Letter to First Grade: Aidan's Star

This is the letter that explains the star that the First Grade students are receiving;  a hard copy will go home with each student in early January.  It explains our intentions on giving the kids a token by which to remember their friend and classmate, Aidan, and is our way of thanking them for the tremendous efforts they have taken to keep his spirit among them:

To the First Grade Class at Brandywine Wallace Elementary School:

We wanted to thank you for all your hard work and love and care that you’ve shown to Aidan and his memory.  You did such an amazing job on the bookmarks, the memory book, and in choosing a special way to honor Aidan by getting a real star named after him.  We love that there is a star in the sky just for Aidan. 

We stopped in to see Mrs. Laverty, and what meant the most to us hearing about how you keep Aidan’s presence strong in your classroom.  Sometimes, Mrs. Laverty tells us stories about you and what you miss about Aidan, and we love knowing that you remember so many good times together.  We also loved to see that you keep Aidan’s seat where it was that first week of school, and you even put a rose there, and check him in every day.  We truly believe he is with you every day.  He loved being your classmate.  More importantly, he loved being your friend. 

So as a thank you, we wanted each of you to have a token of our appreciation to remember Aidan at home.  Each of you will receive a star, just like the one your teacher has.  You can keep it in a special place and take it out when you think about Aidan.  You have done so much for Aidan and his memory; we wanted to do something for you. 

You are all a very special class, and you always will be.  As you get older and grow up, our hope is that you remember that Aidan is not just with you this year; he is with you always.  And that while even we adults don’t understand why he had to leave us, we are so thankful for the many happy times that we did get to have with him.  That big smile of his will stay with us forever. 

We love you all very much and hope you have a wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year!

Love,

Mr. and Mrs. Silva and Devin (who will be in Kindergarten next year!)

About the Star Ornaments:

Please know that your star is fragile.  It is ceramic, and therefore, is very breakable.  Please be careful with it.  We think that Aidan would have liked how the stars are handmade by less fortunate people in a small country on the other side of the world, and that, by buying you these stars, many people can buy food for their families*.

*HEED Handicrafts is a job creation project of HEED Bangladesh, a registered Christian, nongovernmental organization in Bangladesh.  These ornaments were purchased at the Ten Thousand Villages store in Exton.