Treats from Cheers

At the end of an exhausting week, two cheer leaders stopped by my seventh period on a Friday afternoon and gave me some treats.  Thank you, Bearcats Cheer.

Cultural Exchange

Ivy joined our AP Statistics class a few weeks into the year.  She is an international exchange student from China.  We are very happy to have her be a part of our class.  On Thursday, as a part of her program requirement, Ivy gave a presentation during which she shared some of the Chinese culture with the class.  She did a wonderful job explaining some of the major Chinese holidays and cultural customs.  As a bonus, Ivy held a drawing and gave out some gifts to the students.  She saved a special porcelain piece for me.  Thank you, Ivy!

Showtime

The show was fantastic.  I thoroughly enjoyed the student performance.  One of my favorite parts was the opening song, the students sang their acoustic version of the popular hit "Take Me To Church".  It set the tone for the rest of the play, which was an emotional ride.  I also particularly enjoyed the second half of the play.  The students truly did an excellent job.  Congratulations to Mr. Fredrick for a successful production.

Comp Ticket

Thank you, Mr. Fredrick, for the comp ticket.  I would have been glad to make the purchase.  Very much looking forward to the play - Electra.

Banana Bread

My second period Geometry student Vinny came to my room early Monday morning to deliver a gift for me.  He and his mom bake together on occasion.  He gave me a fresh loaf of the banana bread with chocolate chips that they made this weekend.  It was delicious.  I am so grateful.  Thank you, Vinny.

P.S. On Wednesday, Vinny brought me more treats.  This time he gave me two chocolate chips cookies.

Dodgeball

This is one of the many traditions that we have on campus.  I arrived at the staff v. students game after it began and didn't get to participate.  It was a great lunchtime event that was surrounded with a lot of excitement.  I tried to participate in as many campus activities as I could manage this year.  At the same time, I know that I cannot do it all.  This is an event that I'll definitely try to participate in next year.

A Nerd's Tee

Abbie C. (c/o 2014) gave me this as a Christmas gift in 2010.  I had the pleasure of having her as a freshman in Algebra 2 and again in AP Statistics as a senior.  I also had her older brother Brian (c/o 2012) in AP Statistics in his senior year.  They are both outstanding students and talented musicians.  Abbie was also an elite athlete in volleyball and badminton.  Currently, they are both earning their degrees at Azusa Pacific University.  Thank you, Abbie.

P.S. - At the end of her freshmen badminton season, Abbie won Most Improved Player award.  She also gave me this birdie as a gift in May of 2011, thanking me for coaching her throughout the season.

Electra

My students are inviting me to go see this play.  I'm looking forward to it.  It'll be a great opportunity to see my students perform at this beautiful facility.  One of our school's top students, Summer F., took part in designing this attractive poster.

Stay Sharp

This is an outstanding pencil sharpener!  Time will tell how durable it is.  It has performed exceptionally for the first week.  For under $20, I am very happy with it.  Any teacher would know the value of having a nice pencil sharpener, something that I never thought I'd care about as a kid.

Made with Elephant Poo

This is a notebook that used an alternative fiber source - elephant poo - to make recyceled and odorless paper.  My cousin Josephine served as a summer merchandising intern at Disney World and brought this back for me from Florida.  "Brown is the New Green."  Ironically, the cover is a picture of a tiger.  Thank you, Josephine.

Candy Gram from Student

I received a surprised Halloween Candy Gram from an AP Stats student today.  Thank you, Daniel M. Today was a minimum day, followed by parent conferences from noon to 8 pm.  Fortunately, tomorrow is an off day.  I wish everyone a safe and happy Halloween.

Bonita Faculty Halloween Costumes 2014

Thanks to our ASB Advisor, Mrs. Lindsay, the faculty was given a variety of colorful shirts representing different flavors of the Willy Wonka candy family.  I joked with my department that I really should be the Yellow Skittle.

National Chocolate Day

Thank you, ASB, for giving teachers chocolate.  Caffeine is my friend.

Gift to Students from UC Irvine

On rare occasion, I visit my alma mater UC Irvine.  I did so this Monday afternoon, in part to avoid traffic, but mainly just to walk around the campus to see what's new.  I thought it would be a neat idea to get some souvenir for my AP Statistics students.  They are truly some of the best students that I've had the pleasure to work with.  I picked up a few inexpensive UCI items.  Grand prizes were two Anteater notebooks.  Top prizes were UCI's popular "Peace, Love, Recycle" folders.  Since I cannot have losers in my class, I got everyone else novelty pencils.  The pencils included prints of "I ❤ UC Irvine" and a clever "My Lucky Test Pencil".  Since we are on the probability unit, the students had a fun and exciting time with the gifts during our random drawing.  I did this because it's fun for me.  Also, recently I've been inspired by the phrase "relentless generosity".

Buried Treasure

The geometry teachers collectively modified a common project for the construction unit of the course.  The theme is to use the given clues, along with students' skills in construction, to locate several buried treasures on an island.  Mr. G. and his friend Chris put together this amazing map which the students loved.  The activity took two days to complete.  Skills involved included: using protractors and compasses, measuring segments and angles, copying segments and angles, and using spatial reasoning skills.