As this school year comes to an end, some of the staff will be retiring.  This includes School Counselor, Mike Bledsoe, Food Services Head Chef, Julie Boden, Musical Instructor, Doug Boughter, Food Services Sous Chef, Paulita Magdaluya, and Science Teacher, Susan Smith.

I spoke with Food Services’ Paulita Magdaluya and lead Julie Boden. Julie has worked in food services for 23 years, 10 of those right here at Parks. After retirement, she plans to do things on her bucket list and travel to Maine to see the leaves change colors. Paulita has been here at Parks for 10 years. She has no plans after her retirement other than just enjoying it. When she retires, she will miss her co-workers in the cafeteria along with the teachers and staff.

Mr. Bledsoe has been a school counselor for 20 years. He has been on staff at Parks for 30 years. His plans after retirement include among other things helping his kids get into college and writing a book. When questioned about the type of book, he responded “A book on what unconscious forces influence people to do what they do. What motivates us to do the many seemingly destructive and unhelpful things people do, from genocide, refusing to see unfairness in the world to maintaining systems that hurt many other people simply because it benefits us a little bit more. Simply, a book about why we do what we do, why we did what we did and what we could do next.” He will miss all his friends here at Parks.

Mrs. Smith has been a teacher for 24 years, 13 of those here at Parks. She teaches 7th and 8th grade Science. After retirement, she plans to play golf and tennis and travel around North America biking, hiking, and playing golf. She will miss many things when she leaves Parks, but will mostly miss her students who gave her joy over the years and inspired her to do better. When asked about her favorite memory she shared that it was when she performed in the school talent show with 9 other teachers. She recalls “For days we practiced our synchronized dancing steps while wearing ridiculous, oversized masks that prevented us from seeing what we were doing. It was silly, exhausting and an incredible amount of fun. We never stopped laughing.”

Mr. Boughter has taught Orchestra and Band here at Parks for the past 7 years. In total, he has been a teacher for 21 years. He has been teaching students music since he attended Sunny Hills. When he retires, he will be moving to North Carolina near Jordan Lake. He will be busy with visits from his kids and grandkids, including 5 born in 2020. He will be playing in the Chapel Hill Community Band as well as leading worship music at church. He will miss his students and all the teachers and staff he works with. He has fond memories of all the places his students have performed at including Disneyland, Richard Nixon Presidential Library, and La Floresta Christmas Nights, to name a few. He is always proud when people are surprised that his students are a junior high band/orchestra. His absolute favorite memory is when he and orchestra students were selected as one of the top orchestra groups in the state and were invited to play at the State Capitol.

Say, would you know these people if you just saw them in the grocery store? Would it be the same?