After 17 years of working for the Northland
Kindergarten Association – 15 of those at Mairtown Kindergarten – on Friday we farewelled
our beautiful teacher, Donna.
On her return the pampering began. First
the children decided which princess dress she should wear, and then when she was adorned in her crown, the children got busy. Donna was moisturised, had her
feet submerged in a bubbly warm foot spa, had her hair brushed and decorated, her toes manicured
and painted and generally made a big fuss of.
The pampering begins... |
Which princess dress? |
Will you have this dance Donna? |
In true princess style we had to have a
‘ball’ with Prince Tyler asking Donna for the first dance.
At midday lots of our families arrived and
after a few teary speeches we presented Donna with a huge basket of gifts – generously
donated by our whānau and children – a stunning card made by the children, and
as a surprise for Donna we all watched a slideshow of photos spanning her teaching career.
When it was time for our shared kai, Donna sat at the head of the table and in front of an amazing castle cake (made by Kim) that also had a mini decorated Donna sitting on top.
Donna has been a huge part of Mairtown
Kindergarten and has taught many many children over the years, in fact it was
lovely to welcome some past families and children back, and amazing to hear
stories about Donna from people she taught years ago who are now studying at
University.
We are really going to miss Donna at
Mairtown, and she will leave a huge gap in our lives. We will miss her joyfulness, her
sense of humour and her beautiful smile. I’d like to share some touching
comments about Donna from a few of our families.
A past student of Donna's (from a few years ago!) |
‘Kaiako Donna, it’s so fabulous, wonderful
and awesome to have your wisdom and experience shared with our daughter. Arohanui.’
‘Donna,
We have been fortunate by having you in both our children’s lives at such an important
stage of their development, when their values and character are founded and
shaped. We wish you a very happy and fulfilling retirement, and hope that you
will be able to enjoy it very much, since you very well deserve it.’
‘Where
to start, what an amazing lady, you have been a massive part of my boys life
and they all love you very much. They will all be better humans from spending
time with you, thank you for being such a fantastic teacher, friend and
protector of our kids.’
‘Dear
Donna. Thank you so much being such a wonderful teacher for our three kids. You
bring such a vibrancy to this kindergarten and will be very much missed.’
And of course no one is going to miss Donna
as much as the children. When thinking about what is so special about Donna,
they told us:
‘She
does the nicest things for me, like she push me on the swing’
‘She
makes me cocoa really nicely’
‘I
like her because she watches me’
‘Donna
watched me on the monkey bars’
‘Donna’s
scones are really delicious’
‘Donna
does good manners!’
‘She
pushes me on the swing’
‘I
love Donna because she is the best teacher’
‘I
love Donna so much’
Here is the slideshow for you all to watch,
of Donna over the years :)
“20 years from now you will be disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the one’s you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Mark Twain
Hei konā mai, Christine
3 comments:
All the best to you Donna on you're new adventure :). From Oscar (frost) in Aussie xxx
So disappointed i missed the princess party, and you were so lucky to get the foot spa!!! You look fabulous and i wish lots of happiness in the future, and keep on laughing and smiling like you do!!
Love Kim and Jaxon
What a fitting and beautiful tribute to Donna. It was good getting to know you a little last term Donna. I love the video - it reveals the mischievous, fun-loving, committed to children personality of Donna. Kia kaha Donna, for the next step in the adventure of life. Enjoy. Arohanui (and see you around) Beverly
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