StoneBridge students, faculty and staff all gathered to show their love and appreciation for longtime SBS art teacher Mrs. Debbie Hurley, Feb. 14. Mrs. Hurley has officially retired from teaching after 29 years of faithfully serving StoneBridge as a master teacher.
A master teacher is a StoneBridge faculty member who has spent years of study to become the authority on a subject or grade level that they teach, enabling them to become a “living” textbook for their students.
During the special gathering, Mrs. Hurley was recognized by the board and administration for her dedication to upholding the standard of excellence outlined in the art curriculum written by StoneBridge master teachers.
Every year, Mrs. Hurley imbued her students with artistic knowledge and skill, enabling them to achieve beautiful masterpieces that adorned StoneBridge halls. Through the curriculum and her encouragement, she pointed her young students to the Creator, in whose image they are created.
During the service, a few current Lower School students offered their own words of appreciation for all she has given them through the years.
Caitlyn Wall, 5th grade, read a poem she wrote dedicated to Mrs. Hurley.
“You always were by our side, supporting us like a gardener shelters a rose. The best ideas for what to do always came from you; Even when we didn’t know what to do with you guiding us, we will get through,” she wrote in part. “Goodbye and thank you, Mrs. Hurley, for all the years.”
Mrs. Hurley was presented with a few gifts, including a printed book featuring students’ artwork over the years and a commendation from the Board of Directors for her “lifelong service and educational accomplishments on behalf of Christian families for the blessing of many generations.”
Lower School Principal Mrs. Barbara Wells presented the commendation to Hurley as “an expression of our admiration and gratitude for her remarkable service to the StoneBridge community.”
“In her teaching, she has helped her students find fertile ground to sink their roots as they seek to display beauty, articulate truth, and celebrate God as the Source of all life and goodness, the Architect of all Creation,” she said during her prayer over Mrs. Hurley.
The special service was followed by a reception for Mrs. Hurley attended by several current and former master teachers, current staff, and family.
StoneBridge master teachers from left to right: Mrs. Carla Farrell, SBS Director of Professional Development Mrs. Martha Shirley, Mrs. Susan Byrum, Mrs. Rosemarie Ricciardi, SBS Founder Dr. Carole Adams, Mrs. Linda Andrus, Mrs. Barbara Keller, Mrs. Debbie Hurley, Mrs. Joy Fox, Mrs. Peg Ricks, Mrs. Sheree Beale, and Mrs. Kathy Gainor.
