YWCA Salute to Women

This is the big week - the TV interview, the banquet, and all the rest. Here is the TV interview.

Salute to Women

"I'm Just Snooping!"

Um, yes. Yes, you are!

I work late one night a week and this week I chose Wednesday. It was almost 6:00 and I had been plugging away since 3:30 and getting a lot done.

I had heard some kids down in the hallways about ten minutes earlier, which is not too unusual as after-school activities include both Girl and Boy Scouts, basketball teams, and the like. I assumed it was that and kept working.

Suddenly, a woman boldly strode into my classroom and began looking around!

Clearly, she didn't see me. My desk is in a corner and against the same wall as the door, so if you don't turn your head to the right as you enter, you may not see me.

And she didn't.

"May I help you?" I asked, and the woman jumped, turned to look at me, and put her hand over her heart. Then she began stammering.

"Oh, I am so sorry. I am just snooping. My daughter will be in your class next year... I just wanted to look around. I know I shouldn't be here... I am just snooping."

I wasn't happy because yes, she WAS snooping and no one, kids or parents, are supposed to be in the classrooms after school. But some who are in the building for those after-school activities take advantage of that, just as this woman was doing.

Not wanting to rub salt into the wound, I tried to put her at ease and chat, inviting her to stay and look around, but she was so embarrassed, I don't think she heard anything I said. She kept apologizing profusely and hurried out and back down the hallway.

Quite an introduction to your daughter's next teacher!

Channel 18 Interview

My innovative husband filmed the taping of my interview for the YWCA's Salute to Women. Cameron Hardin, the interviewer, will process it and add some pictures that I gave him, and the interview will air Monday on WLFI.

The Kids' Christmas Gift

Our kids all went in together on Craig's and my Christmas gift in December. What did they decide to do? Send us down to Indianapolis to the dinner theater at Beef and Boards!

Normally on Tuesday nights we head down to Indy for a different reason - to serve in the temple. But the temple is closed for cleaning and so we were able to go see the show this week instead.

The buffet was down where the stage would be set up and had an assortment of main dishes, sides, and a salad bar.

 We had box seats which meant we were facing the stage and had a private table .

The food was yummy - I chose chicken kiev and roast beef, but ended up giving Craig the beef as I just could not eat it all.

Dinner was served at 6:00 and the show began at 8:00, so it was nice and leisurely. We could not take photos during the performance, but we saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, one of our favorites!

Thanks to our family for a wonderful Christmas gift!

Lucky Sarah!

A friend of Sarah's gave her a tip as to where she might see some nesting Great Horned Owls. Yesterday she drove out and stopped for what she thought was just a quick peek.

Well, she certainly hit the jackpot.

 She saw what she initially thought was a cat's ears sticking up in the brush.

 Then realized it was a Great Horned Owl!

 Its mate was up in the trees above.

Now, seeing one owl is terrific; two is a double bonus. But then...

 a herd of deer wandered into the meadow with an albino fawn among them!

Talk about your Marty Stouffer moments!!

Is it any wonder that Sarah and her family love living in Colorado?

Blue and Gold Banquet

When a student invites me to a non-school event like a recital or sports game, I consider it a real honor that they want to include me in their life outside of school, and so I make every effort to go when that happens.

GG invited me to attend his bridging ceremony in Boy Scouts at his troop's annual Blue and Gold Banquet Saturday night. I was all the gladder I'd agreed to go when I pulled up into the parking lot at Camp Cary and saw GG and another of my students, CP, outside waiting for me to arrive - GG's mom had said the two boys had been texting each other in excitement about my coming, and that excitement was obvious.

 My students GG, CP, NN, and other Hershey student D.

GG's family had saved me a seat while the boys got to sit at the table of honor in the front of the room. (Left to tight: CP, D, NN, and unknown.)

 Left to right: GG, unknown, CS.

I had bought the boys some S'mores candy bars as a gift for their bridging and luckily I bought an extra bar - I had not realized that Nikhil was a part of the troop. 

In the course of talking to all three sets of parents during the evening, it really brought home to me how something so small for me such as attending an event could be so meaningful to my students as well as to their families. It reminded me yet again of the far reaching impact teachers can make on their students, and how precious, even sacred, that opportunity is.

Acknowledgement

Every family is different, and the way they handle life can vary widely, even to families within a family. And doing family history research has recently brought that home to me.

My great grandparents, Frederick and Marilla Wing, had a family joke about their children. When Marilla would be asked how many children she had, she would say, "I have seven sons and each of them has a sister." People would gasp and ask, "You have fourteen children?" and she would laugh and explain that there was one daughter, Clara, and she was the sister of each one of those boys.

But I discovered that there was actually an eighth son who was born fifteen months before my grandfather, Earl.

Infant Honeywell, born October 13, 1900.

Aside from an entry in the book Willett Honeywell wrote, no mention is made of him in anything I can find, at least not yet. And certainly when my grandfather and his family talked about themselves, this one was not included as a family member.

We, too, "lost" a family member when Sarah placed Isaac for adoption. We did not know that his family would reach out to us eight years later and invite us to be a part of his (and their) lives. But even so, I acknowledged Isaac when asked how many grandchildren I had, and I do so today. I often add, "... but we lost one... " to my response, and most people assume that means one grandchild died and politely do not ask any questions.

No doubt my great grandparents had their reasons for not talking about this baby. But, I have found him and will make sure he is sealed to his parents in the temple.

Not Forgotten

My great grandparents homesteaded western Kansas in the late 1800s/early 1900s. They had nine children, eight sons and one daughter.

One son died at birth.

I cannot find any record of his name or how long he lived. Just a solitary headstone with "Infant, Son of Mr. and Mrs. F. R. Honeywell" and the date, October 13, 1900.

I am trying to find his birth certificate as the date I have in the genealogy book his brother, my great uncle Samuel Willet Honeywell published in 1971, does not match. There, the date is October 13, 1898. 

His father, my great-grandfather Frederick Robert Honeywell, is buried in the same cemetery.

So this little infant is not alone.

Still, I cried when I found him in the book and then again when I discovered a picture of his headstone.

He is not forgotten. I will take Infant Honeywell to the temple and see that he is sealed to his, and my, family forever.

Rest in peace, Great Uncle.

Finding a Dress and Forgetting

My friend, Kathy, who nominated me for the YWCA Salute to Women award, has been very helpful as I get ready for the March 1 banquet. 

The general announcement has gone out; and the pace of things things is picking up!

This morning she and I were texting about appropriate dress to wear. Since she has won the award before, and also travels all over the country due to winning the Indiana Teacher of the Year and being Top Four nationally, she has a lot of experience in dressing for banquets.

We had several texts back and forth about what I was thinking of wearing, and then I had to laugh when I got this one from her:

"Blind lady" jumped out at me. And yet here we were discussing clothes and colors and things that you see, just as I would with anyone else.

I find it amazing that Kathy is able to make me forget she is blind, but I am glad of it, too. To me, she is just a friend, albeit one who is the kind of teacher I aspire to be, and one with many accomplishments to her name.

That is how I see her; not as a "blind lady." 

What a lesson she has just taught me.

HASTI Conference

One of the perks of winning the PAEMST award was that it "opened doors" (as my principal is fond of telling me.)

I was given a membership in HASTI, and my fees for their annual conference were waived!

Thursday I started with the keynote address by Dr. Kenneth Wesson, a neuroscientist. The standing woman in the picture is Ginger Shirley, president of HASTI and a high school science teacher in Albany, Indiana. I met her at the PAEMST awards and have corresponded with her several times. The other lady is the president of the National Association of Science Teachers; I got to chat with her a bit, too.

It was a thrill to sit in a large conference room with other science teachers and scientists from all over.

There was lots of good information everywhere, and I was glad I had brought my laptop for notes because I can type faster than I can write.

This cartoon from Dr. Wesson made me smile.

I will be presenting in a staff meeting about the conference in a few weeks, so I tried to get information on all grade levels to share with my colleagues.

These two different cards about the engineering design process are an example of that.

Indiana has added engineering design to its science standards, and so I tried to focus on those, too.

Another smile - doing a project in a seminar that was very close to something I just did with my students! I must be on the right track.

I had planned to attend Friday's sessions as well, but I got a migraine Friday just before I was to leave. That was disappointing; hopefully I will be able to go next year again.

The News is Getting Out

The press release has gone out, so I can speak more freely about the award I won. It's the YWCA Salute to Women, an award for community service. My school corporation's newsletter just sent a notice. Here's a cut and paste:

February 3, 2017

Newsletter for employees of the Tippecanoe School Corporation

YWCA salutes two TSC educators YWCA Greater Lafayette will present a Salute to Women award to several individuals who have made a significant, positive impact in our community. They include TSC Instructional Coach Sarah Powley and Hershey Elementary School teacher Lynn Isenbarger. Sarah and Lynn will receive a "Woman of Distinction" award during a celebration March 1.

Pictured left: Sarah Powley with some McCutcheon graduates. Pictured right: Lynn Isenbarger with her 4/5 high ability students.

Orchard Employee Dies

There are several people who worked for my parents at the orchard that I remember well from my childhood - Johnnie Spencer and Carolyn Stokes. Carolyn just passed away. As I read her obituary, it made me smile to read the mention of my family's orchard.

Carolyn L. Stokes

Carolyn L. Stokes, 71, a lifelong resident of Brookston, passed away at 5:05 a.m. Wednesday, February 1, 2017 at home surrounded by her family.

She was born January 8, 1946 in Lafayette to the late Dale and Dorothy (Grandstaff) Dyer and was a 1964 graduate of Brookston High School.

Her marriage was to Fred D. Stokes on June 28, 1964 in Battle Ground, Indiana. He preceded her in death on July 28, 2007.

Carolyn was a loving mother and devoted homemaker.  Her family was most important to her and she enjoyed cooking and baking for them. For many years she worked in town as a baker helping make cakes and other baked goods.  She also enjoyed working for McClean's Apple Orchard in the Brookston town store; they would always make sure to have a basket of free apples out by the store front door for the local kids.

Carolyn enjoyed playing cards in the Psi Iota Xi card club and loved playing BINGO on Wednesday nights at J&J Roadhouse and the Knights of Columbus. She was a proud member of the Monticello Moose Lodge and the Monticello Friendship Club.

Surviving are three sons, Kevin Stokes (wife: Carey) of Burnettsville, Kenny Stokes of Brookston and Karl Stokes (wife: April) of Brookston and a sister, Judy Phillips of Brookston. Carolyn loved spending time with her grandchildren, Mason and Collin Stokes and her many nieces and nephews. Also surviving is a sister-in-law, Beverly Stokes of Valparaiso.

Preceding her in death are two brothers, Jim and David Dyer and an infant twin sister, Marilyn.

Friends may call from 4-8 p.m. Thursday (Today) February 2, 2017 at Hartzler-Clapper Funeral Home of Brookston. Funeral service 10 a.m. Friday, February 3, 2017 also at the funeral home; Rev. Lelan D. McReynolds to officiate.  Interment to follow in Brookston IOOF Cemetery. 

Rest in peace, Carolyn.

The Glue Guy

This guy loves his glue.

Actually, he doesn't. At least, no more than anyone else does. But glue and CP have been a running joke all year in my classroom. And yesterday he decided to take things up a notch as you can see from the picture!

It started in August when I noticed that every time he needed to get something out of his desk, he would have to move an over large glue bottle out of the way. He did this by setting it on his desktop. And CP being CP, he would then forget to put it away and so it would sit out until I reminded him to do so.

One thing led to another, and now it is just one of those funny things we all laugh about - CP and his glue sitting on his desk.

Yesterday he decided to make a "glue statement."

YWCA Woman of Distinction

In late December, Kathy Nimmer called me and told me she wanted to nominate me for the YWCA's Woman of Distinction award. Given annually to several women who have been of service to the community, my mother had won this award so I knew what it meant and was a little taken aback. While I do try to serve and give back, so do a lot of people. I accepted the nomination, but I did not think I had a chance of winning.

Then a phone call and this letter came a month later:

I was told that I could tell my family but to not put it out on social media or tell anyone else. A press release went out yesterday and I then got a call from Sue Scott, TSC's public relations person, so I knew word was beginning to get around.

 Linda surprised me this morning by making an announcement in our morning staff meeting.

She bought donuts and had the Hershey celebratory tiara and feather boa all set to go.

Maple - my favorite! 

Next up was going on morning announcements so that Linda could announce it to the school.

 That boa was a little scratchy. 

 My class was seated down front, cheering me on.

I didn't do much, but it was still nice to celebrate with the school.

There is a banquet March 1, and in the meantime I have to get some photos together and write a bio for the program. I will be interviewed by the newspaper and the local TV station, too.

I am very, very honored to receive this award. To be classed with my mother in service to the community is very meaningful to me.