Greetings!
Welcome to my 8th grade language arts class and my website.
My story began across the ocean in Japan, where I was born some time in the previous century. I came to the United States as a child and grew up in California, right here in the Bay Area. In fact, I was a student of CUSD, too, attending John Muir Elementary and Hyde (which was still a junior high back then). At the same time, I was also attending San Francisco Japanese Language School, so like many of you, I am fully bilingual. This means that I read manga and watch anime in the original Japanese.
Yes, I'm a manga/anime fan. I'm a gamer, too, due to my father's influence. He worked in the video game industry so I grew up gaming, and my friends and I got to test new games before they hit the market. I also enjoy art, dance, hiking, and music. And cats. I LOVE cats. My fur-babies are the most perfect in the world.
While a student at Cupertino High School, I was involved in a lot of clubs and also participated in several performance groups (color guard, spirit, and fusion band). I then went to the other side of the country to study in upstate New York. I spent four years in the beautiful town of Ithaca, studying English (focus on American Literature and creative writing / poetry) and keeping busy as a member of the Cornell University Big Red Marching Band's and Pep Band's percussion sections. I'm sure you can guess that I believe in balancing education with fun extra-curricular activities.
After college, I worked in Japan for a year. I then spent some time in Indianapolis and Arizona before finally settling back in the Bay Area. I've been here at Miller MS since the fall of 2005. As of June of 2025, I'd taught around 3200 students at Miller!
And it's your turn now. You may have heard that I'm strict. Or scary. Or evil. Well, be willing to learn, do your best, participate, and be respectful, and you will do just fine.
- Ms. Niksch