Books and More!

27 responses so far ↓

• 1    Judy Stout // Oct 19, 2009 at 8:14 pm

  I really look forward to getting to know students at Kate Shepard better by blogging with you. First let me tell you a little about myself. I grew up in Mobile and was in middle school at Azalea Road Junior High School when the “old” Kate Shepard was built. I graduated from Davidson High School and was very active in girls sports and the band. Then I went to the University of Alabama and got to go to all of the Alabama football games free because I was in the Million Dollar Band! It was great fun and we won two National Championships – Roll Tide! I still play clarinet in the Mobile Pops Band. Before I retired I was a marine biologist and got to work at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab -boats, beaches, birds and much more. Now I am on the School Board for the Mobile Public Schools. We vote on who will be principals and teachers at our schools, set up the budget for all of the 96 schools in Mobile and help Dr. Nichols our Superintendent with other decisions. You should come to a School Board meeting sometime. I am married to one our Mobile judges, Rick Stout, and we live on Fowl River with our two dogs, Shorty and Dixie, and two cats, Buddy and Allie. I love to swim and kayak and garden. I am a Master Gardener and I give tours at the Mobile Botanical Gardens for school kids and others. At home, I have a huge garden and grow all of our fruits and vegetables. We have two children, Paul who lives in Mobile and is getting married in April, and Keri, who lives in Birmingham and is having our first grandbaby in December. We are so excited and cannot wait to spend Christmas with him!!! Now, your turn to tell me about yourself or ask me questions. JS

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  Raven Y. Reply:
  October 20th, 2009 at 10:13 am

  What is the process of being elected to be on the school board?

  My name is Raven and I am a fifth grade student at Kate Shepard. I like animals and I enjoy school. My favorite subjects are math and reading. Thanks for talking to me on the blog. I hope you write back soon.

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  Judy Stout Reply:
  October 25th, 2009 at 3:35 pm

  Hey, Raven.

  In Mobile county we have five people who are elected to serve on the School Board. The county is divided up into five districts, each with the same number of voters living there. A member of the Board is elected from each district. Someone who wants to be on the School Board must live in the district that they want to represent. There are two political parties, the Democrats and the Republicans. Each party can have one candidate running for a School Board position at a time . Sometimes more than one person wants to run from a certain party. Then they have to win a party “primary election” with more than half of the votes. After the primary election, the Democratic candidate and the Republican candidate compete to get the most votes. Sometimes people run without belonging to either of those parties, running as “independents”. You’ve seen all of the election signs asking for people to vote for different names. This goes for the school board too.

  Each person serves on the Board for six years and different districts have elections at different times – I was elected in 2006, along with Mr. Megginson, and our time will expire in November, 2012. Mr. Manzie and Dr. Crenshaw were elected last year and will serve until 2014. Mr. Meredith ends his term next year and will have to be re-elected to serve longer. This way there is always someone on the School Board who has experience to help the new members learn their jobs. Some people serve for only one, six-year term and others decide to run again. Mrs. Fournier, who retired last year, had been on the board for 3 terms, 18 years – a record for Mobile County!

  To learn more about the School Board, you can look at the MCPSS web site, http://www.mcpss.com.

  I also like animals very much. I thought I wanted to be a veterinarian but decided to be a biologist instead. Enjoy your interest in reading and science and you will have lots of choices as to what you want as a career in the future.

  JS

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  Nicholas P. Reply:
  October 20th, 2009 at 10:22 am

  What did you do for fun when you were a kid?

  My name is Nicholas and I am a fifth grade student. I went canoeing once and really enjoyed it. My favorite subjects are science and math. We looked at seeds under a microscope and they looked really cool. I also like to travel. I hope you write back. Thanks!

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  Judy Stout Reply:
  October 25th, 2009 at 3:41 pm

  Nicholas,

  As a kid I really enjoyed being outside. I rode my bike everywhere, often pretending it was the horse that I always wanted. With my cousins who lived nearby we built forts , explored in the woods across the street and played a lot of basketball in the backyard. I also really loved to read (still do!) and went every week in the summer on my bicycle to the bookmobile about a mile from our house. They would only let you check out 4 books at a time and when I finished them I could hardly wait for the next week to come.

  I’m glad you like math and science because they have always been my favorites. I especially like plants and all of the neat things you can see them do by viewing them under a microscope. My love of biology has allowed me to travel a lot. See my comments to Kordell and Carter for some of my experiences.

  JS

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  Taylor S. Reply:
  October 21st, 2009 at 10:17 am

  Did you get a scholarship to college for being in the band?

  My name is Taylor and I am in fifth grade. I am 10 years old and I like to swim. I enjoy classic movies. My favorite subjects are math and social studies. Thanks for talking to me on the blog.

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  Judy Stout Reply:
  October 25th, 2009 at 3:46 pm

  Taylor,

  I did have a small band scholarship to go to the University of Alabama. Most colleges and Universities give them especially if they have a marching band for football season. I also worked part time and had some student loans.

  Swimming is great exercise and a sport you can do all of your life. We live on Fowl River and swimming is a favorite for me too.

  See my comments to Kordell about studying math, science and social studies.

  JS

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  Artezia C. Reply:
  October 22nd, 2009 at 10:20 am

  Did your daughter also play sports in high school?

  My name is Artezia and I am a fifth grade student. I am in gymnastics. When I am in high school, I would like to be on the dance team with the band. I have two sisters and three brothers. When I grow up, I want to be a pediatrician. Thank you for reading about me.

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  Judy Stout Reply:
  October 25th, 2009 at 3:51 pm

  Artezia,

  My daughter was in gymnastics for several years in elementary school. She also enjoyed riding horses and decide to concentrate on horses more and dropped out of gymnastics. However, I think it helped her a lot with horseback riding. She became a very good rider and now competes all over the southeast for a job. She rides jumpers like you see on television sometimes and in the Olympics.

  If you have ambitions to be a pediatrician, be sure to work hard to master math and science and reading – very important in college, med school and being a doctor.

  JS

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  Kam'Ron P. Reply:
  October 22nd, 2009 at 10:29 am

  Which one is more busy these days, you or your husband?

  Hello. My name is Kam’Ron and I am a fifth grade student. I enjoy playing baseball. I am the pitcher for my team. I am the producer of our Kate Shepard Newscast. I am also the sports reporter for the newscast. I enjoy spending time with my family and I will have a new little sister coming soon. Please visit our blog whenever you can.

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  Judy Stout Reply:
  October 25th, 2009 at 3:59 pm

  Kam’Ron,

  WOW! I sure would like to see how you do the Kate Shepard Newscast. That sounds like lots of fun!

  My husband goes to work every weekday and works hard all day long. Me, some days I work hard all day long, other times just part of the day, and sometimes I even get to stay home and do what I want to. That’s because I am retired and being on the school board is a part time job.

  My son also played baseball, in high school (state champs twice!) and in college so our whole family loves baseball.

  JS

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  Caliel M Reply:
  October 23rd, 2009 at 10:05 am

  Were you ever a teacher?

  My name is Caliel and I am in the fourth grade. My favorite subject is science. I am thinking about being a science teacher when I grow up. I met you when you came to the tea party in second grade. Thank you for visiting our blog.

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  Judy Stout Reply:
  October 25th, 2009 at 4:05 pm

  Caliel,

  Yes, I was a teacher for 33 years. For 28 years I taught marine biology courses at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and then for 7 years I taught Honors students at the University of South Alabama. Although, my formal classes were all for college students, I often got to do field trips and short classroom presentations for students in earlier grades. I especially liked it when elementary through high school students came to the Sea Lab and we got to go for beach walks, marsh explorations and visits to the Estuarium.

  Now that I am retired I really miss teaching. Occasionally, I get to teach teachers in workshops, give a guest lecture in a classroom and lead field trips at the Mobile Botanical Gardens.

  Teaching is a great career, especially in the sciences! I hope you will become a teacher in Mobile schools.

  I remember that very pink tea party! It was a wonderful surprise for me and really fun.

  JS

  JS

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  Kordell S. Reply:
  October 23rd, 2009 at 10:10 am

  Would you tell me about some of the things that you did when you were a marine biologist?

  I am Kordell and I am in the fourth grade. I love science. I like doing projects. Basketball is my favorite sport. You have had a very interesting life. Thank you for talking to us.

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  Judy Stout Reply:
  October 25th, 2009 at 3:15 pm

  Kordell,

  Some of the things I did as a marine biologist included:
  1. Studying salt marshes and bay grasses in coastal Alabama – lots of mud and interesting critters such as all kinds of crabs, shrimp and fish (especially the babies because they use these as nurseries when they are little for food and protection from predators!); salt marsh snakes (don’t bite and are very private, usually skittering away before you see them); alligators in the upper Mobile Bay and Delta; herons, egrets and other birds; and mink, muskrats, nutria and other mammals. I was also invited by other marine biologists to visit their marshes at other locations in the US.
  2. Some scuba diving and plenty of snorkling in Mobile Bay, the Gulf and in the Florida Keys – sometimes while doing research and other times while teaching classes with college students.
  3. Taking students on field trips.
  4. Playing volleyball (my favorite sport) on the beach each day for lunch!! A common activity at marine laboratories all over the United States.
  4. Teaching students from kindergarten to graduate school.
  5. Writing papers and giving talks about my resaearch so that others could learn from my results. This often allowed me to travel to many places on US coasts such as New Hampshire, Connecticutt, Florida, Texas, California, Oregon and Washington, as well as outside of this country – see my response to Carter also on this blog for more about travels.

  I’m glad you like science because it has been a great career for me with so many different things you can do and so many ways to help people with the things you can discover doing research. I thought when I was in high school that I liked math best, but later decided on biology. However, I have been able to continue to enjoy math since science includes a lot of math.

  Thank you for your note. I hope to meet you at school some day.

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  Lorelei K. Reply:
  October 23rd, 2009 at 10:15 am

  How many seasons can you grow vegetables in Mobile?

  My name is Lorelei and I am in fourth grade. I love learning about Egypt. My favorite subjects are reading and language arts. Thank you for reading our blog.

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  Judy Stout Reply:
  October 25th, 2009 at 3:11 pm

  Lorelei,

  I love your name!!

  In Mobile, because we have such a mild climate, you can grow some kind of vegetables all year long. Right now our winter garden includes all kinds of greens, lettuce, carrots, onions, garlic, peas, cabbage, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, turnips and beets. Most of it is still young, but we have eaten our first fresh collards and salads out of the garden. It all tastes so much better when you grew it yourself! We are beginning to pick satsumas and lemons from our trees, picked the limes in August, and will have oranges before Christmas. Later this winter, we will plant potatoes and more of the earlier stuff for a second crop. Our spring and summer gardens are really productive and I can tell you more about them later.

  I’m so glad you like reading and language arts. I liked English so much when I was in college that I took a lot of courses, especially literature, and I have a minor in English. My three favorite hobbies ar gardening, music and reading. I always have a book in the car in case I have some spare time and can read a little! Anyone who can read well can learn to do most anything just by finding the right books or information on the web and studying them. That’s part of how I have learned so much about gardening.

  JS

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  Carter C. Reply:
  October 23rd, 2009 at 10:19 am

  Where did you travel with your job when you were a marine biologist?

  My name is Carter and I am in the fourth grade. I like science, math and social studies. I enjoy playing video games on the weekends when I don’t have homework. My little brother likes for me to play with him. Thank you for logging on to Books and More!

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  Judy Stout Reply:
  October 25th, 2009 at 3:12 pm

  Carter,

  Thanks for blogging with me.

  I really liked math and science when I was in school but I really didn’t like social studies much, then. However, since I was able to use math and science so much in my career I have really had many chances to travel as a marine scientist. Many times I wished I had known more about geography and history so I could enjoy the places I visited more. Now, I read a lot about social studies and have tried to learn more.

  See my blog to Kordell about some of the states I have visited in the US. While visiting these states and others, I have seen Mount St Helens, Crater Lake, Yellowstone National Park, sea lions, seals and whales, Washington D. C., bears, bisons and wolves, Alaskan tundra and much more.

  I have also travelled to Columbia, South America; Puerto Rico; Australia; China; Victoria, British Columbia; Bermuda and Japan with my work.

  JS

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  Seth G. Reply:
  October 23rd, 2009 at 10:24 am

  How long have you been playing the clarinet? Do you play any other instruments?

  My name is Seth and I am in the fourth grade. Soccer is my favorite sport. I would like to learn to play the guitar. This is my first year at Kate Shepard. I can’t wait until you visit Kate Shepard again.

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  Judy Stout Reply:
  October 25th, 2009 at 3:13 pm

  Seth,

  I have been playing the clarinet since the 7th grade – that’s about 50 or so years! There were a few years here and there that I didn’t play but I always came back to it. I also play the handbells at my church. One time I thought I was going to learn the guitar, but I didn’t practice enough and I was never very good.

  Welcome to Kate Shepard. I hope you are enjoying the school and the good teachers. I hope to meet you when I am there sometime.

  JS

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• 2    Tyren M. // Oct 21, 2009 at 10:24 am

  I have never been to the Botanical Gardens. Can you tell me about it?

  My name is Tyren and I am a fifth grade student. I enjoy playing sports, especially volleyball and soccer. I like to read books. My favorite hobby is drawing. I hope to meet you next time you are at Kate Shepard. Thanks for visiting our blog.

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  Judy Stout Reply:
  October 25th, 2009 at 4:11 pm

  Tyren,

  Boy, you hit on two of my favorites – volleyball and reading. I can’t think of very many things that are more fun. Keep it up since both are things you can continue to do all of your life.

  The Mobile Botanical Gardens is located near Municipal Park and the Mobile Art Gallery in Springhill. It is a free, public place with wonderful trails, special flower plantings and programs for children and adults to learn more about plants, gardens and the environment. I hope you will come visit with your family or friends.

  I am so glad you like drawing. That is a gift and one that I have never had. It also is something you can enjoy forever and maybe even incorporate into a career.

  JS

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• 3    Christina K. // Oct 21, 2009 at 10:28 am

  What did you like to do in school when you were a kid?

  Hi! I am Christina and I am in the fifth grade. I like to play basketball. I like Hannah Montana. Math is my favorite subject. One day I would like to be like you.

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  Judy Stout Reply:
  October 25th, 2009 at 4:17 pm

  Christina,

  I know this sounds geeky and something a grownup would say, but I really enjoyed studying and learning when I was a student. In fact, I still enjoy both very much and that’s one reason that I still read a lot.

  I also liked sports, playing softball, basketball and volleyball in middle school and high school. Music has always been a special pleasure for me and I began learning while I was in middle school. Now I just enjoy it for relaxation and fun.

  I really loved math and thought I wanted to be a math teacher. When I got in college, I liked science more and decided to study biology instead. Even biologists have to know a lot of math, just like all other scientists. Math is important in many subjects and ,if you continue to work hard at it, you will have lots of choices for your future.

  JS

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• 4    Ebony B. // Oct 23, 2009 at 10:31 am

  How did you accomplish your goal of becoming a marine biologist?

  I am in the fourth grade. My favorite subjects are science and math. I love to play basketball. The rose is my favorite flower. Kate Shepard is a very good school and I enjoy going to school here. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

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• 5    Judy Stout // Oct 25, 2009 at 4:44 pm

  As you can see in many of my comments to your classmates, I too really like math and science.

  To tell you the real truth, I didn’t set out to be a marine biologist. In college I first got a teacher’s certificate to teach high school biology. I finished before my husband so I just stayed in school and took more classes to get a doctorate degree in biology. When he finished and we moved to Mobile for him to be a lawyer, I was not finished with my research. The University’s marine lab in Bayaou la Batre gave me a part time job and lab space to finish my research. I got really interested in what they were doing and took a few more courses in marine biology and began to teach some of their marine courses. This turned out to be fortunate since the lab and my research burned up and I had to start a new project from scratch. Since we were living on the coast and I already knew a lot about the marine environment I did a new project with marine plants and I have been a marine biologist ever since finishing!

  I believe that if you work hard and do your best you will have knowledge and skills that let you make choices when opportunities, even if they come about accidentally, present themselves to you. It certainly has been true in my life!

  JS

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