Seniors are not the only people starting the next phase of their lives; five staff members will begin their retirement at the end of the school year.
“I plan to do some volunteering, tutoring, and writing; spend more time with my family and friends; attend spinning classes at LA Fitness 3 or 4 times per week, and get our house ready to sell and move closer to our kids in the suburbs,” Lynn Bond, math teacher, said.
After teaching for sixteen years, she has helped change many student’s lives.
“A student told me that a comment I made in the class changed the trajectory of his life. He had planned to major in biology, so he wouldn’t have to take any more math, but on that day in 2006 he became fascinated with math,” Bond said.
Many students have visited Judy Delaney in the nurse’s office with various types of dilemmas. Delaney has been a school nurse for 17 years.
“One of my favorite memories is when a student that was in the veterinarian program of Wilco got peed on by a dog,” Delaney said. Delaney plans to continue working as a librarian after retirement.
After teaching at Plainfield Central for 13 years, band director Dan Valkema plans to continue his passion by judging band competition and festivals, arranging student teacher supervision for colleges, and teaching college classes.
“[The one that has stuck with me is] sharing my love of music and having that come out in outstanding performances by our student groups and how good music impacts them,” Valkema said.
Another teacher that will end their teaching career is athletic director Anne Campbell. Cambell has taught for 34 years at various schools and has spent the last 17 years of her career at Plainfield Central.
Campbell plans to enjoy the extra time she has and spend some time in Florida. She will miss the students most. Campbell has created many memories over the past 17 years.
“Some of my best memories are about seeing kids overcome a fear or obstacle with Adventure Challenge,” Campbell said.
John Jackson, former head football coach and history teacher will be retiring this year after teaching for 21 years.
“[My favorite coaching memory was] my best season in 2000 at Plainfield when we went undefeated,” Jackson said. His advice to students is “God made you all equal, the catch is, he didn’t give you equal parts, so don’t think that everybody’s going to be a superstar. Find something you are good at, and make the best of it,” Jackson said.