After 30 years as a teacher, 23 of them at Sippican School, Janice Proc said goodbye at an all-school assembly in her honor on Friday.

"From the bottom of my heart, I love you all. This has been a wonderful experience," she told students and faculty.

Proc, a Bourne resident, was a long-time fifth grade teacher at the school, but with her retirement pending, she became an in-house substitute for this semester, helping in all but two classes in the school, including PE. So, all of the students knew Mrs. Proc.

They weren't all clear on the definition of retirement, however, at least not the kindergarten class.

A video of Q&As with kindergarten students yielded interesting answers.

Q. Where do you go when you retire?

A. The zoo.

A. New Bedford.

Many also though 5 was a prime age to retire.

While the kids may have been unclear on the concept of retirement, Proc's friends at Sippican School talked about how much they would miss her.

Teacher Nicole Boussy said Proc was on her hiring committee twenty years ago, and she soon became a "mentor, friend and big sister."

"To me, she is more than a colleague. She immediately took me under her wing. She told me to play nice in the sandbox," said Boussy.

Principal Lyn Rivet also praised Proc.

"Mrs. Proc has been an extraordinary teacher, an extraordinary friend," she said. "She has been a wealth of wisdom."

Teachers, students and the School Committee presented Proc with children's books that will be donated in her name to the school's library. She also received citations from the Massachusetts House of Representative, the Senate and the Massachusetts Teachers Association, of which she has been president for 12 years.

Additionally teachers gave Proc an ugly Christmas sweater to wear and a bouquet of flowers.

A teary Proc thanked her family, who was in attendance.

Of her husband she said, "Without him I would not be able to be a teacher. I wanted to be a teacher since I was a little girl."

She also spoke of how proud she was of her daughter, who once said she never wanted to be a teacher. One her daughter called and said she'd changed her mind. Proc asked her why. "I think you make a difference," she said.

Proc said the time was right to retire. After all, "This was only supposed to be a two-year job," she said.

Proc and her husband plan to spend some time in Florida.

"I'm looking forward to our next new adventures."