Two Teachers Honored At Retirement Party

Children raced in excited trips from the parking lot to the interior of Wellesley Hills Congregational Church, eager to spot retiring teachers Roberta Maguire and Penny Copplestone at their retirement party at Wellesley Hills Congregational Church Wednesday.

The latter made a prompt appearance at 4 p.m.

"Mrs. Copplestone's coming! Mrs. Copplestone's coming!" cried the teacher's students, past and present, as she walked in from the parking lot at the 207 Washington St. address.  "We have a chair for you," called one student.

The group kept watch for Maguire as well, and thought they had spotted her, but the well-respected teacher missed the event due to fall that sent her to the hospital to be checked out. 

"The end of the school year is the absolute worst time for her not to be here," Copplestone said to the crowd, thanking them personally and also on Maguire's behalf. "From the bottom of my heart, I'd like to say thank-you," Copplestone said.

Maguire and Copplestone taught at Sprague and Hunnewell Schools during their time in the Wellesley School System, most recently Sprague. Maguire spent 17 years at Wellesley; teaching grades K-1 and has taught for 32 years altogether. Copplestone spent 14 years at Wellesley, teaching third grade, and 17 in Framingham, with a total of 34 years of teaching.

"She's wonderful and amazing," said Elizabeth Meister, whose daughter Katie, is in Copplestone's class.

"Roberta Maguire was amazing," said parent Martha Stowell. Her class was a circus of activity, she said, and Maguire was keeping it all in hand.

"They were both just genuine people," said Bob McTighe, who was there with his daughter, Elizabeth, 16, a former student of both teachers. She said she had good memories of her time in their classes. "The kids just loved the both of them," said McTighe.

Also, said Stowell, whose daughter Katie, 27, was a student teacher at Sprague, the two were wonderful mentors, generous with their time and expertise.

"I have mixed feelings about it," said Copplestone about her impending retirement. On the one hand, she said, she can't imagine leaving the job she's been doing for 34 years. But, then again, "I feel that after 34 years, I'd like to work with kids in a different way," she said, and she intended to explore that. "Teaching is truly a labor of love," Copplestone said.

"She was definitely very patient with us," said Will Goss, a senior at Exeter Academy, who said Copplestone was stern, but fair when she was his teacher. "I really enjoyed her class. She's a good teacher."

Keyan Golestaneh, a senior at Tabor Academy, also remembers a skilled and firm teacher in Copplestone. "We were in a really crazy class," he said, 10 boys and a only a few girls,  "But she always managed to keep us in line," he said, "It was a lot of fun."

All of Beth Smith's children, Eli, 18, Asa, 16, Ian, 19, and Veronica, 8, were students of Maguire. "She became an extended member of the family," Smith said. No matter what learning project Maguire had, she said, she always kept her students excited about it. "It's amazing that someone can do that," Smith said.

"It's a significant loss for us. We'll really miss them," said Wellesley Schools Superintendent Bella Wong.