No Bullying in MED Schools…. That`s Our Goal

June 2011
Volume 46 Number 3
No Bullying in MED Schools…. That’s Our Goal
Marie Sainz-Funaro, OFT President
Dr. Marie Sainz-Funaro
We can all agree on one
thing…..kids must feel safe or they
can’t learn. That’s simple enough.
Getting there is not quite as simple.
Schools must be places where students can thrive without fear of any
kind. We must all make a special
effort to guarantee that our students feel secure, respected, and
valued. Anything that gets in the
way becomes an education issue!
OFT is committed to making our
schools safe-havens. OFT is partnering with AFT, the parent organization of OFT, and has officially
launched our national program
―See a Bully, Stop a Bully: Make a
Difference.‖ At its recently held
convention in May 2011 in Tirrenia,
Italy, OFT launched its own antibullying campaign by making a
commitment to work with the military and other community members
on all of our bases in the Med.
Early in the fall, a local OFT representative from each school will
be visiting with each base commander to ask that they work as
partners. As part of this campaign blue wrist bands will be distributed in all of our schools.
When students see their teachers
or anyone wearing the blue wristband, it will serve as a signal to
students that they are not alone,
that school is a safe haven, and
they can turn to and depend on
their educators to deal with bullying and harassment.
AFT will bolster the educator
training program that has been
provided for years with an online
collection of resources,
downloadable materials, and links
to partner organization on the
AFT website. AFT President
Randi Weingarten sent a very
clear message when she declared that, ―Bullying has become
a constant reality for our children
in this age of the Internet. We
must do all we can to work together as parents, school officials, school staff, community
leaders, nonprofit and private
groups, and especially other students, to make it clear that we will
not tolerate bullying and will do
everything we can to prevent it.‖
Inside this issue:
ExCom Meets
2
LUR Assembly
3-5
2011 OFT Convention
5
School News
6-8
OFT Retirees
9-11
2011 OFT Convention Continued/Shake
Shake Shake!
12
Dave and Pam hand over the
newsletter to Tina Lake.
Page 2
June 2011
ExCom Meets May 12
Pam Cleaverley, Editor
professional boundaries between teachers and students
and to educate members on
possible problems, especially
with regard to texting, Facebook, and MySpace.
Finally, it was agreed that
the Question and Answer session at last year’s LUR Assembly was a great success and
should, therefore, be repeated
the following day.
OFT’s Executive Committee
Tom Birch, Virginia Parkinson, Tina Lake, Margie Lally,
Colette Grillo, Serra Coruh, Marie Sainz-Funaro, Linda Hogan, and
Eileen Kless
On May 12, the Executive
Committee held the last meeting of the school year at the
Golf Hotel, Tirrenia, Italy. After
reviewing the current grievances, the members listened
to reports from President Marie
Sainz-Funaro, European Di-
Tom Birch, Rota HS LUR, and
Marie hard at work.
rector
Linda Hogan, and
Treasurer, Colette Grillo.
Since Dave Wass and Pam
Cleaverley, editors of The
Overseas Teacher, had regretfully handed in their resignations, Tina Lake, ExCom member and Aviano LUR, graciously agreed to take on the
task.
The rest of the meeting was
spent on a variety of subjects.
The ExCom agreed that there
are continuing problems with
IT and DFAS and that the CSI
process requires educators to
devote too much time to activities and requirements that
have no bearing on student
learning.
Marie also addressed OFT’s efforts to clarify
Linda and Serra study the data.
Virginia, Tina, and Eileen reflect on
the issues.
Margie and Colette enjoy a lighter
moment.
June 2011
Page 3
LUR Assembly Gathers May13
Pam Cleaverley, Editor
on hold. She added that, rather
than wasting time trying to find
people to help them, LURs
should contact Linda and her,
who will go directly to Jeff
Friedler.
The need for professional
development was recognized.
In fact, Marie and Virginia Parkinson were scheduled to attend
the Professional Development
Steering Committee immediately after the Convention.
Tom Birch asked the group to
promote the next GIFT Masters
program, which will take place
in Rota in 2012.
One school mentioned difficulties with using ASPEN for
scheduling, and a show of
hands revealed that several
schools did not have next
year’s schedule yet. Another
school asked why teachers do
not have the rights to install up-
Linda, Alicia Bryant-James and
Buddy Leavitt, Vicenza
positive aspect was the presence
of a majority of teachers on the
committees. There was a probMarie holds the floor.
lem with resurrecting some of
them after Shirley Miles left. NevIn her welcome to the LURs
ertheless, the Virtual School was
and potential leaders, Marie recompleted, and professional degretted the absence of the team
velopment and staffing are movfrom Sigonella, who were unable
ing ahead. Overall, the program
to leave the island because of the
was costly, but some good work
activity of the volcano.
was done.
The session began with quesMarie shared a list she is
tions on a variety of issues,
submitting to the DSO to faand as usual, complaints
cilitate the beginning of SY
about IT headed the list.
2011-2012. Schools should
There are problems in the
be clean, well-supplied, with
Mediterranean District with
functioning Internet, new mabandwidth, fiber optics,
terials available, and adelack of permission from the
quate substitutes and aides.
military to use their
OFT should also know who
trenches, and MACs. Stuis on duty during the sumdents are not allowed to
mer, especially if construcuse USB devices with the
COWs and cannot use Tom Birch,Rota , Randy Stumler and Russell Sparks, tion is in progress. Vicenza
High School is the next proLajes, and Linda Edwards, Naples
Sharepoint to access their
ject to be completed. Needs
work because of Internet
for
the
21st century should be indates
on
their
computers.
Unconnectivity problems.
Marie
said that OFT continues to push fortunately, this is a military corporated into all new schools.
LURs were reminded of their
for solutions to these problems, regulation.
When asked about the right to see the school-level
but that, despite many promises,
there has been little success. status of the DOD task force budget. As a first step, they
The Med needs to be treated dif- recommendations, Marie re- should make a dated request.
ferently because of its special plied that there was some con- The next step is a formal request
problems. Until recently it looked troversy over their effective- under the statute and a message
as if the plan to replace contract ness, especially since their to OFT.
The next question was a hot
employees with GS personnel creation took away financial rewas going ahead, but that is now sources from other training. A C o n t i n u e d o n p a g e 4
Page 4
June 2011
LUR Assembly
Continued from Page 3
issue – whether there is a process for improving or removing
incompetent principals. Marie
replied that OFT does not hire
or fire anyone but that we can
raise the consciousness of their
bosses. The best plan is to
raise issues at the Local Union
Meetings (LUMMS) and keep
accurate minutes to show a pattern of problems. When all else
fails, elevate the issue.
The power of the grievance
process was discussed next.
Linda with Elizabeth Mclean and
Alicia Bryant-James, Vicenza
The duty-free lunch and the
resolution of many pay issues
are the result of grievances.
However, a grievance is not just
to prove a point. To go to arbitration, a grievance must show
the contravention of a law,
regulation, or past practice.
An OFT meeting would not
be complete without a mention
of CSI! We are still waiting for
the promised bank of assessments from the DSO. The report on CSI from OFT’s task
force is in Marilee Fitzgerald’s
hands, and OFT continues to
push the issue and to demand
proof that CSI and AdvancEd is
having an impact on student
learning.
Marie and Linda reminded
the group of the benefits of our
association with AFT.
Their
website is open to AFT cardholders and contains a wealth of
information: survey creators,
sample letters, etc. The card
also entitles holders to a variety
of savings on purchases from
car hire to flowers.
This year’s meetings had no
guest speakers from AFT since
they are all busy fighting the current attack on teachers in the
States. Indeed, the military does
not take kindly to unions but can
become an advocate of teachers
if they see the benefit to their
families. OFT is working on
partnering with the military. For
this reason, it is important for the
LUR to meet with base commanders and to raise local or
broader issues. The AFT/OFT
campaign against bullying is an
excellent subject for this partner-
Aviano group: Elizabeth Anderson,
Geraldine Claahsen, Tina Lake,
and Colleen Knight
ship and a way to show the union taking the initiative on an important problem.
Many teachers have received
debt letters from DFAS for exorbitant and unexplained sums.
Linda Hogan has been working
the problem and has compiled a
worrying set of statistics. So
far letters containing debts
from $100 to $30,000 have
been received by 156 people
in the Med. Recipients of the
first request should submit a
debt response letter and a pay
inquiry with copies of all documents to Linda. This should
halt the process.
Unfortunately, some teachers have
now received a second letter
saying that the debt is correct.
If you receive this letter, you
Ankara group: Megan Youness,
Serra Coruh, and Cheri Gildea
can petition for a hearing, and
Linda may be part of the
phone conversation. Should
DFAS begin deducting the
supposed debt from your pay,
contact OFT right away. Even
if you believe that the debt is
correct, you can still apply for a
waiver. To avoid problems,
Linda stressed the importance
of doing a reconciliation after
the first year, if you move, or if
you need to increase payment
for your utilities.
The session ended with
much positive feedback and
attendees were ready for the
dinner and dancing that followed.
June 2011
Page 5
2011 OFT Convention
Pam Cleaverley, Editor
After welcoming, the LURs, alternates, and potential leaders,
Marie reviewed the potential
leader program, which she and the
ExCom created four or five years
ago in an attempt to build leadership and to move members into
activism. Bringing so many people together each year is costly,
but it is a valuable way of using
members’ dues. It is important for
the union to have a cadre of
strong, well-informed leaders, not
just to protect benefits but also to
protect democracy. This is especially true right now in the States,
where teachers and democratic
ideals are under attack.
Professional boundaries continue to be an important issue.
Teachers must be careful to avoid
saying or doing things that might
be misinterpreted. We also have
an obligation to warn our colleagues if we see them engaging
in risky actions.
The biggest issues for OFT at
the moment are DFAS, partnering
with the military, and AdvancEd.
On the whole, the relationship between OFT and DODEA is good.
This is also true in the schools,
although there are pockets where
the relationship between the principal and the LUR is not good.
Marie can help in these places.
Linda endorsed Marie’s re-
marks and said that she has
completed several site visits
and conducted training.
She is working the RAT issue and welcomes questions from members. She
gave LURs information to
take back to their schools to
ensure that teachers’ claims
are completed and submitted properly.
Tina Lake asked why
DODEA has no handbook
on personnel issues for new
teachers. The problem is that
the regulations change. This
year there are significant cuts in
Human Resources, eliminating
their ability to send out trainers.
The possibility of teleconferences was raised.
Pam Cleaverley gave the editor’s report for The Overseas
Teacher.
There will be one
more ―bumper‖ edition this
school year. She encouraged
teachers to send in articles on
their retirees and features on the
exciting things that are happening in the schools. This is the
last year that David Wass and
Pam will be producing the paper.
It has been fun, but they are
ready to hand over to the new
editor, Tina Lake, who, with your
support, will do a great job.
Treasurer, Colette Grillo, reported that the elimination of one
LUR Assembly this year has
substantially reduced our debt
and that we should break even
next year. Since we have not
increased dues in several years,
an increase was proposed and
passed unanimously.
Colette
reminded members that OFT will
pay up to $500 for approved
membership drives, depending
on the size of the local. She
also said that the $5 rebate goes
to the local not the individual
teachers.
All 2011 resolutions were
passed unanimously and included the following issues. The
JLMC minutes would continue to
be printed electronically, but the
newspaper would be reduced to
500 printed copies. HR should
use technology (e.g. video conferences) to provide personnel
information. Payment and training for CHOs should be increased. Orders should be received in a timely fashion. Early
release time equal to a day a
month should be given for teachers to work as professional leadership teams on teacher-driven,
research-based best practices.
The CSI process is cumbersome
Vicenza OFT officials accept their
award.
and irrelevant and 70% of what
teachers are asked to do does
not affect student learning. DODEA, Area, and DSO training
should incorporate principles of
differentiation for schools and
adult learners, by identifying the
needs of the teachers on-site
and tailoring the training to those
needs. All interruptions to the
school schedule, such as TerraNova, academic, and sports
Continued on page 12
Page 6
June 2011
Million Minute March to Better Reading at Lajes
Eileen Kless, LUR, Lajes Unit School
We did it!
We
read 1,724,317 minutes in March! The
entire Lajes Field Air
Force Base helped
us far exceed our
goal. Our students,
their parents, extended family and
friends around the
world, teachers, Lajes Base
personnel, volunteer readers
at the school, and even a partner middle school in Sembach,
Germany — all worked together to achieve this goal.
Congratulations to the Lajes
Elementary High School Information Center for sponsoring
this activity.
Lajes OFT Art Auction for Charity
Eileen Kless, LUR, Lajes Unit School
The OFT Art Auction raised
over $2000.00 that will be donated
to a local underfunded Portuguese
primary school.
OFT supplied the drinks and
members brought hors d’oeuvres.
Guests created or donated a piece
of art for the auction.
Auctioneer Randy Stumler kept
the betting lively. In the fall OFT
plans to partner with school administration and the local command to repeat the success, donating proceeds to the military,
especially for wounded troops.
Stay tuned for more news in the
fall!
Culinary Arts and Spanish Classes Learn to Prepare
Paella at Rota HS
Maribel Bastidas, Union Member, Rota HS
When people think of
how to prepare it for their
Spain, they think of flamenco,
parents.
As part of our
soccer and paella. As part of
learning community, DGF
our global awareness, the Culiparent, Mr. Bastidas, spoke
nary Arts and Spanish 3
both in Spanish and English
classes participated in a mulabout the history of paella,
tidisciplinary lesson in which
its origins and the region
they learned to prepare one of
where it comes from as he
the most international Spanish
prepared this delicious dish
dishes:
paella. This crosswith the students. For many
cultural lesson had many obof the students, this was the
jectives: exposing students to Mr. Eduardo Bastidas and student Allana
first time they tasted paShelton
enjoy
their
paella.
new flavors, learning about the
ella. Both classes enjoyed this
history and culture of our host
multidisciplinary lesson that
nation, following a recipe in Span- ish, and ultimately, learning brought them closer to their host
country.
June 2011
Page 7
Grammar Idol: Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
Angela Wilson, OFT Member, Vicenza Middle School
We have all experienced
those moments of feeling
nervous or uncomfortable.
Imagine, standing on a stage,
in front of all your peers singing and dancing. Welcome to
Grammar Idol, presented on
the stage of Vicenza Middle
School on April 5th.
7th graders in Mrs. Angela
Wilson’s Language Arts
classroom were the ―bands‖
that sang their hearts out in
front of all their peers and
teachers. The students studied the 8 parts of speech indepth. The culmination activity was to write their own song lyrics about one of the parts of
speech. The students had a defined rubric they had to follow. The
song had to teach someone about
the part of speech, while being
creative and catchy.
The 7th graders spent a lot of
time creating lyrics, practicing with
the instrumental version of their
song, working on choreography,
and passing through preliminary
tryouts. Posters of the students
―bands‖ were placed up and down
the hallways. The posters featured
the students’ ―band‖ name and the
title of their new hit single song.
Overall, Grammar
Idol was a huge success. The 7th graders, although very
apprehensive at first,
really stretched themselves and definitely
stepped out of their
comfort zones. The
songs created were
extremely
creative
and catchy. All week,
the buzz in the hallways was tunes from
the recent hits, songs
Band EJ, starring Early Wheeler and Jarod
Ganci, won with their rap on pronouns.
about grammar!
Next
year Grammar Idol will
In addition to the band posters
return to the VMS stage.
and the performance of the finalists on the stage, all the bands
went ―on tour.‖
They toured
through various elementary classrooms singing their songs. The
elementary kids loved the bands
and many asked for copies of
their cd. The elementary teachers would like song lyrics to help
reinforce the part of speech in
their own classrooms. Many of
the elementary students could be
heard singing the songs as the
Grammar Idol contestants at VMS
bands left their rooms.
Anti-Bullying Video Produced in Livorno
Suzanne Sperl, Union Member, Livorno EMS
The middle school students at
Livorno have worked hard to create
an Anti-Bullying Video to spotlight
awareness on this issue. During
preparation of their video, Stop Bullying, Make a Difference, students
spoke candidly of the importance
and need for addressing bullying in
schools. Their hope is that this
video encourages open conversations within our schools so that
we may all do our part in halting
bullying. Their video can be
v i e w e d
h e r e :
h t t p : / / w w w. s c h o o l t u b e . c o m /
video/15198fb0959e160901da/
STOP-Bullying-MakeA-Difference
June 2011
Page 8
Students From El Centro Inglés in Puerto de Santa
María Visit Rota HS
Maribel Bastidas, Union Member, Rota HS
As members of a global society
and in our effort to foster communication and understanding between cultures, DGF students invited a group of
students from El Centro Inglés to
spend a day in our school. Our Spanish guests attended classes and participated as regular ―American stuSchool version of “Speed Dating”
dents‖. They painted in art class,
tests the language skills at Rota
acted in drama and even took a test in
Board games help “break the ice”
HS.
physics. The last period of the day,
with our Spanish friends.
ish and English. In return, they
they joined students in Mrs. Bastidas’
Spanish 4/5 class and participated in Spanish and American table have invited us to visit their
a variety of interactive activities includ- games. All activities required prob- school.
ing teaching each other how to play lem solving and the use of Span-
Livorno Lends an Artistic Helping Hand
Suzanne Sperl, Union Member, Livorno EMS
The Student Council at Livorno
Elementary/Middle School , under
the guidance of classroom teacher
Mr. Robinson, and with the support
and cooperation of our PTSO and the
George V. Lottier Lodge #130 at
Camp Darby, wished to do something to help relief efforts in Japan.
They decided on the idea of a Silent
Art Auction which was held Friday,
May 20, and raised $600.00.
In Ms. Sperl’s art classes, students discussed Japanese culture
and art. Knowing they were creating
artworks that would be auctioned off
to raise monies for relief efforts in
Japan, students put their hearts into
their work. Each grade level took on
several projects from origami cranes
to watercolor landscape scrolls. With
a school population of
approximately 75 students, LEMS created
over 200 artworks to
be auctioned off in coordination with our
community Asian Pacific Heritage Food
Tasting event this
month.
Student
Council
and Art Club attenMs. Sperl’s art students create works of art for
dees have also been
earthquake victims in Japan.
hard at work creating all
Our students have not simof the necessary public relations
materials so as to spread the word ply studied a new culture but
community wide. Several will be on have gained a better appreciahand the night of the auction to an- tion for how their creations,
swer questions as to how works efforts, and hard work can diwere made or the meaning behind rectly benefit another in need.
the projects.
June 2011
Page 9
Jeff Van Ausdall Retires from Rota HS
Jeff Van Ausdall, Union Member
Chief Sonar Technician Surface
(retired) Jeff Van Ausdall has been
teaching Navy Junior ROTC since
he retired from the Navy in 1996.
DGF is his sixth school in six different districts. He has previously
taught in public schools in Houston,
Texas and throughout California,
but this is his first year with DoDEA.
While at Rota MHS this year
he taught Naval Science 1,
helped with the pilot 9th grade research class, and coached football. He enjoyed his time in Rota,
but will be returning to Redding,
California at the end of the school
year to assist in the care of his
father.
Le Saupe Retires from Sigonella
Le Saupe, Union Member
I began my career in Creve
Coeur, Illinois, teaching sixth grade
and then middle school science. I
entered DoDDS in 1970 and went
to Clark Air Base in the Philippines. Our school was on double
sessions, and I shared my classroom with another teacher, teaching both social studies and science. After that year, I was able
to teach just 7th and 8th grade
science, and I introduced my students to three weeks of intense
jungle survival.
From there I
transferred in 1980 to Seoul, Korea, first as a high school science
teacher and then as a school
counselor, and in 1984 I adopted
Kathy Clark Retires from Livorno
Julie McDonough, Union Member
I know I have experienced only
one piece of a very colorful, unique
yet universal story, but I just want
to celebrate what I have seen.
Kathy Clark came to DoDDS twenty
years ago, and to Livorno in 2008.
After ten years in Okinawa, five
at Sasebo, and two in Sevilla, she
transferred to our ―tiny‖ school in
the Med. Already a mentor, she
took novice teachers under her
wing and was a practical, ―down to
earth‖ support for the rest of us.
Kathy does not mince words or
―suffer fools lightly,‖ and that is
her amazing strength and gift to
others. She is tough and smart
and her students and everyone
else who has had the luck to
cross her path, is better tooled for
whatever life has to offer. She is
retiring to Arkansas and taking
her husband Rich with her. They
both will be surely missed.
my son and daughter. I feel privileged that I had this opportunity.
In 1997 I transferred to Sigonella
as a third grade teacher and then
as the elementary counselor. I
also sponsored the Violin Club at
our school after taking violin lessons myself.
DoDDS has been good to me.
I have met many wonderful people and am very thankful for having had the opportunity to serve
our country.
June 2011
Page 10
Major George Smailes Retires from Vicenza HS
Major George Smailes, Union Member
Major George Smailes was born
overseas in November, 1947, and
moved to the States the following
year. He became a US citizen in
1964 and enlisted in the US Army
shortly thereafter. He was honorably discharged from active duty in
May, 1972, and graduated from the
University of Nebraska in 1974 with
a degree in European History. In
1975 he returned to the Army as an
Artillery Lieutenant, and In December 1976, he married Margarete
Marie-Josie Gaye of Annecy,
France. They have two daughters
and two grandchildren.
Major
Smailes retired from the Army in
1992 and became
the
Senior Army
Instructor,
Army Junior
Reserve Officer Training
C o r p s ,
Vicenza High
S c h o o l ,
Vicenza, Italy
in
August,
1996.
He
earned
a
Masters Degree in Education in
2005. Major and Mrs Smailes will
retire to La Chapelle-Thecle in
Burgundy, France. OFT wishes
them Bon Voyage and Bonne
Chance.
Eddie Adams, Vicenza ES Teacher, Retires
Eddie Adams, Union Member
Eddie Adams will retire this year
after a career spanning forty-two
years, twenty-four of which have
been with DoDDS. While stationed
with her army husband in Aschaffenburg, Germany, she accepted a
position as a local hire. When that
beautiful school closed ten years
later in 1995, Eddie moved to La
Maddalena, Italy. This was home
until that school closed in 2007.
Eddie says that the last four years
have passed quickly in Vicenza,
Italy.
She has really enjoyed her involvement with her professional
organization since 1969. Her most
memorable time was meeting
President Carter at the National
Convention.
We wish Eddie a happy, welldeserved retirement in Columbia,
South Carolina.
June 2011
Page 11
Gerard Belleville Retires from Vicenza HS
Gerard Belleville, Union Member
Sergeant Belleville was honorably retired from the military in
1988 and had no idea what
would come next; however, a
chance meeting with Ms. Mary
Florence Betts, a 94-year-old
educator, determined his future
direction. She started teaching
in a one-room classroom at the
age of fourteen, ending her career as superintendent of the
Tennessee/Kentucky schools.
Major Belleville learned from her
that it is not what you know but
how you teach that makes you a
great teacher.
After completing the JROTC
certification process, he was offered his first educational position in Augsburg Germany, beginning a career in DoDDS , which
was to last more than twenty-two
some of the most interesting
administrators and teachers,
but most of all with some of the
greatest students.
He was
twice recognized by his students in Who’s Who Among
American Teachers.
He will retire after twentytwo years with DODEA , fifteen
of which have been spent in
sunny Vicenza, Italy.
He is
leaving a little piece of himself
behind with his students. They,
in turn, will carry that forward
and give a little of themselves
to others, just as Ms. Mary Florence Betts did for him way back
when.
OFT congratulates Mr. and
Mrs. Belleville and wishes them
years. During these years he was much happiness in their new
fortunate enough to work with
life.
Isaiah Latham Retires from Rota ES
Isaiah Latham, Union Member
After a 34-year association with
DoDEA/DoDDS and the Armed
Forces of the United States, I have
decided it is time to get off the bus
and make room of the 21st century
teacher. My bus ride has allowed
me to live in many wonderful and
interesting places. Places I might
not have had the opportunity to live
in or even visit, i.e., Germany, Japan, the Philippines, Bahrain,
Cuba, Italy and Spain. Additionally,
riding the bus allowed me the good
fortune to do many things most
people only dream of doing, 1.2.,
going on safari in Kenya and Tanzania, trekking mountain gorillas in
Uganda, visiting the Dani people of
Irian Jaya, walking the Great Wall
of China, seeing the Midnight Sun
set and rise in northern Norway,
seeing the Huli Wigman of Papua
New Guinea during a sing-sing,
basking on the beautiful white
sand beaches of Puket, Bali and
the Seychelles, and much more.
The ride has not been without its
bumps and potholes, its twists
and turns, but I wouldn’t trade the
experience for all the tea leaves
in my China teapot.
But now it’s time for me to begin the next chapter in my life and
allow some new 21st century
blood to have my seat, and hopefully, the great good fortune I
have had. What the future holds
for me I cannot say. But I go into
that future with the same wideeyed sense of excitement and
adventure that I entered DoDDS
with in 1977. To all the people in
my DoDEA/DoDDS family who
and touched my life, THANK
YOU and God bless you.
winds and following seas!
Fair
June 2011
Page 12
2011 OFT Convention
Continued from page 5
events, should be planned and announced before the school year begins.
Margie Lally and Linda brought
the Convention to a positive end by
handing out membership awards to
almost all the schools in the district.
Villet Gethers accepts her membership award for Livorno Unit School.
Eileen Kless (above) accepts the
membership award for Lajes Unit
School.
Elaine Davis (left) accepts the
membership award for Naples.
Chad Casciani accepts the membership award for Incirlik Unit
School.
Shake Shake Shake ! Is that Liza???
Cheri Gildea from Ankara enjoys her birthday
serenade. Ah, youth!
Randy Stumler
shows Tom
Birch how it’s
done. “You put
your right foot in,
you take your
right foot out…”
The musical stylings of Alicia Bryant-James thrilled
the members and hotel staff alike.