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By Rebecca Rubin, student writer
I
n honor of Cypress Bay High School math teacher Bruce Petersen,
who passed away on December 3, 2012, the mathematics department is creating a scholarship. “We were trying to think what Mr. Petersen would like if he were here and we figured a scholarship for a worthy math student would make him very happy,” said Marianela Estripeaut, an assistant principal at Cypress Bay. The math department is working on getting this scholarship approved for this school year, math teacher Arleen Lewis said. “We want an Advanced Placement math student with a high GPA, and there will be an essay on why the student feels they deserve it. The math clubs are collecting the funds to donate so the amount each year depends on donations.” To commemorate Mr. Petersen’s life a memorial service was held at the school. “It highlighted what a special person he was and how much he meant to all of us and the students. It was a good tribute to who he was,” said Ms. Estripeaut. Around 100-150 people attended, including students, teachers, parents, and parent’s of students that graduated but could not be there. Mr. Petersen’s mother and brother flew down to attend as well. “It was wonderful to see what a difference he had made in so many lives,” Ms. Estripeaut said. “He was one of the cornerstones of our AP Calculus program.” Cypress Bay senior Eduarda Sader, who was in Mr. Petersen’s AP Calculus BC class last school year, said his unique teaching style made him a successful teacher. “He always made jokes and related them to Math teacher Bruce Petersen dressed Calculus so that we would remember them up as his superhero persona, “Calc on the tests. Once you got to know him Man”, in order to put students at ease before the calculus exam. better, you learned that he had a great sense of humor.” Being the only other AP Calculus AB/BC teacher in school, math teacher Jessica Flint said their relationship was fueled by healthy rivalry. “He was so good and I knew his students were always going to perform well so it made me really competitive and always want to beat him like saying ‘My students are going to do better today on this test.’ He would get upset if my students did better and I would get upset if his students did better.” Ms. Estripeaut said what most people don’t know about Mr. Petersen was that he was a brilliant mind in the sense that he was able to successfully teach a wide range of math levels. “He taught the AP Calculus, but he always taught lower level math classes like informal geometry and he was extremely successful with those students as well,” she said. “He was successful on both ends and that says a lot about a person.” Sader added that Mr. Petersen’s willingness to help allowed his students to perform optimally in class. “He was there every morning for anyone who had any questions or needed to talk to him and he held so many after school and Saturday practice tests and review sessions, all on his personal time. It really showed how much he cared about his students, and how he wanted us all to succeed. And thanks to him, we all did.” Rebecca Rubin is a senior at Cypress Bay High School. She is Managing Editor for the school newspaper, The Circuit. In addition to writing, her interests and hobbies include dance, cooking and traveling.
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