After years of dedicating their creativity and energy to Lab, some staff and faculty members are leaving or retiring next week.

Marie Randazza, a nursery school teacher, is retiring after 24 years at Lab. She said she loved exploring Gothic architecture on the University of Chicago campus with her students.

“Little kids really like the gargoyles,” she said, “so it was really fun to see the gargoyles through each successive year’s eyes because every group had its own little take on their explorations of gargoyles. Some of them liked to pretend they were gargoyles, other ones just liked to draw the gargoyles that they saw, some of them liked to make up their own gargoyles.”

Other staff and faculty retiring include Cathy Gruber, lower school counselor, 10 years at Lab; Joanne Reott, lower school office manager, 17 years; Liz Trevino, nursery and kindergarten teacher, 29 years; and Donna McFarlane, a second grade teacher.

Other staff and faculty leaving include Kate Gorsky, lower school academic specialist; Donna Mandel, nursery school teacher; Nicole Power, lower school homeroom teacher; Joan VandeVelde, lower school P.E. teacher; Casey Waddell, assistant teacher; and Brandy Wales, lower school computer science teacher.

The All-Schools Retirement Party was scheduled for May 31 from 3:30-5 p.m. at the Sherry Lansing Theater.