After 46 years, and a “wonderful career” an elementary school teacher in Toronto is retiring.
Vincy Angelone started teaching at St. Brigid Catholic School, an elementary school in the Danforth Avenue and Woodbine Avenue, back in 1969 when the school “didn’t have paper or books.”
Angelone says retiring was the hardest decision of her life but says she wants to take time to care for her ailing mother.
The school held an assembly on the last day of school, bringing Angelone to tears as fellow teachers and students applauded her years of dedication to teaching.
“We love you, we will miss you,” a fellow teacher said about Angelone.
“She always called me a smart cookie and it was the sweetest thing ever,” a student said.
Angelone’s history at St. Brigid Catholic School goes back to 1952 when she attended first grade in the same classroom she taught in for years.
“And my desk was right in that spot right there,” Angelone says.
Angelone has been teaching for so many years that she was eventually teaching grandchildren of former students.
In 1988, Angelone was diagnosed with breast cancer, but that didn’t stop her from teaching. Angelone only took Fridays off for her chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
As Angelone looks back on decades of teaching and being a member of the community, she says things have changed but not her love for the classroom.
“They (students) leave you and they’re so incredibly different and you know you’ve made a difference,” Angelone says.
With files from CTV Toronto's Naomi Parness.
