Frontline thank-you cards find their way across the country

A local kindergarten classes’ thank-you cards written to community workers have gone coast to coast to coast.

In late November, about 60 pupils from Ecole Connaught’s youngest classes took part in an exercise to learn about essential workers. It concluded with thank-you cards and drawings sent to local health-care offices, letter carriers, first responders and grocery workers.

Canada Post officials informed teachers at Ecole Connaught this week as they returned to classes that some of the coloured cards sent to the Kipling Street depot were forwarded on to other branch locations across Canada.

Those included branches in eastern Newfoundland, Vancouver and the outlet at Eureka, Nunavut.

“This shows just how far a small gesture can spread,” said Lisa Whittevongel, one of three teachers at the French immersion school behind the project.

The unit was actually an extension of usual programming done each fall to help the classes of generally five-year-olds learn about community, the value of working together and being grateful.

“We typically learn about community workers and jobs each fall, and this fall felt like a good time to expand that to show how all workers make Medicine Hat a safe and happy place,” said teacher Kate Bohrn.

At the end of discussions about what the categories of workers were doing during the pandemic, pupils were allowed to choose which cards to colour.

Eventually several other classes also took part, and a schoolwide dress day was included.

The cards themselves were hand-delivered to the school’s principal and custodial staff, while others were marched across the street by kindergarteners to the mailbox.

They were also addressed to local medical clinics and longterm care facilities where some of the children’s relatives live, the local Superstore outlet, as well as the Medicine Hat police and fire service headquarters.

Those agencies sent out messages of thanks on social media over the Holidays, and other managers of the private clinics and stores have responded with phone calls, said Bohrn.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Kindergarten students at Ecole Connaught in Medicine Hat have received word that letters of thanks they wrote to letter carriers for their work during the pandemic have been forwarded to branches across Canada.