65 Make That 67 Years at Calvary Day School

6/29/2017

Gordon Hunter - Orig. Published May 2016

When I started working at Calvary in April, I asked many people who I should seek out to gain an understanding of the history of the school. Two names were constantly reiterated by different members of the administration, Donna Thaggard and Patty Cannady.

During my second week on campus, I requested to meet with both Christian women. The feeling I had after meeting with both was one of understanding that the Lord had put me in the right place. I will turn 30 this summer, but there is nothing I have had a passion for during my lifetime like Ms. Thaggard and Mrs. Cannady have for Calvary Day School. They both love coming to work every day and cherish the relationships they have with their students.

As I walked into Ms. Thaggard’s 2nd grade class, every desk had a tower built out of marshmallows, noodles and tape. I approached one of the small tables and sat down at a chair that was not designed for a 6’2”, 200 pounder. Donna sat down at one of the tables next to me, and I asked about the towers. She explained the science projects they had completed that day, stating the importances of building with a firm foundation. The 2nd graders were challenged to build the towers as high as possible without direct instructions. It was easy to understand the correlation Ms. Thaggard was able to make to those 2nd graders to science and their faith.

Donna started in school at Calvary in 1973 as an 8th grader. Her mother was an educator at Calvary for a number of years. Ms. Thaggard enjoys Calvary because of the family atmosphere. “My English teacher at Calvary prepared me for college. I wouldn’t have passed college English without Ronda Johnson. Even after I graduated from Calvary, she was still willing to help me with material I couldn’t understand,” Thaggard explained. “Rhonda even came to my home when my mother was sick, just to visit.”

After completing her degree at Georgia Southern College, Ms. Thaggard only applied to teach at one place, Calvary Day School. She has spent 34 years teaching in the same classroom, through two remodels of the building. She told me her favorite part about educating at Calvary is the fact that she can share her testimony with her students and watch them grow all the way from her 2nd grade class to graduate from high school and beyond. “I still talk with many of the kids I taught in the 70’s and 80’s. I have even taught some of their kids.”

Patty Cannady shared a lot of the same feelings for Calvary. Mrs. Cannady started teaching at Calvary in 1986. She has three children and all three are Calvary Alumni now. “I kept my kids at Calvary so they would make something of themselves.” That proved to be true as they have become a business owner, lawyer and a teacher respectively. The strong Christian faith that she has spills over in her work. One of her favorite lessons to teach her Kindergarten class is “what would Jesus do”?

“I enjoy Calvary because of being able to use an adapting teaching method. I feel like after 30 years I am still improving my teaching style every year. It’s not the same old Calvary because we are constantly striving for better” Mrs. Cannady explained. “Calvary students have more school spirit; we have better technology; and our academics are stronger.”

The passion Mrs. Cannady has for teaching was easy to hear in our conversation. She has an ongoing challenge with herself to come up with ways to help different students learn. Mrs. Cannady has incorporated standing work stations for kindergartners who would struggle to sit to complete work. She has scoop chairs for students who can’t sit on the mat during reading time. Mrs. Cannady is incorporating more video and pictures using the Smart Board for kids who are more visual learners. “Every student is not the same, so why would I try to teach them all the same way?’ she asked.

The Christian Atmosphere is more important than the education. As Proverbs 27:17 states:

“Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”

Both of these outstanding Christian women have led students and parents of students to Christ, and Calvary is blessed to have them.

The teachers at Calvary have a real interest in the students, not just in their grades, but in their earthly and eternal life. The relationships built at Calvary are strong bonds that last beyond the time spent in school. Both of these women are not only leading children in education, but they are leading spiritually as well.

65 years at Calvary Day School, and this place is better for it.

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