Emotional send-off for popular Cluny teacher
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A CLUNY Primary teacher with almost three decades of service to the school has brought the curtain down on her career.
The start of the Easter holidays was a big day for Liz Griffiths when she called time on her teaching career.
She started her career in London before moving to Moray in 1988 and has been with Cluny ever since.
Normally a P1 teacher, her last ever class was P3G who, along with staff, sent her on the road to a hard-earned retirement with cards and gifts.
"It's been a very emotional day, I didn't realise it was going to be so emotional" Mrs Griffiths said.
"I think it's really going to feel strange when everybody else is getting ready to go back after the holidays and I'm not.
"I'm going to miss the children the most as well as the wider Cluny and Buckie communities.
"Now I'm at the stage where I'm teaching the kids of the original pupils I had when I first came here.
"The friendship and support I've had from my colleagues has been wonderful. Cluny is a lovely place to work, a great school, and it's been very rewarding.
"I've had a really wonderful send off from everybody here at the school.""
The Covid pandemic has made it a year like no other for society as a whole and it brought challenges to Cluny, too.
Mrs Griffiths continued: "Covid has been a big challenge but at the end of the day we learned to live with it and get on with it.
"The P1s are more tactile so they found it harder to keep their distance but we're all doing what we can.
"I have to say the children have been very good at hand washing and sanitising, it's all just become a part of life."
Once the Covid restrictions ease Mrs Griffiths and her husband have plenty of plans for the future.
"My husband retires in the summer and we've plenty we want to do," she said.
"One of the things we'd like to do once it's allowed is travel around Britain in a campervan.
"We've just had a granddaughter in Turriff so I'm sure there'll be plenty childcare to do there!
"We've also got family in Italy and it'd be great to see them."
Mrs Griffiths added that she would love to have a dog again, the previous family pet having passed away a while ago.
