I am so happy to be teacher! When my children were young, I was an instructional aide at their school - Whitehouse Elementary, in Readington, NJ. I began in first grade, then moved to fourth. My next stop was to be hired by Mr. Walter Miller to work here at Califon School as a Special Education Teacher. That was 21 years ago! I have since worked with an amazing group of teachers, teaching amazing Califon students!
Thinking back over those years, some of the things that I have accomplished here at Califon include: working as an advisor for the 8th grade and for Destination Imagination, teaching 5th grade, and running the Milk Team.
I have so enjoyed my experiences here at Califon - and look forward to the coming year which will be full of learning for everyone! We belong here!
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Detroit! Detroit! Anyone who knows me knows that I am a kooky crazy Michigan sports fan. Born and raised in Detroit, how could I be anything else? Tigers, Lions, Pistons, Spartans, Wolverines, Red Wings....
I attended Henry Ford High School (and yes, had to cross 8 Mile Road to get to school, please, someone, recognize the Slim Shady reference). I began my college career at Oakland University in Michigan, then moved with my then new husband, George, to New Jersey to attend Rutgers. George is a computer programmer/systems manager. We have two daughters, Alexandra and Jessica, who are all grown up now (28 and 30), and living very interesting lives. Ask me about them and I will tell you! Briefly: glassblower and animal research lab manager.
I consider myself to be a foodie, a reader, a mom and a sports junkie. I adore interesting food, books and plants. I have moved on to collecting ferns and more orchids - a person can never have too many plants enhancing their living space. We live on a small farm in Whitehouse Station, and had horses for many years. Now our animals include one chubby cat and three dogs: old-timer, Noah and two new puppies: a boxer mix, Molly and a little Scrappy-Doo, Carlito. Though I live in Whitehouse Station, I consider myself to be a Califon-er as I have been involved with the children and their families for many years.
My latest reading adventure has been to find an author I really enjoy and read many of their books. I really really have enjoyed Neil Gaiman books - Caroline, Nevermore, American Gods, his short story collections, and of course, The Graveyard Book. He has a new book of short, non-fiction pieces View from the Cheap Seats, that is just marvelous. I have even gotten audiobooks and listened to authors read their own books, Really fun! Try it - go look for other books by authors you enjoy - you may be surprized by what gems you will find! An update for 2017 is that I was able to see Mr. Gaiman this summer live at Wolf Trap outside of DC, - reading from some of his books and telling anecdotes from his life.
I try to find something new and interesting to do every day, and try to make other people as excited about new adventures as I am. My own personal adventure this year is to remove as much of the extraneous accumulation of 'stuff' from my life in order to make a smaller imprint. It is something that I would recommend and know that Top of the Barn is my new favorite destination.
What's in store for us this year? Stay tuned.
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