New teachers bring new insights

By Haile Lidow
Staff Writer

With a new school year comes new teachers, and this particular year there are several standouts: art and ceramics teacher Katherine Martin, AP art history teacher Taryn Turney, and new librarian Jane Lofton.

Mira Costa has attracted teachers that are not only extremely qualified in their field, but also interesting in their own right, and these three women are certainly no exception.

Each of these new additions to the Mira Costa staff has her own ideas and approaches, but they all share the common goal of impementing enthusiastic teaching and promoting increased student achievement.

Martin started teaching at Mira Costa after working under Allen Hillger and Jon Reichardt as a student teacher last year. She chose to stay at Mira Costa because she was excited to teach in what she felt to be a great art department with great students.

“I love working with students, and I love my subject. It’s a fun subject to teach,” Martin said.
Martin is currently working to establish an after-school art club for students to work on their many projects and develop their passion in the subject. She hopes to provide as much support to students as she can for each of them to express their talents.

“Ms. Martin is very kind and she cares for everyone. Her way of teaching is extremely clear and relaxing,” senior Matilda Larsson said.

Taryn Turney joined the Costa staff as a teacher of AP art history, in place of Jon Mellis, who is currently on medical leave. A Mira Costa alumnus, Turney returned to her roots after teaching the subject at Cal State Long Beach. She said she is happy to be back and working at Costa and really enjoys teaching high school students.

“The opportunity to see students when their mind is so open to art is my motivation. I love the students. I love learning from the students,” Turney said.

As it is her first year teaching the subject to high school students, Turney’s main concerns are getting through as much of the AP book as possible, and effectively teaching the material to her students. Her hope for the year is to have everyone pass the AP exam in May.

“Ms. Turney is a great addition to the Art Department. So far her teaching style has been very effective. I definitely have confidence that I will pass my AP test in the spring,” senior Brittney Durslag said.

The third newcomer is librarian Jane Lofton. Although she was born in Santa Monica, Lofton has moved back and forth between Toronto and California, working as a librarian in both places.

She recently transferred from Lindero Canyon Middle School in Agoura Hills, where she taught 7th-grade language arts in addition to being their librarian. She said she was delighted when she found ourt that there was a position available at Costa.

“I love reading great books and being able to share the great books that I’ve read with the students,” Lofton said.

Lofton hopes to establish the library as a “central hub” of the Mira Costa campus. She said she is looking forward to providing the students with many great books and resources for efficient research.

She has also created a blog, wiki, Twitter, and Facebook page for the library in hopes of directly reaching out to the students and receiving their valuable feedback and questions.

“Ms. Lofton is an exceptionally intelligent librarian who strives to improve the generic library setting and will go out of her way to help students in need,” senior Johnny North said.