The Rochester Memorial School community gathered together on Thursday afternoon, June 14, in the gymnasium to honor the three faculty members who are retiring at the end of this school year. The tear-filled tribute to out-going second grade teacher, Joyce Bourdon, reading specialist Candy Miller-Mitchell, and principal Jay Ryan, featured speeches and songs dedicated to their educational careers and the lives they touched along the way.
“There is a lot of excitement in this gymnasium today,” said Superintendent Doug White, before a loud and gleeful room of elementary school students.
White personally thanked the three faculty members for their years of service and presented them each with a certificate of recognition from the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
“Good luck and good fortune,” he said in conclusion.
The ceremony included the presentation of many gifts, as well. Members of the PTO also presented the three retirees with books, and read a poem entitled “Courage,” which illustrated the different ways courageousness are manifested.
“There are awesome kinds and everyday kinds…Courage is sometimes having to say goodbye…Courage is what we give to each other,” they read.
Two students presented a bench, hand-painted with imagery from Eric Carle’s classic The Very Hungry Caterpiller, to Miller-Mitchell and Bordan, to be installed in the library. The RMS Student Council also spoke, thanking Ryan for his help improving the school and encouraging them to work together to solve problems.
Students also offered musical thanks to the staff members. Mrs. Ciaburri’s first grade class sang a song of thanks, and the fourth graders sang “God Bless the U.S.A.” in honor of Bourdon, who is well-known for singing patriotic songs with her second graders. The song was part of the school’s Flag Day ceremony, which took place earlier in the day. Bourdon was unable to attend because she has been recovering from a recent car accident.
“I wouldn’t have missed this afternoon for the world,” she said to her school family. The ceremony ended with the entire student body joining together to sing “We Wish You Well,” a song that is as much about happiness as it is about sorrow.
“I want to thank everybody, for everything,” said Miller-Mitchell. “You all mean so much to me and you always will.”
“Today, I don’t think the three of us feel any different than any of you,” Ryan said to his students. “It keeps us young, it keeps us happy to be around all of you. Thank you for everything.”
By Eric Tripoli
