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Mr. Marden with Captain Cooper's participants in the
1999 Kids of Carmel Track & Field Meet held at Carmel High School.

Captain Cooper School Custodian and Groundskeeper, Julio Olalio takes a moment to help with student planting on Earth Day. 

Meg Alvarez, classroom aide for the kindergarten, first, fourth and fifth grades, is from Salinas, where she attended Notre Dame High School and Hartnell College. Additionally, she attended Monterey Peninsula College. She is Parent Club treasurer. This is her second year as yearbook coordinator. Mrs. Alvarez began working for Carmel Unified School District in 1999, and was a "stay-at- home mom" for five years before starting to work at Captain Cooper. Meg says that what she likes best about Big Sur is the closeness of the community. Meg was awarded the Red Apple Award for 2001 given by the District for exceptional parent participation.

Jan Day, Counselor for Captain Cooper, is a fourth generation Californian. She grew up in Claremont. She holds a BA in Psychology from Sonoma State and an MS in Counseling from Fresno State, as well as having a PPS Credential. Ms. Day began working for Carmel Unified School District in 1994. Her favorite pastimes are hiking, dancing, reading, writing, poetry, gardening and art. Her favorite things about being in Big Sur are its "wonderful people and vibrant nature." She says poetically that her future plans are to "love deeper and sit peacefully in the world." The staff and students enjoy Jan joining us every Thursday. Her other four days are spent at Carmel River School.

Our school secretary, Su Eikenberry, was born in Visalia, California, but moved, shortly after she was born, to Ukiah. At 12, she and her family moved to Laurel, Mississippi where they lived for eight years. She attended Mississippi State University, where she majored in secondary education and science. Mrs. Eikenberry began working for Carmel Unified School District in 1985. Her job description is one of the most flexible in the District. She is called upon for a wide variety of duties. When not at school, she enjoys gardening, traveling, and spending time with her family. When has plans eventually to more to Northern California, then to travel as much as possible. Her favorite things about Big Sur are "the beauty, the people, and the tranquillity," and what she likes best about Captain Cooper: "The KIDS! I love working and being around children."

Ms. Donna Greenfield joins the Captain Cooper community on Wednesdays this year, specializing as the Kids' Corner Child Aide. For many years a radio disc jockey and production director, Donna shifted gears 12 years ago, in order to work for Carmel Unified School District and be on track with her two school-age children. She helped implement the Primary Intervention Program for CUSD. This year, she serves concurrently as the Child Aide for both Captain Cooper and Carmel River Schools.

Donna also draws from a background of extensive training in ballet, jazz and modern dance to teach eight movement classes at River School. She co-chairs the Dance Division of the Visual and Performing Arts Committee.

"When the offer was made to me to work at Captain Cooper this school year, I felt I was being given a gift. I am so happy to be here, and I even love the drive (except when stuck behind a tour bus over Hurricane Point)."

Ted Guzowski began his teaching journey five years ago as a preschool teacher at Apple Pie Preschool in Big Sur. In 1998, he joined the Captain Cooper Staff as an instructional aide in a variety of classrooms while earning his teaching and CLAD credentials at California State University Monterey Bay. He also has a degree in Natural Resources, and loves sharing his knowledge about the magnificent Big Sur environment with students. Currently, Mr. Guzowski teaches Third Grade and Title I Reading. He enjoys getting the students hooked on books and learning.

Janell Malek began working as the District's school nurse in 1987. She is a graduate of California State University at Humboldt. Mrs. Malek is a Registered Nurse, a Public Health Nurse, and holds a Health Services Credential. Prior to working for Carmel Unified, she worked for the Monterey County Health Department and the San Andreas Regional Center. Mrs. Malek is a California native born in the Bay Area. She says what she likes best about Big Sur is "the spectacular beauty of the area and the friendliness of the people." What she most enjoys about Captain Cooper School is "the friendly atmosphere and the caring individual attention given to students."

Mark Meibeyer was born in Oklahoma, and attended elementary schools in Michigan, South Carolina, and Germany. He holds a BS in Recreation Administration from San Jose State, a Multiple Subject Credential (K-12), and Single Subject Credentials in Social Studies and Physical Education, both from Chico State. He is currently working toward a Master's Degree in Special Education at Cal Poly. This is Mark's first year with Carmel Unified, though he has been teaching for 20 years, regular classrooms, and partly as a Special Education teacher. He currently fills both those positions. He loves to body board. He likes to spend summers at Yellowstone Park studying Grizzly Bears and wolves. Mark would like to continue teaching until age 65. He says that his favorite things about being in Big Sur are the natural beauty and the nice people. He drives to Captain Cooper after traversing a bumpy dirt road on the South Coast, from an elevation of 2500 feet. The students and teachers here are great, he says. See also, the Fourth and Fifth grade pages..

Shawna Garritson

Cathy Truesdell, Speech Therapist for Captain Cooper and River School, came to the District in August of 2000. She has over 17 years experience as a Speech Pathologist, and worked most recently at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula.

Mrs. Truesdell was born in Salinas. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from University of the Pacific, and her Masters in Communicative Disorders from Boston University. Her favorite activity is spending time with her husband and her two children. Mrs. Truesdell says that her favorite thing about being in Big Sur is the beautiful environment and friendly people. What she likes best about Captain Cooper is "working with wonderful students and a terrific staff in such a gorgeous setting."

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