By Cassie Laifer

We will have a new

superintendent when we return
to school next year. Her name
is Dr. Diana Bowers. Dr.
Bowers was kind enough to
give us the following e-mail
interview so we could get to
know her efore !eptemer.
Cassie Laifer" How do you
alleviate stress#
Dr. Diana Bowers" When $ am
at work% $ spend time with
students. $ can tell you that
spending time in classrooms
always makes me smile. $ love
to see the work that our
students are involved in and
their growth throughout the
year. &utside of school% $
exercise% cook% and spend time
with my family.
C.L." Who are your role
models#
D.B." $ would have to say my
mother is at the top of the list.
'dditionally% $ was always
enthralled y (arie Curie and
her work as a scientist so many
years ago. Her work helped us
learn a lot aout some of the
more important scientific topics
that we deal with today. $ would
also include two colleagues that
$ have worked with in my
career% Dr. )homas Higgins and
Dr. (ar*orie Castro. Both
helped me learn aout children
and learning% and made me
passionate aout what $ do.
C.L." What type of work
environment do you prefer#
D.B." $ en*oy working in a
happy place where people feel
that making mistakes is part of
the learning process. $ also
elieve that you are never done
in your +uest for excellence and
the collective wisdom of the
group is necessary to get as
M e e t O u r n e w s u p e r i n t e n d e n t
I N S I D E
T H I S
I S S U E :
Haldane ,arden -
D$. Column /
0rost 1alley 2% 3
!pecial )eacher
$nterviews
4
!ummer 5u66les 7
H A L D A N E
M I D D L E S C H O O L
Summer 2014 Volume 3, Issue 3
True Blue Tribune
close to excellence as possile.
C.L." What is a time that you
had to go aove and eyond to
get a *o done#
D.B." $ hope that this is a daily
occurrence. (y elief is that $8
we need to model the type of
work ethic that we hope to see
in all memers of the Haldane
Learning Community. $f we ask
students to give it their all% we
have to do the same. 's an
instructional leader% $ elieve
this egins with me.

C.L." What was a ma*or
ostacle that you were ale to
overcome in the past year#
D.B." 't this time in education
history% we have to think way
outside-of-the-ox in order to
keep the learning environment
as productive as we can%
despite all of the financial
ostacles that we have to
contend with. !tudents have
only one chance at each grade
level. We have to make sure
that their experience is as good%
if not etter% than the students
that came efore. We need to
come up with solutions to
prolems that we are faced
with. )his year% as well as in
prior years% this was an
important task that took
precedence.

C.L." What is your greatest
strength#
D.B." $ love to cook and
garden% and $ think $ am pretty
good at oth. $ also try to e a
9good listener.9

C.L." What is the most
important thing you think
Haldane students should know
aout you#

D.B." When $ make decisions it
is always with students in mind.
We are here for you.
(oreover% my door is always
open. $f there is a suggestion or
a concern that you want to
share with me% please let me
know. $ will try to do whatever
is in the est interest of the
students% your school% and the
district. $f what is eing
suggested can:t occur% $:ll
explain why and we:ll look for
another solution.

C.L." Do you have any pets# $f
so% what kinds#
D.B." (y most recent pet was a
0rench ulldog name &tto% that
unfortunately is no longer with
us. He lived for ten happy years
and was always a little it
naughty.

C.L." What are you going to
miss most aout working at the
Hamilton !chool District#
D.B." )he Hamilton !chool
District is a great district with
terrific kids. $ will miss the
people that $ have worked with
over the past eight years. )hey
have enriched my life and
taught me many life lessons.
Goodbye nd Good Lu!"
Mrs# $idl nd Mrs# %GOlins"i&
'ou will be G(EATL' )issed&
By Bridget ,olderg
Bridget ,olderg" When did the garden
start#
;ory <iesterer" $n -==> ground was
roken to clear the weedy area and
uild raised eds% construct a fence% etc.
(any people from the community
helped volunteer their laor to get the
garden started.

B.,." Who were the first people to
think of8start the ,arden#
;.<." $n -==7 a group of parents and
students got together and egan
dreaming.... they approached Hudson
Highlands Land )rust and Haldane
!chool 0oundation for start-up grants
and also got planning help from Dave
Llewellyn% ,lynwood:s 0armer.

B.,." When did you start working on
the garden and why#
;.<." When my son started
;indergarten in fall of -=?? my
neighor told me aout the garden and
asked me to get involved. !he knows
how much $ love plants and thought $
could help out so $ decided to
volunteer for the 5)' garden
committee and have een ever since.

B.,." Did Haldane ever have a garden
efore this# $f so% how did it end and
why#
;.<." .ou might need to interview staff
who:ve een at the school for many
years to answer this@ 0rom what $ know
there was not an official garden efore
this one ut there was a ed outside the
B? classroom that 5'CA! students
tended. )he - eds in front of the
elementary entrance were always
planted y ;indergartners. Bo one can
rememer how the old greenhouse was
used - that would e another great story
to research. Bo one even knows how
old it is. $:d love to find some old
yearook pictures of the greenhouse
when it was first used to find out what
students grew in it - maye that would
lead to an answer aout other gardens
in Haldane:s history. $ know during
WW$$ the C! government promoted
:1ictory ,ardens: e planted in schools
and communities throughout the C! to
make sure there was enough food to go
around. (aye Haldane had a victory
garden#@

B.,." How many classes are
contriuting8have contriuted to the
,arden#
;.<." 's of this year all classes in ;-2
now participate in the garden during fall
and spring :garden month: activities.
(r. Wick:s 4th graders have
participated a lot this year since the
greenhouse was renovated% and in past
the AcoDevils have helped out% as well
as after school Aco;ids and garden
enrichment classes. 0rench and !panish
classes have used the garden% (rs.
,eller:s students have worked in the
garden since the very first year it
started% and other enrichment classes
like art and creative writing often use
the garden for inspiration. !tudents in
A!8(! mainly use the garden. We
would like H! students to get involved
too. Can you elieve there are some H!
students who have never even walked
through and seen the garden# )here is a
great flat grassy space next to the H!
that looks *ust perfect for a huge
vegetale garden - maye in future a
group of H! students will start a garden
on their own@

B.,." What is the most i6arre plant in
the garden#
;.<." Well% that depends on who you
ask@ Bi6arre is a su*ective word. !ome
people think it:s cra6y to have tropical
plants in the garden like a anana or
giant elephant ears D)arosE% others love
the surprise of the heart pea plant
ecause each seed pod has / tiny seeds
with the shape of a heart on each. Last
year the Dr. !euss ed had a lot of
i6arre plants in it - one was a plant in
the milkweed family with ig spiky
alloon-shaped seed pods and the other
was a type of Celosia DCockscomE that
looked like a human rain. )he yard
long eans that covered the willow fort
looked like creepy Halloween fingers to
some people% and the carnivorous
H l d n e G r d e n
pitcher plants are always ama6ing% plus
the giant Dinosaur gourds that look like
caveman clus. )oo many to list% so it is
hard to say - ut we:re always looking
for cool plants to grow that will spark
student wonder. &ne of the est places
to find i6arre plants is to visit a
otanical garden% it:s like visiting a 6oo
ut instead of seeing exotic animals%
you:ll see exotic plants@ $f students ever
have ideas for cool plants to grow we:d
love to hear from them.

B.,." What is your favorite part aout
the garden#
;.<." $ love how it is constantly
changing - every season in every year is
different. )here is something ama6ing
to discover each time you walk through"
a walking stick ug% a cool shaped seed
pod% a surprise flower that self seeded
from last year% volunteer s+uash
growing out of the compost pile% aphids
covering a stem% giant spider wes%
yellow finches hanging upside down off
sunflowers% hummingirds% unexpected
leaf color cominations% a perfect
cucumer hiding so it won:t get
picked... the more time you spend in a
garden the more it speaks to you% the
more it reveals its eauty and
complexity as an ecosystem. ' garden
is a whole small universe teeming with
usy life. When you tend a garden% you
ecome part of that other universe
during those moments.

B.,." D'outE how many plants are in
the garden#
;.<." )his is the toughest +uestion
anyone has ever asked me@ Bo idea.
Well over a hundred - there are the
plant varieties we delierately plant
Dwhich $ could spend a long time
countingE plus all the native Dand
invasiveE plants the naturally grow in
the garden:s haitat - there are as many
:weeds: as desired plants out there@ $f a
class wanted to guess plant species
alone y counting how many different
ones grow naturally in a few randomly
selected s+uare feet and then
multiplying that y total s+uare feet in
the garden - $:d love to know@
.
H o w t o ) " e w e s o ) e t e e s * o r
S u ) ) e r : A D o + I t + ' o u r s e l * C o l u ) n
By Laura Cosma
The Knot Top
(aterials"
F a shirt you donGt mind cutting up
F a washale marker
F scissors
F ruler
!tep ?" Cse the scissors to cut the sleeve
aout ? cm away from the sowing line.
Dsave the sleeves for a later pro*ectE
!tep -" With the marker% draw a straight
line to mark the waist line. )hen% draw
two even triangles elow it.
!tep /" 0ollow the lines you made to cut
out the shirt% ut e careful not to cut out
the triangles@





0inal step" Cut out the triangles in the
ack% knot up the front% and work it@







Back Cut Top
Fshirt
Fscissors
!tep ?" 0old the shirt in half

!tep -" (ake a cut aout an inch away
from the neckline and keep making cuts
slightly igger than the one efore.
'nd youGre all done@@@








Braided Bracelet
Ft-shirt sleeve Dfrom eforeE
Fscissors
Fneedle
Fstring

!tep ?" Cut the sleeve into / different
pieces







!tep -" Cut each stripGs end% then knot
them together Dmake sure theyGre all e+ual
lengths@@@E
!tep -" Braid them together.

0inal !tep" !ew the ends together and
wear it with whatever you want@
What was your favorite
activity and why?
H(y favorite activity was the
hike ecause $ love exploring
the wilderness.I -(ichael
HJip lining ecause of the
adrenaline rush you get when
you drop.I -1K
H(y favorite activity was the
hike. )his is ecause it was a
great way to connect with
nature and fully appreciate your
surroundings.I L'melia
H)he night hike ecause we got
to walk around and see the
river at night.I -Bicole
HJipline% ecause itGs
awesome@I -Kulian
H(y favorite activity would
either e the night hike or
canoeing. )he night hike was a
lot of fun ecause we played
games and went to the lake and
watched frogs. But $ liked
canoeing ecause we started
hitting each other with the
oats and got soaked.I -'igail
H$ loved the 6ip lining ecause
$ am afraid of heights and $
could face my fears.I -$ssy
HJip lining was the est
ecause you were so high up
and going so fast.I -'idan
H)he rock climing% ecause it
challenged me.I -,eorge
H)he four hour hike ecause it
was fun% and we ended up with
a really nice view.I LBella


H(y favorite activity was
oating ecause it was fun and
re+uired team work.I -'ndrew

What was one of your
favorite meals?
H!ausage and eggs.I -Brett
H$ loved the pancakes.I
L'manda
H)he tacos and urritos.I
-Brandon
H)he last lunch which was
pi66a.I LClaire

If you could, would you go
again? Why or why not?
H$ would love to go again with
my grade.I -Dylan
H$ go for summer camp there
every year% and encourage
others to go as well.I -(ax
H$ would go again ecause it
was fun to e outdoors with no
electronics and have all your
friends around.I -Ka6myn
H.es% $ think it was a good
experience to get out of your
comfort 6one.I -Courtney
H'solutely% it was the most
fun $ have had with my class in
a long time and $ already miss
it.I LDaniel
H$ would go again ecause itGs a
good way to get outside.I
L!am
H.es ecause the activities
were really fun and $ want to
take pictures of the waterfall.I
-Bick
, r o s t - l l e y ( e * l e ! t i o n s
What was the scariest
activity? Why?
HHigh ropes ecause the rope
was woly.I -'llison
HCliming% ecause $ hate
heights.I L'nthony
HCliming wall% ecause
sometimes you slip or the rope
isnGt tight and you feel like
youGll fall.I L'idan
HHigh ropes ecause the log
moved.I -(aken6ie
H)he giant swing ecause at
first it felt like you were
falling.I -Kared
H)he giant swing was scary ut
exhilarating at the same time
and totally worth it@ )he worst
mistake you could possily
make is not going.I L&livia
H)he giant swing ecause $
donGt like roller coasters and it
felt like one.I LAmily
What is something you
disliked about the trip if
anything!?
H$ didnGt like that we had to
leave so soon.I -,ai
H$ really only wish that we
could have sat with anyone we
wanted to at lunch.I -'ey
HWe had to come ack to
school on )hursday and
0riday.I LBicole
H$ had to clean up% which $
disliked.I L!elena
H$ didnGt like the night hike.I
-(acken6ie

By Curtis Huer
"rs# Contini

C.H." How long have you een
working at Haldane#
D.C." !ince ?>7-.

C.H." Have you taught any grades
or su*ects efore this#
D.C." $ spent two years in a Ctah
elementary school efore coming
to Bew .ork where $ taught
and% strings M guitar. $ did one
year of grades 2-7 and in six
Bew Kersey Catholic schools. $
also worked for one year at <ye
(iddle8High !chool teaching
and% including marching and.

C.H." What is your favorite unit to
teach and why#
D.C." $ don:t have a favorite
ecause the est thing aout my
*o is the variety--from 2th
through ?-th grades% from
Beginning Band through High
!chool% from 9Hot Cross Buns9
to Ka66 Band. $t:s *ust lots of fun@

C.H." What is your favorite
memory of teaching and why#
D.C." $ *ust love 9my9 kids which
not only include the ones $:m now
teaching ut the ones $:ve worked
with these past /=N years which
includes many Haldane parents
and teachers. )he music is
wonderful% oviously% ut the
personalities and the interaction
with the students is my favorite
part.

"r# $chepisi

C.H." How long have you een
working at Haldane#
K.!." )his is my /rd year.

C.H." Have you taught any grades
or su*ects efore this#
K.!." $ have taught 3th and 4th
grade !panish and freshman8
sophomore 0rench.

C.H." What is your favorite unit to
teach and why#
K.!." $ like teaching the fale unit
in !panish ecause students create
their own uni+ue fales.

C.H." What is your favorite
memory and why#
K.!." (y favorite memory is when
we had the !CB. 'lany
representative visit last year and
how the students did
phenomenally well with the
lesson. We recovered our CH!
certification that year@

"r# Caldiero

C.H." How long have you een
working at Haldane#
).C." ?2 years.

C.H." Have you taught any grades
or su*ects efore this#
).C." $ have taught grades ;-?-%
as well as college undergraduate
classes.

C.H." What is your favorite unit to
teach and why#
).C." $ en*oy teaching aout
fitness% health and wellness.

C.H." What is your favorite
memory and why#
).C." $ would say my favorite
memory from teaching is the
relationships $ uild with the
students.

"rs# %offman

C.H." How long have you een
working at Haldane#
).C." $ have een teaching at
Haldane for 2 years.

C.H." Have you taught any grades
or su*ects efore this#
).C." Bo% ut $ worked as a
childrenGs lirarian in a pulic
lirary.

C.H." What is your favorite unit to
teach and why#
).C." )his year% $ really en*oyed
creating wesites with my 4
th

grade students. $ en*oyed seeing
them take pride in their work
throughout the year% and sharing
that with their family and friends.

C.H." What is your favorite
memory and why#
).C." (y favorite thing aout
eing a lirarian is when $ see
students get really excited aout
great ooks@

M S S p e ! i l T e ! . e r I n t e r / i e w s
M S S p e ! i l T e ! . e r I n t e r / i e w s
"rs# $torey

C.H." How long have you een
working at Haldane#
).C." $ have een at Haldane for
-7 years. $ work with students in
grades 4 through >.

C.H." Have you taught any grades
or su*ects efore this#
).C." 2 $ worked in a private
school in Buffalo% B. when $ first
egan eing a counselor. )here $
was also the Director of
'dmissions.

C.H." What is your favorite unit to
teach and why#
).C." (y favorite unit to teach in
the seventh grade guidance class
deals with stress and strategies to
manage stress. $ especially en*oy
practicing the meditation
techni+ues with students.
C.H." What is your favorite
memory and why#
).C." $ have many favorite
memories within my work- usually
several a day% at least. )hey
involve watching students help
one another% seeing someone use
a strategy to etter him8herself%
and all the humor that comes
from eing around such lively
people.

"r# $ciba

C.H." How long have you een
working at Haldane#
D.!." )his is my -?st year teaching
at Haldane.

C.H." Have you taught any grades
or su*ects efore this#
D.!." $ have een fortunate to
have taught Oth and 7th grade
math% science% social studies and
science. $ also taught >th grade
earth science. $ts een great to
have had the opportunity to teach
many different su*ects ecause $
love to learn.

C.H." What is your favorite unit to
teach and why#
D.!." $ thoroughly en*oyed
teaching aout the 'merican Civil
War. $ have always een
interested in the Civil War from
the time $ was a kid% and $ have
read extensively aout it over the
years. When $ was in the army% $
was fortunate to e ale to walk
every Civil War attlefield in
1irginia% West 1irginia% ;entucky%
(aryland% and of course
,ettysurg in 5ennsylvania. $ had
so much fun teaching that unit for
?O years.

C.H." What is your favorite
memory from teaching##
D.!." By far% my est memory of
teaching was when two of my
former social studies students said
that they were inspired to ecome
social studies teachers themselves
after having een in my class.
S u ) ) e r $ L n s
H(y favorite en*oyment of
summer will e sleep.I - Liam

H$ plan to hang out with friends
and go to sports camps.I -Luke

H)his summer $Gm going to go to
California% go to asketall camp%
read Alsewhere /% go to
!plashdown% and see my est
friend from 0lorida.I -(elissa

H$Gm going to the each with my
cousins and my ffs. 'lso $Gll get
present ecause itGs my irthday@I
-&livia

H&ver the summer $ willP $ have
no idea@I -)heo
H$ am going to go swimming.I
-anonymous

H$ plan to map the woods in my
ackyard.I -<andall

H$Gll spend most of my time at the
lake near my house.I -Hudson

H$Gm going to (aine% Lake
Compounce% (assachusetts% and
Hershey 5ark. $Gm also going to
hang with my friends at my pool.I
-(eghan

H)his summer $ plan to go to
'ri6ona% 0lorida% )exas%
!plashdown% and hang out with
friends a lot@I -5arker
H)his summer $Gm going to
Boston and Cape Cod% my
rotherGs aseall tournaments%
swimming% and hanging out with
my friends.I -'shley

H$ am going to at least four camps
this year and maye one sleep
away camp in 1ermont.I -!ofia

H$Gm going to sleepaway camp in
(aine.I -'nneke

H$ am going camping on an island
in Lake Champlain where there is
a lot of huge fish to catch.I -'lek


)heo Bates
Laura Cosma
Bridget ,olderg
Curtis Huer
Cassie Laifer

(rs. Hoffman

0En1oy your su))er2
see you ne3t yer&4
HALDANE MIDDLE SCHOOL5S
T(UE BLUE T(IBUNE STA,,
1 . L a s t D a n c e 2 . F o r C r y i n g O u t L o u d 3 . I n g r o u n d P o o l 4 . N o T V f o r a e e ! " . # i g $ F r e % u e n c y & . ' i t ( ) s