Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Page 4
CAREER CONNECTION
Program offers vision of the future.
Page 3
De Vargas Buzz
Vol. 1 Issue 1
December 2012
50 YEARS OF DE VARGAS
De Vargas Middle School Principal Diane Garcia Piro says, I feel that I work mainly for the students.
Photo by Gustavo Gonzalez
De Vargas students paint their faces before the 50th-anniversary celebration and Homecoming game. About 500 people attended.
Photo by Amanda Worrell
CELEBRATING A HALF-CENTURY
e Vargas Middle School celebrated its 50th anniversary on Oct. 18. The celebration kicked off Homecoming week with Pajama Day, Jersey Day, Dress to Impress Day, and of course, on the day of the football game, Spirit Day. Everyone dressed in De Vargas colors orange, black, and white showing that school spirit. During seventh period, staff, students and visitors went out on the field and supported the team. The school band played, and about 500 people attended the game.
Among the attendees was former student Norma Veronica Mendoza, who said, Well, DVMS was a lot different when I came here 12 years ago. The band and the football team are great as always, but the building has changed a lot. Im sure its as great a school, it always has been. According to Principal Diane Garcia Piro, several former principals were at the event, including the woman who was principal many years ago, Rose Fidel, whom Garcia-Piro escorted around the event. I was very honored to escort her around and I am also honored to be the principal of one of the oldest schools in Santa Fe, Garcia Piro said.
Well, DVMS different whenwas a lot I came here 12 years ago. ... Im sure its as great a school, it always has been.
Norma Veronica Mendoza
De Vargas Middle School alum
De Vargas opened in 1962. Its first principal was Albert Catanach. Its first school newspaper which Garcia Piro recently found was called The Shield. And now the school has us the De Vargas Buzz.
INDEX
NEWS PAGES 2, 3
FEATURES PAGES 2, 3
OPINIONS PAGE 4
COMICS PAGE 4
GUADALUPITA CALLES
Math teacher Guadalupita Calles is shown with De Vargas Buzz reporters Jennifer Lopez, left, and Randi Jimenez. Photo by Amanda Worrell
Teacher says best part of job is watching kids reach full potential
By Randi Jimenez and Jennifer Lopez hroughout Ms. Guadalupita Calles 39 years of teaching, she has inspired students and helped them improve their math skills. She was raised in Santa Fe and is the oldest of five children. She decided to become a teacher after her sister showed her the excitement of teaching. She earned her degree in education at the
New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. She has taught at De Vargas Middle School for four years. The most rewarding element of her job, she said, is when her students reach their full potential. Sometimes its frustrating because all the students are smart, but they choose not to use their brains, she said. In her free time, Calles enjoys spending time in her garden, taking care of her family and her horses. She also enjoys visiting with friends. She has one son, one daughter, one stepson, two grandsons, three stepgranddaughters and maybe one more on the way. She also keeps occupied with numerous pets two cats, six
dogs, two birds, three horses and a lot of fish. When asked what the funniest or craziest thing was that happened to her while teaching, she said, It was Halloween. I was teaching kindergarten. That day was pajama day, and I wore long johns. I didnt know that they ripped and that the drop-drawer was open. None of the kids told me but it was a good thing I was wearing underwear. When I took the kids to lunch, another teacher told me. Her favorite food is green enchiladas and sour cream. Her favorite drink is Pepsi. Her favorite candy bars are Snickers and Reeses peanutbutter cups. Her least favorite thing to do is wash dishes.
By Maydi Alvarado, Mercedes Archuleta and Jolene Roybal atasha Karoline Choe teaches English-language arts for seventh-graders at De Vargas Middle School. She wanted to become a teacher to help give a voice to students who didnt have a voice. I saw people who dont have anyone to speak out for them, she said. Before she became a teacher, she wanted to become a journalist and worked as an editor for The Trinitonian, the school newspaper for Trinity University in Texas. She majored in English, Spanish, and economics at that school and speaks four languages: English, Spanish, Russian and Polish. Mrs. Choe described herself as a nerd growing up. She didnt have many friends. She liked to read, sing and listen to music. While attending college, she sang in bars at night to earn money for tuition. On a good night, she made up to $350. She said the hardest thing about being a teacher is grammar because English is so difficult. I want kids to read something that is well written. She loves being a teacher because she loves her students: Kids see things more clearly. ... Kids are better than adults because they are fresh people. This is her second year at De Vargas Middle School, but unfortunately for us, Choe is leaving Santa Fe next summer to relocate to Texas.
s. Shannon Reider has worked for Santa Fe Public Schools and De Vargas Middle School for two years as our in-school suspension (ISS) teacher. She feels that being an ISS teacher is both very challenging and very rewarding. The most common reasons kids end up in ISS is because of classroom disruption, she said. She wanted to be an ISS teacher because she knows a lot about student behavior and feels she can help students in this position.
ISS teacher Shannon Reider poses with three of her students. If we work together, we can be the best middle school in Santa Fe, Reider says.
Photo by Brenda Mejia
I like seeing students go to ISS who really learn their lesson, she said. She said she can see anywhere from one to six students in ISS each day.
Then I have students who are sent to my room for 11-minute step-ups (or timeouts) throughout the day. The amount of step-up referrals can be anywhere
from three to 20 students per day. Reider studied early childhood education and child psychology from Tulane University in New Orleans.
She volunteered in the public-school district in New Orleans and said she saw the devastation of Hurricane Katrina firsthand, later working with students who were
impacted by that tragedy. When not teaching, she likes to take yoga classes and hike. If we work together, we can be the best middle school in Santa Fe, she said.
Santa Fe Public Schools Superintendent Joel Boyd, 33, speaks to students in the Citizens Schools journalism class. Boyd was a middle school science teacher and principal before coming to Santa Fe. He has worked in six different districts. Photos by Randi Jimenez
By Gustavo Gonzalez
uperintendent Joel Boyd is responsible for what you are learning. As he put it when he visited the Citizen Schools journalism class at De Vargas Middle School, he is sort of the principal of all the Santa Fe Public Schools. Among other education-related jobs, Boyd was a middle-school teacher (science) and later assistant principal before he came to Santa Fe this past summer. Ive worked in six different districts, he said. He is 33 years old and said the most challenging part of his job is working to please a lot of people. He said his first act as superintendent was to meet with everyone he could a lot of people
in staff and community forums. He transferred here from Philadelphia last summer because he wanted to work in a smaller city. He likes sports, movies and spending time with his family. And, he said, he really likes reading. Originally Boyd wanted to be a baseball player. Though he was not always a good student in school, he told himself, I can achieve. While speaking about the journalism field to members of the De Vargas Buzz, he said, What is really important is to be honest. If you are going to be a journalist, you have to take it seriously and respect your job. Be honest and trustworthy. He writes a column every month for the Albuquerque Journal. He believes that if you have
If youre going to be a journalist, you have to take it seriously and respect your job. Be honest and trustworthy. Joel Boyd
Boyd told the journalism students that he originally hoped to become a baseball player. He wasnt always a good student in school, he said, but he told himself, I can achieve.
Robotics teacher Louis Sinoff, a computer programmer, says robots are like smart students.
Photo by Jose Medina
Opinions
STUDENT BUZZ Do you think the dress code is too strict?
Compiled by Mercedes Archuleta
MY VIEW
Yes, because it is
cant express their feelings and show that they are unique.
Ronald Ayala,
grade 7
cant wear whatever you want and run out of school clothes.
By Osman Barragan Chavarria e Vargas Middle Schools Student Council is a group of seventh and eighth-grade students from each first-period class who help make De Vargas Middle School a better learning environment. As Student Council members, we are here to advocate for and represent the student body. To be in Student Council you must be a responsible leader and an academic achiever. Candidates have to compete to see who will be elected by their classmates to be class representatives. If you are accepted, then you either have a choice to be a representative or choose another position. There are five other positions: eighthgrade president, seventh-grade president, student-body president, secretary, and treasurer. This year our eighth-grade president is Miguel Marquez and our seventh-grade president is Anaya James. Our student body president is Monica Benavidez and the secretary is Alba Hernandez. The treasurer is Luc Du Charme. After these positions are chosen all the members will work in a community with these leaders to help with committees overseeing student leadership, community services, school dances, and academics. The community-service committee is responsible for raising money for the school. The dance committee helps plan and make the dances possible, and chooses the music played at dances. Student leadership committee helps by planning assemblies, including honor roll. Student leaderships committee is made up of all the council officers. The academics committee controls the grades and makes the honor rolls for each quarter. I love being on and feel very excited about the 2012 DeVargas Middle School Student Council and that is why I serve on it.
Jennifer Castillo,
grade 7
Ashley Zubia,
grade 7
Valentin Castillo,
grade 7
Alondra Armenta,
grade 7
Leah Sorrell,
grade 7
Ariana Padilla,
grade 7
Aleah Montoya,
grade 7
Angel Rascon,
grade 7
COMICS
TRIBUTE TO GARFIELD
BY ANGELICA ALCAZAR
BAD EGGS
BY DIANA MORA