GHS Link Crew 2014-15

This photo is to recognize Mr. C. and the 2014-15 Link Leaders! This is the design for this year's Link Crew shirt. Each year, Mr. C. leads a group of selfless leaders through a fantastic freshmen orientation on the Friday before the first week of school. Good luck and have a great year. Thanks again to my buddies at CopyCats DS for helping me with the graphics.

Bear Cups/Clips

At the end of the school year, one of my private students gave me a set of stationery clips/cups before she returned to China for the summer.  We worked hard on Geometry problems almost every weekend during the year.  We deserve a break from the math, and from each other.  Thanks, Erin.

Year 10

I will begin my 10th year as a high school math teacher at Bonita High School in La Verne.  It is a wonderful school and I strive, as always, to be the best I can be.  I had applied to this position three years ago.  Although I had a second interview, I was ultimately not selected.  Three years later, while I was hesitant, I applied again.  And again I was denied.  Then, just days after being told that I was denied, I was given a chance to do a demo lesson.  I took one more shot at this coveted position and was very fortunate to be given this opportunity.

(Photo source: School Designer)

GHS Badminton 2014

Congratulations to the GHS Varsity Badminton Team for winning league this year.  The players and Coach Kilmer were kind enough to include me on their championship t-shirt and gave one to me as a gift. (I coached in 2010 and 2011.)

Thank You Card

One of my private students gave me this thank you card at the end of the school year, she earned an "A" in her Geometry course.  She attends Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, a boarding high school in La Canada.  The card is a water painting of the school, I haven't been there before but I'm sure it's a beautiful campus.  Thanks, Erin.

Mathemagics

After the last day of school in June 2014, I attended a Mathemagics show by Dr. Benjamin of Harvey Mudd College. It was outstanding! He performed an half hour of mental math magic and then revealed some of his tricks during the second half hour. He supports doing mental from left to right (which is counter to how we teach/learn) and using auditory cues instead of visual cues when doing mental math. I purchased a series of his lectures and will share some of these joys of math with my students.

GHS c/o 2014

Congratulations to the GHS c/o 2014! Best wishes.

AMA Scholarship

In May of 2014, my Algebra 2 and AP Statistics student Lizette was the recipient of the Azusa Management Association Scholarship.  Lizette is a wonderful student and is very deserving of her honor.  She was selected for the essay that she wrote on a teacher who had inspired her in high school.  To my surprise, Lizette wrote about me!  It was also my honor to help present the scholarship to Lizette on Senior Awards Night.  I received a copy of Lizette's touching essay, it was also in an elegant envelop with inspirational quotes.  A special thanks to Mr. P. for representing AMA for these awards.

(Photo source: Dr. Kwak.)

Picture Perfect

This is my fourth year teaching AP Statistics.  Gabriel is one of the top students of the senior class.  He gave me this photograph of the front of our school.  Photography is one of his passions.  He will be attending UCLA in the fall.  (Disclaimer: I'm the only AP Statistics teacher on campus, hence "the best".)

Justine's Artwork

This art piece is a gift from my AP Statistics student Justine (pronounced "Justin", the "e" is silent). He will graduate with honors in June (6/5/2014). Justine not only excels academically, he clearly is also very artistically gifted. Further, he received the MVP award for our league champion varsity badminton team this year. As a teacher, I am humbled to have a talented and well-rounded student like Justine.

Featured in Scrapbook

Senior students complete a scrapbook project for their English class to close their year.  I was honor to be featured on Angel's scrapbook as a teacher who had made a positive impact on his high school years.  I had the pleasure of having Angel is both Algebra 2 and AP Statistics.  He is a scholar athlete, participating in varsity swim and basketball. Thank you, Angel.

Pi Day 3-14-14

Happy Pi Day - I celebrated Pi Day with a pie for each of my 180 students. (3/14/14)

Statistics Beads

Back in 2011 when I was a badminton coach, I purchased sets of beads in a failed fund-raising attempt during Sadies Dance.  With the leftovers, I allowed my student players to build their own bracelets or necklaces.  One student build this for me.  Today, it hangs at the bottom of the projector screen in the classroom.

Math Clips from Lamma Island

These are wooden clips with foam numbers and math operations. They are from Lamma Island, Hong Kong (南丫島 - December 2013).  I purchased these from a street side vendor of this remote island.  I recall the day to have been beautiful; I enjoyed a short hike with my two aunties Francis and Martie in this peaceful and quiet island.

Xmas Gift 2014

Student Celine gave me this chocolate brownie on the day before Christmas break. I only had Celine for a few weeks in the beginning of the school year before she was switched to another teacher. She continues to stop by to talk to me on occasion.

PS - The sad reality was that this brownie was stolen from my desk later that day. I never found out who did it, I only found the wrapper in the trash can at the end of the day.