Rafferty’s Retirement

Marquis Brisbane, Reporter

Ms. Rafferty, a science teacher for 25 years at Waterford High School after 10 years at Ledyard High School, is retiring at the end of this year in June 2021. Ms.Rafferty will be missed for her hard-working years. 

Ms. Rafferty is feeling a  ambivalent right now. She is trying not to think about the end. She can’t believe that 35 years as a teacher have passed this quickly. And, she is hoping that WHS can all come fully back into school before the end of this year, so that she can end her career on a somewhat “normal” note. She is going to miss teaching science class.  She loves the interaction with students and the look of recognition on their faces when they understand a concept and can associate it with some phenomenon in real life or the look of excitement when they learn something new. The thing she will miss most right now is the ability to have conversations and interactions and full labs with all her students.  Unfortunately, very little interaction goes on when students are wearing masks or on the board during a Zoom session. 

As for the future, she doesn’t have any plans right now other than to travel when it becomes possible. Ms. Rafferty and her husband would love to take some trips to Europe in the future. Ms. Rafferty is not excited, right now.

The summer will be a normal thing for her, but retirement will dawn on her when the end of August rolls around and she is not preparing for the upcoming school year. She does plan on working after retiring, but she is not sure what kind of job she’ll seek. She is not an idle person, so she would like something to do to keep her busy. She would like to work in a garden or landscaping environment because she loves working outside in her yard and tending to garden beds.

COVID affects every part of Ms.Rafferty’s life. She won’t travel until it is safe to do so when enough people have been vaccinated. She has elderly parents with health issues too. It will become easier to help take care of them after retirement, if her whole family is vaccinated.

Ms. Rafferty has a lot to look forward to such as a new lifestyle, new people, and job opportunities. Ms.Rafferty will be well missed when the time comes.