“I still love it,” Greg Schmalz told the audience at the school board meeting. “It will be hard to step away. But I do it with a lot of great memories.”
Mr. Schmalz had a chance to relive some of those memories on Monday night as he listened to administrators, teachers and students. He will be retiring as the principal of Willow Avenue Elementary School on Jan. 9. He’s the only principal the school has ever had.
The meeting at Lee Road School was packed for what could have been called “Recognition Monday.” Mr. Schmalz was not the only one receiving tributes. Sen. James Skoufis arrived at the event with framed proclamations for the championship football team and the blue ribbon high school.
He was lucky to find a seat. The gridders in their green and white jerseys occupied several rows. They stood up as a group to accept the proclamation from the senator. They also listened as Supt. Neal Miller read congratulatory messages from Governor Cuomo and Town Supervisor Richard Randazzo.
The team’s coach, Ryan Baldock, accepted a championship banner that will hang in the high school gymnasium. “It doesn’t just happen,” he said of the team’s second state title. “Credit goes to the administrative staff, the coaches, and a great group of players who are even better people.”
Earlier in the evening, the high school principal and assistant principals accepted a proclamation from Sen. Skoufis, who mentioned that out of the thousands of schools in New York State, only 19 qualified for blue ribbons.
No one left when the presentation was over. They stayed to applaud for Mr. Schmalz. Nicole Triassi (the director of pupil services) cited his institutional knowledge and the support he provided to new administrators. “You’re a great leader,” she said, “and an even greater person.”
Beth Tellefsen was a teacher at Willow when Mr. Schmalz started as its principal. “You taught everyone that kindness matters,” she said. Kelly Hogan, a third-grade teacher, complimented the principal on making the school feel like a family.
Another faculty member, Eleonora Panzanaro, showed a portion of a video with comments from former students — one of them remembered that his brother was pegged by Mr. Schmalz during the annual kickball game.
