Best Buddies Shirt 2018

Our Best Buddies Program (Bonita's Special Education Program) delivered the new shirts. It sends a great message of "Be a Buddy, Not a Bully." When I was an undergraduate student in Irvine, I worked as a substitute assistant in the special education classrooms. Talk about starting from the bottom, I was the substitute to the assistant! I admire the patience and passion of the special educations instructors and aides, who are definitely under-appreciated.

Thank you, Kris

I have the pleasure of having Kris in my AP Statistics class this year. His sister, Samantha, was in my class last year. Both siblings are great kids in their own way. Thank you, Kris. Happy New Year.

Thank you, Jordynne

Jordynne is a natural performer. She was the lead singer of the winning band at our school's Battle of the Bands showcase. She rocked the show with several Paramore songs. I have also seen her perform in our school plays and improv shows. I was honored when she asked me to be one of the teacher performers at this year's teacher improv show, during which she served as a wonderful host. Thank you, Jordynne and Julie.

Thank you, McGarveys

Thank you to the McGarvey family for the sweets and ornament. Happy New Year!

Thank you, Joey

Joey is a member of our school's marching band. This year, the band placed top three in our state championship with an excellent performance. Joey and the rest of the band worked really hard all semester to earn their medals. 

Thank you, Ethan

Ethan gave me chocolate for writing him a letter of recommendation. He is a varsity water polo player and swimmer. I also had Ethan's brother Derek three years ago.) Recently, I also wrote Ethan a letter to support his promotion to Eagle Scout. Thank you, Ethan, for the chocolate fudge.

Breakfast Club 2018

During a run, I had an idea to make these party flavors for some friends for the New Year. These are friends who I run with in the morning. We eat breakfast together after each run, so the coffee cups came to mind. It started as a modified logo using basic MS Office applications.

I don't own a color printer so I made a trip to a local Staples. It was quick, simple and relatively inexpensive.

Over the years, I have held Saturday finals review sessions for my AP Statistics students. I would order carafes of coffee that came with these mini cups. These are the extras that I have kept.

Empty cups are no fun, I got some candies and chocolate. I think Leo and Kevin may enjoy them.

Now, I cut the logos.

Then, I taped them onto the cups. I noticed that the standard tapes were too narrow. The 2-inch wide tapes worked much more efficiently.

I stuffed each cup with love (or chocolate, which is the same thing, right Karin?).

Write the names of your running buddies and increase their sugar intake for the day.

Brent calls us "The Breakfast Club".

Here's to another year of more wonderful times with great friends!

Thank you, Michael

Thank you, Michael and your family, for the homemade cake and jam. Michael is a student in my AP Statistics class and was in my Pre-Calculus class last year. Michael got into an unfortunate recreational vehicle accident earlier this month. He is a strong young man and we wish him a speedy recovery.

Thank you, Brian

Brian tells me all about his weekly adventures to local thrift shops and Goodwill stores. He also knows the public transportation system like a boss. This year, he helped me set up some Christmas lights in the classroom. 

Visit UC Irvine

I have been visiting the same dentist for the past 20 years. I found Dr. Chow through the UCI newspaper when I was an undergraduate there. Whenever I can, I would combine a visit to UCI with my visit to Dr. Chow. Here are some pictures of my visit on 1/2/2017.

LARC (The Learning & Academic Resource Center) was on the 4th floor.

The former LARC lobby.

As a Tutor Advisor, my office was at the end of the hallway.

Rose Parade Bandit Run 2018

I joined club runners from So Cal Pacers and IERC in a fun run on New Years Day morning. We ran from Sierra Madre to the site of the Rose Parade floats in Pasadena. There, we can see each float up close. Before the parade began, we ran back and enjoyed a potluck. It's a great way to kick off a new year of running with friends.

Thank you, So Cal Pacers Family

Thank you to all of my running friends for helping me reach running 1,000 miles in 2017. While I have done most of the miles alone, I appreciate every opportunities that I have had running with others. I am fortunate to have supportive running friends from both local running clubs in Chino Hills: SCP and IERC. A special thank you to our club VP Patrice for creating and distributing these cool pins for runners who completed 1,000 miles.

ASAP - Mile 57

Happy 2018! We thank Alice and Angie (sisters) for their kind donations. Alice, from Singapore, became this project's first international donor. Her generous contribution will help our project kick off a new year of givings.

The Kindness Scale

I am on winter break until January 8th. Before the spring semester resumes, I will aim to contact our social workers and let them know of our offerings. More to follow.