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March 23, 2010

Doodle Bugs! Team Tuesday: Issue #10

“Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness.
Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.”  – Scott Adams

Children love birthdays! Aside from their own birthdays, they are most excited about Mom’s and Dad’s big day —  so our teachers often facilitate making a special card, keepsake or work of art. In and of itself, this is a simple gesture of respect and appreciation for children and their families. Recently, we had the pleasure of discovering just how meaningful this ‘small’ act of kindness can be. The following story, shared by Tanya, parent of Alyssa, explains it perfectly:

Team Tuesday: Heidi Wheeler (Penfield Center)

• “Miss Heidi has been a phenomenal teacher… going above and beyond her duties and responsbilities. My husband is deployed and (the Watch Me Grow program) allows him to log online and see our daughter anytime while she is at school. Miss Heidi was aware of this and always took the time and interest in my daughter to discuss dad and listen to her many stories. March 1st was my husband’s birthday and Alyssa mentioned this to Miss Heidi, who helped her do something really special for Daddy…”

• “… They made a poster for Alyssa to hold up, then had me have my husband call me at 10:00am. I called (into the classroom) on 3-way, and we both logged in online. When I called, Miss Heidi put the phone on speaker and Alyssa held up her sign while the entire class sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to my husband as we watched on the camera and listened over the phone. This act of kindness meant so much to Alyssa, my husband and me!”

Thank you, Heidi, for beautifully demonstrating your commitment to building a community of happy children, happy parents and happy teachers. Your kindess is evidence that, together as a team, we show that we CARE.