Professional Documents
Culture Documents
SPRING 2014
Yick Wo Elementary School | San Francisco, May 2014
YICK WO’S
MODERNIZATION
What can we look forward to next year?
By Stephanie Lee Here is what Principal
What’s been happening behind the Stephanie Young says:
blue fences at 2025 Jones Street? The old New Yick Times:
Yick Wo is being rebuilt. The workers What are the changes?
painted the new Yick Wo orange, blue, Principal Young:
and green. You may wonder how the Well, the cafeteria is Renovations at Yick Wo include a wheelchair ramp at the front
school looks now. bigger. The library and door and a larger multi-purpose room.
the computer lab are
separate. Room 101 is bigger, and they are there going to be?
AT YICK WO
to open? rebuilding the school?
Young: August 18, 2014. Young: They are almost done right
NYT: What is the lunchroom going now.
to look like? NYT: What do you think of the new
By Gigi McMillan Young: There are doors made out Yick Wo?
Recently, teachers at the tempo- of glass and you can roll them up. The Young: I think it looks great! I think
rary location of Yick Wo Elementary floor is also different. everyone will like the changes they made.
School have had issues with the lack NYT: How many girls’ bathrooms are Well you heard it here, straight from
of technology equipment and the slow there going to be? the mouth of Principal Young. Are you
internet. Until March, the new building Young: Two girls’ bathrooms. excited about the new Yick Wo? I hope
didn’t have reliable wireless. Ms. Susie, NYT: How many boys’ bathrooms you are because I am!
a kindergarten teacher who serves
on the tech committee, says, “I wish I
Back Row (l-r): Austin Lesseps, West Middleton, Ellie Aronica, Fiona Tan, Chloe Hu, Stephanie Lee, Gigi McMillan, Lina Deng
Front Row (l-r): Nadja Goldberg, Sinclair Wessling, Brenner Wessling, Andy Liang, Alice Talker, Carson Beale, Cheyanne Chow, Francesca Ficano
had wireless printers in the classroom
along with enough ink cartridges to
THE NEW POETRY TEACHER:
Latimer, Ava Jones Dubois, Mia Gale
Absent: Zenobia Pellissier Lloyd and Ashley Chun
print.”
Ms. Susie isn’t the only teacher who MS. MARGO PERIN
would like new tech equipment. Fourth
grade teacher, Mr. Steve, along with By Ashley Chun she was hired by the San Francisco Arts
many others, says that the biggest prob- Last year we got a new poetry Commission/Baleaf and Shimon Attie
lem in his class is the lack of computers teacher. Her name is Margo Perin. She (a sculptor) to create a memorial to
in the classroom. Other teachers say encourages us to express ourselves in honor police officers that were killed
they need printers, better connectivity, poetry and comes up with really fun through their jobs?
and smaller things like ink cartridges ideas to do it. She uses creative tech- She was also recommended for the
and laptop batteries. (See chart, next niques like having the students write Push Cart Prize. Ms. Margo also was a
page.) their poetry around drawings. contributing editor of the books Only
Another concern the teachers have— Ms. Margo has had a really inter- the Dead Can Kill, Stories From Jail, and
continued on page 4 esting life. Did you know that in 2012 continued on page 3
Page 16
CURRENT EVENTS
Page 2 Page 15
CURRENT EVENTS SCHOOL NEWS
can I stop puppy mills?” Well one way is people in jail poetry?
to not get a puppy from a puppy mill by Perin: It was very rewarding because
educating yourself. For example, one day as they don’t have very much opportunity.
I was looking through a book about dogs, I NYT: When did you start teaching
suddenly decided that I wanted a dog, so I poetry?
asked my mom if I could get one. She said, Perin: After I left school.
“yes,” so we went to the American Society Yick Wo poetry teacher Margo Perin taught creative writing at the San Francisco County Jail for Ms. Margo is a very good teacher and
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals more than 10 years. we are very lucky to have her at Yick Wo!
Page 14 Page 3
SCHOOL NEWS CURRENT EVENTS
Tech Talk
continued from Page 1
school district next
year. The iPad cart I SURVIVED TREASURE OR
PLANE HUNT?
is a mobile hand-
HURRICANE SANDY
particularly the ones teaching third cart with 40 iPads
through fifth grade—is the computer- that can go from
based testing. Recently the San Francisco room to room and By Sinclair Wessling
Unified School District implemented a new will be available A plane has gone missing! This plane
form of testing that is done on computers, during the testing By Alice Talker We looked outside the window and is called Flight 370. It was flying from
called the Smarter Balanced Assessment period. You probably heard of Hurricane could see the stormy sky ripping the Malaysia to Beijing. The plane had 239
Consortium (SBAC) tests. All the third-, Another solution Sandy when you turned on the news in trees apart. It came in the evening and people on it, 227 passengers and 12 crew
fourth-, and fifth-graders took these tests teachers rely on for two years ago, and it said there was a lasted all night long. When we woke members. People have found signals from
from April 21 to May 9. There are not technology is the hurricane. But I’m sure you were glad up it was not safe to go outside because some of the black boxes in the water.
enough computers in the computer lab for Donor’s Choose because it was not coming in your area. all the trees were blocking everyone’s It’s getting hard to track even with radio
a whole class, so teachers send half their program, an online Well, before I came to San Francisco, I houses. We climbed over them anyways, signals. Black boxes are little cubes in the
classes at a time. This disrupts teaching and fundraising site was living in New Jersey on the East Coast. and came outside. We observed all the airplane that help ships get radio signals
means the computer lab has to be closed where teachers can That’s one of the spots the hurricane hit. wreckage. Then my neighbor came from far away. People are finding signals
over those three weeks. “There are 17 post things they The hurricane hit New Jersey on October outside and pointed to some trees that from around the world, like a mind game.
computers and approximately 130 students need money for. 29th, 2012. Sandy hit other spots too, like were huge. She said that one huge tree The Boeing took off from Kuala
taking these tests,” says 4/5 split teacher Ms. Both Ms. Slater and New York, which was wrecked badly. fell on top of the other, but if the other Lumpur, the state capital of Malaysia,
Dixon. “The scheduling for this has been a Ms. Annie have When the hurricane started in our one wasn’t there, it could have fallen at 12:41am on Saturday. It was sched-
huge disturbance to our routine, academic requested donations for equipment in in the present but lots of possibilities for area, we closed all the doors and win- on our house and caused some serious uled to arrive at 6:30am on the same
teaching time, and extra curricular activi- their classrooms this year. Unfortunately the future. More than just teaching her dows and lit our fireplace so we could damage. “It could have even injured day, but something weird happened.
ties like poetry, music, and art.” Ms. Slater’s request for a projector and an first graders math and language arts, Ms. see. We ran to the corner of the room by you,” she said. At around 1:30am air traffic controllers
Teachers are trying to raise money to buy iPad did not get completely funded, but Lizzie would like to teach them computer our fireplace and curled up near the wall. It was not safe to go to school, so lost contact with the Boeing pilots, in
computer equipment for their classrooms Ms. Annie’s request for a projector has programming. “I really want children to We lost our electricity for weeks! continued on page 15 Subang (outside of Malaysia) on the sea
and the computer lab. All the teachers re- been funded. Donors can give to these start learning about programming at a between Malaysia and Vietnam.
ceived $500 at the beginning of the year and projects at Donorschoose.org. Some- very young age,” says Ms. Lizzie, “It would Nobody knew what happened next.
many have done fundraising with parents. times their donation is matched. be great to have a robotics class, both for And nobody knew what to do next. Even
Both Mr. Steve and Ms. Goodyear bought There are lots of technology problems coding and making cool robotic Legos.” now it’s a mystery that maybe even will
iPads from parent funds and Mr. Steve, Ms. go on for years, just like the Titanic. They
Goodyear, and Ms. Slater bought digital looked for it for years, as well, and finally
Page 4 Page 13
CURRENT EVENTS COMMUNITY NEWS
FACTS ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA DROUGHT THE INVISIBLE: HOMELESS FROM PARK TO
By Austin Lesseps
The drought is going to affect you. Be
get sick or even
die.
CHILDREN OF SAN FRANCISCO PARKING LOT—
prepared!
2014 is looking to be one of the dri-
The drought
is killing
By Zenobia Rose
Imagine that you come back from
planted by the families. Next to the gar-
den there’s a small playground.
OUR NEW
est years on record. Last year was the
driest year in California’s history. The
crops that
farmers are
school and before you can do your home-
work or anything else you first have to
Hamilton House has several other
programs all over San Francisco, such LIBRARY
drought affects everybody in Califor- planting, and find out where to sleep for the night. You as emergency housing in the Tender-
Page 12 Page 5
COMMUNITY NEWS COMMUNITY NEWS
By West Middleton when you were a kid? keep as much of the park as they could. New Yick Times: What is your role in the transition and opening of the
There is nothing little about the San Pierotti: Well I played high school That’s how our old library was made. new library?
Francisco Little League, which has baseball and inter-mural. Our new library is built on an old Robert Carlson: I’m part of the move team, which helps move the books from
over 100 teams and 2,000 players. Yick Heafey: I played in CYO and fire parking lot, which I’m sure most of you one library to another and sort them. I’m also involved in some fundraising. One of
Wo Elementary School has quite a few department leagues. remember. The debate over the parking the fundraisers I helped organize raised $50,000! I work at the Chinatown Branch,
SFLL players, including these four: John NYT: Were you ever coached by lot started in about 1999. The man who but every once in a while I go to visit and help out at the North Beach Branch.
Matheson of the Rookie Giants, Charlie your father? owned that lot wanted to make the space NYT: How many more books are there (in percentage and number)?
Weatherall of the Majors A’s, Daniel Pierotti: Yes, but in football. into condos and stores. Lots of people Carlson: There are around the same number of books—mostly new and in much
Matheson of the Majors Nationals, and Heafey: No. thought we had plenty of condos and better condition. See, what happens is that the books that are not in good condition,
me, West Middleton, of the Rookie NYT: What is your favorite sport? stores and we could do something else we give them away. We only keep the ones that look almost new. Then we buy new
Brewers. Pierotti: Baseball and basketball. West Middleton of the Rookie Brewers with with the space. Our old library was very books, not the same books we had before, but new ones. So the vast majority of the
SFLL is a baseball and softball league Heafey: Baseball and fly fishing. Charlie Weatherall of the Majors A’s (right). small and not accessible for everyone, books you will see will be brand new. Of course, for some we make exceptions—for
for boys and girls. It is divided into NYT: Have you ever coached kids who while the parking lot would be the perfect example, Harry Potter. There may be an old copy of a Harry Potter book, but it is a
levels depending on your age and skill. have become famous baseball players? $30 a game. solution for more space and more sun- very popular book, so we will buy a newer and better copy of that book.
The league provides coaches, umpires, Pierotti: Yes, Ryan Klesco. NYT: Who is your favorite baseball light. We took a vote and decided to make NYT: The old library had lots of activities. Will this one have as many, or
and workers to help kids enjoy playing NYT: Tell me something that people player? this space into our new library! maybe even more?
baseball. By the way, the coaches don’t wouldn’t know about SFLL. Heafey: Willie McCovey, #44, Giant’s “I’ve always thought that our old Carlson: It will be around the same number of activities, but it’s much
get paid, but they go out of their way to Pierotti: My little league team won first baseman. library wasn’t a good idea,” says Julie better. When we first started activities, we usually did them upstairs where
help kids learn sportsmanship and how the World Series. I hope you will join SFLL and play Christensen, a board member of Friends story-time was held. We found it very hard to do it there because more and
to play better baseball. Heafey: Umpires can start umping baseball. You can come and see Yick Wo of Joe DiMaggio. “It wasn’t strong more disabled kids who couldn’t get upstairs wanted to join our programs—in
The league was created for kids when they are in 7th grade and they get players during the playoffs in May. enough to withstand a major earth- other words, we needed a solution. We used the clubhouse at Joe DiMaggio
to have fun and learn to play base- quake, while the new one will be—and playground for the last 3 years, so disabled kids could come. Now, there is an
ball. There are different levels starting the old one was very dark, while the elevator in our new library for disabled people to get to the 2nd floor, so they
with Lower Farm teams and ending
with AA Majors teams. There is even ALCATRAZ: THE ISLAND WHERE new one will have lots of light.”
Will the new library would be as cozy as
can join activities without everyone having to go across the street. There are
also going to be more adult and teen programs.
Page 6 Page 11
COMMUNITY NEWS COMMUNITY NEWS
Crookedest street
continued from page 8
on Vermont Street are steeper. And
there’s another difference. When I
EVERYTHING FLOWS IN ANYTHING GOES
visited Vermont Street on a nice Sun- By Ellie Aronica Goes as well. “It was a fun experience and My experience as a actor in the Any-
but what do we really know about it? day afternoon, there was not a single In January the first rehearsal for I met a lot of new people and I made new thing Goes production consisted of a
Here’s a quick history. The crooked tourist in sight. Anything Goes was in motion. Different friends,” commented Gigi. lot of hard work and staying some late
Lombard Street was built in 1922 to In one ten-minute visit to crooked groups of different students from different Sioban Dixon, 4/5 split teacher at Yick nights working to get the play to perfec-
make the street less treacherous for Lombard Street. I met people from schools, a number of them from Yick Wo Wo, attended the performance and also tion and to get the top quality that it had
drivers. (For its first 17 years, cars three different continents. I’ve often including myself, went to the downstairs had strong feelings on Anything Goes. “I when we performed. I especially liked
Page 10 Page 7
COMMUNITY NEWS COMMUNITY NEWS
THE HOUSE ON THE HILL THE CITY’S WILD RACCOONS ON THE RUN
By Chloe Hu
Cars zoom down Franklin Street not
open gables, varied shingles, and a corner
tower topped by a “witches cap” roof.
CROOKEDEST By Lina Deng
Wild raccoons have been seen
nal. Nocturnal means that they sleep in
the morning and are awake at night. I
suspecting that they’re passing a SF
Heritage Museum, the Haas-Lilienthal
The house is made out of redwood, since
they determined it would be the strongest STREET wandering around our city looking for
food. Have you seen any? They travel in
saw three raccoons near our trash can
and one was climbing on the trash can
House. type of wood. “This house is essentially a packs of four or more. They eat leftover looking for leftover food. I was about
Page 8 Page 9