I was born in Cavite City, Philippines (near Manila). My family and I came to the United States when I was 9 months old. I grew up in San Gabriel, California. As a child, I enjoyed reading and going to the library (Nancy Drew Mysteries was a big fave), drawing and painting, and playing in the backyard with my younger sister. In high school, I was very active in plays and musicals, as well as student council, math club, honor societies, and art club.
My love of the visual arts led me to UCLA where I majored in Art. In college I enjoyed going to many football and basketball games. Go Bruins! In the years after college, I worked in the corporate world mostly in the entertainment industry: marketing, consumer products, and brand management. In 2002, I decided to head down a new path to become a teacher. While living in Carpinteria, home of the world-famous Avocado Festival, I attended UC Santa Barbara and earned my teaching credential and Master's degree in Education.
In the summer of 2003, I moved back to Los Angeles and became part of the Castle Heights family.This is my 14th year teaching at CH! I've taught 1st, 2nd, and 5th grades here and I have had experience teaching Kinder and 4th grade before coming to LAUSD. I also organize our annual Earth Day activities.
I enjoy nature and the outdoors. Some of my favorite places are the Central Coast, Big Sur, Yosemite, Muir Woods, Mendocino, and Sedona, AZ. I love animals and have had many pets throughout my life. I have a 3-legged cat named Wilson who is quite a character. I enjoy sharing funny stories about her antics with my students. You'll most likely be hearing a lot about this very special cat from your child this year!
This summer, I continued to work on my goal of learning the piano. My awesome piano teacher is a former Castle Heights parent, Amy Levine. Her children are now in middle school and high school. She teaches the Simply Music method from Australia. I've been having so much fun with piano for the past 3 years and it has added a new dimension to my life. My husband and I took a road trip down to San Diego. I attended to Comicon in San Diego for the second time and it was a blast! We also rode our bikes a lot down the path from La Ballona to Manhattan Beach.
This summer, I continued to work on my goal of learning the piano. My awesome piano teacher is a former Castle Heights parent, Amy Levine. Her children are now in middle school and high school. She teaches the Simply Music method from Australia. I've been having so much fun with piano for the past 3 years and it has added a new dimension to my life. My husband and I took a road trip down to San Diego. I attended to Comicon in San Diego for the second time and it was a blast! We also rode our bikes a lot down the path from La Ballona to Manhattan Beach.
I also did a lot of yoga at Yogaworks and Goda Yoga over the summer. The health benefits are incredible. If you've never taken a yoga class and are thinking about it, let me know and I'll share my experience with you. It can be life-altering in such a good way. I've been vegetarian since 1997 (my husband since '94) and over the last three years I've been soy, gluten, and dairy-free. I feel great!
I love to read and write. Writing is a passion of mine and I spend much of my free time working on my writing. Some of my favorite authors are J.R.R. Tolkien and Jane Austen. Some of my favorite children's authors are Dr. Seuss, Bill Peet, Cynthia Rylant, Eve Bunting, Roald Dahl, and Demi.
Other fandoms include Star Wars, Star Trek (original series), Wonder Woman, Frozen, Elvis, The Lord of the Rings, The Twilight Zone, I Love Lucy, and all things Jane Austen. I come from a family of bowlers - my first job was in a bowling alley!
On weekends, I sometimes play bingo with my mom, Janet, and her friends (they take their bingo games very seriously!) and it's always a lot of fun. She and I also enjoy watching Turner Classic Movies together. Both my husband and I are big college football fans - although we are a "house divided." We also enjoy going to Kings games and Dodger games.
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