At the end of this year, nine faculty members--Ms. Amy Uyematsu, Mr. Marco Elliott, Ms. Joann Carrabbio, Ms. Lillian White, Ms. Jerie Morrison, Ms. Cheri Katz, Ms. Elizabeth Alkaly, Ms. Rosa Martinez, and Ms. Rita Bower--will be retiring from Venice.

"I still love teaching and really enjoy my Venice students but there are things I want to do in my life," said Ms. Uyematsu.  "Visit my new grandson, write more poetry and take art classes and draw." Ms. Uyematsu has been working at Venice High for six years as a math teacher, taught at  Granada Hills for 32 years but most of her years were at Grant High and she was also a creative writing teacher for two years.

Ms. Katz, an ESL teacher and bilingual coordinator, has been a part of Venice faculty for seven years.  Ms. Katz has loved and enjoyed being at Venice because of Venice's wonderful students and other faculty members.

When asked why she is retiring, she said, "I have been teaching for about 40 years (since September 1969) and now I want to assist my daughter, who is also a teacher."  However, she also said that because she enjoys being around young people, she MIGHT come back to volunteer at Venice in the future.

Ms. Katz has been always delighted to see polite students, who happily greeted her, in the hallway.  She also said that whenever she saw Venice students it gave her "a great hope of youth" and she really appreciates students being kind to her.

Ms. Katz is pleased that the number of ESL students at Venice went down from about 800 students last year to about 450 students because she feels that more students are more proficient in English.

She said,"If teachers have more time and resources with students, it will provide a way for students to feel comfortable with teachers and advisors."

Ms. Katz's last words to her students, as well as her fellow Venice faculty members, were "Students and teachers, alike, never stop learning" and "I'll miss all of you guys."

Ms. Martinez, a counselor mostly for ESL students, has been working at Venice for three years.  She has enjoyed working as a counselor very much and found that her occupation has been a "very gratifying and eye-opening experience."

When asked why she is retiring, she said that her retirement is actually more like a renewal because she will have a chance to engage in things, such as her hobbies, that she has not had time for in the past.

Ms. Martinez finds it very satisfying when her students say, "Ms. Martinez, you've helped me so much."

Ms. Martinez's last words to her students were "Students needs to understand what their roles are and be responsible for their roles.  They need to set intentions and directions for themselves.  Administrators at Venice, as well as people out of Venice, want to help and students have to be open to that.  Take time, help, and advantage of what is offered."

Ms. Alkaly--a career advisor, work experience coordinator, and AVID coordinator--has been working at Venice for about 11 years.  Before Venice, she worked at Los Angeles High School as a history ad social science teacher and also as a career advisor.

Ms. Alkaly has been a very important figure at Venice.  She has helped start the AVID program for college bound students and was the coordinator for WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges), which is a mandatory accreditation program for public schools, nine years ago.

"Venice is a very unique school and I have felt privileged to be a part of Venice's faculty," she said. "I have enjoyed the many rewarding opportunities and have thoroughly enjoyed my time here."

When asked why she is retiring from Venice, she said, "I have been working in the district for 35 years and have planned to make this year.  Also, my husband has been encouraging me to retire."

After she retires, she wants to "travel with her husband, volunteer at various organizations, and to take fun classes on things that I enjoy doing."

She was delighted to work with many new and gifted teachers coming in.

Ms. Alkaly's last words to students are "I encourage students to give serious thought about the future right now.  Also think about community service and look for ways to give back to your community."

To teachers, she said, "I know it's going to be rough next year with many faculty members gone, but hang in there."

Ms. White, a special education teacher, has been teaching at Venice for 15 years.  She is very happy with her years at Venice.

When asked why she is retiring, she said that she feels "it is time for her to move on to other things, such as traveling."

She enjoyed watching students grow and mature into successful individuals and enjoyed instilling good habits in her students.

She wants to encourage students "to continue to work at their best abilities because there is life after high school."

Ms. Morrison, a social studies and English teacher, testing coordinator, and UTLA Chapter Chair, has been at Venice for 13 years and she has said that her years at Venice have been the most wonderful years of her career.

When asked why she is retiring, she said, "I have taught in the district for 36 years and with the class sizes growing and money decreasing, it looks like it's time for me to go."  After she retires, she plans to travel and spend more time with her husband and do other things she enjoys.

She commented on the fact that she has liked that she felt "warmth from the student body and faculty," that she felt an unusual sense of community at Venice among the students and teachers.  To students, Ms. Morrison wants to say, "Venice High has given you a good foundation and basis for the experiences you will encounter for the rest of your life.  Venice prepares students to be good."

And to teachers and administrators, she said, "Hang tough."

Ms. Joann Carrabbio has been working for the district for 27 years: 19 years at Venice High, two years at Manual Arts Senior High, and six years at Banning High.  She started out teaching technical art and later moved on to teach fine art.

"I enjoyed Venice, it gave me lots of experience and those wonderful people that I've met," she said with a huge smile.  She's retiring in June, and claims that from now on she will not be living a routine life.

Ms. Carrabbio's husband, Mr. Marco Elliott, a graphic design teacher and a "part time clown," has been working at Venice for about 23 years, since 1986. He is also retiring.  Two of many good memories he has had as a graphic design teacher is "working with students from five different high schools, including Venice, on a vast mural project."  and "to see his students get involved as critical thinkers to fight for the survival for public education as it was on Friday the 15." He hopes he can fall in love with Mother Nature again and he is still going to work on art, like murals, landscaping, and collages.

Ms. Bower, the Business Bilingual Finance Academy counselor, has been with Venice for 10 years.  She said her years here with Venice High have been amazing.  She said, "I love the kids, love the age, and enthusiasm."  She plans to do "yoga, yoga, yoga" and "get a part time job working with counseling interns."  To her the only major thing that has changed in Venice is that enrollment has decreased, causing counselors to have more paperwork.