RIP Paul Ferreter - A Great Teacher

Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week here in the United States.  During this week, we are supposed to think about all the cool teachers we have had and thank them for helping us to learn.  Adults should remember the teachers that they had when they were kids and thank the teachers who help their kids to learn. 

Kids like me spend a lot of time each day at school, and our teachers have a big impact on kids like me.  They help us learn what we need to understand for when we grow up and they have a hug for us when we are sad about something.  They are not our parents, but they they are sort of like on a team with our parents.

Paul Ferreter was my kindergarten teacher at Golden Empire - my first real teacher.  The day my mom and dad dropped me off for kindergarten I was scared and nervous. Here was this stranger at the front of the room that I had never met before and I was supposed to listen to everything he said and he was going to help me learn new things.  There were all sorts of new kids I had never met before. 

Mr. Ferreter taught me to be a Letter Expert. (I still have my old Letter Expert crown that I got when I became a Letter Expert.)  He helped me to learn to read.  He helped me to learn math. He was always happy and had a great smile, and whenever we needed help he was there.  That was the most fun year that I have ever had at school.  Every school year - all the way up to 6th Grade - Mr. Ferreter would always say "Hi!" when I passed him in the hall.  All the kids loved him, and he was an awesome person in every way.

Mr. Ferreter died this past Monday.  He had learned a few months ago that he had Stage 4 inoperable stomach cancer.  When he learned about this, he resigned after teaching for many, many years so he could spend time with his family.  All of us at the school were scared and nervous and we hoped and prayed that he would get better.  Unfortunately, the cancer ended up winning.  This has been really tough for his family, his students and all the people who he worked with because we loved him so much.

So I want everybody that comes to my website and reads this to think about the great teachers that you have now, that you had in the past, that your kids may have or whatever and think about what they do for the kids. Teachers like Mr. Ferreter are our friends, our mentors and so much more.  Please thank a teacher for everything they do.

Bye Mr. Ferreter.  We will all miss you forever...