What do teachers make?

Cool, short video...

Badminton

We won again on Friday. Our varsity team is now 4-0. During school, we participated in the Springs Sports Rally. This game is special, my brother Randy came by to watch me coach. I think it's the first time that he's seen me interact with the kids. Our players stepped up in the tense moments to win the matchup 14-7. We still have a lot of improvements to work on. What a way to kick off the weekend!

Cake # 5 and 6

Mayra and Lizette (both seniors) are my number one girls doubles team on varsity badminton. I've known Mayra since last season, but have just recently gotten to know Lizette. To my big surprise, Mayra got me a cheesecake and Lizette made me a flan dish. They are fierce competitors on the court, yet the sweetest and coolest teenagers off the court. Today, we ate during practice.

Sharing is caring...

Gaby and Jessica also made chocolate dipped strawberries for the class. The kids loved them. I had two of them, and my stomach is starting to feel a little weird now...just kidding.

Cake # 4

Gaby and Jessica are in my 6th period Algebra II class. Gaby is a cheerleader and Jessica is obsessed with unicorns. They are loud. They adamantly claimed that this is an Asian bunny. I had to agree to stop them from screaming. (Friends and family of Mike Yau can see a picture of his smile in the background.)

Cake # 3

Brenda was in my Algebra class three years ago. She was a freshman and I was a first year teacher at this school. Since then, she often stops by to say "Hi". As a senior this year, she has asked to be my T.A. and has been the sweetest helper. She told me that she works at a supermarket outside of school and has mastered her cake-making skills. Check out the penmanship. This cake is lovely, it looks flat out professional!

Cake # 2

Maria and Paula are twins. Maria and Paula are loud. They're both nice girls who are very involved in campus activities. I first met them when I tutored after school. I hadn't had them in my own classes then but they somehow were very attached to me. I currently have Maria in my Geometry Honors class, and Paula stops by to say "What sup, Mr. Yip!" each day during lunch. After our Link Crew event this morning, they awaited me outside the gym with a giant poster and this M&M cake. It's still in my fridge, I told them that they better come back tomorrow during lunch to eat it. I often can hear them coming towards my room about a minute before they enter. They are loud.

Cake # 1

Jocelyn was a student in my geometry class two years ago. Somehow, her and her group of friends keep coming back to my classroom to hang out during lunch. They are a bunch of nice kids. Frankly, they are as innocent as they were two years ago. I appreciate them. Jocelyn is also on the varsity badminton team that I coach. True story: She made this cheesecake thinking that it was another student Ryan's birthday, put it in my fridge, and then remembered that it really was my birthday. Yes, she is that clueless. I guess this really isn't my cake...

Badminton

I'm very proud of our badminton kids. Despite losing decisively to two very strong Division I teams in pre-season, we're currently 3-0 in league play. We haven't played the top two teams yet, but I'm excited for the our players. After school today (a minimum day), I took a group of four players for a day trip, we ate at In-N-Out for lunch, ordered our team shirts, and had ice-cream dessert. Good times - just like when I was a high school player hanging out with my teammates and Coach Kemp Wells.

Storyboard

The final project for my latest graduate class required me to produce a storyboard for an e-learning lesson. I used PowerPoint to put together a mock site. The PPT is navigation ready; all of the buttons are active. Not all of the components are complete, however. The storyboard is only for the understanding of the overall site structure.

A close one.

Our badminton team played against Webb Schools today. I had a sub for 6th period so that I can get on the bus at 2:30 pm for our away game. It was the first time that I rode the bus to a badminton game since my senior year in high school. Webb Schools is amazing. From what the coach there tells me, it has less than 400 students. Also, boarding students pay $42,000 a year to attend that school. Class sizes are about 12 per room. Incredible.

We played an intense match and ended victoriously, 11-10. We won all five mixed matches. Good job, Gladiators!

Benchmark Assessment

For the past two years, I have been on a Geometry benchmark team. A few other geometry teachers in the district and I meet a couple times a year to create district-wide, standards-based assessments. It's a great opportunity to share with other teachers who are teaching the exact same topics. In geometry, however, it is very difficult to create the tests due to the complex figures. The past week, I was invited to do assessments for Algebra 2. In the beginning, I was a bit hesitant to join this team. I didn't have a lot of experience teaching this course, and was already overwhelmed with my own schedule. However, the meeting was very fruitful. I joined three other teachers from AHS, and two other teachers from my school. Together, we set a new pacing guide, and delivered all six assessments for the year! Along the way, I learned a lot from the five veteran math teachers. I strive to continue to develop my abilities in teaching higher level math.

*This is the first year that I'm teaching Algebra 2 since that my first year as a teacher in Pasadena.

Remembering a Student

The funeral service for my student was held on Friday Jan. 7th, at night, at West Covina's Pierce Brothers Mortuary. That morning, I purchased a large glass jar. As the day's activity, I provided my students with origami papers and instructions for making paper cranes. The students did a wonderful job with filling the jar with beautiful and colorful cranes. I delivered it to the family on Friday night. There was also a church service on Saturday morning at St. Francis of Azusa. Due to my morning CAHSEE class, I was unable to attend the Saturday service.

Here is another related story from the SGV Tribute.

Obituary

I found out about my student's passing a few days after it happened. According to the SGV Tribute report, my student passed on December 22nd (I have not used her name or her photo on my blog to protect her privacy, but both may be found on the report). The report also provides information on donation to the family. Two car wash dates were held during winter break in her memory to help the family raise fund for her services. I participated in the second date, and heard that over $2,100 was collected from the community that day alone. The family told me that her service will be held on the evening of Friday Jan. 8th, and a mass on the morning of Saturday Jan. 9th.

Report Card - Fall 2009

I've worked hard academically for many years before I became a teacher. After a few years away from taking classes, I wondered if I still had it in me to earn good grades. This past quarter, I attempted 16 units while teaching full-time (and often on Saturdays). It was a perfect opportunity for me to test myself. I did just fine.

At the same time, I'm also aware that I've often neglected my family and friends along the way to attain these grades. More recently, I've also realized that I've neglected myself for so many years. Once my degree is completed, I strive to move on to the next part of my life.