Greetings Stellar Family,
I am excited to announce that Back to School Night will be scheduled for 5:30 - 7:00pm Monday, September 26, 2011! See attached for the flyer. We encourage all parent/guardians to attend. It will give you an opportunity to meet teachers, learn about class goals, and view early student work.
Below you will find short bios of all of our Stellar teachers. Notice that we are very pleased to have a new Biology teacher, Mr. Garland, whose enthusiasm for Biology makes him a great addition to our team.
Sincerely,
Principal Pierce
Biology Teacher: Mr. Garland
Mr. Garland has lived in the Bay Area over the past 15 years where he has worked in various capacities in the information technology sector ranging from general technical support to network administration. He had the opportunity to reattend college where he knew from the start that he wanted to be a Science teacher. He will earn his B.S. degree in Biology and his Teaching Credential from California State University East Bay this Winter quarter. While not very athletic himself, he does enjoy hiking with his Boxer, Des, and is training with her to enter in dog agility competitions.
Algebra Teacher: Mr. Goodlett
Mr. Goodlett has 25 years of experience as an educator in the Bay Area teaching grades ranging from preschool to high school, and has taught in the San Francisco and Oakland Unified School Districts as well as charter and private schools in the East Bay. Most recently Mr. Goodlett served as math instructor, dean of students, and manhood training coordinator at ASA Academy in Oakland, CA. He was a walk-on basketball player at Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota where he earned his B.A. and he attended the San Francisco State University teacher credential program.
Spanish Teacher: Ms. Muller
Ms. Muller grew up in the Easy Bay and received her BA at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she studied a wide range of subjects, from linguistics and language studies to geology and chemistry. She has studied in Ecuador, where she immersed herself in the Spanish language and Ecuadorian culture. While there, she spent most of her time in a small town on the edge of the Amazon building a playground for the local school children and teaching the community about conservation. Ms. Muller spent the past summer living in Kings Canyon National Park working with kids and families with Type 1 diabetes. She is honored and excited to be a part of Stellar Prep, where she can pass on her passion for language to her students.
Fine Arts Teacher: Ms. Nzinga
Ms. Nzinga, MA, MFA, is an Artist Educator and a Candidate for a PhD in Transformational Education and Change at the California Institute for Integral Studies in San Francisco CA. A published author, essayist, and poet she has a passion for lifelong learning. She is a performing artist and the Founding Director of, The Lower Bottom Playaz, a community based theater troupe. She is the Director of the Sister Thea Bowman Memorial Theater in West Oakland, CA. She is the Founder Director of The Sister Thea Bowman Memorial Summer Theater Day Camp, a multi generational arts camp, hosted by The Prescott Joseph Center For Community Enhancement, and staffed by the School of Education at University of California at Berkeley. She has taught at, consulted with, and designed arts programing for schools though out the San Francisco Bay Area for the last decade. Nzinga is pleased and excited to be a part of the Stellar team.
Principal/ English Language Arts Teacher: Ms. Pierce
Ms. Pierce earned her BA, MA, and Teaching Credential from Stanford University. She then assumed numerous leadership positions as both a teacher and an administrator at some of the most difficult academic institutions in Oakland and was one of only two Middle School teachers to receive Oakland Unified School District’s High Achievement award in 2009. As a multiple sport athlete herself, her Stanford Varsity Lightweight Crew team placed 5th in the nation. As principal of Stellar Prep, she continues to explore her passion for multidisciplinary education within the fields of both academia and athletics.
