A giant surprise, foot bumps, and possibly the final year as Thatcher Brook Primary School
June 15, 2021 | By Lisa Scagliotti
As last days of school go, the consensus at Thatcher Brook Primary School was that this year’s final day was pretty epic.
When ever has a school with some 400 students plus teachers managed to keep a secret to stage a giant surprise party when excitement for summer vacation is at an all-time high?
Somehow, they pulled it off to the delight of the five retiring staff members who truly were surprised and a little misty-eyed at the spectacle last Friday in front of the Stowe Street school.
In the works for days, staff that morning donned special blue and white t-shirts for the day with the five retirees’ names inscribed on them: Principal Denise Goodnow and teachers Sonja Burbank, Sarah Hanson, Anne Hutchinson, and MK Monley. The ruse? A quick trip to KC’s Bagels while everyone in school scrambled to get into place.
Teachers from each class brought their students out to stand along the front sidewalks. There was music and a bubble machine and many hand-held noisemakers including lots of cowbells.
Students fidgeted and bounced and craned their necks looking down the street for the group’s return. When they came within view, the cheers and noise erupted.
The honorees by then were clued-in as Goodnow sported a Go-Pro camera on her head and the rest each had some costume item. As they walked “the gauntlet” as it was called they high-fived youngsters and colleagues alike.
Assistant Principal Sarah Schoolcraft said the plans were in the works for days for something out-of-the-ordinary to honor this group of educators with many decades of service and connections to the school community. And the guests of honor? They said they were truly surprised.
It also is significant as the school goes through a renaming process that aims to have a new name in place when the 2021-22 school year begins in late August. The school’s Renaming Team has recommended “Brookside Primary School” as the new moniker. The school board still needs to consider and approve.
In-person sendoff for fourth graders
What a difference a year makes. After a distant, separated finale to the 2020 school year where fourth-graders bid their school and teachers farewell from their parents’ cars and trucks, this year’s class of primary school graduates celebrated together in the schoolyard last Thursday.
Standing on painted dots on the front sidewalk, students wearing masks stood before their parents who gathered on the grassy circle with cameras and phones to capture the moment. The four classes of 72 fourth graders divided into two ceremonies to keep the gatherings small. Two classes came out at 9 a.m. with their teachers Chris Costello and Stefi Clymer; the other two with teachers Camille Anderson, Kaitlin Ames and Anne Hutchinson were on at 10 a.m.
Teachers assisted by librarian Nancy Daigle pushed a cart along the sidewalk, stopping at each student’s spot to hand them a gift-wrapped book (a school tradition) and a colorful spinning pinwheel as a memento.
Instead of hugs, teachers and students exchanged foot bumps, their eyes connecting over their masks with apparent smiles.
It wasn’t the usual ceremony in the school gym with songs and speeches, but 2020-21 wasn’t a usual year. As each ceremony ended, students looked to the pack of parents to find theirs and at that point there were hugs, some flowers, and more photos.
And the start of summer vacation.