Letter from Ben's 2nd grade teacher.

Ben, we were stunned to receive this letter from your 2nd grade teacher. You have truly distinguished yourself as a really nice and considerate person. This is FAR more important than being a great athlete, scholar or musician. Mom and Dad are so very proud of who you are on the inside!!  Keep it up kiddo!

Ok, so by now, you know how fond I am of Ben and how lucky I feel to have been his teacher. Yet, I still feel the need to sing his praises. (Lucky for you, that is a figure of speech because my voice is so bad I don't even want to hear my own echo!) 
The other day one of my students was not packed up and we were in line ready to go. This is a student who sometimes struggles to keep up with the class in some ways. On many occasions Ben has offered to help this student and does it in the most kind, appropriate and helpful way. When Ben realized this student was not packed up and the rest of the class was, he got out of line and said, "Hey buddy, can I help you with something? Can I get your snack for you?" The boy was thankful for Ben's help and I was thankful to have students working together to make a loving and supportive community.

This morning, a girl in our class was finishing her Father's Day craft and turned to Ben and said, "Is this how it is supposed to look?" Ben turned to her and said, "Oh yeah!" with a smile on his face. A few seconds go by and Ben is looking at her craft and says, "Actually Ana, that is really, really GREAT!" She had the biggest smile on her face and felt so good about herself. I could tell Ben was happy to for filling her bucket. Once again, my heart was full and I stood in the background smiling.

I didn't stay in the background for long because I felt the need to fill Ben's bucket. I addressed the class and told them how often I see Ben being kind, helpful, courteous, generous and so on and so on. I said that a day doesn't go by that Ben doesn't lend a helping hand or make others feel good about themselves. I asked the kids in the class to raise their hands if Ben has filled their bucket recently. EVERY KID in the class had their hand up. One kid raised both hands!  It was such a good moment.

After, I asked Ben to come to the back with me and I told him how proud I was of him and how much I loved him and would miss him. He really is such a special little kid and he impresses me every single day. I wanted to let you know what an integral part he has played in making our classroom community a caring and loving place for us all!

Please let me know to what address over the summer  I can send the rest of my "fan mail" to Ben....hahaha.  :)

Sincerely,
Lauren Oricchio