We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you for your support throughout 2017 and in particular to those who attended  Mary Ryan’s farewell assembly. For those who missed this lovely assembly we include Mary’s farewell speech below:

I have just a few things to say. I have loved teaching here at Cardinal McKeefry- and I’ve got all of you to thank for that- you are so keen to learn and are so respectful to each other and to your teachers. One of things about being a teacher that you are always learning yourself and you can learn so much from the students you are teaching.  There have been days in Room 5 when everyone’s buzzing about what they are learning  I’ve looked out at the bush seen a parakeet or a kereru and thought to myself when it comes to jobs “this is as good as it gets.”

I believe that everyone has a little spark inside them and its part of the teachers job to help you recognise what that spark is and to light it with you. When you find yourself loving what you are doing and wanting to do it in your spare time you have found your spark and lit it. It might be when you read a good book, when you are playing sport, when you write a story or poem or solve a maths problem or when you pray. It might be when you sing, move or play music or when you create a work of art or a structure with lego. It might be when you come up with ideas that no-one else has thought of or create something on the computer. But once that spark is lit it is your job to keep feeding it as you grow up because sometimes when we get older we get so busy with other things it can get get smaller and smaller and can even go out. How often do we hear adults say “ I would love to do that if I had the time” If it is something you really love doing and you are passionate about it my advice to you is work at it and you never know where it could take you.

The other day when we were on the bus going to Ben Burn Park I heard a voice near me say “There’s the Karori Library- libraries are the best place in the world” I smiled at Estelle and thought there’s a spark that has been lit.

One of my sparks was teaching art and once I was teaching the five year olds about Picasso so the first lesson we looked at some of his art and learnt about his life . Next week they came back for lesson number 2 and I asked what was the name of the artist we were talking about last week? One hand shot up and I thought ah here’s someone who’s little spark was lit. But as we focussed on him to hear the name Picasso his hand slowly lowered and he said was it Avacado? He got the o right anyway .

 

I would also like to thank the Cardinal Mckeefry community too – it has always been such a supportive and caring community to work in. Over the years I can recall many amazing fundraisers where everyone worked together and had lots of fun doing it. I’m sure this hall where we are now is like the heart of our school. We gather as a school here to sing and dance and pray to welcome and to farewell and to celebrate our successes. After school parents gather and chat and start friendships here- I’ve always felt it is the reason we have such a strong school community. These students here today are a credit to you and your support and encouragement at home give them the confidence to take on learning challenges and feel good about what they  achieve.

Thanks to all my colleagues past and present. Thanks to Kate, Laura, Bridget, Estelle, Lynne, Jo –anne, Donny  They make a great team and are all so supportive and committed to their work and do a wonderful job here teaching and caring for the students.

Special thanks to Tania for all the support and the professional knowledge you have shared with me over the last two and half years. I have loved working with you.  Your commitment to education and your stamina to face new challenges amaze me – you are always ready to walk the talk with us and lead by example.

It’s time to take a break for me but you will no doubt see me around the school doing some relieving and catching up next year. Finally thank you Tania for going against my wishes and organising this farewell today I do appreciate it and I’d like you to accept this gift for the school from me.