Barbara Mack Woerner “Mackabee”

Barbara Mack Woerner “Mackabee”

12 Starbrook Drive

Henderson, NV 89052 barbarawoerner@gmail.com

808-937-8704

Wow! 50 years – needless to say it has been a long time since I connected with all of you. I’m looking forward to seeing you all again and catching up on your lives.

I have fond memories of La Jolla High School – mostly because of the friends I made and the activities we worked on together. I joined Drill Team, Silhouettes, Mariners and Girls’ League - which kept me busy and out of trouble??? (Hmmm - I do remember a sleepover adventure that involved 5 giggly under-aged girls sneaking the parent’s car out for a drive up and down Nautilus around midnight). Favorite memories include Mr. Krom’s wild and imaginative stories in science class, pep rallies (remember the ever-popular cheerleaders Salliwite Vining and Jim Storm?) and football games followed by pizza at Pernicano’s.

My senior year of high school I met my future husband, Bill Woerner – a Mission Bay High School rival. We got married our Junior year of college and graduated from San Diego State College in 1969 – me with a BA in English and a California Teaching Credential and he 

 redential. We both had job offers and planned to live in San Diego but on a whim we ended up interviewing for teaching jobs in Hawaii and moved to the islands in 1970. We spent 5 years teaching on Molokai and then transferred to the Big Island of Hawaii and ended up in Kailua-Kona where we settled.

We built a house in Kona (took 26 years to complete! – what can I say – it was an ongoing project), raised two sons (Jason and Rick), played tennis, enjoyed friends and the beaches and after 30 years of teaching in public schools, we each developed and founded our own charter schools. I was Director of Innovations Public Charter School – a K-8 project-based school with a focus on performing arts and sustainability. Bill was Director of West Hawaii Explorations Academy – a project-based high school with a science focus. Both schools won multiple awards. The process of developing our own schools was challenging and I’m very proud of our schools’ success. Working to make learning meaningful and fun for kids was very rewarding. It was a great way to end our teaching careers before retiring in 2010.

After 42 years in Hawaii, we were ready for a change and wanted to be closer to family and friends living in San Diego. We sold our house and moved to Anthem Country Club in Henderson, NV – a great community south of Las Vegas. We drive to San Diego frequently to visit our family: Jason, UNR graduate (biology), a game designer at Sony Online Entertainment; Rick, Planning Manager at ODM in Poway; and my sister, Roz –a 1961 LJHS graduate, who lives in Ocean Beach. I love being retired. I play a lot of bridge, travel frequently, enjoy my book group, cook and entertain friends, and work on house projects. Life is good! We’ll be traveling to Provence, France in October 2014 (right after the reunion) and we’re looking forward to the upcoming marriage of our son, Jason, to the love of his life, Michaelanne, a recent graduate of the Salk Institute doctoral program.