Bronco Blast
October 23rd Weekly Staff Newsletter
Staff Member of the Month - October
Siohauh Tang!!!!
Mr. Tang has been so helpful and kind to everyone. He always has a positive attitude. He is willing to help out and does his best to fix any and every problem. We honor his dedication to our school and assisting all of us each and every day.
When I first arrived, Mr. Tang worked endlessly to get me connected on every device as quick as possible. He was truly a life saver for me.
A little about Mr. Tang:
- He has been in the computer field since 2004.
- He loves to take things apart and fixing computers gives him plenty of opportunities to do that.
- He met his wife in fourth grade. They are best of friends and at times he refers to her as the "Boss" or the "Queen".
- They have two sons. 14 and 5 years old.
- His other hobby is discus fish keeping.
- He loves to eat and would like to learn how to cook Italian dishes someday.
AWESOME JOB Mr. Tang. We are so fortunate to have you here.
A note from Kimberly
You should have all received a #youmatter water bottle from the district. Take the time, if you have not already, to post a picture to twitter with the hashtag #youmatterinrisd showing off your swag! :) If you have NOT received your water bottle, please swing by Cosondra's desk to pick up/sign for your bottles. :)
Kristy sent out an email to vote for a new Staff Member of the Month. Make sure you vote - your voice matters!
The weather is starting to get cooler and the common cold, stomach bugs, and other illnesses are going around. Be sure to get lots of rest and take care of yourself and loved ones.
I'm excited to see everyone's participation for Red Ribbon Week! Lots of fun stuff.
Hope it was a good weekend for all.
Kimberly
Students of the 6 weeks!
Blood Drive - American Red Cross
Friday, Dec 4, 2015, 09:00 AM
Richardson West Junior High School, Holly Drive, Richardson, TX, United States
Who's Working at West? Get to know - Chris Castaneda
Where were you born and raised?
I was born in Dallas but raised right next door in Garland. I went through Garland schools and grew up in a diverse, suburban neighborhood. I mostly played video games and went outside with my friends to play soccer, football, baseball, etc. My parents were extremely supportive of what I wanted to do as a child. I also never got grounded, believe it or not. My father didn’t believe in grounding because he knew he could shame me into realizing what I had done wrong as a kid, and that was enough punishment for me. My father raised me a Dallas Cowboys fan, and I love to sit and watch the games with him, as it takes me back to when I was a five or six years old, lying on the couch next to him watching Aikman, Smith and Irvin destroy teams left and right. I miss my mother’s cooking now that I’m an adult and I live in my own house, which I just bought a few months ago.
How many siblings do you have? What is your relationship with them like?
I have two younger sisters, Valerie, who is 20 and Carla, who is 13. My relationship with them is excellent. We all get along like best friends, much to the dismay of my parents at times. We play practical jokes on each other, sing the latest hip-hop songs out loud, and cause all sort of ruckus. We drive my parents crazy on road trips. When they tell us to be quiet, we can only hold our laughter in for so long. Yes, even at 26, I get yelled at by my parents. But my family is very tight-knit and I honestly don’t know what I would do without them. Hearing what my parents went through growing up in Mexico, it makes us thankful for the little things. I cherish the time I spend with them, whether its road trips, eating together, and making fun of each other.
Where did you receive your degree?
I received my Bachelor of Science in Mathematics at Southern Methodist University. I knew I wanted to do something with math when I entered SMU, and I was already leaning towards education because of the fantastic job my teachers did in high school. I do miss my upper level math courses, since the math itself was very challenging and intriguing. Whether it was calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, it didn’t matter, I loved them all. I didn’t like to write proofs though, which is probably the reason why I specialized in applied math and not pure math. More importantly, I also met my girlfriend Nancy at SMU, and have been with her for over five years now. She’s pretty awesome.
If you were to have any job OUTSIDE of education, what job would you have and why?
It’s difficult for me to picture myself in a job outside of education, but if I had to pick I believe that I would be an actuary or something that would deal with numbers. If I had the background in applied sciences, I believe I could have done something along the lines of programming or physics, but my interests are purely in teaching students about the ways of math. Maybe somewhere I can take my cat with me…..
Superman challenges Batman to a dual at dusk at a predetermined location. Who will win and why?
Batman would win because of his sheer intelligence, deductive reasoning, and resources as a billionaire. Batman is always ten steps ahead of his opponent, as if he were playing them in a chess match. A dose of kryptonite would make Superman an average human being, and Batman is one of the best martial artists in the comic universe. It’s a no-brainer, and in the comics Batman has been able to beat Superman numerous times. There’s a reason why Batman is in the Justice League. It’s not always about being born talented. Hard work and perseverance can make a man like Bruce Wayne stand with the likes of Superman, Wonder Woman, etc. (and a little bit of money helps too hah!)
Dr. Evilman has released the newest strain of his terrible Zombie plague. He has managed to infect 1 in every 100 people, but no one is showing symptoms yet (rotting flesh, taste for brains, etc.). A test for the Zombie plague is developed wherein results are 99% accurate, and you test positive. What are the chances that you are destined for a lifetime of undeadedness: 10%, 50%, 99% or 1%?
I said 1%, because I took the probability of someone having the disease, which is 1/100, and multiplied it by the probability of testing positive on the results, which was 99/100, and I got about 1%. Checking online and with other mathematicians, you would have to use some more complex probability rules and it will actually be 50%. Since there are 1 out of 100 people who have the disease, let’s expand the total number of people to 10000 to make it easier to visualize. Note the table below:
Sick
Healthy
Totals
Positive Test
Number of people sick with positive test= 99
Number of people healthy with positive test = 99
198 people
Negative Test
Number of people sick with negative test = 1
Number of people healthy with negative test = 9801
9802 people
Total
100 people
9900 people
10000 people
You take the number of people that are actually sick with the positive test (99) and divide it by the total number of people who tested positive (198), and you get .5 or 50%. I cite the following website for help in solving the problem: http://brownmath.com/stat/falsepos.htm. Eh, even the greatest mathematicians can make mistakes.
Chris and one of his sisters
Chris and Nancy
Snuggle time! :)
Upcoming Dates - October
October 26- Hispanic Heritage Night and Parent Technology Night
October 27- Pep rally and Tailgate - Pink out Theme
October 26-30—Red Ribbon Week
November 4 - Naviance training through advisory
November 11 - Staff meeting in band hall
November 13 - Student Dance
November 16 - PTA Meeting 6:30pm in library
November 18 - Magnet Night
November 23-27 - Thanksgiving Break