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The High School for Teaching and Professions
Summer Bridge to High School
Newsletter #4, July 29, 2005
 Bridge
Staff
Director, Center for School/College Collaboratives, Lehman College, Dr.
Anne Rothstein
Program Coordinator/Newsletter: Ms. Laura Tringali
Summer Coordinator: Ms. Pat France
Teachers: Ms. Maritza Conde, Mr. Eston Robinson, Mr. Mark
Spooner, Ms. Karin Wissmann
This Program is a collaboration between HSTP and Lehman College. It
takes place on the Lehman College campus. Its purpose is to prepare
incoming 9th graders for high school– academically and
socially. Students get to meet their teachers, students from other
grades, and other members of the incoming class while having fun,
earning high-school credit, and preparing for the Living Environment
Regents exam.
Funded by New Visions for
Public Schools and NYS 21st Century Learning Communities
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BIG
News
The following students have achieved
perfect
attendance in July. Congratulations to all of them!
But can they keep it going until the end of the Bridge? Let’s hope so!
All students with
perfect
Bridge attendance earn a beautiful
Nalgene water bottle!
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Juan Carlos Acosta |
Christopher Cuadrado |
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Edwin David |
Yanilis Fernandez |
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Leomi Gonell |
Sharon Little |
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David Mattison |
Micheal Paterno |
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Celia Romero |
Mark Smith |
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Adam Valentine |
Nakeisha Vanterpool |
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Raymond Virella |
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Ms. Tringali shows off the bottles,
which come in teal, pink, green, purple, orange, and blue, and feature the
HSTP logo. |
Why is Mr. Spooner’s storage space so nicely
decorated?
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An interview with Mr.
Mark Spooner by Summer Bridge Intern Shirley
Vargas
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Shirley
: Where did you grow up?
Mr. Spooner: The Bronx, in the Riverdale section.
S: Why did you go into teaching?
MS: After graduating college, I got an internship teaching tennis and
from there I got into teaching because I love working with kids. My dad is a
teacher and teaching has good health benefits.
Mr. Spooner sure looks great in his earring and
bracelet! That bow tie is nice, too. But why is he holding a spork
instead of a spoon?
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S: What and where did you first teach?
MS: I
taught English at Truman H.S. and I wasn’t really good at it. I only did it
for one year. Then I did Special Ed and now I only teach Special Ed and
mainstream math. I’ve been teaching since 1990.
S: What exactly is Special Ed?
MS: I teach mild-moderate Special Ed. Some students have learning
disabilities. They have difficulties processing information and it’s my job to
find a way to help them process the information on the level they should be.
S: What do you like about teaching Special Ed?
MS: I work with a small group of kids and I get to learn more about them.
My personality matches the kids because I am able to help with the problems and
issues they have because of my patience, good listening skills, and sense of
humor–lots and lots of humor.
S
: What’s your educational
background?
MS: I received my B.A. from SUNY- New Paltz in communications. I have a
Masters of Science in Special Ed from National University in CA and a Masters of
Science in Administration and Supervision from Mercy College.
S: Why the Administration and Supervision degree?
MS: I wanted to do something different. I needed a challenge. I want to
change or help improve school policy and it can only be done on the
administrative level.
S: Will we ever see you in the principal’s chair?
MS: I’m scared of that chair. I want to get my feet wet first. I’ll
stick to the assistant principal and work under the tutelage of the principal.
Did you get my shoe size, it’s an 11 ½.
S: Ok, thanks, on a personal note, are you married, any kids, close with
family?
MS: Not married, single, no kids. I was married once, engaged once. I’m
close with my family. My mom is my biggest fan. My dad is helpful too.
S: Now about your eating habits?
MS: I’m allergic to nuts, I could die from those. I’m allergic to
chocolate, too. I try to eat healthy. I take vitamins for my allergies and
physical condition and, no, I’m not training for a marathon. My shoe size is
11 ½. Don’t forget.
S
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Ok, how’s the storage space in the Lehman office coming along?
MS:
Well, I was the one who requested to have some space to store things. Ms.
Tringali took it a step further and pimped my space, as you can see in that
photo on the previous page. Every day new changes are made. I think it’s
happening to me because I have all that humor, and also I initiated the topic of
storage space. Ms. Tringali gave all the teachers storage space with labels, but
she wasn’t only going to label it, she was going to pimp MY space.
S: Now
on a serious note, what do you want the students to gain by the end of the six
weeks?
MS: I want them to know that the teachers care about them and that we take an interest in who they really are as individuals. Oh, did you get my shoe
size?
| Notes from
Science and Math
A group of students, after carrying out an experiment, collected the
following data when different sets of seeds were placed at different
temperatures to germinate.
At 5° celcius, 10% of the seeds germinated.
At 20°celcius, 98% of the seeds germinated.
At 26° celcius, 90% of the seeds germinated.
At 39° celcius, 60% of the seeds germinated.
At 50° celcius, only 1% of the seeds germinated.
"There was maximum germination at 20° celcius. If the
temperature was too high, the seeds would die, and if the temperature
was too low, the seeds would not grow."
–Sharon Little
"For seeds to germinate, they must go
through a process of respiration as well as mitosis."
–Nakeisha Vanterpool
"During respiration, plants break down food
in order to use it for energy. The plant grows because of the enzymes.
Enzymes work better during a certain temperature. The seeds germinate
best at 20°
celcius because the enzymes work best at that temperature."
–Alejandro Alvarado
"Before germination occurs, mitosis must occur."
–Patricia Striggles
"The reason the seeds grow best at 20°celcius is because of
metabolism–all the life processes take place rapidly.
–Mariama Mahamadou
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Last Updated August 8, 2005 by Roz Krakowsky
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