Hello, my name is Brian Lees, and I will be your child's fourth grade teacher this year at Morning Creek Elementary School in Room 21.  I would like to take the opportunity to introduce myself to you.

I was born on December 8, 1971 in Fontana, CA.  I grew up almost all of my life in the city of Riverside.  Both of my parents were teachers.  My mother taught 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade in Colton, Riverside, and Alvord Unified School Districts.  My father taught social studies and physical education at both the high school and junior high school level in San Bernardino City Schools.

I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Notre Dame High School in Riverside in 1990.  I lettered in the varsity sports of football, track & field, and cross country, and played basketball as well.  I still enjoy sports very much as one of my hobbies, both as a spectator (Go, Carolina Hurricanes, Utah Jazz, Toronto Blue Jays, and New Orleans Saints!) and a participant, and try to stay fit through regular workouts at the local gym and frequent walks/hikes/jogs at various natural locations in our resplendent San Diego County, such as Borrego Springs, Torrey Pines State Beach, the Pacific Beach Boardwalk, Mission Bay, Miramar Lake, and Lake Murray/Cowles Mountain/Mission Trails Regional Park. 

I graduated from the California State University at San Bernardino in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in Economics and a minor in Psychology.  I then completed my Multiple Subject Clear CLAD California Teaching Credential, also at CSUSB, in June of 1996.  During my time at CSUSB, I also served as Editor-in-Chief of the campus newspaper, The Chronicle, and taught the basics of journalism and journalistic writing to the staff writers and photographers I recruited.

I hold a Master of Arts Degree in Human Behavior, which I earned at National University here in San Diego, graduating on June 16, 2000 with Highest Honors (4.0 GPA) Distinction.  I found this experience to be very challenging and rewarding, as I once again became a student myself while remaining a full time teacher.  I hope to someday have the time to pursue a PhD in either Industrial/Organizational Psychology or Political Economics.

This is my sixteenth full year of teaching in the Poway Unified School District.  I taught fourth grade for five years and fifth grade for two years at Sunset Hills Elementary School in Rancho Penasquitos before coming to Morning Creek nine years ago and teaching a very challenging fourth/fifth grade combination class my first year here and then a straight fourth grade class the last eight years.  This is a school with many assets, and I am very glad to be here.

In addition to my regular teaching duties, in the past at my previous school, I have served as the school's spelling bee coordinator (1996-2003), science adoption committee coordinator (2001-2003), site math cadre leader (1998-2000), staff-PTA liaison (1998-2002), technology committee member and grant writer (1996-1997), Distinguished School and Blue Ribbon application writer and editor (1999-2001), and site union rep (1998-2002), among many other things, so I've been pretty involved to say the least.  My first year at Morning Creek, I stayed pretty involved and served on the homework forum for the district, the classroom configuration committee for our school site, and several ad hoc committees throughout the year, such as the assessment for learning committee, as well as coaching our nutrition team for science field day competition.  In my second year at Morning Creek, I served on our school's Student Study Team, coached the barge-building and nutrition teams at our annual science field day competition, and served as the grade level representative for Fourth Grade at Grade level meetings, as well as being our school's liaison with the PQ Corridor News.  I have also recently been selected by our staff to be the site union rep once again, and can occasionally be seen playing one of my many musical instruments live in order to lead our kids in singing at the weekly Friday Flag ceremonies.  I have recorded musical accompaniment for our school's Character "Pillar Rap," have been a key performer at school talent shows, and I am currently composing our school's first official school song.  In my third year at Morning Creek, in addition to my role as site union rep and liaison with the local newspaper once again, I was a key team member and grant-writer for the Hewlett Packard Grant our school received in 2005-2006 and applied for in 2006-2007, and also served as the school's PTA Treasurer, a role which led to an interview by San Diego Family Magazine and an article in the September 2006 issue about men being involved in the PTA, in which I was quoted.  In my fourth year at Morning Creek, I served on the school's technology committee, assisted with science field day, piloted a new social studies text book adoption, and served as fourth grade team leader, all in addition to me resuming my role as site union rep and liaison to the local newspaper yet again.  In my fifth year at Morning Creek, I served on the technology committee, as the fourth grade team leader, and as the site union rep, in addition to also assisting with science field day.  In my sixth, seventh, and eighth years at Morning Creek, I served in the same capacities as listed above from last year, and also was the fourth grade team leader, piloted a new science text book adoption, and occasionally assisted with student council activities.  This year, I will be continuing to serve in the above listed areas.

I am currently composing pieces for my seventh CD, under the working title of Ghost Towns and Urban Prairies, which will be a foray into more organic and progressive pieces of music, and will be recorded and completed sometime in 2012.

My other hobbies include art (painting, history, and photography); reading (see my Recommended Reading List for both children and their parents); writing; and recreational computing.  I have enjoyed living in the San Diego area the past 16 years, and have been especially interested in exploring the marvelous local beaches and the majestic deserts of nearby Imperial County, after spending most of my youth infatuated with the San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountains.  Last year, I purchased a home in Northeast Escondido.

I have no children of my own (yet), but I have a few relatives who live in nearby communities in San Diego County, and I have also been fortunate to forge many solid friendships with some of the wonderful teachers at my old school, Sunset Hills, as well as some of the wonderful teachers here at Morning Creek.  I also enjoy spending time with my wife, Heather, a resource teacher at Bernardo Heights and Twin Peaks Middle Schools, and our dog, Kahuna, a 3-year old puggle.

I am truly indebted to many people for making my road to being a successful teacher a rewarding one, and would no doubt be remiss if I didn't take the time to acknowledge them now.  I must first start with my mother, Eva L. Lees, for her inspiration, constant encouragement, love, and support, and my father, Dennis S. Lees, for all "dirty work" support, including driving the U-Haul over from Sunset Hills to Morning Creek with all my years of teaching "stuff."  I would also like to thank my former teaching partners at Sunset Hills:  my former fourth grade partner (1996-2001), the 2000 California State Teacher of the Year Karen O'Connor, for all of her help with everything from lesson planning to bouncing new teaching strategies off of one another, making me a better teacher all the time; and my former fifth grade partner (2001-2003) Mary Synold for all of her kind encouragement and support in all of my endeavors.   Finally, I would like to extend my gratitude to all the members of the fourth and fifth grade teams here at Morning Creek: Kendall Brown, Jeff Chaifetz, Kellene Heinzman, Michelle Hobbs, Lisa Kolodziej, Kim Otero, and Matt Sterling.  I would be truly lost here without them.

Some of My Favorites:

COLOR--Green is most favorite, Purple is next, Black is third

HOLIDAY--Martin Luther King Junior's Birthday

FOOD--Pasta; Key Lime Pie for Dessert

JUNK FOOD ITEM--California Burritos

SPORT--Football

SUBJECT--Reading

CHILDREN'S BOOK--The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

GROWN-UP BOOK--The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin

RESTAURANTS--BJ's, Macaroni Grill, Fidel's

STORES--Barnes and Noble, Sports Authority, Office Depot, Target, Macy's, Best Buy, and Guitar Center

TOP FIVE MOVIES--"Snow Falling on Cedars," "The English Patient," "Wall Street," "About Schmidt," "Fireproof"

TELEVISION SHOW--"The Office," "CSI Miami," "Detroit 1-8-7," ESPN Sportscenter, Monday Night Football

HOBBIES--Playing my musical instruments/writing music, watching movies/sports, reading

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT--Keyboard Synthesizer

TOP TEN MUSICAL PERFORMERS--Patrick O'Hearn, David Helpling, VNV Nation, Joe Satriani, Lovesliescrushing, Paul Van Dyk, Fleetwood Mac, U2, Geoffrey Oryema, Depeche Mode

TOP TEN CLASSICAL COMPOSERS--Bach, Chopin, Ravel, Gorecki, Satie, Tchaikovsky, Puccini, Massenet, Mascagni, Handel

ICE CREAM FLAVOR--Pistachio

PLACE TO HIKE--Cowles Mountain

PLACE TO RUN--Mission Bay