Amazing Visitors
Ms. Brandee Thomas Visit
By Karen G., Emely Z. and Jennifer G-G.
Who was she? What is this tall lady doing here? On one suprising Wednesday a REAL reporter from the newspaper (Gainseville Times) stepped into our classroom. The repoter's name is Brandee Thomas. She was born in Brunswick-South Georgia.
Few of the questions asked:
* Who inspired you to become a journalist?
She answered, "Don't most people say they get inspired by their mother? So, I guess my mother inspired me to become a journalist."
*What is the best story you ever heard?
"I have heard a lot of stories that are very good but the best ones I were the stories Carmen Agra Deedy told you because she was really funny."
It was really exciting day for us young reporters to learn from a real journalist!! Having a great time with Brandee Thomas is awesome you should try meeting her one day. She is really busy but she was really funny and she was happy to meet us the YOUNG REPORTERS!!
It was really exciting day for us young reporters to learn from a real journalist!! Having a great time with Brandee Thomas is awesome you should try meeting her one day. She is really busy but she was really funny and she was happy to meet us the YOUNG REPORTERS!!
After the interview we took group pictures.
This reporter wrote the inspiring article on Carmen Deedy's visit to our school, on April 16, 2010. This is a great example of what good writing looks like!
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FRIENDS OF LYMAN HALL
Our school is very blessed to have volunteers, such as, Lorraine Henderson, Mary Anderson, Nickie DeVellier and Margie. These wonderful ladies have donated their time and several items to our needy families (book bags, school supplies, winter clothes/shoes, food essentials, teachers' treats), in addition to their talents as tutors and readers.
Thank you for all you do!
Thank you for all you do!
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Interview: Ms. Lois Myers by Alberto R.
First, Ms.Myers announced, "The best part of work are the students, without the students in my job I would be sad and this group of students is the best I've ever had." She also explained that her family is very close with her and that is the best thing in life and to be happy everyday and that her family and her are their own best friends. Ms.Myers also replied living with happiness and doing things she likes to do are her lifelong dreams.
Next, she even shared that when children don't succeed she is sad because she feels she didn't teach them enough and that she takes that very seriously. Students need to be successful. Ms.Myers exclaimed that she did not see herself as a principal, she actually saw her self as a math teacher and she did the REP Program and a lot of coaching. After that she went straight to the administration office to become a principal. Ms.Myers said Oprah Winfrey was her hero because she thinks that Opra had a tough life and that Opra Winfrey even became famous with her hard life.
Then Ms.Myers announced that she is fairly organized and her calendar is very messy because she has to much to do on her schedule but it keeps her organized. She remarked,"that being happy and doing something worthwhile are the best goals in life." Finally, she explained that Mr.Mickey McCoy was the one who inspired her to be a principal and he used to be her boss when she was in the office as an assistant principal.
Interview: Mrs. Lane Moore by Cesar Adrian G-A
Mrs.Moore, a teacher at Lyman Hal,l announced that she loves teaching 5th grade students, and that she also loves teaching her students how to become better writers. She has been teaching for over four years, and has always succeeded. Her responsibilities are to keep children safe. This is what she said, ''My responsibilities at Lyman Hall are to keep children safe, keep them focused on what they are learning and also teach all Georgia standards.'' Mrs. Moore also keeps track at school by attending meetings and by planning along with other teachers. 
If she had won the lottery, one of her options would be going on vacations. She also said that she would shop at Mall of Georgia, or buy her students stuff they liked. ''If I win the lottery, I'd rather go on vacation , go shopping , or buy my students stuff they all like.''
Mrs. Moore confessed things she uses to keep herself organized are the book shelves, cubbies and a lot more. She uses her homework system which allows her to find the students' homework easily. This is what she said, ''Students turn in homework in a homework system I use.”
Mrs. Moore's hero is her grandma. She always played with her all the time. Her grandma also helps homeless people, so her grandma is very important to her. Her greatest fear is plane crashes. It reminds her of the Twin Towers when they got destroyed in 9/11/01.
Also money is not important to her. Mrs. Moore says that she feels already blessed. She called out that the only thing she needs is her family. She is also sure that she has the three important things she needs love, strength, gladness.
One of her options for choosing this "amazing" career, is because when she was little she wanted to be a nurse, but she was afraid of blood. So, next she asked herself, "Hey why not be a teacher? Now guess what she grew up to be?”
Finally, Mrs. Moore announced that to be successful you need to put time on the job. You also need to try and give good lessons, or at least try your best. Plus what you need to have lots of patience.
Interview: Mr. Tony Villarini by Rebecca F.
Mr.V has worked at Lyman Hall for 12 years now. He would describe himself as a very outgoing person that really had fun in his life. He has a very big spirit inside him.
He loves playing golf and he dresses up like that. He really didn't like to wear jeans. His style was golfy because he liked the way it looked and because he liked playing golf with his friends .
He likes to play music so he went to college and wanted to be a music teacher because he enjoyed playing a lot of music and teaching. So he finally got his choice to become a teacher at Lyman Hall Elementary School.
He said, "I really wouldn't like to be famous because if I would go to McDonalds people wouldn't let me eat and and keep on bothering me the whole time while I was there."
Mr.V's heroes would be his mom and dad. He is always looking up to them sense he was a little boy. Since he is big he is still looking up to them and he would never stop.
Mr.V's goal is to teach kids and be a musician at the same time. He said he really loves both of them. He told by the time he moved here, he really didn't speak ENGLISH. A teacher named, Mrs.Baxter was his teacher when he was very little. He told me that Mrs.Baxter would help him talk english and she would tell him how to make friends. Mrs.Baxter is now teaching Kindergarten in this school. Mr. V's favorite instrument is electric guitar.
He really felt like waking up everyday to see a bunch of little kids and teaching them all about music and instruments. On the end of Specials he always plays a short song to the little kids on the piano.
Interview: Ms. Sonia Sidenstricker by Jennifer G-G
Ms. Sidenstricker declared that her teacher Mr. Moles, in 5th grade, was the one who inspired her to become a teacher. When she moved to GA she didn't like school and Mr. Moles also made her think it was important. 
Ms. Sidenstricker declared that she was nervous when she started teaching Pre K because she had four year old students, but it felt excellent. Ms. Sidensticker admitted that she started her career in 1996. She also stated that her favorite class was social studies.
Ms. Sidenstricker said that the favorite advice that she gave to a student was "things are not always fair and you have to find a way to make it work. If you don't get along with someone that you can find a way too."
She also declared that her favorite hobby is traveling because she likes to see different places, taste different foods and she likes to see different cultures. Ms. Sidenstricker answered that she went four and a half years to college to become a teacher.
She decided to become a teacher when she was 13 years old. If she had a superpower it would be if she touched a student the student would understand what she said. She told me that her favorite author was Maurice Sendek who wrote Where The Wild Things Are.
Interview: Ms. Kelly Symmes by Karen Nancy G.
Ms. Symmes declared that she liked being a teacher because she liked to work with children and liked to learn new things. She also admitted that the advice she would give to her students is that take their time and do not panic. She also wanted to teach third grade because she wanted to work with young children because she already had two big kids.
Next, Ms. Symmes also said that she likes to do on weekends is to hike, read and visit family. Her favorite hobby is baking and eating food especially food with sugar. Ms. Symmes quoted that she was excited and scared the first day of school because she did not know where every thing was in the school.
She also mentioned that nobody in special inspired her to become a teacher; she declared that she felt that she was supposed to be a teacher. Ms. Symmes also told me that she spent six years in college. Finally, she also had two heroes: it was her great aunt because she always had patience and always let people have a chance to talk. Also her brother because he always liked to visit family.
Interview: Connie Clark by Lizeth G.
Wow! Mrs. Clark is an understanding teacher. The first question was easy to answer. She responded, ''No, I never taught any other grades than 1st and 2nd grade, but I was a paraprofessional in Kindergarten.'' When I asked her what made her change to being a 1st grade teacher to a 2nd grade teacher she answered, ''I thought it would be so cool to have the last year's students that I had in first grade in second grade."
Her third answer for my question, she admitted that she was very proud of her career and she loves teaching kids. Well this fourth question didn't take long for her to answer; she confessed, ''The hardest subject for me to teach to kids is writing, because I want to be with everyone at once." When I asked if she has achieved all her goals so far she said, "No, not all of them." She also commented that if she were to go back in time she would never change her career because she loves working with kids.
She answered that her biggest mistake is not having enough homework printed. My next question for her was how she wants to improve for next year. "Well," she said, "I hope to be more organized for next year." When I asked her what makes her think that teaching kids is a great job for her, she responded that she loves to see the children grow and also she enjoys when they love books and reading, too.
I asked what irritates her the most about her job and she confessed that not having enough time for each subject is what irritates her. Well, I loved interviewing Ms.Clark. I thought she would get nervous telling me everything, but she didn't.
Interview: Ms. Nicki Almaraz by Annette A.
My next question made her think for a while, but she responded that if she were famous she would give more money to teachers to buy school supplies.
In addition, she admitted that she wanted to improve in finding new ways to teach the kids about money, because some of her class was having a hard time with it. Ms.Almaraz bragged about her assistant Mrs.Jo. She said that Mrs. Jo was a wonderful teacher. She also announced that she uses a lot of techniques to keep her class organized, such as, always line up in lunch order, the students have their own supplies in crayon boxes, and her kids always work with the same groups.
Her greatest fear as a teacher is when the light bulb (on the child's brain) doesn't turn on. She also said that a teacher should be liked, because when a student fears a teacher, he or she won't take a risk or be scared to ask a question. Her last answer was that she and her class like to wiggle and sing songs when they were done early or were good. I hope I get to interview her again, in the future.
Interview: Ms. Sally Fairchild by Emely Z.
Ms. Fairchild just started being a teacher four years ago and hopes she can still be a teacher many years. Her hero was Professor Jobeth Allen because she loves writing and taught her how to write better. She also taught drama in Middle School.
Ms. Fairchild says the Kindergarteners are mostly tired when they go to her class so they just do fun things, like play games. Ms Fairchild thinks she already has her ideal job
A person who made a difference was her daughter because she had a disease. The doctor said she would not be able to walk anymore. Her daughter demanded, “Yeah? Well, watch me!”
In college she learned to be a smarter person than she was. If she was the Principal, she would let there be MORE field trips and let the specials teachers go, too. In her spare time she likes to go hiking. Her proudest achievements are raising her own children.
Interview: Mrs. Margie Harris by Daniel Ca.
Ms. Harris's interview took place in her classroom on Wednesday March 24, 2010. She said that she started teaching in 1989. She also announced that she attended Lyman Hall when she was a little girl. She chose this career because she always wanted to teach. Mildred Simmons was one of her teachers. Mildred was a person who made a difference in Ms. Harris's career. 
Then, she described herself as flexible. Jesus Christ is Ms. Harris's hero because she is a Christian. Raising children and teaching are her accomplishments in life. Her dream was to be a teacher and she is living her dream happily.
Later, she said that she thinks that you need to be serious and focused as a teacher. If Ms.Harris won the lottery, she would help her family move to the mountains and travel. However, money is not important to her.
Finally, Ms. Harris replied that her responsibilities are being a mom and a grandmother. She uses notes to keep herself organized. She admitted that her greatest fear is snakes. She is still 12 years old at heart!
Interview: Ms. Ashley Tatum by Johana Jazmin M-Z.
To begin with, Ms.Tatum said that she would see herself still teaching in five years and hopefully married. She wants to achieve getting a higher education and be an administrator. Ms.Tatum believes it takes hard work, flexibility understanding and an open mind. She said that her career has prepared her for seeing other peoples point of views. 
Second of all, Ms.Tatum's biggest problem was that she doesn't have enough time to teach her students all they need to pass the CRCT Test. Her love for children inspired her to be a teacher. For fun she likes to go camping and going to the beach and baking also spending time with her family.
Lastly, her biggest decision was choosing a career. Ms.Tatum feels very safe and good about our school; she thinks we have a safe staff and children. Ms.Tatum thinks that she is very proud of the achievement that she has made to be a teacher.
Interview: Mrs. Sara Escamilla by Joel B.
I had to do an interview Mrs. Sarah. The first question was how she became the leader of YMCA. She announced that she had to do an interview and she responded to the people that she was going to be quick-witted and help kids learn. The work she does best having fun with kids. 
Next, she said to be successful in her career you have to be patient, respectful, and responsible. Mrs. Sarah told me that the YMCA program helps students with tutoring, P.E make the kids be healthy, and to be friends. When she was a miniature girl she enjoyed to read and ride her bike.
She would like work at a school for the rest of her life. Mrs. Sarah chose this job to help kids learn and make kids that their loved. She replied that kids are having fun with the YMCA program. Her favorite sports are soccer and volleyball. Finally, her goals are that she has is to own her own classroom and help kids learn.
Interview: Mrs. Debbie Blake by Daniel Co.
She advised that she grew up playing sports and studied P.E in college so that is how she got the idea of being a teacher. She taught P.E in high school and elementary schools. She remarked that her job is very fun because she gets to teach the kids new sports. 
She states that she loves Lyman hall very much. She replied that she wanted to teleport to the Bahamas because it is a beautiful place. She announced that she wanted to go back in time to fix a mistake because she made a lot of mistakes.
At first, she wanted to be a teacher and get her daughter through school. She explained that when she has a problem in class she tries to get children to respect each other. Her hobbies are swimming and boating. She is very happy the way she lives because she has everything she needs.
