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Higley teacher augments classes with cooking lessons

BY MONIQUE SELEEN

GSN Contributor

Brennan Hallock, a Spanish teacher and cross country coach in the Higley Unified School District, is finding ways to inspire his students and is being recognized for his efforts through various awards and grants.

The six-year veteran teacher received the Diamondbacks Most Valuable Teacher award in July 2020 after being nominated by a student, earning $1,000 for classroom supplies. This year, he was selected as a recipient of the Desert Financial Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers Grant Program, receiving $2,500. He has also been recognized twice as Teacher of the Month at Sossaman Middle School, most recently last month. Sossaman Middle School teacher Brennan Hallock shows his class how to make salsa. (Special to GSN) During the challenging time of teaching online at the end of 20192020 school year and trying to connect with his students virtually during the pandemic, Hallock said he had to learn how to get creative with his lessons. “I was really trying to reach these kids who were at home and scared. I wanted students to have lessons they could attend and have a sense of normalcy, something engaging. I thought, ‘What is something I have always wanted to do in the classroom but never had the supplies to do?’” he said. “I had always wanted to teach my students how to make tortillas, salsa, and guacamole, but we don’t have a kitchen at the school, so I figured this was the best time to try it. I could teach these live cooking lessons from my kitchen while my students were at home in theirs.” The lessons were a hit with both students and their parents. “I had a parent tell me these lessons were something her daughter will always remember and that she still makes these recipes at home today,” said Hallock. “These lessons and the parent’s comment were really touching for me. I, myself, will always remember these virtual cooking lessons too.” While applying for the Fiesta Bowl Charities grant, Hallock said his mind went back to those lessons. “It’s something that I’ve really wanted to replicate now that we’ve been back in the classroom but I didn’t have the resources

see TEACHER page 16

Gilbert High alumna now official astronaut

GSN NEWS STAFF

Dr. Christina Birch, a 2004 Gilbert High School alumna, is going to the moon. Birch is one of 10 new astronaut candidates picked from a field of over 12,000 applicants to represent the United States and work for humanity’s benefit in space, NASA announced last week. The 2021 astronaut class is the first new class in four years. Although the 35-year-old Birch was born in Mesa, she considers Gilbert her hometown. Birch has a younger sibling, Rebecca, who also graduated from Gilbert High. The family moved from Tempe to Gilbert in 1993, where Birch also attended Burk Elementary and Gilbert Junior High School. “She has always been highly curious and motivated, which was noticeable from an early age,” said dad William Birch. “And she has always wanted to do everything well. “She had an outstanding academic background in Gilbert that helped her academic career.” He said his wife, Joanne, who passed away in 2011, made sure their daughter was exposed at an early age to successful women. “Her mother was a teacher and later a software support engineer at Motorola,” said William, who also was a Motorola engineer. Williams said while his daughter excelled academically at Gilbert High, she also participated in cross-country running and tennis. “We were a family that did a lot of white water rafting on the upper Salt River over quite a few years and she learned to guide a raft safely in unpredictable situations,” William said. He said his eldest daughter kept with her athletic pursuits by participating in inter-mural triathlons while attending University of Arizona, where she earned a degree in mathematics, biochemistry and molecular biophysics. She earned a doctorate in biological engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Massachusetts. At MIT, she switched to cyclocross and eventually track cycling, winning a Division 2 national championship in cyclocross, William said. Cyclocross is described as a cross between road cycling, mountain biking and steeplechase. “She trained from time to time in Gilbert and surrounding areas while she pursued her cycling career,” William recalled.

Birch also attended Universidad de

Dr. Christina Birch, a member of the Gilbert High Class of 2004, is now an astronaut, NASA announced last week. Her father said she has always been “highly curious and motivated.” (NASA)

GILBERT SUN NEWS | DECEMBER 12, 2021

Mesa woman makes partiers feel like royalty

BY DANA TRUMBULL

GSN Staff Writer

When planning your career choices, did you ever consider Fairy Godmother? Gretchen Landin did. And with her background in theatrical set design – she interned with the Walt Disney Company – and professional event planning, she has achieved that goal. On Dec. 1, the Royal Soirée opened the castle gates on a new boutique event décor rental company. Based in Mesa, the team of three fairy godmothers deliver elaborately themed event packages designed to make your child’s dreams come true. “My goal is to take on the task of building the perfect setting for your celebration,” Landin explained, “so that you can focus on being present in those special, priceless moments.”

Every event features hand-painted and GretchenLandin is the owner and founder of The

Royal Soirée in Mesa. (Courtesy The Royal Soirée) custom-embellished props to truly make guests feel that they have entered a magical world of celebration. The fairy godmothers, dressed in brocade, lace and rhinestones, handle delivery, set up and removal of the fully designed set.

All the client adds are food and guests. Although the themes are magical, Landin designs with the reality of sustainability in mind. Rather than using mass-produced, non-recyclable party decorations to create the desired ambience, the unique decor pieces are sourced from antique stores and vintage resellers, or handmade and intricately embellished so that the items can be reused. Even the dinnerware is reusable: elegant melamine plates and metal cutlery. All linens, napkins, and chair covers are washed between uses with ecofriendly detergent. “The Royal Soirée is dedicated to bringing sustainability to the world of event planning,” Landin said. “The event industry creates countless amounts of waste per year, and we want to change that!” A few of the available themes include “Cinderella,” “Beauty and the Beast” and the “Frog and the Princess.” Landin anticipates launching a new theme each month. Currently, the company has more than 40 themes planned, including a pirate theme, a wizarding academy – and “elegant, yet fun” adult themes. In fact, they are currently working on their first bridal shower theme and anticipate adding small wedding packages as well. “Due to the detailed and curated nature of our events, we are not currently see ROYALTY page 16

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Belgrano in Buenos Aires for a year and is fluent in Spanish.

Her career path included teaching bioengineering at the University of California, Riverside, and scientific writing and communication at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.

She subsequently left Caltech to become a track cyclist on the U.S. National Team and qualify for the Olympics, based out of the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, according to her NASA bio. With her teammates, she earned three World Cup medals in the team pursuit and Madison races, and twice partici-

TEACHER from page 13 to do it. So, I decided to fill out the Fiesta Bowl grant to be able to recreate these lessons,” he said.

Upon being selected as a recipient, Hallock gathered all the necessary supplies to make salsa with students in his Spanish 2 classes. He bought 10 blenders, 10 cutting boards, 10 kitchen knives, mason jars, can openers, dish soap, Clorox wipes, aprons, and bins to store everything. Hallock and parents of his Spanish 2 students donated the ingredients. He was able to arrange for every student to take home their own jar of salsa after the lesson and said he hopes that it’s something they can put to use during the holiday gift-giving season. “With the holidays coming up, they’re learning a life skill—it’s something they could make as a gift to bring to their neighbors or a family gathering,” he said. It’s not the first time Hallock has gone above and beyond to do something inspiring on behalf of his students. At the end of the 2020-2021 school year, Hallock showed the film “McFarland USA” in his Spanish classes as a way to enhance the students’ learning of migrant working conditions and several cultural traditions. After finishing the movie over the course of a couple days, Hallock said he held a discussion with his students and was amazed at their reaction. “They were super invested in the film; I had kids crying at different parts,” he said. “When it ended, they were thanking me for showing it, saying it was the best movie they had ever seen. It opened their eyes to the world and let them see that it doesn’t matter where you come from, you can still be successful. Our discussions on what defines success were especially thoughtful.” Hallock was so moved by the way the film had influenced his students that he decided to reach out to one of the real-life runners from the movie, Danny Diaz. “I emailed him and let him know the impact his story had made on my kids and on me,” said Hallock. “I told him that I would love to be able to come to see McFarland and see the school and what the cross country team was like.” Within the hour, Diaz got back with him and soon the two were arranging a time for Hallock to come out to visit. In September 2021, while on fall break,

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offering custom themes,” she said, “but we absolutely welcome suggestions for new themes.”

Events can be set up indoors or outdoors. Although seating can be adjusted to work with the available space and floor plan, Landin recommends a space that is approximately 20’ x 15’ for the ideal layout. Event services for 12 to 16 guests by The Royal Soirée LLC are available starting at the introductory cost of $900. For more information, email info@theroyalsoiree.com, or visit www.theroyalsoiree.com. pated in the World Championships. She supported her teammates up until final race selection for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Besides cycling and white water rafting, Birch enjoys backpacking and visiting her family’s cattle ranch in Montana. Birch is in the middle of two years of initial astronaut training at NASA Johnson Space Center.

Astronaut candidate training falls into five major categories: operating and maintaining the International Space Station’s complex systems, training for spacewalks, developing complex robotics skills, safely operating a T-38 training jet, and Russian language skills. Upon completion, they could be assigned to missions that involve performing research aboard the space station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, as well asdeep-space missionsto destinations, including the moon on NASA’s Orion spacecraft and Space Launch Systemrocket. For the first time ever, NASA required candidates to hold a master’s degree in a STEM field and used an online assessment tool. The women and men selected for the new astronaut class represent the diversity of America and the career paths that can lead to a place in America’s astronaut corps, according to the release. NASA now has selected 360 astronauts since the original Mercury Seven in 1959. “We’ve made many giant leaps throughout the last 60 years, fulfilling President Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the moon,” said Johnson center Director Vanessa Wyche in a released statement. “Today we reach further into the stars as we push forward to the Moon once again and on to Mars with NASA’s newest astronaut candidate class.”

Hallock drove to McFarland, California, and not only had the chance to meet Diaz, but was also surprised by the appearance of four additional runners from the original team as well as Coach White, who were all there to greet him.

They took Hallock on a tour around the school where he got to see outside of the gym where the state championships were painted, attended a volleyball game together, saw the track, and showed him parts around the town where the movie was filmed and where the real-life runners trained. Although Hallock’s students weren’t with him on the trip, he said he shared his experience when he got back by posting pictures on his school Instagram account. He looks forward to showing the movie annually, offering a chance for him to talk about his experience with each year’s group of students. “I hope they dream and reach for things that seem really unlikely,” said Hallock. “You never know if something good is going to happen from it.” Hallock is currently working on a master’s degree in school counseling and hopes to one day become a school counselor. But for now, he find meaning in the classroom and said his students’ enthusiasm motivates him striving to do more. “I get excited to see them excited,” he said. “That’s one thing I love about teaching middle school. They haven’t lost their spark.”