A friend's retirement...

Last month I was an invited guest at a friend's retirement function. This friend has already featured in some of my blog posts...Carmen.

A photo of us helping out in the kitchen at the Christmas Markets

We met 35 years ago when Carmen was my 'prac' student. She was the first 'mature age' student teacher that I'd met; I was 24 and she was 27! During the 4 week practicum session Carmen taught lessons in my Year 7 classroom. That was interesting in itself as she was an 'Early Childhood' major :-/. She indicated to me early in the block that she was worried about working with the older children. After a week or so she then wondered whether she did actually want to specialise in Early Childhood! lol  When Carmen graduated she went to a local school. For her first 3 years there, she taught Year 1. From then on, for the next 31 years, she taught older children. Yes! she was at the same school for 34 years and had become a much loved part of that school community.

From that 'prac block' Carmen and I became good friends, through thick and thin. I was one of 2 invited guests at the retirement function, from the 'early days'...the other was a lecturer from her college days. Many former students and their parents attended as well as quite a few former colleagues of Carmen's...plus the whole present day school population. A number of her students, past and present, made speeches. So many of them alluded to the fact that Carmen would keep tadpoles in the classroom so her students could document their turning into frogs. Funny they should say that because I knew I had a photo taken on a parish camp many years ago with Carmen catching tadpoles near Lake Maroon :-)

The function was so big  that it was held on the school oval!  Here are some photos from that wonderful afternoon last month...

The guest of honour was driven down on to the oval in an Impala :-)

The car was borrowed from someone in the school community and  driven by the deputy  principal, David.

After getting out of the car, the guest of honour had to walk through a guard of honour formed by the Year 7 cohort

Lots of speeches...

One of the gifts given by the school community

Another painting presented to Carmen by her former college art lecturer  (he was mine too in my second year)

The cake that was cut later in the school hall

The school noticeboard on Old Northern Rd

Now Carmen can relax and enjoy a wonderful retirement knowing how much she gave to this school community.