Morrisville teacher receives surprise farewell
Retiring physical eduction teacher Bruce Campbell autographs students t-shirts during his last field day at the Morrisville Middle/Senior High School which he's been participating in for 33 years.
Posted: Friday, June 8, 2012 12:00 am | Updated: 6:05 am, Fri Jun 8, 2012.
Bruce Campbell, a gym teacher in Morrisville School District, had just finished paying the tab at Double Eagle Golf course at the Snipes Farm in Falls.
After a hectic field day, Campbell thanked the general manager for allowing him to use the facility’s two miniature golf courses for his hundreds of students.
Campbell’s wife, Tammy Campbell, and student teacher Kyle Kaminskas were in a hurry to get the educator back to his elementary school. Tammy said she had to check on the couple’s golden retriever, Chloe, while Bruce cleaned up equipment used for the day’s activities.
As the group’s van reached the school’s parking lot, Bruce Campbell stepped out and heard something unusual — faint cries coming from the school gym. He looked at his wife with a quizzical expression. With a big smile, she ushered him toward the entrance.
An enormous round of applause met Campbell’s ears as he entered. Hundreds of students sat before him, their blue and gold field day shirts painting a picture on the gym floor. Cheers of “Surprise!” and other greetings overwhelmed him as he spied a sign reading “Thank You Mr. Campbell. We’ll Miss You!”
DJ John Ferdinand, host for the field day’s dance sessions, introduced a speechless Campbell to the students and an attending Marine presented him a certificate depicting the Iwo Jima Memorial that expresses what the Marine Corps stands for: “honor, courage, commitment.”
Campbell, who isn’t a Marine, has incorporated a Marine fitness program into school activities.
The test, administered by the coach, consists of push-ups, sit-ups, standing long jumps, the flexed arm hang, and a 300 yard run. Students must earn a challenging 250 points to successfully complete the test.
After the presentation, students rushed forward so that the 58-year-old coach could sign their field day shirts.
The recent surprise celebration, which was organized by Tammy Campbell, enabled his students to say one last goodbye before he retires and packs his bags for Florida at the end of the school year.{/span}
{span}More importantly, it allowed them{/span} to thank Campbell for all he has done to improve the physical education program at Grandview Elementary School and Morrisville Intermediate School.
With the help of the Grandview PTO, Campbell almost single-handedly expanded the district’s annual field days throughout his 33-year career.
Today, they include much more than traditional team relays and tug of war matches.
Because of his hard work, a typical field day schedule now includes 40 minutes of golf, bowling at Morrisville Lanes, 30 minutes of dancing guided by DJ Ferdinand, a game of kickball, and Marine fitness tests (administered by Campbell himself).
The schedules are complemented by choice activities like scooter and parachute games. In parachute games, students sit in a circle around a rainbow parachute and shake its edges to keep objects from falling to the ground. Inventive relays, such as the Waiter/Waitress Relay, in which students balance cups on textbooks while running to their teams, complete the schedule.
“I try to give them activities that I would want as a kid,” Campbell said.
“My favorite part of field day is the bowling,” beamed Bethany Macwana, a fourth-grader. Miniature golf and kickball, she said, are close seconds.
“He’s an awesome gym teacher,” Bethany and her peer Fracesca Simmers exclaimed in unison.
Laurie Ruffing, principal at Grandview, said field day “brings out (the students’) competitive side but teaches them to be team players as well. All of that wouldn’t happen if it weren’t for Bruce.”
The unanimous consensus is the district will be hard-pressed to find someone to live up to Campbell’s reputation as an involved educator and dedicated field day organizer. The hope is Morrisville can find someone with the same commitment and enthusiasm to the job.
Many see Campbell as unique. “Anyone they replace him with, they’re not going to be able to fill his shoes,” said Kaminskas.
Campbell looks forward to retirement in Vero Beach, Fla., where he hopes to become a substitute teacher and continue to live an active life.
20 comments:
Klaatu barada nikto!
Speaking of Army of Darkness and Evil Dead, what's Marlys been up to?It's been quiet lately and that's not a good thing.
Mihok & Stout are meeting at Worob's house a lot.
Ron must be coughing up blood again.
As always, simply old friends getting together for the betterment of Morrisville, making their apologists & enablers proud.
Dewildes & Marones of the world, you ran with them, you stuck their signs in your lawns, you distributed their fliers, don't try to distance yourselves from them, you're stuck to them like glue as along as you condone their antics.
Your silence is complicity. Talking bad about them behind their backs isn't enough.
Not to be a Debby Downer on the celebration..but.....The PTO paid for Golf, Bowling and DJ for as long as I can remember!
Kudos PTO. There are unsung heroes and then there are oversung zeroes. You have to keep your eyes and ears open to tell the difference. The zeroes sell the lies.
there is nothing quiet about marlis...she is a ticking time bomb as well as her cohorts
Really? There's nothing nice to say about Mr. Campbell from anyone? You're all stuck on SOC. Get outside and get some fresh air.
Mr. Campbell taught all my kids. He is a great coach and mentor. Whenever someone bashes the teachers, Mr. Campbell was one of the ones I thought of that proved them wrong. He's a dedicated professional and a great friend to the Morrisville community. I for one will miss him here and wish him all the best in retirement.
I guess the other 7 Morrisville teachers that are retiring are chopped liver since they didn't get an article in the paper for all the hard work they do.
Who are the other seven teachers?
Off topic, but I wonder if Ferrara applied?
School board will consider Gretzula for superintendent job
By Christian Menno Staff writer
6/8/12
The three finalists for the soon-to-be vacant position of Neshaminy School District superintendent were trimmed to one candidate before Thursday’s public interview session even began.
Still standing is William Gretzula. The supervisor of curriculum and instruction for Bensalem schools elected to take part in the event, which was attended by several community members and at least one district teacher.
According to school board president Ritchie Webb, the other two candidates were eliminated from contention when they chose not to participate in the public vetting due to concerns about their current employment if they were not eventually selected to become Neshaminy’s top administrator.
The selection committee, led by board member Mike Morris, will have to consider if Gretzula is its man, or if it needs to get back to the drawing board and start the interview process over in search of other candidates.
Current Superintendent Louis Muenker is set to retire at the end of the school year.
Gretzula, a Bensalem resident, answered a variety of questions gathered from emails sent by residents leading up to the session and delivered by Barry Galasso, executive director of the Bucks County Intermediate Unit.
According to officials, Galasso performs similar services, free of charge, to various school districts looking to hire new administrators.
The interview lasted about one hour, but ended with some question as to how exactly it unfolded.
Resident Charles Alfonso shouted loudly that the event was a “sham” because the public was not permitted to ask questions after the submitted questions were delivered.
He said board members had indicated to him that the public in attendance was going to be allowed to question the candidates.
Galasso said that he was following the parameters approved by the school board.
Morris admitted that the board approved the format, but added that earlier Thursday he asked to see if the plan could change and allow public comment. Morris said that Galasso advised him to stick to the originally approved setup.
Gretzula has 20 years of experience in education. Ten of those years were spent in Neshaminy as a teacher and administrator. During the bulk of the other 10 years, he worked for Quakertown and Bensalem schools. He served as Bensalem’s superintendent for two years before stepping down due to his mother’s battle with cancer and to spend more time with his two children.
Gretzula said he was asked by board members during his first interview how they could be assured that something like that wouldn’t happen again if he was hired in Neshaminy.
He said Thursday that no candidate could predict what might happen down the line, but added that if he were to get the job that he and his family would commit to the district by moving into the community. Gretzula said he’s lived in Bensalem for the last nine years.
Regarding his thoughts on potentially working in the district — in which teachers are walking the picket lines for the second time this school year during a contract dispute that is approaching four years — Gretzula called it “the best of times and the worst of times.”
“I’m obviously excited to be a finalist,” he added, “but I recognize that this is one of the most difficult weeks in the history of the district.”
His focus as superintendent would be to return the main conversation of the district to student achievement and teaching performance — and away from labor issues.
The curriculum under his watch would become “more rigorous,” Gretzula said, adding that it would be crucial to have teachers understand the overall plan and the resources they would need to implement it.
Regarding teacher evaluation, Gretzula said accountability starts at the top.
Other teachers that are retiring:
Debbie Gounaris, Kathy Matuza, Pat Young, Sue Stetler, Jules Franks, Mary Mela
All are excellent quality teachers and will be missed. My children have had them all and really benefited from being in their classrooms. Best Wishes to all of them as well as to Bruce Campbell.
maybe the retired teachers can find loop holes in the pension system and work some where else part time like our principal and pupil services guy.
Best wishes to all the retiring teachers. Anybody know how many of them are being replaced? Or are we just stretching our current teaching staff even thinner? And what is up with third grade students being moved into old science rooms with high lab tables at the high school next year? Are those being removed and replaced with regular sized desks??? Are these science labs being taken away from our high school students or relocated? So many questions...any answers?
Good questions.Ask School Board Pres. John DeWilde. He's in charge, after Ferrara tells him what to do.
If Dewild is taking instructions from Ferrara this district is in deep doodoo.
Well then it is b/c that's exactly what's happening.
All I hear is Ferrara, Neshaminy, locker room.I can guess but does anybody know what he did?
Listen to the meetings on video, all you hear is whisper whisper.
Translation....Say this John, No wait tell them this John.
You know it's possible Ferrara is just taking orders from DeWilde the same way he took orders from Hellmann
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