Ascend AscendLit Lit Spring Edition 2019 2020
Featuring Featuring FROZEN FROZEN at at Broward Broward College College
A Publication of Ascend Academy Charter High School
Table of Contents Club Report Dance Club - Nicole Bulla GSA - Paula Hidalgo
Page 4 Page 5
Flights & Fancy A Day of Word Play - Steven Werner MacKenzie Allan Poe - MacKenzie“Jaye” Murk Futuristic Classes - Antwon Paulk Judgement Day - Edwin Palomeque Lost Past - Paula Hidalgo Be the Change Poster - Samuel Egas Flustered - Alexandra Guzman
Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10-12 Page 13 Page 14-15
Cover Story Frozen at Broward College - Bryan DeErbiti & Kearstin Frazier Respect Poster - Bryan DeErbiti
Page 16-20 Page 21
Publication of Ascend Academy Charter High School Student Media. All rights reserved, 2019-2020.
Lunch at Broward College
Flights & Fancy Frog & Turtle - Kolos Jeli True Colors Poster - Gayla Dufresne Your World Opinion - Gabriel Caminero Facts About STDs - Roy Viana Woman’s Choice - Paula Hidalgo Journalism Class - Megan Black Up Close & Personal Life of Ms. Rosenbluth Interview with Mr. Escobar Interview with Ms. Larrainza - Danna Parra Success Poster - Santiago Leite Faculty Advisors Kallie Dionne – Art & Design John McCoy - Layout & Production Darlene Pistocchi - Editorial & Publishing
Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31
Ascend “Lit” Staff Bryan DeErbiti, Gayla Dufresne Samuel Egas, Kearstin Frazier Jeanine Grant, Paula Hidalgo Nakia Jackson, ReNyshai Kelly Cover Photo: Cast of Frozen at Broward College, Field Trip & School Photos by Students & Teachers of Ascend Academy Charter Additional Illustrations: Joseph Mancuso, Chimika Baptiste, Sharlene Shaw, Santiago Leite All other Graphics from Adobe Spark
Spring Edition
May 2020
CLUB REPORT
Dance Club INTERVIEW
By: Nicole Bulla
The dance club is one of many at Ascend Academy Charter. It now consists of 12 members without including the founding members. Alexandra and Angelica Guzman had the idea of creating a club where they would show their passion for dancing and teach a little about their culture. They come from Peruvian families and wanted to teach the basic Hispanic/Latino dances, which lead them to the creation of this club. The dance club will teach you how to dance Salsa, Merengue, Bachata and other similar dances every Monday. The club starts right after school ends. At first the club ended right at 4:00pm but the twins realized they needed more time if they were going to teach, so currently 4
the club ends at 4:30pm. The members meet in Ms. Larrainza’s room and from there they change into more comfortable clothing. They then meet up again on the school’s stage. The members also have a dance partner, whether it’s a girl or boy. The twins also wanted to help out members by giving them two service hours per every meet-up. If a member can’t attend then, a message will be sent with the video of what the meeting was about so they can practice it at home or whenever they can. I share a second period with one of the founding members, Alexandra, so a few days ago I interviewed her. Nicole: How did it feel when you first began to create the club, and were there any complications? Alex: It felt nice doing a club, like participating and teaching other people. It’s actually my first time being in charge of something big like a club. I have been in clubs before, but I never got the chance of creating or being in charge of a club. As for the complications, it was hard at first to get people interested and some were shy so it was hard to get them to dance in front of each other but in time we all got the hang of it. Nicole: Do you have anyone who helps you manage the club besides your sister, like let’s say one day you can’t be there, who will manage the club or is the meet-up cancelled? Alex: At the moment I don’t have anyone for
when that situation happens but I am working on it. Nicole: How do you teach so many people various dance moves a day, and do you consider yourself a good teacher? Alex: I take turns, one meeting I teach them Bachata and then the next meeting I would rehearse Bachata and move on to the next part. Yes, I do consider myself a good teacher because I want to teach them and I am not there to offend them or make fun of them. I am just being honest so they can improve their work,
and teaching them is fun in general. Nicole: Well thank you for letting me interview you, and I hope you and your club do well! Alex: No problem, anytime, it was a pleasure. All in all, the dance club is full of very friendly people who learn about another culture through dancing. Their leaders do whatever they can to help them whether it’s by giving them service hours or showing integrity and being open minded.
GSA
By: Paula Hidalgo The GSA club takes pride in allowing its members to have a safe place to express themselves, and discuss LGBT+ issues or concerns. If you are not aware by now, GSA stands for Gay-Straight Allience. This is a student-led club -the club leader is Jahnoah Furbert, and the vice president is Re’Nyshai Kelly. I had the opportunity to sit down and talk to one of the GSA club members, Nakia Jackson. I asked her to further explain what the GSA club was really about, which she responded with: “The GSA club encourages members to speak their mind and be themselves without the fear of being judged by others. Not to mention that the club offers social activities, which the members are able to vote for. Anyone is welcome to join,
you don’t have to be LGBT+.” Giving students a voice to emit their thoughts and inner frustrations will help them grow and develop as people, which will help them in their adult life. If you are interested in participating in the GSA club, make sure to turn in your after school activities form to Ms. Rosenbluth; the teacher in charge of the club. The club takes place every Friday after school, from 3:15 to 4:15. A Publication of Ascend Academy Charter High School
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Vocabulary Scramble A DAY OF WORD PLAY Steven Werner
As I spent time with my condescending cousin, he said I was impetuous but I told him I was tenacious. My mom said that we were both superfluous because we did not help her with the dishes, but she was very cynical towards us. We were superstitious that she would take away our play station so we didn’t lollygag and started to help around the house. When my dad came home, he said procrastination was something I did condescending often. I kept quiet and was mundane, I didn’t want him to think impetuous something was wrong. tenacious Finally, my sister and her ostentatious friend were going to superfluous take me to the mall. Her friend was quite pretentious and she lollygag was making me nervous with her loud talking. We were greeted cynical by a benevolent sales woman when we walked into the store. superstitious She gave us a free drink - it was effervescent. procrastination Later that evening, my sister was saying all kinds of evocmundane ative words about how her friend and herself were going to ostentatious provoke many things at school the next day. I think they were pretentious talking about some kind of fight. They both came home after benevolent school telling me they got detention for what they did and not effervescent to tell Mom or Dad. evocative After that huge mess, I hope this season brings prosperity provoke to my family and friends and especially to me. prosperity
Illustration: Sharlene Shaw
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MCKENZIE ALLAN POE
She lacked the strength to tell him Her reality fell apart She loved him once, but not anymore All these feelings she tried to ignore She lacked the faith to love His deceit could not be put above It corrupted everything and caused distrust Filled her heart with dirt and dust
By: McKenzie “Jaye” Murk
strength reality faith ignore deceit corrupted distrust Desire foolish stable insane fame imagination
Desire became unpleasant and wrong She was stuck hearing his song His voice was dead and gone Yet he still sang that stupid song He was foolish and smug Addicted to the drugs He was once stable and healthy Now insane and wealthy He sold his heart for money and fame Yet it was all in his imagination McKenzie “Jaye” Murk A Publication of Ascend Academy Charter High School
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Settings Sketch
futuristic classes antwon paulk In the future, classes will have flying chairs so the students don’t have to walk around. The whiteboards will be giant I-pads and every student can have their phone in their hand - which, of course will be a twenty-six or twenty-six pro. Noone uses androids anymore. People can now write with their fingers instead of pencils or pens. There will also be flying tables, and flying shoes. In school, everyone is in the same class but in separate parts of the class for different subjects. In school, students won’t have bookbags. They will have a robot that holds everything for them and follows them wherever he or she goes. The teacher can speak to the students through the robot and the teacher can print work for the student through the robot so it can give the work directly to the students. And in every robot, there is lunch for the students.
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Judgement Day The time is 10:15, it is time for me to transition to my second period classroom. As I enter the classroom I find my seat and open up my laptop. The alarms of my classmates cell phones begin to erupt of loudness, the sound of the alarm was very distinct from the typical Amber alert and weather alert tone. The message came from NASA saying, “a massive blackhole is approaching our planet.” Everyone of my classmates begin to spaz out including the entire school. Students and school employees begging to flee the school. In this moment of crisis, I keep my emotions in control and begin to analyze the situation. I come to an acceptance that these may be humanity’s last moments but while this thought was on my mind, I had a positive feeling that today is not humanity’s last days. I begin to feel a strong tremble on the ground. I start to run out of the school in fear of the building possibly collapsing. I look outside into the sky and there it was - the pitch black hole pulling in anything that had life into it. Animals and humans all being forced into the hole. I begin to levitate and accept this
Edwin Palomeque
Illustration: Joseph Mancuso
fate. Milliseconds later, which felt like hours in the hole, I rise up from a sleep state, and as I opened my eyes there I saw all my classmates and teacher. The setting we were in seemed like earth before civilization came into play. It was beautiful. Nothing but green was around, the air was refreshing compared to the polluted air we were used to. The water was crisp as the blue sky on a sunny day.
I looked up into the cosmos and thanked whatever that was. This was the reset the earth needed. There was nothing but positive energy around and it seemed like a select of people were alive, almost as if all the people with bad intentions or people who have caused irreplaceable damage on the past earth have vanished. It had to be A WORK OF GOD. A Publication of Ascend Academy Charter High School
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Illustration: Chimika Baptiste
LOST PAST
by: Paula Hidalgo
It was an obscure October night. The howling wind was resonating through the empty streets of Centennial; a rural area in Wyoming. A mysterious woman was striding inside an abandoned residence -- flashlight in hand. The cold breeze 10
infiltrated itself through the cracks of the decaying building, and embraced the figure of the intruder. The woman shivered and clutched herself as an attempt to conserve the warmth radiating from her body. Even Though the latter
Featured Story was barely able to endure the freezing weather, her desire to know the truth behind the bizarre disappearance of her parents and younger sister motivated her to continue striving for clues. It’s been 17 years, yet the case remains cold, with no witnesses or possible suspects. Not even a single fingerprint was left behind. It was clear that whoever was accountable for the crime knew what they were doing, and perhaps pre planned everything to make it perfect. The whole incident baffled the investigators and town people. It seemed so surreal, how can two adults and a toddler disappear without a trace? But most importantly, who did it? And why? Those were the questions that haunted detective Rowe’s mind, followed by the blurry memories of that day, the day she lost everything she had. Oh, how she regrets not being there. She was a naive 7 year-old who didn’t know better-- just a child-- and the last person that saw them alive.
There was more truth behind these brick walls, than in the misleading rumors, which is why she was here, to find out what happened. Somehow just being there felt so overwhelming to the point it was gradually suffocating her. Joanne continue to plod through the broken glass scattered on the filthy floor, when an echoing siren interrupted her quest. The sound brought a slight smile to her face as she reminiscent the memory of her best friend. She walked outside the premises to be welcomed by the towering figure of a
The mention of her former last name sent shivers down her spine and drained the blood out of her face.
Many assumptions were made about the case. Some said that maybe they voluntarily left to a foreing area to run away from their problems, and others said they were kidnapped by some people they owed money to, but at the end of the day, they were all worthless allegations.
man wearing a navy blue uniform. “Is there something wrong officer?” Joanne nonchalantly said. “Other than the fact that you are trespassing a private residence without an order, not much.” The officer said as he chuckled to himself. Joanne grinned at the sight of her childhood friend, George. George was a significant part of Joanne’s life, he offered her moral support throughout the whole A Publication of Ascend Academy Charter High School
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“I take an oath to discover what truly happened. Even if it is the last thing I do.” harrowing process of overcoming the disappearance of her family and being treated as an outsider by the public. In other words, he became the family that she was in clear need of. Well, him and former detective Jacob Rowe, he was the detective in charge or her parents case, and although he wasn’t able to bring the case to a resolution, he provided Joanne a home and took care of her, which is something Joanne will always be grateful for. “How are you, Joanne?” George asked and proceeded to walk towards the latter with a friendly smile. “I’m alright, George” Joanne replied as she closed the gap between them and embraced George. “How did you know i was here?” she questioned. “Lucky guess.” He snickered. “Right” She said in a sarcastic tone. “Alright. Alright. I received an anonymous report of someone allegedly vandalizing the old Vincent home.” George truthfully said. The mention of her former last name sent shivers down her spine and drained the blood out of her face. George
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immediately took notice of this. “Oh…. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought that up--” “No. No. It’s ok. Don’t worry about it, George.” Joanne said followed by a reassuring smile. “Okay…” George awkwardly trailed off still feeling guilty about his previous statement. “Well, you should go home. It’s almost midnight and it’s dangerous to wander alone in this part of town. I’ll even give you a ride.” George offered. Joanne nodded in response and followed him towards the vehicle. She sat on the passenger seat-- tightly gripping on the seatbelt strap before fastening it, then slowly sinking into the leather seat; attempting to make herself feel more comfortable. Meanwhile, George was already driving into the lengthy street ahead. Joanne observed as the fading form of the once known blissful house that accommodated her family for a long time, was now the embodiment of her dismantling childhood memories. Memories which she cherished, yet dreaded. “I take an oath to discover what truly happened. Even if it is the last thing I do.”
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Character Sketch
F lustered
ALEXANDRA GUZMAN Story & Illustration
Once upon a time, there was a
fine guy walking down the hallway, with black sunglasses, hearing loud music, with his “Beat” headphones, and his hoodie on. “State tried to give me eight... I told em’ you do that *!.” Everyone kept spreading rumors that he was the new kid. Me, I was minding my own business as usual.
“I am freaking out, wondering where he is going to sit because there was an empty seat right by me . . .”
So, as I walk in to my first period, I sat where I usually sit. Once I sat down, I got my laptop out of my bookbag, and once I looked up, I see the new kid walking inside the classroom. I am freaking out, wondering where he 14
is going to sit because there was an empty seat right by me... (started to get nervous).. So he randomly sits next to me.
As soon as he sat next to me, I acted as if this didn’t just happen. So I continued doing my thang! I am following the teacher’s instructions by doing my work, and she kept repeatedly saying . . .
“DON’T TAKE YOUR PHONES OUT OR I”LL TAKE THEM AWAY!!!” So Ms. P comes up to the front where I was sitting with the new kid, and says, “Hey, you, Daniel, get off your phone.” He replies saying, “Itee, Miss. My bad.” So as I hear how she introduces herself to him, I am over here staring at how good he looks with sunglasses, and his curly hair looks nice, and how he was matching from top to bottom. He had on some red Polo T-shirt from Ralph Lauren, with white shorts, and red New Balances shoes. Not only that, but he smelled really good.
I was too busy looking at how cute he looks, and Bombbb! That’s when the Walkie Talking goes on, “class change”! Time went by so fast that I didn’t even realize it was time to switch classes!
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frozen At broward college
Ascend Students with Cast of Frozen
COVER STORY
Q&A By: Bryan DeErbiti & Kearstin Frazier What did you think of the show? AMAZING!!! What did you think of the actors/ actresses? They took on their character very well. They worked very hard on their roles. Their vocal range was out of this world. 16
Any thoughts on staging, costumes, lights, etc? The Olaf and Sven were our favorites... oh my god!!! LOL. They were so hilarious. Especially, when Olaf came out of nowhere hanging from a wire and landed on the stage.
Tour of Backstage
Was there anything in particular that stood out to you? The very cool effects. A Publication of Ascend Academy Charter High School
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Would you see a show there again? DEFINITELY!!! YES!!! What did you think of the Broward Campus? It was a really nice and a relaxing experience inside the campus. Did you walk the campus, what did you see? Yes, we walked inside the campus. We saw a bunch of buildings. We went inside this big building and we saw a bookstore, cashier, admissions, and registration. It was so nice.
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Did anything on campus really stand out to you? There was a small place on the floor I think the campus was absolutely beautiful, especially the bookstore. Looking inside it was amazing. There were so many sections on the shelf for different studies at the school like: Forensic Science, Government, English, especially Geometry. Plus, there were so many notebooks and folders, there was even a section for snacks. The space was small but there was still a lot of different sections for just a bookstore. ~ Khalilah
where you can play chess... which looks so DOPE. We didn’t actually play on it but if we ever go there again, we are
Photos Around the Campus
going to play on it ASAP. Also, the textbooks. They had very interesting books like music, psychology, art, etc...
Would you like to see more of the campus? Yes, yes, yes!!! We would love to. We wanna see everything else that we missed on the trip!
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Arrival, Lunch and Backstage . . .
Would you go on a trip like this again? OF COURSE!!! YES!!! It was so lovely.
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Artwork: Bryan DeErbiti A Publication of Ascend Academy Charter High School
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The Frog and the Turtle
Vocabulary Scramble lazy obnoxious ambition imagination privilege integrity respect confident strength arrogant motivation faith honor literate humble
The lazy turtle walked down the river on a joyful day when the obnoxious frog came across him. The frog said that he wants to test the turtle’s ambition in a race. He said: “Listen here you turtle. I want you to use your imagination to imagine your favorite food, if you win a race across the river against me, then you will get a lifelong supply of that food, but if I win, I get the privilege to live with you in integrity.” The foolish turtle, accepted the deal. “This is a respectable deal, I analysed my chances and am fairly confident that I have the strength to beat you.” The turtle was arrogant. Even though he had a lot of motivation for the race, he had way too much faith in himself, and when the race started the quick frog won by 20 seconds. The turtle handled the deal with honor. He showed his humble home to the frog with excitement, since he was lonely in his house. He showed all the literate work he wrote during all the time he was alone and the frog and the turtle lived together ever since.
Story & Illustration By: Kolos Jeli 22
Artwork: Gayla Dufresne
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Your World Opinion
Gabriel Caminero As of late, the recent presidents actions have caused an uproar throughout the country, further dividing people’s political standings. Many of the topics discussed in class today are very prominent in the political climate of the American government. The fear that America will become either a fascist dictatorship or communist country have caused many to fear the other side of the political aisle. It baffles me as to how people of one nation are divided to such an extent that regular conversations can’t help but be abruptly stopped when topic of political leanings is brought up. I can’t help but wonder why it is such a challenge for the people of America to come together and have reasonable discussions about what we want this country to stand for. The American people are viewing each other in a manner that is equivalent to the start of 24
Illustration: Gabriel Caminero
a second civil war. It saddens me that humans cannot put their differ-
It saddens me that humans cannot put their differences aside for a cause greater than themselves.
ences aside for a cause greater than themselves. The recent behavior of many when talking about politics is primitive in nature and needs to be severely altered if this country is to prosper and progress as a nation.
Facts About STDs Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Roy Viana
Sexually transmitted diseases have been around since forever. But in recent years the number of people infected are going up. According to CDC news STD’s all time high were in 2018. That’s just two years ago.
Statistics also show that the number of people using condoms and other safety measures have declined severely. The disease called “Nevada” has infected the most humans followed by Syphilis. Louisiana has the highest STD infected population followed by Nevada, California, Texas and Florida. Yes, our state. The state with the least infected rate is Alaska. I feel the best way to prevent the spread of STD’s is to not have sex, but if you really must, make sure you use condoms and have a hot shower right after you’re done. Get yourself tested often, and don’t lie to a person saying you are negative when you are actually positive. A Publication of Ascend Academy Charter High School
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Should The Court Restrict Abortion Rights? PAULA HIDALGO The topic of abortion rights is a controversial issue nowadays. I personally believe that abortions should be easily accessible to women, but there needs be a certain limitation to it. In fact, there was a recent Supreme Court case that is said to stand against a Louisiana law, which according to protestors restrains the accessibility of abortions. This case is known as June Medical Services V. Gee; a crucial case that may change the future of legal abortions in America. In this specific case, the two sides are either pro or against the current Louisiana law. This law was implemented in 2014, and is claimed by protestors to enable a burden in women that wish to undertake an abortion, since the law only allows a few doctors to perform the surgery. On the other hand, supporters believe that establishing privileges is important because abortions can be very damaging and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Moreover, on Friday the Supreme Court decided to temporarily block the law. They gave no reasons in regards to their decision, but they did suggest the involvement of the Texas abortion clinics case, which allowed 10 abortion clinics to remain open in the state of Texas. The June Medical Services V. Gee case started at the beginning of this year, but till this day the final decision remains inconclusive-- fueling supporters and opponents in the process. Overall, I think it would be a good idea to consider both sides, and perhaps work something out that will satisfy the majority of the protestors and supporters.
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REVIEW FOR
JOURNALISM CLASS
By: Megan Black There are many things to learn in Journalism class. I learned a lot of things that are going on in the world and not just in the U.S. but outside the country and all over the world! We did fun things like polls and articles for the school news as well, and learned the different sections of a newspaper/how to source a newspaper, and the most important questions to ask as journalists. We also learned about how much plastic is in the ocean because of all the waste we dump, researched other journalists. We even got taught how to use typography in making illustrations using principles of design and images. This class is a lot of fun but definitely can have its hard working moments. Overall a great/fun class to take. A Publication of Ascend Academy Charter High School
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UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL with Mr. Escobar
M E E T T H E T E A C H E R S
Life of Ms.Rosenbluth ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
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Born in Queens, New York. Raised by both parents and one brother who’s 4 years younger than her. Started babysitting her brother around the age of 8. Played soccer from kindergarten until 10th grade. Moved to Florida with family in 2002 after 9/11 Was a Girl Scout in 5th grade Started working at the age of 12 Graduated from Cypress Bay High School in 2005 Had her wonderful son, Jayson, in 2007. Attended Broward College In 2009 for nursing school but didn’t like it Earned a General Associates Degree and Bachelor of Science in Education for Exceptional Student Education.
Mister Escobar Interview Why are you at this specific school?
What are your hobbies?
Because this was the first place I applied to and got the job straight away.
Playing basketball, playing video games and watching anime.
How long have you worked here? 2 or 3 years
I also play Apex and Fortnite and I’ve watched at least one episode from most anime.
What did you do before working here?
How old are you?
I worked in landscaping.
I am 28 years old.
Where do you come from?
What is something fun or interesting about you?
Miami, Florida.
I am the only person balding person in my family :(
What are yourplans for the future? I want to propose to my girlfriend soon and move to Jacksonville. (Proposal is done!) What is your dream job? Any job where I can help people. I love being a teacher. Tell us about your family. I have one brother and one sister. I share a dog with my brother, and I live with my girlfriend.
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Interview with Mara Larrainza
By: Danna Parra
Why did you decide to become a teacher? I decided to be a teacher because I like working with kids and my language, which is Spanish.
have learned that you have to be patient, you have to know their background in order to know what’s wrong. Sometimes they don’t have a good life so here is like a place where they are expecting you to Is there any memorable teacher or lesson that give them everything - like to love them and support you still remember until today? them because they don’t have that in their home - if Yes, I have some good friends. I remember a they even have a home. teacher in New York, she was very nice. She was an That’s what I try to do, I try to be nice, to love ESOL teacher and we still talk. She was great with them and do whatever I can do for them. That’s what the kids, and for me the ESOL kids are my weakness. you learn. It’s like your heart softens. I think most of The kids are learning a different language, so maybe the teachers feel like this. that’s why we relate to each other. What is the best part of being a teacher? What have the years being a teacher taught The best part is when you see how your kids you? have changed with the help of the teachers. That’s The years have taught me that the kids cannot what makes you happy, seeing them grow and be pressured, maybe that’s why I’m a little soft. I seeing them happy.
Happy Students
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Ascend Lit Staff at work. . .
Ascend Academy Charter High
Artwork: Santiago Leite
. . . mr. alessi hard at work . . .
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AscendAcademyCharter.com
Ascend Academy Charter High School 5251 COCONUT CREEK PARKWAY MARGATE FL, 33063 (954) 978-4555 principal@ascendacademycharter.com AscendAcademyCharter.com