Hello! My name is Melina Castillo. I'm very excited about teaching 7th grade English/Language Arts for the Film and Media Magnet in my 27th year in the education industry. I am starting my 6th year here at King MS. My wide experience in the field makes me appreciate the T.S. King MS community even more. TSK has parents who are involved in their children's lives. The teachers here are dedicated to give their best to the students and their families. I am in a very special place!
This page contains the syllabi for the classes that I teach, the grading policy, my philosophy about educations, and my expectations. All documents will be here all year for your reference.
This page is also designed to provide parents and students information about major assignments/projects and upcoming events, so please subscribe to the page to get notifications every time a new post is added. Forms, templates, rubrics, and writing samples are housed here too.
Of course, the information housed here are available on Schoology. However, since it is easier to find posts here than going through the daily Schoology Updates, you might want to come here to look for things that are over a week old/posted over a week ago.
Office Hours:
I know that students sometimes forget things or have simple questions about assignments. For these types of questions, please send me private Schoology messages. If a student needs more in-depth, one-to-one assistance, a student may make an appointment to have a Zoom session with me from 7 - 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and/or Wednesdays. These Zoom sessions are by appointment only and must be made ahead of time (not on the same day).
Parents
are encouraged to send private messages through Schoology or asked to email me directly at
[email protected] if you need to set up a one-to-one meeting or a teacher-team meeting
. Schoology messages are the easiest and most dependable way to communicate. As the syllabus states, if
messages are
received by 7 p.m. on weekdays, you will likely get a
response that same evening. Messages sent after that will likely not receive a response until the following day.
In cases of emergency, and you need to reach me immediately, you may send me a text message using this phone number (747) 221-6610. Out of respect for my private life, please avoid contacting me before 8 a.m., after 7 p.m., and on weekends. I am providing this number for you in case you need to get in touch with me immediately and can't wait for the Schoology message to be read.
Facts About Me
Education Background
1. Bachelor's Degree: Loyola Marymount University
2. Teaching Credential: Mount Saint Mary's College
3. CLAD Credential (allows me to teach students who are English Language Learners): Stanford University
4. Master's Degree: Pepperdine University
Professional Experience
1. 17 years teaching (so far)
2. 3 years as an Assistant Principal in middle and high school
3. 2 years as a Principal for a 6-12 SPAN school
4. Curriculum Developer
5. Teacher Coach and Mentor Teacher (Master Teacher)
6. Teacher Professional Development Developer and Trainer
7. Administrator Trainer
Fun Facts
1. I love animals, dogs in particular :-)
2. I enjoy eating milk chocolate (Swiss and U.K. made are the best!)... yum!
3. Reading is fun! Really!
4. My favorite book of all time is S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders.
5. No morning is complete without green tea.
6. Travel --- the best way to learn about and appreciate others! I travel every chance I get.
7. I'm proud of being a multi-racial person.
8. The sound of the ocean waves is relaxing.
9. Learning is fun! Truly! My world just expands and keeps on growing with every learning experience!
10. I'm a proud nerd :-))
