Author: adviser

  • Chelsea Powell

    Long Beach Polytechnic High School welcomed Chelsea Powell this year as a Spanish teacher.

    Ms. Powell received her bachelor’s degree at California State University, Long Beach and her teaching credentials at San Diego State University. She also studied abroad and lived in Salamanca, Spain and was also granted the opportunity to teach English in Costa Rica.

    “I like to do activities that get the kids out of their seats, that get them talking to each other,” Powell said in describing her style of teaching. About Poly, she said, “Everybody is very friendly! Even though it’s [Polytechnic High School] so large, it feels small once you start to meet people and see how nice everybody is.”

  • Veronica Bradley

    Long Beach Poly hired versatile Veronica Bradley to be our new testing coordinator, she is a teacher for second language learners, as well as an advisor and aide for students. She is here to support second language learners adjusting to English and to help Poly parents understand their students goals for a higher education. This is her first year at Long Beach Poly as she has high aspirations to help students understand how important setting goals and state tests are. Ms. Bradley is available in room 121 or 201.

  • Run From The Nun

    The Nun finally hit theatres on Friday, September 7, 2018. Many people have been waiting for this movie since the nun herself first appeared in the Conjuring 2, leaving everyone who watched it with questions about who she was, why she was in the movie, and how was she connected to the rest of the Conjuring franchise. The film started off by telling the viewers what they were about to see is based off of true events that actually took place in Romania in the 1950s. Throughout the movie bits and pieces of how the nun came to be were shared along with the history of the land of the real-life church. The movie does a good job of showing her timeline, however, it leaves you with questions. In the last scene two demonologists, Ed and Lorraine Warren, from both Conjuring movies appear on the screen and you finally get to connect this movie with all the others, but will leave you with even more questions. Overall, the movie is not up to par with  most superior horror films, relying soley on tension building and a few jump scares here and there, but nothing an average horror fan can’t handle.

  • Linda Cargile

    Being in the Long Beach Unified School District for over 19 years our Assistant Principal Linda Cargile is here to empower students to be their best personal self, to support parents and staffs with any concerns or problems. With a Master degree in educational administration and political science, Ms. Cargile supports the CIC pathway, Special Education, Physical Education and Health programs with an open door policy. Not only does she love being active, going to music festivals, and concerts she is also passionate about starting initiatives to spread respect, equality, and awareness about social justice. Ms. Cargile also advocates for members in the LGBTQ+ community as well as for people with disabilities.

  • Arinn Filer

    Our newest data specialist Arinn Filer believes that teachers are the heart of the school therefore she is always available to help teachers with Chromebooks or looking up data to help with lesson planning. Being a Poly graduate class of 1997 and rocking that pride Ms. Filer’s goal is to continue to make Poly one of the best high schools in the nation. She was previously at Narbon’s Hearts Academy but is now enjoying being a traveler and a foodie with an open door in room 122A, who will do whatever it takes to give the necessary help to the Poly family.

  • Tameesha Massey

    Long Beach Polytechnic High School gave Tameesha Massey a permanent position as a Spanish teacher at our campus. Massey began her teaching career as a substitute teacher in 1999 after obtaining her bachelor’s degree at University of California, Irvine.

    Ms. Massey has experienced the Latin culture by visiting Puerto Rico, Spain, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. Her signature teaching methods include relating the Spanish language to English, providing tips to remember the meanings of certain Spanish words and sounds, and a variety of practical activities to help students fully learn the Spanish language.

    Ms. Massey also reflected upon her feelings about her new school: “I like the diversity here, this is a very large campus, I like how we have different academies and different pathways that students can go into for careers that their interested in. Their studying to prepare themselves for what’s after high school.”

  • Alaa Shub and Doc’Kale Bowman

    Just this year Poly has acquired two new college and career advisors, Alaa Shub and Doc’Kale Bowman. Both advisors are of the age of twenty-two and both attended California State University, Long Beach. Each advisor attended the prestigious college for four years studying Human Development. Despite the facts, this job is the first time both advisors have ever seen each other!

    Ms. Bowman held a teen conference called, “You’re worth it,” for girls from the ages eleven to eighteen. This conference was to give self-esteem and self-respect to the individuals.

    Ms. Shubb on the other hand, is a first generation college graduate. The advisors can help with college related necessities like college applications, scholarships, loans,  job offers and internships when needed. Stop by room 801 near the attendance office to meet our new College Career Center advisors!

  • Stop What You Are Doing and WATCH Castle Rock

    Castle Rock is a show that takes place within the Stephen King multiverse. It was promoted frequently on both tv commercials and youtube ads. So. many. Youtube ads. And yet somehow almost nobody I know has seen or heard of it. The show is based off the universe of King novels, but contains original characters. This makes it great for both the super Stephen King fans and the casual viewer. The main universes that occupy this first season is Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, and The Shining. Based on the later episodes I’m guessing season 2 will be more The Dark Tower.

    All the characters are created for the show and each one has something supernatural going on with them. Our main character is Henry Deaver, a boy who goes missing for 11 days, experiences a traumatic event, and forgets about it right away. When he returns and is mute, his father suddenly dies. The city of Castle Rock puts all the blame on Henry and label him as  a murderer. Almost 30 years later,  Henry returns as a Lawyer to help a client who has been held captive in Shawshank against his will and without having committed any crime. ‘The Kid’ (Bill Skarsgård) is thought to have some kind of telepathic power. Molly Strand, Henry’s childhood best friend, who definitely has the shinning, is another main charater. Henry’s mother (Sissy Spacek) is suffering from Dementia and has the purest heart in Castle Rock. The only character you might recognize from King’s novels is Jackie Torrence, niece of Jack Torrance. Jackie is minor character, but a relatable one. She is obsessed with the town’s history of gruesome murders and often spectates rather than advance the plot. The show contains amazing performances and easy-to-love characters.

    What happened to all those Stephen King superfans that swore they were lived off of horror? I guess they only showed up because Pennywise became suddenly attractive and left when the hype did. (no wait, that was me, that was my fanfiction) Why is nobody watching this show? It is so good, I can not even put it into words. It has everything, thriller, mystery, murder, flashbacks, 90’s, hot people, old people! Each episode leaves you with so many questions. All episodes are now streaming. I haveyet to watch the last episode and wow I have no idea what is going on. American Horror Story is running out of ideas and Evan Peters is engaged and is therefore no longer it, we need to move on. This is the horror anthology series we all deserve, and people should definitely start tuning in.

  • Freshman Blues

    The first week as a freshman was terrible. I dislike it…very much. I had so much expectations for high school and maybe it’s too early in the school year to judge, but for now, it sucks. I had so many family members that said “High school will be the highlight of your life,” but it doesn’t seem that way. And I’ll admit, the first day of school was fun, but honestly it was the same as middle school for me. I was lost multiple times, looked for my friends at lunch, went over syllabi and finally, I went home. I mean yeah, it’s exciting, more people, more classes, and a bigger school. But school is school. Nothing has changed.

    Maybe I just had too high of expectations that high school would be more like the movies and I know it sounds silly, but it’s true. In real life, Troy Bolton doesn’t burst out singing unfortunately. But school isn’t meant for fun in my opinion. School is meant for learning. And I AM learning. But that’s all I’m doing IS learning. And people who have already attended Poly said that “If school is so basic, join a club or a sport because it will make your years here more fun.” But honestly, I joined a sport and my feelings about it is “it’s cool and all but whatever” (not to sound unappreciative or anything) and who has time for a club? Not me.

    Not to mention, my close friends don’t attend Poly high school so so there goes another con. Not to diss on Poly or anything, it’s a great school, but maybe not for me. Or maybe I am just thinking more about the cons than pros because I miss summer and I miss being lazy. Yeah that’s most likely it. I would much rather stay home and sleep in than wake up at 6 o’clock in the morning and attend school for eight hours. But who doesn’t? And at the same time, I want to have a stable job and a stable family in the future so I guess sleeping in all day  isn’t an option.

    And it’s not like I’ll stop going to school or ditch just because I don’t like it. High school is still important if you want to go to college and get that dream job. That’s one pro I guess, but currently, high school still sucks.

  • Jonathan Virak

    Jonathan Virak is Poly’s newest computer science teacher. Students in his class, which is the first in a 4 year pathway, learn industry-level computer concepts. The next classes in the pathway are computer science principles, computer science A, and then cybersecurity. Mr. Virak was born and raised in Long Beach, attended high school here at Poly, and went to college at Long Beach State University. Before coming to teach here, he taught robotics, computer science, and drafting in Downey for 20 years. He is an outdoorsman and likes to stay fit, his hobbies including working out, surfing, biking, and wood-working.

  • Gwen Larsen

    Polytechnic High School is proud to announce that there is a new teacher for CIC AP Literature and English 1-2. Gwen Larsen went to Yale studied English and drama and became a teacher. She is also a Poly alumna. While a student at Poly, she participated in student commission and vocal jazz, but now she only sings in the car – and only to Taylor Swift. Larsen is able to give her students solid advice about what they need to know for college because her husband used to teach freshman English at Harvard. One of her goals is to make sure her seniors are well-prepared to take the AP literature test in May. Before coming to Poly this year, Larsen held a variety of teaching positions in and out of LBUSD: she worked for Green Dot and LBUSD working in curriculum development and teacher coaching, but was most recently teaching at Rogers Middle School. Although she’s taught at other schools, according to Larsen, “Once a Jackrabbit always a jackrabbit!” When she isn’t at school, she’s busy with her family, which includes two sons and one daughter.

  • Michael Shenkelberg

    Michael Shenkelberg is our new auto shop teacher at Poly. He went to Fountain Valley high school, then attended Golden West College in Santa Ana. After he finished school he worked as a technician for the car brand, Cadillac, for 25 years. However, his first job was at the age of 15 where he worked at a toy store stocking shelves. He’s been in the automobile business his whole life and majored in being an automotive technician in 1983. Now, he has his very own auto shop class at Poly, his class offers two beginner courses which focus on book work,  getting to know the car and an advance course in which the students get the hands on experience and become familiar with the car parts.