THE MARK
Teacher Edition
IN THIS ISSUE
FROM ROCK-CLIMBER TO BIKE-FIXER
“It wasn’t helping someone get to the top of the mountain that I loved, it was watching them learn how to do it. I also learned that’s what my teachers were doing for me the entire time I was in school,” said ELL teacher James Nelson.
TEACHERS GOT TALENT
“Skateboarding taught me everything of value in my life,” English teacher David Rosenberg said. “You’re falling, you’re physically hurting yourself, but failure is the greatest teacher—if you fall down and drag yourself back up, it’ll give you a life skill that will serve you far beyond the skateboard.”
TEACHER RECIPES
“Paella is a very special meal at our house because my husband is from Spain and he takes great pride in making it,” said Spanish teacher Michael Mueller.
cover image by DonnaBella Gaetano
back cover photos by Sergio Martinez Tamayo, Meki Maile, Laila Krefetz, Robert Newman, Valeria Prado Hurtado, Jake Carlson, Lucas Root
Editors’ Note
Borrowing heavily from the clean, sophisticated look of The New Yorker and Harper’s Magazine, this edition of The Mark is dedicated to our teachers, whose constant support too often goes unnoticed. To the people who make us excited to learn about subjects we never thought we would enjoy. Who sit with us for hours going over essays, even when we don’t want to ask for help. Who stay up past midnight grading our papers and field complaints from parents. Who teach us that kindness and empathy are not incongruous with leadership, and who encourage us to push past our self-imposed limits. Who patiently listen to our rants, indulge in our side conversations to offer words of advice, sympathize over their mutual hatred for weeks without block days, and offer personalized book and movie recommendations that make us feel a little more seen. Who, as some of our strongest advocates, sit at board meetings for hours and structure curriculum to make sure all students receive the education they deserve. Who, despite having taught thousands of students, manage to show every one of us that we are important and that our voices matter.
We wish we could highlight all the teachers who have shaped the lives of their students, but this Mark features just a few. So, after you’ve finished the crossword, cooked up one of the fantastic teacher recipes, and read through the “Bear Index,” make sure to thank your teachers for all that they do. For us, the editors—and we suspect for some of you, too—they certainly leave a mark.
STYLE WATCH
“I just like having fun. I enjoy getting dressed in the morning and putting effort into my outfits because it makes me feel put together,” said MCLV and Gender Studies teacher Erin Walsh.
Our Staff
Editors-in-Chief
Natalie Fishman, Sonia Freedman, Dylan Lanier, Cleo Rehkopf, Sarah Weintraut
Sports Editors
Samuel Leslie, Chase Trigg
Webmasters
Collin Goel, Lydia Honerkamp, Arden Margulis
Design Leads
Celine Chien, Kitty Cormican, Ben Siegel
Illustrators
Riona Faruqi, DonnaBella Gaetano, Sarah Larson
Copy Editors
Andrew Ahn, Kate Budinger, Jolene Chu, Tessa Ellingson, Allegra Hoddie, Leehan Kim, Ameya Nori, Lindsay Park, Amala Raj, Celeste Zucker
Staff Writers
Damian Boye, Rose Chane, Penelope Chapman, Mateo Cuellar-Koh, Mackenzie Danzig, Charlotte Fisher, Ellen Forte, Gaby Foster, Avery Galles, Tessa Goldman, Logan Greenbaum, Isabel Habibi, Brian Hoyle, Tiffany Karp, Niklas Klemmer, Becca Koenig, Peter Koren, Akemi Kwan, Jenna Lee, D’Anjou Paul Libunao, Eileen Liu, Karen Martinez, Riya Mehta, Sofia Merlino, Huraman Orujov, Nava Riahi, Michael Roman, Micaela Rubinsky, Isabel Seniawski, Jace Thomases, Jonathan Weeks, Amari Witt
Advisor
John McBlair
Bear Index
Percent of juniors polled who have been unable to find parking in the student lot: 51%
Percent of juniors who drive who are annoyed about sophomores parking in the lot: 63%
Who parked in the lot as sophomores: 22%
Who changed their answer about being annoyed at sophomores after the previous question: 5%
Who park in staff spots: 43%
Who say they look at their phones while driving (not for directions) at least once a drive: 84%
Percent of juniors who say they look at their phones at least once a period in classes without phone pockets: 88%
Who say they feel nervous to be away from their phones in their classes with cell phone pockets: 16%
Who say they find it relaxing to have their phone in their hand even when it’s off: 52%
Average number of hours a day juniors spend on their phones: 5
Average number of hours juniors tell their parents they spend on their phones: 3
Percent of juniors who spend less than 2 hours a day on their phones: 11%
Who spend more than 8 hours a day on their phones: 11%
Who use their phone when they go to the bathroom: 68%
Most common period for juniors to go to the bathroom: 4th
Least common period for juniors to go to the bathroom: 1st
Percent of juniors who have pooped at school: 43%
How many bathrooms @got2gonyc has posted about on TikTok*: 2454
Most followed TikToker (Khaby Lame)’s amount of followers*: 161.6 million
Percent of Gen-Z users that say TikTok is addictive*: 77.7%
Percent of Instagram selfies that use a filter: 25%
Ratio of college students who lied on their applications as of January 2023*: 6 in 10
Percent of juniors who are stressed about college: 83%
Average rating of juniors’ stress about college on a scale from 1 to 10: 7
Percent of juniors who say they plan on going to college: 90%
Who believe the college application process is unfair: 65%
Who say they’ve significantly altered their day to day life primarily to make their college apps look better: 51%
Who say they’ve done so for the sole purpose of making their college apps look better: 32%
Average acceptance rate of U.S. colleges*: 73%
Percent of Americans over the age of 25 in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree: 38%
Cost to get a complete certification from the University of Vedic Astrology: $5982
Percent of juniors who know their zodiac sign: 87%
Who say they believe in destiny: 45%
Average age students say children should stop believing in Santa: 10
Percent of juniors who said no one is ever too old to believe in Santa: 13%
Who believe in soulmates: 51%
Who say they think the universe is in their favor: 28%
Who think the universe is against them: 10%
Number of people who choke to death on ballpoint pens every year*: 100
Caption Contests
illustrations by Sarah Larson
It’s game over when they add phone pockets. Allegra Hoddie ‘25
“I think she’s started relying a bit too much on ChatGPT’s advice for how to complete her homework.”
Ellen Forte ‘24
Photo Submissions
Andrew Holman
Vasilios Conomos
Arianna Swett
Mia Nagy
Hazel Cook
Laila Krefetz
Valeria Prado Hurtado
Editorial: CTE Funding is a Broken System
Last fiscal year, M-A’s Career Technical Education (CTE) Department only received $6,500 out of the District’s $924,053 from a special state grant, despite being one of the largest CTE departments in the District.
credentials and align their programs to stricter standards. M-A has four CTEIG-eligible programs: Woodworking and Architecture, Digital Filmmaking, Culinary Arts, and the Computer Academy.
The Career Technical Education Incentive Grant (CTEIG) boosts career technical programs with crucial supplementary funding. To be eligible for the grant, teachers must earn additional
The District offers little help and communication throughout the annual application process, which they’ve structured in a way that unnecessarily isolates M-A’s CTE teachers and can discourage them from requesting state funds.
Although CTEIG funding initially provided muchneeded support for M-A’s programs, in recent years the process has become complicated and timeconsuming, leaving M-A’s CTE programs in a constant state of instability. The
District offers little help and communication throughout the annual application process, which they’ve structured in a way that unnecessarily isolates M-A’s CTE teachers and can discourage them from requesting state funds. As a result, these important vocational classes lack resources, and teachers are frustrated, confused, and burnt out.
THE CTEIG APPLICATION process is so tedious that some M-A teachers have stopped asking for money altogether. To qualify for CTEIG funding, teachers must complete a 32-page application form and budget spreadsheet every year for each CTE pathway they manage.
Culinary Arts teacher Craig Barnard, who received about $6,000 from CTEIG, said that for his first application, he had to outline every individual food item, how he was going to get it, and how much it was going to cost. While Barnard can reuse his application every
year, as he asks for the same materials, other teachers must re-do the entire application.
Since this process takes an extensive amount of time—which teachers could spend on developing their curriculum or working with students—it discourages them from applying at all.
Digital Filmmaking teacher
John Giambruno said, “If you ask [the District], we’re not asking for [the money]. If you ask us, we think the process is too cumbersome so we start to give up.” He believes teachers at schools throughout the District are also feeling fatigued with the process or have given up.
THE TIMELINE FOR submitting and receiving CTEIG funding is illogical; it makes it harder for teachers to apply for and use grant money. According to the CTEIG website, applications open on August 7 and are due on September 29. However, according to interviewed teachers, they sometimes don’t receive the necessary application materials until as late as September. This leaves teachers only a month to complete their applications when they’re already busy with a new school year.
CTEIG TIMELINE
August
PERKINS TIMELINE
Spring
Summer
August
Teachers apply for CTEIG funding in the fall but typically
receive the money in April, just two months before the school year ends—they are essentially applying for funding for the following school year.
POOR COMMUNICATION
and instruction on the District’s part exacerbates the existing flaws in the application process, according to teachers interviewed.
Barnard said, “The CTEIG application process was never explained to me. In other places that I’ve been, they would come in and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got this much money, y’all need to spend it,’ and kind of leave it open. Here, I don’t know about the application process.”
CTE Department Chair Mark Leeper said, “The regulations [for CTEIG expenses] have been clearly outlined so that we understand.”
Even when teachers do apply, certain items within their requests are rejected without any explanation.
SUHSD CTE Coordinator Tiffany Burkle said that when she deems an item within a funding application “unallowable,” she’ll let teachers know why it was rejected and how it could be adjusted to fit CTEIG standards. “I don’t ever want to just reject something and leave people hanging,” she said.
However, Leeper explained, “There have been a couple of times where I’ve been told I can’t use CTEIG funds for particular things, but I don’t understand why—it’s never explained to me.” He said he tried to follow up with the District multiple times but received no response.
Other teachers interviewed shared similar complaints that the District does not consistently respond to their inquiries.
“When that happens a few times and I don’t get answers and I’m putting in all this work, it’s like, ‘Why bother?’” Leeper said. “I don’t have enough time to follow up and follow up and follow up again.”
LACK OF TRANSPARENCY
from the District is a violation of state policy and hurts teachers’ abilities to apply for funding.
Upon an M-A Chronicle request, the District said they could not list the amount of CTEIG funding allocated to individual schools or individual teachers. However, since CTEIG funding comes out of state taxpayer money, the District should—and is legally required to—disclose this information.
Giambruno explained, “My biggest frustration is that I don’t know what other film programs are getting. I don’t know what’s fair and balanced [to request].”
He said, “We all kind of feel like we’re in the dark, even within our own department.
However, the District doesn’t have to distribute CTEIG money in this way.
Peter Callas, Director of the Career and College Transition Division at the California Department of Education, said, “California doesn’t drive the decision on how districts distribute the money, so each district can do it whatever way they want.”
Prior to CTEIG, the District distributed money to each school’s CTE department from a federal grant known as Perkins funding. Perkins funding still exists, but with significantly less funding than before. When M-A’s CTE departments used Perkins funding, teachers—not the District—would collaborate to distribute the annual money based on which programs
“We all kind of feel like we’re in the dark, even within our own department. It’s not transparent and doesn’t breed that culture of trust. We feel like we’re not trusted, so we don’t trust them.”
It’s not transparent and doesn’t breed that culture of trust. We feel like we’re not trusted, so we don’t trust them.”
needed it most. Not only was this system more transparent, it was more efficient. Given that the District is not required
to distribute CTEIG money in any p articular way, they should reinstate the format of Perkins funding—distributing money by school instead of by teacher— for CTEIG.
CTE PROGRAMS IMPACT
the development and academic success of all students. They also help students fulfill A-G required classes, so most students at M-A choose to take them.
Callas noted, “The graduation rates for high school students in California that are part of a CTE program are about 8-10% percent higher than the regular ed students that are not in a CTE program. Attendance rates for CTE students are about 1012% higher. These programs motivate students to be at school on a regular basis.”
CTEIG funding is necessary to provide students with the best CTE programs possible. When teachers cannot easily access that funding, those teachers and their students suffer as they lack the money for materials, compensation for curriculum development and overtime work, and more.
Barnard said he started a business on campus with his students, “Baked by Bears,” to support his program. He added, “With inflation, it’s been even tougher to use what we have.”
Giambruno said, “I’m always worried about [problems]
like, ‘What if I don’t get new computers?’ ‘What happens when I’m running on 10-yearold machines?’ ‘What do I do when some of [the computers] start breaking?’”
Leeper said, “I think we’re going to have to have some fundraisers to make sure that we have enough money for materials.” With the amount of CTEIG funding that the District receives, teachers should not have to fundraise on their own for materials.
Additionally, teachers disillusioned with the CTEIG process sometimes turn to discretionary funding instead, which takes away money from programs such as elective classes and after-school academic support. Moreover, due to decreased student enrollment, discretionary funding has dropped, whereas CTE enrollment has not. This means that CTE programs have less money but a similar number of students.
FIXING THE CTEIG
funding process requires a combination of solutions.
For one, the District should allocate CTEIG funding by school, not by teacher, just as they did with Perkins. This would enhance communication between teachers and thus help them distribute their funding with greater confidence, efficiency, and understanding. It could also improve communication
between schools and the District, as administrators could meet with all the teachers at a single school to discuss their combined applications.
Additionally, the District must help teachers through the application process,
begin in spring and teachers should be able to access funding for the coming year by at least late summer.
Finally, the state should allow districts to “renew” their applications instead of requiring them to re-submit new applications each year.
Teachers disillusioned with the CTEIG process sometimes turn to discretionary funding instead, which takes away money from programs such as elective classes and after-school academic support.
clarify CTEIG regulations, and respond to questions, specifically when they pertain to application rejections.
The District must also maintain greater transparency about the allocation of CTEIG funding. If teachers’ salaries are available to the public, then the amount of state funding they receive should be public as well.
Changes are also necessary at the state level.
The timeline for the application process must reflect the natural structure of the school year; the application timeline should
Callas mentioned that his team has been working on this development for a couple of years.
CTE teachers have been dealing with this convoluted system for years and are tired of advocating for their programs without change. Leeper said, “People have spoken up about it, but I think it’s a matter of fatigue. There’s so much to do just to be able to teach. If I have to focus on arguing with somebody about whether or not we should get funding or I have to prepare for my kids coming in tomorrow, I’m going to focus on the kids.”
FACES OF M-A
First page
Top left: Ms. Donaldson
Center right: Mr. Chang
Bottom left: Ms. Reyes
Second page
Top left: Mr. Burton-Tillson
Top right: Ms. Strub
Center right: Ms. Burton-Tillson
Bottom left: Ms. King
Bottom right: Mr. West
photos by Kate Budinger and Lindsay Park
Teacher Tunes
by Ben Siegel
Mr. Harris
“I chose songs that represent three of my favorite genres: jazz, indie-rock, and hip-hop.”
Doomsday 1999
MF DOOM
Bones 1995
Radiohead
A Love Supreme, Pt. 1... 1965
John Coltrane
Ms. Steele
“A song can encompass any emotion or feeling, and I think that’s really beautiful.”
All For Us 2019
Labrinth & Zendaya
Cirrus 2013
Bonobo
Crown of Love 2004
Arcade Fire
Ms. Angelone
“When the music compels me to dance, I am happy.”
Edge of Desire 2009
John Mayer
Madness 2012
Muse
Impossible Germany 2007
Wilco
Ms. Sani
“I grew up watching music videos before school on VH1 and MTV and burning CDs of my favorite songs.”
World, Hold On 2006
Bob Sinclair ft. Steve Edwards
The Motto 2011
Drake ft. Lil Wayne
Say You’ll Be There 1996
Spice Girls
Mr. Kryger
“I much prefer live music to music recorded in a studio.”
Help on the Way (Trilogy) 1975
Grateful Dead
Hallelujah 1984
Leonard Cohen
Angel from Montgomery 2004
Tedeschi Trucks Band
Ms. Ho
“I love throwback songs that make you want to scream in the car with your friends.”
Lose Somebody 2020
Kygo & OneRepublic
Hate You + Love You 2021
Cheat Codes ft. AJ Mitchell
Out of Time 2022
The Weeknd
Mr. Hunt
“My taste could be described as a blend of uplifting summer anthems with a vibrant energy.”
Summertime Sadness 2012
Lana Del Rey
Renegades 2015
X Ambassadors
Don’t You Worry Child 2012
Swedish House Mafia ft. John Martin
Ms. Hanson
“While I was studying abroad in Mexico during college, I discovered Shakira and her old music.”
Someone Like You 2011
Adele
Sleep on the Floor 2016
The Lumineers
Moscas en la Casa 1998
Shakira
Ms. Takahashi
“My taste in music is pretty broad, but I tend to gravitate towards R&B the most.”
The Weekend 2017
SZA
Hair Down 2019
SiR ft. Kendrick Lamar
aguardiente y limón 2020
Kali Uchis
Mr. Powell
“Music means so much to me, and playing it has only deepened my appreciation.”
A Day in the Life 1967
The Beatles
Terrapin Station 1977
Grateful Dead
People Say 1974
The Meters
Teacher Recipes
Ingredients:
12 cups Gold Medal flour
3 cups melted butter
2 cups milk (lukewarm)
1 cup sugar
6 eggs
1 tbsp salt
1 yeast cake
1 tsp. ground mahleb (sifted)
1 egg yolk for brushing top
Optional: sesame seeds
byRoseChane illustratedbyDonnabellaGaetano
Ms. Otsuka’s
Armenian Cheoreg
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Sift flour into large bowl and make a large hole in the center.
3. Dissolve yeast, melt butter, and beat five eggs in separate bowl and pour into flour.
4. Add rest of ingredients and mix together: first with spoon then with hands.
5. Knead dough for about ½ hour or until it stops sticking to your hands.
6. Cover dough and let sit for 4 to 5 hours to rise then divide into 4 balls, cut each into 3 slices, and braid together.
7. Let braids rise on a greased baking sheet then brush with egg wash and top with sesame seeds.
8. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Baking reallyconnects me to mygrandmotherbecause shewas a big bread maker. I use hercookbooks forall myArmenian breads.
Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups rice
2 skinless chicken breasts (chopped)
3 cloves of garlic (diced)
1 green bell pepper (chopped)
Mr. Mueller’s
1 tomato (diced)
1 tsp saffron
1 cup chicken stock salt and pepper to taste
1. Add chopped chicken to frying pan and let cook for a few minutes. Don’t worry if it appears a little raw, it will finish cooking later on.
2. Add bell pepper and let cook until a little burnt.
3. Add rice and let cook for about two minutes; it should look pearly.
4. Add broth, tomato, and garlic and bring to a boil.
5. Stir well, scraping the bottom of the pan, and cook for 17 minutes over medium heat without stirring.
6. Turn off heat and cover to let rest 5 minutes, allowing rice to finish cooking.
7. Uncover, stir well, and enjoy.
Paella is avery special meal at our house because my husband is from Spain and he takes great pride in making it.
Mr. Barnard’s
Gluten-Free Pie Cookie
Ingredients:
3⁄4 cup sugar
3 egg whites
8 oz chocolate chips
2 cups coarsely chopped nuts
Optional: coffee, chopped peppermints, etc.
1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form, then gradually add sugar.
3. Fold all ingredients together in large bowl.
4. Spread parchment paper on 9x12 sheet pan.
5. Scoop mixture onto pan using small ice cream scoop.
6. Bake for 12-14 minutes and enjoy.
Cooking, especially baking, can be meditative for me. Since ayoung age, I have enjoyed being in the kitchen. I strive for great flavors when I cook and this cookie is adored by all who try it.
Ms. Bryan’s Noodle Pudding
Ingredients:
1 pint milk
8 oz egg noodles
8 oz cream cheese (softened)
2 oz butter (softened)
1. Preheat oven to 350°F and butter baking dish.
2. Cook egg noodles in salted water until very al dente (underdone).
3. Rinse with cold water, drain noodles, and put in baking dish.
4. Combine milk, eggs, cream cheese, and butter in blender.
5. Pour mixture over noodles.
6. Bake for 30 minutes until top is golden brown and crispy.
My great uncle Robert was born in the early 1900s and he died when I was in middle school. Unlike many men of his generation, he cooked.When I think of meals in his apartment, noodle pudding always comes to mind. It was my greatgrandmother’s, recipe. Making noodle pudding, or noodle kugel, has become a special tradition to me.
Teachers Got Talent
byKittyCormican
English teacher David Rosenberg is an avid skateboarder who has shredded with professionals and appeared in magazines. He has learned from several mentors but owes a lot of his skill to tireless practice. “In skateboarding, you just have to fall 1,000 times to learn,” he explained.
By age twelve, Rosenberg had sponsors and was traveling with professional skateboarders. While he admitted that his various injuries have taken a toll, Rosenberg still tries to skate at least two or three times a week.
“Skateboarding taught me everything of value in my life,” he said. “You’re falling and you’re physically hurting yourself, but failure is the greatest teacher—if you fall down and drag yourself back up, it’ll give you a life skill that will serve you far beyond the skateboard.”
In addition to her responsibilities as a Biology teacher and a water polo coach, Lauren Lesyna competes in swimming marathons and races. Her longest swim was across the Kaiwi Channel in Hawaii and took her 16 hours and 55 minutes to complete.
She explained, “When you’re swimming, the only thing you have to do is put one arm in front of the other. I can get into that meditative space where I don’t worry about anything except for what I’m currently doing.”
“I love being in the ocean and nature,” she said. “I’ve seen some pilot whales and humpback whales, and I’ve swam with dolphins.”
Her current goal is the Oceans Seven. She said, “Oceans Seven is a series of seven channel swims that get longer as you go. So far, I’ve done four of them.”
Rosenberg on his skateboard
Lesyna on one of her channel swims
Math and Study Skills teacher Cary Milia first picked up the guitar at twelve years old and mostly learned to play from his friends. Since high school, he has been playing gigs with bands around the Bay Area. “I like to play blues, rock, and old-school country music,” he said. “My wife got me into Bob Dylan, and I love how he blends those genres together.” Milia can also play the bass and has recently ventured into singing. Although he is currently in between bands, he continues to practice at least once a day. “There are always so many more things to learn,” he said. “It keeps me excited and motivated to always be working on improving and learning new songs. I have a long way to go, but I’m excited to play and sing for the rest of my days.”
Some teachers have turned their talents into part-time jobs. Math teacher Jennifer Che is skilled at calligraphy, the art of decorative handwriting. “In 2013, I started doing bullet journaling as a way to schedule my day,” she said. “I wanted to make it look pretty, so I started doing calligraphy.”
Now, Che runs a side business where she makes wedding invitations and menus. “I love it because it’s a time to slow down, set aside my phone, and just be in my own little world,” she said. In her classroom, Che writes the date on the board and her name on the door in masterful calligraphy.
Milia (right) performing with his band
Che’s hand-drawn wedding invitations
STYLE WATCH
TEACHER EDITION
World History and AP Psychology teacher Jason Knowles wears an eye-catching monochrome outfit. He said, “Pink is my favorite color, so I like to wear it as much as possible.”
His picks include a button-up from Robert Graham, Ralph Lauren pants, and Nike sneakers. “I went to a private high school with a dress code, so we had to wear collared shirts, pants, and no jeans,” Knowles said. “Now, I dress to be professional but also casual.”
by Leehan Kim
Jason Knowles
photos by Celine Chien
MCLV and Gender Studies teacher
Erin Walsh styles a maroon knit sweater with a flowery collared shirt paired with bell-bottom jeans from Kohl’s and daisy earrings.
“I started wearing bigger earrings when teaching over Zoom, so I got into the habit of wearing them,” she explained. “I like accessories because you can wear a more neutral outfit, and use them to add some fun to it.”
As for inspiration, she said, “I just like having fun. I enjoy getting dressed in the morning and putting effort into my outfits because it makes me feel put together.”
Erin Walsh
Sarah Frivold
Digital photography and AP Photo teacher Sarah Frivold rocks a trio of bright pink outfits.
“If I like it, envision myself wearing it, and put it on and feel comfortable, then I think it’s a good buy,” she said. “I like to describe my style as ‘spooky Lisa Frank,’ ‘grandma chic,’ and sometimes ‘Barbiecore’. It depends on the day.”
She loads up on gold jewelry to accessorize by stacking rings and bracelets: “Coco Chanel said, ‘Before you leave, take one thing off,’ but I say, ‘Before you leave, put one more thing on.’ I’m a maximalist and I love mixing metals, textures, and stacking rings. It’s like my armor.”
Patrick Roisen
Biology teacher Patrick Roisen dons a crisp bright-blue shirt, black slacks, and a matching striped tie, a gift from his son.
“When I buy clothes I don’t focus on its cost or where it’s from. There’s no purpose in paying dollars just for the name of the clothing,” he said.
“I usually buy my clothes from Macy’s or Kohl’s. I like colors and combinations that are visually interesting and also convey a message of seriousness and respect for my students.”
Meet M-A’s Newest Art Teacher: Mitzi Ulloa
“If you would have told me in high school that I would become an art teacher, I would have thought you were crazy,” said dancer, coloring book illustrator, small business owner, and M-A’s newest art teacher.
Ulloa was raised on a small farm in San Pedro, California. She grew up in a very creative household, which sparked her interest in art. “You would always find someone in my house either dancing, drawing, sewing, or welding,” she said.
Ulloa struggled in high school because she didn’t see herself in the things she was learning about. “I barely graduated high school. I didn’t want to be there, and my senior year I was barely ever present in the classroom.”
After she turned 18, Ulloa moved to San Francisco and attended Bryman College—a trade school for healthcare and business—and double-majored in youth development and dance. Later, at San Francisco State, she earned her master’s degree in art education. “My focus has always been art education,” she said. “After graduating college I started tutoring kids in afterschool programs at Buena Vista
Middle School for extra support and helping students create art. After that, I knew this was what I wanted to pursue.”
Ulloa taught at Balboa High School in San Francisco for over ten years before coming to M-A. Ulloa explained she was drawn to M-A because of its diverse student population and outdoor campus.
Although Ulloa teaches traditional drawing and painting styles at M-A, she is constantly expanding her horizons. “I’ve been exploring lots of new mediums,” she explained. “My students have inspired me to start creating smaller projects. I’m also experimenting with watercolor and ballpoint pens.”
One current project Ulloa is working on is a coloring book called The Divine Coloring Book. “Artists from the Bay Area came together to create this coloring book to represent the BIPOC community around the world,” she explained. “It’s a coloring book inspired by folklore and spirituality from Haiti, Brazil, and the Philippines. I really enjoyed illustrating this coloring book, especially since I have
indigenous roots with my parents being from Mexico and Colombia.”
In addition to visual art, Ulloa explores other artistic mediums like dance. She teaches hip-hop classes at Skyline College and, every year, for Memorial Day weekend, she participates in a carnaval in San Francisco. She also takes dancers from her dance studio, Arenas Dance Company, on an immersion trip to Cuba. “It’s an amazing experience for everyone. The dancers can take intensive dance classes in Havana, Santiago, and other cities. At the end, they get to perform for audiences. It’s pretty cool stuff,” she said.
To fund this trip, Ulloa runs an online small business called Dulce y Mar, where she sells handmade bags from Colombia, as well as her own handmade art.
When asked what she loves most about her job at M-A, she said, “I love being able to show my students the support that I never got in high school. My students always come in energized, open-minded, and ready to learn, which inspires me and my art every single day.”
by Micaela Rubinsky
Ulloa runs an online small business called Dulce y Mar, where she sells handmade bags from Colombia, as well as her own handmade art.
J
ames Nelson, English Language Learner (ELL) teacher, grew up in rural Arizona, living a 45-minute bus ride away from school. With wild animals around him, his family “ate rattlesnakes fairly frequently because we’d find them and kill them, and then we’d eat them because it was free protein.”
While he always loved learning, school was never easy for him. He had to go to a boarding school to repeat his freshman year. “I was really indignant to my teachers because I didn’t want to seem stupid but I had never gotten an A in my life until I got to graduate school. I worked really hard and got B’s and C’s, while my friends barely worked and got all A’s,” he said. Even though he’s an English teacher now, he struggled with English back in high school and was more interested in
Spanish, physics, and drama.
“I had a lot of awesome teachers who never gave up on me, even though I wasn’t the best student by any means. I didn’t like them at the time, but later on, I realized that they were actually trying to help,” he said.
Nelson enjoyed spending time outdoors and took up hobbies like climbing and biking. He said, “My friend asked me if I wanted to go climbing with him, even though I had no idea how to do it. So we went to an old abandoned cabin and climbed the chimney, and we had the best time.” He and his friend also learned how to fix mountain bikes, going door to door and asking people if they could fix their bikes so they could afford more tools.
After graduating from high school, Nelson went to Spain to work in construction.
From Arizona rock-climber to beloved teacher and bike-fixer
“Working in construction gave me a lot of motivation to go to college because it sucked. It’s hard work. I wasn’t the guy swinging the hammer; I was the guy who was carrying Sheetrock panels for eight hours every day.”
After nine months, he moved to Los Angeles and attended UCLA for eight years. During his time there, Nelson explored a multitude of disciplines, including drama, geology, computer science, history, and early Christian history and theology. In his eighth year, “UCLA said, ‘Either graduate or we are going to kick you out,’” he explained. Having accumulated most of the major’s required classes, he decided to major in and graduate with an English degree.
UCLA made Nelson want
to return to “somewhere in the middle of nowhere.” So, after graduating, he became a guide in the mountains of Lake Tahoe. “I got very involved in climbing, backcountry skiing, rock climbing, kayaking, and other outdoor activities. I thought that’s what I wanted to do, but I realized it was my passion rather than my job.”
During his time as a guide, he learned that what he really loved about the experience was the aspect that involved teaching people. “It wasn’t helping someone get to the top of the mountain that I loved, it was watching them learn how to do it. I also learned that’s what my teachers were doing for me the
“I ate rattlesnakes fairly frequently because we’d find them and kill them, and then we’d eat them because it was free protein.”
entire time I was in school,” he said.
Inspired, he moved back to Los Angeles to attend graduate school at Pepperdine University to obtain his master’s degree in education and his teaching credential. He then got his first full-time teaching job at South City High School. Nelson taught at several high schools before coming to M-A, where he has been for the past ten years. Prior to M-A, he helped start a small charter high school called Everest Public High School. He has taught mainly English and Spanish classes.
Now, Nelson teaches English for Spanishspeaking students. Beyond teaching, he is also the creator of M-A on the Move, a program that offers free refurbished bikes to students
in order to reduce car traffic and get more students to ride their bikes.
“One day a student I didn’t really get along with was fixing his bike and I asked him if he wanted help. I got my tools and started to fix it, and as I worked on it, he stopped me and said ‘How do you fix that?’ I showed him, and he left without even saying thank you. But, the following day in class, he wasn’t anywhere near as rude and later asked if I could fix his friend’s bike. As time went on, I began to find him less frustrating, and I realized that working on bikes can be fun. One of our vice principals saw me working on bikes and asked if I wanted to start a program, and that’s how M-A on the Move was born,” he said.
Looking back on his life experiences, the most important message Nelson wants to give is to never give up. “The most important skill anyone’s ever going to learn is how to get back up again. The problem with a lot of students is that they’re terrified of failing even one time. Don’t fear falling down; you’re going to. That’s how you learn.”
by Tessa Ellingson
Crossword
“Let me say something that may be controversial, but it needs to be said: It’s OK to look something up when solving a crossword. Crosswords are ultimately learning tools, whether you’re learning some trivia or an interesting new word or phrase.”
-Deb Amlen,
New York Times Crossword columnist
Down
1. Something left behind by wildfires
2. Snitches
3. Beauty and the Beast princess
4. Junior year English course
5. F-tier
6. Greek god of war
7. It might have a band you’ve never actually listened to on it
8. Sixth sense
9. State of seniors’ motivation during second semester
10. 17.4% of M-A students (abbrv)
11. Annoying insect circling a classroom
14. In APES, lettuce is ___
15. What you hope a weekend will help you do but it never really does
17. Union responsible for securing higher 32 downs
20. Military ___
23. Nonsensical
24. Something incomprehensible you might text a friend in annoyance
26. ___’s razor (preferring simplicity)
27. Most people take the same ___ to school every day
28. Greek dish with leafy greens
29. French islands
30. Novelist Thomas ___
31. Burn
32. Teachers got an 8% raise in this
39. Jobs
42. Horizontal line on a graph
43. Unlike MCLV and Chemistry, classes like math are ___ed
44. Most-expert
45. ___ and hummus
46. Wildest Dreams singer
50. Teachers have to use up their sick days for maternity ___
51. You might have to skip school if you have ___ throat
53. One advocates for guns, the other for food
54. Graduate degree for an artist
55. Not pop
56. Group of whales
57. Government agency dealing with radio and cable
58. Stock launch
59. Sirs
Across
1. Dancing Queen band
5. If you got marked tardy you were probably ___
9. Zebra at a football game
12. If you only got three hours of it you might forget one of the E’s in this word
13. Where metals often come from
14. To intensely question
16. This is a ___ this is a ___ you have five minutes to get to class
18. What you probably won’t do in response to a random college’s email
19. Razors
20. cot × sin
21. Inbox subdivisions
22. You might ___ someone a favor if they bailed you out on a group assignment
23. Opposite of out
25. What we do every year for hoco
30. Opposite of ENE
33. Chicken ___
34. Cat dissections
35. Middle three letters of popular CA toast ingredient
36. See your (abbrv)
37. Class where you might read “The Odyssey” (abbrv)
38. What your computer might do if the Wi-Fi isn’t working again
39. Game of thrones actor Joseph ___
40. Second month of school (abbrv)
41. Something you always forget to schedule even though admin reminds us ten times a week
47. First round of decisions for colleges (abbrv)
48. Debate (abbrv)
49. Units of Iranian currency
52. Technique used to determine the local geometric structure of matter (abbrv)
53. Your answer to someone asking if you’ve already finished homework that you’re procrastinating on
54. Dodgers owner ___ Johnson
57. Someday the entire school will burn down because no one ever pays attention to the ___
60. What you might have snuck into a football game before admin started using breathalizers
61. They’re hired to prepare tax returns
62. ___ achiever
63. rn
64. Expense
65. Someone wearing an M-A hoodie ___ the school
Scan this QR code for the answer key
STUDENT WORK
SUBMISSIONS FROM CREATIVE WRITING CLASSES
Mexican Women
are born warriors, their hands blessed by the Aztec gods, manos curanderas, manos que dan de comer, bodies that create and give life with nothing in return, piel morena como la tierra de donde vienen, ready to defend their own like guerreros aztecas, thick black hair in braids like their ancestors, indigenous culture flulle por sus venas al decir palabras como Nimitznequi, their love for their families bursts from their hearts como el volcán de popocatepetl, they’re stronger than they look, smarter than they seem, y juntas dicen yo no soy débil, I am not weak.
by Abigail Garcia
Me When Pen
Third period.
You turn around, the movement attracts my eye We meet gazes and the split second to decide to look away and pretend it never happened or to Smile.
You smile.
Your eyebrows furrow in the nature of asking a question and your lips part and I prepare myself to decipher the movement but not the sound— “Can I borrow a pencil?”
I display my collection, an idiosyncratic wealth of colors and glittery ink and a regular pencil lingering between all the preferred ones (just in case).
A menagerie, twittering and flashing peacock feathers and waiting to be chosen.
Everyone is excited by the idea of a choice, the option of something nice, not the half-broken utensil that no one would mind getting rid of.
You too, are excited, or at least feign it, taking the time to select the pen of your choosing. You select my favorite.
(A presumptive sadness for the laundered possibility I’ll never see it again) It writes the best, not scratchy like some of the other pens, and it’s my favorite color.
Something in that knowledge, of it being favorited, reassures you and you walk back to your seat with a good pen, and the trust of being gifted someone’s prized. It would’ve been easier to ask someone besides you
But perhaps you asked me for a reason (I humor myself) You only did because I met your gaze.
You return the pen, watching me slide it back into its designated loop (all the favorites have places, the rest are jumbled inside the case) and off you go, and off I will go.
(Even if you kept the pen, it would’ve been put to good use and its purpose would’ve been fulfilled.)
by Allison Hurley
Finally a Tear Shed
This is what she remembered. She hated long car rides but this one in particular. Family of five at that time, only one singular suitcase for all. The clothes looked like they were thrown in a rush, just like when you throw your dirty clothes in a laundry basket, but these were all clean. She was only eleven. Leaving everything behind: her family, friends, school, and the sport she loved—passing the border.
Phone call after phone call she could hear it from her mom’s phone trying to explain why they had to leave. What she remembered well was that cherry smell of the air freshener that was only five cents in Mexico, is not like the ones they can afford now. Looking outside her tinted window, the land looked the same for a while, with those mountains that took so long to pass, and gas station stops that were only for needs, they couldn’t take any longer, a police car was following by to make sure they were fine.
She kept thinking about why this all happened, all she could think of was two graves, looking at them deep in that dirt hole that was exactly made for them, worried that the rest of her family was next. Gunshots are all she heard. She didn’t cry, she hated herself for it, why couldn’t she cry? She had just lost almost everything she had.
“¿Cómo voy a aprender inglés?” she asked.
“Estaras bien,” her mom said with that voice of sudden grief.
Long car ride, finally arrived in California, and a tear shed. She wasn’t at home anymore, she wasn’t next to those graves but a tear shed from those tired eyes that didn’t know what was next, from those eyes that shouldn’t have seen what she saw, from those eyes that now light up as she makes her mom proud, but here she is now writing and reading this in English to you all.
by Valeria Barron
Team Traditions
On the eve of every game, the boys football team enjoys a team potluck dinner in the G-wing, where they share food, crack jokes, play trivia, and discuss strategy.
Before every game, players kneel in a circle and pray. “It’s a time for the team to come together and give thanks for the chance we are given to play for our school and teammates,” said junior Xander Eschelman.
Afterward, they run through a line of high-fives from fans. Senior Khayri Jett said, “It’s a way to thank our supporters. Win or lose, they took time out of their day to be here, and we don’t take that for granted.”
Lacrosse
During spring break, boys lacrosse goes on a team trip to compete against other schools, play laser tag, visit the beach, and visit colleges along the way.
“It’s a great way for the team to bond and improve,” said senior Oskar Flodh.
Since their first trip in 2012, the team has visited Denver, Dallas, Phoenix, and more. This year, they will travel to Los Angeles.
Baseball
The baseball team gets hyped up before every game with its “fidget-spinner spin” tradition. “We were at practice one day seeing who could jump the furthest, and, just for fun, Coop [senior Cooper Jones] started to spin as much as he could. He did it before our next game, and it stuck,” senior Trevor Heinz explained. Everyone also drinks a random energy drink from 7/11 at each game. “As you get older, it’s easy to forget that you’re playing a game and are supposed to have fun. Traditions like these remind you of that,” said junior William Roberts.
Basketball
Before every season, the girls basketball team holds a bouncy-house sleepover in Ayers Gym. The team plays laser tag, eats dinner, and hosts mini-games of basketball, dodgeball, and soccer. Players bring sleeping bags and inflatable mattresses and set them up around the gym. They eat breakfast together the next morning.
“The team sleepover is a great way to bond as a team and an even better way to start the season,” said senior Janiya Moss.
by Mateo Cuellar-Koh
photos courtesy of Chris Neal, Troy Atkinson, Steve Yob
