Mr. Ron Murphy:

Born and raised in San Francisco, new Spanish and French teacher, Mr. Ron Murphy, resided in Barcelona for 13 years in the 80s and 90s, during which Mr. Murphy taught English as a foreign language and was a school administrator.

Mr. Murphy has authored two books on English grammar for native Spanish speakers and is fluent in four languages: English, Spanish, French, and Catalan.

Upon his return to the U.S., he resided in New York where he worked as a verbatim reporter and précis writer for the United Nations. Mr. Murphy went on to be a program manager for the International Baccalaureate Organization.

he most rewarding job is when I was the director of an English summer camp in Spain. Students would come and live with a group of teachers and counselors for three weeks, and they would go to classes in the morning and engage in various activities in the afternoon and evening all the while being immersed in English…It was a lot of responsibility and very hard work, but the relationships I formed…and the reward of seeing students enjoy themselves and learn English at the same time was great."

 Ms. Rose Steeber:

After taking Latin in college, Ms. Rose Steeber developed a love for the language that just kept growing. Latin "taught me discipline and how to figure out how to learn," she said.

After attending and graduating from Brooklyn College and CUNY, Ms. Steeber went on to teach at a local high school for thirteen years.

One of her most unique teaching experiences, was teaching at an all boys independent school.

"It was a good fit for me. I have a little brother, so I approached teaching boys like a sister would teach her younger brother."

As the new Latin teacher, she hopes to encourage students to learn such a practical yet aesthetic language so they can benefit from it in the same ways she has.

　"So far it would have to be teaching Latin at LBS. The students are eager to learn and the campus is beautiful. I get to talk about my favorite subject for two periods a day-Latin.

I love the fact that my students in my Latin III class all thank me on the way out of the room at the end of the period."

 Mr. James Tur:

The new math and academic services instructor, Mr. James Tur, has always had a knack for teaching.

Although calculus and physics are his favorite subjects, Mr. Tur prefers spending his free time on recreational and outdoor activities, such as surfing, skating, and snowboarding.

He aims to think about a problem from all sides, and therefore, encourage students to utilize critical thinking skills. "I think it is important to approach problems from as many directions as possible. Everyone learns differently so if you can find an approach that makes sense to a student it can make learning the material much easier."

Mr. Tur looks forward to teaching Laguna’s students, and to finding ways to present them with a quality education.

　What’s the best job that you have ever had?

was a surf instructor for a beach camp. I would wake up at 10:30 a.m. bike down to the beach in only board shorts and surf with the campers from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m..

It was very satisfying teaching kids how to do something that I loved."