Charlene Carson, a second-grade teacher at Northville Elementary School (NES), where Mrs. Gibbons works, told the school board during a brief presentation earlier this month that she even put together a picture book of her instructing students about caterpillars, which is one of the paraprofessional's many interests.
Mrs. Gibbons, 70, and her husband, Ed, who live on the farm in Woodbury where she grew up, were the subjects of a 1994 illustrated children's book, "This Is the Farmer," by Roxbury author Nancy Tafuri.
Mrs. Gibbons also was featured on a segment of ABC's "Good Morning America."
Ms. Carson read statements from Mrs. Gibbons' daughter, Samantha, and retired NES teachers Clare Gennario and Loretta Bayers.
In an interview, Mrs. Gibbons said that she began working at the now-defunct East Street School in January 1978 after she and her family moved to New Milford, where her mother-in-law was living. She said that she also had been a paraprofessional at the now-defunct Main Street School.
"I like this age group because they are so innocent and they want to please the adults that they're with," said Mrs. Gibbons, who works with second- and third-grade classes at NES.
Ms. Carson said that Mrs. Gibbons enjoys her work so much that she "won't even take a sick day."
She said that, in addition to teaching students about caterpillars, the paraprofessional has even brought in incubators and taught children about how baby chicks are born. "She unselfishly allowed children to experience the beauty of life," Ms. Gennario wrote in her statement.
Ms. Carson said that for years Mrs. Gibbons has shared her interest in poetry with students and has pointed a water hose and jokingly sprayed students and staff members during the school's annual field day.
In her statement, Mrs. Gibbons' daughter noted that her mother has received awards for her jams and jellies at the annual Bridgewater Country Fair and walks along dirt roads in Roxbury to find the best blackberries for those preserves. She also noted that her mother is an avid fisherman who often has a fishing pole in her car.
"She's always a straight shooter, and she is the strongest person that I know," Mrs. Gibbons' daughter said.
Ms. Carson said that last November Mrs. Gibbons and her daughter went to the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville to see her favorite singer, Neil Diamond, perform. She noted that Mrs. Gibbons said after attending the concert that her "mission is complete."
Before being honored at a reception at the meeting, Mrs. Gibbons received a standing ovation from the school board and administrators, including former NES Principal Thomas Atticks, who retired last month.