The Boerne Bulletin
A Boerne Middle School South Publication
An Interview with...
An Interview with Mr. Prince
By: Chelsey F.
After attending UTSA, Mr. Prince started teaching English at the age of twenty-five. In the past, he has taught juniors, sophomores, and seniors. This is his fourth year teaching, and first year with 7th and 8th graders. His favorite grade level to teach is 8th grade. They are mature enough to talk about serious matters, but enjoy telling jokes and laughing at the same time which gives the class a great balance between the two.
Last semester, Mr. Prince arrived at school at 7:30AM every morning; however, this semester he arrives at school at 7:00AM. He doesn’t have a preference on either staying after school or coming to school early to get his work done. As long as he doesn’t have too much work to finish at home, he doesn’t mind when he gets it completed.
Mr. Prince is a proud sponsor of the student council. He leads and arranges the meetings. He first was given the opportunity to be apart of student council by the principal. After considering all of his experience with leading groups, he gladly accepted the offer. In the past, Mr. Prince has lead UIL and a group called Future Problem Solvers. Since the beginning of the school year, he has had great success with all of the issues and events that they have covered including the “Glow in the Dark” winter dance, co-sponsored by pep squad and StuCo.
Mr. Prince is a very dedicated teacher that is proud of all of his students. He considers a good student as someone who asks questions, is always be in the mood to learn, and feels like their work is never complete even when it is actually finished.
With a ton of hard work and commitment, Mr. Prince tries to ensure the success of all of his students, and helps them reach their full potential in everything they do.
Mr. Prince posing for a quick picture before third period.
An Interview with Mrs. Berny
By: Hunter F.
When I had the opportunity to interview a teacher or counselor, I knew I had to interview Mrs Berny. I had to give her some spotlight because Mrs. Berny is very interesting and does a lot for this school. Mrs. Berny is one of the counselors for Boerne Middle School South. She started around four or five years ago.
Her full name is Kimberly Berny, but she goes by Kim to her friends and family (Mrs. Berny to us). She said, “It’s so cool living in Boerne, but also having the last name like “Boerne” is even cooler.”
She enjoys this school very much, and she loves what she gets to do for us. She is a counselor which means she has a lot of responsibilities such as:handling people's schedules, helping with STAAR information, helping children with problems they encounter, talking to us if we have problems, and giving us solutions for them. She wants everyone to know that if anyone has any problems, that they can trust the staff of counselors at BMSS.
Mrs. Berny is very wise, and gives great tips to kids who need them. She stated that the best part of her job is helping kids who need it the most. When asked what she looks for in a student she said, “ A student who is willing to improve themselves, someone who is outgoing, and someone who is humorous.”
When she isn’t working with students, Mrs. Berny is always busy, especially when it comes to STAAR testing. She usually has to take work home to finish a day’s job. Before counseling here at BMSS, she was actually an elementary school teacher. She taught ESL at Lake Travis ISD. Then eventually started teaching 1st grade at Mckinney ISD. Then went to 6th grade Reading and English at Alamo Heights ISD.
Then eventually teaching at Curington 6th grade Reading and English. Her long time goal was to help kids, make the school year successful, and to be a counselor for BISD. When she met these goals, her professional goals became centered around being the best counselor she can be. I believe she has met these goals and is continuing to do great. Furthermore, she plans to stay here until she retires.
An Interview with Coach Peña
By: Sam D.
Coach Peña has been teaching and coaching for nineteen years. Right now, Coach Peña teaches 8th grade Algebra, and he coaches 7th and 8th grade sports. He loves his job, and he has a great passion for it. His students can see that he takes his job very seriously, and they respect him for that. Coach Peña says, “Respectful and hardworking students make my job easier.” He wants students that are engaged in the class and they have that desire to get better in the subject or sport. He loves when students ask questions and really pay attention to what they are doing. However Coach Peña can’t tolerate it when students are distracting other students or getting in the way of their education.
The biggest lesson he wants to teach his students is that we all have to become adults, and that we need to leave behind the childish things and grow to serve the people around us. Coach Peña says that he is here to help us, the students, and that as we grow up we will also need to help and serve our family, our friends, and our peers. The biggest goal he has is that he wants all of his students to have a drive for knowledge, and to be well prepared for high school and college math.
He states that once you gain a passion for something, you will not lose it. For example, if we have a passion for knowledge now, then it will stay with us and we will want to learn more throughout our lives.
Coach Peña also explains that fitness is very important and that we should all want to be more fit so we can live longer, and therefore take care of the people around us better. “Taking care of yourself makes taking care of the people around you much easier and more efficient,” he stated. One of the reasons he wants to be so healthy is that he wants to be here for us, and for his future students as long as possible. The success of his students brings him great joy when later in life he sees that his former students are much smarter, more fit, and they really care about the way they are living. He strives to be a mentor to all of us just like the mentors he had when he was a kid. He doesn’t want to be the person that is remembered in a bad way, but a person that people look back on in a positive way. Coach Peña is going to keep on encouraging us to be lifelong learners for years to come.
Coach Peña posing for a picture in his classroom.
An Interview with Mr. Abrigo
By: Katie D.
Mr. Abrigo is a jubilant, bubbly man who loves teaching. He teaches Spanish 1, on-level and pre-APap. At his previous school, Mr. Abrigo taught Theatre and English and was involved in NHS. He would also love to teach workshop because it is unique to be able to craft something. And he played french horn and trumpet and would love to have a chance to teach music. He has taught at two other schools, Center Point and Champion. Mr. Abrigo has taught for Boerne ISD for sixteen years and has has overall taught twenty-three years.
But, before he became a teacher, he actually wanted to be a fireman, but decided to “put out academic fires instead of house fires” after having a history teacher who influenced his life and inspired him to want to affect other’s lives. So in 1994, he started teaching. He said his first day was like “a ton of bricks just hit you,” saying that it just became a reality that you are a teacher and an adult. It was an intimidating day and a learning day and he realized that you have to teach everyone, not just the ones you like. Mr. Abrigo learned that teaching is a challenge, because every class is different.
When a certain style teaching works in one class it doesn’t always work in the next class. And in some classes, there can be multiple students who learn differently from the rest. Some can read it and know it, some need to hear it, and others need to be involved in it.
Mr. Abrigo has learned to incorporate all of these styles, making him an excellent teacher. Another challenging part of teaching is when a child doesn’t know his own boundaries and so when the student tries to continually be sassy, you have to be able to get them to stop. When asked what his favorite part of teaching was, he responded right away with the way the students grow mentally and seeing the change in them from when he taught them to today.
Along with teaching, he also is the head of the BMSS’s NJHS which meets once a month. He also said juniors were probably one of his favorite grades because juniors are hard-working students getting ready for college. I asked him if it is difficult to teach a high school course in middle school. He responded with definitely, the maturity of the students sometimes isn't there. Students don’t understand the importance of the course and the reality of it hasn’t hit them yet. Mr. Abrigo loves teaching and wants to continue to teach for a while.
An Interview with Principal Georgia Franks
By: Drew J. and Blaise D.
1. What has been your proudest moment so far this year? Mrs. Franks told us that her proudest moment this year was when the power went out and everyone remained calm. The lights were out for almost 3 hours and no one freaked out or panicked!
2. What college did you attend? Our principal received her undergraduate degree from California State University Stanislaus and got her master's degree from Trinity.
3. What was your favorite subject when you were in school? When she was in school (well, she’s technically still IN school) her favorite subject was reading.
4. What plans do you have on improving the school? When I asked her what she was doing to improve the school, she responded, “It’s pretty cool as it is.” However, she did say that she was going to wait until the year progresses more to see what areas we need to work on.
5. Do you know when are the smartboards coming in? Good news! Mrs. Franks told us the smartboards are supposed to all be installed in math while others are in the process of getting hooked up.
6. Are there any plans of making study hall it’s own period? Unfortunately, there no plans of making study hall its own period this year.
7. How hard is it to run this middle school?When we asked if her job was difficult, she said it was very time consuming and compared it to a juggling act. With a campus full of students and teachers, she has a lot to take care of, so make sure to thank her if you get the chance!
8. What’s your favorite part of the school day? Her favorite part of the school day is during passing period because she gets to go out and greet the student body.
9. What's your favorite sport? Golf is her favorite sport to watch.
10. What’s your favorite movie? Her favorite movie is Shawshank Redemption. If it’s on TV, she’ll watch it.
11. What’s your biggest pet peeve? Her biggest pet peeves are prejudism and intolerance.
13. If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only bring three things with you, what would they be? If she was stranded on a deserted island and could bring only three things with her, she’d bring her Bible, a picture of her family, and matches.
14. Do you enjoy your job? And, finally, when we inquired if she enjoyed her job, she answered with a resounding, “Yes!”
An Interview with Mrs. Abshire
1. What has been your proudest moment so far this year? A student figuring out that they actually type faster when they don't stare at the keyboard in typing. I love when you can see the lightbulb go off in student’s heads that they grasped or completely understand a concept being taught.
2. What college did you attend? Tarleton State University.
3. What was your favorite subject when you were in school? History.
4. When did you know you wanted to be a teacher? When I was probably 6 and would force my little sister to play "school" and I was their teacher. For sure I knew in middle school.
5. How do you plan lessons? I plan lessons by the different types of classes that I teach and I plan about 1 and 1/2 weeks in advance.
6. Do you ever get frustrated with kids. If so, why? Yes, typically it's because they're not following directions.
7. Is teaching your subject difficult? I don't think it's difficult it just has a lot of aspects that you don't see in a typical classroom (kitchens, computer components, field trips, guest speakers etc.)
8. What’s your favorite part of the school day? I don't know that I really have a favorite part of the day.
9. What's your favorite sport? To Watch: Football. To Play: Soccer.
10. What’s your favorite movie? Sweet Home Alabama or Pride and Prejudice
11. What’s your biggest pet peeve? Having to repeat directions because students were not paying attention.
12. If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only bring three things with you, what would they be? My Family, Sunscreen, and a boat to get off the Island :)
13. Do you enjoy your job? Yes, very much.
Vote here for the next Teacher Spotlight! Just click the button and insert their last name!
An Interview with Mrs. McLaughlin
1. What has been your proudest moment so far this year? My proudest moment is a collection of small moments when I see a student light up and say "wow!"
2. What college did you attend? I received my Master's of Business Administration (MBA) in Marketing from The University of Texas at San Antonio 2002
3. What was your favorite subject when you were in school? My favorite subject was Math. I love to solve problems as an adult and math lays the fundamental brainwork required to do that later in life.
4. When did you know you wanted to be a teacher? I knew I wanted to be a teacher when I reflected on all of my previous jobs and realized in every job, I evolved into a leader, coach, or trainer. Once I recognized my love for teaching was there all along, I
changed careers.
5. Do you know when the smartboards will be installed? They are part of phase II and hopefully installed by November.
6. Do you ever get frustrated with kids. If so, why? Teachers are human and humans get frustrated. I personally get frustrated when I see a student not put in any effort and when I see a student show disrespect to peers, teachers, or this campus.
7. What’s your favorite part of the school day? (hard question) I don't think my subject is difficult, but others disagree. I feel the same about other subjects.
8. What’s your favorite part of the school day? 3:55pm. (JUST KIDDING)... I like the beginning of 4th/8th period. Students have a lot of energy.
9. What's your favorite sport? I have become a big football fan.
10. What's your favorite movie? Favorite movie "The Princess Bride"
11. What's your biggest pet peeve? Inconsiderate people.
12. If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only bring three things with you, what would they be? Water, food, and an inflatable life raft.
13. Do you enjoy your job? I LOVE MY JOB!
