A Princess Party to Farewell Donna

After 17 years of working for the Northland Kindergarten Association – 15 of those at Mairtown Kindergarten – on Friday we farewelled our beautiful teacher, Donna.

Of course, we couldn’t let Donna leave without her knowing that really, we think she is a true princess! So after a little planning (and much sneakiness!) we sent Donna away for a while whilst we busily decorated the deck area for our shared lunch, and inside, created the perfect space for pampering our princess.

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.’

Loving the princess slippers Donna!

‘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:

 

Pictures of Donna in her castle

‘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