HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1989-05-31, Page 24Page 24
Times -Advocate, May 31, 1989
Best wishes - MPP Jack Riddell (right) shown with Don O'Brien and his wife Donna, presented the retiring principal of Zurich Public School
with a congratulatory scroll at an appreciation and farewell at the school on Sunday. Riddell also acted as MC during the. program.
Zurich principal retires
By Yvonne Reynolds
ZURICH - After 34 years in the
teaching profession,. Zurich Public
School. principal Don O'Brien is re-
tiring at the end of June. The Zu-
rich native has spent his entire ca-
reer in Huron County schools, and
has headed his hometown school
twice, for a total of 22 -years. Any-
'onc reading his'resumc would spot
one.more interesting fact: In each
teaching position he has held,
O'Brien has always been top man.
O'Brien's first job, fresh out of
both his teens and London Teachers
College, was charge ,of Hay Town=
ship School -Board's SS#12 on the
_14th concession. He was the entire
teaching staff of thc one -room
school. - He chose the rural school
over an offer from St. -Marys be-
cause "an interest in sports dragged
me hack- Zurich had good baseball
and hockey teams". Besides, Hay
paid an annual salary of S2,600,
$200 more than offered by thc
Perth .County school.
During O'Bricn's five years at
SS#12, he was a member of the
baseball teams that wonthe top
All -Ontario trophies in 1956 and
again in 1958.. He also coached
two ininor hockey teams to provin-
cial championships.
O'Brien was appointed principal
of Zurich Public School in 1960.
In the midst of his 12-ycar stay,
the school underwent an extensive
remodelling and rebuilding. Most
of the original structure was torn
down, leaving only a two -room
secifbn added in. 1957 that now
contains the library, staff room and
one classroom. The present build-
ing was completed in 1966.
O'Brien was one of nine princi-
pals transferred within the county
in 1972. He thinks part of.the rea-
son for his posting to Victoria
Public School in Godcrich was to
put the experience gained in Zurich
to good. use in Victoria's recon-
struction program. • Classes were
held in the old part of the school
while the new school was being
cmc of the Godcrich staff who
had lived through that with -O'Brien
attended an Appreciation and Fare-
well Afternoon on Sunday in Zu-
rich Public School 10 mark their
former principal's retirement. All
noted O'Brien's outstanding charac-
teristic, an unfailing sense of hu-
• mour, which proved an invaluable
asset in thc midst of the turmoil
caused by the construction.
• O'Brien returned to his old job in
Zurich in 1979.
O'Brien bas seen many changes
over the years, going from a rural
school heated with a wood stove
that kept the students' feet in the
tropical zone and heads in the Arctic
to computer -equipped classrooms.
He has been part of the evolution
from disciplining through fear to
earning the students' respect, and a
curriculum that has grown from the
three Rs to inclusion of scx educa-
tion and information on AiDS.
O'Brien has always welcomed
change, .but he thinks perhaps the
time has come to retire as he sees
•
A. John Hughes, C.D.
Denture. Therapist -
Bot 839
37 Green Acres,
Grand Bend: Ontario
(519) 238-5300
409 Baker St. (Rear)
London, Ontario
(S19) 439.9386
the pendulum swinging back to
past practices such as more formal
testing. He has changed his mind
about the accuracy of that way of
measuring achievement.
"It puts terrible pressure on the
kids. I used to have a fantastic
exam schedule, but now I think
other criteria arc more important
thanjust marks. Education is
knowing where to go for informa-
tion, and' what to do with it",
O'Brien said. "More is expected of
kids now, They face many pres-
sures from society. So much
knowledge is available now, they
can't hope to fathom more than a
small part of it." .
Though O'Brien believes modern
day elementary school students are
more mature in behaviour, more
articulate and communicative than
thcir predecessors, he maintains one
thing has not changed: "Kids are_
still super".
O'Brien is looking forward with
anticipation town enjoyable and ac-
tive retirement. Ile plans to : do
some travelling in Europe, spend
more time in Lakeland, Florida,
(which coincidentally is the site of
the Detroit Tigers' spring training
camp) and devote more time to the
melon business. "You know -
'honey dew this', and honey dew
that"'
"Donna and i have proven we can
co -exist for two months. We
should be ahlc to for 12", O'Brien
added laughingly.
September will hold a number of.
new beginnings besides O'Brien's
retirement. The O'Briens' young-
est child, Brent, will begin univer-
sity, and their• younger grand-
daughter, Mcghan Bedour, starts
pre -kindergarten nursery school.
(Son Jeff and daughter Pam both
live in London.)
O'Brien will also have time to re-
play some of thc vignettes stored in
his. memory. Like the time back at
SS#12 when a mouse caused a dis-
traction while the children were ob-
serving two minutes silence one
Remembrance Day. He was super=
vising memory work when he felt
action in his pantleg.- He grabbed
for the moving lump on his knee,
killed the intruder with a mighty
squeeze, displayed his trophy to the
class and dropped the corpse into
the wood -stove.
He still smiles every time he re-
calls asking a Tittle girl who had left
a pop bottle by the sink.
"Mc didn't", she replied.
"/ didn't", O'Brien corrected.
"Me either", she responded.
A recent addition to his collection
is a letter from a formcr student
wishing him well on his retirement:
The letter reads in part: "It has
been said that man's earliest teacher
Hensall Civic Corner
11
NOTICE
&h The Deadline For The
- III f d'` , First Annual Photo Contest
1
Hi i1
• ' has. been extended to 12 noon
Friday, June 2
•
Notice of Nominations
Village of Hensall
Nomination papers can be picked up at the
Municipal Office,' 108 King Street for the posi-
tion of:
- ONE MEMBER to the Huron County Board of
Education for the Township of Tuckersmith and the
Village of Hensall.
The •member so nominated, if elected is to serve .the
balance of the three year term 1989-90 and 1991. : •
NOTE - Once the Nomination Form is completed it must
be filed with J.R. McLachlan, Clerk of the Township of
Tuckersmith, in the period commencing on June lst,
1989. and concluding on June 5th, 1989 at 5:00 p.m.
• Should An Election Be Required •
The same will .be held. on Monday, Jurte 26, 1989
between the hour's of 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m:
ADVANCE POLLS -
Saturday. June 17. 1989 - 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 perp.
Thursdays June 22. 1989-.10:00;a.•rn. -
The last day 'for filing forms requesting additions,
corrections or deletions to the list of preliminary electors
is June 5th, 1989. '
•
L.F. Phair
Clerk -Treasurer
Village of Hensall
108 Kis Street
Hensall''Ontaruo NOM 1 XO
262-28-12
was the Greek poet Socrates. It was
belirvcd that he had all the wisdom
that Man had acquired at that time.
In this day and age no teacher can
hope to possess that much knowl-
edge. All he or she can hope to
achieve is to develop in students an
eagerness to learn. Even though
my post -secondary education has
been limited, I have had thc privi-
lege of being taught by some teach-
ers I would follow to hell and
back....You, 'Don, have been one of
those teachers".
Another former student told him
recently that "you always made eve-
ryone in the class feel important,
and that -they were getting along
fine." _
O'Brien claims' the secret of suc-
cess for a teacher is "You have to
like kids and develop a rapport with
-them." In his case, that has obvi-
ously worked both ways.
Among the well-wishcrs packed
into the school gym on Sunday
were active and retired teachers from
Godcrich and Zurich staffs, former
students, and a host of friends. Ag-
riculture minister Jack Riddell,
whose children attcndcd the Zurich
school, acted as MC for a short pro-
gram reviewing O'Brien's life. Zu-
rich teacher Larry Wcido presented
O'Brien with a set of golf clubs on
behalf of the Community.
1
Presentation - Zurich Public School teacher .Larry Weido presents
Don O'Brien with a set of golf club's during an open house held in
the school to honour the retiring principal. The gift was from the
community and O'Brien's associates. Donna O'Brien looks on.
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