YARMOUTH, N.S. – He’s been a teacher, a principal, a coach, a mentor, a boss, a friend, a referee, a Bull Dog, a Viking and even a human hot dog.
But most of all, he’ll always be Mr. Berry.
After four decades of working as an educator – and being mostly known for his work as the principal of the former Yarmouth Junior High School and then Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial High School – Don Berry had his last day of class on Nov. 5.
He’s retiring as a school principal and in true Berry fashion, even the school couldn’t let him just walk away without a big and goofy goodbye.
And so a week of Berry Days was held at the Yarmouth high school, which included activities ranging from a Black and Red day – a throwback to the school colours of the Yarmouth junior high – to a jersey day, a 70s theme day and a chance for people to dress up like the legend himself.
The old Berry Bucks, from the old junior high, were even brought back into circulation and given out to students for showing kindness, leadership or for being a good role model, with prizes up for grabs.
There’s lots that Berry says he’ll miss about being a principal but tops, of course, is the students.
“You know me, I like kids,” he says.
He cheered for his students when they achieved their goals. He pushed them when they lost their way. And he tried not to let too many slip through the cracks.
“If you needed someone to go to bat for your child, I think I was there,” he says. “We didn’t always win the challenge we took on, but we took it on head first.”
The parents, and even grandparents, he says, also became an extension of his school family, in addition to his students and staff.
Berry is also known for the outside-of-the-box way he’d motivate students and push and encourage them to reach goals and set goals, whether it was through a fundraiser, or through academic excellence, or through something in between.
If you saw him walking across the parking lot in a dress, it didn’t surprise you. You knew he was following through on a promise to his students.
Perhaps the only surprise was that he wasn’t doing it in heels too.
He’s had his hair dyed, his head shaved and he seems to remember getting his ear pierced.
And then there was the time at the former Yarmouth Junior High School when he was mounted on the wall with Duct Tape as a reward for his students having reached a fundraising goal.
Teacher Kelley Lacroix remembers that day well.
“He was Duct Taped to the wall and he fell over and he was hanging from his waist. I was screaming somebody help him,” she says laughing. “He was hanging off the wall. It was brutal.”
For Lacroix, Berry has been a part of her life for a long time. He was a young substitute teacher the day she started junior high school. He was her basketball coach in junior and senior high. He’s been the principal she has worked longest with. He’s been a friend.
Most of all, he’s been an inspiration as an educator because she knows how much he cares about his students.
“At the old junior high when he worked there, I actually accompanied him to a pool hall to retrieve students who were supposed to be in school. They would have ranged in age from 13 to 15 years old,” she says.
That’s because he knew that for them to succeed, they needed to be in school – even if they didn’t realize that themselves.
“In his car, going down the street, he’d see a student on the street, pull over and say get in the car. And they’d get in the car,” she says. “He was never afraid to get his hands dirty. And those kids remembered that too, and they respected him for that.”
For kids who didn’t have enough money to buy lunch, he’d always dig into his pocket and give them money. He never wanted a student to go hungry.
“Historically he’s done that his entire career,” Lacroix says.
And he was always a teacher – even when he was being a referee.
“Good job, good job,” he’d say to an athlete on the soccer field or the basketball court, even offering them tips on how to improve their game – and it didn’t matter if they’re on the home team or the visiting one.
Julian Dease, a vice-principal at YCMHS, will be serving as acting principal now that Berry is moving on. He knows it’s a big role he’s stepping into.
After all, this is Mr. Berry.
“He has been in this community and part of the school system for four decades. It’s been neat to watch him work over these years. You learn a lot of things from him,” he says.
Dease says it’s exciting to see Berry retiring as principal and pursuing new challenges, but it’s also sad to see him go.
And there will be new challenges for Berry, who grew up in Yarmouth’s south end, because he’s not completely retiring from the education system just yet.
Before his career in education comes to a complete end, he’ll be sharing his experience and leadership at the Tri-County Regional Centre for Education where he’ll be working on anti-discrimination and anti-racism initiatives for the school system.
He also wants to see schools look more like the communities they serve by hiring more minorities – particularly from the Black and Mi’kmaq communities.
He also feels more needs to be done to support marginalized students.
At the last graduation ceremony of the former Yarmouth Junior High School, Berry had told the students, staff and families in attendance that as an educator, you always have that dream that students will succeed in life.
The work that parents and families do, he said, are aimed at giving children a foundation in life. A school partners with families in trying to help kids further reach this goal.
“I’m hoping that the skills that we’ve given you will make you ideal citizens for tomorrow,” Berry had said. “My goal is just to make sure that my staff, the parents, the community, knows that you have that in you.”
While he spoke those words many, many years ago, for him they still hold true.
Today is our last day to dance this dance with Mr. Berry at our school, so kick off your Sunday shoes and let’s get footloose ❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/QVqWjgaWnu
— YCMHS (@ycmhsnews) November 5, 2021
Whether Berry was outside of the high school performing a Kevin Bacon dance show to the song Footloose, or he was sitting in his usual spot in the hallway of the high school over the lunch hours, he was always there for one reason – the students.
Sitting in his office at the Yarmouth high school on one of his last days as its principal – with years of work and experiences to pack away in boxes – he thought about how many of his greatest moments always came courtesy of others.
“If you look at all of the rewards I’ve had from all of the kids over all of the years that I’ve taught, you think, ‘wow,’ what a difference you’ve made.”
Mr. Berry’s former VP and friend, Dwayne Landry came in yesterday to sing some karaoke with him and pass along this message:
For over 40 plus years, this man has given his all “for the kids”, his staffs and his community. From his days under the Old YJHS Bulldog roof to the pic.twitter.com/shwmB35D3A
— YCMHS (@ycmhsnews) November 4, 2021
Goodbye Mr. Berry: Popular Yarmouth principal gets 'Berry Days' retirement sendoff after 4 decades as an educator | Saltwire - SaltWire Network
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