On Friday last, October 2nd, our school community paid tribute to our Deputy Principal, Mrs Margaret Hannon, who is retiring after 40 years of stellar service to the teaching profession, 37 of which were spent here in St. Louis. Due to current Covid-19 restrictions, a special assembly was held over Zoom with all classes taking part in their own rooms. The children recited a poem and sang a song in Mrs Hannon’s honour, while three pupils, Inna, Caitlin and Yasmin, individually presented her with a floral arrangement, a necklace and a Memory Book comprising of pieces of writing and art work from every class.
Presentations were also made by Chairperson of the Board of Management, Mr. Packie McAdam and Chair of the Parents’ Association, Mrs Carmel Duffy, both of whom thanked Margaret for her enormous contribution to the school. Principal of St. Louis Infant School, Mrs Carmel Mc Carroll presented a gift on behalf of her staff and Board. Finally, Mrs Tina McKenna presented Margaret with an array of gifts from the staff of the school.
In her address to everyone present, Principal, Mrs Bernie Farrell, spoke of how lucky the school has been to have such a calm, caring and hard-working teacher on the staff. Mrs Hannon fulfilled many and varied roles while in St. Louis GNS, always with great dedication and enthusiasm. Initially she worked for many years as a Mainstream Class Teacher, most notably in 4th and 2nd class, where she prepared countless girls for the Sacraments of First Confession and First Holy Communion. Later, she took on the challenge of Language Support Teacher, deriving great satisfaction from welcoming our newcomer pupils and seeing their communication skills in English improve dramatically.
In recent years, as part of her role as Deputy Principal, Mrs Hannon led and coordinated the Special Education Team to great effect. She showed total commitment and dedication to her profession and always had a genuine concern for and interest in each and every pupil in her care. Mrs Hannon excelled in her role as Deputy Principal where her gifts as a good listener and supportive team player were very much to the fore.
Aside from her academic work, Mrs Hannon will be remembered fondly for her great love of sport and physical fitness. She was passionate about improving the fitness levels of our girls and a firm believer in the mental and wellbeing benefits that emanate from physical exercise. Often dubbed the “Minister for Sport”, she was instrumental in introducing handball to the school, supporting the purchase of a handball wall and organising in-school leagues. She also introduced the Daily Mile Initiative; so each class bubble did a special lap of their yard area on Friday in her honour!
Mrs Hannon is a most cherished colleague who will be truly missed, especially for her warm, friendly personality and wonderful sense of humour. The whole school community wish her a retirement full of happiness, good health and lots of good times and thank her very sincerely for her significant input to the education of the pupils in St. Louis GNS. Go dté sí slán síos bóithre na beatha!
