Annette Gibavic was a first grade teacher at the Leverett Elementary School from 1964-1984. She taught in the same room that Ms. Bates and her 5th grade class now uses for the first ten years, and then in the current first grade room for the last ten years.When asked about the appearance of the school in the 1980's, Annette stated that the school looked almost exactly the same as it does today. The Leverett Elementary School was built in 1950, and it was a showcase for its time. One of its specialties was that it had a gymnasium and a separate cafeteria, while most new schools had a combined function room. It was considered a very nice school, and the town was proud of it. The school was built to hold one hundred to two hundred students. There were four original classrooms, holding two grades each from grades one through eight. After the addition was built in 1976, the seventh and eight grades went to the Amherst Middle School, and then there was a classroom for every class.
The gym, music, and art teachers only came once a week, as well as the school nurse. Dotty, our chef extraordinaire, arrived at our school in 1975. The first special education teacher came in 1976. The principal of the school was also a teacher. Annette also helped raise funds for the first computers at our school in the early 1980's.
Annette Gibavic's classes had to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day and Annette was required to read a verse from the Bible to her students every day. And, every year Annette held sugar parties for all of her first and second grade students.
Local events that occurred during Annette's time teaching at Leverett Elementary School, were the Bicentennial, and, at one point, bomb threats on the school.
The Gibavics have been students or teachers here since the 1950s and now, Nancy Gibavic carries on the tradition!
- by Mike
