Spirit Week - Pictures!

Here are some pictures from Spirit Week @ VAPA for 2010! (Courtesy of Janine Ibrahim) If you have any pictures you'd like to share, email us at vapasjc@yahoo.com!

Pajama Day:



Teacher-Student Switch Day:

Thanks for showing your school spirit!

Paranormal VAPActivity - By: Nicholas Robinson

"Our theatre has been said to have ghosts in it."

     Multiple students and teachers have said to have seen or heard some sort of paranormal event around the school, the most sights being the theatre. Before the school was what it is today, it was a burial ground. Teachers and students believe that there is something lurking in the lower levels of the theatre so I went and did some investigation.

            But first, I decided to look into the history of the land where VAPA now sits. The school is located on what used to be known as Fort Moore. The fort was established by US forces during the Mexican American War, when the Americans occupied California, then claimed by Mexico. The first American flag to fly over California was raised near where our swimming pool is now on July 4th, 1869. The fort was named after Captain Benjamin D. Moore, who was killed in action earlier in the war. He died after being punctured in the heart by a Mexican lance in the Battle of San Pasqual in San Diego County, on December 6, 1846. 

            It turned out there was never much fighting on the Ft. Moore hill, but according to the LA Times, the first deaths on the hill were four soldiers who were killed when a powder magazine exploded. They were the first people known to be buried on the hill.  The first officially recorded civilian burial was of Andrew Sublette, on Dec. 19, 1853. He was hunting in Malibu Canyon when he shot a grizzly, but the bear managed to kill Sublette before it died. After he was buried on the hill, his dog refused to leave his grave, and died there three days later.  The hill was the city’s first non-Catholic cemetery, and many bodies were buried secretly in the middle of the night.

          By 1857 what was then called “Cemetery Hill” was the site of public hangings.  The most famous hanging was held on Valentine’s Day of that year, when two men were hanged for murder. Three thousand people crowded the hill to watch. The hill became famous as the final resting place of men who were on the losing end of a wild-west shoot-out. According to the Southern California Genealogical Society, six deputy sheriffs were killed on the hill in a shoot out with cattle thieves. They were all buried on Cemetery Hill.

            Since the theater is where the sightings were the most reported, that is where I headed. I took a camera and explored the lower levels. I went down there with out a doubt there was nothing there. Not to my surprise, I was right. I was down there for about 20 minutes and left disappointed. You can see the video on our website. (Coming soon!!)

            I asked students that thought they heard something He said that it was a weird noise ringing throughout the hall. There is a very simple explanation for that, there is a lot of work on the floor above and it could easily have been someone sweeping. I had the same experience. Now that you know the facts, what do you think about this?

Why are you here? - By Jocelyn Hernandez

Sometimes I wonder why I'm here at this school. How is this school going to help me in the future? Am I going to be successful or famous? I decided to ask my classmates (grade 11) about how they imagine that their future will be like. Here's what they said:

Name: Anne Huang
Date of Birth: September 14, 1993
Interests: Learning new things!
Goals: Go to college (4yrs)
Careers: Undecided


Name: Andrew Cohn
Date of Birth: June 15, 1993
Interests: Talking, telling stories, acting, and socializing.
Goals: Go to a decent college - involvement in community
Careers: Undecided

Name: Juan Aparicio
Date of Birth: December 20, 1993
Interests: Debating, talking, meeting new people, legislating (leadership)
Goals: To be a lawyer
Careers: Part of the United Nations, Secretary of State

Name: Yuni C.
Date of Birth: June 6, 1992
Interests: Swimming, computers, music, photography
Goals: To attend college - UC
Careers: study of abroad
Why are you here at VAPA?: I want to experience new things.

Name: Christina Lee
Date of Birth: June 28, 1993
Interests: Counseling, international relations
Goals: To graduate and go to a college for 4 years.
Careers: Accountant or diplomate

I've discovered that a majority of people don't know what career they want to pursue in the future. So now's the time to ask yourself, why are you here?

Mr. Hood - Why I Chose To Teach High School Science and Biology

Laid off? I couldn't believe it when my former career in textiles came to a screeching halt at the end of 2006. Since I had based most of my self worth on my job, I was quite bummed by this sudden turn of events. I looked around for something new to do, and decided that I would become a teacher. I had a handy but unused degree in Zoology, and applied to a local university. For a couple of years I took teacher education courses at night and worked as a substitute teacher during the day. I found first grade to be the toughest to sub. The kids were young but very savvy to substitutes, and had learned how to lie in order to manipulate us. They weren't afraid to constantly rat on each other either. This kept me on my toes , as I never knew if anything the said were true. I learned to recognize trustworthy students who would give me the straight scoop on how their teacher did things.

I knew that I could never work with the little ones, as their voices were too high, and they were too short to hear distinctly. I decided that teaching high school biology and science would be best for me, not only because the students were taller and more socialized, but also because it is a maturing time for students, a coming-of-age that happens to them just as it happened to me. I remember that it was a moment of acceptance into the adult world as an equal, so powerful and definable that my whole life seemed to change after it happened. Looking back on my high school years from my current viewpoint, I can see how I went from a clueless freshman to a fairly mature young man who took school seriously (most of the time).

That is why I am very pleased to join the very same educational culture that helped start me on my way to a successful career and father to 3 sons. Most importantly, I am proud to be an active participant in the education of young people who are destined to their own coming-of-age and blossoming into productive adults in the world beyond school.