Hi Casita Families, I am Mrs. Lauren Lentz ! This will be my 7th year here at Casita and my 3rd year teaching 4th grade; I'm looking forward to another fabulous group of kiddos.
This year will look a little different for me, as I have a baby boy arriving in the beginning of September. As of August 21st, Mr. Park will be taking over for me until January. He is well known on campus and had the privilege of being a long-term sub in 3rd grade for Mrs. Silvera last year. Many of our students will probably be familiar with him.
My goal as a teacher is to instill a passion for lifelong learning within my students while providing them with the educational environment that is encouraging and positive. I hope to provide the skills and tools necessary to foster the individual talents of each student, giving them the confidence to embrace their dreams and turn them into reality. I will strive to be the teacher that students remember far into their future; the teacher that cared for their well being and enriched their learning environment.
When I am not teaching I love to spend time with my family, friends and pets. I am a big outdoors person and enjoy hiking or biking almost every weekend. I also LOVE to travel. I have studied abroad in Spain, visited France and England and have gone backpacking through Australia and New Zealand. My husband and I honeymooned in Costa Rica, spent time in US Virgin Islands and had a little babymoon this summer, in New York City. You get the idea ;o)
Well, I think that is enough about me for now. I can’t wait to get the school year started!
Hello there, my name is Mr. John Apostol (a.k.a Mr. A) and I look forward to my first year teaching fourth grade here at Casita Center.
Bio: I grew up on the east coast (New Jersey and Massachusetts) and stayed in the northeastern United States before I left for college. I subsequently left the winters in New England for a small college in St. Petersburg Florida named Eckerd College, where I received my B.A. in Environmental Studies. I left Florida after college and moved out west, settling in Seattle, Washington, and subsequently going back to school many years later. In 2006, I received my Masters in Teaching at the University of Washington (go Huskies!). I have a wonderful family (wife, two kids, and our charismatic yellow Lab) that I’ve shared many adventures with (moving from Seattle to Arizona, and now most recently San Diego in December), and we are incredibly excited to enjoy life in southern California.
Teaching Experience/Philosophy: I have taught fourth and fifth grade for the past thirteen years in Washington, Arizona, and California. I strive to empower my students to both foster a passion for learning while adhering to our learning community principles. These ideals are founded on elements of trust, respect, responsibility, and empathy for others. My instructional approach is flexible and responsive to the needs of my students, whether it’s predicated on accommodating individual learning styles, or through the adoption of project-based activities that allow for student creativity. I am excited to join such an inclusive and supportive team of educators, and I especially look forward to working with this amazing group of student learners. Interests: When I’m not in the classroom, my family and I like to get out in nature (especially getting to the mountains or the beach). I am also an avid sports’ fan, enjoy cooking with the family, and place an emphasis on exercise and fitness. My family and I also love to travel together, having visited the countries Greece, Mexico, and South Africa, while also having spent time with family across the United States.
Hi, my name's Ms. Young. I was born in South Korea and immigrated to U.S. when I was 12 years old. That was a hard transition for me, but I learned valuable lessons about working hard and being persistent which I hope to impart to my students. Since then I graduated from UC Berkeley with B.A. in Anthropology then got my M.A. at Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.
Since then I had opportunity to teach at Madison Middle School for 4 years. I taught ELD, 6th Grade Math, Science, 7th Grade Explore as well as Social Studies, and AVID. It is my eighth year at Casita. I have been teaching 5th grade for the past 6 years. I am looking forward to teaching 4th grade for the third time this year with a great team of 4th grade teachers.
One thing I truly enjoy is reading as well as learning new languages. I challenge my students come and guess what different languages I have learned throughout my life. I will give few clues... I have learned 6 languages in my life. Some I can speak very well. Some I still have a long way to go.
I have included Back to School Night slides for parents who wanted to refer back to it in the future. Hope it helps!