By: Vincent Back
Ms.Vo is the world and AP world history teacher here at KSJC. This is her first year teaching here at KSJC but it’s not her first time teaching. Ms.Vo’s first teaching job was actually on a military base in Germany where she would teach army brats whose parents were stationed in Germany. After that she got a teaching job at a Kipp school in Atlanta, Georgia. Ms.Vo’s parents immigrated to the U.S from Vietnam as teenagers right after the war. Ms.Vo or Kim Vo was born in Atlanta, Georgia but later moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana where she would spend most of her life. When Ms.VO was a kid she wanted to become a Broadway star but later discovered that she had stage fright. She went to Homestead high school in Fort Wayne where she would be be in clubs such as the key club, spanish club, magazine staff, and student government. In high school Ms.Vo wanted to attend Hillsdale college or Columbia University. She ended up getting accepted to Ball State University, Indiana University, Hillsdale College, and New York University. Her final decision for where she would attend college was Ball state where she wanted to double major in journalism and education since she wanted to do both. Ball state has awesome curriculums in both programs so she figured that it would be a better investment for her to attend a school that can prepare her well to be a journalist and a teacher. Ms. Vo loved college because it was one the best experiences that she has ever had. High School wasn’t the best time for her but college was where many opportunities opened up that would allow her to be a leader on campus. Also, she met some of the best people she knows from college and she said “that it’s amazing the kind of networking you make in college”. In college Ms.Vo was the student director of the University, an orientation leader, Business fellow, and a teacher’s assistant. She decided to major in secondary education in the teaching of social studies and minored in Spanish and women’s studies. And even with those amazing majors and minors Ms.Vo wanted to travel and get paid to eat lots of good food “without ever gaining weight”. Ms.Vo heard about KIPP in college. She was a member of the Business Fellows in which a select group of students who were majoring in education, business, and architecture were tasked with studying charter schools in Indiana and helping the charter schools develop a plan to renovate their buildings to enhance student learning. We visited a KIPP middle school that was located near South Bend, Indiana. Now that she works at Kipp school (again) she thinks that KSJC is awesome and she loves having her own portable in which she can control the temperature. And she also said that “the kids and staff are cool too”. One of her greatest memories of high school was when she stole pumpkins off of people’s porches. Apparently Ms.Vo and her friends were big pranksters so they decided that they would use the stolen pumpkins to barricade the junior parking lot entrance with about 30 or so pumpkins. One of those stolen pumpkins was so heavy that it took four people just to pick it up and it was still to heavy. Also, she accidently stole a plastic pumpkin. Her favorite color is purple. Favorite food is pie and coffee (sounds like a pretty good combination). Her favorite book is pride and prejudice. She loves to travel and is going to Iceland for spring break. She has one brother who is actually in the bay area right now! Ms.Vo has a strange tendency to talk about poop. She says that it’s a great conversation starter and that if you’re comfortable talking about poop, it helps people feel comfortable with and around you. OH and her spirit animals are whales.
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Over the break, I spent a lot of time with my family and my friends. I went to Modesto to visit a friend that moved a few months back and I also got to spend time with my aunt who came from Mexico. We all had fun on Christmas and I even got a puppy that I have been wanting since I was a little girl. The two-week break is a great way to relieve stress and just chill for a while since school or finals seem to be stressing all of us out already, getting to the end of the semester. Since break has come to an end, many people are asking, “What was the highlight of your break?” I decided to get to know some of our teachers a little more and ask them the same thing. This is what a few of them responded with: Mr.Ryan: “I took my son to Lake Tahoe over the break.” Lake Tahoe is a great place to go skiing or to spend time with your family. Many cabins can be rented out when spending days there, which is a great way to get away from reality. It is a fun activity to do when you have time off of work or school. Mr.Low: “ Probably OOO! Playing a new role play game with my son. It was awesome!” Spending time with younger kids is always a fun way to relieve stress and have a good laugh. Mr.Low’s son is adorable and has a very creative imagination. I can already picture him spending time with Sage and acting out different scenes together. Ms.Bednar: “I saw my friends from college, grad school, and my family in New York City.” New York City is a beautiful state to visit and do touristy things. Go to see the Statue of Liberty. Go to Times Square. Go to Broadway. Hail a taxi. Put a lock on the Brooklyn Bridge with your loved one. Try New York pizza. Go out and have fun! It’s New York we are talking about! Ms.Cohen: “We had a family game night party with friends.” Hanging out with friends is always a fun way to spend a Friday night after a long week. My favorite game would have to be operation or UNO. At family parties, we always end up playing UNO or even Loteria, a Mexican card game. By going to Target, you can get any board game to have fun with friends when needed. Mr.Page: “My friend from Atlanta came to visit me.” Friends always made days better. Especially if they came from far away or you haven't seen them in a long time. I know that when my friends from a middle school visit, I always get super happy because I’ve been missing them or haven't spent quality time with them. We always end up catching up on everything and going bowling or laughing at each other wearing green face masks. Even hanging out with friends who you see every day is fun and exciting. Ms.Rios: “I got to go to Washington D.C. for the first time and got to see many historical monuments. That was pretty cool.” Washington D.C. is known for their monuments or being the “political” state since that is where the president lives and because it is the capital of the United States. Going to learn about monuments, such as Lincoln’s monument, MLK’s Mountain of Despair that is followed by the Stone of Hope, the World War I or II monuments, and the Korean monument, is very fascinating and interesting. I went in eighth grade and it is one of the best things that has happened in my life. When asking teachers, they kept smiling, or couldn’t help but smile, which I found heartwarming since they got so happy talking about their highlight. Most teachers talked about spending time with their family or friends. Others went out and visited different states, such as New York City, Washington D.C, or Lake Tahoe. Many started how they saw people from out of state, which made them really happy, and others stated having bonding time with their kids they enjoy a lot. Our teachers are very busy, so it is nice to see them have a break from work and enjoying time doing things they love that are not related to education.
Our teachers had a great break and seemed to have fun highlights from it. I hope everyone had a great break, Christmas, and New Year. Remember to study for finals and get back on track! The fun and stress-free days were entertaining and very much needed, but now it is time to get back on track and keep those grades up. Another break is coming up soon, so don't get sad. School is also fun because you get to see many people you didn't see over the break and catch up on different events that happened during it. To conclude, although school is a very important part of our lives and leads to our future careers, it is always nice and needed to take a break to just relax for a while. -Nayeli Abundis This teacher spotlight goes to a great teacher Mr. Arambula. Mr. Arambula currently teaches sophomore seminar at Kipp: San Jose Collegiate. He also helps students find summer programs for community service and just helps them out in general. During class time we either have study hall or learn social awareness with mini activities. This usually happen Tuesdays through Fridays. He makes the class interesting by telling students his life stories and how what we learn in class helped him out in the past and or present. The students in his class are interested in the topics he teaches and ask him questions to learn more. Whenever a student is giving him a hard time he does not raise his voice or act out in an unprofessional way. Instead what he does is he calmly asks them to step outside or head to the office depending on the situation. If by this point the student still does not cooperate instead of getting angry he explains the consequences to them if they do not do as they are asked. By this time the student goes outside or to the office.
Mr Arambula was born in Burbank, CA (Los Angeles). He has three siblings and both parents. He lived in mexico from 10 to 16 years old. His favorite movie is Forrest Gump. When I asked him what his favorite restaurant is he replied “ It is called Aporreadillo”. His favorite place he ever went to is Barcelona because he says it is the cleanest pace he ever went to. He says the people there keep their sidewalks free of gum with powerhouses and their is no litter. He also describes the air as cleaner feeling than in other places. He likes to spend his average everyday weekends spending time with his girlfriend, going out to watch movies and going to museums. He is a spanish literature major. The most embarrassing moment of his life was when he was 4 or 5 and his mom had chocolate in a white wrapper. She told him not to eat the chocolate because it is supposed to give a person diarrhea. He then later opened the fridge unwrapped the chocolate and took a small piece to eat. He then wrapped it up and put it back. Later on he had to use the bathroom and ended up being there for the rest of the day. His mom found out and she told his cousins and uncle about it which made it more embarrassing. Mr. Arambula in my opinion is one of the best teachers here at KSJC. He tries to understand students and give them some advice the best he can. He helped me write this article and shares some of his cool stuff with students that show kindness toward him. I do not think there are things that he could do better as a teacher because he is already doing a great job. I he has a really cool beard and we have yet to see what is next for him. - Isaiah Hernandez |