From: Linda Staten Moore

Date: 1/10/03

Hope all is well.  Things here in Vero Beach are a little chilly.  We dipped into the 60's last week.  I know, I know. I've turned into a first class wimp.  However, I do miss the obvious change of seasons, including the first few snowfalls.  News to report:  our daughter Suzanne, 22, graduated from Florida State with a degree in psychology last April and is now living and working in Daytona Beach.  She works with the mentally ill, and she functions somewhat like a case worker.  She's the one who makes sure they have food, clothing, and shelter.  You get the picture.  She is engaged to be married next January, 2003.  Our son Matthew is 28 and is a gourmet chef working in a private club here in Vero Beach. He remains a bachelor.  My husband Gary is retired from the active Presbyterian ministry and works for a local funeral home. I am still teaching freshman English (remember Mrs. Hinds).  I work with students of all ability levels, but my primary responsibility involves the gifted and talented.  Students who wish to take Advanced Placement coursework in eleventh and twelfth grades apply  to our program as eighth graders so they can receive the rigorous preparation they need to pass the exams and obtain the college credit.  In addition, I am the English department chair, team leader, coordinator for gifted, school advisory council member, and basically anything else they can throw at me that they don't have to pay me extra for!  Fortunately for my school board, I'm a real sucker. I love what I do, and I consider myself among the lucky few who do what they love and get paid for it!  I also do some freelance writing for educational publications and edit educational films.  I work with the Laura Riding Jackson (a poet) Foundation that encourages teen writers to publish their work.  Funding for public education in Florida is extremely tight, as I suppose it is elsewhere, and our governor (Jeb Bush) and his croni! es have decided that the way to bring Florida schools up to par with other excellent schools across the nation is force us to do more with less funding.  Of course, we do get some kickback from the lottery, but for every dollar the lottery gives us, our state legislature cuts a dollar out of their budget.  Go figure.  There has to be a better way.  Hope everyone had a great winter holiday.  I did.  The beach was a little windy, but the sun was warm.  Red tide prevented swimming.  I think of you all very often on my walks and remember the good times we all had.  Many of us didn't realize what good times they really were back then.  But I think Mr. Strahan, Mr. Collins, Mr. Cooper (remember how young he was!  what a geek!  Mr. Cooper, if you read this, I really mean that you were the best kind of geek ever!  I finally learned algebra from you), Mr. Bingamon, and Miss Dean did a great job without all the technology that our kids enjoy now.  Less was more.  But I ramble.  Take care...all honor to our school!  Sincerely, Linda Staten Moore