LYNN – John Morris was an elementary school teacher for 23 years in the City of Lynn before he secured his first principal job at the Sisson Elementary School in 1997. His hiring came after interviews for the same position at several other city schools, where Morris was always a finalist, but never the chosen candidate.For the Lynn native and lifetime educator, the opportunity to lead Sisson was a culmination of two decades of hard work and a genuine interest in the lives of his students.Now 11 years after first setting up his office in the Conomo Street school, Morris, 57, stood front and center Friday in the gymnasium as the entire student body sent him off to retirement in style with a rousing reception.”I couldn’t have ended up at a better school, and behind every school there are great students, great staff and great parents,” he said. “I grew up in Lynn, my house was actually where Lynn Tech is now. Lynn is a great place to grow up and Lynn has the best kids. It just goes to show that if you work hard, you can be successful.”Students in each grade sent Morris off in their own way at the reception. Some wrote poems, others sang songs – and every class honored their principal with pictures and kind words for him to take home so he will always remember the school. As students filed out of the gym, Morris received hugs and high fives, and nearly every student told the principal that they would miss having him around.”I just want to thank the staff and the parents for everything they have done, Sisson is a wonderful school,” he said. “I am very proud that I came from Lynn and I have been able to spend my whole life in Lynn.”While the mid-year retirement is not necessarily the most traditional time to leave the principal’s post, Morris said simply that he was ready, and that “it was time.” With his wife still teaching at the Drewicz and his son now a teacher at Lincoln-Sudbury, he will have an empty house to himself Monday morning as he begins to adjust to the “weird” feeling of retirement.”I have been working for 50 years, I don’t know anything else,” he said. “I am entering retirement with trepidation, I am definitely going to miss it. I am going to miss the kids, they are the best kids around.”Morris will continue to coach basketball at the school, and says he won’t be a stranger to the students and faculty, even offering to help Acting Principal Inez Accursio if she finds herself in need of assistance this year.But as long as things stay under control in his absence, Morris says the easiest place to find him will be at the golf course, where he hopes to log plenty of hours that he used to spend in the classroom.