The parents, teachers and pupils of Ardnagrath National School wish to express and record their appreciation of Marita Stone. We lost a dear friend and a trusted and valued colleague. Marita was a great source of strength, encouragement, fun and wisdom for us over a long number of years.
She will be fondly remembered by her pupils past and present. Her kind and caring demeanor endeared her to everyone. She had a remarkable sense of tolerance and compassion which enabled her to be fair minded and understanding of the needs of others.
She was brave and generous in thought and spirit and she had a great sense of humanity which was demonstrated so frequently in her personal dealings with everyone. On a practical level, her generosity was unbounded as many of her pupils and friends can readily justify.
Marita had a wonderful sense of humour and fun which often lifted the spirits of those around her. In this respect she will be sorely missed by her colleagues and friends.
We bid farewell to a life which touched so many people. People won’t remember what you said and did but how you made them feel. Marita always made everyone feel valued, important and very welcome.
Sadly, Marita did not live to see and enjoy the new extension and gym. But she played a vital role in choosing and planning the new facilities. These stand today as a fitting and appropriate tribute to her and we dedicate them in her honour.Here are some thoughts from the pupils:
“I will remember Mrs. Stone for these three things; her kindness, her love of sports and her sense of humour. Those were the three things that made Mrs. Stone the best teacher in the world.”
M any moments of fun we had with you
S imply one of the best teachers were you.
S uper lessons and art you did.
T his is a fact: you were kind to every kid.
O h, did I forget, you were great at sports, games and singing.
N o, we won’t forget you taught us,
there’s no need to get mad if you’re losing, not winning.
E nding my poem, I leave down my pen,
you cannot believe how sad we all are that we’ll never see you again.”
“I remember when we were practicing singing for Communion and there was a song with the word ‘breast’ in it and Mrs. Stone was writing it on the board and she underlined the word and said “Now get over this word” and everyone started laughing. She had a good sense of humour.”
"I remember when she gave us a prayer called Don’t Quit. She said that as we get older some things will be hard and some will be easy but always remember never give up because if it doesn’t work the first or the second time or all the times after that, still don’t quit.”