Julie Noon, who began her career with Hays CISD in 1974 as a teacher’s aide, will retire from her final position of Attendance Secretary with the Hays CISD. (Photo by Jim Cullen)
by JIM CULLEN
Each passing school year sees staff members considered permanent fixtures moving into retirement, some of them at mid-term, and this year is no exception. A group of such retirees, including Bob Shelton, Cecil and Pauline Winzer, JoEllen Hoelting, and Karen Johnston were recognized at the December board meeting and, no doubt, each was appropriately feted at their respective campuses or job sites.
One more of the just-retired group, Hays High School Attendance Secretary Julie Noon, has taken leave of her professional position and the place she leaves behind is one that in many ways has been her extended home for more than 40 years.
Born and raised in Kyle, she was the only one in her family who graduated from high school. Not content to just attend and finish school, she completed her senior year as the 1973 Hays High School Valedictorian.
“Back then, there wasn’t much encouragement for me to go to college,” she recalls. “My parents did not speak much English – even though my mom was born here and my dad came to the U.S. as an infant.”
That lack of a home push to attend college didn’t hold the young scholar up, though, and she is proud of what she accomplished in the years that followed.
“I may not have a college degree, but I do have a degree in life-long learning experiences and that is worth more than I can say,” she says with assurance.
Noon began her career as a teacher’s aide with Hays CISD in 1974. She held that position for 13 years , served as a library clerk for Hays High and Dahlstrom Middle School for a year, then became Attendance Clerk/Registrar for Kyle Middle School, a job she held for six years. A stint as the assistant principal’s secretary and ultimately the full-time position she’s held for the past 15 years completed that life-long learning experience.
As with most retirees, memories are plentiful and, at least in Noon’s case, positive. She can cite many individuals and places she’s enjoyed working with, but she admits that “the most memorable” was Kyle Middle School. “We had an enrollment number of about 600 students and I knew most of them by name. Most importantly, I was able to work with Armando Chapa as principal and the late Betty Henson as his assistant. Mr. Chapa and Ms. Henson exemplified excellence in teamwork. They made it a pleasure to go to school every day, not only for me, but students and staff as well.”
It almost goes without saying, but the most remarkable changes Noon has seen over her years here are “the growth and the technology. When I graduated in 1973 we had 84 seniors – we had no computers. What an amazing change!”
Noon’s immediate plans are to relax and “spend more time with my grand-nieces and nephews and do some volunteer work at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church (and maybe at Seton Hospital).” She hopes to get the chance to take a cruise to Alaska and a trip to Hawaii.
Looking back over the three-and-a-half decade career with her home district, Noon says she wants everyone to know “that I took pride in my job and did my best to serve my students, parents and teachers.”
