Here is another photo of my student "S" and her older sister "J." J is showing off her state report after the 5th grade parade of state reports. Nice work J. Aren't they beautiful girls?

These sisters are a wonderful pair of young ladies. I will always remember "S" as having so much personality. Her older sister "J" was graduating grade 5 this year. "S's" sense of voice came through in her writing as did her sense of humor.

She is also a budding actress. I had the pleasure of seeing her performance of one of the mice in Cinderella during the school year. "S" is born for theater and I hope to see her act in many more shows in the future.

Her family was one of the most involved I had all year. They donated tons of items and LOTS of hours helping in class as well. Classroom teachers' can't get the job done well without families that are involved like this one. I am grateful for the many hours of assistance. If it weren't for this family, I am sure our class wouldn't have reached our grant goal through Donor's Choose. We were able to obtain 5 new Lenovo All -In -One computers this year valued at $3,000. "S's" mother worked at Chevron and was able to get our grant site lots of extra exposure and once that happened, the donations came flooding in to the tune of hundreds per week and even hundreds per day on occasion.

You simply couldn't meet a finer young man than "J." He was always so caring of others in class. He took great care of me as well. "J" was this years time keeper. He kept a timer at the ready and always had this set each day to make sure we wouldn't miss things like library, PE, or music. I will always remember "J" as being the most caring and kind young man in class. He never said a mean thing to anyone. Thanks "J" for making my year so amazing and for keeping me on schedule. I hope you are having a wonderful summer.

Here is one of my biggest reading machines I had this year. I am SO proud of "S" for reading nearly 200 books on AR this year. He grew two years in reading just by pushing himself in his free time. I will always remember his smile and willingness to learn new concepts with an eagerness.

My student "Z" was always on top of her game. I love that she always asked questions that were thought provoking and highly intelligent. Z is one of those students that comes along once in your lifetime. She has a very promising future ahead of her. I miss her dearly and hope she is enjoying her summer.

Mail Forwards 30 Day Limit

Before leaving my college town and moving to CA, I arranged to have my mail forwarded and held in Concord, CA while traveling cross country. I was smart enough to send out lots of resumes to surrounding Bay Area school districts before moving west.

The trouble was, that I spent 30 days crossing the USA visiting all the national parks I could and camping along the way.

When I got to the post office in Concord and asked for my forwarded mail, they said there was a large batch of mail that had to be disposed of, since it was held for 30 days. I was saddened by the news and knew that this would lessen my chances of getting a teaching job that year since it was already August. Luckily the post office man said, let me check again. He came out with a handful of about 6 letters and all of them were from districts. Whew! That was a relief.

One of those letters was from PUSD, a district that had actually called my father on the east coast looking to interview me. I immediately called them that Friday and by Tuesday I was offered a contract during my interview. Thanks to Sal Cardinale, I had secured my place in PUSD district. This was another complete blessing in my life. I have so much to be thankful for!

CA OR Bust! The Westward Movement ~1982 Post Graduation

I lived in my college town on the east coast for a year after graduation. A friend of mine was moving to Concord, CA to be with the Blue Devil's Drum and Bugle Corps. I tagged along for the ride and we spent 30 days driving and camping cross country, while taking in all the sights.


My favorite memories were going to the World's Fair in Knoxville, TN in 1982 and having the extraordinary experience of going the Opryland and seeing the Grand Ole Opry. This was a sort of Disney Land, but with musical shows at every stage. Every kind of music imaginable was played and by some of the very best musicians and dancers in the country.


Other memorable places we visited were the Grand Canyon, Painted Desert, and the Petrified Forest. Once we hit Malibu, we drove north on the coast road till we got to Brannon Island State Park. This campsite became my first homestead in CA. Shortly after that I got an apartment in Concord. Turns out a friend of mine from college lived just two buildings away from me, and I had no idea Jack was nearby at the time I moved next to him.