Birch Cliff Public School principal Patti Muir (centre) at her community farewell.
Patti Muir, the educator with a big smile and a heart to match, has retired from the Toronto District School Board and her job as principal of Birch Cliff Public School.
Muir spent ten years at the helm of BCPS, which is the maximum amount of time a principal is allowed to serve at a single school.
Her retirement comes 33 years after she started her career at Birch Cliff as a supply teacher before heading to other jobs at the board.
Now, with grandchildren on the way, Muir set a retirement date of June 30 because it was time.
“I have really mixed feelings and I didn’t want to leave at all,” Muir said at a community farewell gathering last week at the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 13. “But I couldn’t stay any longer at Birch Cliff because you can’t stay after 10 years. It’s a great community. I’m really going to miss it. It’s like my family.”
Principal Patti Muir at the Birch Cliff Fun Fair pie eating contest
Muir said she will have many fond memories of Birch Cliff including the school’s 100th anniversary celebration in 2016, bazaars and fun fairs, especially the 2009 Vintage Fun Fair.
But above all, Muir said she will miss the children.
“The kids are so sweet. They are like my own kids, a lot. You know, I drive down an hour and a half every day because I love the school and they’re really their own personalities. They have really interesting personalities.”
Muir also had high praise for the teachers at staff at Birch Cliff, saying they were warm and welcoming from the day she arrived.
“The staff, you could not ask for a better staff, just very supportive and involved in so many things all the activities that are going on in the school, the arts, athletics, academics and even the wellness piece. The parents – unbelievable support. I’ve never seen a better Parent Council, ever.”
Astrid Bloemen, outgoing communications lead on the Parent Council, said Muir was wonderful at helping the council navigate red tape at the TDSB and helped parents involved with the school to achieve their goals.
“ I love Patti. She’s my favourite principal. She was so accommodating with classes and events and especially on Parent Council. She will be greatly missed by the kids and the parents and the community.”
(L-R) Karen Secher, Trustee Parthi Kandavel, Patti Muir
Parthi Kandavel, the Toronto District School Board Trustee for Ward 18, said Muir has been a great leader for Birch Cliff because she understands the character and spirit of the community.
“You know, it has been such a joy working Patti,” Kandavel said. “She’s got the right combination of diligence, of empathy and ability to lead and not just lead but also support to the amazing staff there.”
Several teachers were on hand at the community farewell event including Christine Scott Lindsay, who teaches grade 7/8.
“We’re very sad. It’s the end of a chapter. She was a really dynamic person and for 10 years to have a principal is unheard of in this day and age,” Scott Lindsay said.
“We are very tight. We’re like a family over there. And Patti was part of her family and we are going to miss her, that’s for sure,” said kindergarten teacher Karen Secher.
“There’s lots of memories over 10 years,” added grade 8 teacher Laura Calce. “She’s very involved with the kids. She was always wanting to be at all their sporting events and, you know, cheering them on all the time and it was always about the kids for her.”
When asked about her hopes for the school she’s leaving behind, Muir said, “ I really hope that family spirit will remain and always be there and I think it will. The community, we’re here for each other, we’re doing things for each other. I think I know that all the students and staff will take that with them, that sense of family and community.”
An official retirement party for Muir will be held at Ashbridges Bay Yacht Club on Wed., Sept. 19 from 4:30pm – 8:30pm.
Meanwhile, the school’s new principal is Ted Vine, who has served as principal of West Rouge Junior Public School for the last five years. According to Kandavel, Vine was so popular at West Rouge that when word got out he was leaving, parents took the rare step of launching a petition to try to keep him.
A good omen, perhaps, because it appears he has big shoes to fill.
