As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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contemplating at big jump career wise - updated in last post 9/5
I've been an elementary school teacher for 10 years now. About 1/2 way through that I took a few years off and had DD. During that "break" I went back and got my Masters. Before returning to teaching little people, I taught a year at the community college level. I liked it, but I really wanted the great Mommy schedule that being at an elementary gives me.
The whole time I've been teaching I've had people tell me that I'm great at the leadership aspect. I get "nominated" to lead committees, go to district level mtg, etc. I don't mind, it's actually a nice compliment. The other thing some people have said is that I'd make a great principal. I've never really given that much thought, but this weekend DH and I have been talking about it. In 5 or 10 years it might be nice to have a change in career, but not leave the great district I work for. At that point I'll still have 20 years or so before retirement, so it might be kind of a nice change of pace.
There's a program at our local university that runs fall/spring/summer/fall/spring and is basically 5 classes, worth 6 credits each. It sounds much better than doing a boatload of courses again like I did before. Also, you are in a cohort of people who go through the program together, so that's kind of nice. I'm thinking I'll do this 4 or 5 years from now, so DD will be more independent and won't want me around so much at that point.
One more thing...in 5 years I will hit the top of my payscale. I'm not thinking of doing this for the $$, but do I want to spend the last 25 years of my career getting a 2% raise each year?? If I do this, I'll make like a $16,000 jump the first year, so really, anything on top of that would be icing on the cake! Also, if I get my own school in 7 or 8 years, it'll be just in time to help pay for DD to go to college!
I don't know if I'm crazy to be thinking this, but it's worth considering. My principal is fabulous, and we just had a principal intern with us for 2 years before she got her own school this year. I'm going to talk to my principal this week and bounce some ideas off of her. Wish me luck deciding!!!
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Looking forward to another Christmas with The Mouse!!
Last edited by IdahoDisneyMom; 09-05-2008 at 08:16 PM..
Good luck on your decision! I have been teaching for 31 years and love it. I would never want an administration level position, but I am also in a high school. We have a similar training program in MS that our district works with in training principals. It is very successful. It is a big step to make but could be just the thing for you.
My sister, Shannon, is an elementary school principal. While she loves it, I would have gotten fired the first year.
Stinky, my niece, was in 7th or 8th grade when Shannon became a principal. She has said that if Stinky was any younger she would have not made the change. The administrators in our district are under a 250 day contract, so basically they only have Winter, Spring, and Thanksgiving breaks off.
If you love kids and working with the teachers, I say go for it! You would still be in education and would still be with the kids, and that is who we are there for.
Thanks everybody! I just talked to my BFF, also a teacher, and she was so excited at the idea. She said that while she couldn't do it (I'm pushier/more assertive than she is ), she said that she's always thought it would be a good move for me! I'm going to try to talk with my principal Tues or Wed, and get her thoughts on how it works in our district. Augh!! Life changes are scary!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fortissimo
The administrators in our district are under a 250 day contract, so basically they only have Winter, Spring, and Thanksgiving breaks off
I don't remember the exact # count of days, but our administrators also get about 6 weeks in the summer.
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Looking forward to another Christmas with The Mouse!!
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I went back and got my Masters. Before returning to teaching little people, I taught a year at the community college level. I liked it, but I really wanted the great Mommy schedule that being at an elementary gives me. 
I've never really given that much thought, but this weekend DH and I have been talking about it. In 5 or 10 years it might be nice to have a change in career, but not leave the great district I work for. At that point I'll still have 20 years or so before retirement, so it might be kind of a nice change of pace. 
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Caitlin, my BBB Princess, Dec '08
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