Since 1983, anyone who took band at Simpson Middle school will no doubt remember Beth Paquette, who is retiring after this year.
According to Paquette, becoming a teacher was always something she wanted to do. “I think it’s the thing I had the most passion for. I really liked marching band especially, but I liked playing my trumpet, I liked being a member of a musical group. I’ve heard other students tell me that they tried a bunch of different activities and then once they were in band or in choir, they had found their people…so I felt like I found my people,” Paquette said.
There were equal amounts of encouragement and discouragement for Paquettes’ decision to become a teacher. “My mom studied to be a teacher. She never actually was one. My dad was a police officer, but he also ran the criminal justice academy, so he was kind of involved in education. I grew up in a family where being a teacher was honorable. But I remember my dad sitting me down and saying, ‘you’re never going to make money,’” Paquette said.
Either way, Paquette was set on being a teacher. After graduating from JMU with a degree in music education, she began her teaching career in Loudoun County when she was hired as the band director of LCHS. Part of her position involved going over to Simpson to teach two classes a day. “I just found out that I just really liked this age group better. Plus, being a high school band director, I used to say that it was like having a part-time job in addition to your full-time job. But my husband said it was like having two full-time jobs, because there’s so much stuff that was nights and weekends. My kids were five and six years old at the time, and I was missing everything,” Paquette said.
As a result, Paquette made the switch to start teaching full-time at Simpson, where she would continue teaching for the next thirty years. One of her standout memories of her time at Simpson include breaking down police barricades for her marching band students to get to a performance after an employee refused to let them through. The barricades had been put up for a parade along Catoctin circle southwest that Paquette and her band were scheduled to play in. “I picked up the barricades, and I threw them in the ditch. And I ran on the bus, and I said, ‘go, go,go!’ And we just drove up the block, and all the kids were cheering, and my heart was racing,” Paquette said.
Another unforgettable moment was beating a “really high-powered” Fairfax band at a competition in Hershey, Pennsylvania, back in 2017. “We beat them, and we never beat Fairfax schools. But that year, that eighth grade…they were phenomenal, so I’ll never forget that,” Paquette said.
Paquette’s favorite pieces to teach include “Quad City Stomp” and anything with “a lot of percussion.” She also noted how she tries to keep adding different pieces for students to play. “I know that there’s some tunes that students always like. I do try to switch it up…I try not to repeat,” Paquette said.
Paquette’s decision to retire was in order to complete projects around her house as well as being able to spend more time with family. “There are a lot of projects at my house that need doing, that I want to do, and I just never have the time. I have three grandchildren, and one of them lives with us. So I spend a lot of time with him. But I’d really like to have time to spend with the other two. I’d like to be able to help my kids out more,” Paquette said.
There are, of course, bitter-sweet aspects of retirement for Paquette. “There are a lot of things that as I end the year, I’m thinking, ‘wow, I’m not going to miss that,’ or, ‘wow, I will miss this.’ The favorite part about my job is actually teaching kids how to play instruments and playing along and having fun,” Paquette said.
A few of Paquette’s students have gone on to become professional musicians, but many have gone on to become music teachers like herself. “I think that makes me more proud,” Paquette said, “…I love my band kids.”
