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