Teacher's Spring Break Plans
By Alex Wasenko, Kue Olotoa, and Cole Wright
We interviewed teachers around campus and asked their spring break plans. Here are some of them:
- Mr. Cameron: Death Valley to look at dead things
- Mr. Jain: Puerto Vallarta
- Mrs. Blankenship: Visit her grandchildren in Baltimore and Washington D.C.
- Mrs. Charron: Spring cleaning and visiting her parents
- Ms. Rain: Travelling, relaxing, and doing some yoga and pilates
- Ms. Fryer: Going to San Diego to spend time with her son
- Mrs. Cross: Visiting Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan with her husband
- Dr. Duncan: Going to Florida and hopes to see the manatees
- Mrs. Tolles: Visiting family members
- Mrs. Reilly: Painting kitchen cabinets
- Ms. Rogina: Hanging out with some friends
Everybody have a fun spring break!
Student of the Month - Becca Standt
By Annamaria Dodelson
This month Mr. Mabry, teacher of the month, has chosen Becca Standt as student of the month. When we told Becca she was extremely surprised that she was chosen. I don’t know why because she is tremendously bright person and “she is funny, easy to talk to, and always happy!” says her friend Caroline Batcheller.
Becca likes Ensign because there are friendly kids and the teachers are kind. Her favorite subjects are math, geometry, and Literature and Comprehension 2. She enjoys math because Mr. Mabry is such a fun teacher.
One of the most embarrassing things that has happened to her at Ensign is she wore her P.E. shorts backward and no one told her about it. Becca is a very sporty girl and she enjoys playing tennis and surfing. She likes playing tennis because she can hang out with her friends and she would love to play at Newport Harbor High School. Becca loves to surf because she can reflect on her day and it is just her in the ocean.
Becca is a really nice person and she deserves this award.
Bee Kind
By Caroline Batchellor and Katie McAllister
Molly McWhertor created a bullying awarness video with the help of her friends Trudy Padden, Rachael Hall, Callie Spooner, Abbi Judge, Carli Brown, Carly Sharp, Sophia Schwarzenbach, Faith Bender, Karson Speth, and Tatum McNutt. We asked Molly, the director of the "Words Hurt" video, a few questions regarding bullying and how it has affected her.
Journalism: What is your video about?
Molly: Bullying awareness and how bullying effects teens.
J: Have you been bullied before?
M: Yes, verbally.
J: How did it affect you?
M: It hurt; it felt like I didn’t belong.
J: What inspired you to make the video?
M: I wanted to make a difference and I was inspired by Mrs. Rush.
Thank you Molly and friends for making an inspiring video, and helping teens all over the world who are experiencing bullying find courage to speak out.
Who We Are...
Writers: Caroline Batcheller, Annamaria Dodelson, Sarah Farley, Katie McAllister, Kue Olotoa, Kathryn Peters, Brandon Rivera, Alex Wasenko, Maddy Wiesner, Jessica Woodruff, Cole Wright.
Advisor: Kristine Cross
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Welcome, Mr. Stiles!
By Maddy Wiesner and Jessica Woodruff
 After Mr. Savage took on a job as Assistant Principal at Costa Mesa Middle School, Dr. Duncan hired another teacher to replace him. She picked Mr. Stiles, who was a student teacher for Mr. Savage last year. We decided that we should welcome him with his own article. We interviewed him to try to find out more about him.
Seabee Buzz: If you could switch places with any teacher on campus who would it be?
Mr. Stiles: “Let’s say Mr. Blackie cause then I could do experiments with rockets and things.”
Seabee Buzz: Was science your first choice as a subject to teach?
Mr. Stiles: “Yes, I went to school for biology, so I kept going for it.”
Seabee Buzz: What made you want to become a teacher?
Mr. Stiles: “During college I would often spend time during study groups basically reteaching my peers. Doing the lessons all over again, answering questions and things like that. I really loved getting people to the point where they just, like, understood something. I just love that moment.”
Seabee Buzz: Why did you choose to teach at Ensign?
Mr. Stiles: “I did my student teaching here at Ensign. I really liked the atmosphere of the students, of the community, and the staff is really good to work with as well.”
Read Across America Day - March 6, 2013
Robotics Club
By Maddy Wiesner
Robotics Club is a new club at Ensign where members build robots with the VEX Robotics system, a remote controlled vehicle that is built with parts such as nuts, bolts, a computer brain, wheels, gears, and metal struts. Robotics Club meets twice a week after school under the supervision of Mr. Metcalf. Oliver Ressler enjoys Robotics Club because it’s a “friendly club where I learn friendship, engineering, teamwork, and coding the robots. Also, we have to use math skills to help with the angles.”
Coached earlier this year by Assistant Principal Mr. Nanney, students presented business-like presentations to community members to collect their goal of $10,000, used to purchase six VEX Robotics Clawbot Kits.
Member Henry Lister says “[Robotics Club] is a way to hang out with my friends. When I grow up I want to be a programmer, so it will help with my future.”
March Teacher of the Month: Mr. Mabry
By Kathryn Peters
Every month, journalism students select one Ensign teacher for special recognition of their dedication and hard work. This month, after careful consideration, we have chosen Algebra 1 and Geometry teacher, Mr. Mabry!
Mr. Mabry has been teaching at Ensign for fourteen years, and during that time, he has been an invaluable asset to the school. After he had retired and sold his business, Mr. Mabry was inspired to become a teacher by the memory of his ninth grade teacher, so he moved all the way from Texas to come to California and teach.
When asked about his favorite part about Ensign, he replied, “Frankly, it’s the people here… I enjoy the teachers, I did my student teaching here, [and] you guys are fun to teach.” He also added that he enjoys being able to ride his bike to school. His favorite part of teaching is the “day to day satisfaction of watching [students] respond in class, especially when [they] get it.”
Mr. Mabry loves to travel in his free time, and also loves theater, specifically musicals such as Les Miserables, which happens to be one of his favorites. He also has the cutest granddaughter who came to visit him at school one day, and just celebrated her first birthday.
It is a lucky student indeed who has the privilege of learning math from Mr. Mabry.
New Counselor, Mr. Arias
By Brandon Rivera
For those students that may not yet know, our school, Ensign, has a new counselor, Mr. Arias. Mr. Arias as our new counselorr will be able to talk to students who may be experiencing problems at home or at school. He is very excited to be able to help our students in any way that he can, and is happy to join the Ensign faculty. For those who would like to know more about our new counselor, he has happily answered a few questions that students may have.
Mr. Arias loves to help students with their problems, and is happy to work at Ensign doing a job he loves. Mr. Arias began in spring 2006 working as a mentor for different schools, but this year is his first professional year as a counselor. He also worked for bully prevention and conflict mediation for students in some schools in his first few years of his unprofessional years. Mr. Arias did help with group counseling, personal support, and healthy emotional expression.
One reason why he loves his job is because every day brings new experiences for him, and loves to help people with their problems. Later on in his years of working in schools he helped students with college and life preparation along with counseling, but now is happy to start working at Ensign. Mr. Arias first began his learning to become a professional counselor at San Diego University for two years and graduated in 2012, and is very happy to start working at Ensign.
Flipped Lesson in Math
By Annamaria Dodelson
Mr. Mabry, the geometry and an algebra teacher, is trying a new concept with his geometry classes called a flipped lesson. A flipped lesson is where students watch the lecture through a video at home and at school, students work on their "homework" with their teacher.
Mr. Mabry heard about this new notion through a math conference and thought it would be a good thing to try. He was not sure at first if he and the geometry classes would like the flipped lesson but, it seems to be working.
Mr. Mabry thinks that this method of learning is very beneficial but he still needs to make up his mind. Several kids have commented that they really like this technique and I myself really enjoy it as well.
Although it is a lot more work for Mr. Mabry because he has to create each video lesson, it allows him to give more challenging problems in class. This is a great way to teach, and while I do not suggest it for all teachers, this is a great system.
Mr. Jain, Teacher of the Month for April
By Kathryn Peters
 Every month, journalism students select one Ensign teacher for special recognition of their dedication and hard work. This month, after careful consideration, we have chosen eighth grade chemistry teacher, Mr. Jain!
Mr. Jain’s favorite part of teaching at Ensign is being able to teach the captains of the future, and though he is not quite sure what first interested him in teaching, he’s “always loved sharing [his] knowledge with other people ever since [he] was a kid.” His favorite part about science is figuring stuff out and doing experiments and fun projects, though as a child he aspired to be an oceanographer.
In his free time, he enjoys snorkeling, spear fishing, jogging at crystal cove, mountain biking, wind surfing, cooking, snowboarding, and trying new things, which demonstrates how diverse his talents are. As well as teaching, Mr. Jain is also experienced in emergency medicine, having worked in the Emergency Room, is a very accomplished classical violinist, and is even a magician. He leads Magician’s Club here at Ensign as well, if you would like to have a chance to learn magic from this wonderful teacher.
Students Get Rewarded for Good Grades in Mr. Jain's Class
By Katie McAllister and Sarah Farley
In Captain Peg-leg Jain’s class he is all about helping students be the best they can be, and rewarding them when they succeed. One of these rewards is the privilege of making a silver test tube. In order to be chosen to make the silver test tube, you must have the highest grade point average out of your entire period at the end of the quarter, and he does except ties. You then come in during one of your lunches and make a silver test tube. This is the highest honor he can award to his students, and leads you to become a shlooptastic captain.
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