Mr. S Summer 2007

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Mr. S with NJEA President Joyce Powell and other Monarch Teachers at the NEA Convention in July

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A Bald Eagle on the Camp Discovery Delaware River Rafting trip

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Miss Dio and Mrs. Smallwood building butterfly cages at a Monarch Teacher Workshop

Hi everyone,
I hope that all of my students from last year have a great time at the Middle School. Don't worry I know that you will all do well. I can't believe the summer is over either. Right after school ended I attended the National Education Association (NEA) Convention in the historic city of Philadelphia, Pennsyslania. Upon my return from the convention I worked at Camp Discovery at the Middle School in July, I then took the entire month of August off to what everyone knows is my real passion, Monarchs Butterflies. I volunteered at three 3-day Monarch Teacher Network workshops in Great Meadows, New Jersey, Bergen County College in Paramus, New Jersey and Belmont Elementary School in Prince William County Virginia. The Virginia workshop was awesome. I met a lot of great new teachers from Virginia and stayed at the home of Ms. Suzanne O'Neill in the historic city of Manassas, home to one of the largest Civil War battles. The trip gave me the opportunity to re-connect with some of my friends from my previous Mexico trips like my group leader Eric Mollenhauer and my dear Mexican friend Marcos Garcia who came all the way from Mexico for the workshop. There were also three teachers that came down from Ontario Canada. These 3 teachers I first met at my very first Monarch workshop that introduced me to this wonderful Monarch Project. While in Virginia we not only took part in the workshop but we all had the opportunity to go into Washington D.C. one evening where we ate dinner at the famous Mexican restaurant "Oyamel" named for the Oyamel Tree in the Mexican Monarch Sanctuaries and then we visited the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, the Korean War Memorial and the magnificent World War II Memorial. I was proud to share in my history with my colleagues from Canada and Mexico.

After I returned home I went on vacation to Colorado with my family. We visited my wife's sister, who lives about 30 miles outside of Denver, we also went to the largest water park in the U.S. called "Water World" and we spent a day in the mountains where we drove up to the top of Mount Evans which at 14,264 feet is the 13th tallest mountain in Colorado and is credited with having the tallest auto road in the United States. At the summit, with wind chill it was 27 degrees. I posted some pictures from my summer I hope you enjoy them.
Mr. S

large view Mr. S explaining how to tag a Monarch butterfly at a Monarch Teacher workshop	large view Who is that guy on the left dressed as a Harlequin Moth?
large view All of the Monarch Teacher participants in Great Meadows, New Jersey	large view All of the Monarch Teacher Participants in Bergen County, New Jersey
large view Ms. Brenda Stride, 4th grade teacher from Ontario, Canada, Marcos Garcia from Mexico and Mr. S.	large view Larry Brindza a scientist from the Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory Monarch Research Team
large view Mr. Brindza shows how he weighs a Monarch that he caught and tagged for further research.	large view Mr. Brindza shows how he measures a Monarch that he caught and tagged for further research
large view Monarch Teachers out for a night with Albert Einsten in Washington D.C.	large view Ms. Suzanne O'Neill from Virginia, Marcos Garcia from Mexico, Ms. Anne Powers from Canada and Mr. S.
large view Participants at the Virginia Monarch Teacher Workshop	large view On Vacation in Colorado... BRRRR!!!
large view My family on Mount Evans in the Rocky Mountains	large view Check out who we bumped into on Mount Evans
large view Scenes like this one surround you in the Mountains in Colorado	large view Mr. S., my son and Uncle John at the very summit of Mount Evans! What a view!
large view Me and my son and daughter. See the Mountain Goat behind us?	large view A Mountain Goat... Incredible!!
large view We also saw these Long Horn Sheep that came right up to our car!	large view Long Horn Sheep have horns that they keep all their lives, unlike antlers on a deer that fall off
large view A beautiful Colorado Rocky Mountain sunset!