My Students' Tessellations

My students turned in the following tessellations as a mini-project:

by Ashley Hayward (10th Grade)

by Juan Jose Garcia (10th Grade)

by Estefania Barboza (10th Grade)

My Students' Sierpinski Triangles

As a mini-project, my students constructed Sierpinski triangles. The following represent a fraction of all the posters turned in May 17, 2013.


by Ashley Aubin (10th Grade)





by Cynthia Gonzalez (10th Grade)

 

by Natalie Eufracio (10th Grade)

by Briana Garcia (9th Grade)

Happy Birthday!

Today is Saturday. It's a day for me to rest, but I met my five-member Masterminds team in the morning for a four-hour straight practice session at the city library. Then I went straight to school to tutor some of my students in our first Geometry math camp of the year. I still wonder at times why I do this to myself, especially when I'm getting up in the morning with little sleep. But I shouldn't, because experience tells me that doing an extra mile for my students only makes me happy. Today I got more than the usual thank-yous. Upon learning that, in Philippine time, it's already my birthday, the ten students that attended my math camp sang Happy Birthday to me! It wasn't pitch perfect. It felt waaaayyyyyyyyyyy more than that!

Mr. Hope

Here's an essay Roxie Torres, one of my former students, wrote in her English class last week of September. Her teacher, Mrs. Nelly Limas, forwarded it promptly to me.

I have met many different types of people in my lifetime but during my high school years, I met one specific person who was genuine in his own way. That person is my geometry teacher Mr. Jope.

Mr. Jope is a benevolent person. He has demonstrated to many people, including myself,

how the greatest gift that anyone could acquire is to bring bliss to those around you. He himself has conveyed many wishes to those who are less fortunate. He sends a spark to those who feel lost and hopeless just by showing them care and support. When I look at the impact Mr. Jope brings to others, I feel driven to give a light, a reason, for people to not lose the optimism that can bring a difference to society. In this type of society we live in nowadays, I believe we need more people like my geometry teacher. People who can push others and drive them to the goals of life just by giving them a few words of wisdom and multitudes of support. I have grasped the reason why he wants everyone to succeed. He, like myself, wants the world to be a better place to live in. He craves for everyone to have a chance in the limelight and realize that all their hard work has been worth every blood, sweat and tear.

Although Mr. Jope is still a human who has surely made many mistakes and has had his own fair share of agony like every other human being in this world, he still continues to fight and not let his regrets and decisions in his past haunt him. He has presented to me that the answer to conflicts is not to cower away from them but to run towards them with your head held up high. While facing the challenges that the world may bring, one should consider having a positive attitude. Don’t let the problem overcome your whole life; that is one thing that I still have to master from my mentor.

Mr. Jope has given a sense of hope and accomplishment to everyone he knows. He never leaves any person behind or makes them feel isolated. He has truly made a difference to many lives and he holds pride to his accomplishments. He is a giver not a receiver. I believe it's time for me as his pupil to start using my notes and to start teaching others what I have learned.

Heartbeat

My school attended to parents Wednesday of last week at our very own Curriculum Night. When it was my turn to address the parents and the students, I was told that I only have 3 minutes. I told the parents that they remind me of my own parents who had dreamed of me becoming successful one day. I told them that when I look at my students' faces in the classroom, I remind myself that they have loved ones who fervently hope and pray that they would grow up to be globally competitive and happy citizens in the 21st century. I reiterated that I am with them in their dreams for their children. The whole conference room suddenly fell silent. I could hear heartbeats other than my own. Then from the far left side of the room, one parent shouted, "Thank you!"

"Best Feeling in the World!"

Home Is Where the Heart Is

It was already after seven in the evening when I left my classroom last Friday. The sun was still up though, and more than a hundred feet away, I could see my car in the parking lot. I noticed that there was only one other car left in this vast space north of my school. Sitting two lots to the right of mine, the light gray vehicle looked like my principal's. I thought that she must still be inside her ofice and working late to prepare for our students' first day of school, which is today. As I walked to my car, I reached for my phone to send her a text message.

"Go home already," I wrote.

As soon as I got inside my car, I started the engine and rolled the windows down to let the heated air inside my car escape. As I sat there I observed that the sun had gone low and the scene in front of me was a little charming. There was a group of young men playing soccer at a distance. I thought about watching them play, but my stomach growled in protest. I was about to drive away when I got a text message. It was from my principal.

"I am! LOL."

"So she's gone home and this car to my right isn't hers after all," I said to myself.

I texted her back: "Oh,I thought this car next to mine is yours." Then I slowly drove away.

This time her response was quick. "It is!" I quickly turned my gaze in the direction of my school. My principal, Mrs. Yvette Cavazos, emerged from her office and waved at me.