The Smoke Signal

By: Staff Writers Pratham Gupta, Deeksha Raina, Ruiwen Shen, & Brian Tseng

Read our online edition about MSJ teachers’ athletic activities and past experiences! The following MSJ staff members have been featured online due to timeliness.

Thomas Thomsen

PE teacher Thomas Thomsen was involved in many sports, including cross-country, football, and wrestling. He started wrestling because his father was a wrestling coach, and his five brothers also wrestled. He started wrestling in fifth grade, before dropping it in college due to injury. Some of his accomplishments include being fifth in the state for NCS, fifth in the state for junior college, winning in the junior Olympics and getting a scholarship for wrestling to Cal State Bakersfield. Thomsen says that the best part of wrestling is learning about your limitations, pushing yourself, setting goals for yourself, and facing adversity.

…………………………………………………

Kim Mathis

World History teacher Kim Mathis was and is an ardent athlete. She did cheerleading and Track and Field in High School and was part of her college’s Crew Team. She still plays soccer on a weekly basis. She says that she will never forget the friendships that she made whilst doing sports and thinks that the most valuable skills she learned from sports is hard work, getting along with others and teamwork. She advises students to do sports as it helps clear your mind and destresses you. She feels that doing sports is really relaxing.

…………………………………………………

Joanna Jensen

Counselor Joanna Jensen has been dancing since the age of two. Her mom owns a dance studio, so Jensen grew up learning jazz, tap, and ballet. She now teaches dance classes for children, hoping to inspire others. Jensen says dance has taught her discipline, time management, and responsibility. Her motto is to approach a sport like dance with an open mind and she encourages students to find what they are passionate about.

Photos by: Staff Writers Pratham Gupta, Deeksha Raina, Ruiwen Shen, & Brian Tseng