About Me
 
 
 
A lot of things you may have wanted to know about me... ...but were too shy to ask! Everything I am and everything I do is because of my personal relationship with Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior I can't eat ravioli!!! I love dark chocolate and Coca Cola My first computer was a Tandy. Now I own a Dell, and the only good mac is a Big Mac, and even that's debatable. Just kidding. My work computer is a Mac, and I love it. I allow myself three mistakes a day... if, by chance, I make three mistakes in one day, then I start all over again and give myself three more. I love word games I am second and third place on thearcadesite.com. My son, Jimmy, is Ach1lles, who is number 1 I have two three-inch screws in my neck keeping my head from falling off... I have a GPS system in my car that doesn't keep me from getting lost, but it does confirm that I AM lost... I lost most of my hair in '95, and it never came back completely; that's where I get the phrase 'Life's not fair. If life were fair, I'd still have hair." I was never on the Philippine Jr. Olympic Diving Team I am an active member of Whittier Area Community Church I CANNOT stand ravioli I just love working with children and seeing their excitement when they learn something. I don't wear jewelry Part of my life story was featured in the premiere episode of the Philippine TV series Pinagmulan: The Journey Home; unfortunately, the show was cancelled after 14 episodes. That's all for now. My Favorites Ice Cream: Rocky Road Soft Drink: Coca Cola, hands down Color: Blue and any shade of blue Sweets: dark chocolate Book: To Kill a Mockingbird Movie: You’ve Got Mail Singer: The Hammer Kids Student: ALL OF YOU. PAST AND PRESENT! Music Style: Contemporary Christian, Classic Rock, Old School Hymns Subject: MATH Teacher(s) Mr. Varnava (HS Spanish), Mrs. Ortega (HS English), Mr. Le Grange (7th Grade Math) Mr. Mock (6th Grade) Mr. Gose (HS Government) Dr. DawnEllen Jacobs (Ed Courses) Dr. Swindall (CBU Intro to Logic)
 
Name
JoAnn Hammer
 
Birthday
A very fine day in March, 19??
(I turned 40 in 2001 ... you do the math!)
 
Interests
Teaching, reading, creating short-cuts
 
If I were an animal, I’d be a
Wildwood Red-tailed Hawk... then a Pacific Drive Dolphin...then a Valencia Park Roadrunner, and now a Kendall Kangaroo!
 
How I became a rocket scientist...
... actually, I didn’t.  I’m afraid of heights, and rockets go WAAAYYY high!
  
 I did, however, become a teacher, but it took a while.  Where do I start?  Well, the beginning is as good a place to start as any.  I was born in the Philippines, but we moved to Guam in 1972.   My parents were not in the military; they were medical personnel.  In 1975, we moved to Oxnard, where I went for junior high (Go, Blackstock Panthers!!!) and high school (Channel Islands Raiders Rule!!!)
 
It was in 9th grade that I first fell in love. I saw this cute kid with a letterman's jacket (very important to me back in the day... by the time I found out his letter was in golf, it was too late -- I was already crazy about the guy), and even though we didn't meet for two years, I made sure he knew he had a secret admirer. He finally noticed me my junior year, and the rest is history. He asked me to be his girlfriend in 1978, and we were married in 1983. Yup, the golfing hunk was and is Mr. Hammer.
 
I am a mother of 3 -- Jhen, 23, got married in July '07; Jacky, 22, is serving as a YWAM missionary in Australia; and Jimmy, who just got married in April 2009 (but he helps me troubleshoot my website.  While the my kids were growing up, I was a stay at home mom... as soon as they were all in school, I finished my degree and began teaching.
 
I completed most of my courses at Cal State Northridge, but received my degree and teaching credential from California Baptist University in Riverside. I've been teaching since 1994; I've taught 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades and 6th grades -- in Yucaipa, Whittier, Fullerton, and San Bernardino; my years teaching 6th grade were a whole lot more fun than I had first imagined, and now I'm back teaching 5th grade. Life is good.