At the end of the 2022 school year, WCHS waved goodbye to three very important staff members. Two veteran teachers, Ms. Gilchrist and Ms. Collins, as well as our school nurse, Mrs. Martha Murray, retired at the end of the year.
When explaining her teaching career, Ms. Gilchrist described her time teaching in Oklahoma: “I taught all social studies [subjects] in Cordell, Oklahoma for about nine years. I was the only history teacher they had in their high school.” She describes her experience as being in small schools, such as Cordell and Wirt County. Although she doesn’t have anything planned for her retirement, Ms. Gilchrist seemed to look forward to time for herself.
When asked about her experience teaching, Ms. Collins spoke about the many subjects she covered. “I’ve taught 9th and 10th grade English, and 5th and 6th-grade Physical Education.” Her plans for retirement are very simple with Ms. Collins saying she would just like to “read a book and take care of mom.”
Both teachers gave heavy-hearted responses when asked what they would miss most about teaching at WCHS. Ms. Collins said simply, “the kids. I’ll miss the kids. That’ll be it.” Ms. Gilchrist said, “One of the things I’ve always liked about teaching at Wirt County is that you know the students better. I’ve always liked how it’s always felt kind of close. The teachers have felt more like a family in some ways than just colleagues.”
Ms. Murray is looking forward to her retirment and says she's excited to be a grandmother to twins who are due in August. We will miss seeing her smiling face and her kind words that were always there when any student needed help.
~A large part of this article was first published by The Echo, the WCHS newspaper.