New staff at Arcata High

Toni Diaz, Urijah Horne, Lucia Hernandez, Lazarus Onyango, Ilana Maclay Pepperbox Staff

Therese FitzMaurice is one of our new English and Study Skills teachers. She has been teaching since 2001 and has also been a teachers aid. She has attended three different colleges: Purdue University, Humboldt State University, and the University of San Fransisco.

“The best part of teaching is making great relationships with your students so one day if you see them again you can reconnect and talk about moments in your class,” she said.

Kayla Gaskill teaches four Art 1 classes, and one AAI Animation Master class. Gaskill feels she was “meant to teach” and really enjoys engaging and helping students further their skills in the art department. She has a passion for arts and loves sharing it with her students.

Gaskill really likes the location of AHS and all the students and teachers, along with what they all have to offer. She is easygoing and wants to help anyone the best she can.

1992. So far, she has enjoyed her time here.“It’s been easier to adjust to a new school since there are other new teachers who don’t really know much about the school as well,”she said.

She is also an author and she has even had two of her books recognised by the Lunar Codex. The Lunar Codex is a project where they are sending thousands of pieces of art and books to the moon in four time capsules.

Isabelle Farrell is yet another one of our new English teachers who is just starting off her teaching career. She chose to work at Arcata High School because her mom went here and because the school, “has a good legacy and a good community.” So far she said our school “has been nice and the students are very kind and focused.” She has wanted to be a teacher since high school when she volunteered to work at a school and really enjoyed it. Before that she didn’t want to be a teacher because her mom made the job look difficult.

FitzMaurice has wanted to be a teacher ever since she was young because she loved learning but didn’t really like the way things were taught. She then decided she should be a teacher herself and teach in a more interesting way.

Before teaching, she had a lot of jobs such as working at an ice cream shop, landscaping, and working as a nanny. She chose to work here because “she has lots of friends in the area so it’s nice to work at a school close to them.” Finally, her thoughts about this school are that it is much, much bigger than her last school but she likes it.“ The vibe is very positive,”she said.

She also worked some time here last year, learning and taking tips from the other art teachers, while helping them out.

Gaskill really enjoys going on hikes and going to the beach. She loves not only teaching art but also making art. She likes concerts like EDM, and finds joy in collecting things.

She is very confident in her students. “At least ten of my students will be famous someday,”she said. Gill believes that people’s passions can become careers and that “people should do what they love and what makes them money even though those things aren’t always the same.” She also said that you should be an expert at what you love and teach it to others so you can make bonds and relationships with people who like the same things as you.

Caroline Gill is another new teacher to our school. She has been doing all sorts of teaching jobs at all sorts of places like Morris Elementary and Eureka High School but she started back in

Alyssa Guerrero was a student teacher and taught for AHS back in 2013-2014. Arcata High is a comfortable and familiar place for her. “It’s been great to see and reconnect with familiar faces, while also getting to know teachers and staff members that are newer to the campus,” she said. She is a Study Skills teacher and has taught for over 8 years. schedule and finds the normal six period classes to be rushed. “As a teacher,I would hope that my students would think of my classroom as a safe place to express themselves and do what they switch rooms in the middle of the day. Prior to this year where he only teaches math classes, Koczera has taught Senior Project, Study Skills, concurrent enrollment, landscaping, Drivers Ed Tech, and Health. Koczera loves the environment at Arcata High and is thrilled to be a new teacher here.

With her experience she has a better understanding of teacher and student perspectives from other subject areas and is curious to see how she can continue working towards a “size that fits all.” As a first-generation Filipina, she is grateful to be supporting students with similar needs as when she was in elementary and high school. She started at a junior college as she was still exploring what truly sparked her passion. She then transferred to Cal Poly Humboldt which is where she earned her bachelor’s in biology.

Her connection with her students is important and she would like students to remember her for how she treated them as humans and individuals,helping them foster confidence in their own abilities as learners and change-makers in the world.

Thursday, October 27th, 2022 tial it was and is his “dream” job. He went back to school when he was thirty-one to get his teaching credential.

“Man, we have an excellent staff here. They’ve been so welcoming,’’ Pierce said.

Pierce was surprised when he came to the first pep rally of the year. “Y’all know how to party,” Pierce said. He said that it took him back to his high school days.

”We have a very strong FFA program here and I love it,” Pierce said talking about all the special events outside of school and he said that he loves all the enthusiastic people and he is really enjoying himself.

Debora Jacobsen is a new CP English, Honors English 2 teacher as well as the Yearbook advisor .It is her 11th year teaching, but she was out of the classroom for many years before this year. She has worked at a variety of different schools in many different positions. “I’m really happy to be back in the classroom,” she said. She graduated from CSU Chico. Despite being a new teacher, she has experience with the block

Dorion Koczera is our new math teacher and is an excellent new addition. He has taught a couple Arcata High classes in the past at Six Rivers, but has now taken on more math classes here on our campus.

“I wanted to open my own small business,” Koczera said, which was the reason he came to Humboldt. He wanted to become a math teacher, and he didn’t see himself going somewhere he wouldn’t be happy or fulfilled with in regards to his small business

“So I took a leave of absence.” He took an Ameri-corps program which is a volunteer service organization.

He took a bunch of project rounds and one of them was teaching in an innercity school in Baltimore, Maryland. He taught 7th and 8th grade math and Koczera loved it. Everything about it, connecting with students, having fun, everything!

Koczera said that the biggest change for him is that he now teaches a class in 213 so he has to

Andrew Pierce is the new and awesome agriculture teacher, Pierce is very lucky to be working with Kelly Miller the other agricultural advisor. “It’s amazing working with Mrs. Miller. She has such a wealth of knowledge and is really taking me under her wing with great enthusiasm,” Pierce said.

He goes into depth on how he has always been involved and around agriculture, Pierce has always worked on a farm but was never involved in Future Farmers of America (FFA) because the school that he went to in South Carolina was not very FFA active.

Pierce got his first job in agriculture when he was twelve years old working at a production plant nursery. When he went back to school to get his teaching creden-

Ron Perry is the principal and former student of Arcata High School Class of 1986. “I have been across the street [At Six Rivers] and not only did I study here but my daughters did,” Perry said. As a student he played football and his team won the league. He was involved so much and gave time to activities at Arcata. He was a student body president and participated in wrestling. He is the first generation college graduate from his family and he gives thanks to his teachers and coaches at that time who had an impact on his life. As a former student, there are things that have changed. In his time, they did not have a block schedule and had no AP classes. As principal, his plan is to make Arcata the best school in Northern California and he is eager to make it happen. He would love to be remembered as the person who brings people together.

Jessie Burns is the new assistant principal. She loves working alongside Perry and wants to make the school a better place.

Prior to starting here at AHS, Burns has worked at schools for 17 years, including Eureka and Mack High. She was a special ed psychologist.

Burns loves to hike, and if you’re a big hiker like her, she recommends taking a hike in the Redwoods. She has always been a runner and strikes a high interest in the sport. Burns lived in Wisconsin until she was 18, in high school she did track and cross country. As well, she played volleyball.

As our new assistant principal she is learning how to manage the new role, and is excited to work with a more broad variety of students.

“Coming from a psychology background I want to support students and their mental health. I want to find a way to create an environment to help students with anxiety and other issues,” Burns said. Burns is super excited to be here, and is ready to put her plans in action.

Michelle Conley is one of many new staff on board. She works in the principal’s office and does student records, transcripts, phone, etc. She is not new to working at a school, in fact before Conley made the move to join us at AHS she was the secretary at Zane middle school for 4 ½ years. She had never participated in a block schedule until, but she expressed how it’s not much of a hard switch for her.

Conley has two kids who attend AHS, a senior and a sophomore, whom she is most proud of and enjoys watching grow up everyday. She loves spending time with her kids, even though she doesn’t have much free time these days.

“When I do I like to be active, I like going for bike rides and hikes with my family,” she said.

She seemed to like Arcata High as a parent, and is fairly happy with it now as a staff member. She feels we have a great environment and is happy to be getting to know more and more staff, old and new.

In fact, one staff member in particular, Ron Perry, taught her in her high school days at Eureka High. Where she participated in many sports, including volleyball “It’s my all time favorite, I loved it,” said Conley.

Angie Brenes is the Director for the Indian Education Program. Many don’t know what the Indian Education Program is about.

It’s a system that helps native tribes and people get a good education. The native people are recognized with a tribal card and a tribal card is a piece of identification that helps them be able to receive the education.

Not only is the system for Native Americans but also the young kids who would love to know about the history of where they are from.

Angiee Brenes worked over 30 years and she has seen a lot of students. The idea for the program was brought up at a conference and people with the same idea came together and made it a thing.

The Indian Education Program is in 13 different schools and at the same time in different counties and there is an office here on the Arcata Campus in the TOC on campus.

Ayla Marsden is our new library clerk. She is young and loves to read, especially in coffee shops. She graduated from Naropa University in Colorado where she got her master’s in library science and majored in creative writing.

Marsden just moved to Humboldt from Ashland, Oregon. She finds herself juggling the recent move and new job, but seems to really like it here at AHS. According to her, the students are nice, and she enjoys being in the library surrounded by books.

She takes interest in not only reading, but is also a big fan of movies. She however can’t pick a favorite movie, but who can blame her. Marsden also enjoys drawing and painting. She is a very helpful addition to our library.

Hammons explained that “A school psychologist tests kids for learning disabilities. They do analysis for the schools, and they help with mental health. Mental health was my biggest push,” he said. He mentioned that he went back to school to get his master’s in school psychology after being a social studies teacher, because he wanted to help kids more. He wanted to ensure that all of the kids “slipping through the cracks” could succeed. “I also want to help schools in the bigger picture be inclusive and make sure that everybody has access to their education,” he said. Hammons has taught at many schools, including a community school in Garberville, independent study in Eureka, and a program called “young people as parents.” He worked at AHS previously as a behavior helper in classrooms, and came back to be the school’s psychologist. He noted that kids in high school are a lot taller than middle schoolers.

Adjusting to the block schedule took some time for Hammons. “I’m still getting used to it,” he said. “It took me a few days to figure it out. I feel like it should be 2, 4, 6/ 1, 3, 5 myself, because

The Pepperbox | Page 14 that’s how my high school was… but I’m getting used to it.”

Hammons mentioned that his office is always open. If you need to find him, look for a guy with silver hair, piercings, and a mustache, radiating a cool aura.

“I like helping kids,” Hammons stated. “I feel like I do that regardless of where I am, but I’m super excited to be back at Arcata High.” will. “Eventually, yes, I do think I want to go back,” McCready said.

McCready said that the block schedule was not very difficult to adjust to.

She shared, “I really like the block schedule because it gives us time to have speech therapy and have multiple kids during the same period.”

In addition Arcata High also welcomes, Sergio Alfaro, the new Spanish 1 teacher. Shakira Reyes, the new World History, and US History/Geography teacher.

>>Continued from pg. 9

“I’m fortunate to have a home base but I still need to share classrooms,” FitzMaurice said.

She has an average of 30 students in her English classes with an average of 12 in her study skills class but she notes that it will grow as the school year progresses.

has 23 members while the school only has 12 instruments.

Mitchell Kane, Physical Education Department Chair, explained that, due to higher enrollment numbers, he and his colleagues had to decide how to distribute class loads, especially because all freshmen have to take PE.

“Administration said we can lighten the load of freshmen classes or CO-ED…we chose to lighten the freshmen classes so they have a healthier environment their first year,” Kane said.

The current average number of students among all the PE classes combined is 42 (refer to figure below).

“Larger classes aren’t ideal…it would be better with larger floor space or more teachers,” Kane said.

Other staff are managing similar anxieties arising from the influx of students.

for example, the English books, [teachers] can’t teach at the same time so they have to rotate,” Berube said.

She suggests some needs t the library would appreciate:

“I would prefer a full time library clerk that could stay until 4…and a good budget, which is about 5 to 7 dollars per student,” Berube said.

Ron Perry, Arcata High Principal, acknowledged the concerns of a tighter learning space.

However, Perry explained that Arcata High hasn’t grown much since he graduated from AHS over 40 years ago.

“There were around 800 students on campus when I was here…which would mean that the average growth rate is 12 students per class per decade,” Perry said.

Perry addressed how the development of Humboldt State to Cal Poly Humboldt may have an impact on future enrollment.

Shaelyn McCready is the speech therapist’s assistant. In speech therapy, which takes place in room 200, they work on all the things they need to for the student’s goals. Articulation, social emotional learning, having conversations with peers, and more –it entirely depends on the student.

“I finished my fieldwork at Freshwater last year,” McCready informed me. “I was actually with elementary kids last year. So, this is my first year at a high school and I’m really enjoying it.” McCready mentioned that she had a lot of speech therapy growing up, and lived in this area. The reason she is motivated and wants to be a speech therapist is to give back to the community.

“I can’t do as much because I’m the assistant,” she said. “Basically, I have a bachelor’s and a speech therapist needs a master’s. So, I would have to go to two more years of school.”

McCready isn’t ready to go back to school yet, but she probably

“It’s manageable but less than ideal, particularly for Arcata High when it comes down to how crowded it is,” FitzMaurice said.

Jesse Jonathon, a community volunteer instructor who directs Arcata High’s Steel Pan Program, explained his challenges conducting the steelband with limited instruments and limited space.

“It would be nice to have an established space or a panyard…and that would be an incentive to practice more,” Jonathon said.

Jonathon is also a music director at Trinidad and Blue Lake schools, where he brings the bulky instruments to AHS from Trinidad and Blue Lake every Wednesday for Arcata High Students.

“It would be inequitable to expect students to purchase or bring their own instruments, I have to provide additional instruments to keep the community and students to play…It would be appropriate to be met with support anywhere,” Jesse said.

The AHS Steelband currently

Jennifer Berube, our school librarian, talked about the availability of books and resources for students.

“It’s a little tight but we have enough books for everybody…but

Perry reassured that the school and administration are communicating and will respond to the concerns of students and teachers.