By: Reagan Morrow

New people joined the staff this school year at the high school (or returned after years away). Here are their answers to some getting-to-know-you questions:

Question 1: What are your hobbies?

 I spend most of my free time currently training my new puppy Dexter. However, if I actually get some free time I enjoy playing online chess.

Question 2: Do you have a favorite book or movie?

My favorite movie is The Green Mile, although I tend to enjoy TV shows more than movies. My favorite TV show is Psych.

Question 3: What type of music do you like to listen to?

 I enjoy all kinds of music and listen to a bit of everything.

Question 4: Do you enjoy sports?

I was (and still am) a band nerd, so I didn’t play sports; however, I enjoy watching them. In particular, I like watching football and soccer.

Question 5: What’s the most interesting place you have ever been and why?

Growing up my dad was in the Air Force so I’ve lived and visited a lot of places. The most interesting was Turkey. I loved experiencing a culture so different from our own first hand everyday.

Sgt Kaufman

Question 1: What are your hobbies

Reading, Hiking, Bicycling, Working-Out.

Question 2: Do you have a favorite book/ movie?

*Favorite Movies:  Remember the Titans & Wizard of Oz

*Favorite Book:  The Firm by John Grisham

Question 3: What type of music do you like to listen to?

 *Music:  Favorite is Classic Country but also listen to Classic Rock, Easy Listening, and Classical

Question 4: Do you enjoy sports?

*Sports:  Avid college football fan (Go Bucks!) but also enjoy the NFL (Go Browns!), tennis, golf, and NASCAR

Question 5: What’s the most interesting place you have ever been and why?

*Most Interesting Place Visited:  Garmisch, Germany because of the massive snow capped mountains and centuries old castles.

Question 1: What are your hobbies

My hobbies include being a dog mom to my almost 3-year-old Golden Retriever. A lot of my time is taking him on walks and going to the dog park. I also read in my free time, and enjoy a good Netflix binge. I also love discovering new brunch places in the area.

Question 2: Do you have a favorite book/ movie?

My favorite movie is a toss up between This Means War, Sweet Home Alabama, or 101 Dalmatians. I love Reese Witherspoon as an actress, and 101 Dalmatians is my favorite Disney movie. As for books, they are always better than any movie. I’m a big fantasy genre lover – I love Harry Potter, but I also really enjoy the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas, the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard, and the Serpent and Dove series by Shelby Mahurin. My “to be read” list is very extensive!

Question 3: What type of music do you like to listen to?

I am a HUGE Harry Styles fan – he’s one of my favorite human beings ever. I see him in concert on October 18 and I couldn’t be more excited! Naturally, I love One Direction and anxiously await their return from their 18-month hiatus. But I mostly listen to pop.

Question 4: Do you enjoy sports?

I am originally from Cleveland, so I’m a big Cleveland sports fan. I also went to the University of Dayton, and enjoy cheering on the Flyers every basketball season. I also played golf in high school, so during the warm spring and summer seasons, I’ll be out playing a round of golf.

Question 5: What’s the most interesting place you have ever been and why?

I’m lucky to have the opportunity to travel and visit multiple countries. Italy, by far, is my favorite – the people, the architecture and history, the culture, and obviously the food! Scotland and the countryside of England are also on my bucket list of places to visit (and by country-side of England, I may specifically mean Holmes Chapel where Harry Styles is from…… )

Question 1: What are your hobbies

I like to read, play volleyball, knit, and do judo. I also really like being outside and I hike a lot.

Question 2: Do you have a favorite book/ movie?

I have a lot. One of my favorite movies is The Last Samurai. One of my favorite books is Allegedly by Tiffany Jackson.

Question 3: What type of music do you like to listen to?

I listen to everything. I like Kevin Gates, Polo G, Rodwave, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Dierks Bentley, and Hans Zimmer.

Question 4: Do you enjoy sports?

Absolutely. I do judo and play volleyball actively. I love watching football.

Question 5: What’s the most interesting place you have ever been and why?

I’m blessed that I’ve been to a lot of different countries such as Peru, Japan, Egypt, France, Costa Rica, and many more. That being said, I think one of the most valuable places I’ve been to was working for Montgomery County Juvenile Court and the incarcerated kids. I think it was really eye opening to see all of the things kids go through and yet continue on despite the challenges of incarceration, trauma, and being a teenager. They were extremely resilient and tough, and I think it is a great example to everyone. If these kids can endure all kinds of abuse out there, grow up with nothing and no one, and still try to fight for their dreams, I think it sets an example that there’s absolutely no reason we can’t.

Question 1: What are your hobbies

My extra time in life usually consists of good times with friends, family, and church family.

Question 2: Do you have a favorite book/ movie?

I do not have a favorite book or movie. I don’t find myself reading or watching movies very often at all.

Question 3: What type of music do you like to listen to?

 I don’t listen to much music, but when I do I guess it’d be gospel and classic country.

Question 4: Do you enjoy sports?

I love sports. I love playing and watching sports.

Question 5: What’s the most interesting place you have ever been and why?

I taught math in Chile for 3 weeks. That was an amazing experience. It was my first time out of the country, and Chile is an absolutely beautiful country and people. The country has all the land biomes, gorgeous everywhere you went. The school I taught at was English speaking but in math the English part is lost most of the time. It’s not until you are out of our country when you realize that all eyes are on the United States. All the clothes, books, movies, etc. were from an American origin. Their daily news was based on what’s happening in the United States. All eyes were on the blonde American girl, as I walked the streets of Chile with my Chilean family. It’s not until you leave our country when you realize how incredibly and wonderfully blessed we are to be Americans in this great nation, The United States of America.

Question 1: What are your hobbies

My hobbies include swimming, cooking, reading, and hiking.

Question 2: Do you have a favorite book/ movie?

Yes! In fiction, I love everything Jane Austen. She excels in the art of critique–candid and apt yet nonscathing or injurious. I admire George Eliot’s sophistication and highbrow humor and delight in Mark Twain’s satire. In nonfiction, I am eclectic and find myself drawn to philosophy, criticism, education, and spirituality. Some of my favorite authors include Jonathan Haidt (The Happiness Hypothesis and The Coddling of the American Mind), David Brooks (mainly his editorials), John Taylor Gatto (Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling), Penny Kittle (Write Beside Them: Risk Voice and Clarity in High School Writing), and Lila Abu Lughod (Do Muslim Women Need Saving?)

Now, movies. I will watch films starring and/or directed by Mel Gibson (The Man Without a Face), Melissa McCarthy, Russell Crowe, Matthew McConaughey, and Emma Thompson.

Question 3: What type of music do you like to listen to?

I am also eclectic in music. I love classical and country music. I listen to Arabic music as well and love Fairuz (She was a Lebanese legend. Her art defined Arabic music for generations), Omar Abdallat (He is the quintessential Bedouin Jordanian artist. His songs put the Bedouin song on the map), and a healthy dose of Gulfie and North African artists.

Question 4: Do you enjoy sports?

I swim and enjoy watching any event by Michael Phelps. The man is a veritable shark. I used to watch tennis (I don’t play it though) and idolized Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf.

Question 5: What’s the most interesting place you have ever been and why?

While I have been to many countries (Norway, Singapore, Maldives, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and many states here–including Hawaii), the most interesting place I have been is the ocean. Scuba diving is probably the most unique experience I have been through because it allowed me to visit the ocean as a place. Before scuba diving, I had always loved the sea or the ocean as a vacation destination: a place to build sandcastles with my children, to unwind from the world, to get a tan, and maybe even swim or read books. My perception changed when I went scuba diving in the Indian Ocean during a vacation in the Maldives. The experience taught me a lot about myself and the ocean. Being completely submerged in a medium (water) that is not air, travelling horizontally, and needing to be absolutely mindful of every breath you take was both unnerving and educational. Prior to scuba diving, my knowledge of the marine ecosystem came from watching documentaries, but scuba diving was the best teacher. It took me outside of my comfort zone and challenged me to face fears I didn’t know I had. It showed me this “other world” which coexists within “our world.” Being underwater was like being in a different dimension. I gazed in awe at the rich and beautiful topography (mountains, valleys, and coral reefs) and admired the infinite colors and the unpretentious creatures which minded their own business.

Question 1: What are your hobbies

Some things I enjoy doing in my free time are: visiting my two daughters at their colleges, riding outdoors in our Polaris Razor side-by-side with my husband, and dancing with my friends.

Question 2: Do you have a favorite book/ movie?

Forrest Gump – (an oldie, but a goodie).  I love the history in it, along with the message and the music.

Question 3: What type of music do you like to listen to?

Now this one I can’t narrow down.  I LOVE music of all types from 70s classic rock to bluegrass to current rap.  I seem to like it all especially if a great memory is attached to the song.

Question 4: Do you enjoy sports?

I enjoy sports.  I played volleyball and ran track in high school.  Since then, my husband and two daughters were the ones that kept me busy with sports over the years.

Question 5: What’s the most interesting place you have ever been and why?

 A few years ago, my family and friends went on a cruise that had numerous stops.  At each port we went off the beaten path to find an adventure.  It was so fun and interesting seeing the culture and way of life at each island.

Question 1: What are your hobbies

Activities with my husband and two sons, cooking, binge watching my tv shows

Question 2: Do you have a favorite book/ movie?

Steel Magnolias, Stand By Me, Goonies, Tommy Boy, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Twilight Saga, The Holiday (I love movies)

Question 3: What type of music do you like to listen to?

 I have an eclectic taste in music! I love all music, 70’s, Rap, R&B, and Country

Question 4: Do you enjoy sports?

I do like sports but I do not enjoy watching them on tv. I’d much rather watch in person!

Question 5: What’s the most interesting place you have ever been and why?

Aruba! It is a beautiful island. It is where I went on my honeymoon!