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Mary Gilgallon, MTA Director of
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Her mailing address is MTA, 2
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Continued from Page 19
Bylaws and Rules Committee assistance available
Q uietly and without fanfare, the members of the Danvers Teachers Association recently
unveiled a peace garden at
Danvers High School to honor the
memory and spirit of former colleague
Colleen Ritzer.
“We wanted to do something
locally, through the union, to
remember one of our members who
was tragically taken away from us,”
said DTA President Chris Hopkins.
Ritzer, a young, vibrant educator
and self-described “math nerd” who
taught at the high school, was found
slain outside the school in October
2013. One of her former students
is on trial in connection with the
killing.
Tracie Ewing, a special education
teacher and technical director for the
high school theater troupe, took on the
job of designing the garden.
“I wanted to create a space
where people can sit together, reflect
and follow through on the words of
wisdom that Colleen passed on to us,”
said Ewing, who also serves on the
DTA Executive Board.
In the courtyard outside the
school’s theater and library, the peace
garden features a bubbling water
fountain and two benches etched with
two of Ritzer’s favorite quotations:
“Being good to people is a wonderful
legacy to leave behind” and “Find
From start to finish, Hopkins said,
the project has been a “real community
effort.” While the DTA conceived of
the project and Ewing designed it,
Danvers High School alumna and local
landscaper Stephanie Halpin brought
the garden to life.
The DTA and the district shared
the cost of materials, and Halpin’s
company, D&S Landscaping,
donated all of the labor. Halpin has
also committed to doing seasonal
maintenance.
The town’s Public Works
Department and many others have also
helped and continue to contribute their
labor to the garden. Special education
students enrolled in the high school’s
life skills class are watering and caring
for the garden on a regular basis.
Danvers High School Principal
Susan Ambrozavitch, who enthus-
iastically supported the idea when
DTA members presented it to her,
described the garden as “a nice,
quiet, peaceful way of remembering
Colleen.”
“This staff has done an amazing
job of coming together and supporting
each other in a very positive way,” she
added.
Diane Morey, a social studies
teacher who is also a member of the
DTA Executive Board, said she is
committed to spreading the word about
“anything good that has come out of
this terrible tragedy.”
Using a lighthearted, upbeat tone,
Morey live-tweeted from the annual
Step Up for Colleen 5K Walk/Run last
spring. She has also tweeted about the
Colleen Ritzer Memorial Scholarship
Fund, which benefits high school
students who plan to pursue education
degrees in college, and the new peace
garden.
Danvers Teachers
Association
members Diane
Morey, Chris
Hopkins and Tracie
Ewing, left to right,
led the effort to
establish a memorial
peace garden to
honor the memory
and spirit of Colleen
Ritzer. From start to
finish, Hopkins said,
the project has been
a “real community
effort.”
Photo by Sarah Nathan
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