SALISBURY — Heralded by blaring sirens, Joanne Levesque closed out over two decades at Salisbury Elementary School Friday with a planned ride home from the fire department and a warm reception from hundreds of students.
“This was my second home,” Levesque said.
The administrative clerk is retiring after 27 years at Salisbury Elementary, first joining the school in 1997 as a part-timer in the nurse’s department.
“I came into the office in 2005 as the office clerk,” Levesque said.
Levesque’s swan song ride came just a day after Principal Kathryn Dawe took to the roof dawning a banana costume and waved down to hundreds of students to celebrate her own retirement after 27 years in the district.
As the face of the front office, Levesque said she always took to heart the fact that she would be one of the first faces students saw coming into the building.
“A lot of them are a little nervous, with the kids first time going to school. It’s like we always tell them, if you need us for anything, just come in,” Levesque said.
Building up so many relationships with students, she said it was heart-wrenching to hear how much they will miss her.
“I said I’m always here if you needed to chit chat, you know, the front office knows how to get in touch with me and I’ll talk with. You just encourage the kids, this is like their safe haven. They’re all good kids,” Levesque said.
She said the Salisbury PTA helped set up the ride with the fire department.
“It was really incredible. I was wicked nervous and not sure how the day was going to go and it was so great to see all the kids. They were all lined up outside and it was a great day. You could just feel the love from them and the support,” Levesque said.
Salisbury firefighter Kelby Groder said it was a no-brainer to get involved to help out someone like Levesque who has dedicated so much to her role.
“She loves that school, she loves the kids, she loves her job, there aren’t too many people like that these days, so anything you can do to help their retirement out, get them what they want, we were happy to help,” Groder said.
Regarding how the ride went, he said it was cool to see how much it meant to Levesque.
“It was a good time and it was good to see all the kids out there and I know she was pretty touched by it, so that’s all that matters, send her out with a good send off,” Groder said.
Levesque said the school and its staff helped her form incredible memories.
“It’s a good place. You see the support and the love that they have for these kids and they want them to be good students and they do their best to get them to that point,” Levesque said.
While Levesque won’t be returning to Salisbury Elementary this fall, she said she’ll remain in touch with her former colleagues.
“There are a lot of friendships that I’ve built along the way and hope to keep,” Levesque said.
Asked about what comes next, Levesque said she is excited to have the freedom to enjoy time with her retired husband.
“We’ll just be doing some traveling. We really haven’t planned anything yet,” Levesque said.