December 2010 - Dripping Springs Independent School District

Tiger Teacher Spotlight
Nicole Mariani
DSE, Kindergarten Bilingual
Nicole Mariani is in
her second year teaching
bilingual kindergarten at
DSE after spending four
years in Austin ISD. She
enjoys the small-town
feel in Dripping, and
knowing many of the
families.
Her background positioned her
well for a teaching role that embraces
multiple cultures. She lived in Puerto
Rico until moving to Louisiana at age 8.
She also lived in Miami and San Antonio
before coming to college in Austin and
staying.
She loves to travel and enjoyed a trip
this summer to Australia and New Zealand,
which she notes is the best place
she’s ever been.
Ms. Mariani says her favorite part of
teaching is seeing the fruits of her labor
in a few short months: “Children learn
so much in one school year, and you
see it happen right before your eyes.” If
she wasn’t teaching, she says she would
have been a ballet dancer.
This April she will marry her fiance
Michael Lencioni.
The following are impressions shared
by DSHS senior Erin Lulfs who, along with
fellow student Molly Wilson, traveled to
Haiti in October to help less fortunate children
and families.
My name is Erin Lulfs. I am 17 years
old and a senior at Dripping Springs High
School. I recently went Cazale, Haiti, to
work with the Real Hope for Haiti relief
program for six days in October. I aspire to
be a nurse one day and plan on attending
nursing school next fall. Being given the opportunity
to work in the clinic there allowed
me to get my feet
wet and experience
first-hand
what it would be
like to work in the
field.
While there,
I worked with
people of all ages
with many types
of sicknesses, everyone
from the
smallest infant
to the senior citizens.
People there
Amber Taylor
DSMS, English Language Arts
Eighth-grade English
teacher Amber Taylor is
in her first year in Dripping
Springs. She began
teaching 8th grade ELA
in Fort Bend ISD and
also taught 10th grade
English in Alief ISD, following
a brief experience
in a small, rural school in Louisiana
teaching 6th and 8th grade ELA.
A native of Winnfield, La., she received
her bachelor’s degree in English
Education from Louisiana Tech University.
She cites the incredible kids and wonderful
colleagues as her favorite things
about DSMS.
Ms. Taylor has two four-legged children,
Charlie and Coco, who love to go
on road trips with her to visit her “human
family” in Houston and Louisiana.
They also love to walk in the parks and
trails of Austin.
Her hobbies include reading (appropriate
for an English teacher) and cooking.
She is also a fan of professional drag
racing, and has traveled to many races
on the professional circuit.
Student Corner By Erin Lulfs, DSHS, 12th Grade
do not take anything for granted, which
made me realize how God has truly blessed
me with the life I live.
Initially, I kept visualizing what I was
hoping would happen ... I was going into
it with expectations. That was the worst
thing I could have done. Before leaving, I
realized I couldn’t try and envision what
I wanted to happen because I wouldn’t
want to be distraught when something
didn’t go the way I thought it would. After
coming to my senses, this helped me have
a much more enjoyable trip.
Those were my
thoughts, now for
my fears. Right
now there is a
huge cholera outbreak.
Cholera
is a major sickness
that is killing
thousands rapidly.
It is spread by
the water there. I
was very nervous
because I was
afraid of getting
cholera while I
Spreading Cheer
The Dripping Springs Middle School Choir
provided musical entertainment at the
annual Community Tree Lighting Ceremony
on Dec. 4. The choir is under the
direction of Ms. Rachel Frimel.
was there.
The first thing I noticed when I arrived
was the filth. Living in Austin, everyone is
pretty eco-friendly, so I don’t ever see
trash on the sides of the roads. In Haiti
though, there is no “Recon” trash company
to come gather your trash for you.
There would be trash lining the streets,
piling up to five feet tall. Wild pigs
would rummage through it. Also the little
streams of water would be filled with sewage.
And that water was not only used for a
sewage deposit place, it was also used for
drinking, bathing and for washing clothes.
Being there made me feel humbled.
These people are just like me. There is
nothing different between us. We are all
equal, and everyone there treated each
other that way. I am no more important
than the malnourished, abandoned children
yearning for food and affection.
Erin hopes to return to Haiti to help
people there again some day.
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