We’ve compiled a collection of sample farewell and valedictory remarks for a long-time principal’s retirement ceremony to help you prepare an inspiring and dignified way to say goodbye to a longtime leader.
Principal retirement ceremony farewell speech
Good morning, and thank you all for joining me today to celebrate my last day as an educator. I started my life in our school as a staff member and until today, I have always strived to do the right thing for our students. As a result, I was recommended by many staff members to work as an assistant principal in our school. I was also recommended to be the principal in 2015. I have now been the principal of our school for 38 years, and I feel like I have lived for 38 years with nothing but my passion for education.
As I reflect on the past, a lot of time has passed, and with the encouragement of so many people, I am leaving the school on an emotional note that I will never forget in my lifetime. All of this has been the result of the loving cooperation and advice of our faculty colleagues, and I would like to express my gratitude to all of them once again.
I would also like to take this opportunity to remind you of some of the words that I have spoken to many of you during my eight years as Head of School. Above all, my hope is that you will grow up to be a proud member of our school’s high school student body and contribute to society in a positive way. Just because people around you give you loving advice, it won’t make much difference to you if you don’t take it and change. If I were to give you advice as a senior in life, I hope it would make this time in your life more rewarding and worthwhile. If you don’t put any effort into it because it’s getting you down or frustrated, you’ll definitely regret it later. Your school years will prepare you for the rest of your life, and they’re so important because once they’re gone, you’ll never get them back. Once you’re in the workforce, you may find that you have far fewer people who care about you and are willing to give you advice. I hope you all take the initiative to do what you think is best for you, so that you don’t regret it later in life, but it’s also important to take the time to reflect on what you’ve done and how well it worked.
The last thing I would like to ask you is to remember that this is your forever alma mater. I have no doubt that you will continue to improve every day, and I hope that you will become a great member of society after graduation. I hope that you will grow up to be capable people in society.
Finally, I apologize for not being able to say goodbye to your parents personally, and I hope you will pass on my words to them. I would like to thank the school authorities once again for this grand farewell ceremony. I would like to conclude my farewell speech by wishing the school authorities and students a bright future. Thank you.
Example of a short principal’s retirement speech
Hello, everyone! I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the guests who have taken time out of their busy schedules to attend my retirement ceremony, and to thank the faculty, staff, trustees, and parents for their unwavering dedication to our students. It is with great emotion and an uncontrollable sense of overwhelming gratitude that I stand here at the end of what I believe to be my vocation, in front of my esteemed seniors and beloved juniors.
Sometimes I think about what I have gained by choosing the profession of teaching. The biggest thing I have gained is the joy of learning while teaching. In order to teach others, I have to constantly learn. My students learn from me, and I learn from them. It’s a win-win situation, and being a teacher has given me more than just inspiration.
When I meet friends in other professions, I often notice that I look younger than they do, and I think it’s because I’ve been around young students and soaked up the youthful energy they exude. And when my students come to me when they’re at the top of their game, it’s a joy and a reward.
If I were to retire today, I’d dive deeper into my own work, which I’ve been neglecting. I’d like to add more depth to my writing and photography, and I’d like to deliberately build up my physical fitness to climb higher mountains. And finally, I plan to visit places in the world where nature is more beautiful than civilization. Stay healthy, everyone.
The principal’s final words before leaving the school
The year is already coming to an end, and today is also my last day. Perhaps the word that goes best with the word last is regret, and as I say goodbye to you for the last time, I am left with many regrets about the time we have had together. Every year in December, I rush to reflect on the year that has passed. This year, my departure is in November, so I’m so grateful to have a month to reflect on the year before it ends.
If I have regrets, it means I challenged myself to do something, but I’m only sorry I didn’t do it better. If I could go back, I would make better choices and better results, but I can’t turn back time. I’m looking forward to next year. I expect it to be a year of more challenges and more regrets.
Thirty-eight years ago, I was twenty-five years old, wearing a black suit and carrying a book bag in my hand when I was appointed to my first teaching job. I realized the necessity and effectiveness of education that is practiced with love and compassion rather than theoretical education, and I learned the importance of the role of a classroom teacher. I think my belief in education has been solidified since then.
I didn’t enter the field of education for the glory. As I lived with students, I realized that children are where they need me. How do we raise independent children, children who are dragged down by parents, teachers, and the media? Is there a way to do it in our culture? I realized that education is something that gets harder the harder you try.
I relied on the people here, and you made me happy. I am leaving this school with a very happy heart. The business card I’m giving you has my address and phone number. If you ever miss me, feel free to call me, and I’ll treat you to a nice meal. I also want to take this opportunity to say thank you to my wife, for allowing me to retire with honor, even though I’m blunt and stubborn. Thanks to all of you.
A note of thanks from an outgoing principal
Already the year is coming to an end. We always miss abundance when we are in scarcity. In our younger days, a day used to feel like a year, but nowadays, a year goes by like a day. The years seem to go by faster for those who realize the value of time. When you’re young and bored with the same old routine, the days seem to go by so slowly, but when you realize how precious life is, the years seem to fly by. It’s ironic, really.
I started my teaching career at ○○ Elementary School, the same school where I walked boldly across the playground on my first day, and after 11 years as a primary school teacher, I started my first secondary school teaching job at our new school, a newly built school with poor conditions. I threw away several pairs of white leather sneakers to pick out the playground, planted trees and flowers, and worked hard to improve the school environment.
As the head of the student affairs department, I gave my all to academic and life guidance. As a homeroom teacher, I harassed students with daily math note tests. If they got it wrong, I asked for the correct answer again. Once, a student who had graduated came to me and told me that it was very difficult at the time, but afterward, she thanked me for making her study so hard. That’s when you feel proud as a teacher.
After that, I spent four years as a regular teacher, four years as an assistant principal, and five years as a principal. The truth is, I’m not decisive, which is why some things don’t end well. I’m not friendly, which is why I’m not close to many people. I’m not very knowledgeable, so it’s probably been very difficult for my junior colleagues who have worked with me, but even if I tried to fix these deficiencies after I retire, would it work? I just live with it. The only thing I’ve learned in my life is to teach students, and they say life starts at 60, and it’s time for me to move on to a new second life, and I’m not sure what I’m going to be able to do when I don’t know how to do anything but teach.
For the time being, I’ll just have to live with the memories of teaching, and I may not be able to get lost in the memories. Teaching was a good fit for me. It made me happy to see my students, and it made me happy to see their progress. They say that only a few people in the world are lucky enough to have their aptitude as a profession, and I guess I was one of those lucky ones. I am so happy because of you, and I wish you all the best in your future endeavors. Thank you.
Farewell to the outgoing principal
Good morning, everyone, this year is coming to an end. When we look back in time, we have made many mistakes. If you could turn back time, would you promise yourself that you would never make the same mistakes again? But even if you could turn back time, you would never have a perfect life without mistakes. I think mistakes are the manure that God has sown for us to grow, because we can grow stronger and healthier based on those mistakes. I hope you can see those mistakes and never forget what you have learned from them. I’ve made my share of mistakes, too, and today marks the quiet end of my 40th year as an educator. It doesn’t seem like a long time when I think about it, but in hindsight, it seems like a short time.
It seems like just yesterday that I started my first teaching job, and now I’ve worked in 11 schools, and the years have flown by, and I’m retiring today. I think of the lessons I learned, especially the one that says, ‘One day at a time. I think I have 20,000 students who have learned from me. A day may be a short time, but it becomes a year, and then a decade. Whoever spends this day well will be successful in life. I really wanted my students to spend their day well and not waste it, which was also partly a mantra that I wanted to live by myself, but now that I think about it, there are many things that I didn’t do, and I feel very sorry and remorseful.
It’s been three and a half years since I’ve taught at our middle school. It is true that I had a special determination and affection for our middle school because it was the last place where I spent my teaching career, so I wanted to improve it in terms of learning, life guidance, and facilities. I have achieved some successes, but there are also some things that I have not achieved, so I am sorry to leave.
I feel like you guys are people that I have a great connection with, and you don’t get to be the last person on the list without a great connection. In any case, this connection with you will live on in my heart as a memory for a long time. Thank you.
A farewell letter from the principal
Good morning, everyone, it’s a warm autumn morning in November, and the clear sky seems to make me feel happy. I have been working in our middle school for ten years, and I have seen the changes in our middle school campus. Among them, our school is the most beautiful in autumn, with maple trees and ginkgo trees planted everywhere, and the scenery is indescribable in autumn. Autumn leaves, you don’t have to go far, just look around you now. I love the mountains, and I’ve been to this mountain and that mountain, but there’s no place like our school for fall scenery.
With such a beautiful autumn scene behind me, the time has come for me to bid you all farewell for the last time. What seemed like a distant thought in my younger days is now a reality that is right in front of my eyes. Truly, I realize the fleetingness of time. Now that I’m standing here, I’m at a loss for words and embarrassed. In a word, I am happy and grateful. I am grateful and thankful from the bottom of my heart.
Looking back, I feel like I have nothing but gratitude in my life. Thank you to my loving wife and son, who have always hugged me with their generous love and encouraged me with their encouraging voice whenever I was feeling tired and lonely. Thank you to my predecessors, who have been patient and patient with me through many trials and errors, and whose warm love has made me who I am today. And last but not least, I would like to thank my students. My students. I have received and still receive so much love from so many of them. Their constant attention and warm support, as they fulfill their duties in all walks of life under my inadequate teaching, has made me who I am today. Thank you. Wherever you are, there will always be dreams and love. Keep in mind that God is always on the side of those who strive, and do your best.
I wondered if there would ever come a day when I would say goodbye to you for the last time, I always thought about it, and it seems that day has come. I don’t want to make it unnecessarily embarrassing. But I don’t think today is the end of our relationship. It’s the beginning of a new one, and I look forward to it. I’ll end my farewell letter by wishing you all the best of health and happiness in your homes. Thank you. Goodbye.
Principal’s Farewell Letter
I would like to thank all the guests, staff and parents of the school for braving the cold winter winds to celebrate my retirement today. My dedication to the education of our students has brought me to an honorable retirement for many reasons. I am grateful for the guidance and support of my junior teachers and parents.
Now that I am approaching my retirement age, I often think back to my first days as a teacher, when I was passionate about teaching students. I think that was probably the time when I was most passionate about students’ education. Of course, it is still the same now, but I have gained my own know-how through various experiences. I don’t think I try to challenge myself as much as I did then, so I think the beginning is very important. Now that I’ve reached retirement age, I’m leaving the school, but there’s something I’d like to say to younger teachers. I want you to always think about your students and always do it with the same heart you had when you first started.
I know that even after I leave this school, this will be the school that I will remember most in my lifetime. One reason is that I have been able to serve our school to the best of my ability to ensure that our staff and students are happy to teach and study in a comfortable and clean environment. Another reason is that our staff has been so dedicated to educating students with character as the centerpiece.
Today, we are faced with many difficult educational challenges to solve in order to foster creativity and imagination in our students. I am very sorry to leave these challenges to my junior colleagues, but I believe in their abilities and love for students, and I believe in the pure and beautiful hearts of students, so I will say goodbye with a light step. Finally, I wish you all the best for the future development of our university. I would like to conclude my retirement remarks by wishing everyone here good health and happiness. Thank you.
The principal’s final farewell
This is a retirement of my own choosing, not one that was pushed upon me by the limitations of time. However, now that I have reached this day, I realize how deep and precious my long-standing relationship with the students is. It’s been 35 years since I answered the call of the school after the announcement that I had passed the tenure exam. Throughout the years, I have always wanted to be a proud teacher, no matter who it was.
Our private school has become more than just a livelihood for me, it’s a gift that I’m so grateful for that has helped me grow into the person I am today. Throughout my life, at any time and in any place, the honor of the school was my own honor, so I was careful and cautious about every little thing I did. Now, as I leave the classroom, I’m hanging up the name of teacher, but I’m taking that responsibility with me.
When I first entered the teaching profession, the indicator of education was unconditional love for students, no matter what, but this is not the case now. It seems that the only indicator of education is the performance and results that appear on the outside as the all-encompassing measure. It demands only endless competition from students and teachers alike. I believed that education is about teaching wisdom and generosity of spirit to live together rather than competition to survive, so I wanted to teach a class that instills dreams and sentiments in children in my own way. I tried my best, but my efforts will have to be continued by the next generation of teachers.
Retirement is not the end of the curtain, but the beginning of another life, and now I’m going to relax my body and mind and do things I’ve been putting off. I’m looking forward to traveling, experiencing the rural life in the mountains, and finding a place to contribute my remaining energy. Thanks to the concern and sincerity of all my fellow faculty and staff, I have fully recovered my health. I am very grateful for the care and love you have shown me. I will always remember our precious relationship for a long time. I hope that we can become a school that teaches students wisdom and generosity of spirit, not endless competition. Thank you.
Principal’s Retirement Message
Dear faculty, staff, parents, and educational family, thank you so much for helping me get to where I am today, where I am honored to retire.
People often say, “Enter life merrily and leave it without words.” I think it’s best when people leave, even if they have something to say, they should just leave, because the true test of a person is after they’re gone. They say that everything is beautiful when it has a beginning and an end.
Today, after 32 years of teaching, I’m coming to a beautiful end. I’m about to tie my loose shoelaces and start a new life, a two-for-one, a long way to joy. I think back to when I first joined the teaching profession. I worked hard to become a teacher under difficult circumstances. It seems like only yesterday that I was first assigned to a high school, and now, after 32 years of teaching, I am 62 years old and retired. The years I spent in the teaching profession, mostly volunteering as a classroom teacher, have brought me to this day through a long tunnel. I have seen bright lights and dark tunnels along the way. The educational field where I have lived with my students has become my home and my hometown, and the memories of those years are passing by.
I apologize for not loving my students more and for not being able to help teachers who are struggling with free-spirited students. I regret that I didn’t stand closer as a parent while managing the school. In life, once you meet, you must part ways. But I’ve never practiced saying goodbye and leaving, and I’m afraid I’ll still be standing in front of the school gate in the morning when I leave. It will be with great pleasure that I end my teaching career at our high school, and I will cherish only the pleasant and beautiful stories of the precious connections I have made with you and the school, and the long and close friendships we have shared.
It is said that a person is only as happy as the happiness he invites into his life. They say that if you stop looking for happiness in vain and say out loud, “I’m happy, I’m lucky,” health, wealth, and success will follow. There is no secret to happiness, and I would like to say “thank you” to everyone who has helped me take the first step towards a new life in good health.
Retirement message for teachers
Dear Education Family, I now stand before you to honorably relinquish my legally guaranteed retirement age and step down from the profession that has been my life for the past 35 years. I believe this is the last and best thing I can do for our schools. From the day I became an educator, I have given up being a good husband, a good father, a good friend, and I have put the fate and future of the profession before my own personal honor.
It is only because of my colleagues who have been with me that I have been able to spend 35 years of my long teaching career without any major missteps and get to where I am today. I am grateful to my beloved wife, who has shared all my worries and joys as a companion in my life along the same path of teaching. I am also grateful to my children, who have grown up rightly and are playing their part in society, even though I did not take care of them as well as most fathers do. I have tried not to lose the initial spirit of my youth, when I was born in a rural area and vowed to follow the right path of an educator, but now that I have reached the end of this path, I am filled with regret and regret that I have done less than well in my life of teaching, which has been a life lived on the road.
It is with a solemn and humble heart that I am about to end my teaching career. If I were granted another life, I would not hesitate to choose teaching again. As I look back over the past 35 years, I am happy to have spent them with you, and the past 35 years of teaching have been even more enjoyable and meaningful because I have been with you. I have been able to accomplish so much because of all of you. I could never have done it alone, and as I leave my successor with a heavy burden of what I have not accomplished, I thank you all for being here with me, and I am deeply grateful to all of you. Thank you.
Retirement speech for teachers
Dear distinguished guests, I would like to begin by expressing my deepest gratitude to you for traveling a long way to celebrate my retirement ceremony today.
Dear faculty and staff, dear students. I am leaving the school for good. I will never forget the love and care you have shown me during my tenure, which has helped me in so many ways and made up for all my shortcomings, and I will never forget the beautiful smile that always and everywhere greeted this person who has done nothing for you, the students.
I remember that some 35 years ago, I entered the world of education with young blood and no knowledge in my head and made countless mistakes and missteps, causing great harm to those around me. I also come to this day with a deep sense of remorse, wondering if I have been guilty of teaching students the wrong things.
Today, as I stand at the end of my career, my mind is filled with far more memories of the things I did wrong and the things I regret than the things I did right. The so-called good things I did right are, in a way, an expression of the joy and reward of doing what a teacher is supposed to do. But the things you do wrong can have a profound impact on the fate of your students, and are something you really need to be careful about and take to heart and use as an example in your life. Teacher mistakes can be divided into two main categories based on their motivation: things you did even though you knew they were wrong, and things that started out innocently but ended badly. The important thing is that either way, the impact on students can be devastating, so we should always think about how everything we do will affect our students, down to the smallest detail. But even more importantly, how should students treat a teacher who has done something wrong? Here’s my advice to our students. I think we need to be careful in terms of how we treat people who have wronged us. The thing about being human is that we don’t know what will happen tomorrow, and that’s why our ancestors have left us with quotes in history that say that today’s misfortune may not be tomorrow’s misfortune. Yes, it is. A heart that can forgive, forgive, forgive, and forgive again for any wrongdoing of others will be the cornerstone of realizing world peace.
Dear students, life is not all good, sometimes there are difficulties, injustices, and disappointments, and a teacher’s honest confession of failure will be an invaluable guide to your life.
I have been very fortunate in my career as a teacher, meeting warm and supportive colleagues wherever I went, and I have been able to meet good students and enjoy great rewards as a teacher. I have also been fortunate to have worked in public schools, private schools, junior high schools, high schools, boys’ schools, and girls’ schools, and to have had a variety of experiences, which, in hindsight, is also precious. The 10 years I spent in administrative positions as an assistant principal and principal were also meaningful, as I put my experience and abilities to work for the school. I would like to conclude my remarks by wishing the staff and students good luck and good health. I wish you all happiness, God’s blessings and good fortune. Thank you.
