A Retirement Surprise!
It's not very often we can pull one over on the 'old timers' in the building but we sure did today!
Did we have a fire drill that needed to be completed by the end of the year? YES
Did the School Division require us to 'muster' at the our secondary location? ABSOLUTELY NOT!
But it allowed us to have a socially distanced retirement event for Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Rychlo in which some community members were also able to be present. And the best part - they had NO CLUE what was in store for them once we got the rink!!
Each classroom had prepared a message for the retirees. The K-1-2 classroom offered advice for how to spend time during retirement. The Grades 3-4 and 7-8 classes shared some jokes. Students in Grade 5-6 wrote and performed a song. Abby Friesen and Ryan Kako spoke on behalf of their classmates and shared remembrances and messages of appreciation which we have included below.
Presentations were also given by Sun West School Division Board Member and former colleague, Sue Lytle, as well as DCS SCC Members, Gavin and Shannon Blackwell.
Thanks to the community members who were able to join us in our informal retirement celebration!
DCS is going to miss you guys! But trust us - we know you're only a phone call away if we need to track down a substitute teacher!
From the Grade 9/10 Class - Written and Presented by Abby Friesen
Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Rychlo, you guys mean more to us than any one of us will ever be able to say, but I'm going to try anyways.
I know I speak on behalf of each one of us, that, things will never be the same without you here, that we will miss you more than you will ever know. You gave us countless funny memories and quotes, you have encouraged us VERY strongly, and you have equipped us with knowledge that will benefit us for years down the road. You have made our school experience fun and memorable. You've taught us firmly and have guided us gently in ways that will stick with us for the rest of our lives, ways that we will cherish and remember long after we leave and move on from this school. But more importantly you gave us role models that we look up to, we can always turn to, and could always look forward to seeing each day. You both have such vivid, unique personalities. There is never a dull moment in these classes! (and all these little guys have no idea what they're missing out on)
The school is going to be so empty without you here. I mean, whose drawings are we going to laugh at? Who’s going to bust out interpretive dance, or keep us in check by threatening us to a brawl outside on the playground?! Who is going to organize PHENOMENAL graduations each year?
When you guys announced your retirement, I think we all realized how fast time and valued moments truly fly by. Half of this class has been lucky enough to call you guys teachers for two years now, and half of us have only had you for about a year—but in this short year, we’ve learned a lot from you two, and trust me, despite its challenges, it's a year that will always be special. It's not everywhere students get teachers as genuine and caring as you guys, and I hope you know how much that means to me, how much that means to everyone.
The time, the love, the effort that you guys put-in every single day doesn't go unnoticed. I imagine it’s stressful teaching a bunch of teenagers! major props to you guys for doing it for so long! Thank you for your wit—you are brilliant Mrs. Jones-- your patience, and your timeless sense of humor. Oh, and your wisdom—thanks to your hilarious jokes, I'll NEVER mix up hydrogen peroxide and water.
Welcome to your new found freedom, where you're finally free from us, students. We’ll miss you and we hope you know how thankful we are. Have a great retirement—you deserve it.
From the Grade 11/12 Class - Written and Presented by Ryan Kako
On behalf of the Grade 11 and 12 students, I would like to wish Mrs. Rychlo and Mrs. Jones all the best in their retirement. We’ve had a lot of laughs and good times in their classrooms during our high school years, and we will miss their encouragement, kindness, humour, and wisdom in the school (and it’ll be a lot quieter too without Mrs. Rychlo yelling at us to take biology).
In this new chapter of your lives, you will find new experiences, new talents, and new places to explore, but also new challenges that lie outside teaching teenagers algebra, writing and grammar skills, and much more. We are all very grateful to have had you both as teachers in our high school years, and we can’t wait to hear about all the adventures you find with us finally out of your hair (except Mrs. Jones - she hasn’t quite shaken us off yet).
Thank you.