With the arrival of the last days of the 2020-21 school year and lots of time spent saying goodbye to our graduating students, our school community also pauses to recognize the faculty and staff who won't be joining us on campus in September. This year there are 10 long-serving members of our community retiring.
We would like to thank the following faculty and staff members who are headed into retirement (or who have already begun their retirement). We will share more stories on the SMUSpaper in the coming months that honour each of our retirees.
Donna Williams
Donna joined SMUS in September 1991 and has spent three decades leading young musicians as the Senior School strings teacher and, since 2001, Head of Music. Under her leadership, the strings and music programs at our school have grown immensely, as well as our musical theatre program. Donna, who has also been a houseparent in our boarding community, has inspired countless people through her passion and dedication centred on the wellbeing of each student.
Nina Duffus
Nina joined SMUS and our Junior School community in September 1999. She has been a dedicated educator since the moment she walked through our doors, always putting students at the forefront of her work. In her 22 years at SMUS, she helped establish a number of traditions and routines at the Junior School that are sure to continue, including the annual Grade 2 Gingerbread Service Project, and hatching ducklings and chicks in the classroom.
Steven Kerr
Steve began teaching at SMUS in the 2001-02 school year as a Senior School physics teacher. Since then, he made his mark on our academic and extracurriculars, as Head of Science, a soccer coach and working behind the scenes for many SMUS musicals. His intellect and guidance have helped innumerable students, athletes and performers, as well as colleagues.
Allison Weir
Allison joined us in February 2002 and shared her expertise and experience as a nurse for more than 19 years. She retires as head nurse in the SMUS Health Centre and as a caring presence for day and boarding students. She has played an integral role in the health and wellness of our community during her time here. She and her dog, Charlie, have become etched in the memories of numerous generations of students and staff.
Sharon Comeau
Sharon started at SMUS in November 2005 and retired after 15 years of dedicated leadership as our Head of Transportation. She not only kept students and staff safe on all school travels (from running the school buses to ensuring all SMUS vehicles were in top shape), she also modernized systems of timekeeping and incident logging. Sharon epitomizes the term 'unsung hero,' as her important work completely behind-the-scenes helped our community run safely, smoothly and efficiently.
Beverley McClure
Beverley began working as a nurse in the SMUS Health Centre in January 2006. During her time in our community, she also served as head nurse. Her contributions to our community have been immense, particularly in her close work taking care of boarding students. Her kind and compassionate approach to care and wellness was appreciated by all who visited the Health Centre, as she helped ensure our school community was as healthy and well taken care of as it possibly could be.
Tony Goodman
Tony joined us for the 2006-07 school year and in his time here taught nearly every possible subject available in our Senior School humanities department: history, psychology, English, criminology, social studies, art history and more. He has also played a huge role in extracurricular offerings over the years at our school, including helping run a number of clubs – from History is Cool Club to Model UN, and chaperoning unforgettable academic and service trips with students.
Eileen Amirault
Eileen began in October 2006 and has been a talented mainstay in our science and chemistry classes at the Senior School ever since. In addition to her role teaching and inspiring students in the Science Block, she has taken extracurricular clubs to heart by helping to support students in all things science and technology in their time outside of class – from Technology Club and Arduino Club to Reach for the Top.
Maurine McKay
Maurine worked in the Admissions office at SMUS beginning in September 2007, helping support the objectives of the school, the Admissions team and our current and prospective students. She warmly interacted with many of the families who reached out to our Admissions office. She also played an important role in the growth and management of the Admissions Ambassadors program at our Richmond Road campus, and was always keen to bring a dog to work to warm the hearts of students and staff.
Tessa Lloyd
Tessa began as our Junior School counsellor in September 2010, and selflessly put her retirement on hold by one year to help support students and families during the pandemic. She has provided wonderful and caring support to students and parents through 11 years at the Junior School, and helped to destigmatize counselling and make it accessible and welcoming for all students. During her time at SMUS, she also contributed her skills as a talented photographer documenting many events.
We wish each of our retirees well in the next chapter of their lives.
