I was born in Tsingtao, China as an only child. I am from the era of the Chinese One-Child Policy, which means I have no siblings.
Mandarin is my 1st language; English is my second.
Moved to Seattle when I was 11. We lived around a lot of areas in the Puget Sound, but I enjoyed the city of Mill Creek the most.
I have 2 kittens named Mafi and Mok. Mafi Mok means “without brain” in Arabic. I graduated from high school in Bahrain in the Middle East. Moving back to Seattle, I attended the U of W.
Travelling is something I love to do. I’ve traveled to most Asian countries and parts of Europe. The top travel destination for me is South America.
Memories for me of Chinese New Year include huge family feasts, fireworks (we could set off at home), red envelopes filled with money, ceremonies and different foods.
I graduated from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. and played varsity soccer, basketball, and baseball in high school. In college I was on the school's bowling team. I have taught PE for 24 years and this will be my 11th year at Cleveland High School. I also taught middle school in L.A. for 7 years and at Mercer Middle school for 6 years. I love working with high school age students teaching PE. I live in Port Orchard and commute on the ferry every day. I have been married for 23 years and have 5 children including a senior and sophomore in addition to a 6th grader, 8th grader, and college sophomore at BYU. I am passionate about family, traveling, basketball, and (this is an odd one) fantasy baseball!! :-)
I joined the Meany family during the 2023/24 School year as a long-term sub but I am so happy to be back for my first full year! Feel free to reach out with any attendance questions and I will be happy to help!
Greetings Mountain Lions! I am excited to be joining you at Meany Middle School this fall. I have been teaching middle school social studies for the last three years in Kent and I am looking forward to teaching students who are my neighbors in the area (I live in First Hill).
A little bit about Mr. Simpson: I grew up in Ohio and joined the US Army after graduating from high school. I was in stationed and Joint Base Lewis McCord (near Tacoma) and spent a year in Iraq. After my enlistment ended I decided to stay in the Pacific Northwest and co-founded a veterans’ resource center called Coffee Strong and received my Bachelors of Arts and Masters in Teaching at the Evergreen State College. My emphasis was on history and political economy and I am a huge history nerd. An interesting fact about me is that I am the first in my family to get my Bachelors degree, let alone a Masters degree!
When it comes to teaching history, I believe it is fundamental for students to not only study history for its anthropological lessons but to also view themselves as active and crucial participants in the making and writing of history. Prompted by my own experiences as an Iraq War veteran and later as a social justice activist, I have learned and continue to believe, that history is in the making every day. If the newest generations of students realize how history is relevant to present, students can become the world’s next and most influential leaders.
