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Finally, school’s out and summer’s here. Take a minute and see what a few of your colleagues have in mind for the days of summer. Whether it’s travel or Travelocity, working the land or saving the Earth, welcoming a husband home from Afghanistan or greeting the grandbabies, teaching summer school or starting a business, the plans of TCTA members are as interesting as they are varied.
Miles of smiles on Alaskan adventure
With the year winding down as a teacher of the visually impaired and the only certified orientation and mobility specialist in the Ector County Independent School District, I look forward to a great summer.
For 48 weeks of the year, I travel between 13 campuses (some 2 1/2 and 5 hours away), teaching students, aged birth to 22, who are blind and visually impaired. I also teach independent travel skills in the home, community, neighborhood and school. I am currently teaching cane skills to a little two-year-old, which is really exciting. Each year for the past 12 years, I have taken 20 visually impaired students camping. I am also a professional clown, and every Wednesday you can find me (Nurse Susie Q) spreading miles of smiles at the hospital.
In between assisting four babies in their homes this summer, I will be taking my parents (in their 70s), 26-year-old twins, son-in-law and husband on an Alaskan cruise. This is the first time we have been on a trip like this, and it is really cool to see my parents so excited. My dad says, “it is getting closer--every day is a little closer to our trip.” My dad tends cattle and works very hard on his ranch. He doesn’t like to travel, but loves nature and wildlife. I am looking forward to relaxing with my family and seeing the incredible wildlife and beauty. We will depart from Seattle with ports at Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway, Tracy Arm and Victoria, Canada.
My daughter is a first-year teacher, her husband is an EMT/paramedic, my son is a May graduate of Angelo State University and my husband is a machinist. We are all ready to pack our bags.
Susan Butler
Special education teacher
Ector County ISD
Odessa CTA
Odessa
Nancy’s vineyard: a labor of love
This summer, I am picking up where I leave off each summer. I will be working in our small two-acre vineyard that is situated directly in back of our 100+ year-old farmhouse we call home, five miles west of the town of Blanco. During the school year, I travel 45 miles, one-way, to San Antonio to teach in the Northside Independent School District.
We grow a variety of Italian grapes called sangiovese. They are red and very suited to the soil we have in our vineyard. We planted the 640 vines in March 1999 in a field that had been cultivated for over 100 years – perfect “groundwork” for perfect grapes. This will be our 7th harvest which means the vines are considered “mature” now and also described as “on their 8th leaf.” (Even though they were only on their 2nd leaf, we produced an award-winning bottle, our 2nd harvest in 2002.)
My husband, Charles Harper-Smith, who was born in England, is the full-time (supposed to be retired) vineyard keeper. He does all the pruning in February, then keeps the vines and surrounding grounds in great shape until I can help during the summer months. Then together, we thin bunches, trim the growth, and maintain our meticulous watering and spraying schedule, just to produce a quality grape for our buyer, Ken Maxwell, of Torre di Pietra Winery in Stonewall, TX.
The physically busy days and watchful hours spent outdoors taking care of our vines keep us both fit and exhausted most days. We will harvest at the end of my summer break (usually the first weekend in August) just in time for me to return to teaching for the next year. The new school year is a welcome respite from daily tending and concern about the proper amount of sun, rain, wind or other natural happenings.
Nancy Harper-Smith
Family and consumer science teacher
Marshall High School
Northside ISD
Northside CTA
Blanco
Treasured family time
I am spending two weeks of my summer vacation with my husband, Robert, who works year-round as a private contractor for the Department of State training the Afghan police in Kabul. We will go to San Antonio and visit Fiesta Texas, the Riverwalk and the Alamo. My son, Patrick Lynn, will also celebrate his 10th birthday. We are so excited!
The separation is very hard, but we spend a lot of time on the phone and webcam. My husband, a former police officer with 14 years of service, ends his workday just as we are beginning that same day of the week here at home. The summers are hardest because that is when we would normally be doing lots of outdoor activities as a family, such as camping, four-wheeling, canoeing and bike riding. We don’t do these things as much now because my husband was always the leader on these trips, organizing everything, packing and loading supplies, and maintaining equipment.
My son has chosen to honor his stepdad twice this year in his schoolwork. He wrote about his stepdad when the topic of a benchmark writing test in his classroom was “who do you admire.” In addition, his writing teacher has allowed her students to write and illustrate individual books, and he dedicated his to my husband. My son is an excellent student, and it saddens us when he doesn’t get those “great job” hugs from his stepdad for making the honor roll or winning awards at school. However, we have already planned my husband’s trip home to be with us at Christmas, and he will be back home permanently in May 2008. We just try each day to continue to look toward the future and remember that this separation will help us to save money for college tuition.
Kim Ramsey
3rd grade teacher
Bloomburg ISD
Texarkana CTA
Texarkana
From the books to the beach
Like everybody else, I’m drained after nine months of teaching, but I also know myself pretty well, and if I actually took the entire summer vacation off, I’d be bored within a few weeks. I like being active. I guess that comes from going straight through college and graduate school as an adult, which included as many summer classes as I could take. Therefore, I will work this summer.
The 2005-06 school year was my first full-time teaching assignment. When my principal asked who wanted to teach summer school, I said I’d be interested. I’ll do the same again this year, as well. I discovered last summer that the atmosphere is much more casual. Summer school only lasts four weeks, and the half-day schedule allowed me plenty of time at home, but more importantly, I relished the relationships I developed with the students in summer school.
So, while my colleagues are already enjoying their summer break in the first week of July, mine will only be commencing. After 10 months of teaching, I will finally take a vacation. Usually my husband and I take a two-week RV trip to another state, but this year we’re parking our home away from home on the Gulf of Mexico in Port Aransas. I’ll remain there for three weeks (one without hubby). I’ll read for personal pleasure, work on some writing, walk the beach with my delightful miniature poodle, Pepe, and relax while revitalizing myself for another 10 months of teaching.
Angela D. Brown
Grades 6-8 English language arts teacher
Yantis Middle School
Sulphur Springs Area CTA
Quitman
A positive impact
This summer, I have been offered an incredible opportunity to help write K-grade 8 curriculum for Travelocity.com. The purpose of this curriculum is to educate future generations about making good choices that will leave a positive impact on our environment. Sabre Holdings, the parent company of Travelocity, is trying to encourage teachers to incorporate environmental education in the classroom by implementing a “Be a Hero...Go Zero!” program that helps cancel out carbon emissions.
Jessica McDonald
5th grade language arts
and social studies teacher
Hatfield Elementary School
Northwest ISD
Member-at-Large
Justin
An anniversary to remember
My husband and I are celebrating our 30th anniversary with a trip to Europe. We will visit London; Amsterdam; Heidelberg, Germany; Lucern, Switzerland; and Paris, France. We are very excited to have this opportunity and look forward to many new adventures.
Claudia Hicklin
Early Childhood teacher
Hamshire-Fannett Elementary School
Hamshire-Fannett CTA
Beaumont
Reading, writing and persistence
I am a beginning doctoral student at the University of North Texas and am honored to be a teaching fellow. I will be busy this summer teaching a course in Technology in the Arts and a workshop for the Teachers Art Education Association on using Photoshop and creating a brochure.
As a student, I will learn how to help disabled special education students learn art. This will be a full-time two-week course that will challenge my insights on how to teach a diversity of students and grow as an educator to become more aware of the needs of students.
After my classes end, I will take one month off and write articles for magazines in an effort to become published. Lots of reading, lots of writing, and lots of patience and persistence will consume my entire summer. This summer, I will challenge myself and grow as a person.
Cindy Hasio
Teaching fellow, doctoral student
University of North Texas
Student member
Lewisville
Grandbabies galore!
I am a 1st grade teacher and have just completed my 8th year of teaching. I was a stay-at-home Mom for years and got my degree when I was 41! So, my summer will consist of GRANDBABIES! My husband and I will kick it off with a trip to St. Louis to see our oldest grandson graduate from high school. While there, we will have the opportunity to see six of our grandchildren. I can see Six Flags and Cardinal baseball in our future as I write this. Later in June, we will go to a family reunion in Missouri and spend time with my parents. From there, we will head to Lubbock and visit three more grandbabies! Then on to Little Rock for the birth of grandbaby #10! I will go to the National First Grade Conference in San Antonio, which will be held in Texas for the first time. I’ll catch up on some reading, work in my classroom and do some things at home.
Cathie Self
1st grade teacher
Harrison-Jefferson-Madison Elementary School
Calhoun County CTA, Port Lavaca
Power to the people
I have started my own business. It is a start-up electricity business that will allow me to make a little extra money while educating the general public on how they can do the same or save money on their utility bills. It gives me great satisfaction to know that I have helped someone out, especially if they are elderly, on a fixed income or one of my students’ parents, who need a break too.
Elda S. Cuellar
6th grade science teacher, Intermediate School
Progreso ISD
Member-at-Large, La Feria
A special summer for two Moms
This summer I will be enjoying time with my daughter who will be 8 months old when school lets out. I plan on working on my new house and taking long walks in the morning with Mikayla in her stroller. I also hope to take a few workshops, like my CPI refresher, and go to the ESL/BE annual conference. Hopefully this will be a relaxing summer with little disruptions and one that I will always remember because of Mikayla.
Jennifer Weaver
Grades 5-6 special education teacher
Content Mastery Center
Dillingham Intermediate School
Sherman CTA
Sherman
This summer, I will be working on my MOM degree raising my first son, Davian Lorenzo Freire, born April 27, 2007. With 10 years in education, I will return to the role of student as a new mom and look forward to a lot of hands-on experience. After a summer in “Mommy Boot Camp,” I’m sure returning to teaching will seem like a piece of cake.
Aurora M. Gonzalez de Freire
Bilingual Instructional Specialist
Galena Park ISD
Galena Park CTA
Houston
A mix of work and play
I will be spending my time teaching Early Childhood for special needs children in the Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities. I get to work with a slightly different group of children while earning extra money. The day ends by noon, so I will still have time to read those books or relax. One son will be starting college and another graduating from high school, so the extra money will be a necessity this year (if I have any left over after the electric bill).
Vicki Liggins
Early Childhood teacher
Locust Park Elementary School
Abilene CTA
Abilene
Getting it together
I’ve put off so many goals I want to accomplish, and there’s no good excuse for that. This summer, I plan to get it together. Aside from lesson planning, I want to work on my hobbies, which include belly dancing classes. One day a student asked me, “How long have you been dancing?” I replied, “About four years.” He then asked, “Well, how come you’re not a professional yet?” He had a good point. Although becoming a professional takes time, I haven’t been practicing as I should. This summer, I plan to set a strict practice schedule.
I definitely need to make more space at my home to practice and study. I will clear out and organize the clutter in my home so that I have the space I need to work toward my goals. I love fitness and also want to be a nationally certified aerobics group instructor.
Relaxation is a necessity. I plan to watch movies, read for enjoyment and chill. In addition, I plan to go to the opera and watch dance and cultural productions at a free outdoor theatre.
I regularly tell my students to set and accomplish their goals. I need to set a good example.
Sherry Hill
Reading teacher
Lomax Junior High
La Porte CTA
La Porte ISD
Pasadena
Posted: 06/12/07
