Meet The Staff – Page 10 – Pueblo High School

Pueblo Welcomes New Monitor!

By Lauren Ahern

As the second semester started on January 9, 2017, Pueblo welcomed a new member to the list of faculty and staff .

Mr. Michael Yslada is Pueblo’s newest campus monitor.

Although he has been at Pueblo for only a few weeks, Yslada said that so far being a security monitor has been easier than what he thought.

As a football coach for eighth-graders (Pop Warner) for the past three years, Yslada said that he is used to being around children and is accustomed to interacting with them

Already, Yslada said that he feels confident about knowing his way around campus.

As a former Tucson High School graduate, Yslada said that he likes how small Pueblo is and how easy it is to locate the different classrooms and the teachers.

In his first three weeks as a monitor, Yslada said that he has encountered just a few moments when teachers needed to have disruptive students removed from their classrooms. He said that he believes that most students are respectful and well-behaved at Pueblo.

Yslada is unsure how long he plans to work at Pueblo, but he admitted that he would love to be our school’s varsity football coach.

He said that he is interested in learning more about the Pima County Sheriff’s Department or Tucson Police Department.

For now, Yslada said that he is very content about being at Pueblo.

“Even after just a few weeks, I can tell that Pueblo is a community school, and I enjoy how intimate it can be,” Yslada said.

Ms. Brock Joins The Warrior Family

By Victor Garcia

This school year, Ms. Claire Brock joins the Warrior staff as a new freshman and sophomore English teacher.

Even at the beginning of the school year, Brock said that she knew that Pueblo was a special school.

“Dr. Romero [principal] welcomed us [teachers and staff] like we were all part of the same family,” Brock said. “It’s great to work in a culture of true professionals.”

Brock began her teaching career at Sunnyside High School last year teaching sophomores. She decided to move to Pueblo to begin her second year of teaching.

Brock is currently finishing her master’s degree in secondary education. Her thesis will focus on the idea of how an English-dominant school culture impacts the community. She plans to complete this degree this May.

“I foresee being a teacher at Pueblo for at least the next five years,” Brock said. “I also foresee myself being a mom to another child. I also want to be a midwife and a lawyer, so I have a lot of plans for my future.”

In the short time at Pueblo, Brock expressed the positive qualities at her new school.

“I really feel that Pueblo has a strong culture of support and trust that keeps everybody focused,” Brock said. “I really want to help my students find their voices and to help them to find evidence with their arguments.”

Pueblo Welcomes Back Mr. Alcantara

By Iram Arce

A former Pueblo Magnet High School language arts teacher, Mr. Baltazar Alcantara, has once again become a Warrior. After eleven years, we welcome him back as our new English Learning Development (ELD) coordinator.

“I really feel as if I’m back home,” he said.

Alcantara explained that one of his primary functions in his new position is job is to ensure that the school is compliant for English Language Learners (ELL’s).

“My goal is to make sure that the students can take an equal part in this country,” he said.

After leaving Pueblo for more than a decade, Alcantara said that he had brief “homes” at Valencia Middle School and Catalina High School, but he knew that Pueblo truly felt like home the most when he returned.

“It’s [being at Pueblo] almost as if I’m living with cousins,” he said.

In the first quarter of this school year, Alcantara said that one of his goals was the build trust relationships with students, and he said that he definitely achieved this goal.

“I will work here for as long as there is need,” Alcantara said. “What appears to be difficult is always a lot bigger in your mind. You don’t realize that you can actually achieve something so great and awesome until you actually commit to its completion.”

Let’s Welcome Dr. Wiley To PHS!

By Victor Garcia

New to our Warrior Family this school year is Dr. Christine Wiley, who is starting the 2016-17 school year as a new ELD (English Language Development) teacher to educate students whose primary language is not English.

Wiley has a very eclectic teaching resumé. She taught for a while at the University of California (at Irvine) and even taught English in Japan to junior high school Japanese students. This is Wiley’s first year teaching high school students.

“I grew up in Tucson, so in essence I moved back home,” Wiley said. “I decided that I really wanted to teach ELD in public education. It seemed like a perfect fit considering my past teaching experience.”

There are four levels of ELD classes, and each ELD student is placed in one of these levels depending upon their level of expertise. Beginning English learners are enrolled in ELD 1; those students who are almost ready to transition to a “regular” English class are enrolled in ELD 4. This year, Wiley teaches ELD levels 3 and 4, which includes students in all four grades of high school.

Wiley said her goal for this year is to be the best teacher that she can be and help students achieve their academic goals.

“Even though this is my first semester here, I can tell that I already like Pueblo’s students,” Wiley said. “They are all very nice and very caring.”

Ms. Bojorquez Joins Pueblo Staff

By Angelita Delcido

Pueblo welcomes our newest edition to the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program teacher, Ms. Lyndsey Bojorquez, a U of A graduate from class of 2008, who was born and raised in Sahuarita, Arizona.

Bojorquez started out her teaching career at Desert View High School and continued onto Baboquivari High School in the AVID program.

AVID is a college preparation program which teaches students various ways and lessons to prepare them for high school and—inevitably—collegiate life.

“I truly believe that AVID just serves the unrepresented students how to get to college,” said Bojorquez, “they [students] don’t classify themselves as smart, so they don’t think they can get to college, but they are.”

Bojorquez aims to teach how to self-motivate, and how to apply yourself in school so students can graduate with a contempt feeling about college and adjusting quickly.

“They [students] think school comes naturally,” she said, “but it doesn’t. You have to learn.”

Cheer Coach Becomes New Monitor

By Laura Conde

After Mr. Sean Jack left for a new position near Denver, CO, last quarter, Pueblo was without a monitor—but not for long. Pueblo’s Cheer coach, Mr. Frankie Grijalva, applied for this vacancy and was hired as Pueblo’s newest campus monitor several weeks ago.

Grijalva said that he is very excited to expand his bond with Pueblo students.

“Pueblo makes me feel at home—I’m always very comfortable,” Grijalva said. “I’m planning to stay here as long as I can.”

He added, “Being a campus monitor is good practice for me getting to know just about everybody at Pueblo,” he said, “and so far it’s been a lot of work but also a lot of fun. This job is teaching me how to have patience, that’s for sure.”

Grijalva, a Class of 2004 Tucson High graduate, stayed active in three dance groups, and he knew then that he wanted to pursue a dancing career.

As for future plans, Grijalva added that he would eventually like to be a full-time dance teacher at Pueblo.

“When I was a student in high school, I wanted to become a dance teacher and dance coach,” he said, “so I’m definitely halfway there. However, I really would love to add ‘full-time dance teacher’ to my resume.”