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North Tahoe School teacher retires after 43 years in the classroom

Special to the Sun
Submitted to aedgett@sierrasun.comTokubo, a 28-year Tahoe Truckee Unified School District teacher, retired in January with a Post-It note farewell from her students.
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TAHOE CITY, Calif. and#8212; Judy Tokubo got a unique sendoff after her last day of teaching. Upon leaving the school building, the teacher discovered her car was covered with Post-It notes.

and#8220;Judy was known for her Post-It notes, so the kids decided to decorate her car with them as a way to say good-bye,and#8221; said North Tahoe School (NTS) principal Teresa Rensch. The quirky farewell was fitting for Tokubo, who enjoyed comedy and wit and encouraged her students to embrace humor as well.

Tokubo, who taught social science, history and language arts for 43 years and#8212; 28 of them for Tahoe Truckee Unified School District (TTUSD) and#8212; retired from the classroom Jan. 31. She leaves behind a legacy of learning and fond memories for her former students both in and out of the classroom.



Starting as an eighth grade language arts, reading and social studies teacher in San Jose in 1968, she wore many hats during her professional career. In addition to her time as a teacher, she also devoted hours as a student council advisor, volleyball coach, youth leadership teacher, mentor to student teachers, tutor, guest speaker and has served as liaison, coordinator and volunteer for a variety of school programs. She accompanied middle school students to the nationand#8217;s capitol seven times in the last 11 years with Wordstrides D.C., first as chaperone and assistant, and then as trip leader since 2002.

Tokubo and her husband of 42 years, Shig, raised their two sons, Todd and Eric, in North Lake Tahoe, both of whom graduated as class valedictorians at North Tahoe High School in the 90s.



Known to be both humorous and philosophical, Tokubo often shared bits of wisdom in the form of jokes. As a member and officer of the Blue Tahoe Toastmasters group, she encouraged her students to become comfortable speaking in public. And as a parting gift to her students, she gathered her favorite quotes on honesty, integrity, and life in general, which she shared and distributed via a handout. Appropriately, this quote by Confucius was one of them:

and#8220;Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.and#8221;

and#8212; Submitted to aedgett@sierrasun.com


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