciting for a girl that grew up in Brooklyn. 3. Donna Peltz is addicted to Talking Tom Cat. You know the animated cat on the iPhone that repeats what you say and responds to your every action? Well Donna Peltz entertains others with it...when she's not doing Bikram yoga, hiking, or walking her year-old German Shepherd, Lucy. 4. Donna Peltz has traveled the world. Peltz and her husband spent a significant amount of time in Spain. "I have a former student who lives in Madrid who I visit," she says. "She and her husband run a nightclub that features Flamenco dancers." When the pair is not in California or Spain, they may be spotted sightseeing monuments and tombs in Egypt, riding elephants and watching lions attack gazelles in Kenya, or walking the streets of Morocco, France, Italy, Scotland, Mexico, Guatemala, England, France or Lion Loop Ranch. 5. Donna Peltz has actually been helped by an entire village. While in Morocco, a young native grabbed Peltz's purse and ran away. "My husband and I ran after him yelling 'Stop, Thief! Stop, Thief!' and hundreds of people ran behind us so that the whole town was trying to get this thief that took my purse." Eventually, her husband caught the boy and the purse. 6. Donna Peltz is very creative. "When I was little I always wanted to be an artist," Peltz says. In order to pursue her dream, she attended FDR High School in Brooklyn, a school that specialized in fine arts, and has studied art at The Brooklyn Museum Art School, Pratt Institute and SUNY Buffalo. In 1994, Peltz moved from Long Beach to San Francisco in search of more of a city life and found Mountain
Kevin Veloira Senior
“Enjoy the rest of high school by staying positive despite hardships.”
View High School, where she began to teach art classes for English language learners. After the photography teacher retired, she went to Art Academy College for photography and taught the class for eight years. Though she still loves the arts, Peltz's most recent passion is working with students. Coincidentally, an administrative opportunity at MVHS presented itself, impelling Peltz to attend San Jose State University for a Master's in Educational Leadership. 7. Donna Peltz has been embarrassed. "In the third grade I went to school in a Halloween costume," began Peltz of her past Halloween experiences. "I dressed up as a cat, and I had a complete costume that I had made. It was very important to me...When I got to school and walked in the classroom I was the only one with a costume. The teacher said to me in front of the whole class, 'We don't wear costumes to school in the third grade.' I was mortified...I think the teacher felt bad for embarrassing me, so she asked the class if they could go home and put on their costumes so that we could have a Halloween parade in the afternoon. So everybody in the class went home and put their costumes on. For a long time I wouldn't wear a costume...but I got over it." 8. Donna Peltz knows what to bring to a deserted island. "I'd bring a musical instrument that I don't know how to play so I could learn how to play it. I'd bring a sketch book so I could draw, and I'd bring a soft pencil...without an eraser." 9. Donna Peltz is super healthy. "Right now I'm inspired by my mom who's going to be 83 years old, has a lot of energy, and has a commitment to keep herself healthy, intelligent, attractive and funny," said Peltz. "She's very committed to having a full life and doing good things." Likewise, Peltz exercises regularly, including being involved in Bikram yoga classes, performing outdoor activities, and remaining vegetarian. "I'm not a quitter," she said. "I make up my mind to do something, and I do it." 10. Donna Peltz thinks you're funny, but admires you anyway. "A lot of students at Mountain View think that adults don't know anything about them, their lives, what they’re thinking about, the music they're listening to, and all of that," said Peltz. "There are probably things we don't know about, but we've all been there, so it's kind of funny when kids say things to me like, 'How did you know that?'" However, after 17 years of working at MVHS, Peltz has not lost her passion for working with students. "I find the students inspiring. A lot of students have been through a lot and still push forward," she said. "My advice would be to get the best education you can and to follow your passion-whatever it is. Whatever you feel in your heart that you really want to do, don't give up on it, think of it as a dream, and pursue it."