Today, we said a fond farewell to Ann Fitzsimons, one of our long-standing Special Needs Assistants. Ann began working in St Colman's in November 2001 and since then she has worked with countless children across every class level. Her gentle, quiet manner has been a comfort to many students on good and bad days. Ann has worked with numerous teachers over the years and everyone found her calm presence and commitment to the students extremely helpful in a busy classroom.
At 2pm, Mrs Garvey spoke to each class over the intercom. She invited a group of sixth class students to tell us their memories of when Ann worked in their class. They presented Ann with a gift from all the students in the school - a family pass for Tullynally Castle to enjoy with her grandchildren. Mrs Garvey then asked Conan from fifth class to read a poem written especially for Ann entitled, 'The Coolest SNA in Town'. Afterwards, Conan presented Ann with a hand-crafted book containing a page written by every class group in the school.
We would all like to wish Ann a long, happy and healthy retirement.
