Last Friday on Dec. 20, students and staff gathered in the school gym for a heartfelt celebration honoring Principal Ann Bonitatibus, who will be departing Jefferson in the 2024-2025 school year, as announced in an email on Oct. 22.
After hearing about Bonitatibus leaving the school, Assistant Principal Volita Russell began organizing the event. Recognizing the uncertainty surrounding the exact timeline of Bonitatibus’ departure, Russell took the initiative to plan an early farewell event to ensure the school community had the chance to express its gratitude and appreciation.
“Once we heard she was leaving, I immediately started thinking about a celebration,” Russell said. “I plan all the things we do that are celebratory or related to holidays. [Bonitatibus] couldn’t give us an exact date, so I was thinking, let’s make it today since we don’t know what will happen in January, and I don’t want to look up and she’s gone and we didn’t get a chance to do anything for her.”
The event was originally planned to be the Principal’s Conference Room (PCR) where Bonitatibus would have a receiving line, but was moved to the gym to make the event more lively.
“Two, three days ago I found out it was happening, and I thought, let’s just have something that’s a little more festive, where people can hang out,” Bonitatibus said.
Tables were set up with appreciation cards, T-shirts and banners, giving students and teachers a space to share their sentiments and appreciation during 8th period. Roughly 20 students from the Sports Statistics club sang a rendition of “Feliz Navidad,” while other clubs and student groups came by to leave messages.
“We signed a T-shirt for our club, SPAC Logistics and Operations,” junior Cailyn Oh said. “It was a nice opportunity to talk to [Bonitatibus], and she gave us a lot of [inspirational] messages, and it was touching. I hope she looks back [on our note] and remembers that we’re all there for her.”
While it is still unsure when Bonitatibus will be departing Jefferson, the celebration provided her with a moment to reflect on the impact of her tenure.
“I’m just so appreciative,” Bonitatibus said. “Everyone’s coming in, [and] they’re saying such nice things. When I hear people talk about [Jefferson], it makes me proud of the work that’s been done.