Penny Nutbrown

I was sitting in my kindergarten class trying to picture what my teacher was telling us about the first grade. She told us not to be hard on our new teacher because she had never taught a grade lower than grade seven. Of course that made me significantly more scared of this teacher than I had been before. I went home and my sister told me all kinds of stories about the great Ms. Nutbrown; all more than enough to scare me out of my wits. My mother was very worried about sending me into the first grade, but we had a whole other thing coming.

I thought that the teacher standing in front of me in first grade could not be the person my sisters had described her to be. The 5'4" lady, with perfect light brown hair, stood in front of the class on the first day of school and started off with a story about her cats, Boober and Spot. She seemed nice and very calm. Not the yelling type at all. I went home that day with a smile on my face and a good feeling for the rest of the year.

Grade 2

I spent the first and second grades in Ms. Nutbrown’s capable care. During that time, she taught me many things such as reading, writing and simple arithmetic, but she also gave me other lessons that our school board definitely didn't mandate. The world seemed like a bigger place than I had first thought. I pictured it as a wonderful and fabulous place, that was always on our side, but I soon learned that it was sometimes plotting against us.

Graham 'Cracker' Clarke

One day, Ms. Nutbrown sat our full split grade one and two class down in our classroom, but we noticed a significant absence. Graham Clarke had been missing for several weeks. She calmly told us that Graham had developed a cancerous tumor on his brain stem. I think that no one, not even a qualified doctor, could have told us any softer and with as much confidence as Ms. Nutbrown did. She told us he would be fine, and not to treat him any different. She showed us a Peanuts movie about how Linus's girlfriend had developed cancer. It was sad, but taught us about how to deal with it. Life changed, but not by much. Graham was still the same person.

She always had a new book ready for me when I finished my last one, and needed a new one. Over the years, while she was in the library, she always managed to bring a smile to everyone's face. We soon learned that she had an obsession for Lord of The Rings and even had Internet published stories about the characters, as well as other fantasy stories. She ran clubs and contests that made all of us laugh or smile.

She ran the Library Helpers, a large club that always managed to keep us on our toes. We shelved books, and labeled new books, as well as co-headed the other smaller library clubs. But our main dual annual events were the book fairs.

After I had moved on from Ms. Nutbrown’s classes, she decided that she was in need of a change and moved into the library. It was the perfect place for her. She was always accessible for advice or anything that I could've ever needed.

I was always on set-up and clean-up crew for the book fairs. That crew consisted of me, Claire, Katie, Hannah and, of course, Ms. Nutbrown. It meant a full day of no class and hanging out with your best buds, and especially the many large pizzas that were ordered at the end. The afternoons were always full of stories and hard work, especially from Ms. Nutbrown. At the end of the last day of the fair, there would only be Ms. Nutbrown, Claire and me left. It's surprising how much bonding can happen when there are only three people around in an entire school. The stories that were told, as well as the secrets that were shared, will always be remembered.

Me and 'Clifford' (Claire Menendez)

So, as the seasons changed and years went by, Ms. Nutbrown decided that she needed another new change. Unfortunately, the decision pulled her away from us. She announced to us that she was moving to Port Hope, but quickly added that she would be back for our graduation. It caused many tears to even imagine that the number one most important teacher would not be around for our final years in our beloved school. But the time came and she left. She vowed she would never spend so much time in one place ever again as she couldn't handle leaving. The next time we were planning on seeing her was at our graduation. But we saw her a couple of months sooner in a way none of us had hoped.

Our good friend Graham 'Cracker' Clarke had taken a turn for the worse and, sadly, died on Sunday. The intermediate Westmount population found out on Monday. It was one of the worst emotional blows any of us had ever taken. The first person outside of Westmount that we called immediately was Ms. Nutbrown.

Two weeks later we had a ceremony of life for him. We invited all kinds of people from his church, his school, his scout troupe, as well as many other places where Graham had left his mark. I found it very difficult to deal with this. I had to sit at the front for the entire ceremony, as well, and felt sort of embarrassed sitting in front of the sanctuary crying the entire time. After the ceremony, I was standing by myself with my face buried in my hands when someone tapped me on the shoulder. Ms. Nutbrown turned me around and gave me a huge hug. We stood and talked for so long, I ended up missing my dance class, but it was worth it. By the time I left, I was feeling much more relaxed about my feelings and managed to be at peace about what had been going on in the past few weeks.

The next time we saw Ms. Nutbrown was on a brighter note. Everyone looked fabulous -- guys in suits, girls in dresses, and there were tears rolling down a lot of faces. We had been waiting for this day for ten years at Westmount. Graduation was upon us and we were set for our next steps into society. And there she was to help us through, as well as give us our final push out the door of Westmount and into our new high schools.

Without question, Ms. Nutbrown was one of the best teachers to walk down the small hallways of Westmount. She made our tiny halls and classrooms seem like the biggest imaginary worlds. From the wolves in the halls, to the monster that supposedly ate my best friend's twin, she always kept us asking for more. She single-handedly shaped a part of me that I will always keep inside. She was always willing to lend us a hand no matter what. I feel that every child should be lucky enough to encounter a person that helps them in ways they could have never thought possible. Ms. Nutbrown was one of the most important people I ever met because she made me see that other people were important, but to also take care of your inner self. Heroism is a strong word. The term hero describes a person that has made a difference in your life. A person that has helped others, not only you. A person that can be perfectly imperfect whenever you need them. Ms. Nutbrown was one of the most caring and fabulous people I have ever known. She is, without any doubt, my hero!