Happy Teacher Appreciation Week Covid-19 Edition

Found on the sidewalk on one of my daily walks in uptown New Orleans

It's that time again when we celebrate teachers, and the hard work that they do in classrooms across the United States. So, I say to all you teachers out there: YOU ARE APPRECIATED!!

My school is trying its best to give us little treats each and every day over the course of the week even though we are at home and not at school. The first gift was a sign for our yard, and lucky me, my sign was delivered by one of my very favorite students. I couldn't get a picture with her, but I did get one with me and the sign. 

Then on Thursday, a truly wonderful treat arrived in my inbox. A thank you with quotes from different students. I love hearing what is important to them among the many things that I do at school. I think this sums it up nicely. 

Click the image above to enlarge it

I received something else in my email inbox from a seventh grader who created this meme just for me. Thanks, Jude, I really do appreciate it. 

Besides being librarian at Patrick Taylor, I serve as the faculty advisor for the school's chapter of the National Honor Society. I really love this position because I get to spend some quality time with the juniors and seniors, many of whom I have known since 6th grade. Once the state lockdown began, it was hard for the students to complete their required community service hours. One of my suggestions to them was to write a letter of gratitude to one or more of their teachers during teacher appreciation week. I knew those would be a hit. Surprisingly, I got three letters sent to me. I have shared them with you below. 

Dear Ms. Kahn,

How have you been? Thank you for your compliment. It means a lot to me. I was going to write to you shortly after lunch, but you emailed me first. I just wanted to thank you as well for all your help ever since I came to Patrick Taylor. You were a part of my every school year because I ate in the library nearly everyday. You also helped me and other students find resources for research projects, prepare for special events, and welcome us to the library. You made going to the library fun because you always had activities that brightened our day. I am also very glad to be a part of Bookmarked this year, which made me regret not joining years ago. I was glad to help out at the library before school closed because I would have missed it a lot if I hadn't. Thank you for all the fun years I had at Patrick Taylor, Ms. Kahn. I'll miss you a lot and I hope I can thank you personally whenever I have the chance.

Sincerely, L. H.

Hello Ms. Kahn,

I want to write you a thank you email for being a great librarian. You are always trying your best to help others in the library and make reading fun for everyone. I appreciate the effort you put into planning entertaining activities for library events and into organizing author visits for our school. Apart from books, you also provide us with very helpful online resources for school research and keep us informed about the library through your blog. Not only do you work very hard in the library but you also run NHS and organize volunteer opportunities for the club. You always do so much for the school, and I am very glad that you are our school librarian.

Sincerely,

N. N.

Dear Ms. Kanh,

Thank you for all of the dedication and hard work you've put into our school. All the resources you've compiled for us students to guide us in our research have been helpful; the symbaloo has been a wonderful way to access all of the information we need for our research papers. I appreciate the library's spirit, with the many events that you host encouraging a healthy environment. Thank you for ensuring that us students have the resources we need to be successful at Patrick Taylor.

Sincerely,

A. L. 

Though we are all at home, we are all still trying to do our best to provide for our students. It is not easy, but it is what teachers do, no matter what the situation or what four walls are surrounding us. Kudos to all you do! 
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!