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Riding Into Retirement

by Cadderly Kingsbury
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After more than 30 years, Dave Little has officially retired. Little is a loved and widely recognized teacher known for biking into work every morning from Saskatoon, from April to the snowy season. Little noted that throughout the years, he has always had people honking at him, waving at him, and just saying hi. On Wednesday, June 26th, he was met by a group of fellow teachers to accompany him on his last ride. Even though they were there for him, he was gracious and offered to help pump up their tires.

“What a surprise! This was a very pleasant idea all the way around,” Little said upon seeing everyone waiting for him.
“Valley Manor’s motto is ‘Respectful, Responsible, Caring and Sharing.’ Dave is all of those things, whether it’s coaching basketball, organizing Persephone trips, or helping out with fundraisers. He’s a very compassionate, engaging person,” fellow teacher Carmen Kingsbury stated.

“He cares about the staff, his students, he cares about everybody and their stories. People and students from years back came and congratulated him when they heard he was retiring. On Thursday, a student of his that’s now 20 came and said goodbye. He’s just a great guy that’s passionate about fairness and equality, and it shows.” Clayton Gartner, another teacher, said.

Students of Little describe him as fun, energetic, exciting and caring, saying that he teaches in a fun way, and actually cares about his students.

“He’s a fun, energetic man. Him and I both like Led Zeppelin, and it’s cool that we share that,” previous student Everett Balon says.

“The old guard is changing, and it’s time for the young whippersnapper to carry the legacy of education,” Little said in his goodbye speech. He then rang a school bell that sits in his classroom. That bell has been in his family for three generations, and is rung whenever someone retires. With the final ring of the bell, Little is officially retired. Valley Manor will miss Little in the halls, and he will never be forgotten.

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