A True Friend

By Mrs. Kloss

Prior to COVID, there were years that I was fortunate enough to have our district’s First Grade ELL students placed in my classroom.  I have so many incredible memories of all the fun and learning that took place from our experiences together!  It was an even bigger gift to coteach with the educator who came to our school and worked with the children.  The teacher is Mrs. Lindsey Happoldt, and she is a recent addition to the Salamanca City School District Family!  Words cannot fully express my joy when I found out she was hired by the district and would be working with one of my students.  She is an effective, patient, and kind teacher.  Instantly, she jumped right into our routine and became a member of our classroom family. 

One day while pushing in during our writing time, Mrs. Happoldt listened as the children generated ideas for a story.  She heard their amazing thoughts as we worked together.  The children brainstormed so many ideas we needed to create a chapter book.  She was so impressed with their end product and wanted to do something special for the class.  So, she typed up our story, and being the amazing artist she is in all of our eyes, created a book for every student to finish illustrating by coloring.   The excitement of my Outstanding Wonderful Learners (OWLs) spread over the next few days as they worked on their books.  They were thrilled to finally be able to take them home to share with their families.  They loved that they had their very own chapter books created by their words.  The story came to life just as Walton the Watermelon did.  I (their teacher) loved the happiness of my students and how it inspired them to want to write and create more.  Furthermore, I love that so many of us at Prospect can benefit from this incredible teacher, Mrs. Lindsey Happoldt.