Meet Punita Vakil, Mindy Ahrens, Kyle Kupper, and Jen Zingg!

Punita Vakil

TK-K-1 Teacher

“Time is your worst and best friend. Whatever is meant to be will be."

Previous School:
HTe Chula Vista

What is something you’ve always wanted to try? 

I would love to go to culinary school.

Do you eat the stems of broccoli?

Cooked in the right sauce, sure!

Tell us about your superpowers.

I love creating art with the kids and making learners feel like they are in their home away from home.
.

Favorite Board Game(s):
Taboo (the louder the better; you WANT to be on my team!!)

Storms - Cool or Scary?
Cool as long as you aren't driving in them.

What excites you the most about Design39Campus?
The opportunity to teach with support from the community / family of teachers you work with.

What makes you laugh?
The show FRIENDS (I laugh so hard I can't catch my breath.)

What is one word that your friends would use to describe you?
Thoughtful

What is most rewarding about your job; what makes it all worthwhile?
Seeing a child light up when something finally works!  I am a new parent and now I get it - I love it when parents tell me they are happy with their kid's progress.

What is your totem animal?
Can you be a turtle? Slow and steady pace, patient, shy

Dream vacation spot:
Greece

If you had a Magic School Bus, where would you take your students?
Into the human brain to learn about feelings and actions and reactions

Favorite font
Courier New (simplicity)

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Kyle Allen Kupper

Assistant Principal
“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." - Albert Einstein

Previous School:  

Chula Vista Middle School

Previous Assignment:  

English teacher/ Technology resource teacher

What is something you’ve always wanted to try?

Circumnavigating the globe by sailboat.

Do you eat the stems of broccoli?

Yummy

Tell us about your superpowers.

Finding importance in what others might find useless.

Favorite Board Game(s):

Scrabble & Yahtzee

Storms - Cool or Scary?

Absolutely COOL

What excites you the most about Design39Campus?

Knowing that anything is possible.

Who let the dogs out?

Google

What makes you laugh?

Juxtaposition

What is one word that your friends would use to describe you?

Dreamer

What is most rewarding about your job; what makes it all worthwhile?

Watching the impossible become a reality and the excitement from those us that realize this possibility.

What is your totem animal?

Pelican

Dream vacation spot:

Any tropical island with waves.

If you had a Magic School Bus, where would you take your students?

We'd explore the Earth through hydrogen.

What line or shape do you identify with? Circle, square, triangle, squiggle, ellipse

Ellipse

Favorite font:

Whichever one we're told NOT to use, and Lucida Bright

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Mindy Ahrens
TK-K-1 Teacher
“If you hear a voice within you say, 'You cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced."  - Vincent Van Gogh


Previous School:
Phoenix Learning Academy

Previous Assignment:
Kindergarten Teacher

What is something you’ve always wanted to try? 
Flipping a house

Do you eat the stems of broccoli?

Sure

Tell us about your superpowers.
Listening to students. Building, making, creating.

Favorite Board Game(s):
Not a board game fan, too slow. I like Rummytiles, Mastermind and Othello.

Storms - Cool or Scary?
Cool

What excites you the most about Design39Campus?
That we are thinking about the students and their needs first and that subjects, skills and grade levels are blended and flexible.

What makes you laugh?
My daughter when she throws teenage temper tantrums.

What is one word that your friends would use to describe you?
Energetic

What is most rewarding about your job; what makes it all worthwhile?
Showing the world that kids are capable of amazing things.

Dream vacation spot:
Anything with sun and ocean!

What line or shape do you identify with? Circle, square, triangle, squiggle, ellipse
A squiggle because my life never seems to follow the path I have planned.

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Jen Zingg
Teacher on Special Assignment
“I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back."  - Maya Angelo (American Poet)

Previous School

Bernardo Heights Middle School

Previous Assignment

Leadership and Physical Education

What is something you’ve always wanted to try?

Making creative and interesting videos.

Do you eat the stems of broccoli?

I eat all my veggies.

Tell us about your superpowers.

I can relate to The Flash- the ability to move move extremely fast.

Favorite Board Game(s)

Scrabble

Storms - Cool or Scary?

Very cool

What excites you the most about Design39Campus?

Being part of a dedicated, talented and creative staff.

Who let the dogs out?

I think it might have been the 8th graders

What makes you laugh?

Kindergarten boys and girls, Matthew Perry and Billy Crystal

What is one word that your friends would use to describe you?

Serving

What is most rewarding about your job; what makes it all worthwhile?

To know that I've contributed in a positive way with staff, students and community

What is you totem animal?

The Dove- Cross-world communication, spirit messenger, peace, gentleness, love

Dream vacation spot

A tropical place near water

If you had a Magic School Bus, where would you take your students?

I’d take students to a place that they wanted to go.

Favorite font

Anything that's in large print!