Thank you, Alexis

I had Alexis during her freshman year and now again as a junior in Pre-Calculus. She is a great student athlete, participating on our varsity softball team.

Thank you, Gaby

Gaby is my ASB Student Buddy this year. She has done an amazing job in the fall visiting me and keeping me updated with campus news. Thank you, Gaby, for the holiday treat. Merry Christmas.

Thank you, Pariya

Thank you, Pariya. I especially appreciate the special gift wrapping skills. My sweet tooth will be satisfied for the rest of the school year. =) Pariya is a wonderful student who is also a solid tennis player.

Thank you, Jenna

Jenna is one of the hosts of our school's weekly student-produced YouTube show "The Pawse". She is also one of our most spirited students, participating as a Bearcat on our cheer leading squad.

What jokes? I never joke during class.

ASAP - Mile 56

A Shoe Adoption Project Year End Recap:

It has been my pleasure running A Shoe Adoption Project (ASAP) in 2017. Through the contributions of many generous donors, supportive friends, and the help of many devoted social workers, we have delivered 15 batches of shoes to children in need this year.  This small charity started as a simple idea during a lonely Saturday morning run in December of 2016. A year later, ASAP has donated 74 pairs of shoes to children who are in the foster, homeless, or at-risk programs. We sent soccer shoes to a missionary development program in rural Kenya, we aided hurricane victims in Houston by sending new shoes, and we gave shoes to teens battling cancer. My vision is that this project will make the world a better place, at least for those receiving the new shoes. Thanks to all the kind people involved in this project, we’re doing it! One pair of shoes at a time. This year, we gave to 74 children. Thank you.

I have decided to continue with this charity in 2018. My commitment to ASAP’s core mission will remain the same: “This project uses 100% of any donations received directly towards buying shoes for the children in need.” I will also personally abstain from buying new shoes and clothing for myself (except for school shirts to support campus programs) in 2018 to extend my commitment to ASAP. Year Two may change and evolve. A big part of me wants to keep the project off social media. However, a substantial portion of our budget came from donors who connected with the project online. In fact, I have solicited donation only once at a track workout when I was given a surprised opportunity to talk about this charity. I will strive to have a balance between sharing updates and not overwhelming others with excessive posts. I am aiming for shorter Facebook posts, leaving the details and stories on this blog.

At the conclusion of Year One, I have a letter summarizing our progress to all donors. While I don’t have all of their addresses, I will try to reach all of them as soon as I can. I share our contributions below. Again, this project has brought me more joy and purpose than I know how to express. I wish you a Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and a wonderful new year in 2018.

With gratitude,

Ricky Yip

Destinations of our contributions / shoes in 2017:  Total # of Pairs Donated = 74 Organizations / Programs (Contact Person) Pairs Bonita High School Foster/Homeless Liaison (Mo Williams) 9 Upland - Foothill Family Shelter (Shauna Kelly) 22 Pomona - Inland Valley Hope Partner (Kami Grosvenor) 2 San Dimas Christ's Church of the Valley to Kenya (Student Emily Landa) 15 BHS ASB to Houston Hurricane Harvey Victims (Deanna Bowman) 12 Ronald McDonald Charity (Carolyn Chapparo) 2 David & Margaret Youth & Family Services (Dinna Hervey) 3 Heritage Group Homes (Deonne McLean) 5 INSAN Foundation (Saba Hafeez) 4 *We also have four more new pairs in inventory.* We donated 74 pairs of new shoes in 2017!

Thank you, Lucas

It's BB-8! It's very fitting for my 800th post of this blog! This is a surprised Christmas gift from my student named Lucas (as in George Lucas of Star Wars). He gave it to me during the final period before winter break, I was in disbelief when he said it was for me. Thank you, Lucas, for one of the cutest gifts that I've had the pleasure of receiving as a teacher. May the force be with you, always. I will search for a clear display case for this over the winter break.

Thank you, Emma

Thank you, Emma, for the sweets. Emma is in my Pre-Calculus class this year and was in my Geometry class two years ago. She is a joyful student who is very involved on campus as an officer of Key Club and a staff of our Yearbook.

Holiday Staff Party 2017

BHS Holiday Staff Party Photos: Thank you to our Jazz Band and Chamber Singers for their performances. Thank you Nancy and others for setting up the event. The staff also had a ginger bread house building competition. I am shocked that our group did not win. See photos below. Happy Holidays.

We clearly should have won, see the 1:50 mark of this video.

Saturday Review Sessions

I hosted two Saturday AP Statistics review sessions to tutor students for the fall final. We did multiple-choice questions, ate donuts, and ate pizzas. Eight students consumed two dozen donuts on Saturday X. Eleven students consumed five large pizzas on Saturday Y. The math teacher is now short N dollars.

From Saturday 12/9/17 from 9-11am with donuts.

From Saturday 12/16/17 from 11am-1pm with pizzas.

Push Up Contest 2017

Varsity football player Joey challenged me after our finals review. The deal was if he can do 30 push-ups, I'll let the class skip a problem on the final. If Joey can do 60, they get to skip two. And if Joey can do 90 or can do more than I can, the class can skip four problems. Joey's a great kid. He's been having fun running his mouth and flexing his arms for weeks trying to intimidate me. Bring it. 

Before the contest started, Joey went to the bathroom and claimed that he took some pre-workout supplement. He also asked his buddy Nick to give him a prep talk to pump him up. He also requested music.

Joey goes first...

My turn...

Nice try, Joey. Sit down and be humble. You should get that refund on your pre-workout.

Joey 60 < Mr. Yip 80

ASAP - Mile 55

A Shoe Adoption Project Update - Thank you to my awesome running friend Denise for her support of this charity. Aside from being the strongest trail ultra runner I know, Denise is exceptional to her family, friends, and students. I look up to her in more ways than I can express. Thank you. Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and have another wonderful year of running in 2018.

Thank You, Anthony

Anthony gave me a hand-made ornament. It’s an origami X-Wing Starfighter from the Star Wars universe. I love it! Thank you, Anthony. May the force be with you. Merry Christmas and happy holidays.

ASAP - Mile 54

Our 15th batch of shoes goes to a homeless family.

A Shoe Adoption Project Update - We delivered four more pairs of shoes before the close of 2017. We thank Mr. Saba of INSAN Foundation for helping us connect with and provide new shoes to the community in need. He told me that these four pairs of shoes will go to a homeless family with four children. The shoes may bring the family a warmer holiday season. Mr. Saba came to my campus during lunch to pick up this batch of new shoes at the front office, I did not get to greet him as I was preparing for class to start. Thank you to all of the donors, supporters, and friends of this shoe project. This may be our last batch of donation for this calendar year. I will summarize our progress by the end of December. More to follow soon.

Adidas Mana Bounce (Size F7 for Mindy) - Thanks, Eloise!

LA Gear Allie (Size F1 for Amanda)

New Balance Course (Size M10 for Julian)

Fila Layers (Size M11 for Rogelio)

ASAP - Mile 53

A Shoe Adoption Project Update - We have a new partner in the Pomona Valley area - INSAN Foundation works closely with the local community to combat hunger and poverty (http://insanfoundation.org/). Mr. Saba is a guest of our school's Key Club. Students who were in Key Club told me about INSAN. I offered shoes to homeless clients in their INSAN for Humanity program. More to follow soon.

Thank You, Cockrell Family

Thank you to the Cockrell Family for the cutest ornament. It's very thoughtful of them to give me a running shoe ornament. The twins Sophia and Gia are in my Pre-Calculus classes this year. Merry Christmas!

ASAP - Mile 52

With this batch, we have delivered 70 pairs of new shoes this year!

A Shoe Adoption Project Update - We have a new partner in the Heritage Group Homes program. My friend Deonne is a therapist who works closely with the boys and girls in these group homes.  I delivered the shoes to her Friday afternoon. We are sending five pairs of shoes to the Valinda, Whittier, and La Verne locations. By the way, Deonne spent all day on Thanksgiving preparing dinner for her group home youngsters. She told me that the entire meal was made from scratch, and with love I'm sure. Thank you also to my running pal, David L., for connecting me with Deonne!

Nike Flex Experience 4 GS (Size M7)

Adidas Energy Cloud V (Size W8.5) - Thanks, Eloise!

Nike Core Motion TR 2 (Size W9)

ASICS Stormer (Size M9)

OneMix Tesla 630 (Size W8.5) - Thanks, Michelle H.!

Time of Giving 2017

Our classroom is collecting toothbrushes and toothpaste for local families who are less fortunate. Give what you can, contributions can be made to Bonita High School by December 15th. One of my students, Robert, had a great sense of humor and asked if we are only collecting new toothbrushes. Yes. New toothbrushes only please.

ASAP - Mile 51

Thank you, Grace and Lauren, for your donation to this shoe charity. You are both too kind. Grace is an awesome runner with an even more awesome selfie game, don't challenge her selfie skills. I strive to use their contributions to deliver more shoes to children in need during the holiday season. This project uses 100% of any donations received directly to the children. More to follow.

ASAP - Mile 50

A Shoe Adoption Project Update - We delivered the three pairs of shoes to Upland's Foothill Family Shelter this afternoon (They are closed on Mondays). These shoes go to a family with children ages 8, 9, and 13. To date, we have donated 22 pairs to this shelter.

Also, I just saw this post by FFS about 4 months ago. I'm happy to keep delivering to this shelter.

ASAP - Mile 49

A huge thank you to my friends Eloise, Lap, and Ethan (who loves fire trucks) for their donation. These shoes may be the highest quality of shoes that this charity has the privilege of giving. I am so very grateful and will work hard to find the shoes fitting homes. Eloise also connected me with her friend who is a social service clinician for the Orange County Department of Education. This friend works closely with homeless, foster, and at-risk children. More to follow. 

Adidas Mana Bounce (Size W7.0)

Reebok Yourflex Train (Size M10.5)

Adidas Energy Cloud V (Size W8.5)

Reebok Yourflex Train (Size 9.0)

ASAP - Mile 48

A Shoe Adoption Project Update - Our next batch of shoes will once again go to Upland's Family Foothill Shelter. Thanks to Lead Case Manager Shauna for corresponding the sizes. We are sending shoes to a family with a 13 year-old boy, a 9 year-old boy, and an 8 year-old girl. I strive to make the delivery early next week. These shoes will help bring the family a warmer holiday season during their difficult times. Thank you to the donors, supporters, and friends of this charity project.

LA Gear Kick It II (Size 3 for 8 year-old Natalie)

Fila Armitage 2 (Size 4.5 for 9 year-old Angel)

New Balance Course (Size 10 for 13 year-old Christian)