A Tribute to Mrs. Haydock on Her Retirement

Twenty years ago, Mrs. Terry Haydock, along with her husband, Doug, daughter Brenna and son Warren, arrived at the gates of SJK. The family had recently moved from Edmonton, Alberta, and they quickly settled into the SJK community with their children enrolled as students and Terry hired as a teacher. 

As an experienced teacher, Terry’s value as a Grade 1 teacher immediately became apparent. She shared her love of reading with her students and never missed an opportunity to read aloud to her class, incorporating many hilarious sound effects and voices in her story telling. Her classroom was a place of themed learning and the classroom displays and student activities made it very easy to identify the topic of study. 

Terry made her mark in the Grade 1 classroom, but eagerly accepted the position of Senior Kindergarten teacher when it became vacant 16 years ago. Teaching in the early years is definitely Terry’s calling and when she transitioned to the role of Senior Kindergarten teacher she knew she had found her home. This is the age of children she most loved to teach and many four and five year olds have been inspired over the years thanks to Terry! 

Teachers are charged with the responsibility to lead young minds into the mysteries of life and it takes a very special person to teach in the kindergarten years. Terry’s nurturing, kind, creative and no-nonsense approach always made for a memorable and successful year in Kindergarten for her students. Her calm manner and good sense of humour has always been respected and appreciated. 

When speaking to her past students, they expressed their gratitude to Mrs. Haydock for teaching them and especially remembered the fun activities in the Kindergarten room. Every year Mrs. Haydock’s students eagerly awaited these much-loved special learning experiences. Whether anticipating the hatching of chicks in an incubator, grinding wheat to make flour and baking Little Red Hen bread or measuring the circumference of a pumpkin and counting apple seeds, Mrs. Haydock’s class was always fully engrossed in meaningful learning. In addition, Mrs. Haydock has incredible creative skills and her craft activities were so appreciated by the students and admired by her colleagues. Every Halloween we loved seeing Mrs. Haydock transition into a sweet Little Red Riding Hood or Fairy Godmother and parade through the hallways with her class of ghosts, princesses and pirates.

We would like to express our thanks to Mrs. Haydock for her contribution, not only to the academic life of all the students who were in her care over the years, but for every other aspect of school life where she was so generous with her time and talents. Under her care the young students grew, developed and truly flourished.

When Terry announced her retirement plans, we all knew she wasn’t retiring ‘from something’ but ‘to something.’ We know there are many years of adventure and fun ahead for Terry and her growing family, including grandchildren. 

Terry, may the blessings of good health, the joy of good friends, a loving family and the contentment of a job well done, fill your life with happiness! SJK will remember you!