Holy Assumption School kindergarten teacher has taught at school for 35 years
By:Chris Sturgis
ROEBLING After 35 years as a kindergarten teacher at Holy Assumption School, Eleanor Barraclough is trading in reading, writing and arithmetic for relaxing, traveling and rose gardening.
"We will miss Eleanor, but we wish her well in her retirement," said Patricia A. Sacks, principal of Holy Assumption School in Roebling just before an opening prayer commenced the school day on Tuesday.
Every year, Ms. Barraclough puts on a kindergarten graduation ceremony filled with songs and orations from her young students.
"That’s her baby," Ms. Sacks said about the graduation ceremony. "The children get so excited about doing their part."
Ms. Barraclough said she intends to keep her hand in education by teaching or substitute teaching, but she plans to spend more time with her family. She said she hopes she’ll have time enough to grow a rose bed, and to visit family and friends. Two favorite spots are Topsail Island, N.C., and Florida.
She said she also would like to sit down and read a good book over a few days instead of the weeks and months it takes her as a busy teacher who also serves as language arts coordinator at the school and chairwoman of Catholic Schools Week.
"I’ve enjoyed the children and I’ve enjoyed my career, but there is a season and a time for everything," she said.
There have been many changes since Ms. Barraclough joined Holy Assumption in 1968, when the school was run by the Sisters of Divine Charity. Most of the teachers were nuns and the girls had to wear a uniform of blouses and plaid skirts. Now, the uniform includes golf shirts, Bermuda shorts, and even shorts-skirt combination called a skort.
The worksheets and workbooks have given way to problem-solving exercises. Instead of adding numbers on a worksheet, students count the ants and colored plates at a pretend picnic.
She uses music to rev up her students’ interest in Spanish and math, and leads them in the Macarena dance to teach the months of the year.
"Learning must be fun with 5-year-olds," she said.
Francine Kowalczyk, president of the school’s Parent Teacher Association, said she will always remember her youngest son’s first day in Ms. Barraclough’s kindergarten. "She was hugging him, nurturing him and telling him it would be OK."
Ms. Barraclough agreed that it takes a lot more than curriculum to make a successful kindergartner. "You’re a teacher and a mother and a nurse," she said, adding that at age 66 she’s more like a grandmother.
Ms. Kowalczyk is organizing a commemoration dinner for Ms. Barraclough’s former students and other members of the school community on May 17. Former students or alumni interested in attending should contact Ms. Kowalczyk at (609) 499-4861 or e-mail [email protected].
Ms. Barraclough said the school is a tightly knit community. Some of her students today are children, grandchildren or even great-grandchildren of her former students. They have included her in christenings, graduations, the first Mass by a former student who had become a priest, and some funerals, as well.
"The people here have been my family. They have opened their arms and their hearts to me for 35 years," she said.

