• Teacher documents her, students' journeys by collecting destination magnets

    magWhen Chris Morris was young, her father collected magnets for every place they visited on vacation. By the time the Bellefonte Area High School history and psychology teacher was in college to study education, she “thought it would be a cool idea to display magnets” on her then-chalkboard.

    Now, displayed on a whiteboard, there are hundreds of magnets in her first-floor classroom that showcase the places she has visited, as well as memorabilia from student’s journeys. It provides a story of adventure, Morris said, adding that it’s a little like being able to visit places with her students even if they don’t travel together.

    “The stories of the people, cultural traditions and places are the most interesting part of this display,” she said. “At the end of each year when I take down the magnets to store over the summer, my students notice right away and tell me that my boards look too bare.”

    *By Brit Milazzo, public relations director, BASD

  • Her favorites represent historical sites and vacation memories, which she describes below:

    • Disney: Every time we stay in a new resort at Disney, I will get a magnet.  I am searching right now for the 50th anniversary magnet.
    • Historical places: Rome, Athens, European castles, Morocco and France. When we traveled to Europe with EF Tours in 2019, I made sure that I bought a magnet in each locale.
    • Historical places in US: Tybee Island turtles, Mt. Vernon (George Washington), Mount Rushmore, New York City, Boston, Civil War battlefields
    • Civil War battlefields: My husband and I are visiting several Civil War battlefields due to our interest in the Civil War. The last battlefield we visited was Manassas. I have magnets from Gettysburg, Harpers Ferry, Antietam and Manassas. We want to do a tour of Civil War battlefields in Virginia soon.