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Last spring I
announced that I would retire at the end of the school year. The letter
I wrote is included here. School started at Twin Peaks on Wednesday,
August 25 and for the first time in many years, I wasn't there .
It felt a little strange but Mrs. Barnett and I got together, went out
to lunch and survived the day. The next months will hold lots of new
experiences for me but I hope former students will stay in touch!
As usual, I
spent a lot of time with my daughter, Megan, this summer. She is the
queen of shoppers and I heard, over and over again, "Mom, back away from
the school supplies. You don't need 180 spirals, crayons, pens, etc."
She was right but it did seem so strange not to load up on all those
usual expenses! You will be happy to know I bought new clothes
instead!
This is my retirement letter:
Dear Students and Parents,
It is with mixed emotions that I inform you that I
am retiring this year. I am excited that I will be able to spend more
time with my grandchildren, that I will not be spending my weekends
grading papers, that my schedule will be my own, and that we will be
able to travel at times other than summer and school vacations (I’ve
long wanted to see the fall colors in New England and it will be
wonderful to be able to spend time in Arizona when it is not so hot!)
On the other hand, I will miss being in the classroom with “my children”
greatly.
I had planned on teaching two more years, but this
year Poway Unified offered a retirement incentive to senior teachers.
This allows the district to replace higher paid veteran teachers with
younger teachers who are lower on the pay scale, thus reducing the
overall payroll expense. When my husband and I reviewed the plan and
analyzed how it would affect our retirement income, we decided to accept
the offer.
I do have to add that the current outlook for Poway
schools provided some impetus to retire now. Predictions (unconfirmed
as yet) indicate that classes will be much larger next year, teacher
classroom budgets smaller, and another pay cut seems very likely. We
have already eliminated most teacher attendance at conferences, seminars
and other professional enrichment activities, and we no longer pursue
WASC accreditation of middle schools. One of my specialties has long
been GATE education but this is no longer a funded activity. I am the
GATE coordinator at Twin Peaks this year, and my budget for enrichment,
parent communication, and activities is zero.
These are all things that make teaching more
difficult, and are factors that went into my decision to retire now.
A definite positive factor for retiring now
is that I have a particularly delightful group of students this year,
and it will be great to go out on a high note – with good memories of
this year’s fine class!
I have heard that some teachers who are “lame
ducks,” like I am now, assume a “short-timer’s” attitude and check out
early. Not to worry! Knowing that this is my last semester at Twin
Peaks makes me want to do all my favorite lessons one more time and try
some new things too. So get ready, students. We’re going to have some
fun!
I am very fortunate that I still love what I do;
for the past nineteen years at Twin Peaks I have never gone “to work”
but always “to school.” Twin Peaks certainly is “home.” I am excited
that I have a few more months to try to make a difference in the lives
of my students.
Parents, thank you for sharing your young people
with me. Teaching is a calling for me, and I receive great emotional
pleasure in helping foster middle school students through what can be a
pretty challenging time in their lives. I appreciate all the support
I’ve received from students, parents, and the fabulous staff at TPMS. I
will miss turning left onto Tierra Bonita every morning!
Sincerely,
Ellen Moir
P.S.: I have always enjoyed it when former
students come to visit and to hear how they are doing. I won’t be in my
classroom after June, but my email,
ellen@moir.org will still be good and I would love to hear from
you.
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Now for some fun stuff! This needs serious updating and I
will soon include more recent pictures of Jake who is six and just
started first grade and his sister, Kate who is two and thinks Grandma
is great! She obviously has great taste! The two of them live in
Arizona while the other two, Peter who is 4 1/2 and Colin who celebrated
his first birthday in early July, live much closer. Our son,
Patrick is their dad. Although he lives and works in Oklahoma City, he
is able to come to San Diego for a few days every month and the three of
them stay with us. It is great fun!

Here is an important reason that I spent much of my summer in Gilbert*,
Arizona, a Phoenix suburb. This is a picture from last summer with our grandson, Jake, who
had just turned
four. He loves to help me "cook" and is a real expert at salad.
This day, we expanded our horizons to make (and taste) "dirt." The
family all voted that our dirt was great and we can fix it again!
Jake lives with his parents, our daughter and son-in-law, and the only
granddaughter, Kate, who was born on August 15th, 2008! (Watch for
pictures of her first birthday which we had to miss).
Meet Katherine Ellen Bowman:

*Not too many San Diegans boast of their "summer home" in Arizona, but I'm
sure you can understand why my husband and I treasure our time there.
Needless to say, I am happy to be back in the pleasant climate of San
Diego/Poway, but I had to leave part of my heart in Gilbert.
To find out more about me, and see some more pictures, visit "Meet Mrs.
Moir."
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Word of the Day
Merriam-Webster has a word of the day on its site,
www.m-w.com. The large icon below will be here all year. Try it now and
share your findings with me -- who knows, extra credit may be available!
Twin Peaks Middle School, a National Blue Ribbon
School

Ten years ago, Twin Peaks was named a National Blue Ribbon School, the
third time Twin Peaks has received this designation! Schools must first be
recognized by their state--we were a California Distinguished School in
1998-1999. Because Poway has seven of that year's Blue Ribbon Schools, it
may seem commonplace to some people, but this is a very prestigious award.
Remember that only 198 schools nationwide were selected.
Twin Peaks is an excellent school as a result of the efforts of the entire
school community: students, parents, teachers, staff members, PUSD, PUSD
Board, and the Poway community. Take pride in our accomplishments.
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