One student at a time: Sharon Stahls made her mark and now she’s retiring

Every week, I will be profiling an extraordinary human being who lives in our community. If you know someone who is doing something interesting with their life, I want to hear about it. Send me an email at [email protected].

Three groups of ten and four little ones. In other words, 34 wonderful years.

And now it’s time to say goodbye.

Sharon Stahls is getting ready to begin a new chapter in her life: retirement. The upbeat and bubbly principal of Irwin Memorial Public School just so happens to have spent all of her years teaching in Muskoka. She’s built a lot of memories and touched so many lives with her genuine love and appreciation for kids.

“It’s bittersweet for sure,” she says about her upcoming retirement at the end of June. “But you know, it’s all good. Do you want to know how I knew it was time? I would be driving home, on a beautiful fall day, after picking up my dog at 5 p.m. and I’d be looking at Mary Lake, and it’s as flat as a pancake, and I’d be thinking that I should be out in my kayak… I should be paddling. Or the leaves would be changing colours and I would be thinking about how I should be out on the golf course… that I should be golfing.”

(Above left) The kids at Irwin Memorial know how lucky they are to have a fun-loving, energetic principal like Sharon. (Above right( Even my crazy, stuck-like-glue-to-mom kid gravitated toward this wonderful lady during our photo shoot at the school.

Sharon is the kind of teacher you wish you had. She has a unique approach to not just being a teacher, but being a principal as well. Both are equally important jobs. She knows each child is different and therefore comes to school with a different set of needs. She’s never forgot even once that she was a student, too. And there were a lot of caring adults who helped her get to where she is today.

She truly is a proud principal. Sharon holds a handmade picture that includes all her best sayings.

“It’s payback,” says Sharon of the way she enriches kids lives through her unique approach to learning. The kids love her as much as the staff. “I enjoy helping other people. I realize I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t have help; if my teachers hadn’t taken me into their homes, who knows?”

She was dealt “some pretty crappy cards” when she was younger. She was one of seven kids and her mom worked two jobs to support the family. When she was nine, her father finally got a job with the Ministry of Transportation as a snowplow driver. She remembers how she felt so excited. It meant a steady income.

Tragedy struck hard when the family’s house burned down four days before Christmas. And then Sharon’s mom died when she was 18. She’s been the girl at the food bank and the girl waiting for her Christmas basket from the Salvation Army.

I think it will be the kids with runny noses who haven’t had any breakfast who will be the ones I miss the most.

She knows it takes a whole village to raise a kid. There were certain people who saw a spark and believed in Sharon and helped her get into university. Without their guidance and support, she would not be where she is today. “It doesn’t matter if you’re from a family of seven and you’re the only who went to university,” she says. “I think of all the adults who helped me in my life… I can’t believe I’ve had the career I’ve had. I’m so blessed and lucky.” This is how she knows it’s so important that the people in positions of authority make it a level playing field for all kids. If a teacher can make a connection with one kid and inspire them, “that kid can do whatever they want.”

Sharon has taught in Huntsville, Bracebridge, Gravenhurst, Dwight and Raymond. Her three-year stint at Huntsville Public School has been deemed her ‘Olympic Journey.’ As a big fan of the Olympics, Sharon gushes when she talks about how she, with the help of a fellow teacher, initiated a student postcard-writing campaign and got the Olympic Torch to come to town in 2010. A special commemorative booklet made for the Olympics highlights the student artwork with a two-page spread. There’s also a shadow box on display at the school that showcases memorabilia from that special year.

(Above left) Sharon and one of her students proudly displaying one of the posters made in support of a Terry Fox initiative last year. (Above right) The students at the small Watt Public School raised over $5000 for the Terry Fox Foundation in 2012. Photos supplied by Sharon Stahls.

And then there’s Terry Fox. Sharon is truly passionate about embracing his legacy and sharing his story. Following Terry can literally do so much for young minds. She has helped to raise over $50,000 for the Terry Fox Foundation. For the 23rd anniversary of Terry Fox, she, along with other students and staff, slept on the roof of a Gravenhurst school and raised $6,000. The 97 students who attended Watt Public School raised $5,000 in 2012. This year, she shaved her head for cancer and sported a brush cut for the cause. Hair grows back. It’s not a big deal.

Sometimes you have to think about others and not yourself. I want to show the kids you have to think of other people. I love my job. I’m a proud principal. I have a vest and a jacket that say ‘proud principal.’ I want to inspire kids. You’re creating memories… memories that can often last a lifetime.

So what’s the biggest lesson that she has learned over the course of her 34 years spent teaching kids?

Every kid is different. And we have to remember, fairness is not sameness. That’s hard. It was black or white when I was in school. There’s always a reason, there’s always a mitigating circumstance, and you have to be aware of those. You have to get in tune with the kids. Everyone has a different basket of eggs. Everyone has a strength in this classroom, and if we all work together, it will be okay. We have to recognize that and appreciate that. Trust me, my school improvement plan is not as important as building relationships with staff and students.

In about six weeks Sharon will do what she does every year when school is out. She’ll grab her paddles and hit the lake for a solo kayak. Or maybe she’ll hit the golf course. She might just end up sitting comfortably on her couch and get lost in a really good book.

It will be in September, when the air turns a little cooler and the leaves are changing, that Sharon will realize her new life is a lot quieter without hundreds of youngsters calling her name. But, no doubt, other interests will call to her. There’s always the Terry Fox Run.