Directing plays that span from “Bring It On: The Musical” to Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” new Upper School Performing Arts teacher Sam Robinson brings years of theater experience to Poly’s Performing Arts Department.
Robinson teaches Acting 1-4 and Scriptwriting and will also direct the fall play, winter play, and spring musical. By introducing The International Thespian Society to Poly, Robinson has already begun to actively engage with students, teachers and the community at large.
“It is such a blessing to feel so already entrenched in the community,” Robinson shared. “My favorite part so far is how welcoming Poly is.”
For the fall, Robinson is directing Anton Chekhov’s “The Sneeze,” consisting of multiple comedic one-act plays. He has expressed excitement over utilizing Poly’s Black Box Theater to create an immersive set-up, with chairs facing three areas of the stage. Robinson plans to imitate the same idea with Shakespeare’s iconic “Macbeth” in the winter, seating audience members in Garland Theater and onstage as well, in order to achieve an impactful performance with immersive stage fighting.
“I am thrilled to be here, and I’m excited to learn about Poly as a community while also being welcomed to bring my own experience,” he said.
With eight years of experience as a school nurse under her belt, Director of Health Services Hazel Diaz joins the Poly community. Starting her school nursing career at Pilgrim School, Diaz cared for students ranging from ages two to eighteen before she moved to Westridge School, where she worked up until last year.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Diaz was involved in the vaccine rollout, helping to get Los Angeles Unified School District students vaccinated. She also volunteered at the Dodger Stadium COVID testing site. At Westridge, Diaz missed working with younger kids and now looks forward to getting to know the larger Poly community.
“I just love interacting with different families and getting to know new communities,” Diaz remarked.
In her new role, Diaz hopes to improve the connection between the Health Office and the Upper School, specifically when it comes to the mental health of Upper School students.
“Just because I’m a nurse doesn’t necessarily mean you need to come get medication or a band aid,” said Diaz. “Let’s talk about anything and everything.”
In her free time, Diaz enjoys hiking, building Legos with her daughter and indulging in celebrity gossip.
This year, Olivier Harménil joins the Poly World Languages Department as a French teacher with more than ten years of experience teaching and an enthusiasm for inspirational and communicative teaching styles.
Harménil is originally from France, growing up in Grenoble and Martinique. He pursued further education both in France and as an exchange student for one year in Manchester, England. He then attended Michigan State University, where he majored in education.
Although he moved from Maryland to Pasadena just a month and a half ago, Harménil has quickly become involved in the Poly community as not only a teacher but also the head coach of both the girls varsity and junior varsity tennis teams.
In the classroom, Harménil values hard-working, respectful and dedicated students, especially those who might not be naturally talented but strive to be their best. Harménil was immediately impressed by Poly students’ dedication to excellence in and out of the classroom and is genuinely excited to be a part of Poly’s culture, where ambition is not only celebrated but actively encouraged.
New Upper School Mandarin teacher Cheyanne Yao joins the Poly community with an adoration of teaching, coming from diverse career experiences after years of traveling the world and living in Spain.
Creating and building meaningful interactions with students is a focal point of Yao’s teaching philosophy. Watching students grow throughout their high school years and extending that contact into their future ventures fuels her passion for teaching. She also loves getting to know students through their extracurricular interests.
“Outside the class I really enjoy seeing them, for example in the theater, playing jazz in the jazz band or classical. I think that that’s something I really look forward to, getting to know them in different ways, not only as a student in Chinese class,” Yao shared.
Yao hopes to impress a thoughtful depth and understanding of the Chinese language and aims to impart critical thinking skills that students can exercise throughout their academic journey.
“Something I enjoy about Yao Lao Shi’s approach to teaching is her enthusiasm and open mindedness to all levels of Mandarin students. She truly cares about each individual student and always tries to make class interesting,” said freshman Caralee Wang, a student in Yao’s Mandarin II class.
Upper School Assistant Librarian Natalie Mattox joins the Poly community this year, well-versed in a wide range of titles, authors and publishers to share with the library visitors
Mattox worked at Windward School while getting her master’s degree in Library and Information Science from UCLA. She then served as the librarian at Brawerman Elementary School but wanted to return to a high school environment, so she came to Poly for the community, events and programs the school offers.
“I’ll be focusing on bringing in fun, new, exciting stuff for [everyone] to read for pleasure, to use for research purposes or any of the above,” said Mattox.
Along with reading, Mattox enjoys making zines and is excited to bring her love of crafting to the Upper School. She is also working on developing the library’s book collection and providing recommendations to both students and faculty members.
“She has a joyful laugh and exudes a really joyful energy,” said Upper School Librarian Nora Murphy, along with complimenting Mattox’s taste in books.
Mattox appreciates Poly’s focus on supporting and encouraging students and is especially looking forward to connecting with students during the Outdoor Education trip this fall.
We are excited to have Snow Lu as a new Upper School science teacher. Lu teaches Integrated Science and AP Physics.
From studying physics, education, engineering and nano-technology at UC Irvine, working as an engineer and teaching at Marymount High School, Lu brings a breadth of knowledge and experience to his new job at Poly.
When asked what he likes about Poly so far, he responded, “It’s the community itself: the people are great, and I’ve never felt more welcomed.” He added, “I’m also excited about the Outdoor Education trips as going to Jameson Ranch will be my first time camping.”
Reese Goldstein, a senior in Lu’s AP Physics class, said, “Mr. Lu is super enthusiastic, and you can tell he’s really passionate about physics, which makes the atmosphere of his class very bright and exciting. He encourages students to share his passion for the subject.”
In addition to teaching at Poly, Lu tutors other students after school and also enjoys playing video games. He has recently started sketching, and he highly recommends “Blue Period,” an anime series.
Upper School History teacher Samuel Anderson joins Poly’s community this year after working at Pomona College as a Westergaard Postdoctoral Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor in the History Department.
“I enjoy teaching history because it allows for different perspectives,” Anderson shared. “History is a great way to understand those perspectives and talk about them in a focused way.”
Before working at Pomona College, Anderson worked as a lecturer, PhD student, and Graduate Writing Consultant at UCLA. At Pomona, Anderson designed and taught courses on African, European and Islamic History.
“I was drawn to the Upper School because of the really strong academic reputation, and it is exciting to be a part of that,” Anderson continued. “Another key thing that I was learning more about was the [PolyGlobal] program, as international education is really important.”
Through creating in-class discussions and immersive lectures, Anderson hopes to create engaging experiences that leave a memorable impact on his students. When he’s not teaching, Anderson enjoys watching and studying birds.
Upper School History teacher Alex Melonas, a dedicated educator with a rich academic background, brings his enthusiasm and extensive knowledge to the Poly community, joining the History Department.
Graduating from the University of Utah with a dual bachelor’s degree in political science and sociology, pursuing a master’s in public affairs from American University and earning a PhD in political science from Temple University, Melonas’s academic journey is a testament to his dedication to his own education. His experience as both a university professor and teacher at Birmingham High School helped shape and refine his teaching skills.
As he transitions to Poly, Melonas aims to deepen students’ understanding of the relevance of history in our current society. “I want my students to understand better how history continues to be significant in our world and lives today,” he shared.
Students at Poly have already been captivated by Melonas’s enthusiasm and interactive teaching style.
“You can tell that he wants the students to be engaged in everything he’s teaching and has a lot of passion for the topic,” said freshman Madison Gaspard, a student in Melonas’s World Religions class.
Outside of the classroom, Melonas enjoys hiking, swimming, rock climbing and spending quality time with his family.
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