RETIREMENT | Travel to New Zealand planned

cracks under my watch,’’ she said. “I take pride in my work and doing the best I can for everything”.

Prior to working at Branham, Fleming worked as an accountant, and brought her organized and efficient mind to the task of the clerk. Her son also graduated from Branham in 2011, and she was heavily involved with PTSA.

When the time came to support her family again financially, she said that as her “home school” Branham was a perfect fit since the commute is convenient. Her husband Roger, a retired Intel employee, also helps out at school. As part of a volunteer program, the tech company donates $10 to Branham for every hour he volunteers. He has volunteered at Branham for a collective of more than 3,000 hours.

Some of his projects have included establishing a districtwide catalog of books and textbooks as well as setting up logistics for book distribution when school shut down during the pandemic. He also helps out as needed in the book room including with manual labor when shipments of books arrive.

“Students are fun, and the work is okay,” he said. “And it’s good to feel that you’re doing good, like doing a project.”

When she joins her husband in retirement, she said that they hope to enjoy a life with more freedom and

Editors-in-Chief | Jiyoon Choi and Nolan Zils

Editors

Art director: Erica Kang

News Editor: Alli Wang

Opinion Editor: Alli Wang relaxation. The couple have plans to explore travel to New Zealand and more.

Fleming jokes that she plans on getting another job after retirement just to allow her to keep learning and exercising her brain.

Staff writers

“I’m excited,” she said. “But I’m a little scared that I won’t be using my brain as much.”

Fleming leaves behind a color-coded legacy and an efficient way of running the book room over her nine years at Branham. Her computer is surrounded by sticky notes and color coded schedules, lists, and spreadsheets.

Assistant principal Nikita Shah said that she and other teachers are grateful for the work Fleming has put in over the years, as she was a important in keeping the school operating properly and efficiently.

“Mrs. Fleming has been very integral to our school,” Shah said. “I’ve worked with her on scheduling testing and she is very knowledgeable, very thorough, very detailed, and we’re definitely going to miss her expertise.”

From parking permits and locker agreements to AP testing payment and registration, Fleming has it organized and handled. Her infectious smile and a simple “Hi, how can I help?” as a student walks through the door will be missed.

As someone who serves every student,Fleming said that she will miss helping them when she leaves.

“I’m the only person on this campus who gets to see every single student”Fleming said. “Not everyone needs to go to the office or to the Wellness Center, but every student needs a book.”

Aresema Agdie, Juliette Bonacum, Lia Choi, Owen Dazko, Shantala Murujanugan, Aadyant Suresh, Carissa Takaki, Anabelle Walker, Ryan Walters, Mila Windell, Makayla Wu

Guest artists: Dhatri Tummala, Grace Ngo, Supriya

Khandewal and David Tran

Arts and Entertainment Editor: Ava Stark

Science and Health

Editor: Angela Choi

Student Life Editor: Reese Gardner

Sports Editor: Alan Schaeffer

Online Editor: Sahasra Makamchenna

Adviser: Fitzgerald Vo

Mission Statement

The Bear Witness is committed to providing accurate, timely coverage of local and world news while connect- ing these events to the lives of our diverse student body.

Website: www.bhsbearwitness.com

Phone: (408) 626-3407

Email: bhsbearwitness@gmail.com

Address: 1570 Branham Lane, San Jose, CA 95118

In a grand venue in Cincinnati, Ohio, junior Maya Calvert stood among 300 high school students selected from around the nation to sing over Presidents’ Week.

As Calvert sang, she felt both nervous yet excited. She was chosen out of thousands of applicants across the country to join the prestigious group, with 10 students from California.

“Everyone (in the choir) is feeling that way, so it’s very high energy and everyone’s bonding together,” she said. Her performance was a compilation of eight pieces across different periods, conveying the theme of “diversity.”

“If I’m going to do some new music in my future, it’s good to get to know them,” she said. “Then because those are going to be future music teachers, future directors and things like that. It’s a really amazing learning opportunity.”

— Alli Wang Branham among schools open durin recent atmospheric river Strong wind gusts brought on by atmospheric river two weeks ago left more than 7,000 in the area surrounding Branham without power, including Leigh, Westmont, Prospect and Camden Post-Secondary schools.

In the area, downed power lines caused mass outages and fallen trees resulted in road closures and major stores such as Target and Home Depot on Hillsdale closed early.

“I’m glad that no students were hurt,” Campus supervisor John Chun said.

Vice principal Victoria Waite said that the district facilities team cut down trees that were already close to falling down.

“If we could predict this kind of stuff, then we would be living the life,” Waite said.

Correction

February’s story “A robot wrote my essay,” did not interview theater teacher Jennifer Sorkin, who was named in the article.

It is common journalistic practice to verify with named subjects whether a piece written about them is factually accurate.

The Bear Witness regrets the error.