After twenty years at North Penn High School, reading teacher Ms. Mary Hall is stepping out of the halls and into retirement, but she takes many friendships and relationships with her, and in some cases, friendships that have turned into family.
“Teaching is such an interesting field, in that work family becomes so important,” Hall said. “I talk about my work family, to friends of mine who aren’t in the teaching field. And they’re kind of perplexed, like ‘What do you mean, your work family?’ We’ve had some pretty tragic things happen over here over the past couple of years. Losing staff or students, and just really sticking together for that.”
Through it all, certain faces have become fixtures in her story. “Lisa Krzemien has been here with me since day one; Megan Schoppe, assistant principal; Cheryl Neubert; my reading department, certainly. There’s only five of us. I think that’s what’s gotten me through. And the friendships that have carried over to outside of school, and I hope that continues,” Hall reflected.
And while she’s stepping away from a full-time classroom, Hall isn’t slowing down.
“People ask me, ‘What are you doing when you retire? Hall said. “My standard answer now is going to be, I’m going to live my best life.”
But true to form, she’s already found a new way to give back. “Chris Frey had given some information to some of my kids about the CHIP program. So he will send me emails with different opportunities. I’ll share them with my students. One of the opportunities was to volunteer at Elmwood Park Zoo. I thought to myself, ‘I think I’m gonna apply for it.’ So I did. So I am now a volunteer at my orientation at Elwood Park Zoo.”
And while the zoo is a new adventure, she’s not straying too far. “I will sub. People ask if I was going to sub in my district, which is Upper Perk, or here, but I’m leaning toward here. I know the building, I know the routine, and I know the people. I’ll be around a little bit, a couple days a month.”
Looking back, it’s not the big events or dramatic moments that stick out the most for Hall.
“You know, what’s funny, things that come to mind are sad things,” Hall noted. “I think about the people. We’ve lost a couple of people here. Some really valuable teachers and some that are going through some challenges right now. I think that’s in my forefront of my mind.”
But more than anything, it’s the simple, everyday connections she treasures. The quiet moments, the check-ins, or the student’s who needed a little extra encouragement.
“There’s a quote that I had looked up, I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. I think that, to me, I just want them to feel valued. You know, my class might not be the most interesting to them, but I just want them to feel valued. So if they think back of Ms. Hall someday, that I was kind, that I cared. Maybe they’re not going to remember everything I taught them, but that would be the most important thing to me.”
