4 minute read
BREAKFAST EVENT
JOAN RAU BECKY HORTON
Advertisement
RETIREMENT + FAREWELL
BREAKFAST EVENT HELD FOR DEPARTING TEACHERS
As the curtain came down on the 2017-18
school year, a number of Sycamore teachers also closed out their teaching careers at Sycamore, while others are moving on to positions of leadership and opportunity.
A breakfast event was held in the Bhatia Lab
just before the end of the school year for the teachers leaving Sycamore. Whether they were here for 20 years or only one, each has contributed to making the school a great place for our students, and they will be missed.
Longtime third grade teacher, Deb Reidy, has headed into retirement after 24 years at Sycamore, to spend more time with her family. As part of her teaching, she was instrumental in bringing writers and poets to Sycamore to workshop with the students and in planting the seeds of creative writing into the thoughts of her students. “Whenever I talk to former
students, and even in the end-of-year notes that I get from current parents and students, the thing that is mentioned most is poetry,” she says. “Third grade has become known and remembered for the focus on poetry, and I couldn’t be more pleased about that. The Poetry Tea, where students memorize and recite poems they have chosen, is always a highlight of the school year. The students are also very fortunate to work with Rebecca Kai Dotlich when she visits third grade each year to lead a two-day poetry writing workshop.”
Reidy attributes part of the joy she has experienced working at Sycamore to her teaching partners. “For seventeen years my co-teacher in third grade was Sheila Hyatt. Sheila is actually the person who started the Poetry Tea before I came to Sycamore, and many of the other traditions in third grade were started as a collaboration between the
two of us. I’ve also enjoyed working for many years with Joan Rau and Joanna Jockish, long-time third grade assistants.”
Reidy says she will devote more time to writing. Over the last few year, she has developed a relationship with Highlights Magazine, and they have purchased and published a few of her children’s poems. Without the demands of teaching, she says she plans to focus much more on writing.
DEB REIDY (LEFT) WITH THE PERMANENT INDIANA STUDENT ARTWORK HER CLASSES CREATED FOR THE OUTDOOR SCIENCE LAB.
Pre-K teacher Jeannie Schull also exits after a long run at Sycamore. She remembers when she started at the school. “In Pre-K, I overcame fears along with the children. I allowed a tarantula to walk across my hands, and I petted a snake. The children were thrilled when they found bones in owl pellets, created drops of blood, opened a brain model, ‘visited’ different habitats, launched balloons, and learned about the world we are a part of.”
Shull says she will also remember how much fun she had. “Working at Sycamore, you can be guaranteed a laugh every day, and you will learn something new or be reminded of something old,” she says.
Becky Horton has been an assistant here since 2000-2001, when she started as an assistant to Amy Lambert. The teacher that influenced me the most was Doris Fulwider,” she says. “Her love of teaching math is so awesome. I wish I’d been taught math the way she does. She makes it so interesting and fun. How could you not love math after being with her.” Horton will miss the people of Sycamore. “I always had fun being in the staff lounge to get coffee or to have lunch. There was usually someone to chat with that I didn’t see regularly.”
Joan Rau is retiring after two teaching stints at Sycamore, spanning 18 years, beginning in first grade and then moving to third grade. “People talk about what a family atmosphere there is at Sycamore, and that is so true,” Rau says. “I loved having all the siblings in a family and watching them grow and thrive over the years. I’m thankful for all the close friendships I’ve made with coworkers over the years as well.”
Rau may say it best when she talks about teaching at Sycamore and what it has meant. “There is such a great support system in place, and I will miss being a part of that. I’ve always felt privileged to be part of the Sycamore family. As I’m retiring, I can’t believe how the time has flown by.” n
DEB REIDY
3RD GRADE TEACHER
RETIRING
JEANNIE SHULL
PREK TEACHER
RETIRING
ERIN HELLMAN
3RD GRADE TEACHER
MOVING TO COLORADO
MATHEW PHILIPOSE
5TH/6TH GRADE SCIENCE TEACHER
RETURNING TO INDIA
JOAN RAU
3RD GRADE ASSISTANT
RETIRING
BECKY HORTON
2ND GRADE ASSISTANT
RETIRING
(Returning in 2018 to fill a maternity leave)
BRITTANY MOFFATT
4TH GRADE ASSISTANT
STAYING AT HOME WITH CHILDREN
ANDY MATTICE
MS ASSISTANT
ACCEPTED A LEAD TEACHING POSITION
RAENOSA HUDNELL
MS ASSISTANT
ACCEPTED A LEAD TEACHING POSITION
JOYCE SZOLEK
PREK ASSISTANT,
