1. Jerry P Student Questionnaire (Exemplar) Mr. Papers Pd 12 04 SEP 2007 Yup – that’s me, wreck diving in the British Virgin Islands

2. Hi ! I’m Jerry and here’s a bit about me.

3. I was born in 1959 in New Jersey and grew up there with an older brother, Garry and younger sister, Janet Even at a very young age I was interested in sports! (here practicing to palm the ball for future basketball games) ; )

4. Our family was BIG into sports: football and baseball – and in high school added basketball (which I played and coached after I finished school). Now my favorite sport is SCUBA diving – but in warm tropical water – and at night !

5. I’ve done lots of things trying to find a career: the military (Air Force), working in factories, but I really liked the outdoors and learning about Nature. So I went back to college at 27 years old to study biology and while explaining nature research I was doing while leading public walks in the area, many people said I would make a good teacher. So I went into the teacher program at college instead – and have been teaching since 1991.

6. In 2010, after 25 years away from riding, I got back into motorcycles on a Suzuki DL650A – a medium sized adventure touring bike. After a few years and 20,000 miles, I was ready to upgrade to a bike I’d wanted ever since I was a kid – a BMW R 1200 RT sport touring bike. It was a long wait, but worth it… WOW WHAT A RIDE !!

7. In 2005, I got re-interested in shooting sports ( did a little as a kid and with military ). I learned to load all my own ammunition. There’s a LOT of science involved, and I test it - and myself – with some precision rifle shooting and lots of competitive pistol matches. *I’m a certified trainer and Safety Officer and design scenarios used in competition. It’s a lot of fun in many different ways – and I’ve won a few State Championships in the intermediate level with different guns too.

8. I’ve lived lots of places: NJ of course, NY, FL, AZ, CA (north and south), OR, WA – and traveled all over the U.S. ( except Hawaii and Alaska ) and all around the Caribbean diving. In the Air Force I was stationed in Texas, Mississippi and Germany – and then after my first year teaching in Los Angeles, I moved all the way to New Zealand to teach for five years… of course stopping off in Fiji to dive! G’day Mate !!

9. My favorite animal is definitely the ocelot (incredible all-around predator) And my favorite plant is the Coastal Redwood - tallest tree in the world – 116m (380’ )

10. In college I had to take art lessons and didn’t think they’d help me much – but I ended up learning a lot and it helps me do sketches in teaching. You never know when a skill will come in handy so get as many as possible!

11. In Elementary school I also was a pretty good singer – but when my voice changed I played sax in Jr. High. (but my legal name is “Jerry” – not Gerald !!)

12. Favorite Music and… Pink Floyd (big David Gilmour fan) Boney James

13. Favorite foods

14. Of the choices given on the sheet of how to describe me, I’d say: Risk-taker Problem-solver Curious (which is pretty much a scientist !!)

15. But you know, I don’t remember very many science classes when I was a kid ( they weren’t very exciting ). So hopefully now that I’m a teacher, I’ll make them more interesting for you - so you learn more ( most students think I do a good job of that ). That makes me very happy! And there’s lots to learn, lots of fun to have (if you want to – but you need to first TRY YOUR BEST). ; ) end show