Learning Circle Schools
and
Circle Teachers

I*EARN Computer Chronicles, Middle School (iearn.ccm1), May, 1997

Alden Place Elementary School
David Grott
Circle Facilitator
PO Box AA, Alden Place
Millbrook, New York 12545
U.S.A.
"Alexandru Papiu Ilarian" High school
Cornelia Platon
Str. Piata Lupeni Nr.2
4650 Dej Jud. Cluj
Romania
Mill Creek Middle School
Stacy Ericson
7305 Dexter Ann Arbor Road
Dextor, MI 48130
U.S.A.
St. Croix Falls Middle School
Mary Drinkwine
Box 130
St. Croix Falls, WI 54024
U.S.A.
Wilson Bruce Evans Middle School
Patricia Copelin
5600 E. Capitol Street NE
Washington, DC 20019
U.S.A.
J.V. Humphries School
Rod Dunnett
Box 577
Kaslo B.C. VOG1MO
Canada
G. M. Verity Middle School
Kenna Beam
2800 Kansas Street
Ashland, KY 41101,
U.S.A.
"Professor M. S. Garza" Middle School
Martha Garza Martinez
Aramberri Y Venustiano Carranza
Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, 64000 Mexico
St. Patrick's High School
Michelle Corriveau
75 Maisonneuve Ave
Quebec City
Quebec, G1R 2C4
Canada

Teachers' Messages

 

Hello, Buenos Dias, Bonjour: Mary, Kenna, Stacy, Nelly, Michelle, Rod, Patricia and Martha,

I have exhausted my foreign language abilities in the greeting alone! My reputation precedes me by way of Margaret Riel's greeting to you!

I teach 6th grade in Millbrook, New York! The state that just voted down casino gambling, the village that is the home of Mary Tyler Moore and the only reason we figure people come here is if they are lost! Actually, Millbrook is a pleasant rural community in the middle of Dutchess County. Hmmm, does not help much.

If you look at a map of New York State, find New York City and follow the Hudson River north to Poughkeepsie (my real home and a mouthful to spell when you order something by phone!!). Now, head due east from Poughkeepsie toward Connecticutt and you will find us in the middle! For our overseas friends, we are on the eastern seaboard, the part of the country that the latest storm missed again by going out to sea and that means I have to work on Friday!!!

I have a class of 20 geniuses, I know they are smart, they just do not want to put the effort in some days! Yes, it has been that kind of week! Keeping that in mind, we have to get organized so I will busy myself organizing the circle and let them loose next week!

 

Now, on to the members:

Mary... out there in Wisconsin, have you been hit by the weather that sent blizzards and record cold? Are you surviving? I want to ask if phone lines freeze in that weather!

Kenna, in Kentucky. Isn't there a song, My old Kentucky home? Ashland sounds familiar but I cannot recall why... hmm, I'll think of it !

Stacy, Michigan. Are you in the snow belt? How goes your funding? Last I worked with a teacher from Michigan the state had just changed the funding of education out there. How is it now?

Nelly... interested to hear what is going on in Romania since the big changes in Europe. Hope you are online soon and often!

Michelle... Quebec. I would love to visit your city. Closest I have gotten so far is Montreal and I loved it! Welcome aboard!

Rod... see you have been on already and have a greeting posted! Finally, your coordinator is online and starting to communicate!

Okay folks, warm up those keyboards, set those phone wires humming, none of us are on America Online so we should be able to get some serious communicating done here!

Dave Grott

Hi everyone,

My name is Kenna Beam. I teach 7th and 8th graders in a middle school in the city of Ashland in the state of Kentucky in the United States of America. My internet students are 8th graders.

Kenna Beam

Hello everybody! or Salut (that's a way of greeting friends in Romania)

 

I'm Nelly, I'm a teacher of English at a Highscool in Dej, my native town. Let me tell you a few words about my country, Romania. Its name comes from the ancient Rome, because during the Roman Empire it used to be a Roman province and, in time, the native people of Dacia (that was the old name of the country) interfered with the romans and formed the Romanian people. So, that's way our language is a latin one, belonging to the same family with Italian, French, Spanish, ... In December 1989 Romania was reborn as a free nation, it got rid of dictatorship and it is now a democratic country. The capital of Romania is Bucharest, a city used to be called the "Little Paris of the East".

Romania is situated in the south-eastern Europe, extending approximately 480 km north to south and 640 east to west, having an area of 237.500 sq.km.The population of the country is over 23.000.000 inhabitants. The relief of the country is varied, containing mountains, hills, plateaux, plains, rivers, lakes, a delta and a part of the Black Sea. The Carpathians form a mountaineous arc in the centre of the country, bordered by the lower Subcarpathians, descending further into hills and finally the great plains and rivers of the outer rim. Forests cover a quarter of the country and the fauna is one of the richest in Europe including wolves, bears, deer, lynx and chamois. The mighty Danube forms the southern boundary of the country terminating in the Delta on the Black Sea to the east, a heaven for countless native and migratory birds. The neighbours of Romania are: Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Republic of Moldavia, and Ukraine. The climate is temperate-continental,characteristic of Central Europe: hot summers, cold winters, very distinct seasons, abundant snowfalls in the mountains. Most Romanians are Orthodox Christians, but there are also other kinds of religions in Romania, such as: Catholics of the Byzantine and Roman rite, Reformed/Lutheran, Unitarian, Neo-Protestant, Armenian, Moslem, and Jewish. Religious freedom is guaranteed by the Romanian Constitution. From political point of view, Romania has been a parliamentary republic since 1991. Democratic rights and freedom are guaranteed by the Constitution. The actual president of Romania is Emil Constantinescu.

The national flag is tricolour: red, yellow and blue. Romania's national day is December 1st. So, let's say you know a little about my country and I'll soon write you more about my school and my community.

Nelly

Hi everyone,

This is Michelle in Quebec. I am happy to be working with everyone this year. This is my fourth year with the Learning Circles. I have two groups in this one circle because I was told there were no other circles this year. Usually I belong to two circles and I work myself into an early grave. I really do enjoy it though. I teach grades 7 and 10 which we call secondary 1 and 4. Our education system is different, we have one to eleven and then two years of junior college before university. I am working with two groups of 20 and 24 students in English Language Arts. We are a small school of 230 in the center of Quebec City, so we are a very small island in a sea of French. My students are all bilingual and every class is taught in english but they speak french most of the time, and don't realize what language they are speaking to the teachers in until they are told "speak english". Mary, Kenna, Stacy, Cornelia and Rod, my students are very excited to be working with all these new places. We will be doing an in depth study of each of the states and countries that are involved.

Michelle

Hi all,

This is Mary from Wisconsin. I am happy to be working with everyone. This is my first year using the internet and also my first year using the learning circle. I teach 7th and 8th grades in a 5-8 Middle School. I teach developmental reading to both 7th and 8th grade students as well as a challenge reading class for gifted students. This is the class that will be working primarily with the learning circle. St. Croix Falls is a small rural community (2000 population) on the St. Croix River. We are located about 40 miles north and east of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. Our students are bused in from two small villages and several farms.

The four seasons offer us a variety of sports activities. Football has been the highlight of the past few months. We have enjoyed watching the Packers have a winning season. Cross-country skiing, down-hill skiing, snomobiling, snow-shoeing, and ice fishing are popular winter activities.

Mary Drinkwine

Greetings from Michigan-the state where weather and educational policies change daily!

I am new to IEARN and Learning Circles as of January so please be willing to accept utter confusion from this member of your circle! The 8th graders at Millcreek Middle School in Dexter, Michigan are excited to work with your students and so is their teacher! It may take awhile to get things going but please don't give up on us.

Stacy Erickson

Hi everyone and greetings from chilly Kaslo, British Columbia.

We are pleased to have received the list of circle participants and are looking forward to our collaboration. Sunday was sunny and clear (we get so few of those days in the winter that I just have to tell you about it!) and the snowy peaks reflecting the sun reinforced why we live here. My class is looking forward to our communications. I am so pleased to read all of your letters. Dave, your bio was correct - a breezy but gentle sense of humour! Mary - hi to Wisconsin. Kentucky Kenna - hello. Stacy - we'll try to pinpoint your town on the map. Nelly - great to communicate across the ocean with you. Michelle - on two previous Learning Circles we shared with Terry Fox School in Quebec. I'm a Macaholic - love my old Mac! Any other Mackers out there? We live in a beautiful area, in a tiny village where everyone knows everyone elses foibles and where you see your students and their parents every time you visit Main Street. However, I wouldn't live any where else. I'm originally from an industrial part of England - near Liverpool - and the contrast is incredible.

Rod

Hi Dave, Mary, Kenna, Stacy, Nelly, Michelle, Rod and Patricia

 

My name is Martha Patricia Garza Martinez and I am 35 years old. I'm a teacher in secondary education, major in Language and Spahish Literature. I have worked in Learning Circles for two time so far. I'm married to Cezar Ibarra, a medical alergist and we have two children: a daughter, Ingrid Patricia, and a son, Cezar Miguel. My hobbies are reading, listening music, going to theatre and walking.

Martha Patricia Garza

Hello everyone,

My students are eagerly awaiting and excited about joining the Learning Circles. Sheila Carr, a wonderful volunteer, and I are working with 7th graders.

Pat Copelin

 

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