As students and staff near the end of the 2023-24 school year, looking forward to a bright and exciting summer, they start saying farewell to their homework assignments and tests, classmates, coaches, and most importantly, teachers. However, saying goodbye to the school’s teachers and staff is a little more emotional this year as seven teachers and two staff members are retiring from Tenafly High School. This includes teachers Mr. Millar, Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Laux, Ms. Nager, Ms. Johnson, and Ms. Wissler; school nurse Ms. Cassiello; and longtime Director of Guidance, Ms. Bembridge. These beloved teachers and staff members all have long histories of working at the school, teaching hundreds, and perhaps, thousands of students and making meaningful impacts on every single one of them throughout their careers. It’s absolutely more than safe to say that these teachers and staff members will be deeply missed next year, and the school, especially their departments, won’t be the same without them. Before the school year comes to a close and they each embark on the next adventures of their lives, I got a chance to ask each of the seven retiring teachers about what they will miss the most about teaching at THS and their retirement plans:
To start off, THS orchestra and choir director Mr. Millar is about to complete his twentieth year teaching at the school, meaning that he started in September of 2003. Back then, he was one of three music teachers working at THS in which the two others, Mrs. Tall and Mr. Stanek, retired several years ago. At the time, Mrs. Tall was in charge of the choir, and Mr. Millar was in charge of the orchestras. However, after she retired in 2010, instead of filling her position with someone else, the school handed Mr. Millar the privilege of directing the choir in addition to the orchestras, which he’s been admiringly doing so ever since. When asked about what he’ll miss the most about teaching music at the school, he said, “There’s no doubt that what I will miss the most is the amazing students I get to work with every day. [They] are all exceptional and I learn from [them] every day.” Furthermore, Mr. Millar has big plans for the next chapter of his life—in addition to continuing to work as the music director at the Presbyterian Church in Tenafly, he’ll start giving private lessons on piano, audition prep, music theory, chamber music, and more. However, his most ambitious plan of all is to start a new chamber orchestra with student and professional musicians—an idea that he’s excitedly talked about in class. Nonetheless, alongside his inspiring work in music, he’ll be traveling a lot and spending more time with his grandchildren.
Humanities History and US 1 Honors teacher Mr. Hutchinson has been teaching at THS for 28 years. Concerning his retirement, he said, “I’m very much torn, emotionally, because I’ve really loved coming to [THS] for the past 28 years. [I have] a little nagging fear about what’s going to fill that.” When asked about what he liked the most about being a teacher at the school, he answered, “I love talking history and ideas and geography with students. I just love trying to get them interested… It’s [also] nice to see [my colleagues and staff] every day. ” When comparing his two famous courses, he said he liked them equally from “a curricular stand-point,” however, “it’s been fun being the Humanities teacher because it gives you a certain status—I’m not sure if you deserve that status but it’s fun anyway.” In addition, Mr. Hutchinson used to teach ninth-grade history, where he was able to see “freshmen develop. They sort of come in [as] middle-school knuckleheads, but by the end of the year, they have become socialized to what we do at Tenafly.” As for his retirement plans, he and his wife are looking forward to traveling the world, such as Spain and Italy in the winter and the Jersey Shore in September, and visiting the city that they love—New York City.
THS nurse Ms. Cassiello will have worked at the school for a total of nineteen and a half years after this year. When asked about what she’ll miss about working as a nurse at THS, she said, “It is the best job and I loved working here. Every day presented different challenges and I was always busy. I will leave THS with many wonderful memories.” Once in retirement, Ms. Cassiello has many exciting plans as she starts her summer off spending time at the New Jersey shore as a “professional sunset watcher.” Afterward, she plans to travel to all fifty states, starting with a trip to Maine. Furthermore, she’ll also be spending more time with her grandson. However, if she still finds the time to be bored after all these adventures, she’ll consider becoming an Adjunct instructor to teach the school nurses of the future.
BC Calculus teacher Mr. Laux has been working at THS for an astounding 31 years. From these numerous years of teaching, what he’ll miss the most are “the interactions and relationships with students and correcting tests.” As for his retirement plans, Mr. Laux hopes to spend more time with his grandchildren, sort out a couple of things around his house, and help his son and his fiancee with their new house.
PITCH teacher Ms. Nager has also been teaching math for 31 years at the school. When asked about what she loved the most about her career at THS, she answered, “I loved teaching PITCH and dancing all the graphs. I loved working with my colleagues and some of them have become my lifelong friends.” However, she expressed that her favorite thing about THS was “the Olympics [every March,] when all the kids and faculty get dressed in the colors and just have such a fun day.” Furthermore, as for this next chapter in her life, Ms. Nager plans to live at the Jersey Shore permanently, where she’ll get to do the things that she loves—kayaking and paddleboarding. In addition, she has a goal of visiting all fifty U.S. states and she’s already visited thirty-seven of them. In September, she’s going to go to a friend’s wedding in Wisconsin, which is one of the few states she hasn’t visited yet, where she’ll also have the opportunity to visit her cousin, who is like a sister to her. Lastly, Mrs. Nager would also love to teach part-time at a university and volunteer at a domestic violence organization to help others with their struggles.
Culinary teacher Ms. Johnson has been teaching at THS for 17 years and she said that it was the best decision she ever made. When asked about what she’ll miss the most about these 17 years of her life, she said, “I will definitely miss the students. I love [it] when they come up with a cool recipe that I have never done before because then I am learning something new too.” However, Ms. Johnson doesn’t want to leave without “expressing [her] appreciation for our administration who has been so supportive of the culinary program. Culinary skills give students autonomy, a stronger work ethic, and appreciation for cultural foods other than their own,” she said. “[They’re] a window into another culture that we can all share and enjoy. We need this now more than ever.” As for this next era in her life, Ms. Johnson is moving to her new house on Lake Michigan, in Wisconsin, and plans to work on it and do gardening in the summer. However, she’s not looking forward to shoveling snow in the winter there. Lastly, she also wants to start ballroom dancing.
Geometry teacher Ms. Wissler has been teaching at THS for almost as long as Mr. Laux and Ms. Nager—29 years. When asked about what she’ll miss the most from her teaching career, she said, “I will really miss the students and their creativity and talent!” Lastly, she’ll be going on a couple of exciting vacation trips for the first few months of her retirement.
Before this school year comes to a close, it’s important to honor these teachers and their lifelong contributions to the community of Tenafly, the school, their departments, their colleagues, and most of all, their students. Through their lessons and help, they’ve impacted and inspired countless students’ lives, motivating them to work hard and pursue whichever path they dream of. For the past 20-30 years, these teachers have made Tenafly High School what it is today and it will certainly be different once they leave. So, with the heart and spirit of THS, may a passionate farewell and best wishes in retirement be sent to them.
