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Shared In Topic: Update from Berne, NY

Oct 14, 2013 2:02am UTC

Hi Everyone!

It's been great reading everyone's posts. I wanted to catch up to all your wonderful messages and take a few minutes to introduce myself with a little more detail.

I am originally from Brooklyn, NY. Brooklyn is a section of NYC. I lived in various parts of NYC then moved to upstate NY. 

I'm a 4th grade teacher and have been teaching for 12 years. This is my third career, having worked as a documentary photographer (many years ago!), and in public policy in NYS regarding child welfare and early education. Having a son inspired me to become more involved in the learning process of young people. So...I got certified and began to teach. It is the most challenging job I have ever done, and most rewarding. I am thrilled to be broadening my involvement and awareness of education by entering into this project.

I regretfully don't have any student pictures or creations to share with you. I have just begun to gather students for the after-school club that will be the "class" of students I will be working with. Next Thursday will be our first meeting.  I did, however, take a few pictures of the school and its environment to help to at least create a visual sense of place from which we will be communicating. Our garden is new, and we hope to make it bigger this year. The view of the school is from the backyard where students take recess. I wanted you to see the beautiful hill that faces our school, and all its vibrant fall coloring. As others have already mentioned, the fall season this year on our east coast has been absolutely beautiful. The road is one I travel every day, colored by the fall foliage. Our school is located in the "hilltowns" of Albany, NY, named so because of the many hills and rambling land that surrounds us. Albany is the capitol of NYS.

Many of our students live on small farms, or near farmland. I have had the pleasure of receiving fresh eggs from my students on a weekly basis, as they raise chickens as a hobby, or their  family's income includes the sale of eggs. I have had students in my class whose family also raises dairy cows, and beef cows. Our area is rich in Native American History, and the history of some of the earliest settlers in the country, being only 25 miles from the Hudson River. We have a 6 million acre Adirondack park in which I hike as often as I can. There are 46 high peaks there (mountains over 4,000 ft to over 5,000 ft). I have hiked 30 so far and hope to hike all 46.

I am particularly enthusiastic about the notion of communicating with people near and far. I have traveled to many of the countries in Western Europe several times, living for while in France. During my career in public policy, I also had the privilege of traveling to Nicaragua in the late 1980s with a social work delegation. My husband has been to Israel, and my son has made several trips to Mexico, as well as Barcelona and Iceland. So, we are a family that cherishes meeting people from other countries and learning about their life experiences. You  can imagine how happy I was to find this organization, and to begin to hear from all of you, see pictures you have sent, and read your greetings!

I'm looking forward to sharing more in the future.

Best,

Agnes