To the teachers, volunteers and staff of District 279

From the bottom of our hearts we would like to thank you for your time, talent and patience with our greatest and most precious gifts.

We send them off on the first day of Kindergarten… crying (most of the time we are the ones crying), only to see them return, telling us about birthdays and half birthdays and reading cafes and Friday Funday and songs about new shoes and songs about new haircuts and book nooks and the library and seeing eye dogs and much, much more. We hand them over to you when they are little more than babies and you hold their hands and you sing with them and you answer their questions and you teach them. You not only teach them things like math, history and social studies, but you teach them about life. You are their example. Because of how you treat these children…our children…they learn from you to be good and kind people. You are a soft place to fall when they are missing their Mamas or Dads. You help them to be strong when they have had a hard day. They come to know you and love you from seeing you in the hallways, the front office, the lunchroom or the library. They grow to trust you and from that trust, we trust you. We hear about your families and your dogs. We hear about your vacations and your nieces and nephews. We know your favorite candy. We know that you love coffee. We know that you drink tea. We know this because they watch and they listen. They love you. And because of you, our children grow into beautiful young men and women, right before your eyes…and our eyes.

So, from the Principals to the teachers, to the Paras to the volunteers, to the staff and everyone in between at District 279, we are blessed that you are a part of our children's daily lives. We thank you for encouraging and nurturing our leaders of tomorrow.

With great love,

The parents of your students