Barnsweitzer, Cinnamon and Pumpkin, Education, Fenton Art Glass, Gardening, Harry Potter, James Taylor, Lord of the Rings, Wizard of Oz
I'm sure the first thing on your mind is why in the world did I decide to use the name "Barnsweitzer" on the title page of my website. We'll here's the story. As I was creating this site for my Educational Technology graduate course I wanted to come up with a catchy title, something that represented me. I started to think back and remember some nicknames I had in high school and after sifting through a few I remembered "Barnsweitzer." When I was in high school Chemistry class, I was partnered with a great lab partner named Jeff Fleming. He and I found Chemistry class to be quite trivial and worked through labs and balanced equations with great ease. We were quite amazing to the jocks positioned next to us during lab time. For them banging chests on the football field came with ease, but determining the volume of an irregular solid was altogether different. These jocks insisted we would grow up and become world-renown scientists, but we needed more "scientific" last names that would suit us. Therefore, I, Jen Sakers (Maiden name - Barnhouser), became "Barnsweitzer" and my friend Jeff Fleming became "Flemingstein." I don't know whatever came to Flemingstein, but Barnsweitzer changed her major from Environmental Science to Biology and Secondary Education to encourage many future scientists.
I have had the privilege of being surrounded by animals my entire life. The list includes: Yorkshire Terriers, Chickens, Hamster, Gerbils, Fish, Frogs, Pigmy Goats, Geese, Cockatiels, Parakeets, Budgies, Connor, Cats, Miniature Horses, Chameleon, and of course my dogs Cinnamon and Pumpkin.
The picture on the left is Cinnamon at about 3 months old and I know she has all of you fooled into believing she is sweet and innocent. She had me fooled too. Her birthday is on April 20, 2004 and the picture on the right shows her at about 1 1/2 years old. I love her dearly, but she has committed more than her fair share of crimes. Her rap sheet includes eating shoes, chewing on furniture, stealing food, deflating stuffed animals, and destroying a PS2 controller. Despite these antics I love her anyway and hope to have many more years with her by my side!
This picture on the left is of Pumpkin at about 3 months old and she is also guilty as charged. Her birthday is on April 27, 2006 and the picture on the right shows her at about 1 1/2 years old in her snow gear. She is a wonderful companion to Cinnamon and they are good buddies. When she is happy to see people she will smile at them...no joke. : )
School has always been a part of my life and I doubt I will ever be totally separated from it. My great-grandmothers taught in one room school houses and my maternal grandparents were outstanding teachers as well. My mother, who teaches in kindergarten in Frederick County, is truly the best teacher I have ever known. I know what your thinking, of course I would say things like that for she is my mom. However, I assure you any teacher, parent, administrator, and child can learn many things from her.
My education did not begin in kindergarten nor did it begin in pre-school. My mother was gracious enough to stop teaching and stay home to invest in my brother and I. I started kindergarten when I was four years old at Winfield Elementary School in Carroll County. It has recently been renovated and looks nothing like the tiny school it once was.
Following these years, I moved on to Mount Airy Middle School for my awkward middle school years. Like many other middle school students, it was a difficult time in my life, but slowly I began to develop talents that drew me away from teasing kids. I had a wonderful music teacher who encouraged my continuation of singing and she encouraged my ease of playing the acoustic guitar. My father even bought me a wonderful acoustic guitar which I still have.
I then moved on to South Carroll High School which was full of exceptional teachers who genuinely cared about the well-being of their students. There I enjoyed singing in musicals, the chorus, ladies ensemble, the madrigals, and became part of the bandfront of the marching band. In addition, I enjoyed a wide variety of science classes which encouraged me to seek a major in science.
Therefore, I started at Towson State University in the fall of 1992 as an Environmental Science major. Though I truly enjoyed this field, I decided I would rather teach others to love science. So my sophomore year I changed my major to Biology and Secondary Education. By the time I finished in 1997, I was eager to begin teaching.
I was hired in early June as a sixth grade math and science teacher at Sudbrook Magnet Middle School. During my 8 years at Sudbrook, I taught every math and science curricula, was the mathematics department chair, and coached 24 and MATHCOUNTS. I also finished my Master's Degree in Science Education and a Mathematics Secondary Education Certification from Loyola.
I am currently enjoying my fifth year at Perry Hall Middle School and am teaching 8th grade mathematics. I am also coaching MATHCOUNTS again this year and am looking forward to working with students I taught previously in the sixth grade.
Collecting Fenton Art Glass has become my passion since the summer of 1998. This glass company has been around since 1905 and is located in Williamstown, West Virginia. I have visited several art glass companies with my family since I was little and unfortunately several of them have closed. Yet, Fenton remains a very strong company. I enjoy visiting Fenton and the great Williamstown Antique Mall at least three times a year. My mother, husband, and I also attend the annual NFGS convention each August and have tons of fun! The rest of my collection I acquire as presents, auctions on Ebay, and carefully combing antique malls. My favorite pieces to collect are green opalescent hobnail which were made from 1940-1941.
Though I do not limit my collection to any particular color or style, the majority of my collection includes pieces made from 1940 - 1970. The main reference I use is The Big Book of Fenton Glass (4th edition) to identify and price my pieces, but I have ten other books to learn more about Fenton glass. The following pictures are just a few items made by Fenton glass during this period. Enjoy them and if you would like any further information, please feel free to email me.
Since my husband and I moved into our little home in Owings Mills, Maryland we have been enjoying our large yard, trees, and gardens. We have continued to expand these gardens and worked hard again on them this summer. Pictures will be coming soon!
My husband encouraged me to try the Harry Potter books and I must say I enjoyed them very much. I have read some of them more than once and would also recommend listening to them on CD.
I would recommend the stories to anyone who enjoys an adventure/fantasy theme. I would suggest the following websites:
http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com/harrypotterandthehalf-bloodprince/
My favorite rock singer and songwriter is James Taylor beyond a shadow of a doubt. I have had the wonderful opportunity to see him seven times in concert and it has been outstanding every time. With the help of my husband, I have been able to start a collection of James Taylor items including photos, magazines, tickets, posters, shirts, and autographs.
If you would like to learn more about him, try these great sites.
http://www.jamestaylorweb.com/
One of my favorite presents was a copy of Lord of the Rings. Though it took me a long time to read with my crazy schedule, I enjoyed every moment of it. I truly enjoyed watching the trilogy in the movie theatre and watching the extended editions at home. The following website is great as well: http://lordoftherings.net/.
I have acquired 22 different autographed cards, pictures and posters from various cast members and am always on the lookout for more items to add to my collection. I have enjoyed playing several Lord of the Rings games on our PS2.
Ever since I was a little girl I was totally entranced by The Wizard of Oz. I have watched the movie countless times and still find it as entrancing as I did when I was a young child. When I was in the fourth grade I played the Cowardly Lion in a school play and even got to sing "If I Only Had The Nerve." The following picture was taken from a website called The Wizard of Oz. If you like the MGM production of The Wizard of Oz, you will love this site.
When I was in middle school I became engrossed in the Wizard of Oz series written by Frank L. Baum. He wrote fourteen books offers anyone a great escape from the real world, especially an awkward middle school girl like I was. I am trying to collect old books from this series, but they are rare and expensive. If you find any old hardback copies of these books or any other great websites, please email me!
