Friday, September 26, 2014
The Smoke Signal
www.thesmokesignal.org
Feature 9
TAI CHUNG
Bellamy Liu
Sally Tse
Elvia SepUlveda
SPECIAL ED
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
A former teacher from the River Delta Unified school district, Tai Chung is a special education and intensive instruction teacher joining MSJ this year. Prior to coming to MSJ, Chung served as a substitute teacher at Isleton Elementary School before getting involved with special ed. Chung hopes that he will be able to teach his students academic, social, fitness, and independence skills that they need to be self-reliant. In his spare time, Chung hikes and samples new foods; also among his interests is breaking pullup records on Youtube.
MSJ welcomes back Alumnus Bellamy Liu as a new instructor of Honors Precalculus and Honors Geometry. Prior to working at MSJ, Liu was a student teacher of physics at Logan High School and a science lab teacher at Hirsch Elementary School. What he likes about math is that it’s all about logic and explaining material step by step. Outside of the classroom, he devotes time to the outdoors and traveling. He is looking forward to experiencing what it’s like to be a teacher rather than a student and hopes to expand learning beyond the classroom for applications in the real world. Fun fact: as a student, he was involved in DECA and placed nationally in 2002.
Sally Tse joins the MSJ special education staff this year as a math and social studies teacher. After previously working as a substitute teacher, Tse decided that she wanted her own classroom; her search for one led her to MSJ. Besides surviving her first year as a full-time teacher, Tse also hopes to integrate technology into her classroom and to help students feel a sense of belonging there. Her main goal for this school year is to engage with her students as much as possible while also getting work done. One of Tse’s favorite hobbies is trying out new restaurants.
Elvia Sepulveda joins the Foreign Language Department teaching Spanish 2 and AP Spanish. Previously, Sepulveda has taught at schools like Homestead High School, Los Gatos High School, and Georgina Bruce Kirby Prepatory School. She has also taught adult migrant farmer workers. Her personal belief is that she did not choose teaching, but teaching chose her by presenting her with countless opportunities to teach over the years. She especially looks forward to watching her students learn about linguistics and culture this coming year. Outside of school, Sepulveda enjoys running, knitting, and skateboarding.
SPECIAL ED
MATH
New Teachers Bryan Farley
Brian Soria
Ronalyn Lumain
Bryan Farley is a new digital photography and 2D animation instructor at MSJ. A previous photography teacher at Pittsburgh High School, Farley joins MSJ with a goal of helping students learn to create memories through photography. Farley is an avid photographer, and actively maintains his own photography blog. He hopes to bring his skills to the classroom and help students find their individual voices through photography. This year, he looks forward most to seeing what his students will create by working not only alone, but also with each other. When not enlighten ing his students, Farley works as an active advocate for epilepsy awareness.
Brian Soria taught at James Logan High School in Union City and PE at John Sinnott Elementary School for ten years before joining MSJ to teach Government/Economics and World History. After taking his first college history course, Soria discovered his affinity for history. This year, he hopes to become acclimated to the MSJ environment and to settle into a comfortable routine. In addition, Soria will be coaching baseball and is an avid fan of the Giants and the A’s himself. Soria approaches teaching from a very active and energized viewpoint to avoid sleeping students. Despite his active lifestyle, Soria does not like food except for bacon and ice cream.
Ronalyn Lumain teaches all subjects of special education’s program for students with moderate disabilities. Lumain has eight years of experience teaching across the globe in places such as the Philippines, Los Angeles, New Mexico, and now MSJ. The greatest part about teaching special education for her is that it is a self-fulfilling experience if she can impact her students. Her personal philosophy of teaching is that “Education is continuous learning,” and she aims to learn more as to how to efficiently affect learning this year. For leisure, Lumain plays badminton and explores the comm u n i t y.
VISUAL ARTS
SOCIAL STUDIES
SPECIAL ED
By Grace Dong, Michael Hsiu, and Vivian Liu Staff Writer, News Editor, and Centerspread Editor
Lauren ck Ware-Hartbe SCIENCE Lauren Ware-Hartbeck currently teaches four periods of Honors Biology. Previously, she taught CP Biology at Independence High School. As to what she appreciates about biology, Ware-Hartbeck says, “You develop a greater understanding about the connection of everything, the world around us, breaking it down into the smallest parts.” This school year she intends to ready students for careers in the scientific community. In her free time, she hikes, spends time with friends and family, and bingewatches Netflix.
graphics by staff writer grace dong, news editor michael hsiu & centerspread editor vivian liu, layout by feature editor katie sun