As elementary schools are required to conduct so many fire drills in the course of the academic year, it made perfect sense that Warwick Neck Elementary Principal Francis Galligan should inform the faculty of a drill Thursday morning.

The drill was carried out flawlessly, with the students filing out of the building to gather in the back play yard. But unlike previous fire drills, this one was a surprise to Catherine J. Maguire, who is retiring after 32 years of teaching at Warwick Neck. She found her husband, Bob, and her father, John Phillips, seated beside a podium in front of the school’s community garden. And what followed was an outpouring of appreciation for her dedication and contribution to the Warwick Neck School community over the years. There were bouquets, cards, tears, laughter, a poem to Maguire, the unveiling of a plaque dedicating the garden to Maguire and even rocks. Yes, painted “kindness rocks” that a select group of students placed along the garden interior.

The inscription on the plaque reads, Kindness grows in Mrs. Maguire's Garden."

One minute teary-eyed and the next laughing, Mrs. Maguire, as she is known by her students, stood to hug those who spoke and draw them in beside her like a mother hen. She was especially moved by the remarks of former student Hailey Hayes, now a seventh grader, who also wrote a poem naming Maguire.

Anne Goldman, a representative from the Volunteers of Warwick Schools, said Maguire was an advocate for all of the positive programs that VOWS brings into Warwick schools. "Mrs. Maguire was always the first to sign up because she believed in what we did," she said.

Shaun Galligan, chair of the Warwick School Committee and the brother of the Warwick Neck principal, told of the groundbreaking for new Toll Gate and Pilgrim High Schools earlier in the week and how the new schools would be there for the students gathered. He said it was the first time he had been called on to speak at a fire drill dedication.

It was then that Maguire expressed her gratitude. "I can't thank you enough. It's very bittersweet to leave, but I am not going anywhere. I will be back to volunteer. I will not disappear from the school, since it’s been my home for 32 years. I love you all," she said.

In comments following the ceremony, Maguire said she thought it was time for her to retire and do some traveling. She said she and her husband plan on seeing parts of this country. But she doesn’t expect to distance herself from the school either physically or mentally. She’ll be there.