Sheree Dosovitz Harhay

Yes

I went to George Washington University from '71 to '75. I moved to Arlington, VA for the next three years. I had met my husband at GW med school in my senior year of college. We continued a three year relationship while he interned at GW Hospital and I commuted to Laurel, MD where I was employed as a self-contained Resource Room Teacher for grades 4, 5, and 6. In 1978, I married my now, ex-husband and we remained married until 1997. While teaching, I attended Johns Hopkins where I received half of my credits needed for an MBA; however, in 1982, my husband (Joseph Harhay) and I moved to the Jersey shore, near Atlantic City, where he joined an orthopedic surgery practice with my brother-in-law. Initially, I worked at the Winchell School which exclusively serviced children with multiple and severe physical handicaps. After one year of service there, I retired as my first son, Michael O. Harhay was born in August of 1983. I stayed home for the next ten years, and during that time I gave birth to my second son, Jason S. Harhay in February of 1989. In 1993, I returned to teaching in a private school for the next 9 years. I taught math and science to 5th and 7th graders, as well as drug education. I taught at a charter school for two years in the town of Pleasantville, but then stayed home for a year as I moved out of my home from marriage and made the transition into a smaller home and alternately took care of my aging mother who had moved into a wonderful and supportive Assisted Living Apt. in DC near my brother. I returned to teaching for the Child Study Team at Northfield, NJ and remained there for five years. I ended my career at another charter school in Atlantic City where I was laid off after the 2008 financial crisis leaving me without a job. It's been a tough time not having a job or structured time. It's become second nature and now with both boys out of the house, life has taken a new path for me. It's been an adjustment for me, but I know (at least in my heart) that we raise our kids so that they can enter life with good coping skill and make in the world independently. I hope to adjust to my new found independence and continue to be just as happy as I was before the empty nest. It's been a tough journey through the years since I left high school, but they have been laced with many happy occasions, the joy of the birth of my sons, and left me with deep admiration and gratefulness for my son's company through the rough times, and always for their unfettered love for me.

My recollection of Cheltenham High is scanty but I do remember specific events. I moved to DC to attend college after high school and have really not have much contact with anyone from all those years I lived on Wistar Drive. Regrettably, I was not on anyone's list for the first two reunions which I think is because of my own disconnect when I moved out of the area. I did make a connection for the fourth (I think the fourth) reunion but could not attend as my nephew's Bar Mitzvah was the very same day.

I remember Mr. Berry's sociology class. I recall when he asked the class what they thought the median income was in the country and a student he called on responded $50K. I don't recall the student or his name, but I remember how ticked off Mr. Berry was hearing the answer! We certainly led a charmed life in Cheltenham. Oddly, I remember class pictures in my senior year, my short haircut called the "shag". I have fond recollections of Matt Starobin and Louis Rosen during my senior year in high school. We were all just friends, but they both made me laugh and smile a lot. My memories of Ilene Rothman and Ellen Kret will always remain part of my good memories from elementary to high school. I remember their parents and the many good times we spent together. Christmas at Anne Danaher's house will always remain a wonderful memory for me, as well. I have asked about you Anne. Millie Fisher tried to keep me apprised of what you were up to, but I have never managed to get in contact with you. I hope you're well and happy. Saul Fox, you made me laugh until I cried. I think most of my memories of you were at EP Junior High, but I can still picture you sitting in class, looking at you and holding back an explosion of laughter as I watched you amuse me with your jokes, critiques of others, and our mutual sense of humor. I hope everyone has had a good life since Cheltenham graduation, but realistically, I know that many of us have faced numerous ups and downs, celebrations and tragedies, as well as success and failure. Still, as we look back, I hope that most of your memories, as well as mine, are filled with the 'good parts'... the happy and memorable times that touched our souls and made a difference in our life. Cheers to all of you. I hope to see your smiling faces at our reunion.