A Fond Farewell to Daphne Abbott

This article was written by Mrs Jean Carter for the May 2021 Skylark Newsletter.

Mrs Daphne Abbott, a friend of Heritage who has been involved with the school since its foundation in September 2007, has decided to step down after 14 years of service to the school.
Once a week, Mrs Abbott came into school to hear readers in the Infant classes. The children loved having a grandmotherly figure who could spend time with them chatting about their books, assisting as they came across new words and helping them in their reading development. She also enjoyed reading the class Literature story to Lower Prep and Upper Prep pupils over the years — from James Herriot’s Treasury, to The Pied Piper of Hamelin, to The Just So Stories.

Mrs Abbott didn’t merely read to pupils, though; she also shared her own experiences and life with them. With one Upper Prep class, Mrs Abbott — a former nurse — supported learning about Florence Nightingale by talking about her own nursing experience and showing the children a photograph of herself in her nurse’s uniform, complete with frilled cap. I remember how excited another class of pupils were when she was due to have a knee operation. They looked at x-rays together and studied her scar as she talked to them about her knee. And one year, when sharing in the retelling of the Easter story with Year 2, she brought a crown of thorns created from plants growing in her garden.

As Mrs Abbott steps down from her supporting role at Heritage, we offer our heartfelt thanks for the many years of service and sweet memories she has given us. We know that she will remain a good friend to the school in the years to come.

The current Upper Prep class created a beautiful thank you card, which was signed by students within the school from Upper Prep through Year 11. Mrs Fletcher, Mrs Carter and Mrs Abbott also enjoyed a lovely tea party in the garden.