News-Press from Fort Myers, Florida • Page 422

A10 THE NEWS-PRESS, SOUTH FORT MYERS LIFE, SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 2006 EDUCATION Villas family says goodbye to principal "I have wonderful teachers, great students and a wonderful staff. You have to miss that But I'm not going to miss getting up early." Ion Looney, fomier Villas Elementary School principal I tj hi urn i lia IH nff l-fi PHOTOS BY DON MANLEYTHE NEWS-PRESS Jon Looney, former principal at Villas Elementary School, dances with the school mascot last week during the retirement celebration for him at the school amphitheater. Jon Looney ends long school career 1 'j i -a fat f-1 Dance to the sounds of Live Entertainment Wedneday Prime Rib Dinner Friday All You Can Eat Seafood Buffet Join us on both evenings for a wonderful night of dinner and dancing mum ii 1 1 i ill. I A 0 HeritagelPalms Food 12 Service 12 Atmosphere 12 Reviewed 101003 ft 3 Golf Country Club Proper Dress Required iNoTStnrte or jeans) Located on Six Mile Cypress between Daniels Colonial y-L him as principal," she said. "He doesn't pick any favorites.

He thinks of us all as his children and it's nice having a second father JON LOONEY here because we spend most of our day here. When you fell down, he was always there to pick us up." Looney said he taught at Villas Elementary for four years after moving to Lee County from Miami in 1970. "I started my career here and I'm ending it here," he said. The Cape Coral resident said it's the interactions with people that he'll miss. "Life is relationships and that's what a school is," he said.

"I have wonderful teachers, great students and a wonderful staff. You have to miss that But I'm not going to miss getting up early." Peggy Pavlich, an Exceptional Student Education teacher, said she's been at Villas Elementary for 20 years. She praised Looney for sup-, porting the needs of her department and the entire school. "He's really good with the whole staff," she said. "He just makes it easy to come to school and enjoy your work." Tuesdays The Ultimate Buffet 4:30 Celebrate your Special Events with Us Make your Reservations TODAY! Phone 23p.p36.2233 Hi Something for Roast Beef, Turkey and Cajun Pork Loin Carving Stations Made to order Pasta Shrimps, Scallops, Muscles, Clams, Grilled Chicken, Italian Sausage, Veggies and morel KmBWBiiwOBBfiffliMwwM Golf Country Club WEDNESDAYS --nr Pasta Prime 2for1 I Tax Happy Hour -8pm FRIDAYS $OQ50 Fine Dining Night Tax Compters Menu Starting At Live Entertainment 7-1 Opm 10 95 SUNDAY BRUNCH Tax 9:30 pm 1 mstm BY DON MANLEY It started with a driving disco beat slithering from the amphitheater and down covered walkways at Villas Elementary School last week.

The melody set the tone for what was a festive, if bittersweet, occasion, with the student body, staff and some parents excitedly assembled in front of the amphitheater stage, awaiting the guest of honor. The song's title "We Are Family" went to the heart of the reason for the gathering. Hand-painted signs adorned some walls and some parents held banners, while many of the children were dressed in purple Villas Elementary T-shirts. The crowd had gathered to pay homage to the leader of the Villas Elementary family for the past 12 years, Jon Looney. Looney, 62, officially retired Feb.

28 after 38 years in education, 36 of them with the Lee County school district The school's guidance counselor, Ken Berry, served as master of ceremonies for the event and as the song ended, he stepped to the mike and kicked things off by invoking the spirit of the school mascot, the lion. "This is a celebration," he said. "Mr. Looney is taking the role of a lion today and in order to get a lion to come out, you have to do what? You have to roar." The students did just that, with gusto, and as "We Are Family" resumed, a door near the office opened and out stepped Looney. Escorted by a group of students, including one dressed in a lion costume, he danced as he walked to the front of the assembly, beaming all the while.

After stepping into the mass of students to dance with them, Looney and the lion assumed the seats of honor two high-backed wicker chairs facing the stage. During the roughly hourlpng event, each fifth-grade class took the stage, performing skits, poems and versions of hit songs with the lyrics changed to honor Looney. Sundays 9:30 Breakfast Buffet Come Check Us Out! Waffles, French Toast and Belgnel Station. Omelet Station Bacon and Sausage, Grits and Hometries, Carved Ham, Fresh Baked Goods, Fresh Seasonal Fruit. Come and set ft Featuring: Live Entertainment! Thursday 2 for 1 Drinks with Dinner GIF SOUTHWEST Florida Gulf Coast University Renaissance Academy Piano Lab STEINWAY 2 Specializing in Banquets a Weddings iW reopie WINNER "BEST SUNDAY BRUNCH' hgendsa.com ffl 7 Enjoy significant savings on a limited number of almost new pianos played by students of the FGCU Renaissance Piano Academy.

Prices start at just $1,488 0 Financing No Money Down No Payments for 6 Months (on selected pianos to credit qualified applicants) (Mima) I ri I IfTiloirn oloff InlolTilf. filltHol will 3tiJotoTnlcI) onlol iiorSlclJlni I 'i More than 800 exciting I fw I Italian furniture pieces i i If available. Contemporary I i I I leather sofas, -J II chairs, and dinettes Jw. -J I I 't with function. -JL I design and style! iTI' i 1 Polari Yotanka leather loveseat $2,390 lhey were followed by a brief address by the new principal, Linda Buckley, who is moving up from the assistant prin BUCKLEY New Villas Elementary principal cipal's post she assumed this school year.

"We're gomg to miss you Mr. Looney, she said. "You've left a wonderful legacy." Villas resident Jeannine Good-ison was one of the parents who took part in the celebratioa She said her son, Kurtis, is a graduate of the school and her daughter Karli is a fifth-grader there. "I wouldn't have missed it," she said. "He's been the greatest principaL I fell in love with this school when my son was entering kindergarten.

"Mr. Looney took me on my tour personally and every child that we passed in the hallway loved him. He has a great talent for making the kids feel like they're all loved, like they're all his." When the celebration ended, the lion removed its head, revealing fifth-grader Kayla Toole, 10. Kayla said Looney has been an important presence in her life and those of her classmates. "It's been really fun having Looney," she IT I ll'i Former Villas Elementary School Principal Jon Looney, reads a letter from one of the students who gather around him after the school's retirement celebration for him last week.

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