TEACHER GOODBYES8 May 2011The Galleon

Au Revoir!Don’t subtract us from your memories!

Years at Spanish River: 27Fondest memories: Pep rallies when the prin-cipals dressed up and performed stunts; when the Tiburon was delivered by a parachutist; the wonderful drama productions; the excitement of seeing the faces of students as I told them they passed the math portion of the FCAT and that they could graduate; the thrill of watching former students proudly marching across the stage to receive their diplomas.Highlights of Spanish River career: Being Teacher of the Year twice; seeing students be-lieve in themselves, gain self-con  dence and become more successful in school; working as a peer teacher.Words of wisdom: “Believe in yourself. Set your goals high because you CAN attain them. Remember that knowledge and education can never be taken away from you, so make the most of your time at school. You have the rest of your life at work!”Plans for retirement: Traveling with husband and visiting children in the Four Corners of the US; pursuing hobbies of quilting, card making, sewing, baking, and reading; volunteering in the community.

M a r y M i g n a n oGeometry

M a r yM e l l g r e nFrench

Years at Spanish River : 20 Fondest memories: The years I advised teams who competed in the Palm Beach County Envirothon and competitions in the Palm Beach County Science and Engineering Fair; getting to know the students and parents on a more personal level which gave me the oppor-tunity to see some students shine who never thought they could.Highlights of Spanish River career: The stu-dents and the faculty. The River has the best!Words of wisdom: “Accept the challenges in life. Embrace them and own them. Even if you fail outwardly, you have grown inwardly.”Plans for retirement: Waking up later; travel-ing with husband; reading the pile of books I’ve squirreled away for my free time; taking classes on quilting, cake decorating and pho-tography; volunteering with a dog rescue group.

BYE-ology (noun) You’ll still be in our heart!

S u eD e v i c kBiology

We wi$h you the be$tD e n n i sS w e e t a p p l eBusiness

A2+B2=C U Later!

C h u c k M e l l g r e nGeometry

Many of Spanish River’s most

esteemed and sea-soned teachers are

retiring. The Galleon is honored to feature these � rst-class edu-

cators and their experiences at Spanish River.

We will miss you!

Years at Spanish River: 24 Extracurricular: DECA coordinatorFondest memories: My fondest memory was when the Sharks DECA students won   rst place in the nation.Highlights of Spanish River career: Seeing DECA grow to where it is today has been a highlight. I feel my years here have been like being with family. We’ve grown together over the decades.Plans for retirement: I plan to play golf and travel to the Mediterranean with my wife.Voices from the class: “I will miss the passion he has for entrepreneurship and marketing. He’s obsessed!” - DECA student junior Sydney Solomon

Photos By Julie Bergman and Ilana Weisman

Many of Spanish

Years at Spanish River: 26 Fondest memories: My fondest memories are those involving my own children who at-tended Spanish River. Watching our oldest daughter, Angela, play in the marching band and win a design scholarship from the Kiwanas Club; watching our second daughter, Lisa, par-ticipate in leadership activities and play on the tennis team; watching our son, Eric, play on the soccer team vying for the state soccer champi-onship.Highlights of Spanish River career: Being chosen as 2009-2010 Teacher of the Year by the faculty and sta� ; being awarded three scholar-ships from the French government to study in France, which was a wonderful learning experi-ence for me.Words of wisdom: “Never lose sight of why you are in high school and how your experi-ences here will a� ect your future.”Plans for retirement: I plan on traveling exten-sively, visiting our children more often, enjoy-ing the time to pursue my current hobbies and developing new ones, as well as volunteering. I’m also hoping to tutor French and Spanish.

Years at Spanish River: 26 Fondest memories: The “thank yous” I receive from former students.  They acknowledge that the  math skills they learned in my class have been useful in both college and their working environments. Re� ections on Spanish River career: I found teaching to be a very challenging job requir-ing me to develop di� erent skills for a di� erent environment.    Patience and  building a good rapport with the students became a top priori-ty. Knowing what I know now, I would have cho-sen the teaching profession from the start.  I will miss working at one of the   nest high schools in the country.  In the corporate world, Span-ish River would be referred to as a “World Class”organization.  Words of wisdom: “Some of your courses may not seem useful now, but there will come a day when you’ll be glad that you took them and learned from them.”Plans for retirement: Just read my wife’s letter, she has it fairly well laid out for me.  It’s been a great ride. (Wave at me if you see me riding my bike!)